Some MPs are hard to replace. The poor old Liberals have so far selected two Somerset candidates who, after reflection, have decided that they would rather not stand. Sarah Yong in Somerton and Frome now follows Sam Phripp in the next door constituency of North East Somerset. Labour’s Candidate for the Somerton and Frome constituency, David Oakensen believes that this raises questions about their selection process. “Perhaps next time they should ask their candidate if he or she has really really thought about whether they want to stand or not. Maybe there should be a cooling off period before they confirm their intentions. We know that Liberal promises do not always look as good the morning after.”
“If you take away local loyalty to retiring MP David Heath, the Liberal problem in Somerton and Frome is the same as the Liberal problem all over the UK. In the past they have been a been a safe protest vote for those who didn’t want to vote Conservative but were not convinced by Labour. However since the broken promises on student tuition fees, cuts in public services, and tax cuts for the wealthy, many people have come to see a Liberal vote as a Tory vote. At the next General Election I hope people will see that the only vote that will protect our public services and build a fair society is a Labour vote.”