In the fifteenth of our video interview series #CanaryCandidates, we meet independent candidate Charmaine Morgan – standing against Labour’s Vipul Bechar
Charmaine Morgan was a longstanding local member and councillor in the Labour Party. But she left the organisation because of Keir Starmer’s authoritarian leadership. She is now standing as an independent candidate in Grantham and Bourne in Lincolnshire in the general election.
“I just don’t trust him. He is not an honest man”
Charmaine Morgan explained:
I was in Labour actually for 30 years. So it was not a small decision to leave Labour. I left after Keir Starmer became leader. I never liked the labelling that went on by certain factions within the Labour Party ever. I felt we were one party that was a broad church and we should have accepted and respected each other for that.
And I’m afraid Keir Starmer clearly demonstrated he did not respect the views of that broad church and was heavily weighted towards supporting those on the, what I would call, centre or centre-right within the party.
I did not like what I would describe as the witch hunt that went on within the party, accusing people broadly of being antisemitic if they opposed what was happening in Israel with Palestinians. …
And she described her severe discomfort with Keir Starmer, saying:
I thought that the way members were being treated was appalling. But in particular, for me, the issue was around… [the fact that] he lied. I just don’t trust him. He is not an honest man. He stood on a platform [saying] ‘I will unite the party. I will stick to the core manifesto that had been agreed before under Corbyn.’ And I voted for him, and I even gave money to his campaign.
Then I find out he accepted money from right-wing lobbyists and that he basically within a week reneged on every promise that he’d made. And my feeling is, if a man will do that when he isn’t in power, what is he capable of when he is in power?
She also insisted that the party has now “lost its moral compass”:
I felt that what actually happened within Labour in the last general election [in 2017] was shocking, as reports came out about how party officials had actually acted against the party, how Keir kept all of that quiet as well, and instead of investigating that… turned his attention on ordinary party members. I just felt that the party had lost its moral compass. And it was heartbreaking.
Charmaine Morgan: Labour “will positively cause damage” to the NHS
Charmaine Morgan doesn’t feel that the NHS would be in any better hands with Labour than with the Tories. As she stressed:
I’m very mindful that neither of the main parties actually have got policies that will protect our publicly-owned NHS, which I’m very passionate about and have campaigned for for so long.
In fact, this is a key driver for her:
The reason I decided to stand now was because neither of the mainstream parties is offering a solution for our NHS. And in fact, I think they will make matters much worse. I actually think the Conservatives are clearly… not putting anywhere near the amount of funding in that they should be, and Labour’s manifesto, I think, will positively cause damage.
She also believes that the deterioration of the NHS is partly due to the conflicts of interest in Westminster:
It’s heartbreaking to say this but I believe Westminster is at its core corrupt… Local authorities are more tightly controlled than Westminster is. As a local councillor, if I have a pecuniary interest in anything, not only do I have to declare it but I can’t speak on that matter in a meeting, and I may even have to leave the room. I certainly can’t vote.
In Westminster, not only I declare if I have an interest, certainly, so the people know, but then I can go on to speak, I could even be chairing a committee, I could become a secretary of state in the subject on which I’ve received funding.
Talking specifically about the money politicians have received from the private healthcare sector, she said:
Now that includes former health secretaries and it includes Wes Streeting and Keir Starmer, who have received funding from the private health sector. How can we trust that our publicly funded NHS is safe in any of their hands when this is permitted to continue?
Voters should ditch out-of-touch careerists and vote for a strong local voice
Charmaine Morgan believes that the mainstream media also needs to pay more attention to independents rather than allowing establishment careerists to dominate the narrative. She emphasised that:
Independents can make a big difference, and we are a growing movement across the country and I think it’s very shortsighted of any political pundits to not recognise that now.
As she explained:
I think we need a strong voice for Grantham and Stamford in parliament. We have had time and again Conservatives move in here, not from the local area, and they have been careerists working their way up… the greasy pole… They have not had their main focus on these [local] issues. They are out of touch with what’s happening in our communities…
They’ve absolutely no idea what it’s like for ordinary people on the ground.
In contrast, she stressed:
I will be guided by my own moral compass. … If it’s a good idea, it’s a good idea, and I’ll back it.
Note: As explained in the interview, Charmaine Morgan is currently a council member in Grantham. She has made it clear to the Canary that all views expressed here are her own, and not those of the council.
For more on Morgan’s comments see the full interview on our YouTube channel:
Watch and read all our #CanaryCandidates interviews here.
Featured image via the Canary
