Lib Dems launch campaign to take control of Horsham District Council in May's election

On Sunday 12 March, candidates, members and supporters attended a standing room only event at the Knepp Estate in Dial Post.

The afternoon was opened by Lib Dem group leader at HDC Martin Boffey, quoting from the Manifesto: “We are all proud to call our own part of Horsham District home. We are often the envy of the country – prosperous towns and villages in a beautiful Sussex setting.

“But over the past 24 years the Conservative run council has under invested in growth, public services and infrastructure. Our aspiration for what could have been has been slowly stifled.

“Horsham Liberal Democrats believe better is possible. One of our nine key manifesto themes is ‘taking real action to protect our environment’. That means addressing the issues we face from both the climate change emergency and the associated biodiversity crisis around us.

“So it seems very appropriate to hold our campaign launch, here at Knepp, a ground- breaking rewilding project at the heart of our very own district.”

The first guest speaker of the night was Baroness Kate Parminter, Lib Dem Chair of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, who began her political career as a Horsham District Councillor in 1987.

She highlighted the current work by Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords to put ‘climate and biodiversity right at the heart of the government’s agenda’. This includes influencing both the Levelling Up and Retained EU Laws bills.

Speaking to current and future councillors, Baroness Parminter said: “You can’t do your job on the ground trying to protect wildlife if the frameworks at a national level aren’t right.”

She was followed by Isabella Tree, founder of Knepp Rewilding, who commented before detailing the journey of the Knepp project: “It’s just so wonderful to know that nature recovery, climate change, biodiversity, is all at the heart of Lib Dem thinking.”

James Baird, the Sussex coastal farmer who helped launch the Weald to Waves initiative with Knepp, then expanded on the rewilding topic highlighting the need for wildlife corridors across the county. He said it was time to ‘put nature at the top of the decision making’.

Wrapping up the event, Mr Boffey said: “Horsham District Council is in dire need of new inspiration. We’ve got a Conservative Government, a Conservative MP, a Conservative County Council and a Conservative District Council. So the institutions say everything is the way it is, and we can’t do anything about it, so just do your best. That’s not good enough anymore and we’ve got to change it.

“When you look at the nine themes of our manifesto, addressing the cost of living crisis, taking real action on the environment and ending planning chaos are front and centre. These are essential aims but we have ambitions for much more.

“As a local authority there are huge limitations placed on what we can do by central government. But what you’ve got to have is aspiration, and a desire for the change you want to see, and to actually do something about it.”