The Peak District is a fulcrum for change in the British uplands and has been the scene of three Hen Harrier Day events so far. Each of those events was held in the constituency of Andrew Bingham, High Peak, but we didn’t see him at any of them. The constituents of High Peak were strong supporters of the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting (569 signatures out of 123,077) whereas a paltry 72 (out of a national total of 25,322) were supporters of grouse shooting. But Mr Bingham spoke in the Westminster Hall debate in favour of grouse shooting and claims that it has great economic, ecological and environmental benefits.
The High Peak constituency is a marginal seat – it was held by Labour from 1997 – 2010 and it’s time it was again. The Green Party has stood down to give Ruth George, the Labour candidate, an extra boost but UKIP has stood down to give their support to Brexit-supporter Andrew Bingham. This seat is winnable, particularly if LibDems switch their votes to Labour for this election.
I know that Andrew Bingham met several constituents who talked to him about the damage that driven grouse shooting does to the environment and wildlife but, as with Craig Whittaker, he got his lines from the shooting community before speaking in parliament. I know he hasn’t read the copy of Inglorious which he was sent in 2015 because his office told me so. A pity, because if he had perhaps he would not have given the impression that he was happy seeing just a very occasional pair of Hen Harriers in his constituency. The recent MP for High Peak has not shown any real interest in the fact that his constituency is an infamous wildlife crime hotspot and has been absent from the debate. Let’s make him absent from parliament: vote for Ruth George on 8 June.
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Yes let’s get rid of him. I can vaguely remember him in the “debate” spouting a complete load of guff, had he been my MP he would have received a letter shortly afterwards explaining the error of his ways. Should he be ousted and one hopes he is he should be told why a a number of folk voted against him.
My MP. A complete waste of space. His only contribution to the grouse-shooting debate was to quibble about whether or not one of the few breeding HH pairs in the last few years was in his constituency or the next. When I suggested to him in an email that repeal of the Hunting Act was not supported by the public, he gave me a lecture on how an MP is not bound to follow majority opinion. Then suggested that the large attendance of the “Countryside March” suggested a “silent majority” in favour of hunting (er – why?). Having just told me that an MP is not bound by public opinion anyway. And on other issues I’ve complained to him about, he’s cited public opinion polls to back up his position.
I understand that a lot of interest has been shown in vote swapping between Labour Voters in Hazel Grove and Lib Dem’s in the High Peak. Labour can’t win in Hazel Grove and the LD’s can’t win in the High Peak. I did hear that a fortnight ago around 3000 voters had expressed an interest. In the absence of a decent voting system it’s the only way forward for many progressive party supporters. There is a lot of trust involved though!
http://hghpvoteswap.weebly.com/
Ernest – thanks for this – I didn’t know about it but I have had a look. Very interesting.
Hi all,
I am messaging from a community group which I co-founded called High Hopes for High Peak. We are currently working hard to campaign against Andrew Bingham and tory austerity in High Peak. It’s great to see the vote swap details being shared and we hope you guys will pass these on further to any other interested parties. It would also be great if you could find our page and/or group on facebook and share some of the comments you’ve already made about Andrew Bingham and the disservice he’s been doing to yourselves and to local wildlife.
All the best,
Amy,
High Hopes for High Peak
Amy – thank you for your comment and suggestion.
My Tory MP has read Inglorious, after saying he would, which was an eye opener to him & said briefly that education was the key when I spoke to him at the hustings