Christian Wakeford: Bury residents react to Tory MP's defection to Labour

Christian Wakeford was elected as the Tory MP for Bury South at the 2019 general election but has now defected to the Labour Party. He was cheered by Labour MPs as he crossed the floor of the Commons chamber to join his new colleagues. But what do the people of Bury make of his decision?

At Rosylee coffee house opposite the MP's office in Radcliffe, where the shutters are up, there was a feisty conversation about his defection.

Debbie Clark, 52, who lives in the Radcliffe area of Bury, voted Conservative for the first time at the last election.

"I voted for the party. He should resign and we should have a by-election."

Her husband Fred, also 52, agrees.

"He should not have the right to go to Labour," he says.

Maxine Ballington, 51, also voted Conservative because the previous MP stood as an independent.

She says she is shocked by Mr Wakeford's defection but agrees with his calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign.

"I've lost two people to Covid. People were fined for having house parties. How can he go to a party at Downing Street?"

Nick Hubble, from Prestwich, says he has "respect" for the MP's decision after reading his letter resigning from the Conservative party.

"I thought fair play to him, he had obviously been plagued by his conscience," he adds.

"I understand people have voted for a Tory MP and they now have a Labour MP but it is more complex than that."

Mr Hubble, 49, believes some people "vote for personalities" rather than political parties so his defection "may not be [so] drastic".

The translator says Mr Wakeford has been a "good constituency MP" and "puts his back into it... which should stand him in good stead".

Mr Hubble is part of Walk Ride Prestwich and Whitefield, which is campaigning for better cycling lanes, and hopes the defection will not have an impact on its work.

"He was due to go on a ride with us this week. We hope he can still commit to support [our campaign]," he says.

David Collins runs Marie's Coffee Shop close to Mr Wakeford's constituency office, which is painted Tory-blue.

"I probably wouldn't vote for either of them anyway, Labour or Conservative. They're all as bad as each other," he says.

"They all promise they're going to do things and none of it ever materialises.

"You wouldn't think you were able to jump ship halfway through, would you?"

Meanwhile, Bury North's Conservative MP James Daly said in a statement on his defecting neighbour he was "extremely disappointed having only heard in the press a minute before he walked across the Commons".

"I'm astounded he's abandoned the party that's brought millions to Bury," he added.

"Bury Labour Party has done nothing for local people and I will ensure the town still has a Conservative representative."

He said the new Labour MP "should resign so a by-election can take place".

Labour-controlled Bury Council said it welcomed Mr Wakeford into "the family".

"This defection is a damning indictment of a Tory government and a hapless prime minister that are out of touch with the people of places like Bury," councillor Eamonn O'Brien, leader of Bury Council and Bury's Labour Group, said in a statement.

The Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham also thanked the MP for "having the courage to call out a government failing to deliver on its promises to level up the north of England".

"People in Bury South deserve better and together we will make sure their voice is heard," he said.

"It is also a clear warning to the government that they walk away from their promises to the north at their own peril."

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