As one of thousands who joined the Liberal Democrats after that fateful day in May, I was wondering if I could make any difference in the rebuilding process. The Bristol Lib Dems were welcoming from the minute I joined. Not knowing anyone at my first meet-up was daunting but everyone went out of their way to make me feel part of the group. When I volunteered to arrange a pre-conference meet up it took an interesting turn. Tim Farron was going to be in town that day.
Helen Cuéllar was another new member with boundless energy and a positive attitude. The local party placed trust in the both of us to be responsible for this important function. With the clock ticking we met up for a drink after work to plan everything. We decided to make the day about the refugees and for all proceeds to go to Calais Refugee Solidarity Bristol.
The venue was located in the heart of Bristol Harbourside. We had the entire floor to ourselves, including our own bar and bartender. By the time we had everything set up, Tim Farron walked up the stairs. I first met Tim at a leadership hustings back in June where I was inspired by his vision. They said when you spoke to Winston Churchill you thought he was the most important person and when you spoke to David Lloyd George you thought you were the most important person. Tim is definitely in the same mould as Lloyd George in this regard. Becoming leader had not changed him, he chatted with us with a commanding courteousness while he sipped on his tea.
The venue had filled up with old, new and potential members all waiting for a chance to speak to Tim. The word was definitely out. A couple of times I was asked by someone if it was okay for them to be there, they were not members but wanted to hear Tim speak. In the backdrop of all this was a raffle with a generous assortment of prizes donated by the members and a busy bake sale that tested the Great British Bake Off skills of the party. Everyone was highly generous as we raised over £360 for the refugees.
When the time came, Tim made a speech that captivated the whole audience. He shared his strategy of being able to capture the centre-left ground with the Labour party in disarray after Corbyn’s victory. Afterwards, he mingled with the crowd, answering any question that was thrown at him.
I bumped into Dr Kay Barnard who had recently been nominated as the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate for Bristol. She came across as an intelligent and sincere woman who aims to tackle the real problems facing Bristol such as transport and youth unemployment. I believe she is the only candidate putting forward a referendum to get rid of the mayor position as well.
Towards the end of the afternoon, Tim had to be dragged away from a circle of eager listeners to keep him on schedule. With the Bristol harbour as the scenery, the BBC reporter asked Tim what the Liberal Democrats’ role would be going forward. Tim replied with conviction that
Somebody has to take on the Tories in a way which is decent, progressive and credible. There is nobody providing that now and I am going to say that’ll be us.
Helen and I said our goodbyes. The event did not just run smoothly, it was a great success. If two new members could organise this function at such short notice, imagine what 20,000 new Liberal Democrat grassroots activists could do if put to good use? As Tim Farron said in his first speech as leader, “we may not be able to change Britain from the top down…but we can change lives from the bottom up.”
* Ryan Lailvaux is an active member of the Bristol Liberal Democrats
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10 Comments
Great article Ryan, and well done on the fund raising.
As a new member myself it was very pleasing to hear how open the party are to let anyone, new or old, get their teeth into helping out. I’ve got my eye on some events coming up in London.
And ditto with Tim, I emailed him a few times during his leadership campaign and he always took the time to respond
in a considered manner, very much like you described “you thought you were the most important person”.
Only this morning I was looking at the Liberal Democrats Facebook page and noticed it had 125, 820 likes!
If only turning a fraction of those into members, voters and activists – so much potential for the #FightBack
Keep up the good work!
And the last line about changing Britain from the bottom up, I very early on had that impression thats what the Lib Dems are strong at. Encouraging and exciting times!
Thanks Thomas! You are right, Tim is excellent at engaging with people. He is one of those who actually listens to what you have to say rather than waiting for his turn to speak.
As for getting involved, I strongly recommend it. I had little activist experience before joining the party but senior members are happy for you to help out where you can. Best of luck with your events in London.
Sorry I couldn’t be there … hoping to get more linked up with what the party is doing locally soon…
Excellent first LDV article Ryan. Looking forward to seeing lots more. 🙂
I think this Syrian migrant issue is a defining one for our party under Tim’s leadership. Leaders don’t get to choose the issues that come along in their first few months, they just have to respond to them. I think Tim’s response so far on this has been very good – and what I would have expected. Shame it hasn’t received more media coverage, but I guess that’s the new reality we are in now, post May. But he can learn from the legacy of previous leaders: pick your issues, fight them hard, and show what solid compassionate Liberalism is all about.
Its not just about Tim of course – the whole party has to help him. And this story of what you did in Bristol is a great example.
Thank you Tony. Tim has been great in going to Calais and meeting with the refugees. I agree that there is a media bias towards the two major parties but we need to keep fighting for those with no voice.
Matt – hope to meet you at a future Bristol event.
Ryan. You did not fight for those with no voice in coalition., quite the opposite. Bedroom tax, legal aid cuts being just two examples. Why do you think people will see you as standing up for them now? Standing up for all those aggressive men trying to force themselves into Europe will not help your case I’m afraid. Are they seen as future voters? Seems very cynical to me especially as they do not have Liberal values.
Well said and welcome, Ryan.
As for Anne’s comment, I was agreeing with much of it (just thinking – don’t you understand that legal aid cuts, for example, were shameful because they were illiberal?) until I came to that deeply prejudiced comment about Syrian refugees. How on earth can you know that their values are illiberal? Did we set up that kind of test when the Kindertransport brought Jewish children to Britain from Nazi Germany? Or just for the Jewish adult refugees? Some people would have wanted to do that and worse: the Daily Mail was campaigning against “swarms of stateless Germans” arriving in Britain.
Very aptly summarized and written Ryan. Its events like this that surprises me the most. I am amazed at the sincerity, straight-forwardness and clear thinking in the voice of Lib Dems. Well done on the fund raising event. Having listened to Tim Farron speech at Bournemouth Conference, I must say, it was great.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you very much Uday and Simon.
Anne – Categorizing a group of people as aggressive is a dangerous mindset. It is mostly desperation I see and every corner of the world there wrong doers. Should we close our doors to the rest of the world and become isolationists because of this? Also, seeing someone as a potential voter over their humanity is the cynical point. Most of them would want to return home to their families when their country became stable again.