Hackney’s Labour activists travelled to Chingford & Woodford Green last Friday and Saturday in a bid to topple the Conservative Party’s slender majority in the east London constituency.
Former leader of the Conservative Party, Iain Duncan Smith held the seat with a majority of 2,438 in 2017 and activists have identified it as one of a number of marginal seats to be targeted with canvassing under the banner of their ‘Hackney on Tour’ campaign.
David Clarke, one of the organisers, said ahead of the march: “The race in Chingford & Woodford Green is set to be unbelievably tight and dozens of us from Hackney will be heading there on Saturday to help win it for Labour.”
“The constituency voted remain in the EU Referendum and it deserves better than hard-Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith as its MP,” he added.
Fazia Shaheen, the Labour candidate, is aiming to oust the Tories and Iain Duncan Smith from the seat for the first time since its creation in 1997. She is joined by Dr Geoffrey Seef, the Lib Dem candidate in the area.
‘Hackney on Tour’ has also singled out other swing seats to target and has planned canvassing in Battersea, Kensington and even as far away as Southampton Itchen, which was won by the Conservatives with a majority of just 31 in 2017.
Maia Kirby, Secretary of Hackney North and Stoke Newington Constituency Labour Party, said: “We’ve got a couple of week nights where we’re going out and every weekend we’ll be heading out to the swing constituencies.”
Hackney’s status as a safe Labour borough is the base for ‘Hackney on Tour’ campaign. Diane Abbot and Meg Hillier won huge majorities in Hackney North, Stoke Newington, Hackney South and Shoreditch respectively in 2019, allowing local activists to campaign further afield for Labour ahead of the general election on 12 December.
