On this day 2024: Darlington Labour candidate launches campaign
Addressing a gathering of party workers at the clock tower in South Park on May 25, Ms McEvoy declared: “It’s on. We have a date for July 4.
“The country has a chance to vote to change – and boy do we want it.”
Local McEvoy launching her campaign to become Darlington MP (Image: Stuart Boulton)
She reflected on the past 14 years, saying: “We had David Cameron, the architect of austerity who cut our public services and our local council to the bone.
“We had Theresa May trash our global reputation being hamstringed by the extreme of her party.
“Then we had Boris Johnson who crashed us out of the EU without a plan and partied during the pandemic, leaving the door open for Liz Truss, who crashed our economy spectacularly in the shortest term of any Prime Minister in history.(Image: Stuart Boulton)
“And finally, we have Rishi Sunak and, as we know, he’s overseen the worst cost of living crisis for our town in a generation.”
She added: “We can do better, we will do better and we must do better.
“While the national polls make us all feel good and fluffy inside they do not reflect the task we have on the ground in Darlington.
“It falls to us to convince people that while we know and they know they want to change, it is Labour that will deliver that change for them here.”Supporters at the lauch event (Image: Stuart Boulton)
In her campaign, she committed to championing mental health services, asserting: “If we win I will champion state-of-the-art mental health services for people in our town – for our men, mothers and children.
“There are too many of us facing the brink of crisis point and if we win I will be a champion for public money for social good because it’s our money and it should be spent on benefiting our communities.”
Ms McEvoy also spoke about the Labour Party’s vision for economic renewal, saying, “The Labour Party has a plan for a decade of economic renewal.”
Addressing the challenges ahead, she said: “The Tories ultimately have lots more money than we do they have put a lot into their campaign already and they’re gonna fight dirty.”
Ms McEvoy concluded by reflecting on her role as a woman in politics, stating, “It is not easy being a woman standing in your hometown but I’m doing it because I believe in better for our communities and our town and it is time for a change and I really hope that Labour can deliver it for people.”
[From the Northern Echo of May 25, 2024]