Tag Archives: mike tuffrey

Ed Fordham

Opinion: Three steps to better campaigning in London

By Ed Fordham | Wed 30th May 2012 - 3:24 pm

Immediately after the London Mayoral and GLA election Mike Tuffrey wrote some very shrewd observations on Lib Dem Voice. Now the dust has settled and the election results are known by ward perhaps it is time to think through the next stage of learning.

For me getting Caroline Pidgeon re-elected was always a top priority. I’m delighted that she has been joined by my long-standing friend Stephen Knight – the shame being that they are not joined by Bridget Fox and Shas Sheehan. But Stephen and Caroline will punch above their weight and the work they have already started …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Nick T

Questions left hanging over Boris’s cable car

By Nick T | Mon 17th October 2011 - 9:58 am

Conservative politicians spend much of their time criticising their Labour counterparts for the often-inefficient way in which they spend public money. This is often quite justifiable: the many billions wasted through disastrous PFI schemes, abandoned IT projects and expensive-but-pointless gimmicks under Labour are a shameful legacy.

But the gap between this Tory rhetoric and reality is often rather stark, and nowhere is this more evident than with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Take, for example, one of Boris’s pet projects of a cable car to transport people between the O2 arena and the Excel exhibition centre (both Olympic venues). Sounds like …

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Nick T

Tune in to Iain Dale’s Lib Dem night tonight on LBC, featuring Nick Clegg, Simon Hughes and others

By Nick T | Mon 8th August 2011 - 4:54 pm

Iain Dale returns to his evening show on London’s LBC radio tonight with a Lib Dem special. First up is a live Q & A with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, followed by interviews with a whole host of prominent Lib Dems, including three of the four London Mayoral hopefuls as well as deputy leader Simon Hughes.

Here’s the schedule in full from Iain’s blog:

6-7pm Live Q & A with LibDem leader Nick Clegg
7-7.30pm Interview with Nick Clegg (tbc)
7.30-8pm Reaction to Clegg with Lord Oakeshott, Susan Kramer & Jo Phillips
8-9pm Meet the LibDem London Mayoral Candidates – Brian Paddick, Brian

…

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Simon McGrath

Opinion: London Mayoral hustings, Round 2

By Simon McGrath | Sun 31st July 2011 - 4:27 pm

Having been to the London Mayoral hustings last week in Wimbledon (and written about it for LDV) I thought it would be interesting to go to the official hustings last night in central London to see how (or if) the candidates had changed. I don’t know if it was the different audience or the extra week and taking on board the various comment people made but all four candidates made better speeches and all seemed more confident of why they wanted to represent us.

By far the most improved was Lembit Opik. I could see why he has had …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 11 Comments
Richard Clare

Opinion: Mayoral Hustings – Twists and turns and four good horses

By Richard Clare | Sat 30th July 2011 - 3:54 pm

I’ve never been to such an event before so I didn’t know what to expect. Regardless, I made it to the Hustings in Kings Cross, the first ‘proper’ Hustings as I think the Chair described it.

Mike Tuffrey gave the first speech. It was fairly standard: he outlined his experience on the GLA and said that if he won the nomination, it would be his 14th election. “My 13th election wasn’t unlucky for me, in fact it was my best to date.” he said, naming a few impressive percentages the Lib Dems had got in the last London Assembly elections …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 12 Comments
Stephen Tall

Update on the latest twists and turns in the contest to become the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London

By Stephen Tall | Sat 23rd July 2011 - 8:15 pm

It’s been a fascinating — and characteristicaly bizarre — last 48 hours in the contest to become the Lib Dems’ London mayoral candidate.

There was the first hustings, reported here on LDV by Simon McGrath, which attracted comments from Brian Paddick, and some robust thoughts from Lembit Opik’s campaign manager Ed Joyce.

Further controversy was sparked by Peter Black’s blog-post yesterday, Lembit Öpik and the rewriting of history, highlighting a paragraph in Lembit’s manifesto which attributes his defeat in Montgomeryshire ‘to the incident in which Mick Bates drunkenly assaulted a paramedic in January 2010, which became …

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Posted in London | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 5 Comments
Simon McGrath

Opinion: Verdict from the first Mayoral Hustings – it’s a two horse race

By Simon McGrath | Thu 21st July 2011 - 3:27 pm

Merton Lib Dems Mayoral candidate hustings
Photo: Mayorwatch. See also @mayorwatch‘s live tweets from last night’s event.

