Woking Lib Dems launched their election campaign Monday night with Lord McNally.
On Monday night, Woking Liberal Democrats launched their General Election and Council election campaigns with a rally in Westfield. Here they formally adopted Rosie Sharpley as their candidate for MP on May 6.
The rally was attended by over 60 people from across Woking and neighbouring villages. The guest speaker was Lord McNally, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords.
Speaking about the campaign so far, Lord McNally said, "It is an insult to the people of this country, that the two main parties have squandered the first week of this election campaign by debating whether the National Insurance rise (Lab) or the £3 a week marriage allowance (Con) are better, when neither will go any real way to solving our economic problems".
He went on to allay some of the scaremongering around the prospect of a hung parliament by saying "we have only to look at Germany to see how a hung parliament and coalition can work to a country's advantage".
He finished his speech by offering support to Rosie Sharpley's campaign saying, "If we are going to change the culture of Westminster, you are just the kind of MP we need" and that he looked forward to introducing Rosie as "the MP for Woking in Liberal Democrat-run Woking."
Neil Sherlock, former adviser to Paddy Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell and now advisor to Nick Clegg, entertained the audience with reminiscences about his time at university with Jonathan (aka "Jonti") Lord. He praised the way in which "Rosie had always dedicated herself to the people of this constituency" and said that she "would continue to do so tirelessly when elected."
Rosie then spoke to the audience, outlining the four steps to a fairer Britain which form the backbone of the LibDem manifesto (see below). She said, "After 13 years, it is clear that the Labour government has failed on the economy, on climate change, on civil liberties and on tackling poverty. Instead of using power as a tool to serve the very people they claim to care about, that power has caused them to lose touch with real life in Britain today."
She concluded by saying: "There has never been a better time to be a Liberal Democrat. We have a job to do over the next four weeks and we need to get out there and do it.
"Woking needs an MP and a Party that will bring change that works for everyone. Our job is to show the people of Woking that we are that Party. Our job is to make sure that on May 6th they vote Liberal Democrat, at both national and local levels."
Addressing the activists in the hall, she said: "With your help and work - and your passion and your belief - I believe that we will win and begin building a fairer Woking and a fairer Britain."
To view the Lib Dem manifesto, see below.