THE political heat in Uttlesford has been turned up this week with Tory MP Sir Alan Haselhurst refuting claims that he will not run in the next general election. Rumours had been rife that the MP for Uttlesford would be offered a peerage to step up to the

THE political heat in Uttlesford has been turned up this week with Tory MP Sir Alan Haselhurst refuting claims that he will not run in the next general election.

Rumours had been rife that the MP for Uttlesford would be offered a peerage to step up to the House of Lords, making way for a new candidate in the district.

However, the MP has told the Broadcast that he is "100 per cent committed" and "up for the fight."

He added: "I still have a lot of issues to follow through, such as increasing the quality of trains in the area, and want the opportunity to do so in the New Year.

"These rumours have gone around before but they are not true. I would welcome a peerage at some stage of course, but currently my mind is completely on this job and running again next year."

On top of that, opposition party, the Liberal Democrats, have released a 'newspaper' in Great Dunmow titled the Dunmow & District Gazette in a bid to win more voters ahead of an election which will be called in the New Year.

The paper hit doormats at the end of last week and highlights the so-called failings of Labour and Conservative councillors and MPs and describes in a number of articles how the Lib Dems could be doing a better job

However, many residents have claimed that they feel mislead by the newspaper because they thought it was a real one.

The Lib Dem candidate for next year's election is Peter Wilcock. He disagrees that the party mislead anyone and said that any feedback, positive or negative, is welcome.

He added: "We have produced a number of these papers in the past three of four years - just as we do leaflets and other reading material. In total, four editions have gone out in north Chelmsford, Great Dunmow, Saffron Walden and Stansted.

"We try and localise things as much as possible and release editions when we have gathered news from around the county.

"We welcome any feedback from the public, whether positive or negative, because it helps us to understand what is going on in the area - allowing us to make good policies."

Sir Alan however, condemned the move as "pure political propaganda" and said that the conservatives would never produce a newspaper because it may mislead the public. "We will always stick with simple newsletters," he said.

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