Political party membership goes up in South Holland and Deepings

Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and UKIP have all seen rises in the number of people joining them, ranging from four (Green) to 34 (Liberal Democrats) per cent.

The growth in political interest across the area comes after Labour claimed that, nationally, at least 60,000 people had joined the party in the first week after the EU referendum two weeks ago.

Rodney Sadd of South Holland and The Deepings Constituency Labour Party, said: “I have seen attendances grow at our local meetings and membership is looking much healthier at well over 200 people.

“Also, East Midlands Labour Party has reported seeing an increase in numbers during and after the referendum.”

Tim Stevens of South Lincolnshire Liberal Democrats said: “We have experienced a 34 per cent increase in membership since the referendum and applications are still coming in.

“Nationwide, more than 15,000 people have joined the Liberal Democrats in the two weeks since the referendum, taking total membership to over 74,000 – the highest for ten years.”

John Hayter of UKIP said: “We did notice a considerable interest in UKIP during our campaign to leave the EU, but the actual figures are not known yet by our head office.”

Heather Violett of the South Lincolnshire Green Party said it had seen a four per cent rise in membership, with just over 130 members now in South Holland and South Kesteven.

“Green Party membership nationally has increased by 4.5 per cent since the EU referendum, with 2,560 new members and the Green Party of England, Wales and Northern Ireland total membership at 58,971 as of July 4,” Heather said.

“The South Lincolnshire Green Party has seen a four per cent ncrease (5 new members) – not startling but an important trend as membership did fall away slightly after the General Election. SLGP(covering South Holland and South Kesteven) now has 133 members.