Letter from Hilary Myers to the Halifax Courier, 9 May 2010:
I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who voted for me and to everyone who worked tirelessly on our joint local and general election campaign in Calder Valley.
All the results were brilliant, our best in a general election for over 25 years, and just go to show what you can do where there is passion and commitment, even without the resources that come with being a target seat.
To achieve a 25.2% share of the votes, a 6.3% swing on our 2005 results, was quite phenomenal and significantly higher than the national average. We came tantalisingly close to taking second place in what used to be a Labour-Conservative marginal seat.
A vote for the Liberal Democrats was a vote for a fairer Britain – fairer taxation, a fairer, greener, rebalanced economy, a fairer start for every child and for a fairer politics. I believe that the good people who voted for me were voting for these key pledges and, like me, are holding their breath to see how much of our reform agenda we can extract from a currently very precarious national situation. The election may be over but the pledges remain and I will continue to do everything I can as a member of the Liberal Democrats to fight for their implementation.
My sincere thanks once again to all those people who supported me – people who have helped make a very real difference in Calder Valley, a place where the political landscape will never be the same again.
Floella Benjamin with Hilary Myers on a visit to the Calder Valley
“History will be made this week in Calder Valley and across Britain as people vote for the first time since the start of the economic crisis and for the first time since the failure of the Copenhagen talks on climate change,” said Hilary Myers, speaking to a packed room of students in Calder Valley this week. “More and more people are realising that the key to solving the massive challenges we face, for us in the United Kingdom, is electoral reform. If we can change the voting system we will open the door to a brighter, more intelligent future. There are many steps on the road but this election represents the opportunity to take a step in a radically different direction, the first step of many down a different road toward a better, more democratic and effective solution to our problems.”
Hilary had the same message wherever she went in this last week of the General Election campaign. “I am getting an enthusiastic reception from voters across the constituency”, she smiled. “From Todmorden to Hebden Bridge, from Mytholmroyd to Ripponden, from Elland to Brighouse, in town centres and in outlying communities on people’s doorsteps, voters are starting to hope that Britain can be reinvigorated by fundamental political change, not just another change from red to blue”.
Hilary was joined on the campaign trail on Saturday by Floella Benjamin, the well-loved children’s TV presenter and President of the Ramblers Association. Floella was full of praise for the beautiful Calder Valley and talked enthusiastically to everyone she met about Liberal Democrat policies and how much she thought they would change things for the better. “And Hilary would be a great MP for Calder Valley and take people’s concerns seriously. You can see it in her face!” she said.
Campaigning organisation “Protecting Animals in Democracy” have endorsed Hilary Myers, Lib Dem candidate, as their recommended candidate for Calder Valley in the general election.
Hilary received a thumbs up on all six areas of policy that she was asked about, which cover the hunting ban, democratic reform, battery egg farming, animal experiments, experiments & FOI, and biofuels & habitats.
Dr. Dan Lyons, of Protecting Animals in Democracy, said:
“We have decided to endorse you as the best voting option in your constituency to protect millions of animals from the cruelty of bloodsports, intensive farming and painful experiments.”
For more information, visit the Protecting Animals in Democracy website.
The latest predictions from respected independent website Electoral Calculus show that the Liberal Democrats are now likely to beat Labour in Calder Valley, with a higher predicted share of the vote, and considerably greater chance of winning.
These predictions do not even take into account local conditions. The divisions in the Calder Valley Labour Party make it even less likely that Labour candidate Steph Booth will do well.
It is becoming increasingly clear that Calder Valley is turning into a straight contest between the Lib Dems and the Tories, and that we are in with a strong chance of actually winning the seat.
Letter from Hilary Myers to the Halifax Courier, 28 April 2010:
David Cameron’s big idea to help mend what the Tories cynically call ‘Broken Britain’ is to create a ‘Big Society’. At the heart of this poorly thought out concept is the notion that social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups should play a leading role in delivering public services. Apart from the fact that this message is obviously lost on Tory-run Calderdale Council, who singularly failed to safeguard the future of our key local social enterprise, Kerbside, when drawing up a new waste collection contract, this reliance on hardworking people who supposedly have extra time on their hands is a notorious way of trying to get government on the cheap.
Whilst we do need to examine ways of ‘reducing waste’ and ‘bureaucracy’, neither Labour nor the Tories care to share with the electorate their exact plans for identifying and eradicating these elusive inefficiencies. Most people would like more say in running their local schools, libraries, parks and amenities and in making planning decisions. More importantly, what they would really like, and have a right to expect, are democratically accountable bodies to help them do so. They simply want these things done better.
The Liberal Democrats are the only major party to propose stronger local government. They understand that many people already give of their time and energy to help make their communities and neighbourhoods better, safer places. The centralising tendency of the last Labour government, and the patronising talk of a privileged shadow Tory cabinet, many of whom do not have to make a living like the rest of us, leads to half baked and patronising proposals like a ‘Big Society’. If voters want real change which recognises and values the importance of local communities and the many individuals and organisations who help make our country, Yorkshire and Calderdale, the great place that it is, then they should vote for the Liberal Democrats next week.
