ROGER LAUNCHES WELSH LIB. DEMS. CAMPAIGN IN BRECON & RADNORSHIRE

9.35.11am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 14th Apr 2010

Roger Williams speaking at the Brecon launch meeting, flanked by Baroness Ros Scott and Kirsty Williams AM

In an historic first in Brecon & Radnorshire, Roger Williams launched his campaign to be re-elected as Brecon & Radnorshire's Welsh Liberal Democrat MP in first Brecon and then Llandrindod Wells at two packed meetings on Saturday. Traditionally, candidates have launched their campaigns at one 'adoption' meeting at the start of each General Election campaign.

Guest speaker at the launch meetings was the Liberal Democrat's Party President Baroness Ros Scott and her husband and the meetings were chaired by Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and Brecon & Radnorshire AM Kirsty Williams.

Speaking about the campaign Roger Williams said:

" At the centre of our campaign is the need for a fairer Britain, to combat the shamefully wide gap between rich and poor and create a much fairer tax system that will lift those on the lowest incomes out of paying income tax altogether. Our proposals will raise the income level at which taxpayers start to pay income tax from its current level to £10,000, meaning about 5000 people in Brecon & Radnorshire would cease paying income tax altogether and about 15,000 would pay £700 a year less. We would pay for this by closing tax loopholes that the very rich exploit so easily and by imposing a mansion tax on people with houses worth more than £2 million."

Praising Roger Williams, Kirsty Williams said:

" Roger has proved himself a great champion for rural areas of the UK like Brecon & Radnorshire and has been a superb constituency MP. We have worked closely as a team together for the people of Brecon & Radnorshire and I am determined to see him returned as my MP to carry on that work. I urge the people of this wonderful constituency to support him again on May 6th."

Baroness Scott added:

" Roger is hugely respected across the political spectrum at Westminster, as is his predecessor Richard Livsey. The people of Brecon & Radnorshire are lucky to have such a fine team representing them. Roger thoroughly deserves their support and I have every confidence that they will send him back to Westminster again as their MP."