WHILE Cheshire East Council gears up for next month’s election, Mobberley residents already have their new representative confirmed.

As the names were revealed for who would be standing for election onto CEC last week, Charlotte Leach discovered she was unopposed for the ward.

The Conservative said: “Although I’m delighted that I am able to represent my local area on CEC I am obviously disappointed that opposition parties weren’t able to field candidates to stand against me. No candidate wants to win by default.

“Since being selected last year I have been working hard in the community – meeting with as many businesses, parish councils and community groups as possible.

“Although there now won’t be an election in the Mobberley ward on May 2, I will still be knocking on doors and introducing myself to residents I haven’t yet met.”

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At just 27 years old, will be one of the youngest members of CEC following next month’s election.

But she already has a wealth of political experience behind her, having served as a Conservative member of Preston City Council before she moved to Mobberley.

And Charlotte, a senior consultant at Lexington North, in Manchester, is keen to encourage other young people to take an interest in politics.

She said: “I was first elected in my hometown of Preston at 22 years old and when I looked around the council chamber there was no one who was even close to my age.

“It’s so important that young people are represented.”

Once she begins her four-year term on CEC, Charlotte intends to hold regular advice surgeries across the ward.

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She also wants to get to work on two key issues which have cropped up on the doorstep across her patch – slow broadband speeds and road safety.

Charlotte said: “As a young working professional, I recognise the importance of high-speed broadband to local residents and businesses and the impact on our rural communities when broadband is poor.

“I will continue to lobby for improvements so that all of the parishes in the ward have access to a good quality service. It’s unacceptable that broadband speeds in Mobberley ward are half as fast as the national average.

“On the issue of road safety, I’m aware that there has been a number of accidents on our country lanes and the concern that this is causing local residents. I will actively campaign for more road safety measures to be implemented to try to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future.

“I’m really looking forward to the next four years and I hope to bring a fresh energy and enthusiasm to local politics in our area.”

Charlotte will be replacing Cllr Jamie Macrae, who has served as Mobberley’s Conservative CEC member since 2008.

Knutsford Guardian:

Parish councils in the Mobberley ward – including Mobberley, Ashley and Warford – will still have elections on May 2.