How local are our "Local Conservatives"?

Our "Local Conservatives", as they style themselves in their election literature, have now re-selected Mr Fabricant as the parliamentary candidate to represent the Lichfield constituency in the next Parliamentary election.

Through his appearances on the GB News channel and elsewhere, Mr Fabricant has managed to make himself, and by extension Lichfield, a laughing stock in the media - just the other week on Have I Got News For You, Mr Fabricant was held up as a figure of fun. If the Lichfield "Local Conservatives" really cared about the area and its reputation, they would select a candidate who would genuinely work for the whole constituency.

"For an example of how Mr Fabricant has operated recently, the planned Lichfield leisure centre to replace the Friary facility should have been a prime target of the Tory 'levelling up' scheme," says Hugh Ashton, Liberal Democrat City councillor, and candidate for the City and District councils in the May elections. "Instead of which, the bid for central government funding failed. An MP who cared for his constituency, as Mr Fabricant insists he does, would have fought tooth and nail and lobbied for the money. Instead, as we know, Mr Fabricant chastised his fellow Conservatives on the District Council for failing to make a valid bid. It is perhaps surprising that the local Conservatives have re-selected him. But then again, we must remember that it was the local party members nationwide who were responsible for electing the two most disastrous Prime Ministers of the century - Johnson and Truss - who between them have destroyed the British economy and the integrity of the political system, while refusing to take responsibility for their mistakes."

Paul Ray, City and District Councillor for Chadsmead, adds, "It is truly baffling how the local Conservatives have yet again demonstrated a lack of judgement. Mr Fabricant has demonstrated an ability to be on the wrong side of almost every issue - from defending a Prime Minister who broke his own rules and failed to tell the truth about them, to defending the right of privatised companies to dump raw sewage into our water. Of course, a high point came in the December 2019 hustings when he proclaimed, referring to Brexit, that 'We'll all be wealthier after it.' But now we all now know that Brexit isn't working. Our economy has shrunk by 4% since Brexit as our trade in Europe is down by 16%. We urgently need to negotiate a proper deal with Europe to protect our economy and our jobs."

"The long and short of it," Ray concludes, "is that local Conservatives, however much they may try to distance themselves from the Westminster circus, are still bound to it, as shown by their support of Mr Fabricant."

On May 4, there is a chance for the people of Lichfield to send a clear message to the "Local Conservatives" what they think of them and this latest decision, and to vote for change, ending the Conservative monopolies of the national and local government.