Don’t believe the hype, Labour are the real opposition in Wealden in the coming General Election.

The 2019 General Election campaign is still fresh and already dodgy claims are rife.

So if during this campaign you hear any political party other than Labour claiming to be ‘the main opposition to the Conservatives in Wealden’, consider a few important contemporary facts.

During the most recent 2017 General Election, with the help of Labour’s exceptional parliamentary candidate, Angie Smith, Labour’s vote share increased dramatically by 11.4% and the party doubled the number of votes compared to 2015. This gave us 22.2% of the overall vote, making us by far the second biggest party in Wealden, with nearly a 12% advantage over the next biggest, the Liberal Democrats.

But Labour know we can beat that performance in 2019 for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Labour are growing. We are arguably now the largest political party in Western Europe, with around 500,000 members. To put that figure in context, at the end of 2014 Labour had a respectable – but far lower – total of 193,743.

This surge is reflected locally, with revitalised and re-energised Labour branches across Wealden, ranging from Uckfield, Hailsham, Forest Row and Crowborough. We’ve also had real election successes, winning several local council seats and competing strongly for others we haven’t had a sniff of for years.

All these combined means we have a strong foundation to build on in this exciting 2019 election. Rest assured: Labour activists and our growing number of volunteers, will be out in force during the election.

Secondly, Labour are the only party making the bold proposals necessary to fix the Tories’ unfair and exploitative economy; reverse austerity and public service decay; and fighting to avert environmental catastrophe with the most ambitious decarbonisation target of any UK political party.

The diverse voters of Wealden deserve better than a stale politics in which Wealden is forever taken for granted as a ‘safe’ Tory seat. It’s about time Wealden’s complacent Conservative politicians were seriously challenged, and despite what other parties try to claim, Labour are the real opposition party ready for this fight.

Vote Labour.