Niall is the man for city’s Lib Dem party
Liberal Democrats have named their choice to contest the Sunderland Central constituency in the General Election on June 8.
Millfield and Thornholme councillor Niall Hodson was formally adopted as the party’s candidate at a meeting of party members to launch the campaign on Tuesday evening.
The local party has confirmed it has candidates in place to fight all three seats in the city – Sunderland Central, Washington and Sunderland West and Houghton and Sunderland South.
“Everyone I speak to in Sunderland says it’s time for a change from the same old Labour Party taking our city for granted and expecting their votes at election time, despite doing nothing to earn them,” said Mr Hodson.
“Locally, an arrogant Labour council has been running our city into the ground while our MPs sit silently by.
“In Parliament, Labour has been complicit in pushing through the Tories’ hard right agenda, posing no opposition whatsoever.
“This is devastating for Sunderland and we need a change of direction urgently.
“Sunderland voters recognise this – in recent months they have rejected other parties and elected hardworking Liberal Democrat campaigners to the city council.
“Replacing our lacklustre MPs is the next step.
“It’s clear there’s only one alternative to Labour’s complacency and neglect of our city and the Tories’ hard right wing agenda – and that’s the Liberal Democrats.”
This year will be the third time the Sunderland Central constituency has been contested.
It only came into existence in 2010 as a result of a Boundary Commission reorganisation of the city’s Westminster seats.
Labour’s Julie Elliott has represented the seat since its creation and held it with a majority of 11,179 at the last General Election in 2015.