New Lib Dem MP keeps councillor 'hat on' to prioritise Maidenhead issues

Joshua Reynolds was sworn in as Maidenhead’s new Liberal Democrats MP in Parliament on Tuesday – a post held for the past 27 years by the Conservatives.

With 21,895 votes, the 25-year-old borough cabinet member replaces former Prime Minister and MP Theresa May, who stood down earlier this year.

On his victory, Mr Reynolds said it was an ‘honour’ to be elected in ‘a place I’ve always been proud to call home’.

He thanked the ‘wonderful’ voters who wanted ‘a change’ and ‘are fed up of being taken for granted’.

“People know that they deserve better,” he said in his speech on Friday morning (July 5).

Mr Reynolds also came second in the 2019 election and increased the Liberal Democrats’ vote share.

He told the Advertiser this week: “I think it was our positive messaging for individuals that people could relate to. I’ve been in Maidenhead all my life, I was born and bred locally in town.

“I think what helped us was being local, knowing the issues, knowing the area and talking to residents about the issues important to them.”

He said it was a ‘complete honour’ to replace Theresa May but admitted he had ‘big shoes to fill’.

“For me, it’s about getting stuck in. People have put their faith in us and their trust in us and we’ve got to repay that trust and we’ve got to work for it every single day.”

He addressed the ‘frustration’ felt by the Liberal Democrats council in Maidenhead when faced with ‘roadblocks’ in finance and legislation, or ‘the government not being as reactive as we’d like’.

“I’m hopeful that having a Lib Dem council and now a Lib Dem member of Parliament means that we can work together on these things and try to unblock [issues] we’ve seen come up in the past,” he said.

Mr Reynolds will step down as a cabinet member but will remain a local authority councillor ‘at least for the moment’.

“There are some good synergies and working together which I think we can come up with, having both of those roles together,” he said.

“There are so many issues, I know having been a candidate for five years, where the member of Parliament contacts us about a local authority issue.

“With my two hats on, we can get a better service for our residents.”

Reopening the walk-in centre at St Mark’s Hospital was a key feature of Mr Reynolds’ campaign and continues to be his ‘key priority’ since being elected.

“It’s important to me that we raise its profile and make sure anybody who will listen in government and the NHS knows that St Mark’s walk-in centre is a top priority for residents and anyone who wants to work with us to help get it reopened is someone I want to work with.

“I want to work across parties with whoever [can] get my aims and priorities over the line. I will work with whoever I need to, to get the walk-in centre reopened.”

Talking about the new Labour Chancellor’s plans for housing development, Mr Reynolds said: “I would like it to involve the community a lot more.

“The current system is the worst of both worlds.

“Let’s see what the government brings forward but we need a planning system which prioritises brownfield sites and ensures the infrastructure that comes with those sites gives communities a local say.

“The problem with lots of the housing developments that I’ve seen in Maidenhead over the past few years and one of the reasons I was against, and still am against, the Borough Local Plan, was the fact that it put the power in the hands of the developers and not in the hands of the local community.

“What we want is community-led development that residents agree with which has the infrastructure – the GPs, the roads, all together.”

He is the youngest Liberal Democrats MP in parliament and wants to speak to students in the borough about ‘life in politics’ after he was visited by politicians as a sixth former in Furze Platt Senior School.

The 25-year-old believes being one of the younger MPs in parliament is an asset to the role and with the voting age potentially being lowered, is ‘hopeful that more young people get involved in politics’.

“It’s a great benefit to have younger voices in the room, it always is and always will be.”

Mr Reynolds believes he and Theresa May have ‘different approaches’ but is keen to meet with her to form a ‘handover’ and address their ‘common causes’.