The General Election on December 12 marks an important cross-roads for our country.

Readers will be familiar with my political leanings, and so I don’t think it will be a surprise who I will be supporting in this election.

However, I would like to take this opportunity to step back from the party politics and lay out what I see as important in this election, important for our city and the communities we live in.

The climate emergency is the greatest threat we face, and it could affect our communities just as much as anywhere else.

But it also represents an opportunity, perhaps the greatest such since the Second World War. Because we now have the impetus to create the wholesale change our economy needs.

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Because our response to the climate emergency goes hand-in-hand with tackling inequality and lifting the poorest in our society out of poverty – and in particular poverty wages.

I think we all just have to look around our communities to see the impact of a decade of cuts.

We all know the stories of desperation, with people struggling to get by and struggling to put food on the table.

There are some, like those currently in charge of the country, who see this as a price worth paying. Who would ignore the climate emergency that’s in front of us.

Who would put our National Health Service on the table when making a deal with Trump.

That’s why this election is crucial. This is our opportunity to change the direction of our country.

The choice is between two very different visions for the next generation, at least.

When I cast my ballot on December 12, I’ll be thinking about how we meet these challenges. I’ll be voting for hope.