Political

Lib Dems select pro-Remain candidate for Cambridgeshire Mayor contest

Rod Cantrill on a bridge with a bicycle

Given what I wrote earlier, it’s notable and good that Europe features so heavily in the media coverage for the selection of the Liberal Democrat to contest the Cambridgeshire Mayor contest in May:

Lib Dems selected a pro Remain candidate to fight the May election for the newly created £70,000 role as mayor of Cambridgeshire.

Cambridge City councillor Rod Cantrill was selected in a ballot of all members of the Liberal Democrats living in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough areas.

Cllr Cantrill, who has lived in Cambridgeshire for over 30 years, has a background in finance. He has run his own financial consulting business since 2003 and was first elected as a city councillor in 2004.

In June’s EU referendum he was a key figure in a leading local cross-party Remain campaign working with Labour, Conservative and Green campaigners to fight for what he believed was best for our county and our country.

He said: “Our area has many opportunities for growth that I am eager to exploit going forward.

“In parallel, it faces its fair share of challenges over the next few years; be it the dangers of a hard Brexit, government cuts or a lack of much-needed infrastructure.”

A little bit of further background about Rod Cantrill:

Rod grew up in Annesley Woodhouse, a small Nottinghamshire mining village where his dad was a miner and his mum was a housewife. Rod firmly believes that growing up in a tight-knit community where people looked out for one another, where the sense of community ran deep, helped shape the person he is today.

He saw, up close and personal, how successive governments failed to stop the economic decline of communities like his after the closure of many mining pits. The effects were truly devastating and helped build Rod’s sense of the need to spread prosperity across wider areas.

He thinks it is wrong that so many politicians have been prepared to sit back and allow communities to get left behind by the significant changes our society has seen over the last few decades. That’s why as our Mayor he will work to ensure that everyone benefits from our region’s economic success and growth.

The principle of public service is something very close to Rod’s heart. Growing up his family taught him the importance of working to improve the lives of those living around him. It is the idea that you should stand up and work hard to make your area a better place to live that first led Rod to join the Liberal Democrats and stand for election.

 

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