District’s old MP aims for a political return
THE potential return to politics of controversial former MP Edwina Currie has shone a spotlight on a Derbyshire town.
She is one of two ex-mps battling for a county council election seat in rural Derbyshire.
Whaley Bridge in the High Peak has been at the centre of the spotlight in the past couple of years due to the 2019 threat of a collapsing dam which would have devastated the town and surrounding area.
Now the town is once again under the spotlight for different reasons, with national media keeping a keen eye on the fight between two former Derbyshire MPS for the town’s county council division.
The contest sees former High Peak MP, Labour’s Ruth George - the county seat’s incumbent - go up against Conservative Edwina Currie.
The order in which candidates have been referred to in this article is the order in which they are listed on ballot papers - alphabetically by surname.
Mrs Currie, 74, was South Derbyshire’s MP for 14 years but has not been involved in frontline politics since 1997. She hit headlines in 1988, while junior health minister after claiming “most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella”.
She said: “Priority: let’s get businesses back on their feet after Covid and encourage anyone not vaccinated yet to get one. Then we can all be safe. As a former teacher I’ll seek the best opportunities for young people, including apprenticeships we’re short of key skills in the UK.
“With 10,000 people aged 75+ in the High Peak, and as a carer for my late husband, I want them to get the care they need. The Government is preparing new legislation. I can help with that.
“And I’m green, with an electric car, solar panels, I am genuinely keen on this. “I’ll work with anyone, whatever their background, to get things done. That helps us all.”
Ruth George was elected to the Whaley Bridge county council division in 2020 in a landslide surprise by-election victory.
She lost her seat as High Peak MP in the 2019 General Election by a narrow margin. She hit national headlines in 2019 after suggesting Israel funded the then newly-formed Independent Group. Mrs George said: “People elected me last year to stand up to the Conservative council’s policies of closing care homes, cutting our voluntary sector and failing to act on road safety.
“I’ve campaigned to protect our care homes and reverse cuts to voluntary services – for now.
“On road safety, I’ve set up Community Speedwatch and supported 20mph zones where needed, bus services, cycling and walking – getting cycle stands in Whaley and Chinley, funding for cycle routes and repairing paths myself.
“I’m standing on my record of helping people and getting things done for my community. I hope residents will judge their candidates on that basis.”
In the by-election for the seat, the Green Party, through candidate Lucas Jones, agreed not to contest the fight for Whaley Bridge and to consider further talks about the 2021 election, which has not seen the Green Party step aside.
Mr Jones, a chartered financial planner, said: “Derbyshire has many challenges that urgently need addressing, including transport, farming and housing as well as local industries like quarrying and cement.
“Radical changes are immediately required to try and limit the longterm impacts of climate change upon both the environment and the economy.
“If elected, a key focus will be improving sustainable transport options. Bus services are infrequent, unreliable and expensive, whilst the train service is far too costly. Adopting Transport for Greater Manchester pricing for the whole train line should help eliminate many unnecessary short car journeys.
“I am a keen supporter of local efforts on rewilding. There is an urgent need to improve biodiversity to prevent species loss on a massive scale.”
David Lomax, Liberal Democrat candidate, is also a long-standing High Peak borough councillor for the town. He said: “As a former geography teacher, I have always championed the environment and raised the challenge of climate change.
“We are seeing Government and councils taking this more seriously, but we need to act faster.
“This election is all about our future. We must tackle the climate emergency and build back after Covid-19 with a greener, fairer, and more caring society.
“Let us cut the waste within Derbyshire County Council and make sure every penny is spent wisely.”