Tag Archives: christine jardine

Caron Lindsay

Christine Jardine quizzes Salmond on his “curious” view that he prefers people “of faith”

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 4th September 2015 - 3:45 pm

It was never likely that I’d make it on to Alex Salmond’s Christmas card list. After all, he thinks that people who don’t support independence are making the case “against Scotland.” Now, it appears, there’s another reason for him to disapprove of me; I don’t have a religious faith.

Pink News has a video clip of him saying:

I  am biased of course because I am a Church of Scotland adherent and I prefer people of faith to people of no faith or people who have lost their faith.

Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Aberdeenshire East seat next May has written to him to question this rather odd opinion:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 25 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Christine Jardine selected to fight Aberdeenshire East for Holyrood election

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 26th August 2015 - 3:15 pm

Christine jardineChristine Jardine put up one hell of a fight against Alex Salmond in the Gordon constituency this year. She got 1500 more votes than Malcolm Bruce had 5 years earlier and is in a very clear second place to challenge the SNP in the future.

She has now been selected to fight the Aberdeenshire East constituency in May next year for the Scottish Parliament.

The Ellon Times has the story:

A delighted Christine said: “Its very humbling to know that people are prepared to put their faith in you. I had a lot of support in the general election – 19,030 votes – and, while it’s clear we have a lot of work to do, I know those people, and the many others who have joined the party, are looking to us to repair the health service, improve education and protect jobs.

I am determined that the next Scottish Government will give us here in the North East a better deal on health, education, housing and more.

I’m a Liberal. I believe politics is not about nations or states it’s about people, about individuals and should always put them first.

Nobody should have to travel to another town to find a GP, or to the central belt for an operation or wonder if their child will have a teacher when the term resumes.

Those are the things I want to change. That I will work to change and I will ask the electorate to help by making me their next MSP.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 11 Comments
The Voice

Alex Salmond tries to claim SNP credit for policies introduced by the Lib Dems when he wasn’t even an MSP

By The Voice | Sat 2nd May 2015 - 3:45 pm

Alex Salmond must have been too busy with his book signings to actually check his facts. Literature going out in his name in the Gordon constituency makes some interesting, and easily disprovable claims. From the Scotsman:

Free personal care and the Scotland-wide free bus travel pass scheme was brought in by the Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition which preceded the current SNP administration at Holyrood. But literature being distributed by Mr Salmond’s campaign team in Gordon claims the SNP “led the way” on this policy.

Even for Salmond that is a cheek, as our candidate Christine Jardine pointed out:

Experience has taught us that Alex Salmond sometimes has problems remembering the fine detail of the actualité, but, even by his standards, these are blatant untruths. It’s typical of the SNP’s attempts to rewrite history, but I’m confident that voters in Gordon will see past these false claims and remember that the Lib Dems have a genuine record of working with like-minded colleagues to deliver real improvements

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 12 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Alex Salmond postpones US book tour as Christine Jardine’s campaign goes from strength to strength

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 28th March 2015 - 12:35 pm

Salmond New YorkThe Herald reports that Alex Salmond has postponed a trip to the US to promote his book which had, incredibly, been due to take place in just 10 days’ time, after the start of the general election campaign.

His publishers pencilled in signings in New York and Toronto for the week after next, during the annual Scotland Week festivities.

Banff & Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford was also lined up to appear at a hustings in Gordon, where Mr Salmond is the SNP candidate, during his absence.

Jean Marie Kelly of HarperCollins in New York said yesterday: “Unfortunately, we only have him in Toronto for one day and in New York for one day so a very whirlwind trip.

“We are just firming the exact dates and times, but all indications are the week of April 6.”

However after press enquiries to the SNP, Mr Salmond’s plans melted away.

His rival candidates in Gordon said a transatlantic tour mid-election would have demonstrated an ego “spiralling out of control”.

What’s interesting is that there seems to be some new law of the universe that requires every mention of Salmond’s book to be accompanied by Paddy Ashdown’s memorable review of it. The Liberal Democrat election chair said that the book was:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 11 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Campaigners flock to Gordon to help Christine Jardine

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 8th February 2015 - 11:55 am

Christine Jardine canvassing selfieI wasn’t surprised to see Alex Salmond ahead in the Ashcroft poll on Gordon. After all, he’s been everywhere at the moment. He has even, entirely coincidentally, of course, started a regular column in one of the local papers.

