Tag Archives: lisa smart

Laura Gordon

Rebellions are built in Hope – the launch of the Northern Liberal Network

By Laura Gordon | Fri 3rd January 2020 - 1:00 pm

New year is a time for new projects. And with a parliament likely to last four years, we have time to devote to thinking about where we want the party to be by 2024 – and how we get there. So before Christmas, Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) and I met up for a pub lunch in the Peak District. We picked Hope, partly because it’s halfway between our homes, and partly because… well… we could use some hope.

While this election was disappointing across the board, the result masks significant regional variation. We did relatively well in London and the south east, despite heartbreaking near-misses in Wimbledon and Carshalton and Wallington. But elsewhere in the country our performance was weaker – even in areas, like Sheffield Hallam, that voted remain.

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged and | 26 Comments
The Voice

A longer listen for the weekend: Can liberalism be better advanced by Lib Dems or Tories?

By The Voice | Sat 15th March 2014 - 11:07 am

That was the topic up for debate at a fringe event a week ago at Spring Conference, hosted jointly by the Electoral Reform Society and Liberal Reform.

Lisa Smart, PPC for Hazel Grove, chaired the discussion, with Lib Dem MP Jeremy Browne, Conservative and Director of Bright Blue Ryan Shorthouse, and the ERS’s Nick Tyrone completing the panel.

As Jeremy indicates at the beginning of his remarks, he can answer the question shortly: the Lib Dems are the proper home for liberals. But fortunately for the audience he elaborated a little, including some challenges that he thinks the party has to meet if it is to remain at the liberal cutting edge.

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 46 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: Sticking to the task

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 6th October 2013 - 12:14 pm

The letter is much more interesting than its uninspiring title. A very personal tribute to Andrew Stunell, standing down as MP for Hazel Grove in 2015  and praise for Lisa Smart, who was this week  selected to fight the seat. The underlying theme is that Liberal Democrats are anchoring Britain in the liberal centre ground while the other parties lurch to left and right. 

The personal stuff about Andrew and Lisa made me think that it would be good if, over the next few months, he highlighted the successes of some of our local councillors as well as parliamentary candidate as …

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 11 Comments
The Voice

Andrew Stunell to stand down in 2015; Lisa Smart selected

By The Voice | Tue 1st October 2013 - 8:41 am

stunnell and smartAndrew Stunell has announced that in 2015 he will be retiring as the MP for Hazel Grove, where he was first elected in 1997.

Andrew, who was knighted in this summer’s Birthday Honours, has held several roles within the Parliamentary party, including Chief Whip, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and more recently as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in the Coalition.

Before entering Parliament he had a wealth of experience in local government, serving as a councillor for many years, as an …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 18 Comments
Helen Duffett

Labour holds Inverclyde with reduced majority

By Helen Duffett | Fri 1st July 2011 - 6:32 am

From the BBC:

Labour has won the Inverclyde by-election for the UK parliament but its majority has been more than halved.

Iain McKenzie took the Westminster seat with 15,118 votes over the SNP’s Anne McLaughlin on 9,280. Labour’s majority fell from 14,416 at the 2010 general election to 5,838.

The Conservatives took third place with 2,784, the Liberal Democrats polled 627 votes and UKIP was fifth with 288.

The by-election was held after the death of David Cairns in May, aged 44.

Read the full story here.

In local council by-election news:

Wandsworth LBC, Thamesfield:
Con 1497;
Lab 1022;
LD Lisa Smart 545;
Green 202.
Con HOLD.
Turnout 28.1%

Broxbourne BC, …

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Posted in Council by-elections, News and Parliamentary by-elections | Also tagged , , , and | 27 Comments
Stephen Tall

Nick Clegg in the Observer: “I am a hop and a skip from Cameron’s office.”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 19th September 2010 - 11:20 am

Nick Clegg is interviewed in today’s Observer, and — as ever with Nick — there are many eminently quotable lines. So here’s a filleted gamble through what he has to say…

On the Lib/Con Coalition:

“It’s seen as unnatural. It’s like cross-breeding between animal strains that shouldn’t,” he says, finally alighting on a comparison from the world of dogs. “We’ve got a sort of Crufts-like language about politics. It’s all about purism and tribalism. And you’re dealing with a government which is a mongrel mix of different blends and ideologies.”

On how the two parties are governing together:

Nick’s not interested in “tearing …

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Posted in Conference | Also tagged | 4 Comments
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