Hackney Heroine to stand as MP for Hitchin

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg with Pauline Pearce outside St John at Hackney Church

The Liberal Democrats today confirmed that Pauline Pearce, famous for standing up to rioters in 2011, is to stand for election in Hitchin and Harpenden.

The announcement marks a reconciliation between Pearce and the Liberal Democrat party, after she accused them last August of holding “neanderthal views on diversity”.

Pearce, who moved to Hackney from Hitchin eight years ago, explained: “I know quite a bit about the issues down there, especially concerning the youngsters.

“I want to help kids and let them know what they can do to open their eyes and turn their lives around,” she added.

Commenting on her selection, Ben Mathis, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Hackney South and Shoreditch said: “I’m thrilled that Pauline Pearce, one of my Hackney colleagues, has been chosen to contest Hitchin and Harpenden, the area where she was born and raised.

“Pauline has lived in Hackney for eight years and is known as the “Hackney Heroine,” but in fact she dedicates an enormous amount of time to working with community groups all over London and back home in Hertfordshire. … I know she’ll be a heroine wherever she goes.”

Pearce’s move out of Hackney follows earlier comments, in which she took a stand against the gentrification of the borough: “London belongs to all of us. Not just those who can afford to pay £5 for a cappuccino,” she remarked.

The current Hitchin MP, Conservative Peter Lilley, was not available for comment, but his office said that the price of coffee was unlikely to be a key election issue.

“Mr Lilley mostly drinks tea,” a spokesperson said.