Meet James Partridge, Lib Dem candidate for Crowborough North & Jarvis Brook

The countdown to the local elections is on, with under two weeks left until polling day on Thursday May 6th so this is a good time to profile our candidates.

Today we turn the spotlight on James Partridge, our Liberal Democrat County Council candidate standing in the division of Crowborough North & Jarvis Brook. Having recently retired as a senior partner in the world's oldest law firm, James joined the Liberal Democrats, determined to channel his time and energy into opposing the policies of increasingly right-wing national and local governments. "Even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, right wing politicians at all levels of government were betraying the poorest in society, over and over again," he says. "I was increasingly appalled and felt I couldn't continue to just watch from the side-lines."

James says he is also well aware that heartfelt, ambitious words mean nothing without results. In addition to his professional career in corporate and commercial law, he served in the Territorial Army for three decades, rising to the rank of colonel. His extensive experience in both these fields has equipped him with valuable expertise in finding common ground amongst people with wildly different viewpoints and backgrounds and uniting them towards achieving a mutual goal.

Having lived near Crowborough for over thirty years, James is passionate about the area. He and his wife Sarah brought up their two now-adult children here, and enjoy daily walks with their dog, Hazel, in the various parks nearby, as well as the largest local green space, the Ashdown Forest.

James is concerned about how much is being built on greenfield sites and that there are no plans to improve public infrastructure and services, like our roads and care for the elderly and young people. Crowborough Town Centre is a particular interest and James is pleased to see so much local support for our fantastic independent shops and restaurants during the pandemic. He believes that this is an ideal time to boost investment into the town and so, if elected, he will be fighting to get support for the town equal to what has been spent elsewhere. "Too often, decisions are imposed from above," he says, "like housing policies which won't provide the homes which local people really need (and can actually afford!) or the infrastructure to support the ones which do get built. Crowborough should have a strong advocate, someone who is independent of the ruling party and will fight for this area's interests and represent all of its residents - and if elected, I promise to be exactly that."

To read more about James and his campaign, including contact info, please CLICK HERE FOR HIS CANDIDATE PAGE.

For more information on all our CANDIDATES PLEASE CLICK HERE.