Burnley MP Julie Cooper announces she will seek re-election to Parliament

Burnley MP Julie Cooper boldly declared it is time for a Labour Government when she announced she will seek re-election in the coming General Election.
Julie Cooper MPJulie Cooper MP
Julie Cooper MP

The sitting Labour MP spoke to the Burnley Express after voting in favour of a snap General Election, which has been called for Thursday, December 12th.

Mrs Cooper, who has been returned to Parliament in the last two elections since 2015 by the Burnley public, said that a December election just two years into a Parliament was "not ideal but however inevitable" as Parliament grapples to break the Brexit impasse.

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She said: "Things cannot continue as they are. This election will be about Brexit in so far as it will be about who do people trust to resolve this issue once and for all and negotiate a deal to protect jobs, workers' rights and living standards.

"This election though is about far more than Brexit because once Brexit is sorted people will be able to choose a future path for our country The people of Burnley and Padiham will get a clear choice about the kind of country they want to live in.

"We have had 10 years of austerity and tax cuts for the richest whilst our vital public services have been pushed to crisis levels. For 10 years Boris Johnson has served in a Conservative Government that has decimated our NHS and social care services.

"He has personally voted to cut funding for every school and nursery school in Burnley and Padiham. It's time to right these wrongs, to invest in public services, local government, our police and fire services and the environment.

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"A Labour Government will resolve the Brexit impasse but even more importantly will invest in a decent life and future for all, not just for the richest few.

"It is time for a Labour Government and I will spend the next coming weeks working to achieve that."

Other confirmed candidates standing in Burnley and Padiham are former Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle, for the Liberal Democrats, the Brexit Party's Stewart Scott, and the Burnley and Padiham Independent Party's Charlie Briggs, who is the current leader of Burnley Council.

The Conservative Party and Green Party have yet to confirm their candidates, though the Burnley Express understands that local Tory party leader Andrew Newhouse and the Green's Laura Fisk have expressed an interest.