I was asked the other day Why should people vote for the Lib Dems at the Local Elections on 5th May? A thought provoking question.

I could rattle off many things that we have achieved over the years and things we still want to do. But does that answer the question? What is it that makes us different from the others?

Have to say that having read the review of R. Kenneth Carty’s “Big Tent Politics” I think that his view of the Canadian Liberal Party describes very well the way I feel about the Liberal Democrats here in Walsall. I believe it is the “brokerage party”. We bring people together and find a balance between the competing interests and demands which exist across the Borough of Walsall.

Over the years Walsall has swallowed up towns like Willenhall, Darlaston, Aldridge and Brownhills all of which at one time had their own Councils, their own identities.

We think it’s important to recognise these differences and the fact that one size does not fit all. As Liberal Democrats we think it’s wrong to concentrate all decision making at the centre. It’s important to devolve decision making where ever possible to the areas of the borough that people identify with.

Here in the Borough of Walsall Liberal Democrats operate on the principle that rather than representing one perspective, one group, or one interest, we provide a home for all wherever they live in the borough. We have the ability to bring the residents of this borough together, enabling our differences to unite us.