Widow is aiming to replace her late husband in Parliament

THE WIDOW of a Sheffield MP who died two weeks ago says she plans to replace him in Parliament.
Gill FurnissGill Furniss
Gill Furniss

Gill Furniss, widow of Brightside and Hillsborough MP Harry Harpham, says she ‘will fight for Harry’s legacy.

Mrs Furniss, a Sheffield Labour councillor for 16 years, promises that she will be “an uncompromising voice for Sheffield, taking common sense to Parliament and putting bread and butter issues which matter to people in our community on the political agenda.”

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But she said she was not asking for local support “because we were married” but “because, like Harry, I have a track record of being rooted in this community and fighting for it.”

She said: “I am a Sheffielder who will never forget my roots, never forget where I have come from and will fight every day for the people I have lived and worked alongside in the City I love my entire life.”

She made the announcement after the meeting of the General Council of the Brightside and Hillsborough Constituency Labour Party and she thanked local members for their “humbling and invaluable support” in the difficult days since her husband’s death.

Mrs Furniss left school at 16 and worked at Firth Park library and later worked in further education and the NHS.

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“I was as proud of Harry as he was to be a Sheffield MP, but we need to continue the fight for the people of this city,” said Mrs Furniss.

Mr Harpham died on February 4, nine months after winning the seat vacated by Lord Blunkett. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “Harry was a proud socialist who had also been a proud miner.”