Liberal Democrats Announce Candidate for Brentford and Isleworth

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Joe Bourke confirms he will run seat as party says membership is surging

Joe Bourke has confirmed that he will stand as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in the Brentford & Isleworth constituency.

The party claims that membership has surged in the past few days since the election was called and that nationally they have 5,000 new members.

At least twenty new members have joined up in Chiswick in the past two days and the party's membership in the constituency has tripled, to about 350, with many newcomers aged under forty.

Mr Bourke came fourth in the 2015 election, behind Labour, Conservatives and UKIP, when the party had a drop of almost 20% of the vote in the constituency, (see table below) but he was now convinced that voters have had a change of heart.

He said, "The Liberal Democrats have paid a price for acting in the national interest by entering into Coalition following the last General election, but the sacrifice has been worth it. Liberal Democrat ministers in government have taken millions of low earners out of paying tax altogether , brought back real apprenticeships that train young people in needed trades, and put much needed money into early years education."

He said the results of the last election had been an anomaly for the Liberal Democrats and things had changed so much since 2015 that those statistics were now meaningless. He pointed to recent Lib Dem gains such as the Richmond by-election where Zac Goldsmith lost his seat.

With Ruth Cadbury's majority from the 2015 General Election standing at 465 Joe said he felt that the Liberal Democrats were in with a good chance, given the recent surge in support.

The election will be principally fought on Brexit and its potential on issues such as housing and education. "Brentford & Isleworth voted almost 60% to remain in the EU and we are hoping to capitalise on that."

Joe said "Under no conditions can we sign up to Theresa May's Hard Brexit agenda.

"We will work with pro-European MPs in any party to stand up to the Conservatives over Hard Brexit, but Corbyn is not that. Corbyn is pro-Brexit, wants to pull us out of the single market and marched his MPs and peers through the lobbies to vote for article 50 without any concessions.

"Every Liberal Democrat vote and every Liberal Democrat MP elected is a challenge to Theresa May’s Hard Brexit agenda.

"This election is your chance to change the direction of our country. If you want to stop a Hard Brexit, if you want to keep us in the single market, if you want a real opposition, this is your chance."

 

Brentford and Isleworth Constituency - Result 2015
Candidate	Party	2015 Result	2010 Result	%	Change
Ruth Cadbury	Labour	25,096	18,064	43.8	+10.2
Mary Macleod	Cons	24,631	20,022	42.9	+5.7
Richard Hendron	UKIP	3,203	863	5.6	+4.0
Joe Bourke	Liberal Democrats	2,305	12,718	4.0	-19.6
Daniel Goldsmith	Green Party	2,120	787	3.7	+2.2
Majority		465		0.8
Turnout		57,502		67.8

April 25, 2017