Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Amanda Cameron

Lib Dems stand by prospective MP candidate Louise Harris after harassment claims

A politician accused of harassment four years ago is standing for election in South Gloucestershire.

Louise Harris is a sitting councillor for Dodington ward after she won a by-election in November last year with 49 per cent of the vote.

The Liberal Democrats are standing by Mrs Harris, who is hoping to be re-elected to South Gloucestershire Council and to become the next MP of Filton and Bradley Stoke.

Mrs Harris came to the attention of police towards the end of a 15-year stint as a councillor on Eastleigh Borough Council in Hampshire.

Then named Louise Bloom, and having recently split from her long term partner, she resigned her seat in the cabinet in March 2015 citing ill-health, amid accusations she had harassed a fellow councillor and failed to attend cabinet meetings.

Why people in Bristol can't vote in the 2019 Local Elections 

A female councillor had alleged she had been the victim of text and social media abuse at the time, which was investigated by the police, reported the Southern Daily Echo.

Claire Young, leader of the Lib Dem group in South Gloucestershire, who responded on behalf of Mrs Harris, confirmed she had received a “police information notice” over the matter.

Police information notices, sometimes called harassment warning notices, do not constitute any kind of formal legal action and signing one is not an admission of wrongdoing, according to information on the parliamentary website.

Ms Young said: "Louise has demonstrated herself to be an incredibly active and dedicated local councillor since she was elected at the Dodington by-election last November.

“Since her election, she has had a perfect record of attendance at council meetings and has hit the ground running, introduced two important motions to council: one on preventing fracking and another proposing £2million extra funding to maintain our neglected local roads.

“I have complete confidence in Louise and, judging by her emphatic win in last November's by-election, so do the voters."

Mrs Harris is standing for re-election in Dodington on May 2.

She is the Liberal Democrats’ prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Filton and Bradley Stoke, which she hopes to win from sitting MP Conservative Jack Lopresti in the next general election.

Local Elections 2019: Candidates for South Gloucestershire and North Somerset 

A spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrat party said: “Louise Harris has the confidence of the local party and is an effective councillor, working for and representing the community.

“Her previous personal circumstances do not affect the PPC approval process.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.