LIBERAL Democrat leader Tim Farron visited Witney to officially open his party’s campaign headquarters for the parliamentary by-election.

Mr Farron opened the new HQ on Corn Street and took a trip to Witney Community Hospital this afternoon as he showed his support to Witney candidate, Liz Leffman.

The by-election was triggered when former Prime Minister David Cameron resigned as an MP on September 12.

Mr Farron said: “In a by-election, sometimes people will go for a good local candidate and sometimes they quite like the idea of having somebody who will be a national figure, someone who they will be proud to have as their MP. You’ve got both in Liz."

The Conservative Party has won the Witney seat in every general election since the constituency’s creation in 1983 and the current favourite for the seat is Conservative candidate Robert Courts.

However, following the Liberal Democrat’s surprise Stow-on-the-Wold council by-election victory against the Conservatives on Thursday, Mrs Leffman believes she has a real chance of winning the seat.

Dilys Neill was elected the new Cotswold District Councillor for Stow-on-the-Wold, taking the seat from the Conservatives with 555 votes to Tory candidate David Penman's 300.

Mrs Leffman said: “We had a very good result in Stow-on-the-Wold. I think what happened there is Conservatives didn’t go out and vote, and I think that could happen here because I just don’t think voters are as engaged with the candidate as they were with David Cameron.”

Despite their party differences Mrs Leffman believes Cameron did a good job as Witney MP.

She continued: “As a local MP I would give Cameron quite a high rating. I would give him certainly eight out of 10 because he was very good at dealing with case work.”

Mrs Leffman said she was the right person to represent Witney in parliament, saying: “I think when we have the hustings here people will see I am someone who has the ability to speak out for those in our community and I would certainly take that forward if I was elected to Westminster.”

Mrs Leffman is one of 14 candidates standing in the by-election, which will be held on Thursday, October 20.

FULL LIST OF BY-ELECTION CANDIDATES

  • Emilia Rose Arno of the One Love Party 
  • Dickie Bird of Ukip 
  • David Laurence Bishop of the Bus-Pass Elvis Party 
  • Robert Alexander Courts of the Conservative Party 
  • Duncan Shaw Thomas Enright of the Labour Party
  • Mad Hatter of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party 
  • Lord Toby Jug of the Eccentric Party of Great Britain
  • Adam Digby Knight, independent 
  • Elizabeth Pendrill Raphael Leffman of the Liberal Democrats 
  • Winston Truman McKenzie of the English Democrats “Putting England First!”
  • Helen Rachel Salisbury of the National Health Action Party 
  • Larry Sanders of the Green Party 
  • Daniel James Skidmore, independent 
  • Nicholas Ward, independent