News

General Election 2015: Labour MP bucks national trend by increasing Mitcham and Morden majority

Mitcham and Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh managed to buck the national trend by not only securing her seat but also increasing her majority.

Throughout the country Labour candidates suffered heavy losses thanks to the SNP with the Conservatives expected to enjoy a Commons majority.

Ms McDonagh, who has held the Mitcham and Morden seat since 1997, has given labour a massive boost by increasing her number of votes by 4.2% on the 2010 general election resut.

The Labour MP netted 27,380 votes this election contrasting with the 24,722 votes she previously received in 2010.

She said: “I feel very overwhelmed – I lost this seat when I stood in 1987 and 1992 and I was amazed in 1997 to get a majority.

“27,000 votes is just a little bit difficult to take in at the moment – I’m desperate to speak to my sister about it but I can’t get through to her.

“I feel very humbled people have put that faith in me and I hope I can make good on their faith.

“I am looking forward to getting back to the case work when people talk to me about the problems they have.

“I have been out knocking on doors so I haven’t been able and I need to get back on top of it. That’s the first job I will have.”

Ms McDonagh revealed she had been knocking on more doors for this campaign than ever before.

She has also aggressively targeted young voters, continuing a successful work experience scheme and voting strongly against raising the undergraduate tuition fee cap.

But the key to Ms McDonagh’s surprising success may be the fundraiser where Tony Blair gave a guest speech.

When asked about the poor Labour results nationally Ms McDonagh was quick to defend Labour leader Ed Miliband but suggested a fault with the Labour rhetoric instead.

“Your message has to be very large and inclusive and some of the results we’re seeing tonight bear that out – perhaps our message wasn’t enough about the future and how we saw our country developing and I am very sorry for that.”

At a national level Ms McDonagh voted strongly against increasing VAT and strongly for replacing Trident with a new nuclear weapons system.

Ms McDonagh now looks to turn her focus to improving Mitcham town centre including introducing a cinema an wheelie bins.

Related Articles