Mike Giles Chosen as Lib Dem Candidate

Mike Giles has been chosen as the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Earley and Woodley after a vote by local members.

He is a Sonning Common councillor, a Cabinet Member at South Oxfordshire District Council, grew up in Berkshire and was elected in 2023 after nearly doubling the Lib Dem vote to beat the Conservative incumbent.

Giles says he will focus on three priorities: tackling the cost of living, protecting and improving the local environment, and securing new community infrastructure, notably a new hospital.

"Reading and Wokingham Borough Liberal Democrats are delighted to have selected Mike Giles as our candidate for Earley and Woodley. He has already shown what a determined and effective campaigner he is, with a proven record of winning elections and delivering for local communities. Mike has the experience, the energy and the values which will make him an outstanding MP for this constituency, and we look forward to working with him and our Reading Lib Dem colleagues to win this seat."

"I am excited that local members have selected Mike to be our candidate for Earley and Woodley, and particularly the areas of Whitley within the Reading local party area. Labour are letting us down and Mike is the person to fight for a freer, fairer Britain for all of us."

"It is an honour to be selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Earley and Woodley. This constituency deserves so much better than it has received from Westminster - greater investment, better public services, and a representative who will fight for every part of the area. I have been doing exactly that as a councillor, and I am ready to take that fight to Parliament. Whether it is the cost of living pressures facing local families, the environment we are leaving for the next generation, or the urgent need for a new hospital, I will be a strong and persistent voice for Earley and Woodley."

Recent local results point to a shift. In the May 2026 Wokingham Borough Council elections, covering nine wards in the constituency, the Liberal Democrats took 29.3% of the vote, just two percentage points behind the Conservatives. Earley and Woodley MP Yuan Yang's Labour Party fell to 8.4%, finishing fifth; Reform were third and the Greens fourth.

"These results show that the real choice in Earley and Woodley is between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. Labour and Green voters who want change should know that only the Liberal Democrats can deliver it here."

Outside politics, Giles is CEO of a national trade association and has campaigned for affordable access to medicines and fairer farming regulations. He has 18 years of experience across membership organisations, regulated industries and elected politics.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter