Yesterday, Vince went to Yeovil to launch the party’s final push for the local elections to be held on May 2nd. He visited accommodation for homeless people opened by the Lib Dem council in South Somerset.
Meeting residents and staff @BCHAWellbeing Fair View in Yeovil – a fabulous example of a Lib Dem run council addressing homelessness by developing 11 units of temporary accommodation for vulnerable and homeless families to keep them safe and out of B&Bs pic.twitter.com/x0SCmwAMkE
— Vince Cable (@vincecable) April 4, 2019
He then spoke at a rally:
Fantastic to be here in Yeovil. Lib Dems right across the country are fighting a positive campaign to build on our track record of listening, working hard and getting things done for local people. pic.twitter.com/38s5phP8XY
— Vince Cable (@vincecable) April 4, 2019
He spoke to the local paper.
From the County Gazette:
Mr Cable said he wasn’t worried about his party losing control of the council they have dominated since 1987.
He said: “All the feedback I get is that that isn’t going to happen. The feedback I get is that the council is not just well-run but popular.
“I’m optimistic that we are going to gain ground, not lose it.”
South Somerset voted ‘leave’ in the EU referendum by a margin of 57 per cent to 43 per cent.
But despite this, and the ardently pro-Brexit position of Yeovil MP Marcus Fysh, Mr Cable said he wasn’t worried about his party taking a hit at the polls.
He said: “I would hope most people vote on local issues and for the local council – that’s what council elections are for.
“But if they do look at the bigger picture, Mr Fysh is one of the extreme ERG group that is denouncing the government’s own Brexit plan – so if you’re a Tory voter in Yeovil, what on Earth are you going to do?
“[You’re being] given the choice between a Conservative party that’s actually falling apart at the moment, and the Liberal Democrats who’ve got a very clear view of Brexit.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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2 Comments
I was there. The last time this council was up for election was GE2015. On that night if one LD voter in the Milborne Port ward had voted Tory instead the Tories would have been the largest party. It was that close! Since then two prominent Tory councillors have defected to the LDs to make it LD council rather than NOC.
My local LD District Councillor has been canvassing recently and is concerned about the forthcoming election. Although both he and LD-controlled South Somerset DC are quite highly regarded, he’s finding that many of the electorate have become turned off from politics and, whilst wishing him well, have said that they’re not going to bother voting. This may benefit the Tories (whose voters I beleive tend to be more reliable): God help us if they take over the District Council and screw it up royally the same way they’ve done to the County.