Labour MP says party has inherited dire situation

BUT HE SAYS THE NEW GOVERNMENT WILL START WORK IMMEDIATELY

- WILLIAM TELFORD

RE-ELECTED MP Luke Pollard says the new Labour government will start work immediately on rebuilding the UK’s economy and making lives better for families in Plymouth and the wider South West. The politician, who retained his Plymouth Sutton and Devonport seat, said tackling the cost-of-living crisis was a priority alongside sorting out the NHS, anti-social behaviour and education.

But he warned that his party had inherited a dire situation after years of Tory government chaos. He also vowed to work for changes to gun laws following the 2021 Keyham shootings, to ensure nothing like it ever happens again.

Mr Pollard, first elected in 2017 and who took 49.4% of the vote in Sutton and Devonport and landed an increased majority of 13,328, said Labour’s victory marked a vital shift for the country after 14 years under the Tory control. He said: “I think it changes things enormously, the frustration of the past seven years for me is that I haven’t been able to deliver on many of the things I want to for Plymouth. We haven’t been able to get the houses built that we need, we haven’t been able to get the funding for our health services to deliver an improved NHS that I think we really need.