Labour’s General Election candidate for Lichfield has officially launched his campaign.
Dave Robertson met activists and campaigners in the city as he seeks to win the seat.
The party came within 250 votes of victory back in 1997 – and their hopeful this year believes that voters desperate for change could give the constituency a Labour MP.
He said:
“There have been so many missed opportunities for the country and for Lichfield, Burntwood and villages of this area.
“We have an NHS on its knees, we have people struggling to pay their mortgages after the Conservatives crashed the economy, we have businesses all over this area burdened by the unfair burden of a broken business rate system, and a complete loss of control over immigration, punctuated by chaos and gimmicks.
“I’ve been talking to many people in Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages in our area since the election was called. The mood of the people I talk to tells me that this isn’t a safe Conservative seat any more – we can bring change, but only if everyone comes out on 4th July and votes for change.”
Dave Robertson
The member of Lichfield District Council and Lichfield City Council said voters would be able to see his track record of pushing for change.
“I pushed for Lichfield City Council to become the only council of its type in this region to be a living wage employer, paying its employees enough to live on and being fair to all.
“That’s what’s been missing in this country for 14 years – a sense of fairness, that all people can do as well as they deserve.
“Lichfield deserves change for the better. Labour is a changed party and we’ll deliver the change that the country so badly wants.”
Dave Robertson
Seven candidates will stand in the Lichfield constituency:
- Sir Michael Fabricant – Conservatives
- Richard Howard – Reform UK
- Pete Longman – Independent
- John Madden – Independent
- Heather McNeillis – Green Party
- Paul Ray – Liberal Democrats
- Dave Robertson – Labour
He’s correct. Reform are going to win it!
Dave seems like a really good bloke. Unfortunately a vote for him is a vote for the likes of snakey Starmer, Rayner the Corbynite, the tax loving Reeve, the barmy Lammy, wet blanket Streeting and the comedian Milliband. Sorry Dave but as bad a Tories are you aren’t going to win Lichfield this time.
I also want change – but only for the better, for all & permanently. Not convinced yet but getting closer. Labour have a good chance in Lichfield provided local voter surgeries by appointment are guaranteed
why is he sending lichfield labour members to stafford?
Agreed, I don’t think there are any safe Tory seats anymore! Certainly not in this election!
Time for change. Lichfield deserves a candidate who will work hard to represent all of Lichfield in Westminster. Dave is that candidate. If you want Fabricant and the Tories out, PLEASE, lend your vote to Labour on this occasion so we don’t split the opposition vote. A vote for LibDem or Green is a vote for Fabricant.
The latest prediction from a leading poll aggregator – Electoral Maps UK – is for a Conservative majority of just over 300 votes in Lichfield. So if Lib Dem and/or Green supporters vote tactically Sir Michael is extremely vulnerable.
I’ve been out with Dave and our many committed volunteers quite a few times over the last week or so right across Lichfield, Burntwood and the Villages. We’ve been knocking on doors and chatting with folk in areas that I never would have expected to be good campaigning territory for us. Wherever we’ve been the message has been very similar – ranging from “I’ll never vote Conservative again”, through “It’s clearly time for a change after the chaos of the past few years.” to “I think I might well give Labour a chance this time”. However, as Dave has said, we will only get positive change for the better, both locally and nationally, if we persuade enough people to vote for Labour and Dave on 4th July.
Well there are a proposed 1,500,000 houses going to be built. How many of these will be coming to our constituency? How many will be social or affordable (whatever that means). The Tories destroyed the housing market with their mega low interest policy that morphed into buy to let. Houses became investments not homes. Little wonder it is hard to get started. It should also be remembered that when buyers were given 100% mortgages several banks went to the wall because of bad debts.
We need an MP who will address reality not the political hype
Wish Dave Well Nice to see no Nasty this time so far let the public decide July 4th. But some will spoil
Sadley I just read
John Patrick Madden
The Labour candidate is hardly going to say he doesn’t stand a chance and the Tories will retain Lichfield.
As it is, he is highly unlikely to win Lichfield. Lichfield has previously, on average, had a 19,000 voting majority for Conservatives. This is of around 70,000 people who voted. Lichfield has a population of around 100,000.
