Liz Mearns

Lib Dem candidate for Chiseldon and Ridgeway in the Swindon Borough Council Elections on Thursday 7 May 2026

Liz is a Scot by birth and moved to the Swindon area in 1988. She is married with two grown-up children and 4 grandsons. Liz worked as a GP in Swindon for 20 years and finished her career in a South West regional health service management role.

Volunteering at Citizens’ Advice, Liz comes into contact with people every week who are struggling as a result of heartless Tory policies.  Years of Tory cuts to council budgets have led to cuts in services and a lack of investment in people. Many local people find that they are unable to get through on the phone to report a problem. Online is touted as a solution, but in practice, the systems are far from user-friendly, and not all of our residents can access them. The system seems designed to save money by limiting people’s access to essential services to which they are entitled.

In healthcare, Boris Johnson’s 2019 manifesto promised that 40 new hospitals would be built by 2030; five years later, there is no sign of them – not even the Hospital 2.0 blueprint, which is supposed to be used, has been finalised. Patients, families and staff are struggling to cope in premises which are dangerous, crumbling and unfit for modern healthcare, while NHS capital budgets are plundered to plug holes in day-to-day funding. The LibDems are calling on the government to release the promised capital so that work can begin on the desperately needed improvements and on immediately replacing the seven hospitals most affected by the RAAC's crumbling concrete.

The Lib Dems have coherent, fair policies developed through their evidence-based, democratic processes to address the fundamental problems faced by the British people after so many years of Tory mismanagement. This is why Liz is a member and wants to represent her local community and become part of the solution.