Labour picks Uppal for MP Sheerman seat
EX-COUNCILLOR TO CONTEST IN HUDDERSFIELD
FORMER councillor Harpreet Uppal has been selected to fight the Huddersfield seat for Labour at the next general election, writes Tony Earnshaw.
She will replace veteran MP Barry Sheerman, who is standing down. Uppal, 39, who came top out of four shortlisted candidates, said she was “proud and humbled” to have got the vote, and that it would be “the honour of my life” to represent her home town.
She said, “I look forward to spending the next few weeks and months speaking to local residents and visiting local organisations to understand their priorities for our town.
“We don’t know when the next general election will be, but I will be doing everything I can to campaign for a better deal for our area and a Labour government. It would be the honour of my life to represent the people of Huddersfield and become the first woman MP for our town. I won’t be taking anything for granted and I will always work hard to build trust with constituents.”
Uppal was the first Sikh female councillor in the history of the borough when she was elected in 2018 to represent Ashbrow ward on Kirklees Council and currently works for Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams.
Sheerman, who announced last December that he was to stand down, described Uppal as an “authentic” and “very formidable” candidate who represents “the new generation that we need in Parliament.”
He added: “We’ve got a general election coming up, which could be two-and-a-half years from now. Harpreet has plenty of time to bed herself down while I carry on, as my wife says, making mischief in Parliament. I will be working with her and giving her my support.”
Uppal received a significant boost to her campaign when she was endorsed by the mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who she assisted on his mayoral campaigns, including helping to write his manifesto and develop key policies such as bringing buses into public control and the aim to end rough sleeping.
Burnham, also a former health secretary and shadow home secretary, said Uppal would make “a firstclass MP” and “a brilliant representative” for the people of Huddersfield.