Tag Archives: cyril smith

The Voice

Cyril Smith: The decision made in 1970 would not be made today

By The Voice | Wed 28th November 2012 - 10:11 am

On 13th November Lib Dem Voice covered an article by Paul Waugh in the Spectator which publicised allegations of child abuse against the former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith.

Yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement about Cyril Smith.

It begins by describing decisions that were made in 1970 about a file of evidence handed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The file, from Lancashire Constabulary, contained allegations made by eight men that they had been subjected to indecent assaults by Cyril Smith as teenagers. The allegations were very similar in nature, and were allegedly conducted on the pretexts of either

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 28 Comments
The Voice

PoliticsHome: ‘New Cyril Smith abuse claims’

By The Voice | Tue 13th November 2012 - 11:28 am

Paul Waugh at PoliticsHome has published an in-depth article publicising allegations of child abuse against former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith:

Sir Cyril Smith became the latest public figure to be accused of abuse today after residents at a boys’ hostel described how he made youngsters strip, fondled them and smacked their bare bottoms for punishment.

Two former residents of Cambridge House hostel in Rochdale have gone on the record for the first time to tell PoliticsHome.com how former Liberal MP Smith treated them as teenagers in the 1960s.

Barry Fitton, who was 15 at the time, said that the former Rochdale MP

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 14 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo | Election archive special… the 1980s

By Stephen Tall | Sun 21st August 2011 - 5:25 pm

Yesterday was the 1960-70s, today we fast-forward to the 1980s…

1982 Liberal Party political broadcast

(Available on YouTube here.)

1983 election: Party leaders on the campaign trail (incuding Roy Jenkins at 1:05)

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged and | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo | Election archive special… the 1960-70s

By Stephen Tall | Sat 20th August 2011 - 6:15 pm

It’s Saturday night, but forget the X-Factor… Enjoy instead some classic election clips from the archives…

Jo Grimond campaigns in the 1966 general election

(Available on YouTube here.)

Election Campaign, Feb. 1974 (including a rare clip of Jeremy Thorpe at 2:20).

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
David Hennigan

Opinion: Why Sir Cyril was wrong

By David Hennigan | Thu 4th August 2011 - 11:49 am

Now, it’s easy to pretend that your political hero is perfect. It’s easy to write hagiographical accounts of a life without mistakes.

I felt that about the late Sir Cyril Smith MBE, formerly MP for Rochdale. I shall forever feel proud about how Cyril took me under his wing. I will be forever proud now that Sir Cyril called me his friend and gave me so many tips, so many words of advice about how to do my job. (I was Lib Dem Agent in Rochdale from 2004 – 2009) I wrote about ‘our Cyril’ for his 80th …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Tributes pour in for Sir Cyril Smith

By Stephen Tall | Sat 4th September 2010 - 12:13 pm

Lib Dem Voice reported yesterday the sad passing of Sir Cyril Smith, one of the party’s best-known figures, who served as Rochdale’s MP for two decades.

Tributes have been pouring in as a mark of appreciation for Cyril’s life. Nick Clegg issued the following statement:

“Cyril Smith was a larger-than-life character and one of the most recognisable and likeable politicians of his day. I am deeply saddened to hear the news of his death today, and offer my sincere condolences to his family and friends.

“Everybody in Rochdale knew him not only as their MP but also as a friend. He

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Posted in Obituaries | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
The Voice

RIP Cyril Smith

By The Voice | Fri 3rd September 2010 - 1:22 pm

News has just reached the Voice that Sir Cyril Smith, for 20 years Liberal (then Liberal Democrat) MP for Rochdale, has just passed away.

Just over two years agho, Lib Dem Voice published an appreciation of Cyril’s life to mark his 80th birthday:

You’ve got to come to Rochdale to understand properly Sir Cyril’s popularity. He doesn’t get out much these days, but when he does… Rochdale comes to a standstill. Many people remember the Cyril from the 1970s and early ’80s. The Cyril who was Chief Whip during the Jeremy Thorpe scandal; the Cyril who appeared on national TV alongside

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Posted in Obituaries | 10 Comments



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