FORMER CHELTENHAM MP Martin Horwood is putting on his rosette again – this time to stand for Cheltenham Borough Council. There’s an unexpected vacancy in Leckhampton ward following independent councillor Ian Bickerton’s recent resignation. That means the ward will be electing two councillors in the borough council elections on 3 May instead of one. Glenn Andrews is the other Lib Dem candidate.
Martin handed in his nomination papers at the council offices today – and the retiring independent councillor Ian Bickerton was one of his nominators. Martin stood down as Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for personal reasons last year when local campaigner Max Wilkinson was elected by local party members to take on the Conservative MP at the next general election.
Martin said:
I hadn’t planned to get back involved in frontline politics quite so soon but when the vacancy came up in Leckhampton I had to stand. Although we’ve won many battles locally, including protection of our green spaces by Cheltenham’s Lib Dem-led council, there are still big issues facing the area.
Glenn and I want a long-term plan for those protected green spaces as well as full consultation with local people on any new development including the proposed new local secondary school which might replace some of the housing still planned for the area.
I grew up in Leckhampton and I live here with my family so I really care about the future of this special part of town.
Good luck to Martin and his team!
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2 Comments
I do admire people like Martin and Adrian Sanders leading from the front, staying true to their campaigning roots, and I hope that Martin is as successful as Adrian was in their respective bids to get on the Council and represent their home Town.
@Bill – And John Pugh in Southport