The Liberal Democrats are mounting a fight back in Bath and North East Somerset, with a surge in new members following the elections two weeks ago.
Since polls closed on Thursday 7th May, the party has seen over 100 new members join in B&NES – from every part of the district – and over 13,700 nationally.
Steve Bradley, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in the general election, has put the biggest growth in members in the party’s history down to ‘a reawakening of liberal Britain’.
He commented: “A lot of people in Bath and elsewhere woke up on 8th May to discover that the country unexpectedly had a majority Conservative government.
“That seems to have awakened those who cherish Britain as a liberal nation and who are concerned at what a Tory majority government, beholden to its right wing, will do.”
Already the Conservatives have signalled their intention to scrap the Human Rights Act, bring back the ‘snoopers’ charter’ and cut £50bn expenditure from the public sector.
The new Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Bath and North East Somerset Council, Cllr Dine Romero, added: “Not only have many former Liberal Democrats re-joined the Party since the election, but also thousands of people who have never been members before.
“Many have never joined a political party before, but want to stand together against the things that Conservatives nationally and locally are already threatening to do.”
Lauren David, a new Liberal Democrat member from Paulton, said: “I joined the Liberal Democrats because I have always believed that they are a force for good and they have proven this to be the case.
“I want to be a part of a movement that encourages common sense and liberalism, rather than fear and injustice. I will support the Lib Dems in their fight back to their deserved position in any way that I can.”
