Author Archives: Caron Lindsay

Caron Lindsay

Good luck to Jane Dodds in Brecon and Radnorshire – and how YOU can help her win

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 1st August 2019 - 9:55 am

As Paul and Kirsten have have already written, today voters in Brecon and Radnorshire choose a new MP.

https://twitter.com/DrKirstenJ/status/1156494919353163776?s=20

It would send a huge message to Boris Johnson that people don’t want his cavalier and irresponsible pursuit of the most disastrous option to his country if Jane Dodds were returned as MP.

And, more importantly, it would reduce his parliamentary majority to just one, reducing his scope for harm.

But it’s not just about that. Jane is brilliant. She’s wise and kind and is on a massive mission to fight for rural communities, to eradicate poverty and loneliness. If you need convincing, watch my chat with her here as we had a cup of tea in Llandrindod a couple of weeks ago.

Liberal Democrats from all over the country have been to this stunningly gorgeous part of the world to help Jane win over the past few weeks. The LDV team has notched up about 18 days between us.

Jane has made a final pitch for votes in Politics Home, saying that she would give the rural communities of the constituency their voice back.

Even the most basic of services – taken for granted in more urban areas – are more like luxuries here. Many villages are lucky if they’re served by a bus at all, let alone a service of any useful frequency. The words “fibre optic broadband” are a distant dream to the farming families who are lucky to get anything faster than dial-up. Patients’ hopes of timely medical treatment are dashed the moment the English hospital finds out they have a Welsh postcode.

The people of Brecon and Radnorshire deserve better than this. And as their next MP, I will demand better.

I was born and brought up in Wrexham in a Welsh speaking family. My mother instilled in me from a young age the importance of giving back to your community and making a positive difference to other people’s lives.

I graduated from Cardiff University and trained in social work, and 27 years later I’m still working as a child protection social worker, having worked with vulnerable children both at home and abroad. I hope I made a difference to the families I worked with. But what drove me into politics was realising that to achieve real social justice, you need to change the system.

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Caron Lindsay

A playlist fit for a new leader

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 28th July 2019 - 5:40 pm

Those of us watching the announcement of our new leader last Monday were treated to an excellent playlist while we were waiting for the result to be declared.

Listen here and watch Jo’s fantastic acceptance speech.

The long delay, was, I understand, the wifi in the venue not being quite up to the job of giving us the result instantaneously at the touch of a button. But we got there in the end. And we got to listen to some really good tunes while we waited nervously.

At one point, my son actually came through and said “Why are YOU listening to such cool music?” To be fair, I don’t listen to music that often. I’m mostly into podcasts or Radio 4. However, when I do, my son has to endure my random collection of trash and musical theatre.

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Caron Lindsay

Jo Swinson gives Jeremy Corbyn a lesson in opposing a terrible Government

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 28th July 2019 - 10:32 am

Jo Swinson has had a very effective first six days as Lib Dem Leader. She’s been popping up all over the media and the fact that both Labour and SNP supporters alike have gone for her big time shows that they know she is a massive threat to them.

This morning, viewers of Sophy Ridge on Sunday will have seen Jeremy Corbyn offer his usual tired and hand-wringing approach to Brexit and his less than robust approach to anti-semitism in his party.

Immediately afterwards, they had Jo on. She was clear, engaging and she answered the questions put to her.

Here are some of the highlights:

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Caron Lindsay

Sheffield is a lovely part of the world, and Laura Gordon would be an excellent Lib Dem MP

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 27th July 2019 - 4:40 pm

The Star is reporting that Sheiffield Hallam MP Jared O’Mara is to resign his seat after the parliamentary recess:

The MP, aged 37, said he was ‘not well and in the process of receiving medical help’ and would resign following the MPs’ summer recess, which is due to end on Tuesday, September 3.

Mr O’Mara: “Please let everyone be assured that I will be tendering my resignation via the official Parliamentary process as soon as term restarts.

“I am not in any fit state to continue and nor would that be appropriate if I was. I reiterate my apology to my constituents, the people of Sheffield and the people of the UK as whole.”

