Amazing support for @RossDPepper #sleafordandnorthhykeham pic.twitter.com/1a50NKJrJe
— Ed Fordham (@edfordham) December 3, 2016
The brilliant result in Richmond Park on Thursday has given a real boost to the other Parliamentary by-election happening right now – in the Sleaford and North Hykeham constituency in Lincolnshire. This by-election was called after the Tory MP resigned over the Government’s approach to the single market, and whilst it may be at the other end of the ‘remain vote scale’ from Richmond Park, there are still many thousands of people looking for a strong and positive voice for their views.
The local party has been working hard over the past few weeks under the radar. However, now Richmond Park is won, we desperately need as many people as possible to focus their attentions here to deliver the best result possible on Thursday.
On Friday, our candidate in the election, Ross Pepper, was joined by Party Leader Tim Farron MP and the work continued on Saturday, with over 50 people coming to help deliver newspapers and Focus leaflets or to stuff letters.
Ross Pepper’s campaign is the biggest Liberal Democrat campaign Lincolnshire has ever seen, delivering tens of thousands of leaflets, and receiving a great reception from an area traditionally taken for granted by the Tories. Local media are even starting to ask, whether, “after shock victory [in Richmond Park] could Lib Dems now win Sleaford by-election?”
If you can help, please come to 38 Electric Staton Road, Sleaford, NG34 7QJ. If you’re not able get here, please make some phone calls by visiting here
Below are just a few snippets of the campaigning over the past couple of days:
Fantastic to see so many helpers today- thank you all #sleafordandnorthhykeham @LincolnLibDems @SleafordLibDems @EastMidsLD https://t.co/bSyot1dup4
— Ross Pepper (@RossDPepper) December 3, 2016
Delivered something like 400 leaflets for @RossDPepper today. Time for a sit down and a Jammie Dodger. #sleafordandnh @SleafordLibDems
— Oliver Craven (@craven_oliver) December 3, 2016
Here we come Sleaford @LibDems still on a high after #RichmondPark @RossDPepper @edfordham pic.twitter.com/pZ3CdoDqiL
— Caroline Kenyon (@C_Kenyon1) December 3, 2016
All action at Sleaford HQ preparing for post #RichmondPark – Good Luck @sarahjolney1 #SleafordAndNH @SleafordLibDems @LincolnLibDems pic.twitter.com/Z8184BZuLV
— Ross Pepper (@RossDPepper) December 1, 2016
Another crisp morning on the campaign trail in North Hykeham #sleafordandnorthhykeham @SleafordLibDems @LincolnLibDems @ShedsArrows pic.twitter.com/qEmxc4Q0Iq
— Ross Pepper (@RossDPepper) December 1, 2016
* Andrew Hollyer is the PPC for Derbyshire Dales and one of the many East Midlands members that will be helping in Sleaford and North Hykeham this week.
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13 Comments
I can’t be there because I’m currently in Sri Lanka. If you haven’t got a real excuse, drop everything and go. If RP was a boot up the Tories backside imagine the panic if we win Sleaford as well. Go get ’em Ross!
The team have been working really hard. If every Lib Dem who can either goes and helps or does some phoning or sends money we’ll have another great result on Thursday.
I saw a short bit on the news a couple of days ago, it had a reporter asking local people in Sleaford what they thought about the by-election. What struck me was how depressed Sleaford looked, many shops were boarded up and covered in graffiti. I lived there in the mid 80’s and it was a lovely thriving town – what the hell happened? It’s now fairly solid brexit territory so I can’t see you having any chance of winning. However, in the past the Labour/Lib Dems have won 40% plus of the vote between them so a good second is very possible. My guess is the Tories will win, UKIP and the Lib Dems close for second and Labour losing their deposit in 5th place behind the independent.
Malc disagree and we are fighting for every vote with no predictions on the result. Sleaford is a nice proud town and is not Brexit central. 9 candidates are splitting the 60% leave and we are working the 40% remain… Do the maths… and the sun is shining and it’s a great place to be
Malc,
The bit of Sleaford I saw looked pretty lively to me, certainly no boarded up shops, I didn’t see any UKIP posters, a colleague saw one of their leaflets in a window – I saw more in Witney (just). Labour out of sight and Tories only had posters in fields, again aka Witney. Met one very lost and confused elderly UKIP deliverer.
If we don’t try, we won’t get! Be back there tomorrow.
Ed Fordham
That’s how I remember Sleaford as a “nice proud town”, but it’s well over 20 years since I was last there. Perhaps you are right and it still is, but the guardian sent a reporter there a couple of weeks ago and the video shows it as a fairly depressed place.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/nov/30/sleaford-lincolnshire-brexit-byelection-young-video
@malc
Google map the main street of Sleaford, not a boarded up shop to be seen and some small businesses.
You could be right about the predicted outcome, but as Ed Fordham says “do the maths”
I made Witney & Richmond but cannot make Sleaford. I have sent a donation.
Anybody concerned about Brexit and the divisions in this country should do something. go to Seaford, phone or donate. This could be a real game changer
I hadn’t realised that we had the only Remain candidate standing, so there are definitely votes to be mopped up by Remainers feeling unrepresented.
The last MP stood down because he wanted a soft-Brexit, and presumably a number of the local Leave voters felt the same, and expected the same, so it will be interesting to see how they react. Are any of the Leave candidates campaigning for a soft-Brexit?
UKIP are predicting they will win this east coast seat. That is a bold claim that will backfire against them if they fail to do well. Their organisation and finances are poor and are dipping in some polls.
If the LibDems can beat UKIP in kipper heartland it will be worth all of the effort.
If you discount the 2015 GE result and look at the history before that you find the Lib Dems moving from a distant third to claiming second place in 2010. On the 2010 result the Lib Dems would need a swing of 16.7% to win.
Is it just me, or is there really no Sleaford phone bank to use?
The telephone link seems to take us to the Richmond campaign not the Sleaford campaign.
What the media and the polling and betting pundits have overlooked is glaring: UKIP and the Tories are going to split the 60% Brexit vote between them, giving them 30% each. This paves an easy way for the LibDems to capture the 40% Remain vote IF they can get this message out. They have an extremely good chance if Remainers know that their vote is more powerful than they think.