Express & Star

General election: Black Country and Staffordshire MPs pledge to 'end the gridlock'

MPs across the Black Country and Staffordshire have vowed to end the gridlock and “get Brexit done” after Boris Johnson stormed to a landslide victory.

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DUDLEY COPYRIGHT EXPRESS&STAR TIM THURSFIELD 12/12/19.The Dudley election count at Crystal Leisure Centre, Stourbridge..The four Conservative MP's Suzanne Webb, James Morris, Marco Longhi and Mike Wood celebrate the results......

New and old MPs across the region are already getting moving on making key changes to their constituencies.

Nicola Richards, the new Tory MP for West Bromwich East – the first since the seat was established in 1974 – said she believed the Black Country was "the natural home for the Conservative party".

New West Bromwich East MP Nicola Richards with Conservative campaigner David Fisher

She said: "It's amazing. Every time someone asked me if I thought this was going to happen, on one hand yes, but it was also a shock.

"People clearly wanted change. They wanted Brexit over and done with. And they felt let down by their current representation.

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"But I also felt like this was a huge challenge as I'd never done it before."

Wendy Morton, who claimed back her Aldridge and Brownhills seat, added that the vote reinforced the message that people “just wanted to get Brexit done”.

Wendy Morton celebrates her victory

“People here just want to get Brexit done and move the country forward,” she said. “And equally people understand the threat of a Corbyn-led Government as well.”

Tory Stuart Anderson MP, who won in the marginal Wolverhampton South West seat, said he wants to put the city back on the map.

Stuart Anderson celebrates his win

He said: “I want to bring investment into the city. We’ve got billions going into the NHS and I’ve been campaigning for a good chunk of that to come to Wolverhampton.

“The country has been stagnant because we’ve been talking about deals, no deals, referendums and all the different things.

“The people have clearly spoken across the country, in Wolverhampton as well, and we need to get Brexit done now.”

Fellow Conservative Shaun Bailey has turned West Bromwich West blue for the first time since 1974. He declared he wanted to bring “life” to the community.

Shaun Bailey

“A lot of communities in West Bromwich need support, they need the resources pumped in, people are feeling ignored,” he said.

“A lot of people think investment is going elsewhere and that is something that needs to be addressed.”

Education secretary and re-elected MP for South Staffordshire Gavin Williamson said it was now “full throttle” towards Brexit, adding: “It’s an immense privilege to see that Conservative government representatives are now in seats that haven’t seen this kind of representation for generations, or in some cases ever.”

Marco Longhi, former mayor of Walsall, claimed the Dudley North seat for the Tories after Labour’s Ian Austin stepped down.He has pledged to tackle the “unfair” car parking situation at Russells Hall Hospital.

Four Conservative MPs - Suzanne Webb, James Morris, Marco Longhi and Mike Wood - celebrate the results

“And I will follow that through – I said at the count I will not let people down,” he said.

“Clearly my number one priority will be to support Boris from the backbenches to make sure we move at pace to get Brexit delivered.”

Pat McFadden, of Wolverhampton South East, is one of the few remaining Labour MPs in the region, and said the “scale” of the result had come as a major shock.

Pat McFadden

“We can never again offer a leader who many voters believe is on the wrong side of patriotism,” he said.

“People rightly expect their leaders to really believe in the country and too many voters don’t believe in Jeremy Corbyn.”

Bill Cash said he was "utterly thrilled" that Brexit would finally go ahead after it was disrupted by Remain MPs.

Sir Bill Cash

The Stone MP said: ""I’m extremely thrilled and delighted because of the fact we’re now going to leave the EU.

"I’ve fought for it and the results are a complete endorsement by my constituents and by constituents across the whole of Staffordshire and the whole of the country, largely north of Coventry, which represents the true feelings of the British public."

Boris Johnson declared that his party has “smashed the roadblock” and “ended the gridlock” as he hailed the biggest Conservative majority since the 1980s.

The Prime Minister vowed to unite the country, spread opportunity and “get Brexit done” after his snap General Election gamble paid off and he romped home with an estimated majority of 78.

In a victory speech in central London, Mr Johnson said: “We did it - we pulled it off, didn’t we? We broke the gridlock, we ended the deadlock, we smashed the roadblock.”

The Tory landslide prompted Jeremy Corbyn to announce that he will not lead Labour into another election after his party suffered humiliation across the country.