Announcing Our 2026 Local Election Candidates

The Reading Liberal Democrats have launched their local election campaign with a candidate announcement for the 2026 Local Elections

A full slate of seventeen Liberal Democrat candidates is standing to demand a fair deal for Reading, from Abbey to Whitley.

Reading's diverse and vibrant communities have been badly let down by decades of Labour and Conservative mismanagement.  The Reading Liberal Democrats are delighted to offer an alternative to them, and to the divisive politics of Reform.

The Liberal Democrat candidate for Tilehurst, long-standing councillor Meri O’Connell, said:

"I'm delighted to lead the field of Liberal Democrat candidates in Britain's largest town, and I have great confidence in the strength of our full slate this year. Labour has run Reading Borough Council for 39 of the last 40 years. Having spent so long blaming Conservative governments for their shortcomings, with Keir Starmer's Labour party now in government in Westminster too, there is nowhere for Labour to hide in Reading any more. We believe there is another way, and with Reform organising across the country, it is vital that progressive, Liberal voices stand up and are counted.

“And Reading is crying out for more Liberal voices on its council.  From Abbey to Whitley and everywhere in between, we have a diverse team of candidates raring to go to deliver for their communities.  So wherever you live in Reading, know that a vote for us is a vote for a champion for your local area who will stand up for you and get things done."

The Reading Liberal Democrats also urge voters to remember to bring valid voter ID to the polling station with them on May the 7th, and to check the Electoral Commission website to see what forms of ID are valid and how you can get them for free.  The Reading Liberal Democrats deplore the last Conservative government's pointless waste of public funds on voter ID, which has robbed thousands of their democratic voice.