Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The General Election Hustings All Saints Church Oakham Rutland Sad News From The Liberal Democrat Candidate Ed Reynolds

The General Election Hustings All Saints Church Oakham Rutland Sad News From The Liberal Democrat Candidate Ed Reynolds regarding son Noah Reynolds who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Ed Reynolds the Liberal Democrat The Rutland and Melton Parliamentary Candidate won't be attending this evenings hustings at All Saints Church Oakham he and his wife will be with 
their nine month old son Noah in hospital.

I send my best wishes to Ed and his family, I know Ed wanted to attend the hustings this evening
he shared the sad news on Saturday that his sons illness might prevent him from attending. I received
an email at 3am this morning confirming what he had thought would be the case.


The Hustings will take place at All Saints Church Oakham Rutland, 
Church Street Oakham. This evening (29th April 2015) 7.30pm

The Hustings will be visually recorded and published on this Blog and You Tube.
Thank you to the steering group for granting consent within the constraints of the following
restrictions.

(Although this event is open the public it is not considered a public event and I have agreed
to the conditions required, Rutland does not hold and public hustings events this is only event
where the public get an invited opportunity to meet all the candidates, So I am pleased to be able 
to obtain footage and make it available to those who cant attend) 

From: Election Meeting Steering Group (election@oakhamteam.org.uk)
Sent:28 April 2015 13:18:33
To:martinjbrookes@outlook.com
Dear Martin,
It has now been possible to check with all the candidates about your request to film Wednesday’s meeting.
 We have all agreed that you can film subject to the following conditions.
 (a) There should be no filming on church property before or after the meeting
(b) Please film from one fixed position.
(c) Members of the public who ask questions should not be filmed, you will need to stop filming when members of the public speak.  the Chair will repeat the question for clarity.
(d) If you choose to make any use of this film it should be unedited.
 We trust that these condition are acceptable to you, if not we cannot give permission to film on this occasion.
The Steering Group




Personal statement from Ed Reynolds, the Liberal Democrats PPC for Rutland & Melton;

Unfortunately I am not going to be able to attend the ‘Churches Together in Oakham Public Meeting’ at Oakham Parish Church on Wednesday 29th April.

I felt that it was necessary for me to explain why I am not attending this important public meeting and why I have pulled out of several other election events lately.

The fact that my son is very poorly seems to be public knowledge now, so my wife and I thought it best to clarify the situation;



















Our son has been diagnosed with SMA Type 1 (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). SMA is a genetic condition that is currently incurable. It is the biggest genetic killer of under 2's in the UK. SMA weakens the muscles but does not affect the brain. Our son is currently 9 months old and he is one of the happiest babies you could ever meet. My wife and I are blessed to be his parents.

It goes without saying that my family come first and my priority is to be there for my wife and our little boy. I will continue to campaign as and when I can, however on Wednesday we have a very important hospital appointment which is why I cannot attend the Churches Together meeting.

Our local Lib Dem party have been incredibly supportive and they will continue, where possible, to fill in for me at any events I cannot attend.

I would like to thank my family, friends & my work colleagues who have all been amazing in their kindness and support.

The other candidates are already aware of the situation regarding my son. I would also like to thank them all for their support and understanding.

For more information on SMA please visit;



Finally, can I ask that my wife and our families are not contacted by anyone at this time. In the future we may be willing to talk about our situation in order to raise awareness of SMA.

We are raising money for a charity called ACT for SMA who have been amazing in the support and help they have given my wife, our son and me;