Tajammul Gurmani
Manchester
Member of Parliament Afzal Khan has said that the national government is responsible for the defeat of the Labour Party in the local elections in Manchester City, but the Green Party will never take over Manchester Council because the current Labour council’s performance is very good. He was talking to this correspondent after the defeat of the Labour Party in the local elections.
To a query about who is responsible for the defeat of the Labour Party, the national leadership or the councillors themselves? MP Afzal Khan said: “I think if you look at the performance throughout the country, then you have to say that the responsibility lies with the national government. It’s also because you are in the midterm. People usually give their response according to how they feel about the government. Any government, whether Labour or Conservative, gets that response, and it’s a clear message that the public are currently not happy.”
About another query that the Green Party can take over Manchester City Council in the future, he said: “My answer would be that you can never say never, but if you look at history, I think it’s very clear for 40 or 50 years now. The performance of the current Labour council in Manchester has been very good. This is one of the best-performing cities in the country, and one of the best cities where people want to come and live. It is internationally renowned. So, I think we’ve done a huge amount for the city. This is a temporary setback. I think we have recovered before. He said that Green Party don’t have the substance. They don’t have the ability to govern; they don’t have the experience as well. Even those people who have been elected now, on the 7th of May, you will see that half of them do not have a clue what to do. So, I don’t feel that there is any threat. I think the Labour Party will regroup, and they’ll perform much better in the next election.”
When asked whether the Green Party can win in his constituency in the future, he said: “No, I don’t think they can win the seat. I think I’m a very good MP. I perform well; I serve people’s issues well. I also handle a lot of important cases. For the last 25 years, I’ve been regularly winning, and I hold the record for receiving the highest number of votes in the city of Manchester” he concluded.
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