Hazel Grove’s newly elected Tory MP William Wragg has revealed improving transport in the area is his ‘first priority’ after describing the victory as his ‘highest honour’.
Mr Wragg received 41% of the vote, compared to just 26% of second-place Lib Dem candidate Lisa Smart.
“This is the highest honour that I could have possibly hoped for in my life,” he said following the result.
“The first priority is infrastructure; we need to make sure that we’ve got the appropriate transport infrastructure in our area.
“I would also like to see a continuing high rate of employment, seeing more people in work and a secure future for working families.”
The soon-to-be MP explained why he believed the Conservatives won the seat relatively comfortably, which involved displaying a strong political message to all ages.
“I think it’s a combination of a strong local positive campaign that we’ve run in Hazel Grove and also the national picture as well,” he said.
“We’ve combined during this campaign a strong local message but also linking that with the national message on securing a stronger economy.
“I think that people of any age, young people in particular, respond well when you’ve got a strong positive message that emphasises what we stand for and what we want to achieve from the area rather than descending into political tit-for-tat and negativity.”
“If I went canvassing in Hazel Grove and have a conversation I wasn’t there to talk about political dogma I was there to talk about local issues and really understand what motivates people and what they wanted in their area.
Mr Wragg went on to explain that his previous experience helped him to engage the younger generation of voters, who he feels had become apathetic.
“My background is education, as a teacher, so I’m really passionate about engaging children in this country and the upstanding young citizens they grow to be,” he said.
“I don’t think they’re disenfranchised, I think there’s apathy. I think there’s perhaps a barrier which is more through misunderstanding or lack of dialogue from politicians to the public, and the more dialogue there is the easier that barrier is to break.
“When I applied to Oxford I didn’t get in so clearly I must have lacked the accent but, I’m local, I’m from the area, I went to the local schools I know the area, I’m firmly a conservative. But to be a Conservative you don’t have to have an RP accent.”
Mr Wragg explained his delight at strengthening the Conservative hold on the seat, which he attributed purely to hard work.
“It’s a very satisfactory result to put it mildly. I’m absolutely delighted by the swing of achievement in this constituency,” he said.
“We’ve increased our absolute conservative vote on the last general election amd we’ve increased our percentage share.
“I’m relieved that my positive campaigning for this constituency paid off in the face of stiff opposition.”
Image courtesy of the BBC, with thanks.
