Tag Archives: john sharkey

Fifteen new Liberal Democrat Peers appointed

Fifteen new Liberal Democrat working peers have just been announced…

  • Dr Sarah (Sal) Brinton – Executive Director of the Association of Universities in the East of England
  • Dee Doocey OBE – Chair of the London Assembly
  • Qurban Hussain – Deputy Group Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Luton Borough Council
  • Judith Jolly – Chair of Executive Committee of Liberal Democrats in Devon and Cornwall
  • Susan Kramer – former Liberal Democrat MP
  • Raj Loomba – businessman and campaigner for widows’ rights
  • Jonathan Marks – commercial and family law QC with specialist interest in human rights and constitutional reform
  • Monroe Palmer OBE – Liberal
  • Posted in Parliament | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 77 Comments

    Yes to Fairer Votes campaign unveils its first appointments

    Yes to Fairer Votes, the group being created to campaign for a yes vote in the electoral reform referendum, has unveiled its steering committee:

    Pam Giddy, Chair
    John Sharkey, Vice Chair (and former chair of the Liberal Democrat general election campaign)
    Neal Lawson, Compass
    Peter Facey, Unlock Democracy
    Willie Sullivan, Electoral Reform Society
    Carina Trimingham, Electoral Reform Society

    The initial version of the campaign website is also up and running at www.yestofairervotes.org – and you can sign up to support the campaign and offer your help.

    Posted in News | Also tagged | 12 Comments

    John Sharkey to run Liberal Democrats’ Fairer Votes campaign

    Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has announced the appointment of John Sharkey as chairman of the Liberal Democrats’ Fairer Votes Campaign – the campaign for a “Yes” vote in next year’s AV referendum.

    Nick Clegg said,

    I am delighted that John Sharkey has accepted this role.

    This is a vital campaign for the country and I can’t think of a better person than John to run it for the Liberal Democrats.

    John Sharkey is one of Nick Clegg’s closest advisors and a former MD of Saatchi and Saatchi, who worked on the Conservatives’ 1987 General Election campaign.

    More recently, he chaired the …

    Posted in News | Also tagged , | 44 Comments

    3 reasons to be relaxed about Nick’s “secret debate dossier”

    The Sun today splashes on the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G news that Nick Clegg’s campaign strategists have been advising him on how to perform to the best of his abilities in the televised leaders’ debates:

    The dossier – bizarrely titled I’m Not Here Right Now – was left in the back of a cab on Thursday at about 10.30pm, soon after the end of the first election debate. … The dossier was written by John Sharkey, chairman of the Lib Dem election campaign team and Mr Clegg’s strategic communications adviser. It includes blistering criticism of Mr Clegg’s performance in rehearsals for last week’s

    Posted in News | Also tagged | 2 Comments

    First election debate: winners and losers

    Now the dust is starting to settle after the first debate, who are the winners and losers – aside from the party leaders?

    Winner – liberalism
    Loser – hostility to foreigners

    Praising some aspects of immigration, talking about no like-for-like replacement of Trident, pledging to scrap tuition fees, promising to cut taxes for most by raising taxes for the very rich – Nick Clegg won the debate not by abandoning policies for some  mushy middle ground, but by sticking to core liberal beliefs. Those beliefs were carefully wrapped in language and arguments designed to be appeal to a wide audience – but …

    Posted in General Election, Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

    Ros Scott writes … Party President’s report to members, January ’10

    In the two months since my last report, the election campaign has started in all but name.

    After a phenomenal amount of work by the manifesto team – led by Danny Alexander, the party’s policy unit headed by Christian Moon, and the Federal Policy Committee – we have now established the broad outlines of our campaign:

    • Reform of the tax system to create a fairer base,
    • introducing the pupil premium to give all children a fairer start in life,
    • creating sustainable housing and jobs and
    • political reform to bring in a fairer voting system, and

    Posted in Op-eds, Party Presidency | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

    Follow the yellow brick road? The Liberal Democrats’ general election campaign

    Guide to 2010 election book coverHere is my chapter from the Total Politics Guide to the 2010 General Election, looking at the prospects for the Liberal Democrats:

    The 1997 general election turned out to be a once in a generation opportunity for many local Liberal Democrat campaign teams to gain a Parliamentary seat from the Conservatives. At the tail end of a by then deeply unpopular Conservative Government, the election saw unprecedented numbers of seats falling to the party. A few seats that were not quite gained from the Conservatives in 1997 did subsequently fall in 2001 and 2005, but it was the 1997 election with the Conservatives in government that was the main opportunity. Nearly every campaign that missed then did not subsequently win.

    Posted in Books, General Election | Also tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

    Liberal Democrat General Election Team announced

    Nick Clegg has announced today the team that will advise him on strategy, resources and communications, as well as the planning and delivery of the Lib Dems’ General Election strategy.

    From the Liberal Democrats’ website:

    Nick Clegg said:

    “I am delighted to announce the team that will lead the planning and delivery of our General Election campaign.

    “I have asked John Sharkey, my adviser on Strategic Communications and the former MD of Saatchi’s, to Chair the Campaign, supported by Andrew Stunell MP as Vice Chair.

    “John’s extensive experience managing major communications businesses combined with Andrew’s campaigning expertise will be a formidable combination steering the

    Posted in General Election, News | Also tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments