Gloucester Labour is going through a really critical process at the moment: choosing our candidate to fight the General Election in 2015.
We are down to the final 3 candidates: Sophy Gardner, David Purchase and Keir Dhillion. The final Hustings are a week tomorrow, all three candidates have been working to convince members to vote for them. This is a really important decision, not only for Gloucester Labour, but Gloucester residents too. We need to not just choose a candidate, but someone who will take the fight to, and beat Richard Graham, as well as be an inspiration to current and future Labour Party members. That is why I think the right candidate for both Gloucester and Labour is Sophy Gardner.
Before the process started, I had a hard think about what I wanted out of a candidate, from my position as Vice Chair of the Gloucester Labour Party, as the Campaign Coordinator, as a candidate and as a member. As I see, it we need:
- A Strong Labour Voice who can take the fight to the Tories and take Richard Graham to task.
- A strong Leader, who can inspire Gloucester Labour Members to unite and work hard against the Tories and Lib Dems.
- A fundraiser who can encourage investment to our local campaigns and structure.
- A Candidate who is willing to listen with empathy and work hard for their constituents.
- A Candidate who holds true Labour Values and will sand up for Gloucester in Westminster.
While her knowledge of defence is very strong, her knowledge of the issues that affect us here in Gloucester is deep, and even in the short time I have known her, she has been able to give me inspiration when trying to solve local issues based on her experiences from her military postings. That breadth of knowledge and personal drive and inspiration will be invaluable to win, not only in 2015, but in the City elections in 2014 and for our County candidates in less than 3 weeks time.