Tonight Somerton and Frome MP David Warburton announced his intention to resign from Parliament and cause the 4th pending by-election of this Summer
Somerton and Frome was, of course, held by Lib Dem David Heath from 1997-2015.
Speaking after David Warburton’s announcement this evening our Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said:
The Conservatives have dragged our country through the gutter and taken people for granted. There is no better example of that than in Somerton and Frome.
Time after time the Conservatives have mired themselves in sleaze and scandal neglecting the issues that really matter to people. Then they decided it was ok to leave local people in this seat without any proper representation at all.
This by-election will be a clear contest between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, Labour finished third last time and are completely out of the race.
The people of Somerton and Frome need a local champion and they can have that at the next election by choosing our local Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Dyke.
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10 Comments
The Lib Dem’s have been readying them selves for this by election for months now! It is the equivalent to Scottish Labour preparing for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by election.I believe that in Sarah Dyke , they have a local candidate, with political experience of winning council seats on both South Somerset council, and the Unitary Authority of Somerset where she holds a role as environment spokesperson in cabinet . I believe Somerton and Frome is coming home to the Liberal Democrat’s, and it will be more evidence of a Liberal Democrat revival in the South West. My Aunt is Sarah Dykes mothers older sister, and I am sure it will be a very proud day for the Dyke and Hunt family when Sarah takes the oath of office , and joins the Lib Dem MPs at Westminster.
Crikey! Let’s not take it for granted!
As you say, Ashley, here in Somerset we’ve been waiting for Warburton to resign for a long time. On the one hand it has meant that his constituents have been deprived of proper representation for over a year; on the other hand, it has given Sarah Dyke and the rest of us more time to prepare for a by election after Sarah was returned as a councillor in last year’s locals (unseating the Conservative’s head of their national counter-Lib Dem unit, ha ha!).
I’m curious, though, as to the timing of his resignation – why now?
As with Nadine has he actually yet officially resigned by applying to the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead?
There is another possible by election during the winter in a favourable seat, ie Solihull, we shall have to wait and see.
What are our 5 headline policies which might win us this seat?
Steve Trevethan: yes……let’s hope we steer away from the ‘subsidise mortgages’ nonsense discussed elsewhere. Please can we ensure that what we say is truly credible?
I shall not make any proposals as it won’t make any difference. But asking, nay demanding, some common-sense and balance might be a general starting point.
@ Steve Trevethan
“What are our 5 headline policies which might win us this seat?”
How about:
1) We are the only party that can defeat the Tories.
2) No other party can defeat the Tories here.
3) Stop the Tories – only the Liberal Democrats can do it.
4), 5) any local issues that need to be highlighted.
The dificulty here should not be winning Somerton & Frome but holding both Frome and Glastonbury & Somerton.
Frome will consist of the the northern part of the seat and the bits of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s North-East Somerset South of Bath plus one rural ward from Wells.
Glastonbury & Somerton will be the South of the seat plus Glastonbury and Street from Wells and a small rural bit of Yeovil.
None of this is hopeless territory.
I understand that Sarah Dyke lives in the part of the constituency that will be included in the new Glastonbury & Somerton seat, which certainly looks the easier of the two for a hold.
Might we propose taxing unearned banking profits, as explained by Mr Richard Murphy?
https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/