‘I understand daily struggles’, says Labour pick

ON MAY 1, the fledgling Labour government will face its first major electoral fight of their term in office as a by-election is held in the seat of Runcorn and Helsby.

- BY JACK LYONS

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Mike Amesbury in March after he received a two-year suspended sentence for assaulting a constituent last year.

Amesbury was filmed shouting “you'll not threaten your MP again, will you?” after punching a man called Paul Fellows to the ground in an argument outside a pub in Frodsham.

With Nigel Farage trying to land his first significant blow on Labour since the general election, and bookmakers giving 4/11 odds on a Reform victory in the constituency, how does Karen Shore, Labour pick to contest the election, feel about the difficult battle that lies ahead?

“I'm taking it in my stride,” she says, speaking in the sun-drenched garden of The Bake House coffee shop in Runcorn. “It’s a challenge but I'm well up for it.”

Ms Shore comes from a working-class background and was the first in her family to attend university.

“When I'm speaking to people about issues that affect them, I understand their daily struggles because I've been there,” she adds.

Ms Shore is a former teacher who became a Labour councillor for Cheshire West in 2015. Her Reform opponent, Sarah Pochin, was elected that same year for Cheshire East.