Liz McInnes is to stand for Labour in Heywood and Middleton

Liz McInnes

Liz McInnes, Labour MP Heywood and Middleton, has had a change of heart since tweeting she was going going to stand down and will now defend her seat.

http://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/109569/

Ms McInnes said: "I have been incredibly proud to serve the people of Heywood and Middleton since first being elected in October 2014 and I will be fighting as the Labour candidate in the general election on 8 June.

"Theresa May has claimed that we need a general election because Parliament is trying to block Brexit – this is simply not true. A majority of MPs, myself included, and the House of Lords backed the triggering of Article 50, paving the way for Brexit. Theresa May has also claimed many times since becoming Prime Minister that there would be no general election before 2020 – we now know that this wasn’t true either. Why should people in Heywood and Middleton believe a word she says?

"The Tory government has let down our communities. Our health and social care services are at breaking point, our police and firefighters have had their budgets slashed, and if the Tories’ plans for education go through then our local schools face a £6.5 million cut and the loss of around 140 teachers.

"Now, at a time of national importance when we are beginning complex negotiations with the EU, the Tories have decided to hold a disruptive general election in the interests of nobody but themselves and their own political party.

"8 June is our chance to tell the Tories that enough is enough.

"We need a Labour government to stand up for the many, not the few, and that’s the message I’ll be taking to voters in Heywood and Middleton in the coming weeks as their Labour candidate."