The Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors (ALDC) has been a fundamental engine of Liberal Democrat growth. Now, more than ever, they have a crucial role to play in helping to lead the Liberal Democrat fightback. And they have recently stepped up to the plate in spectacular style with their By-election HQ. This is a newly launched service which is a one-stop go-to website for all of us to find out information about council by-elections across the country. These are an essential way for the party to grow back.
The By-election HQ gives the latest information on forthcoming by-elections as well as the results history. It also helps local campaigners kickstart their campaigns and shows the way to some extremely helpful resources.
One particularly wonderful thing is the ALDC’s Manchester-based By-Election Phone Bank, which soars into action every Thursday to phone round voters in by-elections around the country.
I also particularly like the “scores on the doors” graphic above (reproduced with the permission of ALDC) which shows the latest state of play on the By-election results page.
If you’re thinking about getting active in the party, or are active, then ALDC membership is a must, and a sure-fire way to make sure that your campaigning is cutting edge. You can read more about what ALDC offers here.
And, yes, you may have noticed that we are having (by accident rather than by design) a bit of an ALDC day here at Liberal Democrat Voice. That’s no bad thing.
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
5 Comments
We have to be honest with ourselves if the fightback is to take shape: it would also be useful to see how many we failed to hold.
My reckoning is defended 5 in June, July and August so far and won 9 (held 4, lost 1, gained 5 = net gain of 4).
The Guardian reported that ” … research from the campaign group Unlock Democracy shows there has been a slight increase in the number of MPs with second jobs, at 114, up from 108, according to a BBC analysis conducted in February 2015. Of the MPs who won seats for the first time in 2015, 19% have a second job, compared with 17% of returning MPs, the report found. According to the new register of MPs’ financial interests, the Conservative party has the highest number of MPs with second jobs, with 84 out of 330 MPs (25%). The SNP has the second-highest number, with 11 out of the party’s 56 MPs (19.6%) and the Labour party comes in third, with 18 out of its 232 MPs (7.75%). A total of 18 MPs reported doing regular media work or speaking engagements and 27 reported having a paid directorship, consultancy or advisory role. Five reported advances for books they are currently writing. Nick Clegg has not yet declared any outside earnings. The issue of MPs’ second jobs was thrown into the spotlight in March when journalists at the Daily Telegraph and Panorama secretly filmed former foreign secretaries Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind discussing ways they could use their positions as politicians to help a fictitious Chinese company in return for thousands of pounds. A YouGov poll conducted earlier this year found that 54% of voters favoured a ban on second jobs for MPs, while only 26% agreed that MPs continuing to do second jobs like medicine, law or running a business keeps them in touch with ordinary people.”
Paul, there is more than a wee bit of hype in your posting. How can ALDC be a fundamental engine of growth during the most monumental period of shrinkage which our Party has ever experienced? Having said that, the results so far are encouraging where we have retained a residual strength and abysmal where we have nothing at all.
Tony dawson 16th Aug ’15 – 3:03pm
Imagine that the sun is shinin g and the wind is blowing at the same time. Do you get hotter or colder?