BEN FEARN

I was proud to have been selected as the youngest candidate in the Derbyshire Dales' history to fight the Parliamentary seat held by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin at the 2015 General Election.

 

Derbyshire Dales Liberal Democrats unanimously selected me in 2014, aged just 21, when I was in my final year as a student at Manchester University.  

 

Born and bred in the Derbyshire Dales and a former pupil at Darley Dale Primary School and Highfields School in Matlock, I grew up in Two Dales and Darley Bridge and am the grandson of former Liberal county and district councillor the late John Leslie Fearn (pictured, left), who was headteacher at Parwich Junior School near Ashbourne for many years until his retirement in the early 1970s.  

 

I am proud to admit to being a lifelong supporter of Derby County Football Club and a member of The Methodist Church (I attend services at the welcoming Darley Hillside Chapel every Sunday).

 

Now 22, I live in Tansley and after working at Derbyshire County Council I am currently studying for a Masters in Broadcast Journalism at Sheffield Univerity. And I continue to pledge to battle to give the Derbyshire Dales a voice.

 

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to fight to be the MP of a beautiful part of the world I am proud to call home. Despite the high profile of the sitting MP, it is troubling to note that Derbyshire Dales receives less Government cash than any other district in the county.

 

There's a perception that the Dales is a well-off area of the UK, but the reality is very different. On average, wages in the Dales are the lowest in the county and our town centres in particular desperately need help. I want to fly the flag for the Derbyshire Dales and to replace safe-seat complacency with a new energy to reinvigorate this district.

 

I write a political blog called Views from the Centre Left, and am under no illusions about the challenge ahead. I was always open and honest with the electorate about what I thought the Liberal Democrats were getting right - and getting wrong - in the Coalition government.

 

Having an influence in a Coalition is about making compromises, and while we got it wrong on tuition fees, we recorded significant achievements, not least raising the income tax threshold to £10,000 and beyond, introducing a multi-billion pound pupil premium and the biggest ever increase in the state pension.

 

More than that, our presence blocked Tory plans for an Inheritance Tax cut for millionaires, firing workers at will, a Snooperís Charter, ditching the Human Rights Act and profit making in state schools.

 

Chairman of Derbyshire Dales Liberal Democrats, Darley Dale councillor David Fearn (no relation) said:

 

"I worked alongside Ben's grandfather John Leslie Fearn, who was the most genuine human being I have ever met. Ben is from the same mould, and what he lacks in years he more than makes up for with remarkable grasp for politics at a local, national and international level. His speech to the local party at the hustings meeting was truly the most impressive and inspiring I have heard in all my years as a Derbyshire Dales politician."

 

BBC Radio Derby's Colin Bloomfield, after interviewing Ben on his Breakfast Show, commented: "BEN FEARN - WATCH OUT FOR THE NAME!"