John Sweeney has announced he will be running for the Liberal Democrats in the West Midlands constituency of Sutton Coldfield.
The seat, which is currently held by MP Andrew Mitchell with a whopping 60 per cent majority, has been in Tory hands since it was first created in 1945, and is among the safest seats in the country for the party.
The Conservative’s lowest majority came in 2001, which still stood at a healthy 10,000 and a 50.4 per cent share of the vote, and enabled Mitchell to make his return to Parliament.
But Sweeney remains confident he can cause an upset and has set out on a tour of every pub in Sutton Coldfield to convince voters to vote Lib Dem at the general election on July 4th.
Speaking on X, he dubbed the current MP for Sutton Coldfield Andrew “Thrasher” Mitchell in a nod to Private Eye reports on his days at Rugby School.
He also referenced reports that Birmingham Council, run by Labour, is the most indebted in the country, saying:
“If you live in Sutton Coldfield and you’re a disaffected Tory and you’re looking for a place to put your vote, Labour is the party of bankruptcy and slashed services and the Liberal Democrats are your natural home.”