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Wokingham Liberal Democrats have officially chosen former council leader Clive Jones as their candidate for the forthcoming general election.
Clive Jones told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the election – likely to take place next year – represents ‘our best chance to get the first Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham’.
He had already launched his bid to become MP in March last year and stood down as council leader this May to concentrate on his campaign.
Now the party has formally chosen him as its candidate for the new Wokingham seat in boundary changes to be brought in at the next election.
“I am delighted to have been confirmed as the Lib Dem candidate for Wokingham at the next general election,” he said.
“The response to our campaign has been very positive and I am grateful to the many Green and Labour party supporters who say they will lend me their vote to help ensure that Wokingham gets its first ever Liberal Democrat MP.
“Residents are telling me they need an MP who will fight for a properly funded NHS, more funding for schools, the police and ambulance services and for local government. They agree with me that our public services are in serious need of repair.”
He said that campaigning has been very positive, adding: “We were talking to (voters) about the cost of living crisis, and the pollution of our rivers.
“I was in Charvil recently and people were really not happy at all.”
Wokingham Liberal Democrats chair Adrian Betteridge said the Liberal Democrats have “every chance” of replacing the current Conservative MP Sir John Redwood.
“We are talking with thousands of residents every month and hearing a huge desire for change, nationally and locally. Wokingham needs a hard-working, committed MP who will represent our interests,” he said.
The next general election must take place by January 28, 2025.
This isn’t the first time Cllr Jones has contested the seat. In 2015 and 2017, he came third. In May, he said he told the BBC he was “absolutely sure that in 2024 it’s going to be a different result”.
If Cllr Jones is successful, his election would herald the first time that Wokingham has not had a Conservative MP: the currently constituency was created in 1950, but it returned Conservative MPs in the 19th century as well.
When asked by the LDRS in May, Mr Redwood said he does not comment on what voters plan to do in coming elections.
