May 19, 2017 2.37 pm This story is over 82 months old

Fighting talk from Labour candidate as he tells people of Scunthorpe to blow Theresa May ‘a big raspberry’

Labour candidate for Scunthorpe at next month’s general election Nic Dakin has gone on the offensive, insisting he will fight off a Conservative challenge for the seat and urging the people of the steel town to blow Theresa May “a big raspberry”. Dakin, who has represented Scunthorpe since 2010, is defending a slender majority of…
Former Scunthorpe MP Nic Dakin.

Labour candidate for Scunthorpe at next month’s general election Nic Dakin has gone on the offensive, insisting he will fight off a Conservative challenge for the seat and urging the people of the steel town to blow Theresa May “a big raspberry”.

Dakin, who has represented Scunthorpe since 2010, is defending a slender majority of 3,134, well within the Conservatives’ sights if current polling plays out as expected next month.

Indeed, polling compiled by Martin Baxter of Electoral Calculus predicts that both Scunthorpe and Great Grimsby could turn blue on June 8, meaning the Conservatives would hold all 11 Greater Lincolnshire constituencies, something that has not happened since the Second World War.

Despite this, a defiant Dakin told Lincolnshire Reporter: “Well Labour isn’t going to lose.

“In reality this is going to be a tight election. It’s an election nobody wants.

“This is unprecedented in the history of the country that a prime minister with a clear mandate comes back to the country so early.

“Tony Blair never did this, Margaret Thatcher never did this – no prime minister in history has ever done it.

“This is opportunism by Mrs May and she’s going that because she thinks she can take seats like Scunthorpe.

“Well the people of Scunthorpe need to blow her a big raspberry.”

Corbyn would make ‘decent’ PM

Dakin blasted remarkable suggestions from Unite general secretary Len McCluskey earlier in the week in which he said a success for Labour in the general election would be to hold onto anything around 200 seats.

“To say that anything other than gaining seats for Labour is a success is ludicrous.”

However, Dakin was more coy about how successful his party’s leader would be if he was given the keys to 10 Downing Street.

He said: “Well Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the Labour Party. If he wins this election he will make a decent prime minister.

When challenged if decent meant good, he said: “Look he’s on a big learning curve isn’t he? He’s only been Leader of the Opposition for a short period of time.”

Conservative candidate Holly Mumby-Croft was offered the opportunity of an interview on the same day as Nic Dakin but was unavailable.

ALSO SEE: General election 2017: Scunthorpe MP candidates