WIRRAL MP Mick Whitley attended a Labour Party Hustings to explain why he should be reselected as a candidate for his town in the next general election.

The Labour MP for Birkenhead is facing a reselection challenge from another Wirral MP, Alison McGovern, whose Wirral South constituency will be divided into Wirral West and Ellesmere Port, with most becoming part of Wirral West, under Boundary Commission changes which would see the number of seats on Wirral reduced from four to three because of the number of voters in the area.

Birkenhead and Wallasey will continue to exist though there will be some changes to the boundaries.

Fellow Labour MP Mick Whitley, who currently represents Birkenhead in its current form has confirmed he will run against Ms McGovern. Part of the existing Wirral South constituency will be merged into the new Birkenhead seat.

Read more > Wirral South MP Alison McGovern to challenge for new Birkenhead seat 

A previous ruling that MPs could only stake a claim to another seat if 40% or more of their old constituent had been moved to a new one, was recently changed.

Any MP, with any wards moved to a new constituency, could now challenge sitting MPs.

Mr Whitley was recently reselected by his local party and on this basis had agreed to try and win the seat for Labour.

In his Hustings speech to local party members on Saturday, Mick Whitley said: "I was humbled to be selected to represent you for the Labour Party at the last election. And thanks to you, I won the seat for Labour against a nationwide swing towards the Tories.

“In return for your support, I made you a promise. I said that I would be Birkenhead's voice in Westminster and not the other way around. I have kept that promise.

"Birkenhead is the town I was born and raised in. I was shaped by its people and by its strong tradition of trade unionism and socialism.

"Being selected by you to represent Birkenhead was one of the greatest privileges of my life.

"Birkenhead is one of the most deprived towns in the country and its people have suffered enormously because of the government’s cruel and vindictive austerity measures.

"Over sixteen thousand cases have crossed my desk. And together with my team of case workers, we have done our best to help people in need.”

Mick went on to spell out his support for a range of community campaigns and organisations, the work he has carried out supporting the workers of Cammell Laird, the intensive efforts he has made to bring inward investment into the town, his campaign to win additional support for the cash strapped Council and his endless round of lobbying to win inward investment and drive the exciting regeneration projects forward to transform the town.

Mick highlighted his steadfast opposition to the government’s plans to put desperate asylum seekers into prison ships in the town’s docks – refugees are welcome in Birkenhead and there is no place for such inhumane proposals.

Mick also drew attention to his support for workers in struggle. He said: "As the cost-of-living soared I made sure that striking workers knew they had my support. I joined the picket lines.

"I believe that a Labour MP should always stand in the front ranks, supporting workers in their campaigns for decent wages, jobs, and conditions."

Mick added that he is "first and foremost a constituency MP fighting on behalf of the people he represents, the people of Birkenhead, people who need an MP that takes their cases seriously and bends every sinew to trying to help them.

"I have made the case for our core Labour values, like public ownership, taxing corporate profits and scrapping Universal Credit.

"I genuinely believe socialist policies can begin to fix our broken country and bring back hope to Birkenhead."