Hartlepool UKIP Councillor Stephen Alison today called for Hartlepool MP Iain Wright to show leadership to the people of Hartlepool and resign the Labour Party whip over the announced hospital closure.  Councillor Alison said “If Iain Wright has any shred of honour or integrity he will resign from the Labour Party in protest over the announcement by HIS government that Hartlepool Hospital is to close”.  

UKIP Councillor Stephen Allison continued, “Iain Wright is reportedly bitterly disappointed over the decision, however the statement he released had very little on what he could now do to continue the fight and seemed too concentrated on assuring his Labour Party masters that he would remain loyal to them”.  “The Labour Party has had the supreme arrogance to ignore everyone in Hartlepool for years” said UKIP Councillor Stephen Allison, “no-one with any self respect stays in an abusive relationship and this is exactly the type of relationship that now exists between Labour and the Hartlepool voters. The people give the Labour party their votes, their devotion and obedience and the Labour Party repaid them with contempt and distain”.

As The UK Independence Party Candidate during the 2004 Hartlepool by-election I shared many platforms with Ian Wright during the campaign. It was immediately obvious that the whole campaign had only two themes. Firstly the people of the town wanted a local person to be their MP and secondly they wanted assurances that the town would not lose its hospital.

The Labour Party rolled out every big gun they could find to assure the people that their hospital was safe. Tony Blair, John Reed and numerous other Labour big wigs all gave their word. Iain Wright repeatedly stated the hospital was safe and even stood in front of a packed public meeting to deny planning permission had been sought for housing on the Hartlepool Site. This despite apparently being on the planning committee at the time the application was submitted.

The scale of deceit that is now evident in the by-election begs the question "Did Iain Wright know that the Labour pledges were worthless and so was he part of the lies or was he himself tricked by the Labour Party Machine?"  If Iain Wright knew that the hospital was due to closed then he apparently willingly participated in a cynical campaign of lies and spin to win a seat in the House of Commons at any cost and placed his political career ahead of honesty and integrity. However, if he was himself tricked then how can he remain in the Labour Party?

Iain Wright’s claim that he can most effectively fight for Hartlepool Hospital from within the Labour Party has been shown to be false. He has already announced he will remain a Labour MP, clearly showing he places his political career above the interests of the people he represents. It is time from him to prove he places the people of Hartlepool above party politics. If Iain Wright is to show any leadership in the fight to save the hospital he must resign from the Labour party and sit in the House of Commons as an independent Save our Hospital MP.

Stephen Allison

UK Independence Party Councillor

St.Hilda Ward

Hartlepool

07900 803052