Redcar Labour candidate Anna Turley has put her full support behind The Northern Echo’s “fantastic” election manifesto.
Ms Turley backed the campaign on a visit to Whale Hill Primary School in Eston on Tuesday, where she spoke to schoolkids alongside party leader Sir Keir Starmer.
She said the manifesto - which demands the next Government deals with several key priorities in the North East - “speaks to the heart of the issues” across the region.
Her Conservative rival for the Redcar constituency Jacob Young also said he was supporting our manifesto.
Announced last week, the six-point campaign includes securing the future of Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant, taking fast action on knife crime, reducing child poverty, sorting dental deserts and waiting list backlogs, committing to a statutory public inquiry into the Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Trust (TEWV), and exam mitigations for RAAC-hit school St Leonard’s.
Speaking to The Echo this morning, Ms Turley said: “We back this campaign, it’s fantastic, and congratulations to everyone at The Northern Echo for putting this manifesto forward.
“It really speaks to the heart of the issues that people across the North East talk to me about day in, day out."
Ms Turley, who is the former chair of the North East Child Poverty Commission, continued: "I'm particularly passionate about the issue of child poverty so I'm delighted that that's in your manifesto.
“We know that the North East has some of the highest levels of child poverty in the country and there's an urgency with which we need to tackle this because children here deserve the very best start in life.
“We want to make sure the children in schools like Whale Hill have the opportunity to get on and live full, happy and healthy lives and I'm delighted that that's what the next Labour government, through a whole raft of measures that we're looking forward to launching in our manifesto this week, will tackle that.
“So thank you again to The Northern Echo for everything you’re doing on this campaign and we look forward to fighting on these issues with you.”
Anna Turley's backing follows that of Sir Keir, who spoke out about The Echo's campaign on Tuesday, and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves last week.
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Mr Starmer said that all six points were “key priorities” for the party: “Not only are we in support of the work that you are doing, we've actually got the plan in place to make sure we can deliver it from day one.”
His visit to the region came as the Labour Party vowed to create an extra 100,000 urgent dental appointments for children in a bid to clear waiting lists, one of the key points in the manifesto.
Labour's Child Health Action Plan proposes the introduction of supervised brushing, hopes to double the number of NHS scanners, and recruit more dentists via signing-on bonuses and reforming the dental contract.
Conservative Redcar candidate and incumbent Jacob Young also backed the Echo's campaign. He said: "The Northern Echo has been a steadfast champion of our region with its own Levelling Up Campaign and consistent backing of our freeport and huge development at Teesworks.
"So I am delighted to back the Echo's manifesto, mostly because it echoes many of the Conservative Party's core principles and goals.
"The Echo's dedication to enhancing public services, including healthcare resonates with our plans to invest in the NHS.
"So I can honestly say that I wholeheartedly endorse The Northern Echo's manifesto. And if the people of Redcar see fit to re-elect me on July 4, I look forward to getting back on with the job of turning these commitments into reality for the benefit of everybody in Redcar and Teesside."
Who is running for election in Redcar?
Conservative: Jacob Young
Green: Ruth Hatton
Labour: Anna Turley
Liberal Democrat: Chris Jones
Reform UK: John Davies
Social Democratic Party: Gary Conlin
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