THANK YOU Folkestone West!

Written by Tim Prater and published in Letter sent to the Editor, Folkestone Herald [unprinted] on Wed 10th Jun 2009

I would like to say a massive thank you to all those who supported me in the County Council election in Folkestone West. A majority for the Conservatives of over 1,300 in 2005 was overturned and I am delighted to have won the seat for the Liberal Democrats with a majority of 11 votes.

I will do my very best for Folkestone West and Sandgate. I'll be joining a Lib Dem group of seven who, after the almost total wipe-out of the Labour Party across Kent, are now the only serious opposition to the Conservatives in the County.

A letter from the Shepway Conservatives Chairman on their website says that Folkestone West "was stolen by the Liberals". How arrogant. How sad. The seat was not the Conservatives seat. The seat is not now my seat. It is the people's seat, and they lend it on trust. The Conservatives need to remember that - that which the voters have given, the voters can just as easily take away.