Election Special | In-depth interviews with Southport’s Parliamentary hopefuls

As the UK prepares for this week’s general election, OTS News has conducted a series of interviews with five of the six parliamentary candidates vying for the Southport seat.

All six candidates were invited to interview, with only Reform UK’s Andrew Lynn declining the invitation. As such we’re delighted to bring you interviews with Labour’s Patrick Hurley, Conservative Damien Moore, Liberal Democrat Erin Harvey, Green Party’s Edwin Black and independent candidate Sean Halsall.

Here at OTS News we’d like to thank the candidates for giving up their time, and for submitting themselves to public scrutiny.

[Green] Click here for Edwin Black’s interview: The Green Party’s Edwin Black, while acknowledging Southport is not one of the party’s target seats, argues for the importance of voting on principles rather than tactical considerations. He highlights inequality and environmental issues as key concerns.

[Conservative] Click here for Damien Moore’s interview: Conservative incumbent Damien Moore, who has held the seat since 2017, points to his record of securing significant investment for Southport, including a £38.5 million Town Deal. He outlines his plans to reopen Southport Pier and re-establish a Children’s A&E at Southport Hospital.

[Independent] Click here for Sean Halsall’s interview: Independent candidate Sean Halsall, a former Labour councillor, proposes community assemblies to empower local residents and explains his reasons for leaving the Labour Party and his vision for representing Southport independently.

[Liberal Democrat] Click here for Erin Harvey’s interview: Liberal Democrat candidate Erin Harvey, drawing on her experience in diplomatic roles, focuses on issues such as NHS access, environmental protection, and town centre regeneration. She also addresses the party’s recent electoral performance in the area.

[Labour] Click here for Patrick Hurley’s interview: The constituency, which has existed for 139 years, has never elected a Labour MP. However, Patrick Hurley, the Labour candidate, believes this could change. He emphasises the need for investment in the town centre and proposes innovative ideas such as ‘refurbishment zones’ to revitalise local businesses.