Tag Archives: burnley

Lib Dem Erin Harvey wins Parliamentary Researcher of the Year

By Helen Duffett | Published 21st February 2011 - 4:53 pm

Erin Harvey Parliamentary Researcher of the Year 2011

Photo credit: Paul Heartfield, Federation of Small Businesses.

Erin Harvey, researcher to Liberal Democrat MP Gordon Birtwistle, scooped three prizes at last week’s Dods Parliamentary Researcher of the Year Awards.

From ePolitix.com:

Erin Harvey, the Liberal Democrat researcher who previously worked for Susan Kramer before joining the Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle in May, stole the show where she won three of the seven awards; Liberal Democrat Researcher of the Year, the Federation

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Posted in News, Parliament | Also tagged , , | 5 Comments

Gordon Birtwistle MP’s maiden speech

By Gordon Birtwistle MP | Published 29th May 2010 - 1:00 pm

Back when Cix was the main way of talking to other Lib Dems online, a tradition emerged of posting Lib Dem MPs’ maiden speeches so that people could read them and respond – a tradition LDV would like to continue. The first new Lib Dem MP to speak in the 2010 Parliament was Gordon Birtwhistle.

Gordon Birtwistle (Burnley) (LD): I am grateful for the opportunity to make my maiden speech so early in the new Parliament. I pay tribute to those who made their maiden speeches before me—the hon. Members for Beckenham (Bob Stewart), for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi), …

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Posted in Parliament | Also tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Weirdest comment by a mainstream politician so far

By Mark Pack | Published 3rd May 2010 - 6:16 pm

The prize surely goes to Richard Ali, Conservative candidate for Burnley:

I’ve got balls and I know how to use them.

The comment was made at a local student hustings.

Posted in General Election | Also tagged | 4 Comments

Clegg makes bold pitch for northern working class

By Mark Pack | Published 3rd May 2010 - 10:50 am

So reports The Times:

Nick Clegg mounted his most sustained assault on the Labour heartlands yesterday with a journey from Burnley to Redcar in which he pitched the Liberal Democrats as the party of the northern working class.

It was a bold thrust from a Westminster School old boy at the head of a party that has thrived in more prosperous parts, and he seemed to recognise the scale of the task as he made his appeal in a church in Burnley. “I understand that for some people it feels like almost a betrayal not to vote Labour but to start investing

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Posted in General Election | Also tagged , , | 6 Comments

Kitty Ussher: unrepentant over expenses

By Mark Pack | Published 20th March 2010 - 12:50 pm

By way of introduction, a sample of what Kitty Ussher (Labour MP for Burnley) had done:

Kitty Ussher used allowances for £20,000 house make-over
The records reveal that Miss Ussher, the MP for Burnley, contacted the Commons fees office within 12 months of being elected, with a detailed programme of work for the property she had already lived in for five years.

Kitty Ussher sacked from government over her claims
Move comes in the face of evidence that Treasury minister ‘flipped’ her homes to avoid paying capital gains tax.

So, when interviewed by Channel 4, what did she say?

Q. Is there anything you …

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Posted in Opposition watch | Also tagged , , | 2 Comments

Is this a Google Street View first?

By Mark Pack | Published 11th March 2010 - 9:59 pm

Take a look at this. To you it may be a smudge, but to the eagled-eyed politico it’s Google Street View showing a political campaign poster (for the Burnley Liberal Democrats’ campaign to save the local hospital). Is this the first time a political campaign poster has been caught on Google Street View?

Posted in Online politics | Also tagged | 10 Comments

The LDV Saturday caption competition – the “mine’s a large one” edition

By The Voice | Published 6th February 2010 - 3:15 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader …

Here’s Nick Clegg on a recent visit to cheer on Burnley Lib Dems and their candidate Gordon Birtwistle, as they attempt to unseat Labour and stop the BNP. (With thanks to Hywel Morgan for the picture). What do you think they might be saying to each other, or thinking about each other?

The winner of our most recent caption competition, the ‘never work with children’ edition just six weeks ago (ahem) …

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Posted in Caption Comp | Also tagged , | 14 Comments

If Lib Dems take Burnley it will “send shockwaves” around Labour

By Stephen Tall | Published 18th January 2010 - 8:25 pm

Alex Finnegan at the Mandate blog has identified Burnley as one of the key seats to watch at this year’s general election, with the Lib Dems tipped to take the challenge to Labour in one of its heartland seats:

With former Government Minister Kitty Usher standing down because of her expenses’ claims, Burnley is the sort of seat the Liberal Democrats need to gain from Labour in order to do well. The Lib Dem candidate, Gordon Birtwistle, is the current leader of Burnley Council and has strong local roots and the Liberal Democrats have performed well in recent local elections.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 10 Comments

Burnley Lib Dems call for Kitty Ussher to quit and trigger by-election

By The Voice | Published 18th June 2009 - 11:08 am

Fresh from their amazing showing in the local and European elections, Burnley Lib Dems have urged local MP Kitty Ussher – who today quit the government over her expenses claims – to let voters have their say on who should now represent them. Here’s the press release issued this morning:

“Burnley Labour MP Kitty Ussher should stand down now and allow the people of Burnley to have their say on her replacement” says Burnley’s Liberal Democrat Council Leader and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Councillor Gordon Birtwistle following the further twist in the story of the MP’s expenses.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 3 Comments