Reading Liberal Democrats

Just after 2.30pm yesterday Liberal Democrat acting leader Dr Vince Cable MP announced that Nick Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam has been elected the new leader of the Liberal Democrats with 50.6% of the vote. Clegg replaces Sir Menzies Campbell MP who served as party leader from March 2006 until stepping down in October.

Reading Liberal Democrats welcome Mr Clegg‘s election and look forward to working with him in forthcoming campaigns. Lib Dem deputy group leader Cllr. Gareth Epps sent warm congratulations saying, “Both Nick and Chris have run great campaigns over the past two months and I thank them both. Under Nick‘s leadership I am certain we’ll see a renewed energy in the party and we’re going to make full use of it here in Reading to really take the fight to Labour and the Tories. I echo his call to disillusioned voters who used to vote for us or the other parties to rediscover the Liberal Democrats”

Nick Clegg has been MP for Sheffield Hallam since entering parliament in 2005 before which he had been a member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands region since 1999. He has been Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Affairs spokesperson since 2006. He visited Reading in April this year as part of the local election campaign.

Cllr. Epps also paid tribute to Dr Vince Cable MP who, as acting party leader has overseen a rise in Lib Dem opinion poll ratings and delivered some first rate performances in the Commons, notably criticising the government’s handling of the Northern Rock affair and describing the Prime Minister’s “remarkable transformation in the last few weeks from Stalin to Mr Bean, creating chaos out of order rather than order out of chaos”. Cllr Epps described Dr Cable as “an incredibly able politician who has more than shown his worth. I’m sure he will continue to play a major role on Nick‘s front bench team.”