MPs welcome May’s call for June election
BOTH MPs covering Halton backed the snap General Election proposed by the Prime Minster last week.
Theresa May made the announcement on Tuesday, April 18, and the following day, MPs gathered in the House Of Commons to vote on the plans.
A total of 522 MPs voted in favour, while only 13 opposed the plans.
Among those to give their backing to the election on Thursday, June 8, was Labour MP Derek Twigg whose Halton constituency includes Widnes, Hale Village and large parts of Runcorn.
Conservative MP for Weaver Vale Graham Evans – whose seat includes eastern areas of Runcorn, Daresbury and Frodsham – also voted in favour of the snap poll.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, April 19, Mrs May said the election is a chance to vote for a ‘ strong and stable leadership the country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond’.
She said: “It invites each one of us to do the right thing for Britain and to vote for an election that is in our country’s national interest.
“Today we face a new question: how best to secure the stability and certainty we need over the long term in order to get the right deal for Britain in the Brexit negotiations and make the most of the opportunities ahead.
“I have come to the conclusion that the answer to that question is to hold a General Election now in this window of opportunity before the negotiations begin.
“I believe it is in Britain’s national interest to hold an election now.
“A General Election is the best way to strengthen Britain’s hand in the negotiations ahead.”
Mrs May told the Commons that the choice before them was ‘clear’ and she had made a choice which ‘runs through the veins of my party more than any other’.
She added: “It is a choice to trust the people.
“So let us vote to do that today; let us lay out our plans for Brexit; let us put forth our plans for the future of this great country; let us put our fate in the hands of the people; and then let the people decide.” ● ● ●