General election not until May but the campaign has already started
Last updated at 21:25, Thursday, 12 November 2009
POLITICIANS in West Cumbria are gearing up for the next General Election, with candidates being chosen by most parties.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has until May 2010 to call the election.
Workington MP Tony Cunningham has been selected by Labour to defend his seat, which he has held for nine years.
He said that at the moment he was too busy dealing with immediate issues to think about a possible General Election.
He added: “This week, for example, I am working on the £80 million Building Schools For The Future scheme, helping to develop the Port of Workington’s future, looking at the Britain’s Energy Coast Masterplan, seeing what West Cumbria can gain from the nuclear new build announcement by Ed Miliband and various other constituency issues. I’m too busy in the here and now to start thinking about an election.”
Conservative Judith Pattinson and Martin Wingfield of the BNP have so far been chosen to challenge him in Workington.
The Liberal Democrats hope to select their candidate soon.
Mrs Pattinson, a councillor from Brampton near Carlisle, stood for the Workington seat at the last General Election in May 2005.
She said: “We need to promote and support the nuclear industry and the Energy Coast Masterplan.
“That in turn also means we have to improve the infrastructure. “We will look to make sure that pupils are doing better than they already are at school.
“We will be looking at providing better health care and trying to get more police officers on the streets in a bid to reduce crime.”
Mr Wingfield was unavailable for comment.
Barbara Cannon, a Labour coincillor for Cumbria, Allerdale and Workington, has meanwhile been chosen to fight the Conservative stronghold of Penrith and the Border.
Electoral boundaries will change for the next election and Keswick will move from the Workington constituency into Copeland.
Copeland MP is Labour’s Jamie Reed, who was first elected in 2005.
Chris Whiteside of the Conservatives, Frank Hollowell of the Liberal Democrats, Jill Perry of the Green Party, and Clive Jefferson of the BNP will stand against him.
Conservative Mr Whiteside said that his main priorities if elected would be to develop the nuclear industry, transport, education and the NHS.
He said: “We are suffering in a financial crisis at the moment and whoever is in power will have to make some painful decisions.
“However, I am confident I can support the programmes I want to within the budgets we have available,” he added.
Ms Perry, of Bulgill, near Maryport, said that the Green Party would seek to be honest and accountable to the public.
Mr Jefferson said that although the BNP’s manifesto had not been published, the party would be campaigning against the expense claims of MPs and calling for a referendum on Europe, an end to mass immigration and withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq.
First published at 19:35, Thursday, 12 November 2009
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
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Nine years with liebor and what to show for it? In fact the Lib Lab Cons have the same policy, kiss the nether regions of the Banksters. The only party with a reasonable plan is the British National Party.
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As someone who has spent the last few weeks running about taking photos of floods and related items, I have seen only Tony Cunningham consistantly talking to people offering what support he can and listening, other just seemed to be looking for the next possible opportunity to get onto Sky news or interviewed by the BBC. Tony Cunningham appears to be of the same cloth as Lord Campbell-Savours in making sure he is doing what he can for the people of allerdale. He lives in Wokington, with the people he represents which is much much better than some others, how can you represent an area that you don't live in, socialise in, meet people in day to day, have worked in outside of politics, sorry but I think that unless you live work in the community you cannot expect to understand what our wants and needs are.
Posted by Mark on 3 December 2009 at 12:02