HOPES are high that the next Stratford MP will be a Lib Dem.
The town hosted the 2023 Midlands Liberal Democrat regional conference following the success of the Lib Dems winning control of Stratford District Council in May.
And the party also claim they are the leading challengers to the current Conservative MP, as they got behind parliamentary candidate Manuela Perteghella, who said she was already campaigning hard in the constituency.
She continued: ”With a general election likely to be held anytime soon, local residents may be sure that I will do my utmost for them.”
New Stratford District Council leader Coun Susan Juned opened the event at Stratfird Girls Grammar School in Shottery by explaining the problems she and fellow councillors claimed they had come up against on taking over SDC, before describing the Lib Dems’ achievements since May.
Keynote speaker Kate Lee, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Society, highlighted the growing dementia crisis in Stratford district, where about 2,500 people now suffer from the disease. She spoke passionately about how older communities are facing what has become the biggest health and
social challenge of our time.
Roger Mendonca, CEO of Midlands Engine, talked about bringing more prosperity to the region by getting companies and organisations working together to exploit such exciting new fields as quantum technologies.
And former Lib Dem MP for Solihull, Baroness Lorely Burt, underlined the importance of a strong second chamber playing a crucial role in examining new laws.
In the afternoon, the realities of becoming an MP were explored by Helen Morgan MP, who has represented Shropshire North for the Lib Dems since a by-election December 2021.
