The first meeting of the new Farnham and Bordon Constituency Labour Party (CLP) took place on Friday, October 27 at Churt Village Hall, in the heart of the new constituency.

And with Labour leading the national polls, the party thinks it can pull off a monumental upset and triumph in the new ‘FAB’ Surrey-Hampshire cross border seat.

It comes two months after the Conservatives launched its own Farnham and Bordon association in Liphook, declaring Greg Stafford as its candidate for the newly-formed seat.

Local political parties have been reorganised as a result of the Boundary Commission’s review of the country’s electoral areas, which divided the former South West Surrey constituency into two.

MP Jeremy Hunt has opted to contest the new Godalming and Ash seat, leaving the door wide open for a new cohort of candidates to battle it out in Farnham and Bordon.

The boundary of the Farnham and Bordon constituency – which Labour has dubbed ‘FAB’ – includes Churt, Liphook, Grayshott, Hale, Haslemere, Hindhdead, Whitehill and places in between.

Residents of this area will have the opportunity to elect a new Member of Parliament at the general election expected next year. 

John Gaskell, who was elected chairperson of the FAB Labour Party and lives in Farnham, said: “With some 900 members and official supporters in the Farnham and Bordon region, and a commanding lead in the opinion polls, Labour can win here in the general election. 

“Though our area carries the acronym FAB, public infrastructure in this area is far from fab, and it is vital that we elect a strong Labour government to build a better Britain and for the country, and this area, to get its future back.” 

The recent council elections gave the local Labour Parties a massive boost, added John, and members resolved to capitalise on this success and use it as a springboard for the general election.

The newly-constituted party therefore agreed to move speedily to select a strong Labour candidate for the constituency and to begin its preparation for the general election campaign.