ALTER MEMBER SELECTED TO FIGHT CHANCELLOR
ALTER MEMBER SELECTED TO FIGHT CHANCELLOR
ALTER sends heartiest congratulations to Gareth Wilson and wishes him all the very best for May. We would like to hear from other ALTER members who are candidates. If you have been selected, please e-mail Catherine (CEHodgkinson@aol.com) with some details. At our next ALTER Executive meeting on 16 January, we will be discussing ALTER's role in the General Election campaign and the ways we might be able to assist our members and supporters who are standing. Meanwhile ALTER would like to thank all its members for their continuing support and to wish them a happy, healthy and successful 2015.
Now read on to learn more of Gareth and his campaign against George Osborne……..
Liberal Democrats choose their candidate for Tatton
Gareth Wilson is the Tatton Liberal Democrats' choice to take on George Osborne at the General Election in May.
Gareth is member of the local party, and will be taking up the chair in January. With a background in economics and now software, he is already active in local politics, and led the recently successful campaign against an unsustainable large housing development in Mobberley. He was brought up in the area and currently lives in Mobberley with his wife and two young children, so he has a clear sense of the issues which affect the people of Tatton.
As Tatton's MP, Gareth Wilson will:
- Fight to protect green spaces and Cheshire villages from over development across the constituency, due to the Tory council's failed local planning process
- Hold local NHS services to account from access to GP's and the quality of services at Macclesfield Hospital through to hospital parking charges
- Provide effective opposition to Cheshire East council, who through years of Tory neglect are letting Tatton residents down through poor social services, elderly care and children's services
At a national level Gareth is a Liberal Democrat Conference Representative and actively involved in a wide range of policy debates from economic policy through to care for the elderly. He also writes for Liberal Democrat Voice (www.libdemvoice.org), the most read independent Liberal Democrat website.
At the constituency party Annual General Meeting in the Jubilee Hall in Knutsford, he said
"I'm delighted I've been given this opportunity to represent the residents of Tatton. I have lived in and around the area for the majority of my life and it is an incredible honour to have the opportunity to represent the constituency.
Over the years I have lived here with my family, I've got to know the key issues local people want me to fight for, they feel they have been ignored and let down by the Conservatives after many years of neglect and cuts to local services.
As a member of ALTER and a committed advocate of reform of our taxation system I'll be using the candidacy to highlight how a land tax could not only help reduce the tax burden on the poorest in society but could also ensure land is used effectively in the UK, instead of being hoarded by businesses and developers"
Find out more about Gareth's campaign at www.garethwilson.co.uk