Category: Dave Holland

Dave Holland, Reform UK candidate for Mid Bedfordshire

We interviewed Dave Holland when he stood for Reform UK in the recent Mid Bedfordshire by-election.  We spoke with Dave as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the general election.

“From the moment that Nadine Dorries first resigned (without technically resigning) we hit the ground and in total campaigned daily for 4 and a 1/2 months!”

You stood in the 2023 Byelection in Mid Bedfordshire what surprised you most about standing and what did you learn from it?

The Mid Bedfordshire by-election was unusual because campaigning went on for so long. From the moment that Nadine Dorries first resigned (without technically resigning) we hit the ground and in total campaigned daily for 4 and a 1/2 months! By the time the election was actually called we were all running on empty and talking to the other candidates they were similarly exhausted. It was a trial of endurance.

As a Party much has changed for Reform UK in the 4 months since Mid Bedfordshire. Our two party system makes it incredibly hard for new entrants to break through but we believed from the 40,000 doors we knocked that we had more support than we ended up actually achieving. The last week of the campaign saw our competitors move up through the gears and we struggled to be able to compete with them. They spent the last week phoning their voters to garner their support and this ate into our base. 

We don’t have the data to be able to compete, nor the manpower and resources. We are growing rapidly and building data as we go.

I discovered that in many instances on the doorstep, people will tell you how they feel and indicate that they will vote for you, but that that doesn’t always materialise at the ballot box.

We also struggled for column inches in the main stream press. In time we will overcome this handicap, but it is a significant deficit for us.

“I am standing because when the Tories left me I had no one to vote for. Someone has to stand up for another way, a better way”

For those that don’t know you, can you introduce yourself and Reform UK as a party.

Reform UK are a broadly Centre Right Party, with small c conservative policies and beliefs, wrapped up in compassion for the lowest paid in society. We don’t really relate to the old left / right political definitions of parties. We are more the party of common sense, drawing from both sides of the spectrum with policies that will improve the standard of living for everyone. We believe in low tax, fiscal responsibility, secure borders and a strong military. 

I never intended to be a politician. I am standing because when the Tories left me I had no one to vote for. Someone has to stand up for another way, a better way. So I threw my hat in the ring and here I am. Standing up for ordinary, hard working people who have been at the back of the queue in the UK for too long.

“Mid Bedfordshire has seen more than its share of new housing in the last decade, but without any infrastructure services to support all those new residents”

What do you see as the big concerns for the constituency and what issues do you hope to champion?

Mid Bedfordshire is geographically quite large, but rural. We have two towns and many villages and hamlets. We no longer have a single bank branch in Mid Bedfordshire. The constituency is also struggling with a lack of GPs and dentists. Our roads are a disgrace with pot holes everywhere. Bedford and Luton dominate our police resources so we very rarely see any police except for driving up and down the A6 between the two.

Mid Bedfordshire has seen more than its share of new housing in the last decade, but without any infrastructure services to support all those new residents. This results in the standard of living dropping for existing residents as they struggle for school places, operations, GP appointments, dental appointments etc. 

People in Mid Bedfordshire feel helpless, that their living standards have dropped and no one seems to care.

For those eager to help, how can they get involved in the campaign?  (if available please include Facebook, Twitter, email etc)

We are always happy to see volunteers eager to help us. You can find out more and get in touch via either www.dave-holland.co.uk or my Reform UK page https://www.reformparty.uk/mid-bedfordshire-constituency.  You can also find me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reformukmidbedfordshire/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/midbedsreformuk.

Dave Holland, Reform UK candidate for Mid Bedfordshire

Following the resignation of Nadine Dorries the Mid Bedfordshire by-election is coming up on the 19th October.  We’ve spoken with local Dave Holland, who is the Reform Party candidate for the election.

“I felt I had a choice between shouting ever more loudly at the evening news on TV or to get involved”

Can you introduce yourself to the people of Mid-Bedfordshire and tell us what got you involved in politics?

I’m Dave Holland, Reform UK candidate for the Mid Bedfordshire constituency. I was born in Ampthill, have remained local all my life and currently live in Shillington. During the years following the referendum I became increasingly disillusioned about the chaos in government, the lack of will to carry out the will of the majority of the British people.

I felt I had a choice between shouting ever more loudly at the evening news on TV or to get involved. I made a start by volunteering to canvass for the Brexit Party in the Peterborough by-election & my involvement snowballed from there.

Early in 2022 I was assigned the Mid Bedfordshire constituency for Reform UK & made a start putting my campaign together. My initial thinking was that Mid Bedfordshire might be due a by-election at any time as I couldn’t see Boris Johnson lasting for a full term & fully expected Nadine Dorries to be on his honours list. I have been proved correct in that regard & if it was not for Ms Dorries’ intransigence with regard to actually resigning we would have a new MP in Mid Bedfordshire already.

“We believe in and support personal freedoms, personal responsibility, fairness & equality for all”

Can you introduce the party and say a bit about what it stands for.

Reform UK was formed in 2020, from the mothballed foundations of the Brexit Party. We had hoped that after we officially left the EU that our government would embrace the many opportunities of being a sovereign nation, however it soon became apparent that embracing those opportunities was not on their agenda.

We saw the need for fair representation for the many hundreds of thousands of disillusioned, angry Brexiteers who feel that they are being short changed.

There is far more in need of reform than just our relationship with the EU, the level of government waste has increased in recent years. All our public services are in decline while our taxes keep increasing.

Reform UK are a small c conservative Party of low taxes & small state. We believe in and support personal freedoms, personal responsibility, fairness & equality for all. We will never all end up with equal outcomes, but we should ensure that everyone has access to equal opportunity to succeed.

“There is not a single bank branch in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency. Flitwick for example, a town of over 13,000 doesn’t have a bank or post office”

If elected what are the local issues you want to champion?

Mid Bedfordshire faces the same challenges that are happening across the UK. Diminishing services, diminishing standard of living but with ever growing taxes & costs.

One of the biggest issues locally is access to health services. Despite all the house building in the area we have seen no additional capacity in GP surgeries, Dentists or Hospitals. This has led to worse clinical outcomes for thousands and it shows no sign of being addressed. The situation won’t be fixed using the current strategy which is what has got us into this situation.

A larger population requires more hospital beds, not less, more Doctors, not less, more nurses not less. The government blame the care sector, but they have heaped more pressure on the care sector without scaling it with resources required so it could cope as they have cut bed capacity and front-line staff numbers.

We don’t train enough Doctors annually because the BMA haven’t allowed it. 38,000 applied in 2022 nationally, but less than 10,000 were accepted. 5,000 Doctors retire annually, so at the current rate we will never reach a point whereby we are training enough of the vital staff that will allow the NHS to treat us all in good time.

We have many other local issues, transport infrastructure, building on greenbelt land, policing and crime as well as the ongoing loss of local amenities, banks, post offices and other essential facilities. There is not a single bank branch in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency. Flitwick for example, a town of over 13,000 doesn’t have a bank or post office and so people have to drive into Ampthill to access a post office. This doesn’t represent progress to me and is a backward step for any thriving community.

How can people find out more and get involved in your campaign?

I will be out canvassing everyday up until polling day with a team of enthusiastic volunteers. You can find out more about Reform UK at https://www.reformparty.uk and much more about me and my campaign at https://www.dave-holland.co.uk if you would like to come and help us canvassing please email [email protected] for details or call me on 07903 416187.

Dave has a fundraiser you can contribute to, you can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.