A Southport councillor who last week broke away from the Labour Party says he’s setting his sights on becoming the town’s MP.
Cllr Sean Halsall, who announced he was stepping away from the Labour Party after much contemplation, has now launched a fundraising campaign to help him stand as an Independent in the next general election.
In a statement he wrote “Until recently I was a member of the Labour Party. Over the last couple of years I’ve struggled with the slow removal of transformative policies within the party. We can and should expect better. After leaving I have had a huge outpouring of support with many local people people encouraging me to stand as an Independent Parliamentary candidate.
I was born in Southport and have lived here my whole life. I know and understand the problems the town faces and also know the solutions won’t be found with the conservatives or this version of the Labour Party.
I plan on giving residents a voice that will unapologetically represent them, not tied into doing what the leadership of any party instructs me to do. I found politics through the trade union movement. Here I learnt how to communicate effectively and a keen understanding that its the people who elect you that matter. Not those in structures above. But at the grassroots.
I spent 16 years driving buses in our town. I’ve seen the decline of so much of it from growing up here. We can do better. Let me be a transparent, visible and accessible MP working for you.”