Mayo woman battles for Labour seat in UK's General Election

A woman from Ballycastle in north Mayo is making headlines as she fights to secure a Labour seat in Thursday’s UK General Election.

Claire Tighe, aged 39, could become the first Labour MP elected for the Surrey constituency of Spelthorne since 1945.

According to today’s Irish Times, Ms. Tighe, who works as an adviser to UK Labour leader Keir Starmer, is in a closely contested battle to take the formerly rock-solid Tory Westminster seat.

The seat was previously held by Kwasi Kwarteng, the former UK Chancellor whose 2022 budget under Liz Truss almost toppled the British economy.

“We can do this,” Ms. Tighe said at the weekend, as her family flew in from Ireland for the final push. “Things that seem out of reach aren’t always. It’s the Mayo supporter in me, it is like the last few minutes on the pitch in an All-Ireland match. This is what we live for.”

Ironically, her bid for Westminster could be aided by Rory O’Brien, a Sligo native running in Spelthorne for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party.

O’Brien, whose family relocated to Britain when he was a baby, has split the right-wing vote, leaving a narrow path open for Ms. Tighe to potentially nip in ahead of the Tory candidate.

As the election draws near, all eyes are on Spelthorne to see if this Mayo woman can make history.