Tag Archives: colin breed

The Voice

Former Lib Dem MP Colin Breed has died

By The Voice | Wed 15th May 2024 - 8:44 pm

Colin Breed, who was the Liberal Democrat MP for South East Cornwall between 1997 and 2010 has died.

From Cornwall Live:

On the retirement of the sitting Conservative MP Sir Robert Hicks, Mr Breed was selected to fight the seat at the 1997 general election and won, with a majority of 6,480, three days before his 50th birthday. His first parliamentary job was as the party’s spokesman on competition and consumer affairs, and his report Checking Out the Supermarkets sparked the Competition Commission’s investigation into supermarket profitability.

In October 1999 leader Charles Kennedy appointed him to the Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister; in September 2000 he published Roots To Recovery, a paper on the future of rural Britain. In 2002 he became the junior spokesperson on defence.

Colim Martin, the Leader of the Lib Dems on Cornwall Council, paid tribute to Colin:

Colin gave me my first job in politics, when I came to work for him in Liskeard in 2005, and it soon became clear to me that he embodied so many of the qualities a good MP should have.

He was kind and friendly to everyone. He never took himself too seriously, but he knew he had a serious job to do. He was observant, curious and thoughtful, so he had developed a detailed understanding of the factors influencing everything from the price of a pint of milk to building a bypass, and as well as looking after South East Cornwall he tried to foster a more peaceful world, voting against the war in Iraq and making many visits to the Middle East to promote greater understanding between people of different religions.

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Stephen Tall

Eric v Paddy: who’s the “frail and confused” one?

By Stephen Tall | Sun 17th January 2010 - 7:04 pm

Eric Pickles has, we hear, labelled Paddy Ashdown “frail and confused”. It seems an odd charge for the lifelong political hack and current Tory chairman, Mr Pickles, to level against Paddy – a former Marine, diplomat and spy, who’s placed himself in danger in service of his country more times than Eric’s had hot dinners (no mean feat).

Here’s a picture of Eric.

And here’s a picture of Paddy (taken just last week, I believe).

And now let’s see Eric in action – in his infamous car-crash appearance on BBC1’s Question Time. A cruel person might observe that Eric seems a little, well, “frail and confused” as he tries to justify his second home allowance:

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Stephen Tall

Lib Dems in the pink

By Stephen Tall | Thu 3rd January 2008 - 11:23 pm

There’s an in-depth interview with David Heath MP, Lib Dem shadow secretary of state for justice, in Pink News – you can read it in full here. Around half of it is devoted to exploring the Lib Dem stance on the proposed new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.

The other half covers more varied ground, including David’s take on Ming Campbell’s resignation, whether he’s worried by David Cameron (he has a wafer-thin majority over the Tories), and what it’s like to be the only optician – ever – in the Commons.

Elsewhere, Pink …

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Stephen Tall

How the MPs are lining up (UPDATED)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd November 2007 - 11:25 am

By popular request, here’s the current list of which Lib Dem MPs have declared for which leadership candidate so far. (Originally compiled with the help of Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph.)

The list shows that Nick has attracted two MPs who supported Chris as leader in 2006: Greg Mulholland and Stephen Williams; and eight who supported Simon Hughes (all listed below). Chris has attracted one former Ming Campbell backer – Tom Brake – and three MPs who supported Simon Hughes last time.

Eight MPs have stated they will not declare for any candidate; four have yet – so far as I’m aware – to state their intentions.

As we continue to note, the number of MPs who declare for any one candidate is, in one sense, irrelevant: we are a one-member-one-vote party. Clearly, however, MPs’ endorsements will carry some influence with party members, especially among non-activists.

The full list appears below:

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Stephen Tall

How the MPs are lining up (UPDATED)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 25th October 2007 - 2:57 pm

I’m grateful to Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph, who has compiled (and allowed me to reproduce here) his up-to-date list of which Lib Dem MPs have declared for which leadership candidate so far.

Jonathan comments: “Below are my most up-to-date lists, which suggest that Huhne now cannot possibly overtake Clegg in terms of MPs declaring. Brackets state where they went in the 2006 election.”

The list shows that Nick has attracted two MPs who supported Chris as leader in 2006: Greg Mulholland and Stephen Williams; and seven who supported Simon Hughes (all listed below). Chris has attracted one former Ming Campbell backer – Tom Brake – and two MPs who supported Simon Hughes last time.

Nine MPs have stated they will not declare for any candidate; 14 have yet to state their intentions.

As was pointed out in the comments on yesterday’s thread, the number of MPs who declare for any one candidate is, in one sense, irrelevant: we are a one-member-one-vote party. Clearly, however, MPs’ endorsements will carry some influence with party members, especially among non-activists.

It will also influence how the media perceives, and then reports, the strengths of the respective leadership campaigns. Though, of course, being seen as the favourite is not always the most comfortable of positions, as Ming Campbell discovered last time. Lib Dems do love an underdog.

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Stephen Tall

Colin Breed to stand down

By Stephen Tall | Mon 8th October 2007 - 11:26 pm

Colin Breed, Liberal Democrat MP for South East Cornwall has announced that he will not seek re-election at the next general election.

Full story over at the ThisIsPlymouth website.

(Hat-tip: Stephen Gilbert commenting on LDV earlier.)

Posted in News and Selection news | 18 Comments
Stephen Tall

What Lib Dem MPs will be reading this summer

By Stephen Tall | Mon 2nd July 2007 - 1:37 pm

We’re into July, yet summer seems to have decided to give the UK a miss this year (so far). No matter.

Packing books for the beach (or wherever) is as much a summer ritual as the Brits crashing out of Wimbledon, and helping out in the latest Parliamentary by-elections. So Lib Dem Voice asked a few of the party’s MPs which books they’d be taking with them on holiday this year. Here’s what they told us:

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