Liberal Democrats Choose Candidate for Daventry Constituency

Author: Kate Nash - Lib DemPublished: 3rd January 2024 08:17

West Northants Liberal Democrats have chosen Liberal Democrat Councillor Jonathan Harris as their Parliamentary Candidate for the next General Election for the Daventry Constituency.

West Northants Liberal Democrats have chosen Liberal Democrat Councillor Jonathan Harris as their Parliamentary Candidate for the next General Election for the Daventry Constituency. Jonathan has been a councillor representing the Brixworth Ward for the past four and a half years, initially winning a by-election for Daventry District Council with a 33% swing from the Conservatives and then being re-elected to the newly created West Northants Council in May 2021.

In the last council elections in May 2021 the Liberal Democrats in Daventry won more votes than Labour, came second to the Conservatives, and hold more council seats in the constituency than Labour. "This Conservative Government has been an utter disaster for so many in our country" says Harris. "With the cost of living crisis we have seen the worst drop in living standards since the war; we are experiencing a catalogue of disasters and poor government that is compounded by Conservatives fighting amongst themselves at every opportunity. It's time for a change - we all deserve so much better."

"We have many challenges and opportunities within our constituency, and I will be a strong voice for Daventry at Westminster." He continues:

We have many rural villages with an aging population at risk of isolation due to the lack of proper public transport investment.
Daventry is a growing town, and it will need the right services and facilities to support this growth. We have great potential and also some social deprivation challenges.
We have a huge Care Crisis with the NHS, Adult and Children's Services all needing urgent support.
Daventry has many small and medium sized businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy. Many have suffered because of the pandemic, often excluded from support packages, and now having to wade through increased red-tape, thanks to Brexit, which is stifling opportunity and growth.
Whilst we need more homes, we continually see social and affordable homes either not being built in sufficient numbers or being kicked into touch on the claim of lack of viability.
Houses in the UK continue to be built to an energy standard which simply would not be tolerated in many other parts of Europe. The cheapest form of energy is the energy you don't need to use. All new builds should be net zero carbon by now.
We have also seen the proliferation of warehousing across our area, with businesses promising local jobs but often employing people from outside of our area, and buildings regularly constructed without any consideration for climate mitigation.
In addition, our young people have been failed in many instances.
Conservative Local Government has cut youth service investment by 94% since 2010, this is a totally unacceptable situation for our young people.

Having been one of the main coordinators of over 100 volunteers within his own community during the pandemic and early lockdowns, Jonathan has worked within his ward community over the past two and a half years to implement a community transport scheme to reconnect villages for weekly shopping trips, as well as being a volunteer and coordinator at the Brixworth Community Food Larder.

"I joined the Liberal Democrats because I believe in a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity." Jonathan says.

"I aim to be a campaigning MP - seeking investment in health care and transport, a listening MP - holding regular accessible surgeries and using MPs resources to serve our constituency and report back; a strong voice for Daventry at Westminster."

Jonathan is married to Christine, and with their three dogs, they have lived in the heart of the constituency since 1998.

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