Keeping it in the family
Tuesday, 2 June 2009 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
The upcoming election for Hampshire county council will have special significance in one Hayling Island household when a father and son go head-to-head in the race for the seat.
According to a report in The News in Portsmouth, Paul Pritchard, 61, and his son Chris, 29, will battle it out as candidates for the Liberal Democrats and the English Democrats.
Paul, a former Lib Dem councillor and 20-year member of the party, said he thought it was important young people got involved in politics.
"If I lose, I would rather lose to my son than lose to some other party," he said.
"At least I know he has a keen interest in making a difference."
Chris, a security guard in Portsmouth, said despite his dad's long involvement in politics he thought it was something he would have done anyway and the English Democrats manifesto appealed to him.
He said: "At a local level we agree more, although on a party political level we do have some debates and they can get quite heated when it comes to things like our position on Europe. But it always stays friendly."
Both men have said if they won the seat their aims would be very similar with a focus on cleaning up the ward and improving local parking.
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