Beccy Cooper on her bid to be Worthing West's first Labour MP

She was then part of history again when Labour took control of Worthing Borough Council from the Conservatives in 2022 after a landslide victory.

Now the council leader hopes to go one step further and become the first Labour MP for Worthing West.

To do so, she will have to unseat Conservative Sir Peter Bottomley, who has been the MP for the constituency since its creation in 1997 and has beaten her on two previous occasions.

Dr Cooper, who has more than 20 years’ experience in public health, said she got into politics to help improve people’s health and wellbeing having faced barriers to achieving that in her job.

The 46-year-old said she wants to “breathe new life” into the area and improve living conditions for residents.

Dr Beccy Cooper in the Labour battle bus as it visited Worthing Leisure Centre (Image: Dr Beccy Cooper)

The mother of two, who has lived in Worthing for ten years, said one of the biggest issues facing Worthing West, and a major priority of hers, is housing.

Worthing West does not have the right housing model mix, she said, and there are examples of overdevelopment in areas such as Angmering.

“What we have is fairly built-up areas, we’re 95 per cent developed because we have the Channel to the south and the South Downs National Park to the north,” said Dr Cooper.

“So we live on a narrow urban coastal strip. Per person per head we’ve got a snooker table of green space. That is of great concern to me.

“There are very little brownfield sites left.

“We don’t have nearly enough opportunities for first-time buyers.

“We need to think about how we can get first-time buyers on the market

“The Labour Party manifesto is talking about a mortgage guarantee scheme for first-time buyers.

“It's really important so you don’t have to live with mum and dad for the rest of your life.

“And then for older people around here it’s about downsizing options.

“The downsizing options simply aren’t there.

“Previous administrations haven’t planned well for how the demographics have changed. We now need to be serious about that.”

She said another major issue is the availability of social housing.

“We have a lot of people on the housing register,” she said.

“We don’t have anywhere to put people who, often through no fault of their own, through no fault evictions, or rents and mortgages being put up, are made homeless.

“We really need national planning policy change.

“We’ve got to get serious about actually providing these social houses.

“At the moment it favours the developers. It’s sort of like if developers say they can’t make a profit then oh we’ll let them build.

“Well no more.

“We need to provide a good range of housing.

“For some people they aren’t going to be able to afford to buy a house, perhaps they don’t want to buy a house.

“There's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't have a good long-term, stable, warm, decent safe home.”

Other priorities for Dr Cooper include better access to healthcare such as NHS dentists and GP appointments as well as improved opportunities for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

She said parents are struggling to get access to the right education resources for their children.

“I went into politics to improve people's health and wellbeing and because I'm from a public health background that includes the wider determinants, housing is absolutely fundamental, alongside access to decent food, decent jobs, decent education,” she said.

“The other key thing that's coming up in education is around special educational needs and children with disabilities.

“They have been very, very poorly provided for.”

Will it be third time lucky for Beccy? (Image: Dr Beccy Cooper/ Labour)

She also wants to ensure water companies, such as Southern Water, are held to account.

And if she is made MP? Dr Cooper says there is a succession plan in place for the council leadership.

“I have an excellent deputy leader in Councillor Sophie Cox and she is very happy to become the next leader of the council,” she said.

“We have been working very closely together and she is more than capable.

“She’s going to be an absolutely brilliant leader.”

Dr Cooper said this General Election campaign has been the best she has ever been a part of and the gradual shift towards her party over the years has been “amazing” but one she still finds surprising.

Worthing West is a target seat for Labour.

“We do stand a really good chance here, but we're taking absolutely nothing for granted,” she said.

“I think in Worthing West the key message really is that if people do want change, every single vote is going to count.

“If people want to see new life breathed into Worthing West  then this is their moment to do it.

“I hope that over the years they've seen that I am absolutely committed to this.

“This is my home constituency where I live, where I raise my children, it’s where my husband and I have worked and we love it here.

“I'm committed to fighting for our communities and being the voice of our community and helping our communities to have a voice.”