Thursday, April 06, 2023

Simon Hobson to fight Torridge and West Devon for the Lib Dems


Torridge and West Devon Liberal Democrats have chosen Simon Hobson to fight the seat at the next general election.

The North Devon Gazette says:

Simon is an environmentalist from a farming background and has worked internationally in Africa and both North and South America.

Prior to gaining his degree in mining engineering from Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, Simon was the constituency organiser for the Liberal Democrat held constituency of Winchester.

He has also been a professional cyclist.

Torridge and West Devon became a Lib Dem seat in 1995 when Emma Nicholson, for some unaccountable reason, decided she was one of us and crossed the floor.

It was then held for the party by John Burnett in 1997 and 2001. In 2005, when John did not defend the seat, it was won back for the Conservatives by the barrister and ham actor Geoffrey Cox.

2 comments:

Frank Little said...

> Emma Nicholson, for some unaccountable reason, decided she was one of us
Did she not make clear that it was the male chauvinism in the Conservative parliamentary party at that time which caused her to cross the floor? The Labour party was hardly any better than the Tories in that respect.

Matt Pennell said...

I've been conversing with Simon across social media for a while. He has the energy and enthusiasm that this party needs. I wish him all the best. Having looked at the constituency's profile I'm relieved to note it has at least some coastline, so could be a venue for any future Lib Dem hovercraft victory tour.