Defeated Labour candidate for Sutton and Cheam, Emily Brothers, says she fears for the future of St Helier’s hospital under Conservative Paul Scully.
Ms Brothers secured 5,546 (11.1%) of the vote as Mr Scully surged to victory with 41.5% of the vote with 20,732 constituents supporting his cause.
Ms Brothers is an a avid supporter of St Helier’s effort to fight off growing debts and is concerned about how the Conservatives will handle the hospital’s future.
“The Conservatives will send public sector spending down to 35.2% of GDP which will have a very serious impact on the future of St Helier,” Ms Brothers explained.
“I am very worried by the idea of the Conservatives controlling the future of St Helier. Only Labour has pledged to protect the hospital.
“We said we would rebuild it on its current site and no other party will do that.”
Mr Scully however refutes these claims and says he is strongly behind supporting St Helier’s and protecting its future.
On a chastening night for Ed Miliband’s Labour party Ms Brothers acknowledged that the national result had been disappointing in comparison to what they had been predicting.
She said: “It is a challenging time for the Labour party because of the predictions and the results that have been coming in.
“It is very hard to say how the government will shape up in the future and that puts every decision into doubt.”
Having served for 18 years, Liberal Democrat Paul Burstow lost his seat after only managing to earn 33.7% with 16,811 votes.
While Mr Burstow was keen to highlight the fact that his party had suffered nationwide, Ms Brothers feels his failure was of his own making.
“Paul Burstow has been an architect of his own downfall because he joined the coalition on the side of austerity,” she said.
“There is now going to be a realignment of local politics. For the Liberal Democrats in Sutton and Cheam this is the beginning of the end.”
Turnout from voters in Sutton and Cheam was down from 72.8% to 72.2% with 49,967 people voting.
