DON’T LET US DOWN
The Labour Party must do ‘some soul-searching’ says Stephen Morgan MP, who increased his majority in Portsmouth South. reports
The people have spoken. And they have spoken very clearly.
On Thursday night the Conservatives recorded their biggest election win since the days of Margaret Thatcher. Labour saw their worst performance since 1935. It was a night which saw staunch Labour seats turning blue for the first time in generations and the majorities in our local Tory-held seats rising.
Although the mantra was monotonous, this was a clear vote to end years of dither and division and finally get Brexit done. So today we call on our six Tory MPs who are back in Government to deliver. And not just on Brexit. Getting a good deal done is crucial for the future of our nation and our economy and there is still a long road ahead. But it’s more than that. It’s also about bringing the focus of parliament back on to a long-neglected domestic agenda. We have heard much on the campaign trail about more money for our overstretched health service and police force. We have been promised a fix to the crisis in adult social care, a cut in emissions by 2050 to virtually zero and an extra 250,000 childcare places. Even £2bn to fill in the potholes. It’s time to turn the soundbites in to substance.
With such a resounding majority it is also vital that the opposition parties do what they can do to ensure that a powerful Prime Minister and his Government is kept in check. And so we look to Stephen Morgan, who bucked the trend of his party’s disastrous night to not only hold on to Portsmouth
South but to increase his majority, to play his part in this process.
And across the political spectrum we have a simple message to all of our MPs. It’s time to call a halt to the vitriol, lies, half-truths, fake news and general deceit we have had to endure during this political crisis and bring us back a democracy we deserve. So today we offer our congratulations to Suella Braverman, Caroline Dinenage, Flick Drummond, Damian Hinds, Alan Mak, Stephen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt. Many of our readers in Fareham, Gosport, Meon Valley, East Hampshire, Havant and Portsmouth South and North have put their trust in you.
Do not let them down.
Are-elected Labour MP who has bucked the national trend by more than tripling his previous majority has said his party will need to do ‘some soul searching’ going forward.
Reinstated Stephen Morgan described his overwhelming victory as a ‘little boy’s dream come true’ as he won the hotly-contested Portsmouth South seat with 23,068 votes.
This gave him a majority of 5,363 against runner-up Tory Donna Jones who failed to take Mr Morgan’s place with 17,705.
But with the Tories claiming a strong majority in parliament and Jeremy Corbyn announcing he will not lead his party in the next general election, the MP said they should look at where Labour went wrong.
Speaking at the Portsmouth Guildhall, where the election count took place after Thursday’s poll, he said: ‘I think we need to look long and hard at what the results tell us and do some soul searching about the future of the party.
‘Whenever a party loses an election we need to look long and hard about what we offer the electorate.’
Mr Morgan explained how campaigning will shape his future work.
He said: ‘What came up on the doorstep was a lack of action on the climate emergency, making sure we invest in city schools, the NHS, making sure our armed forces are protected and our naval bases.’
Despite other candidates ruling that a second vote and the chance to stop Brexit was now ‘dead’ Mr Morgan stood by his resolve to fight for a people’s vote.
‘The only way we can move on and bring our country together is by taking that Brexit deal back to the people and that’s the message I’ll be taking back to parliament next week,’ he said.
‘We should be able to bring forward an amendment to the legislation to get a confirmatory vote.’
But Brexit Party candidate John Kennedy, who won 994 votes, was clear a Tory majority worked in favour of his party’s key policy.
He said: ‘It’s an isolated victory for Labour. I think when they get home and switch on the television they will be a bit less cheerful than they are now because what we have nationally is another roar for Brexit.
‘This is the third time now: referendum, European election and general election. The message overall is clear – the people want Brexit done.’
Tory councillor Donna Jones agreed. ‘This morning we went into the election looking like we were going to get a hung parliament,’ she said.
‘We’ve come out of it with the strongest majority we’ve had since Thatcher. That shows people’s confidence in the prime minister and in getting Brexit done.’
However, the loss came as a bitter blow for Lib Dem Gerald Vernon-Jackson, who has stood for the seat twice before. With 5,418 votes it was not enough to match his competitors.
Portsmouth City Council leader Cllr Vernon-Jackson said: ‘In Portsmouth there has been no change.
‘It’s clear a second referendum will never happen now – this general election has produced that result.’