news story

14th January 2010

Lib Dems Complete 'Team for South Gloucestershire'

Cllr Peter Tyzack, Steve Webb MP and Sally Fitzharris on a visit to the Hanham Hall 'zero carbon' homes development

The Liberal Democrats have now selected the team who will be standing for Parliament at the forthcoming General Election in the three new Parliamentary seats in South Gloucestershire.

Following boundary changes, South Gloucestershire will be represented by three MPs - one for Thornbury & Yate (covering most of the current Northavon constituency), one for a revised Kingswood constituency (which will no longer contain wards in the City of Bristol) and a new Filton & Bradley Stoke seat.

Current Northavon MP Steve Webb will stand in the Thornbury & Yate seat where he lives and which contains most of his present constituency. The Lib Dem candidate for Filton & Bradley Stoke will be Councillor Peter Tyzack who has represented Severn Beach in elected office since the mid 1990s.  The Kingswood local party have selected Sally Fitzharris who has worked in Parliament and is also an experienced journalist.

Steve Webb said:

"I very much look forward to working alongside Peter Tyzack and Sally Fitzharris to give the people of South Gloucestershire the chance to send a strong Liberal Democrat team to Westminster. South Gloucestershire is currently represented by two Labour and one Liberal Democrat MP, but with Labour's increasing unpopularity there is a real chance for change in our area. Peter and Sally are both experienced campaigners and would each be a great addition to our Parliamentary team".

Kingswood candidate Sally Fitzharris said that the people of Kingswoood would be attracted by the plans for fairer taxation being proposed by Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable. She told the hustings meeting in Kingswood:

"Now is the time to persuade those in the urban heartland who have always voted Labour, if they want social justice, look to us. This is our identity. Vince Cable's tax plans are about helping the poor: they are genuinely redistributive and unlike Labour, he doesn't tax by stealth."

Cllr Peter Tyzack said that many world class employers were based in the Filton & Bradley Stoke constituency including Airbus and Rolls Royce, and that as local MP he would work to support businesses large and small. He said:

"We need a more sustainable economy and that is why I support the Lib Dem plans for a massive 'green jobs' package which will boost employment and help the environment at the same time".