Newsletter to Cheshire East “Tatton” Members

Dear Liberal Democrat Member,

You have probably been wondering what has happened to the Tatton Local Party, and to the Tatton General Election Campaign. I am sorry that we have been unable to communicate with you for so long. The story is complex and tedious. Suffice to say, none of it has stopped our work ‘on the ground’, campaigning across Tatton; but sorting a lot of internal matters – IT and others – has been time-consuming and frustrating.

In summary:

·         A decision was taken by the national Party some time ago, to make all our local parties coterminous with local authorities, not parliamentary constituencies

·         Although, as your local Executive, we opposed to timing (within a year of a General Election), the Regional Party determined that our Tatton Local Party be disbanded; you are, now Members of the new Cheshire East Party.

Also, as you may have realised, the Tatton Constituency has been changed a bit. We have ‘lost’ Rudheath and some areas around Northwich and ‘gained’ the Liberal Democrat stronghold of Lymm. This makes our assertion that we are becoming the main challengers to Esther McVey even more credible.

So, to the Campaign:

·         We have formed a new Campaign Team, which meets virtually (at the moment), every month; our next meeting is at 7 p.m. on Monday 11th. March. Any Member is very welcome to join the Team at any of our meetings

·         We have restarted our “Pint and Politics” gatherings in Wilmslow

·         Over the past 9 months, we have delivered a number of leaflets and Residents’ Letters: almost 5,000 of our first General Election leaflet, and Residents’ Letters in Barnton, South Knutsford, Longridge, Mobberley, and Wilmslow

·         Our Liberal Democrat Team in Lymm have delivered one of their quarterly FOCUS leaflets to most households in the town, with our Tatton Campaign having a high profile

·         We have been, and are, leading or supporting campaigns on a wide range of issues: the NHS, social care, mental health, train services, the environment/climate change, banking hubs, roads and pot-holes, and fast fibre broadband

·         A major success came just before Christmas, when the campaign to stop the development of 225 houses on rewilded land east of Longridge led to a comprehensive defeat of the planning application by the Strategic Planning Board. Only our Party have been working closely and consistently with the campaign since 2019. I was one of the six speakers opposing the application at the Board

·         I continue to write frequent letters to the Knutsford Guardian, and, overall, get c. 40% published.

Many people I meet are in despair about the state of the Country, and of our politics. I am here to win, and, with your help, to make a difference:

“My mission is to bring

competency, compassion, integrity and service back into politics,

 for Tatton and the Country”

We are fighting our campaign on:

·         Authenticity, honesty and transparency

·         Public service values

·         No second jobs and no freebies

·         The principles of liberal democracy

·         Liberal Democrat national policies

·         Our record of campaigning since 2019

·         My senior experience in the NHS and local government.

Our national Party is producing a series of “pre-Manifesto” statements about all the key policy issues, and these are proving extremely useful. We are publicising different issues on each of our Residents’ Letters.

Can we win? Is there any point in trying?

Absolutely: “YES” to both! If ever there was a time to finally oust the Tories from Tatton, 2024 is it!

We are in a good position:

·         Esther McVey is not popular, either locally or at a national level

·         The Government has proved, time and again, that it is simply not fit to govern

·         Labour has not yet identified their candidate

·         The last time people voted in those wards now within the ‘new’ Tatton, we came second

·         No other ‘opposition’ candidate has worked actively across the Constituency since 2019

·         We are getting very good responses to our leaflets, and our Residents’ Letters.

I think we will do well, but we definitely have an amazing chance to do something spectacular, and win Tatton for the Liberal Democrats, for the first time ever.

If you have hesitated before about getting involved, I urge you to consider doing something to help, now. We need:

·         Members, who would do leaflet delivering, even if only in a small area

·         Input of ideas and local ‘intelligence’ to myself and the Campaign Team

·         Spreading of news about the Liberal Democrat Tatton campaign amongst friends and neighbours

·         People to do research (e.g. Esther’s voting and media track record)

·         and, of course…………..funds.

Please donate, if you can. Any amount will make a big difference. To give you an idea, it currently costs c. £75 to have 1,000 Residents’ Letters printed, but just a few £s to put advertising onto our Facebook page.

Donations can be paid directly into the following account:

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jonathansmith4tatton@gmail.com  07984665111