Lib Dems mayoral candidate Lorna Dupré says: ‘Tories left us in crisis, then Labour mayor failed to fix mess’
The Liberal Democrats launched Lorna Dupré’s campaign to become the next mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough at a rally at Trumpington Park & Ride in Cambridge.
Cllr Dupré, a county councillor and East Cambridgeshire district councillor, was joined by South Cambridgeshire MP Pippa Heylings, East Cambridgeshire MP Charlotte Cane, activists, local election candidates and supporters.
She pledged in a speech to focus on local priorities if elected on 1 May – supporting the county’s overstretched NHS services, securing funding to fix the county’s crumbling roads and repairing broken public transport links.
Cllr Dupré will be up against Conservative Paul Bristow, the former MP for Peterborough, and Labour candidate Cllr Anna Smith, a Cambridge city councillor and current deputy mayor.
The incumbent Labour mayor, Dr Nik Johnson, is not standing for re-election due to health reasons. Since his election in 2021, when he defeated Tory James Palmer, Dr Johnson and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority have been embroiled in a number of controversies.
The Lib Dems will be hoping this could help them win extra votes. They currently hold the most seats on the county council, which is run by a coalition, and they won Parliamentary seats off the Conservatives in Cambridgeshire at last year’s General Election.
Cllr Dupré said: “For four years, Cambridgeshire had a Conservative mayor and a Conservative-led council who slashed local services and left us in crisis. Then for another four years, we had a Labour mayor who failed to fix the mess. While the joint administration running the county council has done its best, Cambridgeshire residents deserve a fresh start – with a Liberal Democrat mayor and council working together to deliver real change.
“On 1 May, residents have a historic opportunity to break free from the failed politics of the past, beat the Conservatives for good in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and hold the Labour government to account for the promises they’ve already forgotten since the General Election. This is our chance to secure genuine change for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.”
Meanwhile, Mr Bristow was out campaigning in Cherry Hinton. He said he was “telling people that I will never introduce congestion charging in Cambridge or elsewhere” and added: “Neither Labour not the Lib Dems can say the same.”
And Cllr Smith was out campaigning on the doorstep with Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology. She has said it would be “the greatest privilege” of her life to be elected.
The Green Party, meanwhile, has just announced that Bob Ensch will stand as its candidate. There has been no word yet on whether Reform UK intend to enter the battle.
