Hyndburn election sees Britcliffe cousins go head to head

The Blackburn-born former rugby player is standing for George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain on July 4.

Matthew, a chartered quantity surveyor who has worked in the past for BAE Systems - which has been criticised for selling arms to Israel - and former Labour Party member, is Miss Britcliffe's first cousin and nephew of former Hyndburn Council leader and Oswaldtwistle county councillor Peter.

Educated at Blackburn's Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School and Leicester University, Matthews says his 'political inspiration' is former Labour cabinet minister Tony Benn.

Launching his campaign, the 47-year-old Longridge resident told the Lancashire Telegraph: "Shortly after my birth, Blackburn lost its last good MP, Barbara Castle.

"I first became aware of the current plight of the Palestinians after a school trip there in February 1989. Another school field trip to Westminster introduced me to Tony Benn, whose work I later studied.

"Tony Benn remains my main political inspiration.

"My desire to do the right thing is what has caused me to now stand to represent the constituency of my father’s family.

Sara Britcliffe said her cousin is 'estranged' from her

"My family has been part of East Lancashire's history through the age of industrialisation, and I well understand how most of us came to be here in the first place.

"I’ve witnessed first-hand the awful deprivation and impoverishment caused by the successive dreadful governments of the last 45 years, with each one seemingly being worse, and more corrupt, than the last.

"I had joined the labour party under Jeremy Corbyn, campaigned hard for them in successive elections and was hugely disappointed by the result in the 2019 General Election.

"Days after the election, my father told me I had a cousin, who I’d never heard of, and that she had been elected to parliament as a Tory MP. It was disappointing news, and didn’t get any better.

"The last five years have been horrific and we simply cannot afford another five years like that - which is what Starmer and Sunak offer.

"Too many people are destitute and hungry, it is getting worse, and our small business are closing at an alarming rate.

"A vote for me is a vote for representation, and service, by me, to the constituents of Hyndburn.

"Labour and Conservative party candidates actively support the state of Israel’s war crimes."

He also slammed his cousins for voting in favour of dumping raw sewage in rivers and voting against a ceasefire in Gaza.

Conservative candidate Miss Britcliffe said: "Matthew is an estranged family member with whom I have no contact due to personal reasons.

"I do not believe he lives in the constituency.

"However it is important to note that we do share the same last name and that I will be the second name down on the ballot paper."

Other candidates expected to stand in the Hyndburn constituency include: Mohammed Shabir Fazal (Green Party); Richard Oakley (Reform UK); Sarah Smith (Labour) and Beth Waller-Slack (Liberal Democrats).

Matthew Britcliffe's full campaign statement is below:

"I’m Matthew Britcliffe. My great-grandfather, Joseph Britcliffe, was from Haslingden. He had several sons, some of whom died in World War One, and Joseph’s youngest son, Jack, was my grandfather. Jack had a shop in Oswaldtwistle and drank in the Con Club there. I’m his eldest grandson. My maternal grandfather, Frank Kelly, was from Blackburn and was educated at St Mary’s College, before flying Spitfires in World War Two. In 1948 Frank joined the fire brigade, initially in Manchester. Soon he transferred to Accrington. Later he became Chief of the North East Lancashire Division, also based in Accrington, until he became Assistant Chief of the Lancashire Brigade. My maternal grandmother is a descendant of a sibling of George Stephenson.

"I was born in Blackburn and educated there, at QEGS. Shortly after my birth, Blackburn lost its last good MP, Barbara Castle. From a young age I attended Sunday school where I learned the teachings of Jesus. Later, I also learned about the Prophet Muhammed. I first became aware of the current plight of the Palestinians after a school trip there in February 1989. Another school field trip to Westminster introduced me to Tony Benn, whose work I later studied. Tony Benn remains my main political inspiration. I grew up during the Blackburn boomtown era, and took lessons at Blackburn School of Music, so as you may expect, music is one of my great passions. I played rugby at Blackburn RUFC as a youngster before joining Preston Grasshoppers, where I was captain of my age group and pack leader of the Colts “Golden Generation” with team-mates including the current England Manager, Steve Borthwick, Sale Shark’s Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson, and Worcester’s former “Captain Fantastic” Pat Sanderson.

"I was the first member of my family to go away to university and I studied Politics at the University of Leicester, completing my dissertation on the breakdown of the State of Lebanon, which had been largely attributable to the colonisation of Palestine by the modern State of Israel. Following that I studied in Preston and embarked on a career in the construction and engineering sector. I’ve delivered and been part of mega-projects for organisations like Sellafield Limited, BAE Systems, Equinor and Scottish & Southern Energy, including being lead estimator on a £1.1bn undersea cable link for SSE, which was delivered on time and under the budget I estimated, which is a rare achievement. I’ve also gained the benefit of a first-hand understanding of many of the fundamental flaws in the way public-sector funds are used and, importantly, misused. Along the way, I became a chartered quantity surveyor and more recently a construction adjudicator, resolving disputes between construction parties, and a Fellow of both the RICS & the CIArb. During my assessment of professional competence, I embraced my ethical training, which underlined why I have always sought to do the right thing.

"My desire to do the right thing is what has caused me to now stand to represent the constituency of my father’s family. My family has been part of East Lancashire's history through the age of industrialisation, and I well understand how most of us came to be here in the first place. I’ve witnessed first-hand the awful deprivation and impoverishment caused by the successive dreadful governments of the last 45 years, with each one seemingly being worse, and more corrupt, than the last. A combination of wage stagnation, rip-off rents, the “cost of greed” crisis with regulators in the pocket of corporate interests, destruction of public services, and the support of the genocide in Israel: for me, enough is enough. There are effective rent controls in places like the US and Germany, we can have them here. We can constrain energy prices to affordable levels, we can build public housing, we’ve had good public services, we can provide better education for all – they do in Scotland, there’s no reason why we can’t have that and more in Lancashire.

"I had joined the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, campaigned hard for them in successive elections and was hugely disappointed by the result in the 2019 General Election. Days after the election, my father told me I had a cousin, who I’d never heard of, and that she had been elected to parliament as a Tory MP. It was disappointing news, and didn’t get any better. A vote for dumping more sewage in our rivers, and a vote against a ceasefire in Gaza: two votes of Sara’s which stood out to me. The last five years have been horrific, and we simply cannot afford another five years like that, which is what Starmer and Sunak offer.

"Too many people are destitute and hungry, it is getting worse, and our small businesses are closing at an alarming rate. A vote for me is a vote for representation, and service, by me, to the constituents of Hyndburn. All the other candidates – red, blue, green or yellow, will give your vote away to corporate interests. Labour and Conservative party candidates actively support the state of Israel’s war crimes: if they are prepared to allow children and civilians to die, there is not a chance they will support a better education and life for our children, or improved living standards for the rest of us. They do not value and cherish the lives of others, and that is fundamentally wrong.

"My one-time offer to the people of Hyndburn is this – make me your Member of Parliament on July 4, and I will represent and serve you and you alone, to the best of my ability, guided by the principles of fairness, equality, peace and hard work for the next five years. I will hold the Government and Prime Minister to account. I will use my best endeavours that no one is left behind."