Candidates line up for election battle
THE candidates vying to become your MP at next month’s general election have been revealed.
Political parties are now moving into full campaign mode after the calling of the first winter election for nearly 100 years.
It has been dubbed ‘The Brexit Election’ by some, as it was called in an attempt to break the parliamentary deadlock over the country’s withdrawal from the EU.
But issues such as the NHS, housing and the environment are all set to figure in voters’ thinking as they head to the ballot box on December 12.
●STOCKPORT
Stockport is to get a new MP for the first time in nearly three decades following Ann Coffey’s decision not to stand for reelection.
Having defected to Change UK earlier this year after 27 years as a Labour MP, her former party will be represented at this campaign by Navendu Mishra.
Ms Coffey enjoyed a majority of more than 14,000 last time, although before she won her seat following boundary changes in 1992, it had been held by the Conservatives.
It remains to be seen whether Mr Mishra - who has the backing of Labour’s pro-Corbyn faction Momentum - will prove as popular with the town’s voters. However Daniel Hamilton came in second place for the Tories in 2017 with 28pc of the vote, compared to Labour’s 63pc, suggesting a substantial gear change would be needed for the constituency to switch hands in December.
Candidates: Isy Imarni - Conservative, Wendy Meikle - Liberal Democrat, Helena Mellish - Green Party, Navendu Mishra Labour, Lee Montague-Trenchard - Brexit Party
●HAZEL GROVE
This swing seat, currently held by the Tories, is again set to be a key election battleground.
The Lib Dems will be desperate to win it back, having lost out to the Conservatives’ William Wragg in 2015 amid the fall-out from the coalition.
They will be hoping to capitalise both on Stockport’s
remain vote in the 2016 referendum - no doubt pointing up the incumbent Tory’s Brexit supporting position - and their five gains in this year’s local elections.
Local issues could be a factor too, however, such as the controversial A6-M60 bypass, as well as ongoing concerns about green belt plans in the Greater Manchester spatial framework.
The Tories will be wanting to steer the conversation away from Brexit and look to focus on domestic issues, including recent government funding pledges for Stepping Hill hospital and local high streets.
Candidates: Lisa Smart - Liberal Democrats, Tony Wilson - Labour, William Wragg - Conservative
●CHEADLE
Like neighbouring Hazel Grove, Cheadle will be a battleground for the Tories and Liberal Democrats.
Since 1997 the seat has swung back and forth between the two parties and this time Conservative incumbent Mary Robinson will be battling to stop it switching once again, particularly given the area’s remain leaning in the 2016 referendum.
Having ended Lib Dem Mark Hunter’s 10-year stint as MP in 2015, she will this time find herself up against Tom Morrison, who held the Cheadle Hulme North ward at May’s local elections.
Labour, which has never won in Cheadle, will be represented by Zahid Chauhan, currently Oldham council’s cabinet member for health and social care.
Candidates: Zahid Chauhan - Labour, Tom Morrison - Liberal Democrats, Mary Robinson Conservative
●DENTON AND REDDISH
The Denton and Reddish seat, which straddles the boroughs of Tameside and Stockport, has been held by former Tameside councillor Andrew Gwynne for Labour since 2005.
He returned a chunky majority of 14,000 in the 2017 election against five other candidates, including the Monster Raving Loonies.
A frontbench member of the opposition in government, he currently serves as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, as well as helping to head up the party’s election strategy.
While the Tories have been Labour’s closest rivals in the last nine elections, UKIP polled reasonably well in 2015 and both Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson will be going after leave votes in the seat this time around.
But they will need a strong surge of support for their Brexit position to trouble Labour’s hold.
Candidates: Iain Bott Conservative, Dave Farmin Lord F’Tang - Official Monster Raving Loony Party, Andrew Gwynne Labour, Dominic Hardwick - Liberal Democrats, Gary Lawson - Green Party, Martin Power Brexit Party
●ANN Coffey backs Lib Dem candidate