LABOUR CANDIDATE SUPPORTS DAVID RENDEL TO WIN

5.50.05pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 11th Apr 2005

Richard Hall, the Labour candidate for Newbury in the 1992 General Election, has backed his one-time opponent David Rendel to win in Newbury in 2005.

"Only the Liberal Democrat candidate David Rendel can keep the Tories out in Newbury," said Mr Hall. "I would strongly recommend that Labour voters in Newbury should switch their votes to David Rendel."

Labour, whose Ribble Valley candidate last week also switched sides to the Liberal Democrats, are having a tough time of it in Newbury. They only managed to poll 7% of the vote in Newbury at the last general election and stand no realistic chance of winning at this one.

Commenting on the news, David Rendel said:

"I am delighted that Richard Hall has given me his support. Only the Liberal Democrats in Newbury can defeat Michael Howard's candidate. Only the Liberal Democrats can ensure that policies for Newbury, such as scrapping the council tax and abolishing tuition fees for students, get a fair hearing in Parliament."

ENDS

Note: The website, www.tacticalvoter.net, says (on Newbury): "The Liberal Democrat MP here is at risk from the Conservatives. By swapping to vote Lib Dem, Labour supporters can make sure they avoid electing a Conservative to Parliament."