This news comes at the end of an extraordinary week in which his chief of staff resigned via O’Mara’s Twitter account, accusing him of “vile, inexcusable contempt” for the voters. This was followed by allegations that he had sexually harassed a young woman on his staff.

He issued a statement yesterday saying that he was struggling with mental health issues and said that he would be making a further statement in a few weeks. However, the Times gives details today of messages sent to the young woman concerned. He also sent some pretty horrible messages to his staff about Lib Dem candidate Laura Gordon.

It’s that Times report that seems to have prompted his statement of intent to resign.

A by-election in Hallam is definitely winnable for us. And Laura is a brilliant candidate. I can definitely feel a trip to the city coming on. However, almost everybody expects there to be a General Election in the Autumn, so it’s possible that either a by-election gets disrupted by the dissolution of Parliament or the by-election doesn’t happen at all. It’ll be Labour who get to decide when to move the writ.

I suspect they may wait a bit. The prospect, as Kevin Lang put it on Twitter, of every Lib Dem in the country descending on Hallam in a by-election will be something that Labour wants to avoid.

Labour have been all over the place on a General Election this week. The spectacle of them having a rally outside Parliament calling for a General Election while, inside the building, refusing to support a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson’s horrific government would have been amusing if the mess we were in wasn’t so serious.

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Caron Lindsay

The Lib Dem Lowdown – Swinson Surge Special

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 26th July 2019 - 10:15 am

Welcome to the thousands of people who have joined the Liberal Democrats this week. The Swinson Surge has seen our total number of members and supporters surpass 120,000. When you think that just 4 years ago, our membership wasn’t much more than 40,000, that is spectacular.

A Lib Dem Lowdown piece would not be complete without a Greg Foster (Lib Dem Head of Membership) GIF.

Though the GIFs are great, he may have to pay some attention to his hashtags.

It’s so great to check Twitter in the morning and see a whole rush of “I just joined the Lib Dems” posts on Twitter.

Some of our newest members are:

The Scottish Lib Dems have a new Councillor:

And he wasn’t the only former Conservative repelled by Boris Johnson. Justine Greening’s former special adviser joined us too.

As a new member – or an old one – the best thing you can do over the next few days is help us win the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election.. See more below in the real ale bit.

You might, by the way, have noticed the wee orange diamonds some people have on their Twitter posts to show that they are Lib Dems. Here’s how to get one:

You basically copy the code from here and then go into your Twitter profile paste it next to your name.

Every so often I roll out this post, which is basically a rehash of an article that I first wrote in May 2015 when many joined the party in the wake of the General Election result. I thought it might be useful to tell you a little bit about how our party works and give you a bit of an idea of the opportunities open to you. If you are not yet a member, if you like what you read, sign up here.

What do we believe?

Before we get into the nitty gritty of organisation, the best statement of who we are and what we’re about can be found in the Preamble to our Constitution which underlines how we believe in freedom, opportunity, diversity,  decentralisation and internationalism. Here’s a snippet:

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives.

We look forward to a world in which all people share the same basic rights, in which they live together in peace and in which their different cultures will be able to develop freely. We believe that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet and, by safeguarding the balance of nature and the environment, for the long term continuity of life in all its forms. Upholding these values of individual and social justice, we reject allprejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation and oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality.

We have a fierce respect for individuality, with no expectation that fellow Liberal Democrats will agree with us on every issue. We expect our views to be challenged and feel free to challenge others without rancour. We can have a robust debate and head to the pub afterwards, the very best of friends.

Obviously, our priority at the moment is to stop Brexit, but there is so much more to us than that. That bit about no-one being enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity shapes everything that we do.

Your rights as a member

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Caron Lindsay

A double Lib Dem GAIN in Gloucester

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 26th July 2019 - 7:41 am

Good news to wake up to this morning. The Liberal Democrats have gained not one but TWO Council seats in Gloucester – one each from Labour and the Conservatives. The one from Labour was proper knife edge stuff. Not between us and Labour, who absolutely tanked because, you know, what is the point of them these days? We won by three votes from the Conservatives.

