I was so chuffed to see the result of the Lib Dem selection in the Richmond, Yorkshire constituency of the Prime Minister. Daniel Callaghan, who will take on Rishi Sunak at the election is a former colleague of mine.  He is fantastic to have on your team – calm, clear, hard-working and he has a brilliant sense of fun.

Daniel now works in public affairs in the  science and technology sector.

Born into an army family at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, he grew up in  Catterick and Richmond, attending Richmond’s St Francis Xavier Secondary School and  then Darlington Sixth Form College. He sat on the Richmond Youth Council and forged  links working in several local businesses before leaving to work and study in Bath, Paris  and London. 

After his selection, Daniel said:

Having grown up in the constituency and being personally connected with  many here, I know first-hand the issues that people in our towns and villages are facing.  This is the place I will always call home and my deeply held love for this area and for the  people here is the reason I want to be their voice in Parliament.

Philip Wicks, Chair of Richmond (Yorks) LibDems added,

We are delighted to have such  an experienced political campaigner as our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. Daniel  has been at the heart of some of our Party’s big success stories – working with the team  in Bath, and with MPs Christine Jardine and Tim Farron. That knowledge, combined with  the fact his roots are firmly embedded in our area, make him the perfect choice to take  the fight to the Conservatives here in Rishi Sunak’s own back yard.

Stokesley Councillor Bryn Griffiths, Leader of the Opposition on the new North  Yorkshire Council noted that Daniel was ideally placed to represent the party:

Lib Dems are making great strides across the whole country,  including here in North Yorkshire. It’s in seats such as this where Tories have been  complacent for far too long that Liberal Democrats are making historical wins. Recent  results have shown that there is no such thing as a safe Tory seat anymore.

People are  sick of the Tory party mess. Families are struggling to make ends meet, our NHS is on its  knees and the climate emergency is being ignored. Rishi Sunak is out of touch and out  of ideas. Daniel is ideally placed to fight our case here in Richmond (Yorks). Rest  assured, whenever the Prime Minister does risk calling a General Election, we are  ready.

Daniel’s selection has already attracted the attention of the Yorkshire Post, whose report highlighted recent Lib Dem success in the area:

However, in a reversal of fortune the Liberal Democrats became the official opposition at North Yorkshire Council last May as its share of the vote with a Liberal member swelled at the elections to 17 per cent of the vote as the proportion of the vote for Conservatives dropped to 41 per cent..

All the very best to Daniel and the team in Richmond. They are more than capable of pulling off a good result for the party.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social