Tag Archives: deputy leader election

The results of the other Lib Dem Parliamentary contest – Lords Dholakia and Alderdice elected

By Stephen Tall | Thu 10th June 2010 - 12:25 pm

Simon Hughes was not the only Deputy Leader elected last night …

While Simon was elected deputy of the parliamentary party in the House of Commons (though in reality he’ll be known as the deputy leader of the party), Lord (Navnit) Dholakia was re-elected unopposed as deputy leader of the parliamentary party in the House of Lords.

Lord Dholakia, who will continue to support Lord (Tom) McNally in his role as Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, commented:

There was an overwhelming turnout in support of the new structure for the Liberal Democrat Paliamentary

…

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Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged house of lords, Jane Bonham Carter, lord alderdice and lord dholakia | 4 Comments

Simon Hughes elected as Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader

By Helen Duffett | Wed 9th June 2010 - 8:38 pm

Simon Hughes was elected as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats this evening following a ballot of MPs.

Simon received 38 votes; Tim Farron received 18.

Speaking after the vote, Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

I am delighted Simon has been elected as Deputy Leader.

Simon has been a huge figure in the Liberal Democrats for decades. He’s a tireless campaigner, a relentless fighter for the vulnerable and marginalised in our society, and one of the hardest working MPs Parliament has ever seen.

There are huge challenges and opportunities ahead for our country and our party, but with Simon by my side I am sure that we can meet those challenges and work to build a fairer, more equal Britain.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Simon Hughes said:

It is an honour and a privilege for me to follow Vince Cable as the new Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. This is not a responsibility I will ever take lightly.

I will fight every day for the principles which underpin our party: fairness, freedom, openness, equality, stewardship of our environment and standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

I will work tirelessly with Nick Clegg and all other Liberal Democrats to help liberal democracy blossom and flourish throughout the land.

Here’s a video of the announcement: (turn your speakers up!)

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Posted in News | Also tagged nick clegg and simon hughes | 20 Comments

Opinion: Ready for the challenge with energy, enthusiasm and passion

By Simon Hughes MP | Wed 9th June 2010 - 12:40 pm

I have now been a political activist for quite a long time! Starting with campaigning for a Palestinian state and against apartheid in my teens, joining the party as a Liberal student, and then elected to Parliament in 1983 when Mrs Thatcher was at the height of her powers. Twenty seven years later, I have never forgotten what I came into politics to do. Fight for social justice, civil liberties, internationalism and a fair and responsible Britain where power is handed back to and not taken from the people.

For many people in our country these are not characteristics which …

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Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | 34 Comments

Opinion: What the Deputy Leader should do

By Tim Farron MP | Tue 8th June 2010 - 7:06 pm

Last night the new Parliament had its first vote on the Queen’s Speech; the government parties voted together of course. So there I was rubbing shoulders in the voting lobby with all these Tories, many of them new, most of them – through no fault of their own – from rather privileged backgrounds. Never before have I felt quite so aware of my state comprehensive / red-brick education – and immensely proud of it too.

I was also made acutely aware that our new bed-fellows are not very much like us but that our Labour opponents will nevertheless work hard to …

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Posted in Op-eds | 18 Comments

Hughes team “fairly 100% certain” of Deputy Leader victory

By The Voice | Fri 4th June 2010 - 5:50 pm

PoliticsHome.com reports:

Simon Hughes already has the firm commitment of 30 of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs that they will vote for him to be Deputy Leader of the party in the vote on 9th June, his spokesman has told PoliticsHome today. …

Only some of the MPs have publicly declared their support for Mr Hughes, which the spokesman explains as follows: “We haven’t had that many people coming out publicly … because many of them are senior party officials, government officials and they don’t want to be seen to be supporting anyone at this stage.”

So is there any chance they

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged simon hughes | 17 Comments

Deputy leadership contest: Hughes “backed by more than 50% of Lib Dem MPs”

By Helen Duffett | Thu 3rd June 2010 - 1:17 pm

Nominations closed at 5pm yesterday for the Deputy Leadership of the Liberal Democrats, and it’s going to be a contest between Tim Farron and Simon Hughes. Already the Independent is calling it for Simon:

Simon Hughes, the Liberal Democrat left-winger, was on course last night to become the party’s deputy leader.

The former party president is understood to have secured the backing of more than half of its 57 MPs. Although he voted in favour of forming a power-sharing deal with the Conservatives, he is likely to prove a thorn in Nick Clegg’s side.

Following the close of nominations, he will be

…

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Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged simon hughes and tim farron | 12 Comments

Deputy Leadership contest latest: Huhne backs Farron

By Mark Pack | Wed 2nd June 2010 - 9:15 pm

A news release from the Tim Farron campaign says:

Tim Farron today announced that Secretary of State for DECC, Chris Huhne, will be supporting Tim’s candidacy for Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Huhne’s support comes on the same day as candidates for Deputy Leader put forward their nominating signatures to the Parliamentary Party. Other MPs who have now confirmed their support for Mr Farron include MP for Cheltenham, Martin Horwood and newly elected MP St Austell and Newquay, Stephen Gilbert.

