Tag Archives: honours

The Voice

Lib Dems honoured in New Year list

By The Voice | Tue 31st December 2024 - 9:51 am

The traditional New Year Honours list has brought recognition for SIX Liberal Democrats.

Hina Bokhari AM is on her second term as a London Assembly Member. She has a great record within the party for campaigning on diversity and inclusion. Her OBE is given for “services to young People, to charity and to inter-faith relations.” Now is a good time to remind you of the articles she has written for us over the years which are full of tips for bringing people together and encouraging understanding.

Janet Grauberg is a Lib Dem campaigner in Camden. She lost by only 38 votes in West Hampstead in 2022.   She also has a long career in education and has been given her OBE for “for services to the community in North London and to education.”

Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe has represented his community on Powys Council since he was 21 years old. He gets an MBE in recognition of his “charitable Services to Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).” Gareth talked to the Powys County Times about how he found uut:

I was deeply touched to receive it,” said Cllr Ratcliffe. “It came on my birthday a letter arrived, my boy rang me and he said there is a letter from the cabinet office.

I chaired the national park authority through the change of chief executive and also through the pandemic.

He talked about his long  public service:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 2 Comments
The Voice

Four Lib Dems honoured in New Year Honours List

By The Voice | Fri 29th December 2023 - 11:00 pm

We interrupt our festive break to bring you the happy news that the Liberal Democrats have seen three people honoured in the New Years Honours list.

Jude Godden has been awarded an MBE for her services to local politics, Gavin Stollar has been awarded an OBE for his work within the Jewish Community and Andrew Dixon was awarded an OBE for his work in tackling inequality and for his support to British entrepreneurs.

Jude Godden

Jude Godden has been serving her community for the past 20 years, first running adult education for a large rural area and delivering over 200 courses a year as well as delivering cardiac rehabilitation courses and then more recently, as Head of Casework for Tim Farron MP. During the years she has worked for Tim Farron’s office she has made a massive difference. She has been instrumental in investigating and exposing two major national health scandals by supporting whistleblowers to have their voices heard, one of which was featured on the BBC. She single-handedly repatriated 57 people when the pandemic hit from around the world by working day and night till they were safely home. Recently she has helped refugees who were struggling to get visas to leave Ukraine and faced deportation back to a war zone. Jude has successfully returned over a million pounds to constituents and has acted as an advocate for countless people to ensure social justice is delivered.

Ed Davey congratulated Jude on her MBE

My warmest congratulations to Jude Godden, who’s charitable spirit is so importantly recognised in today’s honours.

Jude is a carer for a family member, as well as a caseworker for Tim Farron and has served her local area tirelessly for over 20 years.

Everyone in the Liberal Democrats is so proud of Jude’s work and this well-deserved accomplishment.

Gavin Stollar

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Mark Valladares

21 October 2022 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 21st October 2022 - 10:30 pm
  • Block Boris: Parliamentary motion tabled to stop Boris Johnson
  • Appointments Commission urged to give no resignation gongs to Truss

Block Boris: Parliamentary motion tabled to stop Boris Johnson

The Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion in Parliament to block Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister again.

The motion seeks to stop MPs who were found to have broken the law while in government from becoming Prime Minister. The Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper has described Johnson as “Britain’s Berlusconi” and said he is not fit to govern Britain.

Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said:

Boris Johnson is Britain’s Berlusconi. Conservative MPs are

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , and | 7 Comments
Sandra Fayle

The political honours system is sick, possibly fatally

By Sandra Fayle | Mon 8th August 2016 - 12:30 pm

BEM

I lost my job following the General Election of May 2015 after nearly 35 years of working in and around politics.  MPs are not generally held in high esteem but in my experience, they are overwhelmingly decently motivated.

An exception is the blind spot of political parties, including on occasion the Lib Dems, for the political honours system.

