This is Grimsby has an in-depth article on veteran local councillor Andrew De Freitas:
A year after fleeing riots in his homeland, a young political activist from British Guiana arrived in Grimsby. In the first of a new series profiling our ward councillors, Local Government Reporter Simon Faulkner speaks to the Liberal Democrat Andrew De Freitas.
“I WAS always a bit of a rebel”, smiles Andrew De Freitas, recalling his childhood in the Caribbean colony of British Guiana.
“My father said ‘this boy when he grows up is going to be a lawyer’, because I was always prepared to argue on people’s behalf.”
It is a characteristic that defined his early years as a young councillor in Grimsby, where he saw himself as the scourge of the establishment.
And he believes his ability to “tell it like it is” remains undimmed after 40 years in politics, including seven as council leader.
You can read the full piece here.
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.