Labour’s candidate Sadik Al-Hassan was joined by local members to launch the party’s general election campaign in Portishead on Thursday evening.

Photo credit: Ken Abbott Photography

Sadik Al-Hassan said: “We’ve had 14 years of Conservative governments and I’m here in Portishead today to say: ‘we’ve had enough and it’s time for change.’”

He added: “We’ve had enough of sewage pumped into our rivers and onto our beaches, we’ve had enough of our communities being starved of investment, we’ve had enough of our policing being cut, and we’ve had enough of our hospitals and schools being underfunded.”

Sadik said: “Labour has a plan to deliver the change the country and North Somerset needs in these areas. As a local pharmacist, getting the NHS back on its feet will be a key priority for me, and I’m delighted to support Keir Starmer’s plan to cut the waiting lists with 40,000 more appointments each week paid for by tackling tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes.”

On 4 July, Labour is hoping to take North Somerset from incumbent Conservative MP Liam Fox who, Labour claim, has failed to deliver progress for North Somerset since becoming its MP over three decades ago.

Labour has come second to the Tories here in the last three general elections. Now, polls show the constituency is on a knife edge between the Tories and Labour. Labour believe they now have a very good chance of winning this seat for the first time in its history, and call on Liberal Democrat and Green supporters to get behind Sadik.

North Somerset Labour Party Chair Julian Morris said: “It’s time we had an MP dedicated to the area, rather than a part-time politician who has failed to deliver on his promises to deliver the Portishead Railway and protect high street banks and pharmacies.”

Julian concluded: “Liam Fox has taken on countless second jobs and spent several weeks travelling on donor-funded trips abroad since the last general election alone. North Somerset deserves a new, dedicated Labour MP.”