Author Archives: Giles Bailey

Merton Lib Dems need you!

We need you here in Merton. We want you to be one of our two parliamentary candidates. We want the best and that’s why we’re asking you to think about us. We want to be open, transparent and democratic and that’s why we’re getting in touch.

It’s been agreed by our Regional Candidates Chair that we can vote on parliamentary candidates at a members’ meeting on the afternoon of 4th September.

Well, why us?

The numbers

  • At the referendum, the overall borough result was 63% Remain – but it was a fraction over 70% in Wimbledon constituency. Mitcham & Morden was in the 50s.
  • Wimbledon’s share of the vote in the 2015 General Election was 13%. If I recall correctly, this reflects the best Lib Dem result outside of a held/former held seat in London, one of only 2 two such constituencies to make it into double figures . . .
  • Our (current) target wards got some of the highest shares of the vote for the Lib Dem list on the London Assembly across the whole of London. 54th and 56th out of 649 to be precise. Those wards with better results are mainly those represented/formerly represented by Lib Dem MPs . . .
  • Merton has a significant creative sector and history – the Bill was filmed here! (And it’s also where William Morris had his textile factory).
  • We can’t not mention that Morden is home to the largest mosque in Western Europe, built in 2003, Baitul Futuh Mosque serves as the international headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community at large.
  • We’re a diverse borough: it’s not all about the Lawn Tennis Club or Wimbledon Village.

The political context

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 4 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Simon Robinson
    @Peter Davies: Thanks and well spotted. I'd calculated the increase as a % of gross salary. More realistically we'd consider the % increase of take home pay. As...
  • Tristan Ward
    I don’t see [the Tories/Reform] forming a coalition as two distinct parties" I think this is clearly wrong I'm afraid. Consider: Much of the right wing...
  • Keith Creswell
    A well argued suggestion and consistent with LD values. Although I would add that Territories that remain linked with UK should have representation in the UK P...
  • Jason Connor
    Partly but Brexit also came about as many towns and areas were left behind and lacked inward investment or regeneration. Or there was a perception despite the E...
  • Slamdac
    If we are going to link citizenship to taxes, I would also link benefit entitlement to citizenship. If you are not a British Citizen then you don't get benefits...