Lynton Crosby, said to have been paid £500,000 for his work on behalf of the Tories and with no long term commitment to the UK was the outrage six months ago.  Now we have David Cameron’s resignation list.  And so it goes on. The other parties condemn but then go on to do the same.

Way down the honours list you find British Empire Medals. BEMs are given to individuals for dedication and hard work in their communities, typically for unpaid voluntary work, sometimes over decades. Not glamorous or high profile and certainly not profitable.  Recently a 99 year old received a BEM for 50 years of service to her community.  Another elderly recipient was an Auschwitz survivor who volunteers with the Holocaust Memorial Trust. Ordinary people giving their time altruistically and sometimes extraordinarily, for no financial reward.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | 9 Comments
The Voice

A tale of two Lib Dem knights

By The Voice | Fri 18th December 2015 - 7:14 pm

Twice in the last 8 days a former Liberal Democrat Cabinet Minister has headed to the Palace to kneel before Prince Charles to formally receive their knighthood.

Last week it was the turn of Sir Danny Alexander, who said:

It was a great honour and a wonderful ceremony and it’s all rather humbling.

It was something I didn’t expect but it is a real honour to have the recognition for the work I did in the coalition government – turning the economy around and getting the country on the right track.

Today, Sir Vince Cable had his big day. The Yorkshire Post has the story:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 10 Comments
The Voice

Sir Simon Hughes knighted by the Queen

By The Voice | Wed 11th November 2015 - 11:55 am

Sir Simon Hughes’ knighthood is official! Yesterday he went to Buckingham Palace to receive his insignia from the Queen.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrats in the New Year Honours list

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 31st December 2013 - 8:24 am

While we have been preparing our own Liberal Democrat Stars of 2013 (you can still submit your nominations), the Government has published its own list of recipients of New Year Honours list. For the first time ever, surprisingly since women make up more than half the population, they make up a slight majority of this list. It really might be time, though, for them to change the outdated way they list women. Married women are listed as their first names, then Mrs surname. Others have the designation Ms.  This is not the case for men, who are simply listed …

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

Arise, Sir Malcolm*

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 21st November 2012 - 7:27 pm

Gary Barlow and Kate Winslet are very lucky. Not only did they get to meet the Queen today as they received their respective CBE and OBE medals at Buckingham Palace, but they were in the same batch, if that’s the right word, as our very own Sir Malcolm Bruce.

It dawns on me that Barlow and Bruce are quite close to each other in the alphabet so they may even have been sitting near each other.

Sir Malcolm and Lady Bruce enjoyed a celebratory lunch with family and

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

Lib Dems should have had no part in ‘Knights of the Long Knives’ reshuffle honours

By Stephen Tall | Wed 5th September 2012 - 11:50 pm

Nick Harvey’s had a tough week. On Tuesday his ministerial career was brought to an abrupt and surprising halt when Nick Clegg told him he was ‘trading’ his post of armed forces minister for a Lib Dem foothold in another department.

The North Devon MP has been a victim of his own success. So shrewdly has he overseen the Trident nuclear weapons review — the crunch defence decision which divides Lib Dems and Tories — that it is highly likely to produce more effective, better value deterrent options, with a final decision not needed until 2016, after the next …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 21 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Michael BG
    Simon R, My point was that as rich people ignore their social responsibility there should be no surprise that those who feel excluded from the economic benef...
  • Mary ReidMary Reid
    @Simon R. I think you will find it a fascinating read. The authors set up The Equality Trust https://equalitytrust.org.uk/ - which explores the ideas further....
  • Simon R
    @Mary: Thanks for the link to The Spirit Level. That looks an interesting read, which I have now just added to my Amazon wishlist :-) I do though tend t...
  • Simon R
    I totally agree with Alan's article. There's nothing inconsistent with being liberal and being patriotic, and liberals should feel able to be proud of their cou...
  • Hywel
    I came looking here as I'd not seen the party's response reported anywhere. I'm not sure it was worth the Mbps I used up to get it as it is so vague and could ...