Andrew Falconer - Parliamentary Spokesman

Andrew Falconer was the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for the May 2010 General Election, for the Runnymede and Weybridge constituency. He was selected at the party hustings in January.

Andrew Falconer lives in the constituency. He is a careers adviser in Higher Education working at Royal Holloway in Egham, where he supports graduates entering the job market for the first time.

Andrew's political interests include consumer affairs, housing, the elderly and transport. His background includes working for Liberal Democrat MP Sir Robert Smith, researching environmental, energy and consumer affairs issues. 

Commenting on his selection, Andrew Falconer said:

"I am delighted to have been selected to stand for the Liberal Democrats in Runnymede and Weybridge. Living and working in the constituency means that I can see first hand how issues affect local residents. With an imploding Labour party and complacent Conservatives, Liberal Democrat policies will resonate with residents who are fed up with the constant swing from New Labour to old Conservatives."

Andrew's political interests span the environment, the elderly, housing, penal reform, business and international development. His career path included spending some years working as a Funeral Director where he saw first hand the poor conditions that many people, young and old, are expected to live in. He is a firm supporter of the work of Shelter and other community organisations helping the vulnerable.

Another interest is crime and penal reform. Andrew is a member of the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Prison Reform Trust and the Prisoner Education Trust. He believes that locking offenders away is an expensive and ineffective means of reducing reoffending, and there are other approaches which work much better.

Andrew has experience of working in the House of Commons where he was a researcher working with Norman Baker on the environment portfolio as well as the Liberal Democrat's trade and industry and international development teams. He is particularly proud of the party's stance against nuclear power which was passed by the party despite a well financed campaign by the pro-nuclear lobby.

Visit the blog here.   Facebook here

---