Hucknall area MPs gear up for General Election fight

Prime Minister Theresa May surprised the country on Tuesday, April 18, when she declared her intention to seek a new popular mandate, but MPs say they are looking forward to the debates to come.

Ms May said she was calling the election to endorse her Brexit strategy, and Sherwood’s Conservative MP Mark Spencer said: “The European question has been settled and it is now a question of how, not if, we should leave the European Union.

“To have the mandate and presence in Parliament we need to carry this forward, it is in the national interest to hold an election. I will fight my hardest to ensure that the people of Sherwood continue to have a strong voice.”

Graham Allen, Labour MP for Nottingham North, said: “I very much welcome this decision. Being born and bred in the constituency I always enjoy the banter with people on the doorstep.

“Being face to face with electors every day until June 8 is something I relish and I will be working hard to improve my majority and return three Labour MPs for Nottingham once again.”

Ashfield’s Labour MP Gloria De Piero has also confirmed her intention to stand for election, saying: “I will be standing on my record of helping and fighting for local people. Ashfield has always and will always come first.”

“But I think the country needs change too. Over the last 7 years we have seen NHS waiting times go up, schools struggling from budget cuts and wages standing still yet the Conservatives have found money to cut taxes for the richest people.”