Open Thread: Tributes to Liberal Democrats who have passed away this year

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 28th December 2011 - 3:54 pm

This is the time of year when we look back at what the last 12 months have brought us, good and bad.

I thought it would be appropriate to take some time to pay tribute to Liberal Democrats we’ve lost this year. We’ll all know someone who has really made the difference to our lives as party members who is no longer with us. Please feel free to use the comments to tell us a bit about them and what they mean to you.

For me, the worst moment of the year so far was not the heartbreaking election results. It was that phone call around 7:30 am on 3rd June which told me that Andrew Reeves, Scottish Director of Campaigns and Elections, had died very suddenly of a heart attack. Since his arrival in Scotland, we had been in touch virtually every day in some form or another. It was sometimes work, but more often him relentlessly taking the mickey out of me. Mark Pack shared his memories of Andrew as he reported the sad event here on Lib Dem Voice a few hours later.

In the three years Andrew had been in Scotland, he’d transformed our campaigning capabilities and organisation. He was a fantastic leader. He was one of these people who could inspire you through a really tough job, getting the best out of you but still keeping everyone’s spirits up.

The outpouring of grief for Andrew on Twitter that morning, leading to him becoming the fourth highest trending topic in the UK, showed how much he meant to the party as a whole. Whether as a steward at Conference, at by-elections, at election campaigns or online, Andrew made many people smile.

Is there someone we’ve lost this year that you would like to pay tribute to? If so, tell us in the comments.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings

3 Comments

hugh p 28th Dec '11 - 4:03pm

Simon Knott, who contested every general election in the Barons Court/Hammersmith North/Hammersmith constituency between 1959 and 1987 as a Liberal or Independent Liberal, and, more importantly, was the first Liberal in modern times to win, and subsequently to win again and hold, a council seat in an Inner London borough (Hammersmith). His recent death seems to have passed unnoticed by every one.
Jon Sacker 28th Dec '11 - 5:08pm

Andy Harrison – worked in the Whips office as Environment Researcher in the early 90’s, ex York Uni sabbatical – wicked sense of humour and all round good guy.
John J. Allen 8th Jul '12 - 2:20am

A belated response to Hugh P’s posting of 28 Dec. 2011 about the passing of Simon Knott. I was a young American student of political science in 1964 taking classes at the LSE. For my field work, I attached myself to Simon Knott during his campaign for Parliament in Barons Court/Hammersmith. He was extremely generous in allowing me to participate with him in every aspect of the campaign that fall. He and I both particularly enjoyed “knocking up” the voters (that means something else entirely in the USA). He made great use of his umbrella in rapping on doors and exuded a hale and hearty enthusiasm for what he surely knew was a losing cause. I went on to a long career in politics and as a lawyer for the New York State legislature. I am sorry to hear of his passing.