Helen Morgan has arrived in Westminster to take her seat after her stunning by-election win in North Shropshire.
Here she is with some of her new parliamentary colleagues:
Welcoming @helenhalcrow to Westminster 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/tHAnGUlvKB
— Callum James Littlemore (@CJLittlemore) January 5, 2022
In her first act as North Shropshire’s new MP, Helen will write to the Health Secretary Sajid Javid calling for an urgent meeting with the West Midlands Ambulance Trust, which asked to see him over four months ago.
The Trust asked to meet with Sajid Javid after declaring long waiting times posed a “catastrophic risk” to patients. Patients have been left waiting hours for ambulances to arrive, and in one case, a 95 year-old woman in Shropshire was left waiting 11 hours for an ambulance to take her to hospital.
In recent months, four local ambulance stations have closed in Shropshire despite the crisis.
The crisis has also been worsened by the surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant, which has seen ambulances being taken off the road across the country due to staff absences.
Ahead of her swearing in,Helen said:
I am here in Westminster to make sure the people of Shropshire are no longer taken for granted by this Conservative government.
The ambulance crisis is a life and death situation in Shropshire. I can’t think of many other meetings which are more important than this one. The Health Secretary cannot ignore this request any longer.
Despite thousands of local people signing petitions warning against local health cuts and distressing stories from those in need of emergency care, we have seen no action from this Government.
I am determined to hit the ground running on my first day and ensure the concerns of people in our local community are no longer ignored.
Ed Davey MP, said:
Boris Johnson has still not woken up to North Shropshire’s damning verdict on his out of touch Government. I told him after the Liberal Democrats’ victory in Chesham and Amersham that his Government must change, yet he arrogantly ignored that message from voters. If he continues to ignore people like this, Liberal Democrats will be there to represent them instead.
Helen’s inspiring campaign gave hope not just to people in North Shropshire, but to millions of people across our country who are desperate for change. I am proud my party is fighting for a fair deal for everyone and thrilled that Helen will make an exceptional addition to the Liberal Democrat team in Parliament.
And here she is being interviewed on Sky News saying that the Governments need to get a grip over rising fuel costs so that nobody has to choose between heating and eating.
Lib Dem's Helen Morgan calls on the government to "get a grip", adding "we can't have people choosing between heating and eating" as the energy crisis plows on.https://t.co/tYDK7TclZD
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/zrEKY1c6ee
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 5, 2022
Here she is taking her oath:
Helen Morgan has taken her seat as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for North Shropshire. pic.twitter.com/wz9nR8wxP6
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) January 5, 2022
Helen Morgan has officially been sworn in as the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire! pic.twitter.com/zRoedB6iND
— ALDC (@ALDC) January 5, 2022
And here she is getting down to work.
Lib Dems working here 💪🏻@helenhalcrow pic.twitter.com/6N3Fb2NDau
— Lib Dem Media Team (@LibDemPress) January 5, 2022
3 Comments
Best Wishes Helen! Show them what a brilliant job a Liberal Democrat MP can do for their constituents.
Welcome, Helen, to ‘Big School’ (as Tim Farron calls it) – a great moment for you, your enviable constituents, and your invigorated party.
Well done Helen. Don’t forget to hang your sword on the pegs provided in Westminster’s modern facilities