Author Archives: Jayne McCoy

How do we make liberalism relevant to the disenfranchised leave voters?

By Jayne McCoy | Mon 27th June 2016 - 6:28 pm

I think we are agreed now that the EU referendum result was not a vote to leave the EU at all, but a howl of protest from the people of Britain that feel left out of the prosperity that predominately benefits the south east, and fearful of the changes affecting their communities.

It feels that we are not a liberal country after all. It makes me extremely sad to realise this, and will lead others to question the relevance of our Party.

But if we dig deep into the basic principles and aims of our Party we will see that we are more relevant than we have ever been. It is poverty and lack of opportunity that harnesses swathes of our society to a yoke of resentment and fear ploughing a furrow for lies and misinformation that grow into a forest cutting them off from truth and the liberal world. It is this very poverty and ignorance that our Party seeks to address: no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We are a divided, unequal Britain and the Party aims to deliver equality for all. It is therefore incumbent upon us not just to represent the liberal-thinking 48%, but to take up the fight on behalf of the disenfranchised before UKIP step in to represent them.

The difficult question is how do we do that? I do not claim to have the answers, but some thoughts based on local experience (in a strong liberal borough that voted to leave!?) have started to form as I work through the shock of the referendum result.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 38 Comments

Opinion: Supporting local businesses – the Sutton story

By Jayne McCoy | Mon 5th November 2012 - 12:23 pm

In Sutton we have supported our high streets by investing in them. This strategic commitment has not only helped businesses to survive the recession and thrive, it has stimulated additional private investment which has helped to further unlock potential.

Our first project was the refurbishment of our main town centre in Sutton, initiated before the recession took hold, out of the London Mayor’s Great Spaces scheme. This was not an unqualified success as there were issues around implementation and design, which lost resident buy-in. However, it has succeeded in improving the area. Most importantly it was welcomed by the town centre businesses, who appreciated our