Wealden Liberal Democrats have chosen environmental policy expert, 44-year-old, Ben Dempsey to be their candidate for the new constituency of East Grinstead and Uckfield.
2024 General Election
Background
Ben has worked for more than 15 years for humanitarian and environmental charities. He has a masters degree in sustainable development and a PhD in nature conservation. Ben grew up in Haywards Heath, went to Oxford University and lived in London for ten years, before moving back to Sussex in 2010 to raise his family. His career has included working for humanitarian and conservation charities for over 15 years, and has worked in Haiti, Myanmar, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
He was a Mid Sussex District councillor from 2019 to 2023. As a District Councillor, he focused on planning and the environment, securing improvements to nature recovery policy in Mid Sussex.
Ben said the Lib Dems aim to tackle the cost of living crisis, stop sewage getting into rivers, and restore political standards and the rule of law.
Local Government
District Councillor Mid Sussex District Council (May 2019 – May 2023 · 4 yrs) representing Hassocks. He worked on issues relating to planning and the environment, including proposing a successful budget amendment to create a £100,000 special reserve for sustainability.
Quotes
“Our politics can be so much better. The behaviour of the current government has undermined British values of honesty and tolerance, and we seem to be losing the ability to address complex issues in a rational and reasonable way. I want to be elected to help restore decency, competence and compassion in our country.”
“People in East Grinstead, Uckfield and local villages are desperate for our politics to be better. We are losing the ability to discuss complex issues in a rational and reasonable way. I offer residents the chance to have an MP who listens and is respectful of different shades of opinion, even if we don’t always agree. I believe the values of tolerance, honesty and decency are shared by the vast majority in this country.”
“If I am elected, I will represent the people of East Grinstead and Uckfield with the outward-looking, tolerant, liberal-minded politics that has been so sorely lacking in recent years.”
“I have lived in Sussex for most of my life, and want to champion the issues that matter to local people. In particular, I will campaign to change the government’s planning system – putting more power in the hands of communities and taking it away from the big developers. That is the only way to tackle our housing crisis, by building the kind of green, affordable homes people actually need, not just the ones that make the most profit for large corporations.”
Links
Liberal Democrats Constituency Profile
Education
- PhD in the social science of UK nature conservation – ESRC Doctoral Researcher, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex
- MA in Science, Society and Development from the Institute of Development Studies
- BA in Archaeology and Anthropology from Oxford
Working Career:
Currently:
Wilder UK Landscapes Adviser for WWF.
Leads WWF UK’s work on how to incorporate ‘rewilding’ into conservation policy and practice. Includes broader questions about how we simultaneously restore nature, tackle climate change and meet the needs of people, in the UK and internationally. He is particularly interested in working with farmers to deliver nature recovery alongside food production, breaking down barriers and reducing conflict between farming and conservation
Previously:
- Director of Policy and Advocacy – Mercy Corps
- Senior Humanitarian Affairs Adviser – Save the Children
- Assistant Producer/Researcher, BBC Science Department
For details see Linked In profile
Professional papers:
Example: Rewilding in the English uplands: Policy and practice
Vic Ient 