Under the rules of the Selection Campaign, I am allowed to send e-mails to those members who have previously provided e-mail addresses to the Party. Unfortunately this only represents about one-fifth of eligible members, so a large number of you will not have received them. I have therefore posted my e-mail letters below for information.

Letter No. 1 - 8th October 2007

Dear Friends,

As the immediate prospect of a General Election recedes thanks to Gordon Brown's lack of courage and conviction, North West Lib Dems now turn our attention to the selection of the best North West candidates for the European Parliament elections in 2009. Voting papers will be sent out across the North West from the end of this week and will be with us all shortly. I am seeking your No. 1 vote in these elections and would urge you to return your vote as quickly as possible to ensure you do not miss the closing date. Your vote is truly important!

I would like to thank you all for the warm welcome and tremendous response on my website (www.hfg4mep.com) following the European hustings held on 29th September, where many of you heard me speak and answer your questions. I really enjoyed talking with many of our members about issues that really matter to you and, in particular, listening to your views about Europe.

As a North West Councillor in Stockport MBC, where I was elected in May overturning a huge long-held Tory majority (with the highest vote for any LibDem in ALL OF Greater Manchester), I share the view of most of our members that Europe is not the most frequent issue raised on the doorsteps, even in a European election campaign. Our polling has shown time and time again that people ask and care about issues that are common to us all; health, education, crime, anti-social behaviour, pensions, care for the elderly and the environment.

As a prolific campaigner in our North West communities, a key member of Mark Hunter M.P.'s team in Cheadle Constituency, and a parent of three young children, I experience first hand everyday the worries and concerns of our voters and ordinary people like me. Combined with my European credentials and experience of working directly with the European Parliament since 1991, the Commission, the Council of Ministers and in all the 27 European Member States on behalf of North West industry, I am in a strong position to be a powerful voice for the North West in Europe, to ensure we convince the electorate of our desire to reform and lead Europe from within, to benefit their daily lives directly.

I also believe that it's time to give the North West our first Liberal Democrat female MEP! Women are too often an under-utilised and under-represented force for good in politics and in our communities - when the majority of our electorate are in fact women! The skills we acquire in our professional and private lives are too often excluded from 'the club'. Even within the Liberal Democrats we are badly under-represented. If you genuinely believe in our party's commitment to equality and freedom of opportunity for all, and would like to boldly show our leaders that our firm commitment to ending this under-representation is not just hollow spin, I urge you to vote for me, Helen, as your No.1 choice for Europe.

If you believe we need a candidate with integrity whose drive, dedication and passion for our North West people and making a real difference in Europe and in our lives, then please vote for me.

We need a parliamentary candidate who will reach out to ALL of our potential voters, who will inspire ALL of our members to unite and who has proven she will campaign tirelessly for the Liberal Democrats in the North West. Someone who is capable of leading the North West team - united together.

I have no axe to grind with the media on issues that are personal to me. I will put your views firmly on the agenda. Liberal Democrat values and liberal democracy in action. We cannot ignore our electorate! We need to campaign effectively BOTH on the doorsteps & in the high streets as well as in the media and through our literature.

After all it's people who count, so let's put the people first and challenge both the Labour & Tory politicians in their ivory towers, as well as taking a chunk out of the UKIP vote.

Together WE WILL put people first.

Together WE WILL give the North West a candidate EVERYONE can trust and believe in.

Please vote for HELEN FOSTER-GRIME - No. 1.

Together we will WIN!

With Warmest Wishes,

Helen.

Letter No. 2 - 16 October 2007

Dear Friends,

Following my e-mail last week, I'd like to thank you for the positive feedback and wonderful encouragement I've been receiving in the North West European Selection race. The messages of support and kind offers of help are still coming in from across the North West, but more are still very welcome.

It was fantastic to meet both old friends and new at the terrific Rochdale Annual Dinner on Friday night. The dinner was hosted by Paul Rowan M.P. and his talented team and was well supported by Liberal Democrats from all over the region.

I was delighted to see John Leech M.P. for Withington there, and welcome Ming Campbell to the BEST REGION in the country! (Yes, I'm afraid I am slightly biased, having been born and educated in Manchester, lived mainly in Cheshire and Stockport, and with my brother's and sister's family in the Wirral, Liverpool, Preston and Leigh I have to be!)

As we now know, it was the final opportunity to hear Ming as our leader and we wish him well in the future. Whilst it is tempting to comment on the leadership contest ahead, I think it is a time to pay tribute to Ming's contribution to Liberal democracy and not least of all to his principled stand on Iraq. As for whoever we choose as our new leader, we must continue to put pressure on them to give our North West region the attention it deserves from the party nationally, both in our constituencies and in the European Parliament elections.

I was disappointed not to be able to join Warrington's Annual Dinner on the same night as Rochdale, but hardworking PPC Jo Crotty tells me it was a big success and hugely enjoyable too.

On Sunday, my husband Steven and I enjoyed campaigning around Cumbria and in Penrith East, where Patricia Bell is standing for the County Council on October 25th. Photos from my day there can be viewed on my website by clicking on the following link: www.hfg4mep.com Please go along and give Patricia your support if you can.

On the subject of campaigning, I'd like to mention one brief thing. Yesterday I received two beautifully presented and stylishly printed leaflets from fellow candidates in the European Selection, which I really enjoyed reading. I would like to add that, whilst I'm not in a position to have the monetary resources or personal wealth to do the same, I want to reassure you that it's certainly not because I am not equally committed - as I do care and am very serious about our European Parliament candidate selection. As Liberal Democrat campaigners up and down the country we are rarely given the luxury of a level playing field. We are used to facing many obstacles and overcoming the other main parties who have access to powerful monetary resources, far greater than ours. When it comes to battling for the good of our communities and putting people first in our towns, cities and villages, in our wards and in our constituencies, we are used to fighting against the odds. It is something most of us can identify with, but we never cease in our tireless dedication to help people and make a genuine difference both through the European Parliament and in Westminster. So why do we make personal sacrifices, often against all the odds? Because we are LIBERAL DEMOCRATS and we have a coherent political philosophy and common values and principles, which unite us and firmly place "putting people first" at the heart of our agenda.

The 'David and Goliath' scenario is one I am more than familiar with and it was the tenacity and drive to never give up, and the trust people have in me, which carried us through to success against all the odds in the local elections. I won my Council seat in Bramhall North in such a way, when the Tories threw everything at us in desperation not to lose their long held stronghold and huge majority. I won my seat on Stockport MBC with the largest LibDem vote in Greater Manchester and possibly the whole North West region.

We need candidates at the head of our European team who are capable of winning, as I am.

We need someone who knows Europe, who has worked with the European Parliament, the Commission and the Ministers, and negotiated with European Governments, as I have.

We need a strong negotiator who can build alliances and solid powerful relationships with MEPs from other member states and in other parties, as I have.

We need a unique North West woman who will appeal to new and disenchanted North West voters, who they can genuinely relate to and trust in, as I am.

We need a dynamic candidate at the top of our team who experiences the ordinary day-to-day concerns of our voters, who will attract new voters and inspire our supporters with warmth, humour and a passion for people, as I have.

Let's put the people first. We need a fresh approach to push our party forward in the next European Campaign.

· We cannot stand still

· We need more MEPs

· Together WE WILL WIN

· Together WE WILL PUT PEOPLE FIRST

· Together WE WILL give the North West a candidate EVERYONE can trust and believe in.

Please vote for HELEN FOSTER-GRIME - No. 1.

Together we will WIN!

With Warmest Wishes,

Helen.