Erin Harvey, commented: “I care about our town’s future because I live here and am passionate about making it a better to place to live. I helped represent local people when I worked for John Pugh and I have lived and breathed politics and advocacy in my career. I am now ready to take these skills and fight for a better deal for our town.

“Our area has so much potential but we have been failed by a Tory MP who hasn’t properly represented our town in Parliament, and a Labour party in Bootle who time and again put Southport’s interests behind other parts of Sefton. The closed signs on our pier simply illustrate how we have been let down.

“Southport used to be known as the jewel of the North West and we need that title back. I am ready to make this my priority by encouraging us to harness our natural advantages and lobbying for things that will spur growth. Making Southport a leader in coastal energy and transforming our transport connections to attract more people to live and work here to revive our local economy are part of my vision for a cleaner, greener and prosperous Southport that we can all feel proud to call home. ”

Cllr John Pugh, Former Southport Lib Dem MP, added: “Erin is an energetic, strong and enthusiastic candidate with a real vision for the future of our town. I have seen first hand how she has fought on behalf of local residents on a range of issues from housing, to education to public services. 

“As a country, we are in the economic doldrums and we can’t risk Southport being consigned to being a town that has had its day. That’s why we need a strong voice who will work effectively in Parliament and alongside our local Lib Dem Councillors. Erin has the skills, the commitment to our town and the stake in its future that means she will be that voice that we need.”