Commenting Mr Huhne said:

“Tim Farron has the passion, experience and energy to be highly effective as deputy leader. Working alongside Nick …

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Posted in News | Also tagged chris huhne, martin horwood, simon hughes, stephen gilbert and tim farron | 1 Comment

Simon Hughes the choice of 60% of party members to be new Deputy Leader – LDV survey

By Stephen Tall | Wed 2nd June 2010 - 11:00 am

Lib Dem Voice polled party members registered on our members’ forum at the weekend asking them about the contest to succeed Vince Cable as Lib Dem deputy leader. Over 460 members responded, and here’s what you told us …

LDV asked: Vince Cable stood down this week as Deputy Leader of the party. Some have suggested all members should have a vote to decide who is the party’s deputy leader. Others say that members elect the party president, and it is right MPs decide the deputy leader. What’s your view?

42% – Party members should elect the Deputy Leader
44% –

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged simon hughes and tim farron | 14 Comments

Deputy Leadership contest: how the MPs stack up

By Mark Pack | Fri 28th May 2010 - 9:32 pm

The following list of MPs backing different Deputy Leader candidates only lists those who have declared their support in public so far. If you spot any more, please do post up a comment along with the source of the information and I’ll update this post as news comes in.

Tim Farron (11)

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Posted in News | Also tagged simon hughes and tim farron | 10 Comments

Simon Hughes stands for Deputy Leader as “the life and soul of our party”

By Helen Duffett | Fri 28th May 2010 - 11:00 am

Simon Hughes, MP for Southwark and Old Bermondsey has announced his intention to stand for the position of Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

From his campaign flyer:

Labour have made it clear they want to rewrite history, ignoring the reality of their time in office. They claim to be the only home for progressive voters. I will not let them get away with it.

My experience representing an inner city constituency tells a different story: of too many broken promises and too many people

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged simon hughes and vince cable | 33 Comments

Opinion: Why I am standing to be Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats

By Tim Farron MP | Fri 28th May 2010 - 9:20 am

We made the right choice to go into coalition – although I have to say that it took me a few days to come to terms with it!

Our choice to go in to coalition is in the national interests, I am standing for Deputy Leader because I’m determined that it should also be in the Lib Dems’ interests too.

The role of the Deputy Leader will be quite different now that we are sharing power. There will be a role in Parliament, but it will be all the more important out in the country and in the TV and radio studios. …

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Posted in Op-eds | 17 Comments

Deputy Leadership: runners, riders, rules

By Mark Pack | Thu 27th May 2010 - 6:01 pm

So far, the Deputy Leadership election looks to be shaping up as a contest between Tim Farron and Simon Hughes. Tim is the one public candidate so far and there’s plenty of chatter about other possible candidates. In particular, there is an impetus from some quarters for a female candidate to balance out the all-male Cabinet team. However, that is rather muted by both the Party President (Ros Scott) and Chair of the Parliamentary Party (Lorely Burt) posts being held by women and the combination of circumstances, such as being a minister or holding a marginal seat, which rules out …

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Posted in News | Also tagged lorely burt, ros scott, simon hughes and tim farron | 13 Comments

Tim Farron runs for deputy leader; Campbell and Munt back him

By Mark Pack | Thu 27th May 2010 - 1:14 pm

News from the Tim Farron campaign camp:

Following the announcement by Vince Cable that he will be stepping down as Deputy Leader to concentrate on his new role as Secretary of State for Business, Tim Farron MP has been urged by colleagues to stand for the position of Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Commenting Tim said:

“Having served as Vince Cable’s PPS during his eight glorious weeks as acting leader, I am fully aware of what a difficult act he will be to follow and I’m so grateful to Vince for what he has achieved in the role.

“His new …

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Posted in News | Also tagged Ming Campbell, tessa munt and tim farron | 33 Comments

NEW POLL: Who do you want to see as the next Lib Dem deputy leader?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 27th May 2010 - 10:35 am

It’s early days – Vince only announced he was stepping down as the party’s deputy leader last night, in order to focus on his cabinet responsibilities – but who would you, LDV’s readers, like to see take over from Vince?

Of course the electorate for the deputy’s post are the party’s 57 MPs (party members choose our leader and president), and I imagine and hope there will be four criteria uppermost in their minds:

1) Ensuring a ‘balanced ticket’ for the party leadership. Nick and Vince have worked well together precisely because they look, sound and are different. Their combined blend of …

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Posted in Voice polls | 49 Comments

Vince Cable stands down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats

By Helen Duffett | Wed 26th May 2010 - 8:19 pm

Vince Cable has stood down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in order to concentrate on his role as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The text of Vince Cable’s letter to Nick Clegg is below:

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Posted in News | Also tagged nick clegg and vince cable | 55 Comments