May 7th is a big day for people locally, for the UK and for our democracy. It’s Election Day when everyone has the right to vote.

I hope everyone will vote. People who are older are more likely to vote. But it's important for young people to vote too - and get their voice heard. People who own their own home nearly always vote. But we need to see the votes of tenants too. For our democracy to be equal we need to see the votes of everyone, younger as well as older, poorer as well as richer and black as well as white. Everyone has an equal right to vote and every vote counts the same.

Some people don't vote because they think their vote won't make any difference. But that just means that they won't have their say and everyone who does vote will.  Some people don't vote because they say all the parties are the same. But there is a huge contrast between the Tories - always helping the better off - and Labour who is on the side of working people. With the Tories we always see the NHS suffer and people on lower incomes getting worse off.  And we face the extra threat this time of UKIP who sow the seeds of division turning people against each other. We cannot solve the problems of this country by the politics of blame.

Some people don't vote because they've never voted and they don't think they know how. It's really easy and straightforward to vote. If you've got a polling card from the council you take it to where it says the polling station is - usually the local primary school or community centre. You don't need your polling card to vote. Just tell them your name and address. There are council staff there to help you if you've got any questions about the process.

I hope that you'll vote for me to be your Member of Parliament. It’s a huge honour and privilege to be your MP. And I think that our area could be so much better with a Labour government. There's a huge amount of optimism in our neighbourhoods but so many people still struggle.

If I get re-elected the people in Camberwell and Peckham will be my first priority. And one of the most important responsibilities of an MP is to help people who have problems but can't solve them and get caught up in red tape.

I hope when you're voting you will think about the people who don't have it easy and who need the backing of government to get a good home, a decent job, and health care. And I hope you will think about people in the rest of the world too. We need to tackle problems which affect us but hit hardest at poorer countries like global climate change. Have your say and vote on May 7th!