Author Archives: Thomas Hemsley

Thomas Hemsley

Liberal Youth: appealing to Lib Dems everywhere

By Thomas Hemsley | Mon 30th May 2011 - 5:23 pm

Conferences are a foundation stone of being a Liberal Democrat. There have been some really huge and important ones – Brighton, 2002, where we laid out a principled position on Iraq; Llandudno, 1981, where Shirley Williams and David Steel spoke passionately in favour of an alliance; Sheffield, 2011, when we opposed the NHS reforms. Conference is the best way for the membership to exert their influence over the leadership. Past leaders, from Steel to Ashdown, from Kennedy to Clegg, have often feared Conference for the skill and passion with which it has put its arguments. And so the tradition of …

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Posted in Conference and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Thomas Hemsley

My first Liberal Youth Conference

By Thomas Hemsley | Fri 20th November 2009 - 11:51 am

When I first learned of the location of the 2009 Liberal Youth Autumn Conference, I immediately paid my £15 to register. I had only been to one party conference before – the 2007 South West regional, which included the leadership hustings – so I was unsure of what to expect.

I only knew one person who was going, and I was tired and annoyed at the rain, not to mention the parlous state of the trains that evening. But when I arrived in Portsmouth, there were helpful signs pointing to Conference. This was an excellent omen of what was to …

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Posted in Conference | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Thomas Hemsley

Opinion: The next steps for the EU

By Thomas Hemsley | Sat 21st June 2008 - 5:03 pm

After months of parliamentary wrangling, the Lisbon Treaty was approved by the UK Parliament this week. This is despite Irish voters voting no by a margin of 53% to 47%. Ireland was the only country in Europe to have a referendum, despite a vigorous campaign here in Britain, which included a private referendum in ten Labour and Liberal Democrat-held constituencies – though not, suspiciously, in Ken Clarke’s constituency despite him voting for the Lisbon Treaty – and is still ongoing thanks to Stuart Wheeler. The fact that it was defeated by such a wide margin, and on such a high …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | 4 Comments
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