Author Archives: Mary Reid

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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