It is with a sad, and heavy, heart that yesterday I heard of Sarah Yong’s decision to stand down as PPC for Somerton and Frome for personal reasons. What is even sadder is that people are demanding to know the personal reasons, either because the privacy of an individual is less important than what this means to the party or to show it’s not because of the party prospects. If an employee (even CEO) of an organisation stepped down for personal reasons it is normally respected and the organisation moves on.
As a parliamentary candidate in 2010, the pressures of running, even for a non-target seat, were huge. It impacts everything. Relationships, work, energy levels, what you do and how things are perceived. No one goes into these things lightly and they are normally aware of the pressures, but the reality is very different. For me:
- Being a candidate in a constituency that was 100 miles from where I was living full time and working contributed to my marriage failing.
- You ask (even demand) a lot of family, friends, even volunteers – their time, their patience, their money and their support.
- Focusing on work was difficult, but I needed an income and knew I was not getting elected, so couldn’t just give up work. I have known many candidates come out with heavy debts as a result of being full time candidates.
- Social events were sacrificed due to campaigning or media commitments. At one social event that I was able to attend (a football match for a stag do) I was so tired, I fell asleep.
There are countless other things which impact being a PPC, and I don’t know the reason for Sarah standing down, but she won’t have taken the decision lightly. All I know is that HQ have been in touch. They, and groups like the Chinese Lib Dems, have offered as much support as possible. The political ramifications are obvious, but we should respect the privacy of Sarah like we would with any employee of an organisation.
* Phil Ling is an Executive member of Merton Liberal Democrats and Treasurer of Chinese Lib Dems
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13 Comments
Knowing you were not going to get elected must be one of the major downers. That and the debt problem must also make the whole exercise difficult to justify to one’s family.
So glad you’ve made this post Phil, it echoes my sentiments entirely, and I was on the verge of writing something similar. I like you stood in 2010 and have flirted with standing again in 2015. However, it was clear that something else would have to give – my work, my marriage, my health – or all of them. The difficulty is what we do about it. In his excellent books Chris Mullin talks about his sacred weekends, but realistically even this is not possible nowadays, with the advent of social media, especially in an unsafe seat (i.e all of them, virtually!). Lib Dem Women have sensibly spoken of job shares, though with little interest evident elsewhere, and we can and should offer our candidates far more support. But realistically we seem to be heading ever closer to a situation where career politicians do permanent battle with their own ilk, and those of us with families, professions and a personal life are excluded.
Thanks for these thoughts Phil. As you indicate, this is indicative of wider issues affecting all parties surrounding what we expect of PPC’s and those who put themselves forward for election. It strikes me that as society has shifted to some degree from a participatory one to a consumatory one the burden of expectation on candidates has gone up, whilst the support available (fewer volunteers etc.) has gone down. If this is not addressed then those putting themselves forward (and hence becoming MP’s) will be ‘unnatural’ and ‘not normal’ which further increases political disengagement.
I am indeed really disappointed that Sarah Yong has decided she is unable to continue as PPC for Somerton and Frome Knowing Sarah. She was a highly capable and committed politician.As Phil says it is decision that she would have not taken lightly
She cites personal circumstances for her decision and I agree we must respect her right not to disclose what these are
Her decision does however pose a challenge for the Party – both in the constituency and at the national level
Her decision means Liberal Democrats could potentially have one less woman and one less BAME candidate in one of our small number of target seats in the 2015 General Election That would be a shame That is why I sincerely hope Somerton and Frome will select another BAME PPC to replace Sarah If that person also happens to be a woman so much the better.
Great points raised.
Sarah deserves our support not our questions same as any individual
Those of us who have had the privilege of meeting Sarah know that she is someone with a positively infectious personality and will ultimately not be kept back from coming forward.
I look forward to seeing Sarah re-entering the process to become an elected member of the House of Commons when the time is right for her.
Good fortune for the future Sarah, you have my confidence and support in whatever you do.
Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera
Liberal Democrat English Party Diversity Champion
Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrat (EMLD) – Vice Chair
Thanks for everyone’s comments. There’s a lot of pressure being candidate, agent, organiser etc. As some have noted, we do need to do more to make it easier for ordinary people being involved in politics. Not sure Gloria De Piero sniping on TV how Labour is getting more women as MPs (much easier with safe seats) is helping though.
Phil, well said. Of course we’re disappointed that Sarah has had to step down. But we must respect her wish for privacy.
I would like to wish her all the very best for the future.
Meral
I agree with all of the above. Having been a PPC three times, the first two as no-hopers, and 2010 picking up the pieces (as Local Party chair), as the third PPC in a new seat.!
Each time one has to do ones best, each time I personally spent more than I could afford, and each time I had valiant help from local supporters, but very little of value from HQ, whilst largesse seemed to be heaped upon more favoured seats.
As PPC, your helpers and your funders want to believe you have a chance of winning, so you adopt a somewhat schizophrenic mind-set, urging people to do more, but preparing for the gracious speech at silly-o’clock in the morning at the count. Then afterwards you feel a failure, and have to look how you ‘actually increased the vote share’ to console your aching ego.. and what do you get from the Party? If you are lucky you might get some sort of thank-you letter, but it is written by someone who has no idea what it’s like, and includes the wonderful news of how well others did, to rub it in.
Perhaps there should be some special accolade for those who have played their part in this way, perhaps they should be treated with some respect – especially when they put forward for sharing the ideas they had for maximising impact with minimal resources… but having been through approval, training and selection must mean they have much to offer.
The Party is its members, it’s public face at election time is its candidates, all of them. We need a full slate every time, ‘always stand a candidate’ should be Party law, but unless those who put their heads on the block for the good of the party get more support, then the willing are going to stay at home.
I do hope that the Candidates Office will make a proper assessment of why so many candidates stand down, and what the Party must do to provide better support,… not just in target seats but for ALL candidates.
There is a gaping hole in our democracy when being a PPC means, in effect, doing an all-consuming full-time+ job for no pay in a location that could be at the other end of the country. It means that national politics becomes the exclusive preserve of those with the time and money to devote to it, resulting in a ruling class that is frequently oblivious to what ordinary people have to contend with.
We should focus on local politics and the selection of locally prominent people as candidates. If there are none, then any local party member should be acceptable as a candidate. A local candidate endorsed by the local party should not need to get on the national party approved list first.
Simon Oliver points to some key issues. I don’t know Sarah and I have no wish to know any more. I would just point out that this is not the view taken by the media – if she were better known as national “celebrity” or if she had already been elected, the intrusion would be very real and anyone wanting to get elected has to be prepared for it at some stage. (That does not make it right, just a fact of life in the current age.)
The more serious issue is the commitment needed to get elected to the Commons as a Liberal Democrat. It is huge. I know of people who have been full-time candidates for some time – and in the current political climate with no certainty of success anywhere. And this is the same for everyone in target seats whether they are BME, women, young, disabled or boring middle-aged white men.
Tony
I am saddened to hear this news and I agree with the above comments of how much commitment in time and money is required to be a serious candidate in a seat where we might possibly win.
It is worth reflecting on how much commitment was put put in by MPs now approaching retirement. They worked their constituencies over several elections before getting elected.
When I was a young married man struggling to fix up and pay the mortage on a delapidated house, I did a quick assessment on the feasibility of being a candidate. As an ‘unrestricted’ employee, I would have had to take six weeks unpaid leave and resign if elected. As an MP, my salary would have been about the same as I was getting as a graduate engineer. Suspension of parliamentary ambitions.
So I am sorry to hear Sarah has had to stand down. I hope the personal reasons are resolved in due time and that she can take up a role in the party in the future. Thanks are due for what she has done already.
To be fair to the Candidates’ Office, I think they are recognising the pressures that candidates are under. There’s a whole section of the candidate application and approval process about teamwork and building strong teams so it’s not all on the candidate. Strong teams benefit us all across the Parliamentary cycle, and if a candidate can come in as a fresh outsider with the skills to build a team, then that can be a lasting legacy.