AFTER Mid Cheshire took to the polls on Thursday, July 4, Labour’s Andrew Cooper emerged victorious in what is set to be a landslide on a par with the party’s 1997 victory under Tony Blair.

Votes were tallied at the constituency count at Winsford Lifestyle Centre, and Andrew’s victory was confirmed at around 4.15am on Friday July 5.

The Northwich resident got 18,457 votes, around double that of the next highest scoring candidate, Conservative Charles Fifield, who got 9,530.  

Andrew, who has been a councillor for ten years on Northwich Town Council, and later Cheshire West and Chester Council, said it is a ‘great honour’ to be asked to be the voice for Mid Cheshire in Westminster.

He added: “I got into politics because I want to do good things for my community, but if I had to nail it down to a single issue, it's because child poverty gets up my nose.

“I have always believed every child should have the same opportunities, regardless of background or circumstances.

“None of that should shape your life. It should be your talents.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of people while out campaigning over the last six week, and I think the number one issue on people’s minds is the NHS.

“For some people it’s access to dentistry. For others its about waiting lists for operations. It’s not good enough, and it’s not where we need to be as a country.

“A Labour government will offer 40,000 additional appointments at evenings and weekends by using spare capacity in the private sector.

“For NHS dentistry, we want to offer an additional 70,000 emergency appointments, which will mean re-negotiating the contract we have with dentists.

Asked if he got a chance to introduce a private members bill in his first term, Andrew said: “I’d want to do it on the right to assisted dying.

“Affording people the right to die with dignity is long overdue. It’s been talked about since I was at school, but no real progress has been made.

“Other countries have demonstrated that with appropriate safeguards, it can be operated safely.

“Thinking about the work I would like to focus on in Mid Cheshire, there are a number of urgent issues in this constituency which need dealing with in the right way.

“Top of that list is the Middlewich Eastern Bypass, where the funding hasn’t been released by the government, and that project is in limbo at the moment.

“I’ll be seeking a meeting with the roads minister when he or she is appointed, as soon as possible, to see what we can do to get that project back on track.”