Political

Will Sapwell selected by Barnsley Liberal Democrats

Barnsley Liberal Democrats have selected Dr Will Sapwell to be their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for Barnsley Central.

Dr Will Sapwell is a local NHS doctor who has worked in South Yorkshire for his whole career. He is an ardent campaigner for the NHS and has held national roles with the British Medical Association.

He said:

I’m thrilled to have been selected for Barnsley Central by the local party. There is a palpable hunger for change and I am looking forward to helping them make gains in this year’s local elections.

I am pleased to be offering the people of Barnsley an alternative to the career politicians that have taken them for granted for too long. I hope that being a local NHS doctor will give them a candidate they feel they can trust.

Cllr Hannah Kitching, the Liberal Democrat councillor on Barnsley Council and the PPC herself for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said:

Will is a key member of our team here in Barnsley and South Yorkshire and we are delighted that he is our candidate for Barnsley Central. Labour has taken voters in Barnsley for granted for too long and Barnsley Central residents deserve better, with many people telling me they will never vote Labour again under Jeremy Corbyn.

National politics is in absolute chaos thanks to the mishandling of Brexit by both the heartless Conservative Government and Corbyn’s hopeless opposition. We do not know when the next General Election might be called. When it is, the Liberal Democrats are ready to offer a strong alternative voice to Labour in Barnsley Central.

Will Sapwell joined the party back in 2016, following the European referendum:

2016 was a turning point for me because of two key political events. The Junior Doctors’ contract dispute had been tough – industrial action was the only option left when it was clear that the government weren’t listening. Then, in June 2016, the Brexit referendum went a way I had never expected it to.

Did I wish the UK to remain in the EU?
Yes.

Did I campaign for the ‘remain’ side at all?
No.

Had I ‘done politics’?
No.

Had I had politics done to me?
Yes!

Previously, when confronted with the frustrations of life as a medical student or junior doctor, I had utilised my roles within the British Medical Association (BMA) to effect change. But my concerns regarding Brexit required something more, and that’s why I became a member of the Liberal Democrats in June 2016.

There’s a full list of Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate selections so far here, and some starter advice for the newly selected here.

Keep up with news about Lib Dem selections

If you’d like to be notified by email when further posts about Liberal Democrat selections appear on this blog, just sign up here. (Note: if you’re already signed up for a daily email alert with all my new blog posts, then there’s no need to sign up for these alerts too as the stories will also be in the full daily digest.)

"*" indicates required fields

Email*
Name*
What stories would you like alerts for?*
If you submit this form, your data will be used in line with the privacy policy here to update you on the topic(s) selected. This may including using this data to contact you via a variety of digital channels.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All comments and data you submit with them will be handled in line with the privacy and moderation policies.