Julie Hilling 'always ready for the next election'

WHEN former transport secretary Ruth Kelly stepped down as an MP in 2010, Julie Hilling took her place as the Labour candidate in Bolton West and won.

But the margin of victory was extremely tight with only 92 votes separating her from her Conservative counterpart.

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After serving five years in parliament, the Atherton-based MP lost her seat in 2015 to Chris Green who increased his majority two years later.

It's still a target seat for Labour, who are hoping for an general election soon on the back of a 'failed' Brexit.

But in the aftermath of last year's defeat, Ms Hilling spent a lot of time caring for her mother who died aged 92 earlier this year.

This first-hand experience, she said, has made her more passionate about care for the elderly.

She said: “She was taken to hospital last November and then went to a nursing home. One of the first things that was happening – when we were trying to work out whether she’s going to come home again, whether she will live, whether she will die – we thought, ‘how are we going to pay for care?’

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“It’s that whole nature of the inhumaneness of not looking at what care people need but how we can afford it. You then discover when you’re doing it how hard it is for carers.”

Ms Hilling said that carers, like those who looked after her mother, are undervalued and never off duty.

While she was an MP, Ms Hilling aimed to visit her mother every week in Leighton Buzzard, but after losing her seat, she spent more time with her.

She said: “I felt that I had to spend every minute of every day being the MP. I couldn’t waste any time. Six days at work and one day with mum.”

She also praised the work of Senior Solutions in Westhoughton which provides a volunteer visitor in the person’s own home on a weekly basis.

She said: “One of the biggest killers of elderly people is loneliness. If you can enable older people to have an active life, they can have a longer life.”

Ms Hilling did not see her mother, who survived a stroke aged 86, for two weeks during last year’s election campaign when she was busy campaigning.

Going into last year’s campaign, she said that many in her party thought they were going to lose “huge numbers” and were surprised to make gains.

But in Bolton West, the Conservative incumbent gained more votes than the previous election and secured a majority of 936.

Ms Hilling said: “We hadn’t persuaded people in Bolton West that we had the answers. Bolton West has continued to be that hyper marginal where the national poll is played out because it’s that very traditional community. A little bit of social housing, a little bit of terraced housing and then more affluent ones. We have a real mix of voters.”

Although Brexit was important for some voters, she said that it was not the only topic on the doorstep.

She said: “It was massive for some people, but I wouldn’t say it was a Brexit election at all. The economy was a lot bigger for a lot of people. A lot of people were still feeling in despair.Yes, it’s in the mix but for many people it’s no more in the mix than my community, my life, and who will make things better.”

She voted to remain in the European Union but said that her views on Brexit are more nuanced than in or out.

She said that the shadow cabinet have been talking to European leaders and she is convinced that the party can negotiate a good deal for both sides.

She said: “It’s about the six tests. It’s about ensuring that we don’t lose jobs, we don’t lose important rights. It’s about making sure that we are as close as possible to the European market and customs union. If we don’t achieve that then I’m really afraid for our manufacturing and other jobs in the UK.

“If you look at the split, slightly more than half voted leave and slightly less than remain voted remain. When you take a hard stance as Chris Green does, you can’t be representing the half of your constituents who voted remain.”

“I don’t think that people have looked at the whole of the jigsaw of which bits we want to remain part of. If we want to sell our goods to Europe we are still going to have to follow European standards. If we want to sell our food to Europe, we will still have to have European standards of food.”

Speculation over another snap election has been rife given doubts that any Brexit deal would be passed in parliament.

When asked how she is hedging her bets, she said: “That’s the million-dollar question.

“I think obviously if it’s Brexit that triggers it then the leading politicians will make the vote about Brexit. But then I think we won’t be talking to people about things that are so crucial like jobs and rebuilding the economy.”

One of the more pressing issue for Ms Hilling ahead of the chancellor’s budget on Sunday is funding for police across the country. New analysis of National Audit Office data by the Labour Party revealed a fall in central government funding to Greater Manchester Police of £157.7 million in real terms since the Tories came to power in 2010. She said: “The cuts to the police are absolutely outrageous. It’s not just police officers, it’s PCSOs, it’s backroom staff so police are having to take longer to do a job because of administrative tasks. Police can’t always respond so I think there are potentially cases that aren’t being prosecuted.”

“If austerity really is over the Government must cough up money in the budget to give our police the funding they need.We simply cannot keep Greater Manchester safe on the cheap and these figures demonstrate the true scale of the Tory assault on police funding that is devastating Greater Manchester’s communities and leaving them at risk.”

Earlier this month, Bolton West MP Chris Green told Sunday Politics that his government’s cuts to policing have gone too far. Ms Hilling said: “I’m glad he has seen the light, but he’s voted for every cut proposed.”