Burnham-On-Sea’s former MP James Heappey has this week ruled out the prospect of the Conservative Party winning the general election overall next week.
James Heappey has conceded that it is “plain to see” that there will not be a Conservative government after 4th July.
Mr Heappey quit his post in the Ministry of Defence in March, after concluding it was “time to step away from politics” and he is not standing to be re-elected as an MP.
Asked for his assessment of Rishi Sunak’s electoral prospects, Mr Heappey said: “There won’t be a Conservative government elected next week, that is plain to see.”
“I think that what people have got to consider is whether or not it is healthy for our democracy if parliament were to become increasingly just irrelevant, which is what it would become if the majority was so vast.”
“Heck, there have been people on the left who were complaining that an 80 seat majority gave Boris Johnson untrammelled power. Well, they ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Mr Heappey gave his assessment during a GB News TV interview on Wednesday (June 26th) amid the general election betting scandal, which the former MP says does politics as a whole a “massive disservice.” He said “the whole thing sucks” and “plays to the public’s perception of politicians generally.”
“I think all it does is just creates that sort of weary sigh as people look at each other in the coffee queue in the morning, and does politics on the whole a massive disservice”, he added.
In a letter to his local Conservative association, Mr Heappey said in March that he had concluded that it is “time to step away from politics, prioritise my family, and pursue a different career” after 9 years as an MP. He backed Tory candidate Ashley Fox.
The candidates standing to become MP in the Bridgwater and Burnham constituency are:
- Independent: Pelé Barnes
- Reform UK: William Fagg
- Conservatives: Ashley Fox
- Green Party: Charlie Graham
- Labour Party: Leigh Redman
- Liberal Democrats: Claire Sully
- Workers Party: Gregory Tanner