There was a nail biting recount in Podsmead where Sebastian Field triumphed and Ashley Bowkett won in Barnwood.

Here are the changes from last time:

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Caron Lindsay

A peek into Jane Dodds’ Llandrindod Wells office

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 25th July 2019 - 6:35 pm

This time last week, I was delivering leaflets in Llandrindod Wells. I would love to go back, but family circumstances make it impossible before the by-election next Thursday.

So, it would be really great if someone would go in my place. Or even if lots of people went in my place. They really need to talk to as many people as possible. The little conversations you have with people can answer their questions and move them from potentially not voting or voting for someone else, to voting for Jane. And Jane is definitely worth voting for.

I want to see someone with her wisdom and kindness on our benches. She is so committed to tackling poverty, inequality and loneliness – as well as getting better health and transport services and better connectivity in this huge and gorgeous rural constituency. Catch up with the chat I had with her here.

If you do head to Brecon you will meet some lovely people. Here is the team at work in the Llandrindod Wells office last Sunday..

Every time the shelves look like they are getting empty, they fill up again.

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Caron Lindsay

Perfectly pitched – Jo’s first PMQ

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th July 2019 - 10:37 pm

It’s quite difficult to find the right words for your first appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions. But when your debut coincides with the departure of the Prime Minister, it’s even tougher.

You don’t want to be too attacking given that the person you are questioning has just been forced out of office, even if she has been responsible for the hostile environment.

What Jo managed with this question was to land blows Boris, who she’s said consistently is not fit to be PM and to give May the opportunity to attack Labour for being the only party not to have had a woman leader.

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Caron Lindsay

LDV talks to….Jane Dodds

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th July 2019 - 11:54 am

Last Saturday, I caught up with our wonderful Brecon and Radnorshire candidate Jane Dodds.

We talked about her campaign, her message to Plaid Cymru and Green voters and what she wanted to achieve for the area. Enjoy.

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Caron Lindsay

The Swinson Surge is under way

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 10:22 pm

So we’re gaining more new members and supporters on the back of Jo Swinson’s compelling speech just after she was elected leader.

1200 by the time she made her rally speech three hours later.

Here’s a selection:

https://twitter.com/marcmulligan/status/1153332067922534400?s=20

https://twitter.com/NEnchants/status/1153215124838264833?s=20

If you are wondering what we mean, watch her speech here.

 

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Caron Lindsay

WATCH LIVE: Jo Swinson’s first rally

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 7:45 pm

Liberal Democrats are gathering in London to welcome Jo Swinson as leader at a rally. Watch it live here.

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Caron Lindsay

In full: Jo Swinson’s first speech as Lib Dem Leader: Don’t just shout at the television, join us and transform our country

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 6:00 pm

Text below:

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Caron Lindsay

And our new leader is…….Jo Swinson

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 4:24 pm

 

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Caron Lindsay

Cheers, Vince

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 3:27 pm

His successor will be announced soon, but we really need to say a massive thank you to Vince for the work he has done over the past two years.

He took on a party which was not in the best place. He leaves a party which is rejuvenated, united, determined, confident and has given up equivocation and nuance in favour of a give zero hoots attitude that has paid dividends in terms of the number of members, councillors and MEPs we have.

I have had my disagreements with Vince during his time as leader. I felt that the emphasis on a supporters’ scheme was misplaced when what we actually needed to be doing was to tell our story better. But he did take the time to seek out views in the party and listen to people. Leaders are always going to do stuff that activists don’t like. It goes with the territory. Whoever wins today is going to annoy me at some point – and one of the candidates has been a really good friend for the best part of two decades.

Vince has consistently been the grown up of British politics for way beyond these past two years to be honest. He knows everything and everybody and has been essential in developing the cross party working that’s been going on over Brexit. He has laid the foundations for collaboration that could put paid to this Brexit disaster once and for all. And it is his strong friendship with Chuka Umunna, forged in the years they faced each other at the Dispatch Box when Vince was Business Secretary, that facilitated Chuka joining us.

And he has been really clear about the behaviour we will not tolerate in the Lib Dems. Last Summer he wrote that bigots of any kind are not welcome in our party:

The lazy use of group stereotypes should be unacceptable to us all. But we must not be blind to the fact that these issues affect our party as well.

The Liberal Democrats have always been at the forefront of the fight for equality, and we have a record on these issues of which we’re very proud.

But sadly, the truth is that a very small minority of our own members do hold some views that are fundamentally incompatible with our values.

Our party’s constitution is clear:

We reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation and oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality.

As a liberal, I respect people’s rights to hold different views to my own, but my message to everyone is that racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, sexism, transphobia and bigotry are not welcome, and not tolerated, in the Liberal Democrats.

We should also say thank you to his wife, Rachel Smith, who has travelled the length and breadth of the country with him. Being a leader’s spouse is not an easy job.

On a lighter note of my favourite Vince moments was when he turned up at Not the Leaders’s Speech in Bournemouth in 2017. In a tradition dating back to the coalition years, certain of the Awkward Squad don’t bother with the Leader’s Speech at Conference. They gather in a hostelry and watch it on Twitter, working out at which point they would have walked out had they been in the hall. To be fair, the potential for walking out has significantly reduced in recent years, but anyway. It turned out that following a motion on pubs, a photo-op had been arranged with Vince for after his speech. In the same pub as NTLS.

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Caron Lindsay

Spring Conference is to take place in York

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 2:36 pm

Next year’s Spring Conference will take place in York from Friday 13th – Sunday 15th March. Federal Conference made the announcement a short while ago just to give us something to think about while we wait for the leadership  election result.

York for me is a perfect venue for Spring Conference. It’s easy to get to, gorgeous, has some excellent pubs and restaurants and a Lib Dem council to boot.

I don’t know about you, but the hour and a half since 1pm has felt like seven years.

Only an hour and 29 minutes to go…… 

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Caron Lindsay

Caron’s Brecon Diary 3

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 22nd July 2019 - 10:40 am

The reason you are getting this today and not yesterday is that I came across a problem faced by many voters in rural Wales – no wifi and not even a 4G signal. A good job that Jane Dodds is campaigning for better connectivity.

Saturday started with a quick coffee with Jane. We did film an interview, but for some reason I can’t upload it so I will have to find someone clever to help me. It looks amazing on my phone, though.

Jane also caught up with Margaret, at her first by-election after 60 years in the party and who had spent Friday in the pouring rain delivering letters to postal voters in Rhayader.

Saturday was a bit dreich, as we Scots would say. Not as rainy as Friday but grey and damp. However there was some optimism in the Llandrindod HQ…

Actually, by the end of the day, the sun was shining, so it wasn’t misplaced.

I then went out with Jane, her aide Benny, John Dryden from Sheffield, Wendy Chamberlain, our wonderful PPC for the most marginal seat in the country, North East Fife, her organiser Celyn and the Chair of Scottish Lib Dem Women Ruth McElroy to canvass some gloriously beautiful villages.

Jane is so keen to get out to these places. She wants them to feel that they have been listened to and that she has made the effort to get there. She will continue to do that if she is elected as an MP. We started off in Llanbister and then headed to Felindre and Beguildy.

These conversations with voters matter so much. I spoke to a so many people over the weekend who were disposed to voting for Jane but there was a barrier in the way. For example, one man was concerned that stopping Brexit wasn’t democratic, even though he wanted that to happen. When I explained how we would do it through a People’s Vote, that barrier to him voting for Jane was removed. So we need to speak to as many people as possible to ensure that we get her over the line.

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Caron Lindsay

Caron’s Brecon and Radnorshire Diary – Day 2

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 20th July 2019 - 7:40 am

I woke yesterday morning to heavy rain. Knowing that the jacket I had bought was not up to the job, I headed to the local charity shops to see if I could find something better.

