Lincoln's Labour candidate Hamish Falconer outlines pledges and gives verdict on Christmas market return

Shifting from a background in counter-terrorism and national security, Hamish Falconer is the Labour candidate for Lincoln in the upcoming general election on July 4. Mr Falconer has already established himself as a prominent political figure after campaigning against the Home Office’s asylum centre plans for RAF Scampton over the past year.

Mr Falconer says he believes it is time for a change in the city. "Lincoln has such a bright future ahead, but we need to fight for it because things aren’t working at the moment,” he said, claiming that Lincoln has the lowest wages of any university city in the country and is facing a rise in child poverty.

While working for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for 14 years, he served in countries such as Pakistan, South Sudan, and Afghanistan. But now, spurred on by encouragement from the Lincoln Labour Party and some slight influence from his father, Charles Falconer, a Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mr Falconer hopes to bring the city 'back on track'.

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He said: "It was such an honour to serve the country overseas, to do the jobs that I did, but I thought, ultimately, that there’s a big argument about the future of the country and there is a big argument about the future of Lincoln as well, and I wanted to be part of that."

As a candidate who grew up in London, Mr Falconer has received criticism from the likes of Liberal Democrat candidate Clare Smalley and Workers Party of Britain candidate Linda Richardson for not being local, questioning how he can properly represent the area. To this, he insisted that he does, in fact, live in the constituency now, comparing his situation to that of the many RAF personnel and thousands of students who also moved to the city.

"I live in Lincoln, I’ve been around for quite a while, but most importantly, unlike any other candidate for the general election, I was chosen by Lincoln people in a free and open competition. I hope that I have demonstrated over the last couple of years that I live here and I’m totally engaged in the city’s issues."

Should he be elected, Mr Falconer has pledged to work towards getting public services 'back on track', with a particular emphasis on the NHS following nearly 18 months of junior doctor strikes and long wait times. He said: "We need more appointments and more scanners.

"The Labour Party has announced a policy to create 40,000 new appointments each week to address the backlog. Locally, that also means using the medical school to improve provision at the hospital."

Furthermore, Mr Falconer hopes to help tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis and to put a stop to the Home Office’s asylum centre plans for RAF Scampton. Last October, Labour leader Keir Starmer vowed to end the Home Office’s use of the former airbase, allowing Scampton Holdings Ltd to work toward regenerating the site.

Mr Falconer maintained that this is still a "cast iron commitment" from the Labour Party but remained cautious about the situation regarding the site should Labour win a majority.

He said: "The thing we don’t know the answers to is what the circumstances will be at Scampton if we take over. I fear we will have quite a lot of unpicking to do."

Over the past year, both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have continued to campaign for the revival of the Lincoln Christmas Market after the Labour-led city council decided to cancel the historic event following overcrowding concerns in 2022, when around 320,000 people attended over four days.

While he didn’t rule out bringing back the famous four-day event in some capacity—whether it be held for longer or stretched over a larger space—Mr Falconer stood by the decision made by his peers in the City of Lincoln Council.

"I think the Christmas market was a great thing for Lincoln, and I have spoken to lots of people on their doorsteps who really do value it. But every other party in Lincoln who sits on the council knows this because they were also briefed on it; there clearly were serious concerns raised by the emergency services about the structure of the market."

He continued: "The council made the decision based on strong advice from the emergency services. I would like to bring the Christmas Market back, but I am always going to deal in realities and I’m not going to promise anything."

Looking ahead to July 4, Mr Falconer insists that the people of Lincoln are looking for an ‘active and vigorous’ person to represent them, and he is confident he can fulfil that role. "People are not asking for silver bullets or magic beans. Life is quite tough at the moment, and they want to know that their representatives are absolutely going to slug away for them, making the changes they want to see," he said.

Full list of general election candidates in the Lincoln constituency:

• Karl McCartney (Conservative)

• Hamish Falconer (Labour)

• Clare Smalley (Liberal Democrat)

• Sally Anne Horscroft (Green)

• Jamie-Lee McMillan (Reform UK)

• Linda Richardson (Workers Party)

• Charles Shaw (The Liberal Party)

• Craig Marshall (Social Democratic Party)

• Laura Ashby (Independent)