North Dorset’s Liberal Democrat candidate in the December general election has spoken out strongly in support of measures to solve the climate emergency.

David Chadwick, 27, who is fighting his first election, joined Labour candidate Pat Osborne in calling for immediate international action to control carbon emissions.

‘My generation has been dealt a terrible hand,’ he said. ‘The earth we have inherited has been pushed to the point of destruction and unless urgent action is taken then we may be the planet’s last generation.

‘We need decisive leadership and action; fresh energy and fresh hope. Tackling the climate emergency requires international cooperation.’

He said ‘leaving the European Union is the very worst way to begin ending the climate emergency.’

Both Pat Osborne and David Chadwick have agreed to appear at a public hustings event organised by environment lobby Planet Shaftesbury at Shaftesbury town hall on 21 November. Also appearing will be Conservative candidate Simon Hoare, who was North Dorset’s sitting MP until the dissolution of Parliament last week.

New Green Party candidate Ken Huggins has also agreed to attend. But there will be no Brexit candidate after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage today ordered his candidates to stand down in seats where the Conservatives had stood successfully in the 2017 election including North Dorset.

The hustings on 21 November will be chaired by new Shaftesbury town councillor Andy Hollingshead, a former senior Wiltshire police officer and NHS manager, who was elected in May.

David Chadwick, who grew up in Gloucestershire but now lives in Stoke Wake near Blandford and has family in Bournemouth, has lived, worked and studied across the EU. He said he joined the Liberal Democrats in 2015 because he ‘was concerned about the impending threat of Brexit and has campaigned against it since February 2016’.

A certified data privacy consultant, he said he is keen ‘to focus on bringing the jobs of the future to North Dorset.’

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