Author Archives: Michael Beckett

The vision for a Liberal Britain needs to be ours!

Your Liberal BritainAs a dyslexic, I am probably not the best person to write anything as others are often much more gifted and fluent with the written word than me. As someone educated at a comprehensive school, I’ve enjoyed the benefits of a fairly well rounded education. As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I have gone through some struggles, and I know I am not the only one who has had to overcome impediments in order to cope with life. I really appreciate those who, for whatever reason, have had barriers (that I know in a truly Liberal Britain wouldn’t be in their way), and have been able to overcome and unlock their potential.

So many people in the Liberal Democrats have stories of overcoming adversity and making a difference. I believe that this is why many of us are part of Team Lib Dem. A good start to making a Liberal Britain would be to celebrate our Lib Dems members’ achievements and then invest in helping them to advance to whatever their next level is. We are the party of education and our human capital is our most precious asset. We have often worked our volunteers hard at by-elections, but if we give more thought to investing in them, then we can expect to earn dividends of a more Liberal future.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 5 Comments

Scratch and sniff: The reek or alluring scent of our values

The medium is the message. So often as people it’s not so much what we do as how we do it, that leaves the greater impression.

The passive aggressive person makes you regret asking even when they help you. So it is important to reflect not just on are we doing the right thing but are we doing it in the best way.

As Liberal Democrats we signed up to three core values Liberty, Equality and Community – how are we building these or indeed communicating these values? The twist is that most people prefer to talk about real things they can …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 4 Comments

A message from Thirsk and Malton Liberal Democrats

Howard Keal with the Thirsk and Malton team
Much delight was shared by local Liberal Democrat campaigners at Howard Keal’s performance at the delayed election in Thirsk and Malton constituency on Friday morning. This came after fighting a strong campaign without paid campaign staff and we enjoyed the success of a positive swing towards the Liberal Democrats from the Conservatives and an increase in our share of the vote. Labour’s claim to be in second place ended in a catastrophic result for them,as they …

Posted in News | Tagged , and | 2 Comments

Last push: Thursday 27th May Thirsk and Malton residents go to the Polls

Howard Keal’s campaign is gathering momentum, so please help us with the final push before close of polls on Thursday.

With a Labour candidate who was working in London till recently and so is not well known, the election is between the Tory candidate so unpopular in her own party they tried to deselect her at the end of last year, and Howard Keal who has a local profile leading the Liberal Democrat group on Ryedale District Council.

Having secured an additional £9.5million in funding for flood defences in this area, Howard Keal has a consistent track record as a local …

Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged and | 20 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Hugh Young
    I can see both sides of the argument, but remember people who work in supermarkets are low paid and work hard, surely they deserve some time with their families...
  • Roland
    " The number of hours that shops are open has greatly increased from the days when almost all were shut on Sundays and also shut on early closing day." Kevin Ha...
  • Roland
    @Simon R - That letter clearly indicates there needs to be follow up FoI for the Network Rail detailed assessment. From this report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/n...
  • Kevin Hawkins
    Two further points that should be considered:- 1) Having restricted Sunday hours for the larger shops provides a boost for smaller businesses. If Sunday tradin...
  • Steve Trevethan
    Thank you for your article and the work it involves! “ Political Theatre” is such an appropriate phrase! Is either person securely capable of serving...