Congratulations to Martin Tod in Winchester, former marketing guru for Vodafone, now Internet Campaigns consultant for the Liberal Democrats. He has a tough sell on his hands, but if anyone can do it, he can.
Local Councillor David Spender has blogged the result. Martin saw off Sarah Carr, Sue Farrant, Gary Lawson and Justine McGuinness to secure the selection.
Update: True to form, Martin Tod is off to a flying start with the launch of www.winningwinchester.com!
Also congratulations to Cllr Rosie Sharpley, selected as the PPC for Woking. Rosie has been a Woking councillor for 18 years and is currently a member of the Lib Dem exec running Woking Borough Council.
Winchester
Welcoming the announcement, Chris Rennard, Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats said:
“I am delighted that Martin Tod has been chosen. Martin is a superb choice and will be a very strong local champion for all the communities that will comprise the new Winchester constituency.
“The new seat will again be a battle between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives, with Labour out of the running. With this choice, we are confident that we can win the new seat.”
Martin Tod, the new Winchester parliamentary candidate, said:
“My first priority is to listen to local people and work with Mark Oaten, Sandra Gidley and the local Lib Dem team to stand up for local people on the City Council, County Council and in Parliament.
“An immediate concern is local hospital services. It’s essential that they are protected.
“We also need to hold the Conservatives to account. It’s appalling that failings in Conservative-run Social Services on the County Council contributed to the County Hospital missing the national target on ‘delayed transfers of care’.
“I’ve already been working with Winchester Liberal Democrats on the ‘Trip to the Shops’ campaign to improve the quality of Winchester’s streets. We will also be campaigning for fairer and greener taxes, to scrap tuition fees, increase the number of 20mph zones and to abolish the unfair council tax.”
Retiring Chair of Winchester Liberal Democrats, Harvey Cole said:
“The members of Winchester Lib Dems look forward to working with Martin Tod. He has emerged from what has proved to be a very strong competition and we are excited at the prospect of working with him.”
Mark Oaten has held the seat since 1997 and the Liberal Democrats have also been successful in a number of recent council by-elections.
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9 Comments
Two very good candidates in two seats that could certainly both be won by Lib Dems next time. Very good news indeed.
I doubt it; both will be blue – with big majorities.
MPDAWE lays bare his ignorance. The new Winchester Parliamentary Constituency is smaller and more compact. It is based on the town, where Lib Dem support is strongest, and excludes the Meon Valley, which is heavily Conservative. If MPDAWE is alluding to the possibility of an “Oaten effect”, then he should be careful. Mark Oaten has stepped aside three years ahead of the next General Election. He has given plenty of time for Martin Tod to establish himself and for the local party to recover. Also, Mark will continue with his constituency duties right up to the wire. Most Ventans (?) are bright enough to realise that Mark Oaten and the Liberal Democrats are not the same thing.
While Woking is an unlikely Lib Dem gain, it should not be discounted. Remember neighbouring Guildford? Or the demographically very similar Solihull?
Most Ventans (?) are bright enough to realise that Mark Oaten and the Liberal Democrats are not the same thing.
Angus, you’re absolutely right and Martin will be a great candidate to get that message across. The word, by the way, is “Wintonians”!
Yup. Looking forward to working with Martin. He is just what Winchester needs.
Sadly, I don’t think people will forget Oaten for a very long time. And David Cameron is more popular with Lib Dem voters than Sir Ming. Tactical voting will harm you at this election, as you’ll be severely squeezed to stop Brown. Your win in Guildford was an anomaly – it’s now Conservative again and is unlikely to change any time soon. Solihull will come back, too.
Threre is a crucial difference between MPDAWE and Mark Oaten.
Mark may be a walking embarrassment when he discusses his private life in public, but one thing he most certainly is not is a coward.
MPDAWE, on the other hand, is an operator so craven that he hides behind the cloak of anonymity. A kind of overgrown playground sneak who spreads gossip and ill-will behind everyone’s backs.
But, like most amateur auguries, he lacks crucial knowledge. You see, I actually lived in Guildford for 19 years and know something about the town. About the presence of a large education sector, which continues to expand. (Few educational professionals vote Tory – I wonder why?) The electorate is beginning to tire of Cameron, as people see him for what he is – behind the vapid media creation stands an arrogant Etonian toff. Already, the polls are picking this up. And when Cameron fails, boy are the members going to turn on him!
Gosh. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if the Tories had elected Reginald Maudling leader instead of Ted Heath? Then we’d have had Lord Poulson of West Clandon.
Hug a Tory? Yuck!
By the way, would MPDAWE prefer the last Tory MP for Winchester but one – the one who infected his wife with venereal disease then sued her for her assets?
Why shouldn’t they forget Mark Oaten. The voters seemed to forget Harvey Proctor pretty rapidly after all – whose failings were of an order of magnitude greater. (Con 53.7% in 83 54.9% in 87 – even though Proctor was charged with and pleaded guilty to gross indecency just before the election)
Whoever this MPDAWE chap is he/she should realise that there is no Tory marginal that can be considered “in the bag” yet. Make no mistake, UKIP will be after blood (Cameron’s) at the next election and nothing would delight them more to act as spoilers for the Tories in every marginal seat.
Also, don’t let national polls fool you. The average voting intention of 646 constituencies tells you nothing about the 20 you need to win off us!
A final point. Winchester is Tory target no. 142. Please feel free to waste as much money as you like there, because the excellent Martin Tod is going to be their next MP.