Author Archives: Mary Reid

Mary Reid

Mary Reid on Nick’s first 100 days

By Mary Reid | Thu 27th March 2008 - 8:55 pm

Just before we knew who our new Leader would be, I wrote one of the pieces on Lib Dem Voice giving him some advice for the first 100 days.

I said:

We all know that our real power base is in local government. And it is here that some of the most interesting initiatives in community politics are being played out by Lib Dem run councils.

So I want to challenge the new leader to capitalise on our distinctive style of leadership out beyond Westminster. He could begin by a fact-finding tour of the country, and, guided by local knowledge, align himself

…

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Posted in Leadership Election and Op-eds | Leave a comment
Mary Reid

Nominate your International ePolitician

By Mary Reid | Mon 21st January 2008 - 10:53 am

I have a dream that the International ePolitician Award will go to a Brit, and a Lib Dem at that.

Since I am involved with ICELE, which is sponsoring the awards, I can’t nominate anyone. The rest of you have got until next Wednesday to do the right thing.

To quote:

ePolitician – making a difference on the ground
This award will be given to the politician who can demonstrate how, by engaging online, they have made a difference to their electorate, and how online engagement has improved local people’s lives.

You can nominate any elected representative, or if you are one, you can …

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Posted in Online politics | Leave a comment
Mary Reid

Opinion: What should the new leader do in his first 100 days? #4

By Mary Reid | Tue 18th December 2007 - 8:55 am

We all know that our real power base is in local government. And it is here that some of the most interesting initiatives in community politics are being played out by Lib Dem run councils.

So I want to challenge the new leader to capitalise on our distinctive style of leadership out beyond Westminster.

He could begin by a fact-finding tour of the country, and, guided by local knowledge, align himself with the greenest or most citizen-centric initiatives that have been introduced by our councillors. Each one will be accompanied by a challenge to the other parties to show whether they have …

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Posted in Leadership Election and Op-eds | Tagged | 7 Comments
Mary Reid

Opinion: Bring back the suppressed blogs

By Mary Reid | Sun 23rd September 2007 - 12:42 pm

I was pretty shocked to learn, via Colin Ross’s blog this morning, that a councillor’s blog has been taken down. In fact, his webhost has been shut down as a result of an international legal action which had nothing at all to do with him.

Bob Piper is a Labour councillor in Sandwell and I have dipped into his feisty blog from time to time. It’s just the kind of campaigning local blog that councillors should be doing; it keeps democracy alive and lively, and I value that even when I disagree with what he writes.

The story revolves around …

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Posted in Op-eds | 5 Comments
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