Independent candidate hits back at rumours over rally on election eve

An Independent candidate was forced to dispel rumours he had stepped down and his final rally in Blackburn had been cancelled in the run-up to the General Election tomorrow

Adnan Hussain’s team had organised the ‘family event’ at the Ivy Venue on Newton Street on Tuesday night, where families were invited to hear from Mr Hussain and a range of speakers.

It came on the back of public rallies in recent weeks.

4BwD councillors, who resigned over the national Labour leadership’s stance on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and its newly elected councillors have been supporting Mr Hussain’s campaign, and were in attendance.

Mr Hussainsaid on Tuesday: “Please ignore the malicious lies being spread around the town, I have neither stood down nor has my event been cancelled.

“Hope to see all the wonderful people of my town at 7pm tonight.”

Organisers said the turnout had ‘exceeded expectations’.

The event was attended by families at the Ivy Centre

One supporter said: “It was great to see so many people here. Only two candidates have a chance here and you can see that for yourself at the number of people who turned out.”

Ahead of the event, Mr Hussain was meeting with residents in Mill Hill and was videoed speaking to businesses.

He posted: “With the cost-of-living crisis, and years of Tory austerity, people truly live their daily lives full of anxiety.

“Let's work to make things easier for people and not more difficult.
 
“Let's invest our efforts into bringing more funding into the town via business and enterprise, and not by applying greater pressure on the pockets of the common resident of Blackburn, who is just trying to get by on a daily basis.”

He added: “I strongly believe in the building of bridges across communities in Blackburn, bridging the gaps along racial divides and building a united Blackburn, where no individual or community is left behind.”

The full list of candidates on the Blackburn ballot paper is: Kate Hollern – Labour Party; Adnan Hussain - Independent; Jamie McGowan - Conservative Party; Denise Morgan - Green Party; Craig Murray – Workers Party of Britain; Tiger Patel – Independent; Natasha Shah - Independent; Tommy Temperley – Reform UK; and Adam Waller-Slack – Liberal Democrats.