By Eve White
In a week when the Government has been forced into another U-turn amid accusations of sleaze, South Yorkshire Mayor and Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis said it’s more important than ever that Labour wins the next election.
North Shropshire Tory MP Owen Paterson resigned in a row over lobbying payments after his party decided not to press ahead with getting the rules on MPs’ conduct changed.
Mr Jarvis said: “Our democracy has never felt more fragile at any point during my adult life than it does right now, and we have a responsibility to change that.
“For me, that means devolving powers away from Westminster and Whitehall and giving them to people and communities.”
This is not the first time the Tory party has done a U-turn. Earlierthis year, Boris Johnson refused to get rid of Health Secretary Matt Hancock once it was discovered he had broken social distancing measures, but Mr Hancock later resigned after a backlash.
Johnson also changed his mind about a second national lockdown, repeatedly saying there wouldn’t be one and then implementing one in October 2020. The Government also backed down over A level results being decided by algorithm in August 2020 after an outcry.
Mr Jarvis feels that Britain deserves better than the current Government. He said: “This Government has consistently made the wrong call on the biggest questions of the day; from the handling of the pandemic, Britain’s shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan and the failure to level up the North.”
Mr Jarvis will be stepping down as South Yorkshire Mayor in May next year, but will continue as Barnsley Central MP, a position he has held for ten years. He has also been in the shadow cabinet under Ed Miliband.
He said: “I know the impact Labour can have in power. I want to see Labour in power across the country and will be working tirelessly to secure this at the next General Election.”
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