Jane Dodds celebrates victory with helpers at the Brecon campaign HQ in the early hours of Friday 2nd August
Many thanks to Callum Littlemore for letting us show some of his behind-the-scenes photos, from Friday morning, at the Brecon and Radnorshire campaign HQ in Brecon.
Helpers celebrate Jane’s victory
Jane Dodds addresses campaign helpers
Helpers celebrate Jane’s victory
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
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2 Comments
Of course (and Jane knows this well), the REAL struggle starts now. She has and deserves congratulations, naturally, but I’ve known several Liberals who have won a Parliamentary by-election only to lose the seat again at the subsequent General Election – and most Liberals of my generation will also know this. And we now expect that General Election to take place within the next three months, realistically. So a brief celebration is a just reward, but backling down to the work of HOLDING ON to Brecon & Radnor at that election is essential. Jane has been given little opportunity to make an impact in the Commons between now and the General Election, so (apart from her well-dererved maiden speech) she will need to concentrate on the constituency work in this brief honeymoon period.
One thing that Liberals or Liberal Democrats do badly (indeed, so do all other parties) is to provide support for newly-elected MPs from seats outside London during their initial few weeks following their election. I’ve spoken to a number of MPs who have described their experiences in this regard. It’s OK for MPs who have lived in London and are familiar with travel, accommodation, etc. But it comes as a problem for those unused to the metropolis, even if they have visited London earlier. Every new MP from outside London has to learn (and there is virtually no help given) about London’s accommodation bands (how renting is highest in the very centre, but costs reduce if you seek a tenancy slightly further out), how the Underground and bus services work, how to locate and employ your own office staff, where to eat and access London’s confusing range of other services. Every new MP needs a minder until they have their own staff in place – and that minder should not be another MP, who will have enough on their own place. Perhaps the party should detail a full-time menber of staff for this vital role!
Oops! Sorry about the typos! Please note in seventh line “backling” should read “buckling”, in tenth line “dererved” should be “deserved”, and in the penultimate line “place” should be “plate” and “menber” should be “member”.