… on being selected as Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Southend West, the seat of David Amess (the chicken-runner from Basildon).
Peter is a Lib Dem blogger, formerly with Liberal Review (in many ways the precursor to LDV), and latterly at his own Eastern/European blog.
The Southend Echo reports:
The Liberal Democrats have appointed Peter Welch to contest the Southend West seat. The party believes he will bring wide experience of politics at national and international level to a parliamentary seat they have always had hopes of winning.
Mr Welch said: “I am enormously pleased to be part of a team which is battling hard for the residents of the town. There is a very strong Liberal Democrat tradition in Southend West and it is a privilege to be taking that forward.”
In 1997, the Lib Dems were just 2,615 votes behind the Tories; at the last election, the Lib Dems were runners-up, with 24% of the vote to Mr Amess’s 46%.
Good luck, Peter!
4 Comments
Stephen
Thanks for all these kind words. I’m in the middle of entering an enormous sheaf of survey forms into Liberty Research – reading this was quite a welcome distraction, as well as a surprise.
Southend West is a seat with a great Liberal tradition – and a lot of potential. Campaigning visitors are always welcome!
I’m blogging on yet another blog now “A campaign diary” (address above).
See you in Harrogate hopefully…
PS: personally I try to avoid mentioning chicken runs or cake
Congratulations, Peter! This is great news. Lucky old Southend West. I’ll check the train times…
If he is to do well here then he needs to stop messing around in unwinnable Lib Dem wards like Seven Sisters in Tottenham.
TO: amusing comment. I used to live in Seven Sisters (many years ago), and wanted to get back there for the recent by-election. Sadly I couldn’t make it. Will do so at some stage though. I guess you are a Flock Together reader…
Alix: Thanks (There are lots of trains, so I look forward to seeing you. About a tenner for a day return.)