‘Immoral’ parking charges in Coventry NHS have been slammed by Tory Parliamentary candidate

A would-be MP has slammed the “immoral” parking charges facing NHS workers and said they are a target for her should she win the general election. Conservative parliamentary candidate Sarah Lesadd has vowed to ban controversial charges for NHS workers in Coventry if elected as MP for Coventry East.

Miss Lesadd, 29, previously worked for more than five years in the public service before deciding to enter politics and is a vocal campaigner to support the NHS. Under the policy announced last year, staff who work for University Hospital Coventry and park on site are liable for the same charges as members of the public.

Daily ticket charges can reach £12.50, meaning a typical NHS worker could face a bill of hundreds of pounds every month.

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Speaking outside Coventry University Hospital, Mrs Lesadd said: “Everyone knows how hard doctors, nurses and healthcare staff work to look after the health and wellbeing of our local community. It is both immoral and wrong for key workers to be hit with such high bills for doing their jobs, especially with the cost of living crisis. If elected, high on my priority list will be to meet with the Trust’s senior leadership team and work on a plan to reduce and ultimately ban these charges altogether.”

Ms Lesadd is also campaigning on a platform to reject proposals to close Foleshill and Willenhall police stations, a move she says will deprive residents of access to vital public services. Additional policies she is proposing are improving local train stations to provide better access to the constituency.

Several other candidates are in the constituency for the July 4 election, according to the Who Can I Vote for website. Mary Creagh is the Labor candidate and is standing up after Colleen Fletcher announced she would stand down.

Final confirmation of the full list of candidates is expected when the official list of candidates is released on June 7.

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