Rushcliffe Liberal Democrat vote up 11.4% in Election poll

Rushcliffe saw the biggest Liberal Democrat vote of any constituency in the East Midlands at yesterday's General Election. The Party won 9,600 votes and increased their share of the Rushcliffe vote by 11.4%.

Speaking after the result was declared, Jason Billin, Liberal Democrat candidate said: "Rushcliffe is a tough battleground for those of us who don't agree with Tory policies but we have a great deal to celebrate from the way we have built the local Liberal Democrat membership and how we ran this campaign. We increased our share of the vote by 11.4% and tripled the numbers who voted for us."Campaign managers for Jason Billin said that the influence of tactical voting websites may have encouraged voters to switch to Labour in a bid to keep Boris Johnson out of Number 10.

Jason continued: "Our past performance may have led many people to switch, even though they agree with our policies, but we were still the only party in Rushcliffe to increase our vote. Both the Conservatives and Labour were down; people from different parties came to the Liberal Democrats for positive reasons. Every voter makes their own choice as they are entitled to do. Any implication that we split the anti-Tory vote would be to take those voters' choices for granted.

"As a party we are disappointed to come second to Dominic Raab in Esher and Walton, and in Wimbledon where we lost by 628 votes, but we respect the right of Labour voters to follow their
convictions even though they could have made the difference.

"Our local membership has grown by 400% in the last three years. We will continue listening to
Rushcliffe residents and work harder than ever to support them and represent them.

"We will also hold our new Tory MP to her promises; let's not forget her pledges to voters: 'more police officers in the area, new local health centres, protection of the environment and a reduction in waste, per-pupil school funding increases and growth in the economy with well-paid jobs'. If there is the slightest excuse, the slightest delay because the budget actually isn't there, we will be asking plenty of questions.

"I've had a wonderful reception from people as we have chatted on the doorstep or at Hustings. It has been the privilege of my life to stand for the constituency where my family have grown up. Rushcliffe is my home and I will be glad to continue to push for Liberal Democrat representation both locally and nationally."