Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern

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Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern
Leader Richard Taylor MP
Chairperson Cllr. Howard Martin
Founded 2000
Headquarters Kidderminster
Ideology Restoration of Kidderminster Hospital's casualty unit
International affiliation None
European affiliation None
European Parliament Group None
Official colours Red
Website
http://www.healthconcern.org.uk/

Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern (often known by the shorter name Health Concern) is a political party based in Kidderminster, United Kingdom. It grew out of the campaign to restore the casualty unit at Kidderminster Hospital, and the National Health Service is still its primary focus, but the party has since diversified.

The party has one MP in the House of Commons, Dr Richard Taylor, who won a surprise landslide victory in the 2001 general election standing for the Wyre Forest constituency, which includes Kidderminster. He was the only person not from a major national or regional party elected as an MP in the 2001 Parliament (though later in that session, George Galloway defected from Labour to RESPECT, and Andrew Hunter left the Conservative Party and continued initially as an independent MP, later joining the DUP in 2004 [1]). Taylor was re-elected as member for Wyre Forest in the 2005 election, albeit with a considerably reduced majority. On both occasions, Health Concern benefited from a decision by the Liberal Democrats not to put up a candidate of their own.

The KHHC is also active in local government, although it has lost much support in recent years. Before the 2004 local elections, it held 16 seats on Wyre Forest district council, making it the single biggest party, but in those elections it lost half of these seats to the Conservative Party. The 2005 local elections for Worcestershire County Council, held on the same day as the general election, also saw Health Concern perform poorly, losing five of its six seats. However, in 2006 local elections for the district council, it held its own, making one net gain to take its representation from eight to nine. Above that, in the May 2007 local elections, their representation was again increased from nine to 10 members.

According to the Electoral Commission's register of parties, its leader is Taylor, Peter Young is the nominating officer, Keith Robertson is treasurer, and Howard Martin is campaigns officer. The party does not have a formal membership. It had expenditure of about £12,000 and income of about £9,000 in the 2005 calendar year.

[edit] County Councillors

Currently Health Concern have three County Councillors. two in Worcestershire and one in Shropshire.

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[edit] References

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