Claire Wright, independent parliamentary candidate in East Devon is today named alongside national political figures as one of 25 key candidate “champions” in a campaign for Britain’s biggest ever tactical vote to stop a Conservative led hard Brexit. The endorsement comes from the Best for Britain campaign set up by Gina Miller whose fight for Parliament’s right to trigger Article 50 went all the way to the Supreme Court. Announcing the deal the Best for Britain team said Ms Wright had mounted a strong challenge against Conservative Hugo Swire in East Devon. She is the [...]
At the end we were allowed to ask a question of the audience. I asked what people there wanted from an MP. The answer was honesty, integrity, passion, humour and warmth. People are fed up with the professional politician and are looking for something different and someone they can trust to work hard for them. Next hustings takes place on Tuesday 30 May at the Holy Trinity Church in Exmouth, starting at 7.30pm.
The Conservative manifesto contains some appalling attacks on the very people who can bear it the least. In recent years we have seen younger people, those on benefits and disabled people, lose vital financial support and it seems that the Conservatives are now targeting older people. The winter fuel allowance will be so restricted that an estimated 10 MILLION people out of 12 million will lose out. That’s almost everyone. This will create terrible hardship for older people who are already struggling to make ends meet in addition to heating their homes. The pension triple lock is set[...]
The draw of this campaign seems much stronger than in 2015, where I came second to Conservative Hugo Swire with 13,140 votes and a 24 per cent share. I am the only Independent candidate in the country to have been endorsed by the chief tactical voting website https://www.tactical2017.com/, and my odds with William Hill are currently 9/2. Below is some important information for you to download and an ever increasing number of questions and answers! I hope you will consider giving your vote on 8 June to a hard-working effective and experienced Councillor, who already has a great track [...]
A spokesman for William Hill said: “We see Claire Wright as the official opposition in that constituency. It’s a head to head contest between her and the Conservatives and the odds reflect that.” The Devon East constituency includes the towns of Exmouth, Sidmouth and parts of Exeter. Now County Councillor Claire Wright is fighting hard to become its first independent MP. In the 2015 General Election Mrs Wright came second, with a 24 per cent share, outperforming Labour, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP. Mrs Wright says she was motivated to stand because of strong local feeling that the [...]
Unlike some major political parties, I don’t have big business financing my campaign - I must fund it myself. But running in a parliamentary election doesn’t come cheap! There are tens of thousands leaflets to order, publicity materials to pay for - and the deposit to enable me to stand is £500 alone! I will not take money from big business because if I am elected I will put local people first. I achieved 24 per cent of the vote in the parliamentary election in 2015, with over 13,000 votes and securing second place against the Conservative candidate. I gained significantly more votes[...]
I launched my candidacy last night at Exmouth Football Club. Since the snap election was announced I have been inspired by hundreds of emails and calls urging me to stand and offering help. Following my decisive win in the county council elections, I have decided to say YES to my army of supporters by once again challenging the sitting Conservative MP. In the 2015 parliamentary election I came second, with a 24 per cent share of the vote - more than Labour and the Lib Dems combined. People are telling me that they are angry and frustrated with the current government’s [...]
I would like to thank the Returning Officer for overseeing this election, the staff on all the polling stations, who I visited yesterday and the people who worked on counting the votes here this morning. I am absolutely thrilled to be re-elected so resoundingly by people in the Otter Valley Ward. Being a Devon County Councillor is an absolute privilege and honour and I have loved every minute and I am sure will thoroughly enjoy being the representative for the Otter Valley Ward for the next four years. Thank you to the dozens of people who helped leaflet and display my boards during this [...]
Otter Valley residents please put your faith in me once again so I can carry on my important work for you!