Author Archives: Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon

Internal Party Elections – Round 2

By Tim Gordon | Tue 17th January 2017 - 11:01 am

This weekend the Federal Board met for the first time. It was great to have such a mix of new talent and experience to drive the party forward.

You may have noticed during the elections to Party committees late last year that there would be a second round of elections to some of our more specialised party committees, not least the Federal People Development Committee and the Federal Finance and Resources Committee.

While all members are invited to seek nominations to these committees (and a variety of other individual posts – see here for details), due to the specialised nature of these …

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes….Announcing the internal election results

By Tim Gordon | Sat 17th December 2016 - 3:04 pm

Today is a historic day for our Party – we have now completed the first ever set of internal elections for Party Committees under One Member One Vote, and with the most progressive set of diversity criteria used by any political party.

I am proud to say that members overwhelmingly made choices in line with the diversity quotas passed at Conference, with more women than men elected to the Federal Board, for example. The full results can be found here. Many congratulations to all the successful candidates, and I sincerely hope that those who were unsuccessful will continue to contribute …

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Tim Gordon

Federal Committee elections – voting instructions to be dispatched this week

By Tim Gordon | Mon 21st November 2016 - 7:00 pm

Nominations have now closed for elections to Federal Committees, and I’m pleased to say that members have responded extremely well to the call for nominations. There’s a great set of candidates for positions on our Federal Committees, and I would encourage you to read through their manifestos before deciding who to vote for. Manifestos will be made available online as part of the voting website once voting opens.

Voting instructions are being dispatched in the post and should arrive this week. The deliveries are staggered, so some members may receive their voting instructions earlier in the week than others, so don’t …

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes…REMINDER that nominations close for party internal elections on 2 November

By Tim Gordon | Sun 30th October 2016 - 2:21 pm

From one by-election we run straight into another, with Richmond Park getting off the ground as a result of the Government’s decision on Heathrow expansion. It is absolutely vital that we all contribute to the campaign as early as we possibly can to keep up the momentum from Witney.

In the midst of the excitement for a second by-election in a matter of weeks you may however have missed that the deadline for nominations for internal elections to our Party’s Committees is fast approaching. Nominations close on Wednesday 2 November at 12 noon.

As a reminder there are four committees up for election: the Federal Board, the Federal Conference Committee, the Federal Policy Committee and the Federal International Relations Committee. In addition, a number of spaces are available for members to represent the party within our Delegation to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). The position of Party President is also up for election this year. 

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes….Reminder that nominations close for party internal elections on 2 November

By Tim Gordon | Thu 27th October 2016 - 9:00 am

From one by-election we run straight into another, with Richmond Park getting off the ground as a result of the Government’s decision on Heathrow expansion. It is absolutely vital that we all contribute to the campaign as early as we possibly can to keep up the momentum from Witney.

In the midst of the excitement for a second by-election in a matter of weeks you may however have missed that the deadline for nominations for internal elections to our Party’s Committees is fast approaching. Nominations close on Wednesday 2 November at 12 noon.

As a reminder there are four committees up for election: the Federal Board, the Federal Conference Committee, the Federal Policy Committee and the Federal International Relations Committee. In addition, a number of spaces are available for members to represent the party within our Delegation to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). The position of Party President is also up for election this year. 

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Tim Gordon

REPRISE: Tim Gordon writes…Elections for party committees now underway

By Tim Gordon | Sun 16th October 2016 - 1:50 pm

I know that many of you will rightly be focused on the positive by-election campaign that we are currently running in Witney so you might have missed that internal elections to our Party’s Committees are now underway. Nominations opened last Wednesday. This is the biggest exercise in internal party democracy which the Party has undertaken in decades, following the implementation of One Member One Vote. For the first time, every member is allowed to vote for committee members and any member who receives the required nominations can stand for election.

There are four committees up for election: the Federal Board, the Federal Conference Committee, the Federal Policy Committee and the Federal International Relations Committee. In addition, a number of spaces are available for members to represent the party within our Delegation to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). The position of Party President is also up for election this year.

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes…Elections for Party’s Committees now underway

By Tim Gordon | Fri 7th October 2016 - 7:00 pm

I know that many of you will rightly be focused on the positive by-election campaign that we are currently running in Witney so you might have missed that internal elections to our Party’s Committees are now underway. Nominations opened last Wednesday. This is the biggest exercise in internal party democracy which the Party has undertaken in decades, following the implementation of One Member One Vote. For the first time, every member is allowed to vote for committee members and any member who receives the required nominations can stand for election.

There are four committees up for election: the Federal Board, the Federal Conference Committee, the Federal Policy Committee and the Federal International Relations Committee. In addition, a number of spaces are available for members to represent the party within our Delegation to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). The position of Party President is also up for election this year.

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Tim Gordon

Update on Helena Morrissey’s review – deadline extended till 12 April

By Tim Gordon | Fri 5th April 2013 - 7:17 pm

Today has been set as the final day for people to submit written evidence to Helena Morrissey’s Independent Review on harassment.  However, because of holidays for many this week the deadline is being extended by a further week, until next Friday April 12th, to ensure that everyone has the chance to make their submissions.

