Last Friday was the one-year anniversary of the 8th June 2017 snap General Election, in which I was re-elected for a third term to represent Pendle.
I spent the day as usual, busy out and about across our area, visiting schools, a local charity and meeting various people. However, it is a milestone worth reflecting on.
Across the UK the Conservative Party secured our highest share of the vote since 1983 and won seats we’ve never held before like Mansfield, Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland and Stoke-on-Trent South. Generally speaking, the more heavily a place voted for Leave in the Referendum, the bigger the swing to the Conservatives. This saw big swings to the Conservatives in the North and Midlands and explained the victories in old Labour fortresses like Mansfield and Stoke.
At the same time, the Conservatives lost wealthier middle-class areas like Canterbury, Warwick and Kensington to Labour and found ourselves with no overall majority in the House of Commons. When the dust had settled it was clear that Labour had lost a huge number of working-class voters to the Conservatives, and the Conservatives had lost lots of professionals to Labour.
The result of this are still being felt, with a series of tight votes this week in the House of Commons on Lords Amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill, which we need if we are to leave smoothly. After 12 hours of debate over two days there were 21 votes, all narrowly won by the Government. The Bill now goes back to the Lords with more battles over Brexit ahead.
In the EU referendum 63% of Pendle residents voted leave and the clear majority of those who voted remain that I speak to say that we should respect the result and “get on with it”. This is what we are doing, alongside other important domestic legislation.
Being a Member of Parliament and representing the area where you live is the greatest honour anyone can receive. I was humbled to have been re-elected last year and continue to work hard to build an even better Pendle, for more investment, to support our villages and town centres, protect our NHS and ensure residents views on Brexit are heard as we leave the European Union.