Around 70 people attended Copeland Labour’s General Election launch at Greenbank P&M Club in Whitehaven.

Tony Lywood, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Copeland, addressed the crowd at the event held last Saturday.

He said: “The choice we face this December is whether we have more austerity, more cuts and more privatisations under the Tories, or a Labour government that actually invests in our communities and brings key public services like our railways and water, back under the control of the British people through social ownership.”

After the rally, supporters fanned out across Whitehaven to deliver election material.

Michael Johnson, 21, from Hillcrest, who recently joined the Labour Party, said: “This was my first Labour Party event and I was really impressed by the ideas and energy to improve our area.

“It was great to see people get stuck in to spread our vision for a better future for Copeland. I would urge everyone to join us and get involved in this chance to create a stronger future for our country.”

Mr Lywood said: “Since our campaign launch started we have been inundated with offers of help to get our message out there. We are a grassroots political movement, supported by hundreds of small donations from ordinary people, with hundreds of local volunteers campaigning on the streets.

“10 years of Tory austerity has left us with weakened social services, an NHS on its knees, less police on the streets, an unreliable chaotic care system for the elderly, privatisations of services that should be publicly owned, undermining of workers’ rights and underfunding of our schools. “The Tories said they would secure Moorside, but where is it? People have had enough. A transformative Labour government will create a fairer, stronger and more equal society for all, and that is what we are fighting for.”