The shadow housing secretary has been speaking to people about their experiences of the West Cumberland Hospital.

Labour’s John Healey visited Copeland this week to show his support to by-election candidate Gillian Troughton.

While there, he spoke to members of the public, with some of them speaking passionately about the controversial proposals put forward by the Success Regime.

These include downgrading the consultant-led maternity unit at the Whitehaven hospital to maternity-led and have led to uproar in the community.

The shadow secretary of state for housing said: “I heard for myself the strength of feeling locally about keeping services at West Cumberland Hospital.

“People are rightly worried that it will be dangerous to move these services 40 miles up the road to Carlisle.

“On the doorstep, I spoke to the husband of one woman who’d had a complicated birth and believes both she and her baby wouldn’t have made it to the Cumberland Infirmary.”

Earlier this week the Prime Minster visited Mrs Harrison’s home village, Bootle, to show her support.

While there, she avoided answering questions about proposals to downgrade maternity services at the hospital and she did not give any assurances about the future of the Moorside nucelar development, earmarked for land by Sellafield.

Speaking about Theresa May’s visit, Mr Healey said: “It was such a let-down for Theresa May come to Copeland and offer no answers to the questions that people are asking on the future of the NHS and the nuclear industry.

“Gillian is a great candidate who would give Copeland a strong voice in the House of Commons,” added the MP for Wentworth and Dearne.