Merton Liberal Democrats held the first hustings of the London Mayoral selection last night with all four candidates addressing an audience from Merton and surrounding constituencies.

I had never met or heard any of them before but the one speech I was expecting to enjoy was Lembit’s. I thought that I would be drawn to him despite myself but the reality was frankly disappointing. He was the …

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Posted in London | Also tagged , , , and | 40 Comments
Helen Duffett

London Mayoral candidate shortlist and revised timetable published

By Helen Duffett | Tue 12th July 2011 - 12:18 pm

London Region Liberal Democrats have announced the shortlist of four for the selection of the party’s Mayoral candidate for 2012:

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged , , and | 10 Comments
Duncan Stott

Opinion: Private sector tenants are disenfranchised

By Duncan Stott | Sun 10th July 2011 - 2:15 pm

There has been a lively debate on Lib Dem Voice this week on housing policy. Well-argued articles from Alex Marsh, Mike Tuffrey and Stephen Gilbert have ignited equally interesting debates in the comments. All sorts of intriguing policy ideas have been proposed to address the growing crisis in housing supply.

However, a great idea is just the starting point on the long journey to create a successful policy. For a mainstream party with ambitions to form the next government, it is crucial that ideas enjoy popular support with voters. Housing development invokes strong feelings amongst the electorate, both …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 13 Comments
Matt Sanders

Opinion: Liberal Democrats and Londoners deserve a three horse race

By Matt Sanders | Thu 16th June 2011 - 5:29 pm

Brian Paddick, who is now reported to be running for Mayor of London, has the experience and the high profile to take on Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.

Like it or not, the race next year is going to be personality politics at its most intense. With polls showing a lead for the Labour party in London, but Johnson and Livingstone running neck and neck, it’s in the big parties interests to make this “Ken vs Boris”.

I like and respect the other names who have put themselves forward for the Liberal Democrat nomination. Mike Tuffrey has quietly …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 27 Comments
The Voice

Mike Tuffrey says he will run for Mayor of London

By The Voice | Sun 12th June 2011 - 5:37 pm

Interviewed by the BBC today, London Assembly member Mike Tuffrey said he is throwing his hat into the ring to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor:

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Posted in London | 21 Comments
Nick T

Mike Tuffrey interviewed at The Guardian

By Nick T | Thu 19th May 2011 - 10:53 am

Over on Dave Hill’s London Blog at The Guardian, there’s an interview with London assembly member Mike Tuffrey. The piece touches on a whole range of interesting topics and is well worth a read, but here’s a short extract in the meantime:

Lack of ambition, in his view, has marked the first eleven years of mayoral rule. He credits Boris with engendering lots of small scale activity but, “When I stand back and ask what it really adds up to, I only give him five out of ten.” He thinks Ken Livingstone’s terms came up short too. “We have a

…

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Mark Pack

Brian Coleman tops lists of expense claims, again

By Mark Pack | Mon 16th May 2011 - 7:24 am

Conservative London Assembly member Brian Coleman has often been in the news over the years for his expense claims (not to mention his attempt to ban questions of himself), so I hesitate slightly to says it is “news” that new figures from the London Fire Brigade show him topping the list of expense claims:

Assembly Member
Brian Coleman April 2010 to March 2011 £3,480.20
Darren Johnson April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Gareth Bacon April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Mike Tuffrey April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Murad Qureshi April 2010

…

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Stephen Tall

Mike Tuffrey the choice of members for Lib Dem London mayoral candidate: LDV survey

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th May 2011 - 11:08 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 500 party members have responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Tuffrey set to beat Opik for London mayoral nomination

LDV asked: It’s thought that there are two names who may stand for the London mayoralty as the Lib Dem candidate in 2012: Lembit Opik and Mike Tuffrey. Who do you think you are most likely to vote for?

    10% – Lembit Opik
    56% – Mike Tuffrey
    18% – I do not

…

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Posted in LDV Members poll and Local government | Also tagged and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

“AV is a very British reform” – watch Nick Clegg’s speech

By Mark Pack | Sun 10th April 2011 - 1:30 pm

Yesterday Nick Clegg gave an excellent speech at the London Region Liberal Democrats conference, putting the case for a Yes vote in May’s AV referendum. I tried out filming it on my iPad, an experience that mostly worked pretty smoothly*, and you can watch the resulting footage here:

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Mark Pack

Opinion: Why Mike Tuffrey should be our candidate for Mayor of London

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th March 2011 - 8:55 am

Over the weekend I started up a ‘draft Mike Tuffrey‘ page on Facebook to encourage Mike Tuffrey, one of our London Assembly members, to put his name forward as our candidate for the 2012 Mayor elections.

