The race to become Lichfield’s next MP is on a knife-edge, Labour’s candidate has said.
The seat has been in Conservative hands since it was formed back in 1997.
The last General Election in 2019 saw Sir Michael Fabricant win by more than 23,000 votes.
But Labour’s Dave Robertson believes that despite that sizeable Tory majority, he can go one better this time around having finished second in 2019.
He added that the Conservative grip on Lichfield and Burntwood could be removed if voters turn out and vote tactically.
“This is a straight contest between me and Sir Michael Fabricant.
“A vote for anyone else is basically a vote for the Conservatives. Only a Labour vote will bring the change that Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages need.”
Dave Robertson
Mr Robertson, who is currently a member of Lichfield City Council and Lichfield District Council, said his belief that Labour could take the seat had come from five weeks of speaking to locals on the campaign trail.
He said:
“The sentiment I hear again and again is that people want change.
“Homeowners feel let down by the impact of Conservative mismanagement on the economy, business owners want to see an end to unfair business rates, and a low-growth economy, and everyone wants a functioning health service.
“Labour has plans to grow the economy and address the unfairness and mistakes of the past 14 years, but it all depends on coming out on Thursday and voting for Labour. This election isn’t over, especially not in Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages.
“This has been a safe Conservative seat for a long time but it’s looking really, really close. Every vote will count in this constituency, so it’s crucial that on Thursday people have their say and back change for a fairer Britain.”
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
Liebour and the Tory’s are identical, not very good, social democratic parties. The independants, greens & libDems are as daft as a brush. I’m voting for Richard Howard. Reform are the answer. The rest are the problem.
What a difference a Dave makes!
@Patrick – if Reform is the answer it must be a very silly question.
Paul Ray. Needs to shelf his ego and put the people ahead and get Fabricant out – that would be the greatest form of public service he could achieve.
Only tangentially related, but my 18 year old son registered to vote on 10th June and had his voting card stuffed through the letterbox this evening (27th). In contrast, our voting forms came through many days ago.
The issue is that he flies before the polling booths open on the 4th and because registration took so long he missed the cutoff for a proxy vote, where the deadline was yesterday at 5pm. There must be many people in the same position. This is really disappointing for him. Why would his registration be so delayed I wonder?
The system doesn’t seem to be fair for him.
I have a lot of issues with all of the parties’ manifestos but on balance, I trust Dave over MF so I will be crossing my fingers and voting Labour. It”s the best chance of putting 14 years of austerity behind us and moving on. Voting Labour is the only option to remove Sir MF. Voting for other parties/ independents is a mere distraction
For those who follow his media and
reading the comments on this platform, MF appears to be more concerned about his status and TV profile than Lichfield’s needs. Lichfield, let’s get real.
See you at the hustings and ballot box!
I attended the hustings at the last General Election and Dave Robertson came across as a really nice guy. The problem was though he didn’t say anything of substance or answer the questions that were put to him. He just came out with meaningless soundbites. Nothing much seems to have changed. This time around Labour are promising to cut people’s energy bills by £300 / year and achieve Net Zero by 2030. I sent him a link to an analysis of the official strategy document that shows what needs to be done and the associated costs: in the next 6 years we will need to develop about 3 times the capacity of renewable energy sources than has been brought on stream in the last few decades and major upgrades to the national grid will be required. This will cost hundreds of BILLIONS of pounds which will have to be paid for by consumers. I asked him for his views on this over a week ago now. I have had no response. It appears nothing has changed.
Lib Dems, look at the 1997 result. Mr Fabricant won by just 238 votes. How many woke up the morning after that election regretting that Lichfield was stuck with a Conservative MP representing a badly beaten opposition?
Fast forward to 4th July 2024 and the same could happen again.
Please lend your vote to Labour. Let’s send Mr Fabricant into a much deserved – and overdue – retirement.
There’s an added bonus for Lib Dems in tactical voting. In many constituencies, Labour supporters will be voting for Lib Dems. There’s a very real prospect that the Lib Dems will become the official opposition, greatly increasing your political resources and influence on parliament.
I’ve had a letter from a former disgraced Prime Minister telling me that the Conservative candidate “has worked day in and day out to make a difference – not just in Lichfield, but in Burntwood and all the surrounding villages.” Really? In Burntwood? There’s a joke here that you only see him at election time and even that minimal engagement locally hasn’t happened this year. Come on, Burntwood: you know what to do. Only Labour’s Dave Robertson is in a position to beat him so let’s see real change here and vote for Dave!
Mr Robertson,
if you feel the the race to represent Lichfield is on a knife edge i suggest you take a good look at yourself, with national Conservative party being in the sad state they are at the moment you should be walking through a open door.
I suggest you haven’t done enough to convince us that you have anything more to offer.
Pie in the sky. No mainframe political party can work in Lichfield or any other constituency in this beleaguered country. I hope this election gives birth to new leaders who really can make this country strong again and lead it away from a nanny state
@Sue Woodward: I got the same letter from the Right Horrendous Boris, it opens “Five years ago, you voted for me to get Brexit done”. I most emphatically did not, and I won’t be voting for any candidate who can’t admit that Brexit has been an absolute disaster not only for this country but also for Europe. It has emboldened the far right across the continent and made Europe and the world a more dangerous place. The EU project is about peace, about bringing nations together which had a history of continuous wars by combatting the nationalism that was at the root of so much conflict and replacing it with mutual respect and cooperation. Now we have Putin apologists like Farage pretending not to see the dark clouds unleashed by their own vile rhetoric, and the two largest parties refusing to face up to the truth. You need to fight fascism, not just hide your head in the sand and hope it will go away if you don’t mention it.
I attended this evening’s hustings in the cathedral, full of anticipation – wanting to be convinced that one party had won my vote. Fabricant was reading notes to pretty much every answer – completely scripted and still largely unconvincing. At one point he actually suggested we should be thankful that he is our MP as he didn’t fiddle his expenses?? That quite a low bar to set, isn’t it? He did, of course, forget about his other scandals (too numerous to mention). Considering he represented the Conservative Party – there was zero contrition or humility. Arrogant and cocky. No thanks.
Dave Robertson was VERY impressive. He spoke without notes, and clearly care passionately about Lichfield, NHS, education, the environment and living standards.
I didn’t expect to be won over by Labour – but there you go. For chatting to a few others after the event – I wasn’t the only one.
Dave – you have my vote.