The office of HUGO FEARNLEY, Scarborough & Whitby Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party at the next general election, has issued the following Press Release in response to the sitting Conservative MP Robert GOODWILL‘s scathing attack on the instigators of the abortive Parish Poll in Whitby.

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Press Release

Goodwill out of touch with Whitby residents over ‘Whexit’

Labour’s parliamentary candidate for the next General Election, Mr. Hugo Fearnley, has condemned the incumbent Conservative member, Mr Robert Goodwill MP for his recent statement about the possible poll for the town to leave Scarborough Borough Council (SBC).

The poll will pose the question to Whitby residents if they would like to leave SBC and instead join with the recently formed Tees Valley Combined Authority and has been described by MP Robert Goodwill as “a complete distraction” and “a waste of everybody’s time and money.”

Mr Fearnley states that “The issue of potentially joining a conglomerate of several unitary authorities and exiting the administrations of SBC and North Yorkshire County Council, is not straightforward and certainly deserves careful consideration. However, Mr Goodwill’s dismissive remarks completely fail to recognise the ongoing valid concerns of people in the Whitby area”.

Adding that “whether this poll proceeds or not, the facts regarding the neglect the town has endured under the Tory-controlled borough council are plain to see. People in Whitby are crying out for some sense of fairness when it comes to issues such as allocating the necessary funds for vital repairs to the piers. Money which is being generated by the harbour could have been earmarked for the pier repairs and we could have simply got on with securing the sea defences years ago and protecting the houses and businesses in the area. Most people would simply see this as common sense”.

“The key issue that Mr Goodwill has failed to recognise, is that many of us in Whitby are extremely dissatisfied with the status quo and are simply looking for practical solutions to achieve what is best for the area. There is a clear message coming from the town and it is a message that has been ignored by the Conservative party for many years, but cannot be ignored forever. The people of Whitby are lacking the strong representation they deserve.”

ENDS