There are two sets of elections in Stockport on 6th May.

The first is the local council elections – one third of Stockport’s councillors are up for election.  In Cheadle & Gatley that’s me.  Although I was only elected last September, I’ve got to stand again as that’s when the late Brian Millard would have been up had he lived.

The second, as you might have spotted, is the General Election.   Cheadle’s had a Lib Dem MP since 2001 – first Patsy Calton and then Mark Hunter since 2005.  We want to keep it that way.

The Conservative’s want to persuade us that the election is Cheadle is between Labour and them – an interesting claim to make when Labour got 4% of the vote last time round.  The reality, as we all know, is that whatever happens in Cheadle isn’t going  give Gordon Brown one more or one fewer MP.

Mark’s shown that he does a great job at sticking up for us and getting things done in our area – even many of his political opponents readily admit that.  The question is whether we want a hard-working local champion, or not.

As political activists, the next month is what we’ve all been working towards for years, but it’s also daunting, and it’ll all come down to the count at the Town Hall in a few weeks time.

We’ll be working to persuade you that Mark’s the best person to be our MP, and that I and the Lib  Dem candidates for the local elections are the best people to represent you and work for you on Stockport Council.