Fury at Labour ‘scare tactics’ in by-election battle

THERESA May yesterday accused Labour of NHS “scaremongering” as she hit the by-election trail in Copeland, Cumbria, which has been held by Labour since the 1930s.

Victory for Trudy Harrison next week would be the first time since 1982 that a governing party has gained a Westminster seat in a by-election – and a huge blow to Labour.

Misleading

Ms Harrison aims to overturn the 2,564 majority won at the 2015 general election by Jamie Reed who triggered the by-election by quitting.

Labour and its former hospital doctor candidate Gillian Troughton have put the local NHS at the heart of their campaign.

A Government-appointed review has recommended moving maternity services at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven 40 miles away to Carlisle and downgrading intensive care and stroke treatment.

Tory candidate Ms Harrison, who had her four daughters in Whitehaven, also opposes the plans.

The Prime Minister said the Government was considering Ms Harrison’s idea of a review into the recruitment and retention of doctors in the area.

But she added: “There has been a lot of scaremongering about hospital services in the NHS here by the Labour Party.

“There is no truth in the suggestion that A&E at West Cumberland Hospital is about to close.

“They have been misleading in their representation of what I have said about maternity services.”

She was later accused of dismissing the NHS “crisis” after refusing four times in a TV interview to say if she herself opposed the cuts.

The future of the area’s nuclear industry is also a big campaign factor and Mrs May insisted the Tories were committed to nuclear power while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was not.