I had almost given up hope when I found something perfect – for a fiver! I am not an outdoorsy type so I didn’t realise that I had got an absolute bargain until Pete Roberts, who is running the Llandrindod office, pointed it out as he sent me off with some letters to deliver.

Once those were done, I was sent off with a wonderful lady called Margaret from Cheadle to deliver in the gorgeous town of Rhayader. Round every corner and up every hill (and there are a lot of hills), is another view that brings joy, even in the rain.

Margaret told me that this was her first by-election. She joined the party shortly after arriving at Edinburgh University to study medicine sixty years ago. She saw a poster saying “What do Liberals believe?” and thought she might like to find out.

A young man was speaking at the meeting about how we should have more co-operation with our European friends and look after the environment. We are nothing if not consistent. Margaret liked the sound of that and signed up on the spot.

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Caron Lindsay

A Lib Dem GAIN, three strong Holds, and a leap forward

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 19th July 2019 - 7:49 am

There have been six by-elections this week, and five have seen fantastic performances from the Lib Dems.

Last night’s big news was a stonking gain in Daventry. Wow, Cllr Jonathan Carter!

In Cardiff in a rare Tuesday by-election, we held a seat in style.  Congratulations to Rob Hopkins and team.

Another good hold in Wiltshire for Carole King

And in East Sheen in Richmond, Julia Cambridge gained almost 13% in a brilliant hold.

And in Ceredigion we took a good chunk out of Plaid’s majority. Michael Chappell did a great job!

Thanks to Adrian Gee-Turner for flying the flag in more difficult circumstances.

All  in all, a …

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Caron Lindsay

Caron’s Brecon and Radnorshire diary

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 18th July 2019 - 10:20 pm

Today started at 6 am when I dragged myself out of bed and headed to Edinburgh Airport for the first leg of my journey to Brecon and Radnorshire.

The flight to Cardiff (yes, I know, but train was twice the price and I don’t do it very often) was uneventful. When I realised the airport bus went to Cardiff Bay, I decided to take a wee detour.

 

It’s remarkable to think that this shrine to a fictional character still exists ten years after the events in the chilling Torchwood: Children of Earth.

i decided to take a boat trip back to the centre of Cardiff just so I could say that I had been on plane, train, bus, automobile and boat.

 

 But it was all going too well. When I got to Cardiff Central station I found that my train had been cancelled and the next one would get me to Llandrindod Wells at 8pm.in

However the nice people at Transport for Wales arranged for me to travel to Shrewsbury and then get a taxi with some others who had been similarly delayed.

I got thanks to a very pleasant Shrewsbury taxi driver called Wayne, not much later than planned. After booking into my hotel, which had been chosen for its cheapness alone but turned out to be across the road from the station and 6 minutes walk from HQ, I headed to our office.

 

It transpires  the building where where we are hosting our by-election campaign is replete with Lib Dem lore. Previous MPs  Roger Williams and Richard Livsey had used it as their base. Their photos and that of current AM Kirsty Williams.

Let’s hope that they are soon joined by Jane Dodds.

After some delivery I had the most delicious meal. It was the fish curry on the menu at Nasra and Fabian Veiyra’s restaurant Fabian’s Kitchen that got me through the door. The artwork on the walls is bold and beautiful and there is even a Naughty Corner.

The fish curry was beautiful – aniseedy and coconutty and deep. I didn’t much care for the chut

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Caron Lindsay

Liz Jarvis on gaining the confidence to stand as a parliamentary candidate

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 18th July 2019 - 8:55 am

This weekend, a group of Lib Dem women will gather in a hotel in Milton Keynes for a weekend which, for some if not all of them, could be life-changing.

The third Future Women MPs weekend in the last year or so takes place. I remember going on a weekend like that back in the 90s and I made friends for life as well as learned valuable skills.

Caroline Voaden, now an MEP, went on one of these events last year along with a load of young Scottish women.

