THE LIBERAL Democrats have announced that a former Earley town mayor is to be a candidate in the forthcoming general election.
Tahir Maher, who has also served as a councillor on Wokingham Borough Council, will stand in the new Earley and Woodley seat.
Other declared candidates include Pauline Jorgensen for the Conservatives and Yuan Yang for Labour.
Reform UK has yet to announce its candidate, and the Greens will stand Louise Keane.
No date has yet been set for the general election, although prime minister Rishi Sunak has said he expects it to take place this autumn.
“It is an honour to be selected for any seat,” he said. “This is my own local seat, where last year I was the mayor in Earley, so I know it well.
“It’s an opportunity for us to get our message across which I think is very good compared to the other parties.
“And I’ve got the support of my party behind me, and a lot of locals.
“One of the reasons I wanted to stand was a lot of people who live in Wokingham and Reading came to me and said I should, as I’ve been active (in the community) for a number of years and you haven’t really put yourself forward, so go forward and we’ll support you.
“I found that very positive.”
Mr Maher said the party has been focusing on council issues until now, and felt the response on the doorsteps had been good.
“We’ve just started (the general election campaign) but it’s been a very positive response and I find that encouraging.”
As for his policies, he said he felt called to stand for several reasons.
“What I’ve seen is that our society has somewhat degraded in a number of ways. We’re no longer a caring society, and there are cost of living issues.
“We’re not really working as a community, and these things are affecting the infrastructure of who we are, our local communities and how we support those in in need.
“I can see that as a councillor, and I’ve seen that working in charities where I’ve tried to support people who are disabled, supporting the homeless, and people who need financial support to buy a fridge, a bed or a mattress, those kinds of things.
“It’s starting to shock me so much I feel I should go out there and do something, to help those in need, help bring our community back together again and do as much as I can in the Earley and Woodley area.
“I’m putting myself forward to bring back a caring society.”