“Something different is happening” commented Hilary Myers this week. “There’s been a dramatic sea-change in the mood of the electorate with people suddenly more engaged with the forthcoming election and showing a much greater willingness to get out and vote”.
This week Hilary has been out canvassing voters in Elland, Greetland, Luddenden Foot, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden. She has also spoken to a group of local farmers in Ryburn, visited a manufacturing firm in Brighouse and met with the Asian community in homes across the constituency.
“Our Liberal Democrat promise of change and fairness appeals to a lot of people who are angry with the Government but are unconvinced that things would be any better under the Conservatives. Our message of radical reform of politics, a green road out of recession, reduced taxes for those on low incomes, and a fairer start for every child, is a message of hope and renewal.”
With polling day approaching, Hilary and her team are re-doubling their efforts to reach out to the electorate and engage with their concerns. “I shall be talking to students, I shall be talking to pensioners and I shall be talking to ordinary hard-working families,” she said, “and explaining our carefully costed policies and our plan to reduce inequality and increase opportunity across the communities of Britain. We have to tackle the deficit, of course, but we will make sure the very wealthy pay their fair share for a change” she insisted.
But although Hilary has taken three weeks off work to concentrate on her campaign, she must also do her duty as Chair of Governors at Todmorden High School where she will be spending two days interviewing prospective new head teachers.
“The Conservative candidate resigned from our Governing Body recently saying it was too much of a commitment for him. I was disappointed by his attitude” said Hilary.
Letter from Hilary Myers, 19 April 2010:
Something exciting appears to be happening in British politics. Something I have been hoping for ever since Shirley Williams and Roy Jenkins left the Labour Party nearly thirty years ago. Namely, a chance to break the stranglehold of a two party system that has delivered the voters of Calder Valley with just more of the same, in many ways, for the last sixty-five years.
The only thing the opinion polls agree on at the moment is that this General Election will be a three way contest. But the only poll that really matters is the secret ballot on May 6th when people can cast their votes according to their own political conscience, rather than being constrained by worries about whether to vote tactically. For once the goal is wide open. People face a real choice.
I think that the patience of the electorate with politicians of the Lab-servative status quo is at breaking point. I just hope that the still undecided voters of this constituency, including those that have been loyal to the Liberal Democrats at the local level for many years, will have the courage to vote on May 6th for the real, fundamental change this country so badly needs.
Hilary Myers campaigning in Hebden Bridge
The Liberal Democrats were out in force across Calderdale at the weekend, campaigning in town centres and on the doorstep, talking to local voters about the issues that concern them and about how they feel about the forthcoming General Election on May 6th.
“The anger is still there”, said Parliamentary Candidate, Hilary Myers. “People are still very upset about the expenses scandal and feel let down by the outgoing contingent of Westminster politicians. But over the last few days I sense that the public mood has changed. Voters are starting to engage with the idea that things could be different this time – that they do have a choice, even if they have not yet made up their minds.”
The Lib Dems set up stalls in Todmorden town centre on Saturday morning and in St.George’s Square, Hebden Bridge (photo), in the afternoon. The warm sunshine encouraged a lot of people out onto the streets and politics was a popular subject of conversation amongst both young and old. “People were interested to hear about our tax plans” said Hilary, “and I had questions about child care, the NHS and public transport amongst others.”
On Sunday, Hilary was out and about in Brighouse, taking the political temperature on the doorstep. “What struck me most was a new willingness to talk about the political situation and what needs to change” she commented. ”Lots of people mentioned the televised debates between the party leaders which, as a new thing, seem to have given a real boost to this election”.
A leading local Liberal Democrat who is hoping to become the next MP for Calder Valley has told voters that if elected, she will put fairness and change at the heart of her policies.
Speaking at the meeting that launched her campaign, Hilary Myers said, “For decades our country has been run by Labour and the Conservatives. Look at the mess they have made.
“Both the old parties were responsible for where the country is now, with banks holding the rest of the economy to ransom, two and a half million out of work and billions wasted on an illegal war in Iraq. We have a tax system that means those on low and middle incomes pay a higher share of their income in tax than the super-rich.
“We have a rotten system of government built up by Labour and Conservatives. It needs to be swept away. If elected as the new MP for Calder Valley my aim will be to bring in the change our area and our country so desperately needs.
“And I will fight for a fair deal for ordinary people who have paid the price for the boom and bust of the Labour and Conservative years.
“That’s why I am pleased that the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have put fairness and change at the heart of the party’s manifesto.
“As MP for our area, I will fight hard to ensure the tax system is reformed so that people on low and middle incomes get a fair deal. We will make sure no one pays tax on their first £10,000 of income. And we will pay for it by closing the tax loopholes used by the super rich, who did so well out of the booms and busts of the Labour and Conservative years.
“And I will also be battling to sweep away the old way of government that Labour and Conservatives have enjoyed for decades. We will bring in fair votes, replace the House of Lords with a new body elected by the people and we will ensure people have far more say over what happens in their own communities.
“Labour have lost support in Calder Valley – they don’t have a single Council seat. It doesn’t have to be the Tories’ turn. People need an MP they can trust.”