The thing is, Christine Jardine and her campaign team have always known that they faced a challenge. She doesn’t have the benefit of incumbency, apart from anything else. That’s why they have been working so hard in the year since she was selected to fight the seat. What the Ashcroft poll put beyond doubt was that she has firmly established herself as the clear challenger to Salmond and the SNP. If you are an undecided voter in Gordon who doesn’t want Salmond or the SNP to win, the poll makes it clear that you need to vote for Christine.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 23 Comments
Paul Walter

Oops! 15 Ashcroft Scottish polls published early by mistake

By Paul Walter | Wed 4th February 2015 - 7:31 am

With a hat-tip to Mark Pack, LDV alumnus.

We were expecting Lord Ashcroft’s Scottish polls today.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 84 Comments
The Voice

Christine Jardine attracts cross-party support in her quest to become MP for Gordon

By The Voice | Sun 4th January 2015 - 8:00 pm

Christine jardineLiberal Democrat PPC for Gordon is receiving offers of help from people who campaigned for a No vote in the independence referendum last September. These include supporters of both Labour and Conservative parties who are prepared to vote for her to stop Alex Salmond’s return to Westminster.

There will be no official pact between the parties but Christine won a lot of friends during the referendum campaign with her infectious enthusiasm and endless energy so it’s hardly surprising that they think she’s more than a match for Salmond.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 25 Comments
NewsHound

Malcolm Bruce: People will realise the positive impact Lib Dems have made in Government and will want more of us there

By NewsHound | Fri 2nd January 2015 - 1:21 pm

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Sir Malcolm Bruce told the Herald recently that Nick Clegg is “strong and resilient” and that the Liberal Democrats have achieved much in government. When people reflected on the last five years, he said, they would want to see us in Government again:

The MP for Gordon said voters would in the next few months have to “think very hard” about what outcome they wanted on May 8.

“At the moment, people are in protest, they don’t like the fact we’ve had a really hard economic time and, therefore, they are not prepared at the moment to reward the Coalition government. But when they consider what the alternatives are and what the outcome might be, they will firm up their support for the Coalition because they will recognise that it has brought about a recovery that the other parties could throw away,” argued Sir Malcolm.

When it was pointed out that the Lib Dems were fourth in Scotland and fourth or sometimes fifth across the UK, the deputy leader insisted people should not prejudge the outcome of the election.

“There are people out there yet to make up their mind and when they reflect the positive things the Liberal Democrats have achieved on tax, pensions, the green agenda and schools, they will want to see more not fewer Liberal Democrats in the next parliament; that’s what our campaign’s going to be about.”

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 41 Comments
Caron Lindsay

What does Alex Salmond think he’s playing at?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st December 2014 - 4:16 pm

 

When he saw the writing on the wall and was desperate to get people to vote Yes, Alex Salmond made a last ditch appeal on the Andrew Marr Show the Sunday before the independence referendum. He said that people had a once in a generation or even a lifetime chance to vote for independence and they should take it.

Now, it was fairly clear to me and I expect most other people that he absolutely didn’t mean what he was saying. There was no way that the entire nationalist movement was just going to give up and take up crochet if they lost. Of course they were not. They sincerely believe that independence is the best option for Scotland in the same way that I believe that a liberal approach to our problems is the best way to run a society. I’ll never give up my quest to see a truly liberal world.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 31 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Game on in Gordon: Liberal Democrat Christine Jardine has to defend seat against former First Minister Salmond

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th December 2014 - 8:55 am

imageIn the biggest surprise since the sun last rose in the east, Alex Salmond will announce today that he’s going to be standing for the Westminster Parliament in the Gordon Constituency which is currently held by Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Sir Malcolm Bruce.

It’s almost a year since Christine Jardine was selected to fight the seat. She has been leading a fun and spirited campaign since then which saw voters in Gordon reject independence by almost 2:1. Her campaign manager is the party legend who masterminded Nicol Stephen’s election campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s. Mr Salmond should underestimate them at his peril.

Salmond represents part of the Gordon constituency at Holyrood. He no doubt thinks that he can do as he did in 2007, swan in to the seat and win. Certainly the SNP will resource his campaign to the max and there are plenty new members in that party to help out.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 36 Comments
Stephen Tall

Alex Salmond to make Westminster comeback – threat to Lib Dem seat of Gordon?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 24th October 2014 - 9:50 am

Alex Salmond - License Some rights reserved by Ewan McIntoshFormer Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has hinted he might make a comeback at Westminster, as the BBC reports:

Alex Salmond has said he has not made up his mind whether or not to stand for a Westminster seat at the next general election. The outgoing Scottish first minister was asked on the BBC’s Question Time programme if he would consider becoming an MP again. Mr Salmond said he had “absolutely decisively” not made up his mind, but agreed that the door was not closed.

