Tag Archives: ldhq

A quick shout out to the person who sends out the emails from LDHQ

Much of the information about the Trump protest in London came out in an email to members last night.

I didn’t get it.

This is a very good thing. Because as a Scot, I was getting all the info about the protest in Edinburgh on Saturday at which Christine Jardine is speaking (Meet at the Scottish Parliament at 11:45 am).

Heaven knows, I have whinged when things that affect England only are emailed to Scottish members. We Scots get a bit sensitive about these things.

So, when the lovely people who send the emails get it right, then they deserve the credit.

Thanks!

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How I broke LDHQ’s chatbot

A few days ago, I got a bright email from our party’s new Head of Membership and Member Engagement, Greg Foster.

You may well have had it too if you are a party member.

Its purpose is to advertise a new survey tool that the party is trialling.

It is basically a chatbot asking you questions in Messenger.

I had to have a go.

It felt very weird to be interacting with a bot, but I soon found myself typing away in relaxed and conversational tone with it as it asked me about my history in the party, what prompted me to join and what …

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Feeling appreciated

My poor husband doesn’t get a lot in the way of post. It tends to be bills, or adverts for stair lifts or begging letters from the Liberal Democrats.

The latter do not please him so I tend to intercept them so he doesn’t see them. He is of the not entirely unjustified opinion that his household has more than enough disruption because of his wife’s involvement in the party that they don’t need his money as well. The begging letters, 3 issues of Ad Lib a year and an absent wife sum up his membership experience. That and every five …

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Phil Reilly becomes Lib Dems’ Director of Communications

A familiar face heads back to Lib Dem HQ. Phil Reilly, the man who wrote Nick Clegg’s brilliant resignation speech which inspired 20,000 people to join the party, has been appointed interim Head of Communications following the departure of James Holt to pastures new. Phil has been working for Nick since then – including helping Nick with his new book which is coming out in September.

Since the election, he’s shared some funny stories on his blog, Blimey O’Reilly.

The most recent involves his old colleague Mr Holt, who had a bit of a brainwave at the Eastleigh by-election to get Nick Clegg out of the campaign HQ without being harassed by a throng of journalists. I wonder if Boris might consider using the same technique when he leaves home every day – although I doubt the same personnel would be as willing to help him.

The entrance to the building was an enormous roll-up, corrugated metal affair, like a huge garage door or the sort of thing you would use to protect a massive off license after hours. The press pack were all expecting the DPM to come out through the smaller front door, built into the roll-up wall, into an open car park, where they could pounce on him like jaguars on a gazelle. So, Holty arranged dozens of activists, some gripping placards and bright orange diamonds, inside the building facing the entrance, like infantry preparing to march into battle.

Behind the advanced guard was Nick Clegg flanked by dozens more activists and, rather conspicuously, a couple of the Metropolitan Police’s finest close protection officers.

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Why calling for HQ staff to be sacked is unacceptable and will not be tolerated on LDV

There have been a few snarky comments directed at me on various places on the internet because we don’t allow comments on this site which abuse members of HQ staff. We can’t always catch them all, so if you see any, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

I’ve also had a few very nasty emails calling me all sorts of names because of this policy from people who should know better. I mean, imagine if yours or your partner’s or your mum’s head was being called for on some random website. I doubt you would like it that much.

And bear in mind that you might think you have the right to inflict your opinions about individuals on the rest of the world, but they can’t answer back. That’s hardly a fair situation.

This evening, one member of staff posted this on their Facebook page. Some of you reading this will have seen it but if you are going to comment, please don’t mention their name. I did obviously get their permission before I posted it on here but it doesn’t need to be personalised.

What has been particularly unpleasant is the sight of senior Liberal Democrat figures pretty much suggesting that a particular individual should be pretty much deported.

How would you feel if that were you. Anyway, read how it actually makes real human beings feel.  They are hurting just as much as the rest of us with the added fear of potentially losing their jobs and we have a duty of care towards them as towards any other part of the Lib Dem family:

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Mittens and Cartoons: how political parties are trying to mobilise their supporters this Winter

liberal mittensI have been loving some of the stuff that our sister party in Canada has been sending out to supporters. Their Winter fundraising push involves them sending this fetching pair of mittens to anyone who donates over $100 over a two day period. It’s caused such a stir that those cheeky little mitts have their own parody Twitter account.

I bet their supporters team, led by the  equivalent of our Austin Rathe, had fun coming up with the accompanying email:

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Austin Rathe talks to the Standard about the importance of political geekery

imageThe appointment of Obama’s strategist David Axelrod to advise the Labour Party has prompted the Standard to take a look at the digital operations of the three main parties. All three are looking to the success of the Obama campaign’s collection and use of data.

We know that the most effective digital campaigners are those who spend most of their time on the doorsteps. Jo Swinson was a Twitter pioneer, as was Willie Rennie and we know how much time Tim Farron spends on there. These three share a massive commitment and …

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There are way too many elephants in Lib Dem Members’ survey

elephants - Some rights reserved by Colin the ScotYesterday, I was delighted to receive the latest Liberal Democrat members’ survey and I quickly completed it. Once I actually read the questions, though, some things made me snort with rage. I would be very surprised if they were able to glean any meaningful data from what they asked. Yes, they may well get a few decent press releases out of “Lib Dem Members’ favourite achievements in Government” or favourite things that we have stopped the Tories doing that will be covered only …

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Tim Farron writes…Introducing our new Pastoral Care Officer

Tim and JeanneOne of the key recommendations set out in the Morrissey report was that the Party should seek to appoint a Pastoral Care Officer.

I am delighted to announce that Jeanne Tarrant has been appointed to take on this role.  Jeanne will start work with us on 2nd January.

Jeanne’s career has progressed through nursing, midwifery and into the trade union movement. She has been a practising Midwife since 1994, and at the Royal College of Midwives she was responsible for managing employment relations with Hospital trusts around England. Jeanne has also …

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Liberal Democrats moving HQ : the future’s bright

The sun sets on Cowley Street

As the sun sets on Cowley Street, Lib Dem Chief Exec Chris Fox emails party members with the HQ’s change of address and a brief look back, before taking “another big step for the party and our ambitious modernisation programme”. (He also includes a handy list of contact details for other parts of the party.)

Simon Cooper’s sneak-preview photos show that for LDHQ, the future’s bright:

Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged , , , and | 12 Comments
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