Waltham Forest Lib Dems announce candidates for 4 July General Election

Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats have announced their candidates for the upcoming general election, scheduled for 4th July 2024.

Liberal Democrat candidates will be campaigning for action to tackle the cost of living crisis, the NHS crisis and the sewage scandal.

The Liberal Democrats are on the up after beating the Conservatives at the May local council elections and winning four stunning parliamentary by-election victories since the last General Election.

Former Member of the European Parliament Rebecca Taylor has been chosen to stand for the Liberal Democrats in Walthamstow.

Rebecca has lived in North London for over 10 years and lives with her partner and young son. She is currently a civil servant working for a health regulator, having previously worked for the NHS, the pharmaceutical industry and a number of health charities including in roles where she successfully campaigned to improve healthcare services.

Rebecca served as a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2014, with a particular focus on health including successfully defending NHS interests in medical device legislation, and strengthening EU youth employment and training support.

Josh Hadley has been chosen to stand for the Liberal Democrats against Iain Duncan Smith in Chingford & Woodford Green.

Josh lives and works in Waltham Forest with his wife and two kittens. He is an IT consultant specialising in advising local authorities on modernisation and innovation. He has been the Chair of the Waltham Forest Liberal Democrats for the past three years and is committed to the belief that Waltham Forest’s politicians should be doing better for its residents.

He has worked as a consultant to local government for the past fifteen years, which means that he has seen the collapse in public services that has taken place over the past two decades from every angle.

Tara Copeland has been chosen to stand for the Liberal Democrats in Leyton & Wanstead.

Tara Copeland, a 30-year-old Canadian who has played for the Leyton Orient Women's Team, works as a freelance photographer having recently left the in the heritage sector and previously served as Policy Officer and Chair of the Young Liberals where she helped to develop the party’s policy on unpaid carers.

Copeland has seen the problems that crime and drug dealing have brought to the constituency and is dedicated to finding solutions that help the community. She is a passionate environmentalist and is against the expansion of the Edmonton incinerator and extending the operating hours of City Airport. Tara is also dedicated to addressing the issue of homelessness by campaigning to bring more of Waltham Forest’s 1,500 empty homes back into use.

Rebecca Taylor, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Walthamstow, said:

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to campaign on many of the issues that local residents care about.”

“Labour have timidly abandoned the debate about the UK’s place in Europe to the Conservatives, pretending instead that they can “make Brexit work” when they know they cannot.” “Electing more Liberal Democrat MPs to parliament on the 4th of July will enable greater pressure to be applied to the next government to return the UK to its rightful place as a leading European nation.”

Josh Hadley, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Chingford & Woodford Green, said:

“I am running for Parliament because I feel like Chingford has been badly let down, not just by Iain Duncan Smith and the Tories in Westminster, but also by the Labour supermajority on Waltham Forest Council. I am committed to working hard to address the issues that matter most to our area.”

“On a diverse array of issues - from the collapse in the quality of London's police force to the ongoing conflict in Gaza - both the Tories and Labour have demonstrated that they lack the vision required to represent their constituents.”

“I’m a Liberal Democrat because I believe that neither Labour nor the Tories are willing or able to commit to providing universal access to good quality public services in the UK. Over the course of decades we have seen both major parties commit to a degradation of public health, education, and policing.”

Tara Copeland, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Leyton & Wanstead, said:

“Local health services have been brought to their knees, people’s mortgages and rent have skyrocketed and water companies have been allowed to pump their filthy sewage into our rivers and beaches. All this by a Conservative government more interested in fighting between themselves than standing up for the country.”

“Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for a fair deal. It’s a vote for a party that will stand up for our community and our health services and our environment.”