Alex Salmond made his name at Westminster, as MP for Banff and Buchan for 23 years (1987-2010). However, two factors will be in his mind.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 26 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Christine Jardine – From the fourth estate to Westminster

By NewsHound | Thu 13th February 2014 - 9:58 am

Christine Jardine, who was recently selected as PPC for Gordon, has been interviewed by the Deeside Piper – the newspaper she used to edit – about her selection and her journey from journalist to politician.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

DEESIDE PIPER: What do you hope to achieve if voted for by the people of Gordon?

CHRISTINE JARDINE: Over the last 30 years, Malcolm has been a strong voice for the people of Gordon and that is what I would want to be as well. For both the urban and rural communities. I believe rural communities need a strong voice particularly at the moment. The most important thing is listening to what is important to the people of Gordon and, if you like, what I aim to achieve if I am elected after 2015 will be dictated by what they want me to achieve

If I was the MP at the end of five years, I would hope that I’d continue Malcolm’s work and had worked hard for the oil industry-won investment for the North-east, particularly in infrastructure and being a strong voice in getting our road and transport network improved. What would be important to me as an MP would be making sure that I work for the people and what they want to happen. I would hate to think after however many years that people felt “We voted for her but what has she done for us.”

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

Christine Jardine selected as PPC for Gordon

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 28th January 2014 - 9:02 pm

S Delaney A McInnes W Rennie C Jardine M BruceChristine Jardine, who was widely recognised to have put in a great performance as candidate in the Aberdeen Donside by-election last June, has been selected as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Gordon, the constituency currently represented by our new Deputy Leader, Sir Malcolm Bruce. She is pictured second from the right here next to Sir Malcolm.

Christine is a journalist who previously worked in Aberdeen for the Deeside Piper and the BBC. She also spent a year as a Special Adviser in Downing Street.

Nick Clegg was quick to tweet his congratulations, although he needs to learn that the hashtag from that energetic and happy campaign in the Summer is actually #teamchristine:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Christine Jardine: Campbell-Bannerman, School Meals Pioneer

By NewsHound | Fri 10th January 2014 - 5:19 pm

There has been some controversy about Nick Clegg’s sudden announcement last September that schoolchildren would get a hot meal every day at school for the first 3 years. Some within the Party feel that resources could be better spent. Others argue that it does make a difference, having a direct effect on children’s learning ability.

Clegg though, is not the first liberal to be associated with such a policy, as former Special Adviser Christine Jardine wrote in the Scotsman this week:

Exactly a century ago, the last Liberal government to win a majority at Westminster made their policy compulsory to ensure councils

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Christine Jardine: Privatised Royal Mail might prosper

By NewsHound | Thu 26th September 2013 - 10:55 am

Former special adviser and Liberal Democrat candidate Christine Jardine writes in today’s Scotsman about the prospects fora privatised Royal Mail.

She first talks about her shock when she heard that our government was going to take this step:

Were they really going where Peter Mandelson had failed and Margaret Thatcher had not dared?

But gradually as I researched beyond the tabloid headlines and thought about it in detail it began to make sense.

After all, when was the last time I ordered a delivery and expected it to arrive in the daily post?

That same daily post that arrives after I’ve left for the day,

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , and | 20 Comments
Caron Lindsay

A Level Results: are we too university focused?

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 15th August 2013 - 11:35 am

Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, A level students find out their results today. Will their grades be enough to get them into the university course that they want? For those who don’t, it’s likely that they’ll feel that their whole lives have been blighted and their opportunities for career success blighted. This is because we have come to equate success with a university education when in fact there are many other routes to a happy, fulfilling, lucrative career. Do we put too much pressure on our children to go to university?

Christine Jardine, former Special Adviser to Nick Clegg and …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 23 Comments
Caron Lindsay

AD LIB preview – August 2013: bringing communities together, campaigning success and bringing up children in Parliament

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 3rd August 2013 - 9:20 am

AD LiB August 2013It’s been a few months since I’ve reviewed an AD LIB. Partly that’s because I’ve never got round to doing it, although there was one month, June, I think it was, when I almost spontaneously combusted while reading it on a train. If the dominance of articles about men wasn’t bad enough, the photographs were even worse. I counted something like 26 photographs of men to 10 containing any women at all.

