I first came across April Preston in, I think, 2016 when she crowdfunded the money to put on a proper feminist fringe at Conference. She got Jo Swinson to speak and it was one of the best fringes I have ever been to. I thought then what a fabulous elected representative she would make, speaking her mind and getting proper liberal stuff done.
So I really hope she gets elected in Withington ward in Manchester this year. Her campaign needs money, though. Here’s why:
Withington Ward Liberal Democrats work to put community back into the Council and with your support we will be able to challenge officials that neglect our beloved city.
Our candidate in this year’s elections is April Preston. April was the first spokesperson for Stockport Young Carers and has been passionate activist from the age of 10 and continues to campaign on a wide on a wide range of issues from mental health to children leaving care.
April is also a is a trustee of Autistic Association of Greater Manchester, she has campaigned to repeal Section 28, and against the Iraq war.
April has also argued against the council’s treatment of our homeless and chaired events fighting for a more diverse and tolerant society.
This year alone she has campaigned for:
-A Peoples Vote in Manchester, if elected this May as a councillor, April will ensure a ballot in Manchester City Council in support of giving Withington residents a final say.
-To stop the Manchester Labour council from fining and criminalising the homeless and to repeal the enforcement of Vagrancy laws.
-To demand better for Withington and Ladybarn villages that have been very neglected by Labour.
April will work with community groups and business to improve the area neglected by local council.
-To fight for women’s rights and to improve better representation in Manchester council
By electing a working class care leaver like April, we can demonstrate Liberal values in action by improving our diversity in our council group and putting authentic voices on Manchester City Council.
I believe in April and I know she can give Labour a run for their money, so I’ve chipped in . If you can, please support her too.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
9 Comments
I take a more socially moderate liberal stance than April on certain issues she and her Radical colleagues have, and though it might be so, have to commend her as someone who, like me is vocal against antisemitism, and thus offer moral support to her and regards
A pity she is wearing the (violent and arsonist) suffragette colours rather than the (peaceful) suffragist colours (red, white and green)……..
Most recent feminist historians (e.g. Jill Liddington and Jo Vellacot) take the view that in actually achieving the suffrage, the suffragists (led by Millicent Fawcett and Catherine Marshall) were far more successful in negotiating and achieving it than the suffragettes whose methods set back and delayed things.
This is in no way to diminish the courage of individual suffragettes or to underplay the awfulness of the then Liberal Government led by a stubborn and often devious Asquith, and the malevolence of his Home Secretary, W.S. Churchill, who introduced forced feeding (and his successor McKenna who brought in the infamous cat and mouse act)….. one of the bigger blots on the record of the last Liberal Government.
Still, good luck to April in May.
So pleased to help; it was in Withington that I joined the Liberals a long time ago and i still have old friends there. There were only 6 of us and the chair insisted we worked hard in spite of never getting near a win.
Best of luck. Hope my small donation helps. I’m sure my favourite suffragette would approve as well, she was after all “a merry militant saint”.
The suffragettes did not murder anyone, although arson attacks were extremely risky.
Many women served in the munitions factories in World War One taking on dangerous and risky work. David Lloyd George gave them equal pay.
@ richard underhill “Many women served in the munitions factories in World War One taking on dangerous and risky work. David Lloyd George gave them equal pay.”
Oh no, he didn’t…. and he conscripted them.
It was the trade union leader, Mary Macarthur, led the campaign to protect the women forced to work in the munitions industry. She pointed out that women in the industry received on average less that half of what the men were paid. It was eventually agreed to increase women’s wage-rates in the munitions industry. However, by 1918, whereas the average male wage in the munitions industry was £4 6s. 6d. for women it was only £2 2s. 4d.
Hansard, July 1916 Mr. Lloyd George “The Government will see that there is no sweated labour. For some time women will be unskilled and untrained. They can not quite turn out as much work as men who have been at it for some time, so we can not give the full rate of wages”.
LG was certainly ‘at it’ for most of the time…… and the suffragettes had burned his house down in 1913.
Former Tory leader William Hague (now a peer) has written extensively about the use of alcohol to treat (bribe) potential electors in Yorkshire.
Candidates needed substantial funds to get elected.
Consequences included intimidation of electors on the way to the poll including the use of violence.
April
I will be voting in the next election but I want a candidate to be working for Ladybarn (ie Ladybarn Lane ,the Welsh estate and all the side roads ).There are many students but there are many long term residents. In the past year Ladybarn lane residents have seen the Community centre reopen and many events have taken place .The Police was at the centre in a community forum ,the residents have rallied round doing litter picks and we have a number of cleaning sessions in the park .There has been a diverse range of helpers ,from the Church on Kingwood Road and the Mosque on Ladybarn lane
This week is busy for the community
The Parks people were at Ladybarn Community Hub on the 18th discussing the plans for Kingwood Park
There is a meeting tomorrow at the centre on Royle St(20th March 5 to 7 ) discussing the plans for Ladybarn District Centre
Saturday is keep Britain tidy day and residents will be out in force helping to clean up Ladybarn Area including Ladybarg Lane and the parks
As a voter I would hope to meet you at any one of these events as it is important for any candidate I vote for to take part in community activities .
I have not political affiliation but I do want my vote to go to the person who is prepared to help and I respect them more than people who take photos and say they are doing things on my behalf and nothing happens
April was hoping to offer more opportunities for technophobes but didn’t create the website where I first came across her so I can’t even work out how to sponsor her and don’t know if I need a social media account for that. The statistics I saw confirmed how much authorities really aren’t catching on how having too many leaders with certain advantages is affecting their decision making. I feared it for years, it’s made me and others in my life very ill and where I live the policies are so complicated I’ve been scared to ask anyone to help me sponsor April. If I ever really knew her at all, someone I loved and lost long ago will definitely be needing more Aprils up North if she’s still alive and spending lockdown there.