Kelly Marie Blundell is one of the Liberal Democrats’ brightest young stars. At every conference, she’s been involved in making policy aimed at protecting the most vulnerable people in our society whether it’s about food banks, the work capability assessment, a fair benefits system or mental health. She’s such a persuasive, compelling, passionate speaker and would be a force to be reckoned with within both a Liberal Democrat Parliamentary group and in Parliament itself. She also has freakishly neat bookshelves.
She’s our candidate for Guildford, a seat that we held between 2001-5 with Sue Doughty. Now the town has the chance to elect another fantastic Liberal Democrat woman.
Many of our candidates are releasing campaign videos. She has a whole series of them. She very clearly explains various aspects of our policies. In this first one, she talks about the importance of protecting small businesses by devolving business rates to local government. In the second, she talks about mental health.
You can link to several more on topics from the Guildford Local Plan to the need to tackle IS.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
15 Comments
In 2001 students were decisive in winning Guildford for the Liberal Democrats, and in 2005 there was a further swing which almost kept Sue Doughty in office but for maybe 200 votes in all. There was a swing of 4 per cent away from Sue Doughty in 2010. Now, in 2010 students were far more likely to support the LibDems than any other party. That support isn’t there now.
As a university town with a large student population from both the University of Surrey and the University of Law, we’ll have to see how the Liberal Democrats fare here now.
Given that young people between 18-24 are one of the groups who are turning to the Lib Dems and how well Nick did on the Sky leaders live and the BBC3 one in December, you may well find that the Lib Dems do a lot better than you think, or hope.
Caron, I admire your constant optimism. Have you been to a real student debate lately, one where you ask for their honest open views, I have and it is not pretty. The Tories will hold Guildford, probably with a five figure majority. This election is good training for Kelly, perhaps she will break through in a by election in say 2018 or 2019.
Those two videos are very good. I’d probably vote for Kellie. I watched most of the first one before you published it! I saw it when searching for Lib Dem opinion on Twitter. If you could post a link to the rest of the videos that would be good.
I can put differences over the debates behind, I think a bit longer nowadays before I get outraged anyway, but the party has to understand that many of us value our independence and loyalists suggesting we “go away” because we put the party or our communities above Clegg does not help. I’m not talking about Kelly here.
I would put money on the Tory majority in Guildford reverting to “safe seat” size: if i could find a bookmaker generous enough to give odds against it.
Hi Caron, what a splendid write up, thank you very much!
I confess, they’re not my bookshelves, we filmed in our office which is also Baroness Margaret Sharp’s office and she is the excellent filer!
Things are very optimistic in Guildford, we wouldn’t be winning byelections with a 47% swing from the Tories if they weren’t. I’m recruiting students every week to help us, as well as residents in the town. Onwards and upwards!
Kelly-Marie
Sorry, Kelly-Marie, I think you are deluding yourself; I think there were rather special circumstances in that by-election which, by the way, was in a neighbouring constituency which like Guildford, is not remotely likely to elect a LibDem MP this year.
Kelly-Marie did her statement on the Local Plan on the north slope of The Mount. Farnham Road is down the hill, and the area between Farnham Road and the Cathedral is Onslow Village. A little way to the right is Mount Cemetery, whose chapel is now a Greek Orthodox Church.
I wonder how many of the commentators sneering at Kelly-Marie and predicting the size of the Tory majority knew any of that? In fact, I wonder how many of them have even visited Guildford?
Well I have visited Guildford, know it well and have campaigned for both Margaret Sharp and Sue Doughty – I don’t think anyone is sneering at Kelly-Marie who is undoubtedly an excellent candidate, they are just pointing out the reality of a party on 8% in the polls not 23% and the reality of not having an incumbency effect in Guildford.
Sesenco 5th Mar ’15 – 9:47pm
I knew some of that, but I am not about to sneer at the excellent efforts of Kelly-Marie Blundell. She deserves to be elected and if she does not achieve that in a few weeks she will achieve it at a later date.
Caracatus 6th Mar ’15 – 6:28am
You are right to be ” pointing out the reality of a party on 8% in the polls not 23% ” and all those people in LDV who pretend to believe (or are naive or foolish enough to believe) that it is possible to ignore the level of support in national polls do no service to the party or to good candidates like Kelly-Marie.
In the dire circumstances of the party in 2015 we will see hardworking, decent candidates with a track record of excellent work in their constituencies sacrificed on the altar of the vanity and the personal ambition of a few at the top of the party. That’s why we need to change the party so that sort of betrayal by the leadership is not repeated at future elections.
Quite so, Caracatus. I knew all of the information so helpfully supplied by Sesenco, with the exception of the bit about a Greek Orthodox Church. I have lived, worked, and campaigned in Guildford and currently live in an adjacent constituency: about three miles from the boundary. I visit the town , on average, three or four times a week.. Please believe, Sesenco, that I am not sneering, but speaking as I find, when I point out that Lewis Carroll is buried in The Mount Cemetery and that anyone who believes that Guildford is about to elect a Liberal Democrat MP must have fallen down a rabbit hole.
don’t these ‘I’m negative and I can prove I am right’ types understand how draining such negativism can be on the emotions and drive of candidates and campaigners.? If they are not LibDem supporters then they should be clear about it, if they are then shame on them.
Kelly-Marie is a brilliant candidate and she should do well. How well depends on her meeting as many voters as she can in the coming weeks.. and sadly, in no small measure, by how the media treat both her and the party, in our two-party-favouring system.
@theakes
There was a parliamentary hustings at the university last month. The Conservative MP didn’t bother to show up and sent a councillor as a replacement and I have been hearing nothing but positive things about Kelly-Marie since then from students who were at the hustings. Of course given that students in halls are no longer automatically registered to vote by the university I suspect that the student vote this May will be much lower than it has been in previous years.
@peter tyzack “don’t these ‘I’m negative and I can prove I am right’ types understand how draining such negativism can be on the emotions and drive of candidates and campaigners.?” yeah, I know what you mean… But on the other hand I hate to think how Lib Dems here in Scotland are going to feel on May the 8th after having deluded themselves about the reality of the situation. But do the two things really need to be mutually exclusive? Is it impossible to campaign hard and give it your best shot without first deluding yourself about the reality of the situation, if the situation for the party is really dire?
Believe what you see, don’t see what you believe.
Himmm its a Tory seat in the South of England. One of the few places the Liberal Democrats still have a chance in. Good luck Kelly.