IN the run up to the General Election, Labour’s pink bus is driving up and down the country talking to women at school gates, in workplaces, shopping centres, in town centres and on the doorstep and getting their views on the future of the country and the local issues that matter most to them.

Earlier today, the bus stopped in Chadwell St Mary to speak to women alongside the party’s parliamentary candidate for Thurrock Polly Billington.

Ms Billington said: “Women are often turned off from politics, seeing it as a load of men in suits shouting at each other.

“9.1 million women did not vote in the last general election, but women will decide who walks into Number 10 in May. That’s why the pink bus is so important.

“It gives Labour a chance to talk to women one-on-one about the things that really affect their lives, like equal pay and wraparound childcare. In contrast, the Tory and Lib Dem government isn’t listening to women. They’re turning the clock back on women’s progress, example by scrapping 578 Sure Start Children’s Centres, cutting child benefit for 1.2 million families and cutting maternity pay in real terms.

“Take the NHS. Mums are often the ones who take care of elderly parents and their children. So mums need to feel confident that the NHS will still be there in years to come. While the Tories are planning to cut the NHS to the bone if they win the election, Labour will find an extra £2.5billion to support the NHS from people who can afford to pay more.”