/u/bloodycontrary arrived in Cirencester today on a startlingly-red British Rail class 143 pacer, inaugurating the reopening of the Kemble-Cirencester line and celebrating Liberal Democrat achievements in Government.

He alighted at Chesterton Lane to a huge crowd of activists and local voters to deliver his opening speech and take questions from the crowd:

Hello, everybody! Thank you all for coming out this morning. It's slightly blustery, but not as cold as it's been recently!

So, here we are again, another election. No rest for the wicked, though, because I'm here to ask the people of Gloucestershire & Wiltshire to choose me again as their MP.

And for those of you who, quite rightly, ask 'why?', well, I'll tell you. I'm proud of the Liberal Democrats' record in Government last term. While other parties were determined to make the country poorer and less well-connected, we stepped up and did the hard graft, the real work.

Look at what's happening across these two great counties now, for example. I was fortunate enough to ride in today on a train into Cirencester, which hasn't happened for over a generation. This is happening, or will happen soon, all over the constituency, from Bourton-on-the-Water to Bishops Cleeve, from Stow-on-the-Wold to Royal Wootton Bassett.

The people of these counties will no longer be cut off from the rest of the country by successive failures in transport policy, and I'm proud to say that it is the Liberal Democrats who made this happen.

The rest of the South West has also benefited from Liberal Democrat policy. The Dawlish sea wall is receiving major repairs. Local transport is being improved. We've supported legislation to help workers receive what they are due from their work.

And we have more to do. Last time I told you we had ambitious plans, and we do. We've even achieved some of these plans - but there's more to do. In a post-brexit age, with a depressing number of parties in the UK who want splendid isolationism, we need to step up and make sure our communities are looked after, our business thrive, our workers work and our children learn.

In short we want to empower you, all of us, to do what you want to do and live the life you want to lead. Whether that's by starting a new business with the help of a Government grant, or hopping on the train from Malmesbury to Manchester, we want to empower you.

Now, that's quite enough from me. Before moving on to my next stop I'll be happy to take any questions you may have.

And remember... vote /u/bloodycontrary for Gloucestershire & Wiltshire!