Helen Morgan has been selected as the Lib Dem candidate in the North Shropshire by-election, which was called after the resignation of Conservative Owen Paterson amid allegations of sleaze.
The campaign in North Shropshire has been underway for a week-and-a-half. Last Saturday Sarah Cooper, who was elected as MP for Chesham and Amersham in June, opened our campaign HQ near Wem in North Shropshire.
Helen said this morning her top campaigning priority will be to demand a better deal for the constituency’s local health services, which have been taken for granted by the Conservatives for years. It comes with the closure of both of North Shropshire’s ambulance stations, GP services in crisis and A&E wait times on the rise. Helen is also passionate about getting a fair deal for Shropshire’s farmers who are at risk as the Conservatives continue to let them down with disappointing trade deals.
You can donate to the campaign here.
Helen Morgan said:
“Residents have a chance to send a strong message to the Conservatives who’ve taken people around here for granted for decades. If elected, I’d fight for investment into our local health services, back our local farmers and end the years of Conservatives taking our area for granted.
I’d be an MP that listens to concerns and works hard for our area all year round.
I am the local candidate who will stand up and champion our health services at this election. Shropshire’s health services have been crippled by the Conservatives, our ambulance stations are closing, our GP services are under immense pressure and A&E wait times are spiralling.
And it’s not just our health service that’s been let down, our farmers are not getting a fair deal from this Conservative Government. Residents in our area deserve better.”
Daisey Cooper MP, Helen Morgan, Sir Ed Davey MP
Ed Davey, leader of the Lib Dems added:
Helen is a fantastic campaigner with a track record of standing up for local communities across North Shropshire. She would be an outstanding local MP and she’s the only candidate who can beat the Conservatives.
For too long the Conservatives have taken North Shropshire for granted, often ignoring the views of local people. It is a simple choice at this election. Residents can elect Helen, a hardworking local Liberal Democrat and an outstanding campaigner, or an unknown Conservative lawyer from Birmingham who’ll continue the neglect local health services have seen.
Helen Morgan
Born and raised in the rural Midlands, Helen and her family moved to North Shropshire in 2014 to raise her son closer to family.
Helen read History at Cambridge University and is a Chartered Accountant. Earlier, she said that she wants to be an MP because she wants to defend the values of tolerance, respect and integrity that are under threat: “I have watched with dismay as our government and opposition have moved further to the extremes of politics.”
During her career in finance, Helen has worked for both large publicly-traded corporations and local, family-run businesses. Having worked in the energy industry, Helen is acutely aware of the threat of climate change believes that the government must take a proactive stance to diminish the damage of human activity on our planet.
Declared candidates for North Shropshire by-election
These are the candidates announced so far:
- Lib Dems. Helen Morgan, a charted accountant, wants to defend the values of tolerance, respect and integrity from growing threats.
- Conservatives. Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst from Birmingham, a barrister and former army officer.
- Green Party. Shropshire Councillor and Oswestry Town Councillor Duncan Kerr.
- Labour. “Oswestry born and bred” Ben Wood. Local wannabe candidate Graeme Currie furiously accused Labour of operating a “kangaroo court” after he was blocked from standing.
- Reform Party. Kirsty Walmsley, the daughter of ex-council leader Keith Barrow, told the Shropshire Star she would not have challenged Owen Paterson who was a “man of integrity”.
- The Party Party. Russell Dean, an ex-pat yacht broker, is standing for a party based in Monte Carlo.