Former Labour shadow cabinet member in bid to unseat Welsh Secretary
A former Labour shadow cabinet member and deputy mayor of London is hoping to unseat the Welsh Secretary at the next General Election.
Heidi Alexander is standing to become Labour’s candidate in Swindon South, the seat of Sir Robert Buckland who has a majority of 6,600.
Heidi Alexander is the favourite to become the Labour’s candidate in the seat when the result is announced tomorrow.
She was formerly an MP for Lewisham East and served in the shadow cabinet under Jeremy Corbyn. She resigned in 2016 calling the shadow cabinet “so inept, so unprofessional, so shoddy”.
In May 2018, she Deputy Mayor of London for Transport under Sadiq Khan and remained there until the opening of Crossrail. One of the trains is now named after her.
Last few days of campaigning before the @UKLabour selection meeting in South Swindon this weekend. Thank you to everyone who has met with me and spoken with me – you have all been very generous with your time and wisdom. pic.twitter.com/GhmKJvy3qe
— Heidi Alexander (@Heidi_Labour) July 21, 2022
Taking to social media she said she was “excited to be putting myself forward to be the next UK Labour parliamentary candidate in South Swindon.
“I’m a Swindon girl – born and bred. It’s time for a change here and I have the experience, skills and determination to make it happen,” she said.
Robert Buckland became the new Welsh Secretary two weeks ago after Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart resigned.
Robert Buckland was born and raised in Llanelli but became the first Welsh Secretary since the late Cheryl Gillan under David Cameron not to represent a Welsh constituency.
He served as Solicitor General for England and Wales from 2014 to 2019, until he became Minister of State for Prisons. He was appointed Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor by Boris Johnson in July 2019, serving until the cabinet reshuffle in September 2021.
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No Tory Welsh Secretary in office has ever done anything positive for Wales other than undermine our interests at any opportunity to please the English establishment masters in London. Treachery is their forte. And sure, it’s possible Labour’s Heidi Alexander may well unseat WS Robert Buckland at the next election. But I feel no less despair seeing Labour apathetic attitude towards Wales & Welsh devolution, and I think it wouldn’t be that much different under PM Keir Starmer. But I’d ask Keir Starmer these questions. Will UK Labour repatriate our EU powers that should have returned to Cardiff as they… Read more »