IMAGE CREDIT: Christine Bayliss
Christine Bayliss has been selected as Labour’s candidate for the Bexhill and Battle constituency to stand in this June’s general election.—Bexhill and Battle Labour Party, 3 May 2017
Christine has lived in Bexhill and Battle most of her adult life
She has been active in local politics, serving as a Rother District Councillor in the 1990s and most recently has been at the forefront of the Democracy4Bexhill campaign that aims to encourage Bexhill people to join in the debate about how Bexhill should be governed.
She is a Trustee of Aurora Academies Trust – a multi-academy trust based in Bexhill as well as a trustee of Mnarani Aid, a charity that raises money for children with special educational needs in Kenya. She has worked for the Department for Education and commuted to London from Battle for 15 years. Since 2015, Christine has run her own consultancy business in Bexhill-on- sea.
Speaking after the selection, Christine said; “Bexhill and Battle is my home. It’s where I live and work and I am proud to be Labour’s candidate for June’s general election. This Tory government has overseen the biggest cuts to our public services in a generation.
“We have seen cuts to social care which in turn are putting a strain on the NHS, school budgets are being cut while at the same time Tories want to waste money on expanding grammar schools, Police officers and PCSO numbers are being reduced at the same time as we have seen a rise in crime and local transport is a mess. It just doesn’t have to be like this.
“People here in Bexhill and Battle need a local representative that will put them first. It’s time for the voters of Bexhill and Battle to take back control and elect a representative that will listen and work with them to make their voices heard. It’s a choice between a Labour Party that will stand up for the people of Bexhill and Battle or a Conservative Party that only looks after the privileged few.”
Conor Hill, Chair of Bexhill and Battle Labour Party, added; “I welcome the appointment of Christine as Labour’s Candidate for Bexhill and Battle for June’s general election. As someone who lives in the constituency, I know that if elected on the 8th June, Christine will put this area first and will be a committed and local MP – that’s what Bexhill and Battle deserves.
“Christine is a committed local campaigner, with outstanding experience in many different jobs, including being self-employed running her own consultancy business, which means that she understands first-hand the struggles of working people.
“Over the coming weeks I will be joining Christine on the campaign trail and I am looking forward to supporting her as Labour’s candidate.”
FACTCHECK
Constituency profile
The main towns in the constituency, from which it takes its name, are the seaside resort of Bexhill-on-Sea and the historic town of Battle, location of the 1066 Battle of Hastings.
The seat’s first MP, Charles Wardle, served as a junior Home Office minister in the government of John Major; Wardle had the Conservative whip removed shortly before the 2001 election. The seat was held by Gregory Barker from 2001 until 2015; Barker was a junior minister at the Department for Energy and Climate Change between the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition after the 2010 general election and the major government reshuffle of July 2014, when he resigned and announced his intention to retire from Parliament at the next general election. In the 2015 election new MP, Huw Merriman was elected.
Current MP, Conservative Huw Merriman
Huw Merriman was born in Buckingham and attended Buckingham County Secondary Modern School, Aylesbury College of Further Education and Durham University where he read law. He then qualified as a barrister. In 2006 he was elected to Wealden District Council for the Rotherfield ward. In 2010 Huw Merriman fought North East Derbyshire, but was beaten into second place by the Labour incumbent Natascha Engel. Huw Merriman was elected in 2015. He was opposed to Brexit prior to the 2016 referendum. On 9 June, prior to the referendum, he told the local monthly broadsheet newspaper, Bay Life, The Journal, “by the time you read this article, the decision on Britain’s membership of the European Union will be known. We will either be carrying on within the European Union, albeit on amended terms, or we will be entering a new period of our history and with much to do. We live in a remarkable country, which has had to adapt and change over the centuries, so I feel confident that we will rise to the challenge no matter what comes before us”.
General Election 2017: Bexhill & Battle
Conservative, Huw Merriman
UKIP Geoffrey Bastin
Labour Christine Bayliss
Liberal Democrat Joel Kemp
Green Johnathan Kent
General Election 2015: Bexhill and Battle
number voting | percentage
Conservative Huw Merriman 30,245 54.8
UKIP Geoffrey Bastin 10,170 18.4
Labour Michelle Thew 7,797 14.1
Liberal Democrat Rachel Sadler 4,199 7.6
Green Jonathan Kent 2,807 5.1
Majority 20,075 36.4
Turnout 55,218 70.1
Elected: Conservative Huw Merriman
