Julian Critchley shares this latest news on behalf of the Isle of Wight Constituency Labour Party. Ed
Island Labour welcomed Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, to Ryde this week, to talk to Party members about campaigning tactics, policy development and life at Westminster.
Mr Morgan was elected in 2017, and is the first ever Labour MP for Portsmouth South. He explained that a combination of hard work, a positive campaign, and the popularity of Labour policies had provided an unprecedented increase in the Labour vote which had resulted in him removing the sitting Conservative MP.
Similarities between seats
Mr Morgan noted the similarities between Portsmouth South and the Isle of Wight. Both had been Liberal Democrat seats which had seen the LibDem support collapse as the focus of non-Tory votes, and in both ‘received wisdom’ asserted that the Labour Party could not challenge the Conservatives. Both constituencies had proved that received wisdom wrong.
Mr Morgan said:
“I congratulate Island Labour colleagues on doubling the Labour vote in 2017 and establishing the party as the only challengers to the Tories on the Isle of Wight. My victory in Portsmouth South, along with Labour victories in Kensington and Canterbury, showed that Labour can win anywhere, definitely including the Isle of Wight.
“Nationally, Labour sees the south coast as a key battleground. Coastal towns and cities have been hit hard by the Government’s cuts to key services, particularly health, education and adult social care.”
Rising fast up Labour’s target seat list
Island Labour Chair, Julian Critchley, said:
“It was great to welcome Stephen to the Island to meet some of our activists, share ideas on campaigning and even send a few messages to the Party in Parliament. We are developing close links of mutual benefit between Island Labour and other Labour Parties in the Solent area, and we look forward to even closer co-operation with Stephen and his team.
“The Island is fast rising up Labour’s target seat list. In the last six months we have also welcomed front-benchers Jonathan Ashworth MP and Dan Carden MP to the Island. When the next election arrives the Isle of Wight will be at the forefront of Labour’s push along the south coast.
“We believe people in places like Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight deserve better from the government, and have been ill-served by Conservative MPs who see such seats as ‘safe’, and so vote through cuts which harm their constituents. Our message is that the Labour Party will fight for all our communities, and won’t just take past support for granted.”
