Author Archives: Nicholas Belfitt

Nicholas Belfitt

Lib Dem fightback completed! But what next….?

By Nicholas Belfitt | Mon 8th July 2024 - 9:47 am

Ten years ago, in 2014, I joined the Liberal Democrats. Shortly after, I witnessed the political collapse of the party. It was a sobering time, and I recall a few weeks later when Tim Farron took over and revitalized the party with the message of a Liberal Democrat fightback. The directive was clear: our party must survive, and we must fight to become a competent force once again. Thus, the Liberal Democrat fightback began.

Unfortunately, these were dark years. Despite our best efforts, we lost several key battles, including Brexit, and suffered significant setbacks in 2017 and 2019. By 2019, I even began to doubt whether our party would ever return to prominence or remain on the fringes forever. However, after ten years of relentless struggle from the sidelines, we are back. Under Ed Davey’s leadership and the hard work of our party members, we have not only secured a record number of seats but also rebuilt our liberal movement. The Liberal Democrat fightback is complete. But what now?

Now is the time to celebrate, to enjoy the moment of this election, and to recognize the success of our party’s machinery, the individuals, the volunteers, the workers, and everyone who is part of the party. However, with success also comes the responsibility to identify areas for improvement. While this victory, marked by our impressive seat numbers, demonstrates that target seating works, it also reveals a concerning issue that must be addressed in the next five years.

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Nicholas Belfitt

Party changes we need now – or it could be “game over”

By Nicholas Belfitt | Tue 2nd June 2020 - 3:05 pm

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Being a Liberal Democrat member since 2014, I have unfortunately seen the complete collapse of the Liberal Democrats in respect of having any real continuous identity.

Our “identity” today is a remembrance of the broken Brexit movement, and, like most voters, it is questionable to say what the Liberal Democrats really stand for apart from bitterness.

Yes, we did do very well in terms of our opposition to Brexit and I, like many others, fought hard for us to Remain. But Brexit itself, as an argument, is finished. And it’s time for the Liberal Democrats to go through a series of real reforms to produce something which our next leader must push.

Our new leader of the party has to be somebody who is strong and who is willing to put through needed, long-lasting reforms. These reforms, whilst many, can be summarised by coming from three different areas – policy, branding and local parties.

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Nicholas Belfitt

Why the Liberalisle is taking off on the Isle of Wight

By Nicholas Belfitt | Mon 9th May 2016 - 6:37 pm

 

Many in the UK who would drive down to Portsmouth will often think that going any further south would take you to France and the lands beyond. However, just off the coast there exists a place that for a long time has been off the Lib Dems’ map. An ancient Isle that once in the 1970s held one of  the only Liberal lights in the country, but now for over 15 years has been swallowed by a blue fog as thick as the ocean itself.  The once golden yellow beaches lie empty and cold.

Why would a Tory stronghold, with a social conservative view so strong you could mistake it for the back bench of the party itself, ever be the place of any Liberal rival? Yet could this be the beginning of a Liberal fight back.

Ever since I became the Vice-chair of the local party I wanted to try to be optimistic and passionate about the chance to make change. I wanted to try and show how we can inspire by directly questioning the norm. For some in and out of the party this may be seen as nonsense, it may be seen as crazy. Yet at one time so was the notion of the Liberals ever being in power.

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Nicholas Belfitt

Tim’s pick a ward and win it – how that’s part of the Isle of Wight’s #libdemfightback

By Nicholas Belfitt | Wed 13th January 2016 - 3:59 pm

Nicholas Belfitt winning hereIn June last year I attended a small event in Guildford in the run-up to the leadership election where I was lucky to meet Tim Farron. He  made a great speech which, as always was both thorough and entertaining. But it was in the end what he said that began to push me to believe in the Lib Dems. Pick a ward and win it.

No words have been so strong for me. After the event it was all I could think about for weeks and weeks during which time I returned  home to the Isle of Wight. I had always dreamed of being able to be involved, but like many young liberals I thought that caution and moving through groups such as the Liberal Youth were the formats in which make  progress. But I could not get that line out of my head.

I began to be involved in my local party and before I knew it I was swiftly elected Vice-Chair. ME? At 22? The only experience I had of campaigning was under Kelly-Marie Blundell in her Guildford campaign, but I had no training or preparation.  

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Nicholas Belfitt

Opinion: Tim Farron’s Gut Liberalism

By Nicholas Belfitt | Mon 20th July 2015 - 1:14 pm

 

Last week I was on the train heading up to Guildford for a special opportunity to meet Tim Farron, potential leader of the Lib Dems. As I travelled I was nervous as any young party member would be. I was about to meet my first real big name in politics, someone who had taken his place in Parliament, someone who had sat on BBC Question Time, someone who had played the political game against numerous reds and blues. But what I did not expect was the passion I was going to feel after this meeting.

Tim spoke as he did a few days later after winning the candidacy about a new type of liberalism he wanted to introduce. This new type of liberalism was less a theoretical frame work but more an emotion and rejuvenation of what being Liberal meant. He coined this new experience, Gut Liberalism.

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