LDV yesterday reported that Elaine Bagshaw has resigned as Chair of the party’s Liberal Youth organisation. Well, two quick updates to that story:
First, the Liberal Youth executive has issued a statement thanking Elaine for her contribution as Chair since 2008. You can read it in full here.
Secondly, James Shaddock, Liberal Youth’s Vice-Chair Communications, has today followed Elaine in resigning his post. You can read his statement here.
An eventful 24 hours in the life of Liberal Youth. Feel free to contribute your informed speculation below …
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26 Comments
Pity that as a communications VC he can’t tell the difference between “it’s” and “its” …..
I think in this situation there are slightly more important factors at play than petty grammar issues
I resigned as a General Executive Member yesterday as well
No, this is Liberal Youth and as ever, there are no actually important issues at play at all. I would make a plea to anyone wishing to resign to consider the messages that they’re publically trailed resignations send out to the membership and wider public. They are the youth wing of the party, not the Cabinet. We do not want or need lengthy and self-indulgent resignation statements to be posted on the website, nor do we need them to be Twittered by the Liberal Youth account. Those mechanisms exist to promote good news and activitity, not internal processes and resignations. Please, think of the impression that such things create. Whoever is being co-opted as VC Comms should remove them.
My Musings earlier…
http://theliberalshowman.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/fallout/
Um, can someone tell me why so many people are resigning?
@Martin Shapland: Just read your post. What is this letter you’re referring to?
@Niklas – the letter demanding that Elaine Resign – signed by 7 Exec Officers
@Martin: …the letter demanding that Elaine Resign – signed by 7 Exec Officers
!!!!!
Why are we poor branch officers never informed about this stuff? (Not a complaint directed at you, more a question as to why the lines of communication between Liberal Youth centrally and the branches are so poor.)
And why did so many other Exec officers resign as well?
@Niklas I suggest you direct that question at the new acting chair – Alan Belmore… I don’t have a view either way as I’m not on the executive…
Oops! Sorry, I forgot that you weren’t on the Exec any more. I think I will ask him, thanks for the tip.
Clearly there are some issue here but it is to the credit of Elaine, and to the others involved, that this came as a surprise to many of us and that her and other public statements have been so tempered.
I would like to thank Elaine for the efforts she has put in on behalf of Liberal Youth. From what I have seen and the activities I have been involved with, it is clear that Liberal Youth has been heading in a very positive direction of late, even if there has been tension behind the scenes.
We have had the best Freshers campaign for years, very successful training events (I was delighted to help at Bootcamp) and the website has been sorted out too.
As a member of the Federal Policy Committee it has also been clear the Liberal Youth has once again been having some positive impact on the party’s policy platform.
I am sad that James and James have also decided to quit and I hope their enthusiasm will be useful to the party in other ways.
I hope the remaining executive members can get themselves sorted out and keep the momentum going from now until the election and wish them the best for what will be an interesting and potentially very successful period for the organisation.
@Liberal Neil: It was never like this in our day, was it 😉
@Sara Don’t know what you mean 😉
So is this about personalities or is there an ideological basis to the factions? If so can someone explain what they are please?
Tony Greaves
Tony – it is much more about personalities than anything ideological.
It is personality-based, certainly – though I think, in many cases those on different sides DID ultimately identify with different political preferences too. Coincidence perhaps – but I wouldn’t want anyone to infer from that that the difficulties Liberal Youth has had during Elaine’s term has been just a matter of who goes to the right parties or likes the same music.
It’s a question of management style and organisational objectives far more than any “cliqueyness” than may exist.
However, the situation has been resolved, LY is moving on and any post mortem should probably take place in a closed forum.
Elaine and James gave an amazing amount to Liberal Youth. Their drive and commitment to the organisation, the intellect which they brought to their work, and the zeal with which they built it up, will all be remembered for a long time. They made it the organisation which it is today, and I’ll miss them a lot. I consider them friends, and was sad to see them go.
@ Chris Wiggin –
it appears from the postings that there are NOT any real important issues here –
So – it’s (sic) not just petty grammar issues (in fact – it’s not grammar at all), it’s showing that this officer in charge of communications cannot write standard English.
How many members are left on the Liberal Youth Exec?
I have always advised students that if they really want to help the party and liberalism in the UK they should get stuck into the local party and keep their distance from LY/LDYS, since it will only suck them into silly adolescent arguments about nothing. This goes to show how correct that advice was.
Although it is true that the youth section often gets sucked into tempestuous torment (it did when I was a member in the 1980s), I do not agree that it should be shunned by those eligible to join.
The youth section recruits into the party many people who would otherwise not join and provides a forum in which they can develop their political perspective. Recently on the Wave demonstrations Liberal Youth provided banners and probably more than half of the Lib Dem contingent. This was a fantastic acheivement on their part (and it has to be said somewhat shows up the senior party at the same time).
We need a properly functioning Liberal Youth section and I hope that Elaine and her colleagues who have resigned will be replaced by others of a similar calibre. This is an absolutely key year for the whole party, including Liberal Youth.
@Mark Wright: Yes, get involved in the local party – but everyone eligable (especially students) should get involved in the local Liberal Youth branch too. I can only speak for Cambridge, but here we have never had battles in the exec and we get on with campaigning, recruitment and bringing in interesting speakers (Jo Swinson is coming on Thursday 21 January, to make a blatant advert!).
From my time in the Liberal Youth of Sweden I know how much a well-organised youth wing can bring to the party and to its members. Geoffrey is absolutely right that youth wings bring in people who would not otherwise join the party (many young people prefer to campaign and discuss politics with people of their own age).
We need a properly functioning Liberal Youth section and I hope that Elaine and her colleagues who have resigned will be replaced by others of a similar calibre.
I agree, and there are good people who are on the exec so I’m sure we will find an excellent new Chair. In reply to Stephen, there are ten people currently in the executive (even after the resignations).
Hi Niklas
Looking at the branch contacts list in front of me…. you’re not on it. (You may be on a mythical fourth list that was written online last year, but that’s been disappeared)
Otherwise I would have called you by now 😉
I have got in touch with Joe Rinaldi Johnson to try and get your details, but if you want you can send them to [email protected] or 07588766742.
Cheers,
Robson
Interim LY Comms Team
@ Tony – Not really ideological. As an Exec member, I was there to represent the views of my members, not my own (I guess I’d say I’m an Orange Book centrist)
@ Niklas – Martin is correct, there is a letter signed by 7 of those left on the Exec. I’ll gladly provide you, or anyone else (including Lib Dem Voice), with a copy. (Perk of backing up all my emails before jumping ship)
@ Geoffery – Spot on. People, instead of complaining about the way you dislike the youth wing , why not get involved and ensure such things don’t happen again, and work towards joint successes like ‘The Wave’. Heed the calls in mine and Elaine’s resignation letters. GET INVOLVED!
@ Felix – Did it not cross your pedantic little mind (I assume it’s little as you are criticising my English when you can’ even put capitals in your name correctly) that resigning was quite a hard, emotional thing to do and so grammar and punctuation were not my priority?
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