CHENEY'S PLAN TO WIN IN CAMBRIDGE

WHY ARE WE FIGHTING LABOUR?

In Cambridge, we have a proud tradition of strong, independently minded Liberal Democrat MP's, who go above and beyond for their residents. As an opposition party, we know that Cambridge Labour's complacency is routinely failing residents across the city: from the City Council's repeated under-spending on council housing maintenance to the Metro Mayor's loss of tens of thousands of pounds of investment in our bus system; time and time again we are being let down.  Nationally, the Labour party has rejected any possibility of re-joining the European Union: a decision that is devastating for Cambridge's research and hospitality sectors.  

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A TRACK RECORD OF WINNING AGAINST LABOUR

In May 2018, I was elected to Cambridge City Council to represent Castle ward, by a margin of just 25 votes. Despite not being expected to win, I built my team from the ground up and quickly learned to make an impact.

Between 2018 and the local elections in 2019, my team and I increased the Lib Dem majority in the ward to 488.

In the challenging "all up" elections in 2021, I was one of only 9 Councillors to hold their seats, as the only Liberal Democrat Councillor in my ward.

I know how difficult it is to win against the Labour machine, and the importance of building up a strong track record to do this.  While beating the Conservatives may be the focus of the next General Election, we need to look beyond that to ensure we maintain Cambridge's position as an outward looking city, that relies on European collaboration for our tech, research and hospitality sectors, whilst pushing for electoral reform so that liberal leaning cities like Cambridge are represented in government.  

BUILDING OUR PRESENCE ACROSS THE CITY

After campaigning in Cambridge since 2016, I am one of few PPC candidates across the country with a track record of winning against Labour.  Winning in Cambridge is about building a long term movement, and will require the kind of effort and dedication I have shown to my own ward to help us build out across the city.  

One of our first steps to win back Cambridge is building our presence across the city. There are sadly some areas which hardly ever hear from the Liberal Democrats. Changing this is vital, not just to help us win elections, but because everybody should be represented by the fierce community champions I know the Cambridge Liberal Democrats to be!

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MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT

We need to quickly make contact with members and supporters we have not spoken to recently, to hear their views and concerns, and encourage them to join our campaigning activity. Broadening our offer of member events is critical to offering Liberal Democrat members a party they feel they identify with and are part of.  

We also need to improve our social media activity through regular video updates and online campaigns, to ensure young people have a route to engage with local politics.

While we have made many attempts over the last few years to contact members and encourage them to become involved, this has never become a stable, coherent system to welcome new activists and help them find their role within the local party.  We need to be disciplined about establishing clear systems for contacting new members, and provide clearer information about what we are doing locally and the type of help we need, so people can find their place in the local party.  . 

I'd like to see us articulate our campaign messaging more clearly, in closer collaboration with all members, not just potential council candidates, to

shape our response to key issues and define ourselves as a party.