Dear Resident
Labour have been caught out in the St Helier ward by-election for lying about the closure of St Helier Hospital. In an embarrassing climb down, the Mitcham and Morden MP admitted on Radio Jackie that a Labour leaflet was wrong. The Wimbledon Guardian’s latest edition highlighted Labour’s unnecessary scaremongering.
Tim Hamilton, Director of Communications at St Helier’s called Labour letter "inaccurate and unhelpful". Epsom and St Helier’s NHS Trust released confirmation that there are no plans to close St Helier Hospital.
Labour have politicised St Helier at several local elections over the last 10-15 years, pretending they are ‘saving St Helier’ when it is not under threat.
As the Conservative candidate at the council by-election, and as someone who was born in and has received treatment at St Helier, I want to work with local people to make sure that its facilities and buildings are improved and new services added. Rather than making up imaginary stories that scare local people and worry NHS staff, let’s work together to promote the good that St Helier does and ensure a better future for the hospital and people who go there.
In 2016, Merton’s Labour Council have already abandoned local services for the elderly, when they had an opportunity to fund them at no extra cost to Council taxpayers. Some of their own Councillors are seeing the harm they are doing to the area, I hope more will stand up to the leadership administration. If elected, that is certainly what I plan to do and hope that, for once and for all, Merton Labour will draw a line under their St Helier scare stories and never again try to use the hospital for political purposes.
Sue Edwards
Conservative candidate, St Helier ward by-election
P.S. St Heliershave released a further press release confirming that there are no plans to close the hospital - https://www.epsom-sthelier.nhs.uk/news/caring-for-our-patients-in-years…