Words by Ed King
Jack Dromey is officially seeking reselection from local Labour Party members to contest the next General Election as Erdington’s Labour candidate.
Currently scheduled for Thursday 2 May 2024, the next General Election could be called early if the sitting government change their plans – prompting the Labour Party HQ to push MPs to declare their intentions.
Whenever it’s called, the next General Election will be Jack Dromey’s fifth campaign for the Erdington constituency – having won by over 3,500 votes ahead of Robert Alden (Con) in 2019.
Jack Dromey was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Erdington in 2010, and has since won re-election in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He became an MP after a long career as a Trade Union official in which he rose to the position of Deputy General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, which later became Unite.
Still with strong links to Unite, Jack Dromey has been a central figure in the fight to save the ill-fated GKN Chester Road factory – acting as an intermediary between the Government, Unite the Union, and GKN owners Melrose PLC.
In an outline of his decade plus achievements as MP, to Erdington Labour Party members, Mr Dromey also cites his work in ‘saving the JLR plant and thousands of jobs who work there and in the supply chain.’
Mr Dromey also references ‘securing funding for two new build schools, Greenwood Academy and North Birmingham Academy’ and ‘ensuring that all of Erdington’s libraries remain open while we see libraries closing nationwide’ – alongside his work supporting local healthcare, employment, sports and leisure facilities.
The reselection process will take place over the next few months and Mr Dromey must receive over 50% support from Erdington Labour Party members and affiliated unions combined – allowing him to once again stand as MP for Erdington.
Jack Dromey MP said:
“Now, more than ever, our community needs to retain a strong champion in Parliament. A decade of Tory austerity has stripped back vital services and we are feeling the effects locally. Unemployment stands at twice the national average and, despite their ‘levelling up’ rhetoric, the Government has no plan to improve areas like ours.
“I am determined to help Erdington bounce back from Covid and realise the vast potential we have locally by building on the work that has already been started by the North Birmingham Economic Recovery Board, of which I’m Chair.
“I am determined to secure the funding that our High Street desperately needs in order to make it somewhere out community can be proud of once again. And I am determined to continue standing up for Erdington residents in Parliament.
“It would be an honour to continue as the Member of Parliament for Erdington.”
For more on Jack Dromey MP for Erdington visit www.jackdromey.co.uk
Jack is reasonably socialist but I wish our local council would act like a Labour council. I call them LINOs, or Labour In Name Only.