General Election candidates announced with vote due inside next 741 days

The top three parties at the last General Election in Wrexham have all announced their candidates for the next vote to return a Member of Parliament – Sarah Atherton, Andrew Ranger and Becca Martin.

Last time round in 2019 Sarah Atherton defeated five other candidates to becomes Wrexham’s Member of Parliament. The Conservative’s scored a victory with 15,199 with Labour in second place (Mary Wimbury) with 13,068 votes and Plaid Cymru (Carrie Harper) came third with 2,151 votes.

Those three parties have now selected who will stand in the next General Election, which is due to take place no later than 24 January 2025.

The selection of candidates at a point two years out could indicate all parties are aware and preparing for a scenario of a snap election, meaning an election could be called at short notice.

Sarah Atherton‘s Wrexham.com column over the weekend revealed, “I am honoured to have been re-adopted as Wrexham’s Conservative candidate for the next General Election.”​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Adding, “Even faced with some unique circumstances, Wrexham is now firmly on the map and as such, has many successes we can celebrate and be proud of. From welcoming numerous Ministers to Wrexham, a world-famous football club, receiving £22m from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, to making it to the final of the City of Culture 2025 and gaining City status with a very special royal visit to seal the year. “​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Having dealt with 4,000 cases in last year from constituents with my brilliant casework team, I will continue to voice your concerns and hit the ground running this year by lobbying the Welsh Government and UK Government to prioritise issues that matter most to my constituents, such as healthcare, housing and transport. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​” You can read more here.

Last month the outcome of the local Labour Constituency Labour Party vote was revealed, with former candidate Mary Wimbury losing out to Andrew Ranger who was selected to stand in any forthcoming General Election.

Mr Ranger said, “Wrexham CLP, thank you. It is the privilege of my life to have been selected as your candidate. I am so grateful to everyone who put their trust in me tonight but whether you voted for me or not, I want you to know that I will be a candidate for all of Wrexham.

“Wrexham is my home. It is where my heart is. I will work every day to make a difference for you and for our city. The campaign to bring Labour home to Wrexham starts now.

He later added, “I am thrilled to have been selected as Welsh Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Wrexham by the members of Wrexham Labour Party. Thank you for placing your faith in me and coming out on such a cold winters evening to play your part in this important decision.

“A huge thank you to my campaign team. You know who you are. I couldn’t have done it without you – this really is the result of a team effort. Thank you to Unite the union Unite Wales for giving me their nomination and for the incredible support they have given throughout this process.

“I am already looking forward to working with the whole of the Labour family here in Wrexham and beyond – to give the people of Wrexham the hope and future they deserve and that only a Labour government in Westminster and a Labour MP in Wrexham will deliver.”

Plaid Cymru has chosen what they describe as “one of its brightest prospects to contest Wrexham for the Westminster seat”.

Wrexham Councillor Becca Martin, who represents Acton and Maesydre, was selected by Plaid Cymru’s Wrexham constituency and said, “Wrexham is my home. It’s where I was born and I’m proud to be raising my family here.

“But as proud as I am of our town, it’s clear we’re being embarrassed politically by a Tory MP who doesn’t share our values and whose party is presiding over a political and economic crisis that causing real hardship for many families. It’s also failing our key services, which is why we’re seeing nurses, paramedics and postal workers having to strike to defend their services.

“And let’s be honest, Labour are little better with Keir Starmer sounding more like the Tories every day rather than standing shoulder to shoulder with workers.

“Plaid Cymru is proud to stand by our nurses, posties and other local workers on the picket line. They’ve been there for us in the pandemic and they now need us to show some solidarity and real support – claps don’t pay the bills.

“I’m also proud that Plaid Cymru has been able to offer practical support for thousands of local families with a programme of free school meals for our primary-school children.”

As always make sure you are registered to vote – or you wont be able to have your say in the outcome of Wrexham’s 30th vote for Member of Parliment… gov.uk/register-to-vote