Christian Wakeford: Bury South residents had this to say about their MP’s defection to Labour

What do the people of Bury South constituency make of Tory MP Christian Wakeford’s defection to Labour?
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At the 2019 general election, Christian Wakeford was elected as the Tory MP for Bury South but has now defected to the Labour Party in a move announced on Wednesday.

In his letter of resignation, the ex-Tory hit out at Prime Minister Boris Johnson and said Labour was “ready to provide an alternative government that this country can be proud of, and not embarrassed by”.

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Mr Wakeford’s defection came just ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions, where he was then cheered by Labour MPs as he crossed the floor of the Commons to join his new colleagues.

He has since told the BBC he had felt pressured by Conservative whips to vote a certain way or he would not get funding for a new school in Radcliffe - which comes after claims from MP William Wragg that Tory MPs who opposed the Prime Minister were threatened with cuts to constituency funding - an allegation Boris Johnson has denied.

Meanwhile, Bury North’s Conservative MP James Daly said in a statement about his former colleague’s defection that he was “extremely disappointed having only heard in the press a minute before he walked across the Commons”.

He added: “I’m astounded he’s abandoned the party that’s brought millions to Bury.”

We took to the streets of Mr Wakeford’s constituency to ask voters what they think.