As this takes place, Liz Jarvis, a London writer who joined us last year after a lifetime of supporting Labour, has written for The Parliament Project about her experience in the party and how a Parliament Project initiative helped her develop the confidence to stand:

Through Lib Dem Women I found a mentor from the party’s Campaign for Gender Balance; she was incredibly encouraging and gave me lots of invaluable support and advice for what I needed to do to achieve my goal of becoming an approved parliamentary candidate. She also helped me see that my imagined barriers to standing – my age, the fact I haven’t been a career politician – could actually be turned into positives. I also discovered the Parliament Project via Twitter, and was thrilled when I was accepted on to the 12 week online Peer Support Circles at the start of January.

The sessions were every fortnight, which was manageable, and I loved ‘meeting’ the other women and sharing our political journeys, as well as the assignments we were given, which were fun and challenging. Each session felt as though we were making progress and exchanging ideas and experiences was incredibly rewarding.

And it’s helped her on her journey in the Lib Dems:

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Caron Lindsay

Beatrice Wishart will fight Shetland by-election for the Scottish Lib Dems

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 14th July 2019 - 2:37 pm


The Scottish Liberal Democrats have today announced Cllr Beatrice Wishart has been selected as the parliamentary candidate for Shetland.

I am absolutely delighted at this news. As Alistair Carmichael’s caseworker and as a local councillor, Beatrice knows exactly what she needs to do to improve people’s lives in Shetland. I’ve known her for the better part of 20 years and think she would be a fantastic MSP.

Beatrice is the Depute Convener of Shetland Islands Council,  a trustee of Women’s Aid in Shetland and an active campaigner for the State Pension rights of women born in the 1950s.

Beatrice said:

I am thrilled to be standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Shetland. I’ve lived and worked in Shetland most of my life and I’m keenly aware of the issues that need to be addressed.

Islanders want to see fair funding for our ferries, more NHS services provided at home in Shetland, swift improvements to broadband coverage and all nurseries being given the resources and support they need to increase the amount of childcare available in our communities.

I will be a tireless champion for Shetland. It’s an honour to be given the opportunity to stand to represent my home.

She was endorsed by outgoing MSP Tavish Scott:

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Caron Lindsay

Biscuits in Brecon….

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 13th July 2019 - 8:07 pm

This weekend, Liberal Democrats have been flocking to help Jane Dodds win Brecon and Radnorshire for the Liberal Democrats.

This time next week, I’ll be there. I am so excited because I have never been out of Cardiff before and I’m so looking forward to seeing more of Wales.

Here are just some of the people who have been helping.

Cambridge PPC Rod Cantrill said:

Great to be back again in Brecon with two car loads of activists from Cambridge door knocking for Jane Dodds on the Brecon Ro(a)d trip!

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s wife Gill may well be annoyed that they decided a long time ago to go to Wales for their Summer holiday. Alex made his second trip today and found two more Lib Dem parliamentarians to play with:

And he revealed that he has some family history in the area.

Amid reports of copious supplies of cake, Lib Dem Friends of Biscuits hit back in style:

And Dominic Buxton gives us a glimpse of how gorgeous it is there:

https://twitter.com/MrDominicBuxton/status/1150041195906818051

I don’t see any canvassing going on here…

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Caron Lindsay

Response to Nick Harvey “inside leg” comment shows Party has made some progress

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 13th July 2019 - 1:28 pm

Last Sunday morning, I almost choked on my tea when I read something Nick Harvey had written in an article remembering Paddy Ashdown in the party’s Ad Lib members’ magazine. Nick had included an anecdote that was undeniably sexist. Nobody needed to know about his inside leg measurement at all, let alone who had measured ti. The rest of the article had some lovely memories of the Paddy we all know and love, but this was beyond the pale.

So I wrote Nick an email that, when I read it back later, was much ruder than I intended.

I was not the only one who sent him similar messages.

Even three or four years ago, anyone complaining about that sort of thing would have been basically told that they should grow a sense of humour.

What actually happened is that Nick emailed back a few minutes later very sincerely acknowledging his mistake. The offending anecdote was pretty quickly removed from the online edition of Ad Lib and an apology from Nick put in its place.

