Bangladeshi-born MP Rupa Huq, who is defending an extremely slim majority in the June 8 General Election, has received all-round backing from anti-Brexit groups in Britain.
The Labour party MP, who won by just 274 votes in her Ealing Central and Acton constituency in the 2015 election, has received support from different quarters in an attempt to keep the ruling Conservative party out. The Green Party, which had won 1,841 votes in the last election, has chosen not to field a candidate in her constituency this time in the hope that those votes can transfer to her kitty. She welcomed the move and said the progressive alliance with the Green Party will go a long way in the “tight race” she was up against.
“The local Green Party knows that I am an MP who is a resolute ‘Remainer’, that I will continue to fight for the UK to stay in the European Union and vote accordingly. For me this is respecting the will of the people in Ealing, Acton and Chiswick,” she said.
Green Party membership secretary Mark Daniel said: “Rupa Huq is quite respected as a good constituency MP and she is highly regarded even by people that are not Labour Party supporters.
“She has only got a very small majority so we think it might make a difference in her case. If we are telling our members that there is a candidate that supports green issues then we hope we are making some kind of difference given that it is such a marginal seat.”
Huq has also received the backing of anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller, who is leading the Best for Britain campaign in an attempt to get Remain-supporting MPs elected in as many constituencies as possible.
“Where there is common ground I think tactical voting makes complete sense,” says Huq, who has been campaigning on the grounds to prevent British Prime Minister Theresa May getting a "license to do anything".
Given that Ealing Central and Acton voted 72 per cent in support of Remain in the EU referendum in June last year, this strong anti-Brexit campaign is expected to help Huq hold on to her seat.
However, the far-right and pro-Brexit UK Independence Party (UKIP) is playing a similar tactical voting game by not fielding any candidate in the hope that their votes would transfer to the Conservative candidate Joy Morrissey.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
