General Election 2024: North West Norfolk Reform candidate Phil Walton ‘passionate about making a better future for the younger generation’
“We’re expecting a child - I can’t see the country carry on in the way we are,” were the words of a Reform candidate hoping to become North West Norfolk’s MP.
Phil Walton has decided to run for the position in the general election as he feels “very passionate about making a better generation for younger people”.
He is up against Conservative James Wild, who has been MP for North West Norfolk since 2019, as well as Liberal Democrat Rob Colwell, Labour’s Tim Leaver and the Green Party’s Michael de Whalley.
The business consultant, who currently lives in North Norfolk but plans to move in the new year, has been out trying to meet as many residents as possible before the vote on July 4.
Mr Walton told the Lynn News that he thought he might get a milkshake thrown at him - like the Reform leader Nigel Farage did - but got quite the opposite reaction.
He said: “I did have a situation the other day where I really thought I was going to be the next one to have a milkshake thrown at me.
“I got approached by a group of about 20 to 30 young males at Starbucks. Once they realised who I was, they came over and made lots of noise.
“But, I was pleasantly surprised. They were fully engaged in politics. They had a lot of questions to ask, almost every single one of them has since given me their details and asked if they can come and campaign with me. It has been very positive.”
This is the first general election that Mr Walton has stood in - and he says that he wanted to run to help make a better future for a younger generation.
He said: “We’re expecting a child - I can’t see the country carry on in the way we are.
“My wife said to me ‘get out there and do something about it’.
“I'm very passionate about making a better future for the younger generation as well, not just for the next five years.
“I have a son who is 20 as well, I spoke to him and asked him what he wants.
“He said the three things we want is somewhere to live, to be able to afford to live and we want a country where we can do that.
“That was my driving factor behind wanting to stand, I did my research and decided that Reform gives me the ability and flexibility to do that.”
Mr Walton, who was formerly a councillor in Kent before moving to Norfolk, told the Lynn News that he used to be a member of the Conservative party but left as he could “no longer support them”.
“It's not the party that it used to be and I felt politically homeless,” he said.
Housing, education and healthcare are Mr Walton’s three priorities he hopes to improve in North West Norfolk.
He said: “I keep reading all these reports at what an amazing job that has been done on securing funding for the hospital. So it'd be nice to actually get the hospital working properly.
“I think we have to look at the entire education system. We have to give much more support to children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities).
“With housing, though, it's not just about housing. Having the housing is one step, but that also ties in very nicely with having the ability to be able to afford the house and be able to afford to eat.
“There's obviously one of our policies which is to reduce taxes and cut the VAT on energy bills and raise the threshold that you can earn before you pay tax. We recognise it nationally as well, but being able to really fight for that locally is a big, big passion of mine.”
Mr Walton said that the Reform Party is the “common sense party”.
He said: “We believe in actually giving Britain's British nationals the first priority.
“So you know, they should be at the front of the queue for housing. We need to give them the ability to live.
“Again, raising that threshold of how much you can earn from £12,750 to £20,000, and reducing the amount of taxes that we pay, cutting VAT on energy, scrapping VAT on healthcare.
“People will start to see the money in their pockets, and I think long term, you know, we just want to make Britain great again. How we all remember it to be.”
Mr Walton added that he aims to support military families and has a military background himself having spent his childhood travelling with his father.
He also wants to support small businesses in the constituency and believes he has the knowledge to do so due to his career.
Mr Walton added: “I want to continue to find those issues and see what we need to do and what we can do to support them.
“You might find that you know something that's happening in Middleton, for example, and it might be very different to something in West Walton. So it's about understanding each little area, each little town as well to really be able to come in and say, actually - a bit like the country - you can't have one policy fits all.”
The Reform candidate says he is “passionate” about his family and enjoys getting outdoors with his dogs.
He has also published a number of children’s books based on the adventures of his four-legged friends.
“I'm in a position where I am able to help, so I want to help where I can. I'm also a member of my local church and try and help there as much as I can,” he added.
“I think that we are a party that will definitely make lives better for everyone. I certainly will fight long and hard to support and deliver what we say we're going to deliver and enrich lives.”
