Former Labour MP Ivan Lewis had intended to fight for his seat of Bury South as an independent. He will be on the ballot paper next Thursday and up until only a few days ago he was actively campaigning for re-election. However, the former Labour minister has now followed in the footsteps of several former Labour colleagues by openly backing the Conservatives. In an emotional video posted to his Facebook page he explained how even his own socialist father was now considering voting for the Tories. Lewis quit Labour a year ago, the first of several Jewish MPs to do so. He was suspended at the time over sexual harassment allegations, albeit never proven. As we reported back in October, there is a rather insidious pattern to such allegations as Remain-supporting MPs are swiftly cleared while Leave-supporting or Leave-sympathetic MPs are left suspended for months or even years as to ensure they cannot stand for re-election as Labour candidates.
Bury South candidates 2019
Ivan Lewis (Ind)
Lucy Burke (Lab)
Christian Wakeford (Con)
Richard Kilpatrick (Lib Dem)
Andrea Livesey (Brexit)
Glyn Heath (Green)
Gemma Evans (Women's)
Michael Boyle (Ind)
Bury South general election 2017
Ivan Lewis (Lab) 27,165 (53.3%) +8.2%
Robert Largan (Con) 21,200 (41.6%) +6.9%
Ian Henderson (UKIP) 1,316 (2.6%) -10.8%
Andrew Page (Lib Dem) 1,065 (2.1%) -1.5%
Peter Wright (Ind) 244 (0.5%) New
