Roz Savage selected for South Cotswolds

The Gloucestershire Gazette reports:

The Liberal Democrats party has announced its candidate who will fight for the South Cotswolds seat in the next general election.

Dr Roz Savage MBE – who holds four Guinness World Records – has been nominated by the party to stand for the new constituency…

Dr Savage MBE, aged 55, studied law at Oxford before becoming a business adviser for 11 years.

Her growing awareness of the environmental crisis led to a dramatic career change, where she decided to row across oceans and share environmental messages online.

Dr Savage MBE said: “I wanted to find a powerful way to get the message across that we need urgent action to protect the environment.

“So, even though I’m not naturally sporty and am scared of big waves, I decided to row across oceans, sharing my adventures and environmental message online.”

Her MBE, awarded in 2013, was for environmental awareness and fundraising and in 2009 she was singled out by the United Nations as a ‘Climate Hero’.

The local party’s press release adds:

Election experts are tipping this new seat to be a key “blue wall” battleground fight between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. This follows the virtual clean sweep by the Lib Dems in the Cotswolds District Council Elections in May, when the Lib Dems won 17 of the 19 seats in the new constituency, gaining five from the Conservatives, leaving them with just one councillor.

Of the 33 district and county councillors in the new constituency, 24 were elected as Lib Dems and only eight as Conservatives.

Explaining her decision to enter politics, Roz Savage said,

My parents were Methodist preachers. I was brought up to care about the wellbeing of people, communities, and the natural world.

I know from my own experience we are all capable of doing amazing things that change lives, families, communities, and our environment for the better. “Last year, like so many other people, I decided I simply could not stand by and watch this Government destroy our economy, our NHS, and our precious environment. Inspired by the Queen’s life of devotion to public service, I decided to stand for Parliament.

I share Liberal Democrat values and our vision for a society in which every person has the opportunity to develop their potential to the full. Living here in the Cotswolds, I also know the Liberal Democrats are the only serious challengers to the Conservatives. So, I threw my hat in the ring to become the first Lib Dem to run for Parliament in the new South Cotswolds constituency. I am honoured and thrilled that local Councillors and Members have chosen me to do so.

I know this will not be an easy fight. I’m up against a career Tory politician who already believes he is bound to win. We shall see about that. People are sick and tired of being taken for granted. They want to be listened to, treated with respect, and have a voice in creating a better future.

They want to be represented by people with real life experience who understand the challenges they face and will work for them, their families, and communities. It’s time for change and I am absolutely up to the challenge of delivering it, by winning here.

You can follow Roz Savage on X/Twitter.

See all the Liberal Democrat PPCs selected and publicly announced so far here.

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