WARRINGTON politicians have been reacting to Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to call a snap general election for June 8.
The Prime Minister says a new poll is in the national interest and the only way to guarantee certainty and stability in the wake of Brexit.
May says she “recently and reluctantly” came to the conclusion that a vote was necessary.
A proposed vote will take place in the Commons tomorrow, Wednesday, with a two thirds majority needed from MPs due to the Fixed Term Parliament rules.
Warrington North MP Helen Jones said: “We will take on the Tories whose record in Warrington North is appalling and I am convinced we can win.
“I will fight this election on my record in the constituency.”
Meanwhile former Warrington South Labour candidate Nick Bent has confirmed he will not be contesting the seat this time.
He said: It was a great honour to be Labour’s parliamentary candidate here in 2010 and 2015, and on both occasions party members selected me by an overwhelming majority. Campaigning for a Labour Government with a superb team of volunteers was hard work but huge fun, and I would like to thank again all those who supported me and voted for me.
“This year, I have become the full-time CEO of the education charity I co-founded in Manchester, Tutor Trust. I promised my team and my trustees that I would not stand for Parliament during 2017. I am keeping that promise and I will support whoever wins the candidate selection in Warrington South.
“Our town needs and deserves two first rate Labour MPs who can work together with our Labour Council to secure a prosperous, thriving future for everybody in Warrington. I hope to stand for Parliament again in the future but in 2017 my professional commitments must take priority.
Ian Marks
Meanwhile Ian Marks, Chairman of Warrington Liberal Deomcrats said: “I was extremely surprised like many. This is yet another u-turn by the Prime Minister, which number about 30 now. She said she would not call a snap election and now that is exactly what she has done.
“It will present a wonderful opportunity for the Lib Dems to make a lot of gains in parliament which is good news.
“The Prime Minister has demonstrated she is in a eak position. We always knew the Brexit decision would go badly wrong. She has upset many in Europe and and
wonders why she is not getting her own way. Her party is in a mess and Labour are also in a mess.
“The country needs stability and I am not sure a snap election will achieve that with more distractions and uncertainty.”
Cllr Marks said he had not yet spoken to his colleague Bob Barr, who stood at the last election, but he was sure the Lib dems would be fielding a “strong candidate.”
He added that since the snap election had been announced the Lib Dems had already signed up more than 1,000 new members across the country.
Warrington South MP David Mowat said: “We have a majority of only 12 in Parliament. This undermines the Prime Minister’s negotiating position and risks a poorer deal with the EU.
“It is right that she now asks the country for a clear mandate for her leadership – especially when others are seeking to use the Parliamentary process to block and frustrate the will of the people.”
Warrington North Results 2015
Sarah Hayes (Green) 1264
Helen Mary Jones (Labour) 21720 (Elected)
Stefan Krizanac (Liberal Democrats) 1881
Trevor Nicholls (UKIP) 7757
Richard Short (Conservative) 12797
Turnout 45621 (63%)
Warrington South results 2015
Bob Barr (Liberal Democrats) 3335
Kevin Bennett (TUSC) 238
Nick Bent (Labour) 23178
Stephanie Davies (Green) 1765
Mal Lingley (UKIP) 4909
David John Mowat (Conservative) 25928 (Elected)
Turnout 59548 (70%)
3 Comments
Oh goody we can all look forward to more remain/brexit tub thumping for the next month. At least it will take some of the scrutiny off the local council dealings.
“I will fight the election on my record in the constituency.” Is what Helen has said.Which is obviously a case of her distancing herself from her leader, using a statement favoured by other Labour MP’s over the past few days. But what exactly is her constituency record? Just what has she done for the town since 1997? And I’m not talking about ‘generalisms’ here, but ‘specifics’. Just what has she done for the town in her capacity as the MP for the past twenty years? I’m all ears if anyone cares to step in. And I don’t think that this could be considered libelous in any way. Simply asking for answers…
Why not write to her and ask yourself? There’s nothing stopping you, I’ve written to her before and she (or one of her interns) has actually responded. Of course on both occasions I asked her to vote one way or another, she politely tells me to p*ss off and votes the other way regardless but you can’t fault her responsiveness.