New MPs for Boston and Skegness, Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Cleethorpes reflect on ‘full on’ start
Greater Lincolnshire's newest MPs have reflected on a 'full-on' start to life representing their residents.
Voters took to the polls on July 4, in a General Election that delivered a Labour landslide and saw Sir Keir Starmer become Prime Minister.
Lincolnshire was entirely Conservative before the election - but the election saw Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes shift to Labour.
Meanwhile, Boston & Skegness, once considered one of the safest Conservative seats in the country, switched to Reform UK.
The new recruits have reflected on life since that dramatic day at the start of the summer...
Lincoln - Hamish Falconer (Labour)
Hamish Falconer became a well-known political figure during his campaign to stop the Home Office from converting the former RAF Scampton into an asylum centre.
He is also the son of Charles Falconer, a Labour peer and former Lord Chancellor under Tony Blair.
Falconer ultimately received 18,470 votes, replacing the city's former Conservative MP Karl McCartney, who received 9,677 votes.
He stated: "It has been an honour to serve Lincoln for the past three months.
"I have stopped the Conservative plans for Scampton and am now aiming to get the regeneration project back on track. I have assisted businesses and constituents who are still feeling the pressures of the cost of living, fuelled by the irresponsible decisions of the last government.
"In addition to pushing for rail upgrades between Lincoln and Newark, I continue to promote the southern bypass project with minsters in the Department for Transport, which would help alleviate travel concerns in Lincoln.
"I meet regularly with Lincoln stakeholders to support them, as well as having regular contact with constituents. If there are issues you think I can help you with, please do get in touch."
Boston & Skegness - Richard Tice (Reform UK)
One of five Reform UK MPs elected, Richard Tice took over Boston & Skegness after a closely contested race for the seat.
Although he was once the party leader, Tice served as chairman during the run-up to the General Election after Nigel Farage took the helm. Tensions within Reform UK later led to Farage ousting two longstanding deputy leaders, Ben Habib and David Bull, with Tice assuming their positions.
After receiving a total of 15,520 votes, Mr Tice was officially elected, while former Conservative MP Matt Warman received only 13,510 votes.
After nearly three months in the role, he insisted he's "just warming up."
He stated: “It's been a very full-on first ten weeks, both in the House of Commons, where I have spoken 16 times, and in the constituency, where I have been active with surgeries, business and charity visits, events, and working with other groups on important issues such as flooding and no pylons.”
Scunthorpe - Nic Dakin (Labour)
In northern Lincolnshire, Sir Nic Dakin returned as the MP for Scunthorpe after receiving 15,484 votes.
He previously served as the MP for the area from 2010 until losing his seat to Conservative Holly Mumby-Croft in 2019. Holly then lost the seat after receiving only 11,942 votes.
Representing the people across the area covered by the Scunthorpe constituency is a huge privilege and responsibility," said Nic.
"New MPs start from scratch in recruiting staff and setting up offices. So, it has been a big challenge to make sure constituents are getting the best possible service and representation whilst getting things in place.
"Thankfully, I now have a staffed office in place. We have already had thousands of contacts since the Election on a very wide range of issues. Working hard to respond to constituents is my number one priority alongside working to secure the best possible future for our area, particularly in relation to the future of our steel industry and our local health services."
Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes - Melanie Onn (Labour)
Melanie Onn, who served as the MP for Great Grimsby from 2015 to 2019, made a return, taking over the seat for Great Grimsby & Cleethorpes following boundary changes.
In 2019, voters in Grimsby elected their first Conservative MP, Lia Nici, in 74 years. However, she received only 8,269 votes in July's General Election, falling short against Melanie's 15,336 votes.
The Reform UK candidate, Oliver Freeston, also received more votes than Ms. Nici, with 10,533 votes.
"It’s been a rollercoaster of three months since being elected in July," said Ms Onn.
"We’ve started to see the first green shoots of the Labour Government’s agenda for the next five years. Nationalisation of the railways is already well underway, which will provide passengers with rail services that are run for the benefit of the customer, not profit. I’m looking forward to seeing what this will mean for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes and am optimistic that it will eventually lead to the return of the Cleethorpes to London rail service.
"We’ve also seen the founding of GB Energy, a new state-owned clean energy investment body. This will help to create thousands of new jobs in the green energy sector, which is particularly exciting for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Our area is already a Mecca for wind power and green manufacturing, so the potential opportunity to expand that industry here is great.
"There have been some difficult decisions in the last few months, of course. We’ve inherited an economy that has endured fourteen years of Tory mismanagement and have had to make sacrifices as a result. I understand the depth of feeling around the cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, it wasn’t an easy thing to vote for, but we need to get the economy back on track. I am confident that other avenues like the Household Support Fund will help to provide additional support where it is needed.
"It’ll be great to see how the next year shapes up. I’ve started to assemble a dynamic and competent team who are helping me to get things off the ground. It’s a busy time, but I’m so excited for the next few years."