This story has now made its way into today’s Times (£).

It is also really encouraging that both leadership candidates gave quotes to the Times which were unequivocal in saying that this shouldn’t have been published and committing to making a more inclusive party.

Jo said:

These comments are totally unacceptable and it is right that Nick has apologised for them. We need to build an inclusive culture in the party to show that we can represent modern Britain, and comments like this make it harder to show we are a welcoming party.

And Ed said that the remarks were inappropriate:

Sir Ed Davey, the other candidate in the race to be party leader, said that the remarks were highly inappropriate. Sexism was a scourge on society that too many women still faced daily, he said, and those in leadership positions had to be held to the “highest standards”.

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Caron Lindsay

Grey areas: Norman Lamb describes the nightmare ordeal of a family over Mum’s death

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 13th July 2019 - 9:18 am

This weekend we are publishing the speeches of Lib Dem MPs in the recent debate on assisted dying.

Norman Lamb described at length the nightmare a family went through as doctors and police reacted to their terminally ill mother’s attempt at suicide.

It brings home the reality of the issues people face.

Should we really be putting grieving relatives through police interrogations? As Norman says, this family’s experience shows the need for a change in the law.

It was a pleasure to join the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles) in applying for this debate. I want to use my time to tell the stories of two constituents. The first is Vonnie Daykin, who has come to Parliament today to hear the debate. She has talked about how she witnessed her uncle and her father die of Parkinson’s and her mother die of motor neurone disease. She says that her mother went through living hell, but ultimately had no choice and was forced to suffer “until the bitter end”.

I also want to spend a little time quoting my constituent, Zoe Marley. Her words deserve to be heard in Parliament, so if I may, I will quote from an email that she sent me. She says:

“In January 2018 my mum Judith Marley was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer…She had nursed her own mother with cancer and had seen numerous ‘bad’ deaths. From the outset, she announced that she would not let the cancer do its worst, but would formulate a plan to escape the terror. No matter how marvellous the palliative care, she didn’t want it.”

That is her right, incidentally.

“She was a very private person; her death should have been a private affair instead of the circus that it became. On a warm July afternoon in 2018, she took a framed picture of her mum, a bottle of Drambuie and approximately 70 sleeping pills into the garden and in this most cherished place, she proceeded to attempt to take her life.”

After some considerable time, her daughter found her there; she had not died and then started to come round. Zoe was then placed into an impossibly invidious position, not knowing whether to call an ambulance. Her mother had already given her lasting power of attorney and did not want resuscitation—her legal right. Ultimately, however, because of the impossible situation that her daughter was in, she had to call an ambulance. Zoe says:

“Her wishes to stay at home and not be admitted to hospital were my priority as her LPA. But was I technically assisting her suicide? My lack of action could be considered supporting a suicide. I was terrified of the consequences of my inactivity. We waited but no change, the day was cooling down and I wanted her to be comfortable.”

In the end, an ambulance was called, and a doctor also attended.

Zoe writes:

“The doctor was unsympathetic. He said he had spoken to an on-call psychiatrist and that he was within his rights to call the police so they could take her to hospital. He was threatening and arrogant, telling me if Mum died there would be a police investigation and she would have a full autopsy. It all made me sick to my stomach. All this time my beautiful Mum laid outside while my ​daughter held her hand. I had somehow found myself embroiled with a medical team that had no understanding of how to interpret the law. The doctor called the police and three officers arrived. I have never had the police come to my door. It was demeaning and frightening. Once again I showed them my Mum’s paperwork and begged them to bring her inside. They seemed unsure of what to do, the expression ‘grey area’ was used a lot.”

To answer the point of the hon. Member for Cleethorpes (Martin Vickers), grey areas cause enormous distress, as in this case. Zoe continues:

“After much confusion they insisted they take Mum to hospital. I was now indignant and focused on what Mum wanted. I made it very clear I would obstruct them. I felt everyone was ‘trying to cover their backs’ which meant disregarding my Mum’s wishes.

