Liberal Democrats have chosen local resident and campaigner Laura Edge as their prospective candidate for the Stroud Green by election, set to take place on 29th January.

The Lib Dems stand an excellent chance of capturing the seat following their breakthrough in nearby Crouch End last year. The party now holds more council seats that Labour in the west of the borough with the Greens and Tories having no seats at all anywhere in Haringey.

Laura Edge has lived in Stroud Green for two years, and has actively campaigned with Lib Dem councillor Lynne Featherstone on local issues, such as the cleaning up of the local railway stations.25-year old Laura is about to start a new job at University College London in the Law Department. She has been a volunteer with BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), helping to repair public footpaths. She has also worked in an old person’s home and is currently a volunteer on a telephone advice line for a national charity.

She has been active in the Lib Dems since her teens, and Lib Dem campaigning very much runs in the family – Laura’s dad is a Lib Dem councillor in Farnham, Surrey.

Laura Edge comments:

“I am delighted to have been chosen as prospective candidate for the ward. Local residents are fed up with the Labour council, which never gets to grips with the problems of rubbish and dumping in Stroud Green. People are also extremely disillusioned with Labour over the war in Iraq. We are very much looking forward to the campaign.”

Note:

The council vacancy follows the dramatic resignation of Labour councillor Josie Irwin, who has attacked the “arrogance displayed by council officers” and the Labour-run council’s frequent failure to respond to even simple questions. She went on to say that she was “sick and tired after 13 years of having to nag and cajole council officers to get even the most basic of responses.”