Wirral's independent local news website
Wirral South MP, Alison McGovern, has announced that she has put herself forward for the Birkenhead seat in the next General Election.
Boundary changes mean that her current seat, Wirral South, will no longer exist. The Birkenhead constituency will remain, albeit with slightly redrawn boundaries,
Alison McGovern issued a statement that said, “When I first stood to be your Member of Parliament in 2010, I was 29 years old, and I must have seemed pretty naive. I hoped to win, but I didn’t expect to. I wanted to stand for the place that made me, and the campaign team worked so hard, but it seemed incredible to discover at 6am on 7 May 2010 I had won by 531 votes. You gave me your trust against all odds. Thank you so much.
“I appreciate that parliamentary boundaries mean more to those of us in politics than others, but you may be aware that the Boundary Commission is reducing Wirral’s voice in parliament by cutting our MPs from four to three.
“I’m going to ask Labour members to support me standing in a new Wirral constituency which includes Bebington, but I’ll be the last person to have the title of MP for Wirral South.
“I worry Bromborough and Bebington split between three different constituencies will not give them enough attention but we will work together as MPs to ensure that the change is as good as it can be under the circumstances we face.”
Mick Whitley, who was re-selected by the Birkenhead CLP last year to stand as the Labour candidate in the next General Election, said, “I am the MP for Birkenhead and have been working hard for the people of our town since I was elected.
“It was one of the greatest privileges of my life to be elected to serve as the Member of Parliament in 2019, and I was honoured to be resoundingly reselected by Labour members in Birkenhead last year.
“In the event of a new contest, as the sitting MP for Birkenhead, I will definitely be standing and will once again, ask the local members to put their trust in me – so that, together, we can finish the work that we began four years ago. I am looking forward to leading a positive campaign, based on my record of delivering real change for the town in which I was born and bred.
“Since my election, I have worked hard to bring our communities together to tackle the big challenges that we face.
“I opened the first constituency office in Birkenhead in forty years. Together with my team, we have found safe homes for constituents in need, secured financial support for people struggling to pay their bills, and helped to save two local primary schools. This has gone hand in hand with the work I have done with others to champion the ambitious regeneration of the town.
“I promised to be Birkenhead’s voice in Westminster and not the other way around. And that is a promise I have kept. My priorities in Parliament have been my constituents’ priorities – from fighting for additional support for workers and businesses during Covid, my years’ long campaign to secure defence contracts for Cammell Laird to save and create jobs.
“I am proud to stand by my record as Birkenhead’s Member of Parliament and of the progress we have made over the last few years. But I also know that I could not have done any of it without the support of the Labour Party members and the people of this town. The future of Birkenhead is bright but there is still so much more to do. I am up for doing it.”
Image: Current Birkenhead MP, Mick Whitley, and current Wirral South MP, Alison McGovern
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