Politics

Lib Dem candidate receives huge donation from businessman desperate to get Tories out

The Liberal Democrat candidate for Ribble Valley has received a sizeable donation from a local businessman to help kick out the Tories at the next election.

Cllr John Potter took to social media to announce that his campaign chest had been bolstered to the tune of £40,000 thanks to a generous donation.

He is looking to unseat Nigel Evans, who has been the MP for Ribble Valley since 1992.

But he might have a job on his hands.

Evans took a whopping 60.3 per cent of the vote in 2019, and has comfortably fended off competition since first taking the seat in the 90s.

What’s more, Electoral Calculus predictions suggest Labour could steal in to win the seat at the next election, with polling giving Sir Keir Starmer’s party a 61 per cent chance of winning the northwest seat.

The Lib Dems, meanwhile, which took 8.6 per cent of the vote in 2019, are given a 0 per cent chance of winning, meaning Potter has one hell of a task on his hands in order to turn things around.

A sizeable donation from a local businessman, however, certainly won’t hurt his chances, and as Potter has pointed out, they pulled off a similar feat in 1991.

Related: Tory Peter Bone facing suspension over finding of bullying and sexual misconduct

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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