Angus North And Mearns

Angus North and Mearns Liberal Democrats have selected Sanjay Samani as their Prospective Scottish Parliamentary Candidate for the election in May 2011

I have been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Angus North and Mearns for the Scottish elections next May.  I have also been selected as one of the Liberal Democrat Regional Candidates for the North East.

I am very grateful to the Liberal Democrat members in Angus and the Mearns for their support and their decision to select me as their candidate. I am looking forward to continuing the campaigns that we have been running in the area.

The SNP have said they will fight the next election on just the issue of independence. Most people are concerned about their jobs,  rising prices and the economy. This shows how out of touch the SNP really are. They have been completely unprepared for the economic crisis, created by the Labour government.

In just five months, the Liberal Democrats in coalition have put in place plans to take 900,000 low earners out of income tax, restore a fair pension and to provide £2bn extra in child tax credits for poorer families.  In stark contrast, in over four years, the SNP have failed to deliver on their hollow promises of more police, smaller class sizes and maintaining teacher numbers.  The Liberal Democrats can do more for Scotland and for Angus and the Mearns.

Stonehaven Liberal Democrat Councillor, Peter Bellarby, said, “I am very pleased that Sanjay has been selected. Mike Rumbles has served Stonehaven and the Mearns well and I am sure that Sanjay will continue to listen and respond to the concerns people have in this area, just as Mike has done. In the revised constituencies, Mike Rumbles will be the candidate for Aberdeenshire West and I am sure that Mike and Sanjay will form an excellent partnership for this area.”

Liberal Democrat Cllr David May from Montrose, commented “I am delighted that Sanjay has ben selected.  He has an excellent record on campaigning on local issues.  He has called for the SNP government to reinstate funding to prevent coastal erosion and flooding, to provide relief to small businesses who received huge rises in their business rates and for a full time service at Forfar fire station. And he has been a strong supporter of Jill Campbell’s campaign for a flyover on the A90 at Laurencekirk Junction.”

David continued, “Angus North and Mearns is a new constituency for the Scottish Parliament.  In the Mearns, residents have elected four Lib Dem councillors, Sir Robert Smith MP and an outstanding Liberal Democrat MSP, Mike Rumbles who has stood up for their needs at Holyrood.  Unfortunately, SNP representatives have let down Angus residents.  Now, Angus and Mearns residents will get a straight choice between an SNP candidate and a Liberal Democrat who will continue to fight for local people.”

Below: Sanjay campaigning for a flyover on the A90 at Laurencekirk, along with Laurencekikrk Flyover campaigners Jlll Campbell and Julie Watson, with Tavish Scott MSP, leader of Scottish Lib Dems, Mike Rumbles MSP, Sir Robert Smith MP and Montrose Cllr David May

Photograph by Neve Photography, Brechin

Sanjay campaigning for a flyover on the A90 at Laurencekirk

0 thoughts on “Angus North And Mearns”

  1. I notice on this blog there is a photo of you in Laurencekirk campainging for the flyover and yet as a citizen of Edzell this is the very first time i have ever seen you. I had to google candidates for the Scottish election just to find out who is running. It really doesnt say very much that in a time of great austerity where every government and every candidate have to rebuild bridges and re-connect with the electorate that a portion of your potential constituency has not had so much as a leaflet. There has been plenty going on since the elecetion was announced and not a single candidate has shown up to any event to raise awareness for his election campaign. Edzell is particuarly advantagous because it has a villager run group that organises 90% of events in the village and i know for a fact no enquiry has been made by any candidate to ask to make an appearance. Given that we all receive polling cards in edzell and only a tiny percentage of the village are too young to vote it seems border line ignorant that, not just yourself, but absolutly no person from anything to do with the election has publically shown his face.

  2. Thanks for the the comment, and my apologies for the lack of my public profile in Edzell.

    In terms of my presence in Edzell, I have visited the lovely village on several occasions, most recently for the Council consultation on the mobile library service. I was just on the phone with the Edzell Library Action Group the other day. They are asking candidates to commit to taking the case of the library to the Scottish Parliament, which I was happy to do.

    On the issue of leaflets, the Lib Dems are simply not in a financial position to match the SNP or the Conservatives. Whilst simple newsletters are not expensive, I’ll be honest, and say that we do not have any deliverers for Edzell. Where other parties can afford to pay to have their leaflets delivered where they don’t have volunteers, we simply are not in a position to do so.

    If you look at last year’s General Election, even Sir Robert Smith MP, the sitting Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine was out spent by a factor of more than two to one by the Conservatives.

    That obviously makes it extremely difficult for us as a local party to connect with people in areas where we do not already have support. That is why I will be working in Angus and Mearns over the coming years, whatever happens this May, to build our support in the area and make sure we talk to as many people as we can.

    Perhaps it would be useful to have a hustings at the Inglis Memorial Hall. I would be happy to attend. My contact details can be found at:

    http://sanjaysamani.com/blog/contact/

Comments are closed.