If 'Guildford goes', then let's make sure Esher and Walton goes with them

I’m proud to be standing as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Esher and Walton. We’ve seen a surge in Liberal Democrat support in the last year. We won the European elections in Elmbridge in May and, after wins in the local elections, we are in administration with the Residents Association in Elmbridge Borough Council. New members and supporters are joining us every week, almost 100 locally in the last two weeks, and I am being welcomed on the doorstep, and receiving messages of support from across the constituency.

This isn’t just a message for our growing band of declared Lib Dem voters. It’s also a message for Conservative voters in the constituency. This week has seen a significant shift in the ideology and the positioning of the Tory party. Moderate Conservatives, “One Nation” Tories and even former Chancellors of the Exchequer – long-serving MPs such as Dominic Grieve, Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke – have been purged. Amber Rudd has quit the Cabinet and the Party, issuing an explosive resignation letter that exposes Boris Johnson's lie that he is working hard to get a deal with the EU. The party is at war with itself, orchestrated by a Prime Minister who is out of control and out of his depth. There are even rumours of an election pact with the Brexit party, bankrolled by Arron Banks, whose Leave.EU campaign broke the law.

This is now a hard-right, nationalist, anti-European party prepared to tear up our democracy and our laws in pursuit of a catastrophic No Deal Brexit.

As a voter in this wonderful, dynamic, open constituency of ours, can you vote for this Brexit-Tory party again? Many lifelong Tory voters in the constituency are telling us on the doorstep that they can’t. They are rejecting Dominic Raab and giving me their support, which I am honoured to receive.

And it appears that this Brexit-Tory party doesn’t actually want your support anymore, anyway. In an interview in this weekend’s Times newspaper, Sir Nicholas Soames – Winston Churchill’s grandson, who was also shamefully kicked out this week – describes what happened when the moderate MP for nearby Guildford, Anne Milton, told Boris Johnson that his hard Brexit strategy would mean that

“Guildford would be gone”.

His response:

“Well, Guildford will have to go, then.”

Well, let’s be clear about this: Esher and Walton will go then, too.

Esher and Walton voted 60% to Remain in the EU. 40% voted to Leave, but not for No Deal - that was never part of the Referendum campaign.

The Brexit-Tory party and its hard-right Brexiteer MP Dominic Raab are not representative here. And the Prime Minister seems to have made it clear that he doesn't care about constituencies like ours.

Many Conservative voters have rejected Raab already and are backing me. Join them! I’d love to hear from you.

Let’s Demand Better than this.