And then there was the recipe. A whole crayfish and a whole lobster? Do they think we’re …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , and | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Moore and Jardine remember Piper Alpha disaster 25 years on

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th July 2013 - 3:22 pm

It seems incredible to think that it’s a quarter of a century since 167 people lost their lives in the explosion on the Piper Alpha oil platform.

Today Michael Moore as Secretary of State for Scotland, laid a wreath on behalf of the UK Government at the memorial in Aberdeen. Ahead of this, he said:

It is important that we never forget those who have lost their lives in our oil and gas industry.  25 years on from Piper Alpha, the loss of 167 lives is something that families and communities across the whole country are still coming to terms with.
Since the

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Caron Lindsay

LibLink..Christine Jardine: Lib Dems taking high-minded road

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 4th July 2013 - 6:59 pm

After her excellent performance and decent result as our candidate in the Aberdeen Donside by-election, Christine Jardine has been back writing for the Scotsman. She argues that voters are much more positive about the Liberal Democrats and are starting to respect what we are going in Government.

She started off by highlighting a problem that wouldn’t be resolved by independence – bias towards the Central Belt:

But for me the one disappointment is that so many of the Scottish political establishment still don’t understand that politics in Aberdeen is different from the central belt. And it’s not just Aberdeen. The Highlands, Borders,

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Vote up, share of vote up and up to 3rd place – good result for Team Christine in Aberdeen Donside

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 21st June 2013 - 9:02 am

aberdeen donside hqChristine Jardine and her team delivered an excellent result for the Liberal Democrats in the Aberdeen Donside Scottish Parliament by-election. Bearing in mind that we had come 4th in the seat 2 years ago, many pundits thought we would lose our deposit and might even come behind UKIP. In the end, we leapfrogged the Tories to grab 3rd place, with a vote share up from 6% to 8.3%. All that on a fraction of the budget enjoyed by Labour and the SNP.

The seat was won by the SNP’s Mark …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 8 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Tim Farron says: “Help get the vote out for Christine Jardine”

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 20th June 2013 - 9:30 am

For the last month, Team Christine has done a power of work in the Holyrood by-election in Aberdeen Donside. They have delivered an incredibly good campaign which has gone down very well on the doorsteps in Bridge of Don, Dyce, Danestone and Kingswells for our energetic, warm and generally wonderful candidate Christine Jardine.

Today is polling day and, for the occasion, Tim Farron has recorded a video. He has been doing some phoning for Christine, which has been very much appreciated. His spies have obviously told him how fabulous Liberal Youth Scotland have been, with many of them putting their lives on hold to be part of the campaign team.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

Can you help Christine Jardine’s campaign in Aberdeen Donside this weekend?

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 31st May 2013 - 3:15 pm

aberdeen donside hqHave you recovered from the May elections? Are you raring to go again? Well, obviously you will have things in your own patch to do, but you might also want to help our candidate Christine Jardine in the Aberdeen Donside Scottish Parliament by-election which takes place on 20th June.

For those of you far away from Aberdeen, you can phone bank through Connect. If you are within travelling distance, though, Willie Rennie is there today and Jo Swinson is there tomorrow to help Christine’s campaign. In an email to Scottish …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
Daniel O'Malley

Opinion: The Scottish Liberal Democrats fight back

By Daniel O'Malley | Thu 30th May 2013 - 4:20 pm

“It’s not the end, it’s not the beginning of the end but it might be the end of the beginning of the fightback” were the inspiring words tweeted by Paddy Ashdown on the day of the English council election results. The Liberal Democrats down south are moving out of the recovery period and moving into the fight back stage. The question however is how are the Liberal Democrats doing in Scotland?

The recent Leaderdale and Melrose by election, also on May 2nd, saw John Paton Day increase the vote by just over 9%. Following on from the success of Eastleigh, the …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 7 Comments
NewsHound

Christine Jardine selected for Aberdeen Donside by-election

By NewsHound | Sat 11th May 2013 - 4:43 pm

S Delaney A McInnes W Rennie C Jardine M BruceChristine Jardine, a former Downing Street Special Adviser, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Aberdeen Donside Scottish Parliament by-election caused by the death o SNP MSP Brian Adam last month. She is seen second on the right in the photograph, which also features Cllr Steve Delaney, Alison McInnes MSP, Scottish leader Willie Rennie MSP and Sir Malcolm Bruce MP.

