Independent candidate Sean Halsall launched his election campaign last night at the Southport Youth Centre, telling supporters he would stay “rooted to the community” if elected.
Mr Halsall currently sits as an independent Sefton councillor for Kew ward, having resigned from the Labour Party in April over disagreements with a number of party stances, primarily the Gaza conflict.
Currently employed as a Trade Unionist lecturer, Mr Halsall was a local bus driver for 16 years. He tells supporters he has lived in Southport his whole life, and that his experience and record as a union representative gives him relevant experience to stand as Southport’s MP.
“I was born in Southport, Christiana Hartley, the maternity ward when it was a maternity ward still.I grew up on Hart Street, just round the corner, I lived there until I was 16 and I moved into Churchtown. I’ve always lived within this constituency, so I know the problems that the constituency faces. I drove busses in the town for 16 years, all across the town.
“In 2017 I led a dispute where we ended up winning after nine weeks of sustained strike action.This shows that I know how build strategy and win. There’s no reason we can’t transfer that into local communities away from the workplace.”
Mr Halsall told visiting supporters: “I think when we have local democracy and people actually sharing their ideas, we will end up coming up with the right solutions to problems. People know what’s best for their community. It’s no good having an MP that’s going to talk down to you and tell you what they want to do in Southport.”
“I think we’ve had enough austerity. I don’t believe any of the mainstream parties are going to change anything with regard to that. We see the Tories have absolutely ransacked the country’s economy over the last 14 years, and we see a Labor Party with fiscal rules that are going to hamstring them in making any legitimate changes.”
When asked by OTS News if his candidacy risked splitting the left-wing vote in the town, he replied: “If you can point to me where the left-wing vote is now, I would love to see it. The Greens potentially… but I am the better-established candidate in Southport. I’ve sat on the Council since 2019, and I’ve delivered for residents. You can see that in the election results between when I was first elected in 2019 to 2023 when I trebled my majority, which has since dropped for the next candidate. I think people appreciate the things I’ve done over the years. I’m the only candidate from Southport; I think it’s important that people have the option of someone who understands the town.”
Sean Halsall – Official website
Sean Halsall – Facebook
Sean Halsall – X