I would therefore encourage anyone who feels they may have information which may help or be relevant to the independent review, to email today, even if it is just a holding note with detail to follow.

You can email Helena Morrissey directly at [email protected]. Only Helena has …

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Tim Gordon

Update on Party response to allegations of sexual impropriety

By Tim Gordon | Fri 8th March 2013 - 4:09 pm

The Liberal Democrats have today announced that Helena Morrissey has been appointed as the chair of the independent inquiry into culture, process and complaints within the Liberal Democrats.

The review will also look at attitudes towards women in the party, as well as the employment relationship between staff, elected officials and volunteers; training; and how to lead a wider change in Westminster.

Helena Morrissey has been a leading light in promoting women and breaking barriers as CEO of Newton Asset Management and Founder of the 30% Club, a cross-business initiative aimed at achieving 30% women on UK corporate boards by 2015. I …

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Tim Gordon

Lord Rennard allegations: the processes now in place

By Tim Gordon | Sat 2nd March 2013 - 3:25 pm

I want to keep you informed on where we stand in the various processes that have started following the allegations against Lord Rennard.

There are now three processes in place:

  • Inquiries by the Metropolitan Police to ascertain whether criminal activity might have taken place. This is still at an early stage and there is no set time limit on when they must decide whether or not a criminal investigation should take place.
  • An internal investigation by the Party, headed by Alistair Webster QC, to establish whether disciplinary action under the Party’s rules is due. This whole process must take no

…

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Tim Gordon

Update on the Party’s processes following the allegations concerning the conduct of Lord Rennard

By Tim Gordon | Mon 25th February 2013 - 5:03 pm

I want to update you on three developments to the processes I outlined in my post on Saturday.

Arrangements for victims and witnesses to come forward

Firstly, we have sought the assistance of Public Concern at Work, the UK’s leading whistle-blowing authority, to ensure that the whistle-blowing arrangement is sufficiently independent to provide the required support to those wishing to come forward in relation to the alleged behaviour of Lord Rennard.

Public Concern at Work have agreed to take over the role, temporarily filled by Kate Parminter, as the main point of contact for anyone wishing to come forward with further allegations or information.

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Tim Gordon

Allegations regarding the conduct of Lord Rennard and the Party’s response

By Tim Gordon | Sat 23rd February 2013 - 3:01 pm

Many of you will have seen and heard the various media reports alleging serious misconduct by Lord Rennard while he was Chief Executive of the Party and pointing to a failure of the Party more widely to adequately deal with complaints made about this behaviour. It appears that we did not fully live up to our political ideals, and I regret that.

I want to assure you that the Party, and I as Chief Executive, are taking these questions very seriously – both as regards the specific allegations that were made, but also about the Party’s procedures for handling complaints …

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes… Gearing up for the next General Election

By Tim Gordon | Wed 17th October 2012 - 4:04 pm

With Paddy’s appointment as Chair of the General Election Campaign, an imminent start to the 2015 manifesto process, and clarity on the GE electoral boundaries, the party has very clearly entered a new strategic phase. This requires an organisational shift to ensure that we are focused on both the 2015 General Election task ahead, as well as the series of vital elections before then.

There were five key priorities for Liberal Democrat Headquarters (LDHQ) to consider when approaching the

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes… Feedback from the members’ survey

By Tim Gordon | Sat 22nd September 2012 - 8:14 pm

Earlier this month I launched a national Members’ Survey, which went out to all members currently on the Party’s email list. Given that a previous survey told us very clearly that members want to be surveyed more it is perhaps no surprise that we had a great response rate.

As well as the multiple choice responses, we had hundreds of more detailed comments letting us know exactly what you think about the party strategy, policy and your experience of being a member. This information is invaluable and I have already presented your views to Nick Clegg, key Ministers and our MPs.

The …

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Tim Gordon

Opinion: State funding of political parties would lead to creeping centralisation

By Tim Gordon | Fri 8th December 2006 - 2:28 pm

MoneyRunning local parties must be one of the least lauded jobs in Britain.

Its hard work. There are (rightly) increasing numbers of checks (especially on the money), some with potential legal implications. Its not as glamorous as being a Councillor, and there is no allowance attached. And if you’re a Tory, there’s a high chance that CCHQ will come down on you if you misbehave and do something terrible like select a popular local candidate.

I was reminded of this when I attended the London New Local Party Officer training. I was impressed by both the calibre of the trainers – in the case of Treasurers the estimable David Allworthy – and the enthusiasm of the various participants (its still early days!).

Ultimately getting good local party Execs is critical to both the ability of a party to campaign -but also to the political health of the UK as a whole. They are the ones who sweat to make things happen, who ensure that the right candidates get selected to (ultimately) run the country and whose day-to-day activity keeps the whole democracy show on the road. And these are often the same community-minded people who might also run a local charity or the village fete.

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