Burnham-On-Sea’s former MP Tessa Munt has vowed to stand again in the 2020 General Election and has hit out at the levels of spending by the Conservatives during this year’s campaign.
An emotional Tessa – who lost her seat to Conservative James Heappey on Thursday – spoke to Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“It’s a big disappointment of course. I don’t think I could have done anything differently. I honestly hoped that people would judge me on my work of the last five years.”
“In fact, I think they voted on the last five months and I wasn’t able to beat or match the barrage of sophisticated messaging that came through from my opponents. It was peddling fear – the SNP vote – and people responded to that, which I think is a great shame.”
She went on to say that she’s unhappy at the amount spent by the Conservatives on promotion across the constituency during the election.
“Only the two large parties are able to spend so much. Under our current system, they can spend vast sums from their central organisations or funds, and it doesn’t count against the campaign as long as it doesn’t mention the candidate’s name.”
“They can spend as much as they like. Any other party is at a disadvantage. We’ve seen an absolute tsunami of material published over the past six weeks and endless phone calls – they even phoned my house for goodness sake!”
Looking back at her five years as an MP, she told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “People have invited me to attend so many lovely events – and my diary was run by them, not by me. It’s been a whirlwind – it’s been amazing!”
“There have been moments where I have have come across things that have made me so angry, particularly where people have not had a chance to express themselves.”
“But I’ve had a fantastic variety of experiences and it’s been an amazing five years. I had wanted to be an MP since I was 17 and that was my life’s ambition, which I’ve done. I know I’ve changed many things around here for the better.”
Tessa added that she will be taking a break for a holiday before setting her sights on re-election in five years.
“It’s in my blood and I can’t stop it really. I’ve done it once, I can do it again and I intend to stand again in 2020.”
