Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey discusses his party’s prospects in Harrogate and Knaresborough with the Harrogate Advertiser, as well as if his nominee can emulate Phil Willis.
Following his visit to Nidd Gorge yesterday, during which he expressed alarm at the extent of the Nidd’s sewage problems, Sir Ed told the newspaper that the Liberal Democrats had a chance to win the seat in the general election.
“I believe we can unseat the Conservatives in Harrogate, one of our top target seats.
“We don’t take anything for granted but a lot of Tory voters in the constituency are telling us that the party no longer speaks for them or the nation.”I no longer view the Conservatives as a party that is capable of running the nation.
“There is a weak prime minister who lacks a clear plan for resolving the enormous number of problems they have caused, along with a great deal of instability and division.”
Tom Gordon, a Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate, accompanied the leader of the Lib Dems on his visit yesterday. Gordon brought up new initiatives to award the Nidd River a “Blue Flag” designation in addition to ways to further reduce pollution in the waterway.
“The government bears the ultimate responsibility for the disgusting and disturbing amount of dirty sewage that has been dumped into our local rivers and streams for many hours,” Mr. Gordon stated.
They have had numerous opportunities to be strict with water firms but have always failed. People ought to be treated better.
“We’ll be ensuring the River Nidd receives the protection it deserves from this sewage scandal by awarding it Blue Flag status.”
Fifteen years have passed since the Lib Dem When Knaresborough and Harrogate were Lib Dem strongholds, Phil Willis served as their MP.
Tory Andrew Jones has won four times in a row since 2010. He recently complained in a scathing letter to Ed Davey about the Lib Dems’ tactics in the seat.
However, Sir Ed claims he can personally witness that Tom Gordon is currently leaving the kind of legacy that the well-liked Mr. Willis left behind when he resigned as the town’s MP after 13 years in office.
“Many Harrogate and Knaresborough residents who still think highly of Phil Willis are telling us they’re going to vote Liberal Democrat this time,” stated Sir Ed.
“They can see in Tom Gordon someone just like Phil who is leading the debate on things that really matter to people in Harrogate and Knaresborough such as the state of the NHS, the high cost of living and doing business and sewage discharges in the Nidd.”Anything that Tom runs on is usually taken up by his Tory opponent.
In recent weeks, the leader of the Liberal Democrats has been subjected to inquiries on his brief tenure as the minister in charge of the Post Office in the coalition government led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg from 2010 to 2012.
The founder of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, Alan Bates, was seen by Sir Ed, the first and only Minister of the Post Office, and he declared his complete support for both the police investigation into the Post Office’s actions and the ongoing investigation into the Horizon affair, which affected over 900 postmasters.
“I’m glad the police are looking into it,” Sir Ed remarked.
“I wouldn’t hold any minister responsible for this horrible circumstance because all the evidence indicates that the Post Office repeatedly lied on a large scale.
“They told lies to the courts, to ministers, and to employees.
“There has been a serious injustice committed here.”