Off to a flying start - Paul Ray the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lichfield and Burntwood is pictured with some of the 10 strong team who were there to support him and handing out our newly printed leaflets.

Paul Ray, Liberal Democrat Candidate for Lichfield:

"The Lib Dems are the only major party to have come out unequivocally against the UK leaving the European Union which would impoverish the country for at least a generation. The Conservative Party appear to wish to lead the country over the cliff of an economic and social disaster, and Labour's current leadership seems unable to make up its mind. Jeremy Corbyn though has always been against membership of the EU that has brought billions of pounds of benefits to communities throughout the nation and this region.

Paul has lived in Lichfield for 19 years and is married with three children.

Paul also has family members of the older generation living in Lichfield which means he has a good understanding of the issues affecting that part of the population.

Paul has spent all his adult life in the Midlands following graduation in 1986 from Aston University. He has worked as a solicitor since 1997 and has been a partner since 2005. He specialises in finance law advising in the private and public sectors and as finance is key to any business or organisation, Paul's work gives him very relevant experience of the pressures affecting business and the public sector.

At its meeting on Monday 21 October 2019 Lichfield City Council agreed to a motion which formally recognised that a climate emergency exists, and resolved to take this into account as a factor in future spending decisions of the City Council. The Climate Emergency motion, proposed by Liberal Democrat Councillor Hugh Ashton, provoked a lively and passionate debate, with useful contributions from all sides. Cllr Ashton says:

Residents have been warned that the fight to save Friary Grange Leisure Centre is still not over.

The future of the facility was thrown into doubt when Lichfield District Council announced plans to shut the site from April 2020.

But a petition backed by thousands of residents led to a review of the decision, with the local authority's Cabinet set to make a final decision next month.

With a General Election looking very likely in the next few months, keen local members met in Lichfield on 4^th September with our candidate, Paul Ray to plan our campaign. Enthusiasm and good ideas were abundant. The recent local election experience suggests that it is by no means impossible that we could deprive Michael Fabricant of his seat.

Lib Dem Councillor Paul Ray has urged residents to attend the Lichfield District Council meeting on 7 October at 6pm at The Garrick Theatre when the future of The Friary Grange Leisure Centre will be decided.

Paul Ray said that "I and Cllr Jo Grange met with Doug Pullen, leader of Lichfield District Councillor last Friday to discuss the Friary Grange Leisure Centre and had a positive meeting.

Residents have drawn up a petition calling for a new crossing to be installed on a "lethal" stretch of road in Lichfield.

Some elderly residents needing to using a bus stop on Eastern Avenue say they are having to wait for up to ten minutes for a gap in traffic before being able to cross the busy stretch of road.

Cllr Paul Ray has been re-elected onto Lichfield District Council and Lichfield City Council, while seven of his colleagues were also elected to the latter. He believes the results show the public are looking for an alternative to the Conservatives and Labour and that the results showed voters were in tune with his party's stance on local and national issues

Congratulations to Paul Ray and Helen for their re-election in Lichfield district council and East Staffordshire borough council elections.

Across the patch thanks to our other candidates, no fewer than 27 of them, for their courage and hard work, in a number of cases getting very close to election in seats long held by other parties. Miles Trent was especially unfortunate to miss out on winning a district council seat by just 7 votes!