Election rivals put their case to get your vote
AS voters prepare to go to the polls for what has been dubbed the ‘Brexit election’, Cheadle’s candidates have been making their pitch to the electorate.
Like neighbouring Hazel Grove, the constituency is expected to be a battleground for the Tories and Liberal Democrats, but Labour will hope that their message on the NHS will cut through.
Since 1997 it has swung back and forth between the two parties and this time Conservative incumbent Mary Robinson faces a battle 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 Dr Zahid Chauhan, currently Oldham council’s cabinet member for health and social care.
Below, the candidates make their case for why voters should back them at the ballot box come December 12.
MARY ROBINSON has been the constituency MP since 2015.
“In 2017 I took my positive campaign to people across Cheadle and was given the privilege of representing you in Parliament, to get a Brexit deal done and move on to the issues that matter to people here: Our schools, NHS and local policing.?
“Over the past two years we’ve made progress in these areas.
“We have a deal ready to be passed, our children will be getting more funding at school, Stepping Hill is getting at £30 million upgrade and Greater Manchester is getting over 600 new police officers to respond to crime.
“But there’s more to do, and in this election I’ll be taking that same positive message to people across Cheadle.
“Parliament has reached deadlock and we need MPs who can take the country and areas like ours forward into a new decade?
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and helping so many people in my four years as MP for Cheadle.
“I look forward to meeting many more of you over the next few weeks, and hopefully beyond, as I ask for the honour of being elected as your MP once again.”
TOM MORRISON is a 37-year-old consultant from Cheadle village, and Lib Dem councillor for Cheadle Hulme North.
“As a local resident, councillor and school governor, I want the best for my local area.
“I have seen first-hand how the Conservative government have let Cheadle constituency down.
“They have slashed school funding, left Stepping Hill hospital underfunded and made our area the eighth biggest burglary hotspot in the country thanks to cuts to our police force.
“Their extreme Brexit, backed by Nigel Farage, will damage our economy irreparably.
“In contrast, I have a track record of delivering for Cheadle.
“I led the campaign for more police funding locally and I also stood up for those residents and businesses affected by the recent flooding.
“Like Mark Hunter and Patsy Calton, I will be a strong voice for Cheadle constituency, not just another politician taking orders from Westminster.
“It’s a clear choice on December 12.
“Either the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats will win in Cheadle.”
DR ZAHID CHAUHAN is a GP and currently cabinet member for health and social care at Oldham council.
“As a local family doctor you can imagine that one of my main priorities is saving the NHS from austerity and pernicious privatisation.
“Put simply, the Tories are attempting to destroy our once proud health service and when they were in coalition, the Liberal-Democrats endorsed cuts to vital services like lap-dogs, introducing tuition fees and the bedroom tax.
“I want the best Brexit possible.
“Not a blundering Boris botch that costs jobs. Most of all, I want to heal communities and bind them together.
“As the creator of the
Homeless-Friendly charity, I would like to see greater compassion shown to the vulnerable and those people given the tools to get back on their feet.
“My strength is as an advocate and a representative and this will mean I am a confident constituency MP for Cheadle.
“But I also live and breathe the Labour mantra that our country should be for the many and not the few.
“Together we can build a better Britain but only under a Labour government.”