So in short a few keyboard happy warriors for Labour won’t change the demographic of the voters. Especially with a skew to the elderly in Lichfield (who are more likely to vote blue).
@Gurt – Electoral Calculus is showing a Labour win in Lichfield with predicted votes of 41.0% and Conservative votes of 40.4%. Elections Maps is showing a Conservative win with 36.8% of votes with Labour on 36.2%. It’s a lot closer than people may think. All it will need is some sensible tactical voting from Greens and Lib Dems and Lichfield may well turn red on 4 July.
Loving the deafening silence from Mr Fabricant. Is he going to bother campaigning? Is he bovvered? I hope not!
I’ve never voted Tory, but I need a much better argument for voting Labour than they’ve got a chance of winning. The Tories lost their majority on Lichfield Council at the last local election, but there’s been no change in the follies the Council is pursuing with the full backing of the Labour opposition, such as demolishing the Birmingham Road multi-storey car park and moving the bus station to a totally inadequate site across the road. It was a wasted vote for Labour in that case.
Carl Sholl – Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The choice is more of the last 14 years or something different. Here is my argument, vote labour or get Fabricant. Wanting more austerity and more Brexit because of the shortcomings of local worthies doesn’t seem the best argument for not voting fabricant out.
Do we take the red pill or the blue pill? We’re all trapped in the Westminster Model and it’s broken. Sovereign head of state, do we really need one in the 21st century? Here’s the root cause of the problem, a non-partizan interdependent civil-service. Never going to get one of those because that gravy train will just keep on rolling. Red or blue, nothing will change.
Carl, one reason to vote Labour is to oust the tories. That’s enough for me.
Dave would work hard for the people of Lichfield, Burntwood and the Villages – he is a Lichfield bloke through and through who has shown his commitment by what he has achieved as a City & District Councillor over the last five years.
If we accept there’s going to be a Labour Government regardless of what happens in Lichfield, it means we have the freedom to vote for whoever we believe is going to be best for the area and it really is a two horse race. The choice is someone who appears to spend great swathes of their time on GB News, raising issues about Wales and Birmingham and sending insulting social media messages or a Labour councillor with a proven track record, who is already out campaigning and who seems to really want to do a good job. I know who’s getting my vote.
Mr Fabricant has not been useful to the constituency as an MP of the governing party. In recent years, he appears to have had no influence in the Conservative Party or even to have had the respect of senior figures in the Party.
He was unable to assist in getting levelling up funding for the constituency, other than to unhelpfully point out the defects in the council’s bid AFTER the bid had failed.
He had to seek clarity on the impact of HS2 works around Lichfield following the cancellation of the northern Leg of HS2 from the minister Huw Merriman, a man who had previously been filmed in the House of Commons sitting behind Mr Fabricant mocking Fabricant’s “unusual coiffeur”.
Consider how much less useful Mr Fabricant will be as a opposition MP.
A vote for a anyone other than Labour will just provide Mr Fabricant of what, in effect, will be a very well paid retirement.
When Dave Robertson came canvassing in Burntwood he loitered at the end of our drive while waiting to see if there was any point walking up it, sending his activist henchman to knock the door. When my husband made it obvious that politicians in general are an untrustworthy species (and, to my mind, a Labour Party chancer even more so), his sidekick became sarcastic and aggressive. Eventually Dave did manage to drag himself up the drive, but had no luck in convincing us that Labour would be anything but the disaster they have always been before. If they get a super-majority the damage their far-left underbelly could inflict on this already benighted country doesn’t bear thinking about.
@Mrs.G
I’m sure another 5 years of Lazy Fabricant will do us all good then 👍👍👍
Just received fabricants flyer through my door. According to that he holds face to face surgeries with constituents with no appointments required. Must have missed that one then.!
Johnneo I have one too. Says he replies to every email etc. he does but to emails from the West Midlands and Wales
@Mrs.G, Have you been out the country for the last 14 years? You fears are been sown by the Tories not the labour whom haven’t been in power since 2010 and the Tories have held onto Lichfield since 1997. So if that doesn’t spell it out in black and white, then you need therapy.