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Caron Lindsay

Ed and Jo talk to the Electoral Reform Society

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 12th July 2019 - 11:55 am

The Electoral Reform Society has been talking to both our leadership candidates about their plans for constitutional and political reform.

We are delighted to publish their interviews with their permission.

Here’s Ed’s

The transcript is available here. 

And Jo’s

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Caron Lindsay

Amazing Lib Dem GAIN in Bridlington

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 12th July 2019 - 12:19 am

News to make you smile a lot! Incredible Lib Dem gain in Bridlington North tonight.

Lib Dem Mike Heslop-Mullens 1308

Cons 815

Yorkshire Party 349

Ind 259

UKIP 196

Lab 135

 

Change from 2 May

Lib Dem +43%

Cons -44%

Lab -25%

This is an incredible result in an area that voted very strongly to leave the EU.

Hearty congratulations to Mike and the East Riding team.

There was a bit of a Lib Dem surge in the only other council by-election, too.

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Caron Lindsay

Ed Davey goes to Brecon to campaign for Jane Dodds

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th July 2019 - 7:50 pm

It was Ed Davey’s turn to head for Brecon and Radnorshire today.

He met Jane Dodds in what looks like a gorgeous town, Crickhowell.

And he visited a zero waste shop:

And encouraged us all to do the same:

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Caron Lindsay

Jo Swinson’s tour of Brecon and Radnorshire’s by-election HQ

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th July 2019 - 7:41 pm

Jo Swinson headed to Brecon again today to help Jane Dodds campaign.

Here’s her whistle stop tour of the busy looking by-election HQ. As you would expect, there are lots of leaflets and cake.

And someone on his very first Lib Dem by-election campaign. And that someone looks incredibly comfortable and on message.

The point, really, is to persuade people to go.
I remember how much it meant to us in Dunfermline in the middle of Winter back in 2006 when what seemed like the entire party turned up to put in a shift or several. We were able to deliver that winning campaign because we had the help.
Jane Dodds is an incredibly talented and experienced MP. We need someone with her background on our benches. I’m going there a week on Thursday for 3 days because I want to see her in the House of Commons.
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Caron Lindsay

Ed and Jo answer Lib Dem Immigrants’ questions

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th July 2019 - 4:00 pm

As the hostile environment continues to ruin lives, Lib Dem Immigrants posed questions to the leadership  candidates.

Here are their answers.

Q1:  If Brexit happens, what should the voting eligibility of resident (non-Commonwealth, non-Irish) EU citizens be? What about resident citizens of other (non-Commonwealth) countries?

Jo:I believe that it makes no sense to withhold voting rights from people who live, work, and have settled in the United Kingdom. We saw in the Euro elections this May the impact of having a double standard of voting eligibility – councils unable to administer the system and people unaware that they weren’t going to be able to vote. To add insult to injury, the idea that people born outside the Commonwealth don’t have a vote simply because they weren’t once taken over by Britain as part of the Empire, is outdated and completely unfair. Put simply – I believe that if you’re living in this country long term, you should be able to vote.

Ed:
• the voting eligibility of resident EU citizens (I presume you mean people who have permanent residency rights) should be full, i.e., all elections.
• to widen the franchise to give voting rights to non-EU, non-Commonwealth citizens, would be a major departure. Nonetheless, I would be very keen to do it for local elections, but would want to consult widely before giving voting rights for national elections.


Q2: The party is committed to reducing visa fees to the cost of administration. What other steps could we take to stop visa regulations tormenting immigrants? For example, how could we make work visas less of a barrier to career progression?
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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems say Bollocks to Homophobia and Transphobia at London Pride

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th July 2019 - 1:00 pm

The first time I came across Pride in London was in 1992 and I was thoroughly captivated by the joyful and bright display.

Yesterday, Liberal Democrats gathered to celebrate the LGBT+ movement 50 years after the Stonewall riot. We were part of a huge and diverse march.

Brian Paddiick won the brilliant t-shirt competition

And new MEP Luisa Porritt had the best hat.

Both leadership candidates were there and very much in the spirit of things:

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