Haringey’s Lib Dems last night selected popular local campaigner and barrister David Schmitz as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) for the Tottenham constituency.Amidst heartfelt congratulations from his Lib Dem colleagues, Mr Schmitz used the meeting to warn Haringey Labour that the days when Tottenham residents would simply put up with Labour neglect were over.

David Schmitz is already a formidable Tottenham campaigner for the Lib Dems, who almost unseated a former Labour Mayor in a huge swing in last year’s local elections. He role was key to securing the election of Lib Dem councillors in Tottenham for the first time in many years.

The Lib Dems see the area as one where residents are now turning to the Lib Dems, with the Tories knocked into third place in the last general election and having no seats at all on Haringey Council.

David Schmitz says:

“I will be fighting to ensure that Labour’s neglect and mismanagement are gone forever.

“A few years ago, the house next door to us became a drugs den. Haringey Council’s inability to deal with the problem turned me into a local campaigner. When the drug den was destroyed by fire, my partner and I bought the wreck and spent a year doing it up as our home. I was so impressed by what the Lib Dems were achieving in Haringey that when our building work was done, I decided that the time had come for me to join in their campaigns.

“Haringey Labour knows that a Lib Dem Haringey Council and a Lib Dem Tottenham MP will improve our borough beyond recognition. I am delighted to be building on the work of our Tottenham councillors and I look forward to emulating the brilliant successes of Lynne Featherstone MP in the west of the borough.”

David Schmitz was congratulated at the meeting by Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone, who adds:

“I am thrilled to be working with David, who is already a formidable Tottenham campaigner.He can achieve similar successes in Tottenham to our own in Hornsey. I am sure we will make a truly great team.”