The by-election will take place on June 20.

Liberal Democrat Voice readers will be familiar with her name because of occasional …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 4 Comments
Caron Lindsay

LibLink…Christine Jardine: Referendum drowns out more pressing issues

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th March 2013 - 10:58 am

Former Downing Street insider Christine Jardine, now back in Scotland and selected as a Liberal Democrat Euro-candidate, highlights in the Scotsman how more urgent problems are being forgotten as Scotland gears up for the Independence Referendum.

While all the attention is on 18th September 2014, Christine reminds us that there is some serious stuff going on now:

Traditionally, conferences, like the SNP’s recent gathering in Inverness, are where policy announcements are made, government plans set out and ministers take the opportunity to highlight their successes in the full glare of the media spotlight. But not this time. This time I waited in

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , and | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

LibLink: Christine Jardine… Stop pressuring our children to be perfect

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 1st January 2013 - 11:15 am

Children in Quito, South America - Some rights reserved by epSos.deIt’s New Year and every single magazine aimed at women and girls will inevitably be full of the latest crash diet. Whether it’s claiming you’ll lose a stone in seven days, or banning carbs or suggesting you base your diet on cabbage soup or eggs, we are told that we should get rid of the excesses of the Festive Season as soon as possible with often drastic measures.

Jo Swinson recently wrote an open letter to magazine

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , and | 6 Comments
Caron Lindsay

LibLink: Christine Jardine..A coffee with a sweeter taste

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 5th December 2012 - 11:27 am

Christine Jardine was until this Summer a Liberal Democrat Special Adviser at the heart of Government. She is now back working full time in politics in Scotland and writing occasionally for the Scotsman.

This week she’s turned her attention to the fact that large corporations like Starbucks don’t pay tax in the UK and reflects on the good that local, independent coffee shops bring to the community:

As I sat there enjoying my Americano, eyeing up the chocolate cake and cinnamon swirls, I began to think about the value that the entrepreneur behind the counter had brought to my community.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

Scottish Euro-selection: George Lyon reselected at top of list

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 4th December 2012 - 4:22 pm

George Lyon MEP has been reselected at the top of the list in the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ European selections. Although the votes were counted last Thursday, the results were only announced this afternoon because of a delay in contacting one of the candidates.

Lyon attracted 80.7% of first preferences which will give him bragging rights over Sir Graham Watson in the South West who must have thought his total of 79% would not be beaten.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

LibLink: Christine Jardine – Balance of Scottish power

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 23rd August 2012 - 9:25 am

Until the Summer, Christine Jardine was deep at the heart of Government as a special adviser on Scottish media based in Downing Street. She’s now returned to Scotland and full time Liberal Democrat politics.

This week, in the Scotsman, she argued that over reliance on land based wind farms can hurt the communities where they are based and predominantly benefits the landowners who pocket the subsidy and don’t pass it on to local people. She argued that more attention should be given to offshore and tidal projects, like the one Scottish Secretary Mike Moore was so enthusiastic about a few …

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Link: Christine Jardine – Scottish Lib Dems on the ropes but definitely not down and out

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th July 2012 - 11:55 am

Christine Jardine was until recently the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ very own CJ inside Downing Street as special adviser on Scottish affairs. She’s now returning to full time politics in Scotland and is looking towards Westminster and Holyrood elections in 2015 and 2015. She’s started off by writing in yesterday’s Scotsman about what she sees as the way forward for the party in Scotland.

She puts forward a robust defence of the calm professionalism of our ministers, MPs and advisers and argues that we activists need to get out on the doorsteps and take the message of their achievements directly to the voters.

For

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged , and | 5 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Peter Martin
    " The idea that he poses a serious military threat to the European nations of NATO is fanciful." Yes. It is. Russia has a population of around ...
  • Jenny Barnes
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jun/14/vladimir-putin-ukraine-war-borders-russian-president Other commentators think it's quite probable...
  • expats
    @Andrew Tampion 14th Jun '26 - 7:48am... Why is Neil Hickman's post 'appalling'? After all, many football fans (Tottenham) want their own team to lose if it ...
  • Angie Harris
    Elizabeth Plummer MBE Elizabeth has, for many years, been much more than “Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Lib Dems in the House of Lords”. She joined...
  • Andrew Tampion
    "I confess my main feeling about the current World Cup is a burning desire for the USA to lose, preferably extremely humiliatingly, to a team which is brown and...