Richard Baum

Last night I was elected as the party’s general election candidate for the Bury North constituency, at a special meeting of local party members in Elton, which followed on from the AGM. The picture above was taken at the event, and you can see me with the new Chair of the local party, Nissa Finney, and fellow Lib Dems including Council group leader Cllr Tim Pickstone, and my ward colleague Cllr Donal O’Hanlon.

Obviously I am absolutely delighted to have been elected to stand for Parliament in my home town and for a party that I believe in. It really is an honour, and to have been given the backing of my friends and colleagues is touching.

This is an exciting time for the Lib Dems in Bury, as we look to build on our strongest ever showing in recent local elections by improving our performance across the Borough. I have been active in many local issues in recent years, such as Lib Dem campaigns to save local post offices and schools, and I hope that I can build on this and work in the community and on Bury Council for the people of Bury North, as well as continuing the good work I think we’re achieving locally here in St Mary’s.

I look forward to working hard on behalf of the people of Bury North on the issues that affect us all, and where the Lib Dems offer real and sensible alternatives, like the economy, crime, education and the NHS. I know that I will be part of a strong Lib Dem team in Bury North, and I am very excited about the next election when we can take the fight to Labour and the Conservatives. I’ve been a Bury boy my whole life, and I am excited by the chance of making a real difference to the town I grew up in.

As well as the Bury North election, last night saw elections to the local party Executive. I stood down from my position as party Secretary, but was elected as an Ordinary Member of the Executive. And we welcome a new party chair, Nissa Finney, who takes over for at least the next year and to whom I wish the best of luck.

Rick