Watson in town as Holly fights to be re-elected

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson visited Halifax last weekend as the general election campaign fired up.

The party is desperate to hang onto a string of seats in West Yorkshire where it had a narrow margin of victory over the Conservatives in 2015.

Labour retained the seat with a majority of just 428 when MP Holly Lynch was elected to represent the town.

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Mr Watson said Ms Lynch had already made a “significant impact” after just two years in the Commons and highlighted the campaigns she has spearheaded in that time.

Chaudhry Umar sent us this shot of him with Holly Lynch and Tom Watson as the general election campaign for underway in Halifax.Chaudhry Umar sent us this shot of him with Holly Lynch and Tom Watson as the general election campaign for underway in Halifax.
Chaudhry Umar sent us this shot of him with Holly Lynch and Tom Watson as the general election campaign for underway in Halifax.

He said: “Holly, I would say she is now known as a national expert on policing and has been campaigning very strongly on security issues and police cuts in particular and I am sure that will form part of her incumbency campaign.

“On June 8, people in Halifax have a choice to make – if you want a strong, determined campaigner who will fight for the issues that matter here in Halifax, you need to re-elect Holly.”

While in the town, Mr Watson visited Eureka and backed Ms Lynch’s campaign to secure free entry to the National Children’s Museum. Ms Lynch is calling on the Government to review its rules on museum funding, which see pioneering Eureka miss out.

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Last December, she and chief executive Leigh-Anne Stradeski held talks with Conservative Minister Matt Hancock over the issue.

Chaudhry Umar sent us this shot of him with Holly Lynch and Tom Watson as the general election campaign for underway in Halifax.Chaudhry Umar sent us this shot of him with Holly Lynch and Tom Watson as the general election campaign for underway in Halifax.
Chaudhry Umar sent us this shot of him with Holly Lynch and Tom Watson as the general election campaign for underway in Halifax.

Ms Lynch said: “It cannot be right that almost all the top museums in London are free yet families in Halifax have to pay to access their local cultural spaces.

“Of all the National Museums, the ‘children’s museum’ should surely be as accessible as possible so it’s great to get this support from Tom Watson for my campaign.”

Mr Watson added: “Eureka is a world class museum. It’s somewhere I’ve brought my own children and it was fantastic today to see the huge range of exhibits and activities for children of all ages.

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“I pay tribute to Holly Lynch’s campaign for proper government funding for this museum – it is a national museum, with children coming from across the country to experience it, and it should be treated as such.”

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