McInnes in ‘voter fatigue’ warning
HEYWOOD and Middleton MP Liz McInnes was one of just 13 MPs to votes against June’s snap General Election.
Ms McInnes, whose constituency includes Norden, Bamford and Castleton, said he voted against the motion because she didn’t think an election was good for the country at a time of political uncertainty.
In an interview with Buzzfeed News she said: “I do feel there’s a real issue with voter fatigue.
“We had the 2014 byelection in my constituency, and then we had the 2015 general election, and then we had the 2016 ref- erendum, and now we’ve got the 2017 General Election in the same year as the Manchester mayoral election.
“I think there’s the potential for the turnout to be very, very low, and while that doesn’t make the election invalid, it makes it less representative. I haven’t met anyone who welcomes it, people just go ‘oh no, not again’.”
But McInnes insisted she will stand again, dismissing social media rumours to the contrary adding: “I think it’s healthy to have an opposition for the government to be held to account. To hold an election to increase your majority so that you can bulldoze more things through – I don’t think it’s good for democracy. [May] already has enough of a majority to pass Brexit legislation.”
She was speaking as Theresa May launched the Conservative general election campaign in Bolton just hours after 522 MPs backed her proposal to hold a snap poll three years early on June 8.
Addresssing the party faithful in a church hall in Egerton Mrs May said only the Tories could deliver the ‘strong and stable’ leadership required to steer Britain through the coming years of Brexit negotiations.
Her government had already delivered ‘record levels of growth that’s exceeded all expectations’ since the EU referendum last year, she said, providing a ‘clear vision’ for the future.
“That’s what leadership looks like,” she added.
“This is a clear choice between strong and stable leadership under the Conservatives, or a weak, unstable coalition of chaos under Jeremy Corbyn.”
She said she was ‘looking forward’ to the fight, in which she will be seeking a landslide majority to underpin a tricky few years of negotiations with Brussels.
Addressing voters, she added: “Only you can give us the mandate, so vote for a strong and stable leadership in this country. Vote for strong and stable leadership this country needs.
“Give me the mandate to lead Britain. Give me the mandate to speak for Britain. Give me the mandate to fight for Britain. And give me the mandate to deliver for Britain.”
“People just go ‘oh no, not again’”