Imagining your fantasy perfect candidate is always fun (a cross between Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams perhaps?) but as the actual selection is nearing for its second attempt, I’m not won over by the likely choices on offer – and I think Mike has an awful lot to contribute.

Why Mike Tuffrey

As a long-standing member of the London Assembly, and the leader of our group 2006-2010, he’s got a huge knowledge of London’s issues and the track record in power of both Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. He’s also regularly gone toe-to-toe with them at events such as Mayor’s Questions at City Hall – and frequently come out on top. He’s also consistently shown a passion for environmental issues which are crucial for London and important to so many Liberal Democrats.

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged and | 8 Comments
Helen Duffett

Dominic Carman withdraws from Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate race

By Helen Duffett | Mon 28th March 2011 - 8:12 am

In a comment on Lib Dem Voice this morning, Dominic Carman has said that he no longer intends to put his name forward as Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor.

Carman, who last week expressed an interest in standing, now plans to back Mike Tuffrey instead, whom members are lobbying to stand.

Dominic’s comment in fulll:

Given other commitments, I have reached the conclusion that I cannot financially afford to run an effective campaign as the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor. Regrettably, I will therefore not be putting my name forward when the selection procedure formally restarts in May. Having spoken

…

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Posted in London and Selection news | Also tagged and | 7 Comments
Nick T

LibLink: Mike Tuffrey – GLA Budget 2011: Failing to plan for the future

By Nick T | Tue 15th February 2011 - 12:55 pm

Over on the MayorWatch website, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, Mike Tuffrey, gives his take on Boris Johnson’s first budget under the coalition government. Mike believes that the Mayor’s budget “fails to grasp the opportunities offered by the coalition’s localism agenda and continues to rely on financial reserves to defer difficult, but necessary, decisions”.

Here’s an excerpt:

Three years into his mayoralty, this is Boris Johnson’s first budget since the change of government. Regrettably it fails to rise to the challenge of the new national reality.

In so doing, it exposes the direction that Boris Johnson intends to travel up to election day:

…

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Mark Pack

Susan Kramer for Mayor of London – the 2000 party political broadcast

By Mark Pack | Sun 16th January 2011 - 4:15 pm

Back in 2000, Susan Kramer was the first (and in many ways most successful) Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London. Here is her party political broadcast from that campaign, featuring several familiar faces including a young Mike Tuffrey and also Susan’s husband, John, who died tragically early in 2006:

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Posted in Lib Dem TV | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Mike Tuffrey on London air quality

By NewsHound | Thu 24th June 2010 - 8:43 pm

London Assembly member Mike Tuffrey has been writing for The Guardian about Britain’s poor record on air quality:

Your report on Britain being given a second and final warning by theEuropean commission to clean up the capital’s air (Clean up! Europe warns Britain, 4 June) quoted a spokesman for the mayor of Londonsaying that his air quality strategy will help to “address the concerns that triggered this legal action”. I am far from convinced.

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Mark Pack

Caroline Pidgeon is new Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group

By Mark Pack | Thu 13th May 2010 - 10:20 am

From a party news release:

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport spokesperson, has become the new leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group.

She takes over from Mike Tuffrey, who has led the group since 2006.

Commenting on future plans for the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group Caroline Pidgeon said:

“The concerns of Londoners are the concerns of Liberal Democrats at City Hall.

“We recognise the vital importance of tackling crime and the fear of crime that affects every area in London. We will continue to be at the forefront of the campaign to protect police numbers and ensure that there …

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Posted in London | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Mike Tuffrey – No accounting for Boris Johnson

By NewsHound | Tue 23rd February 2010 - 6:50 pm

Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free blog, Lib Dem leader in the Greater London Assembly Mike Tuffrey argues that, though the mayor of London made many promises about changing the way the city is governed, nothing has materialised. Here’s an excerpt:

Alas, Johnson’s bold claims to change how London is governed have proved to be largely fanciful. The specific promise to introduce a cabinet system at city hall – an idea introduced by Livingstone, but afterwards abandoned by him – was quickly dropped, despite my constant probing. …

The mayor has also stopped holding regular press conferences at city hall,

…

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Stephen Tall

Leading Lib Dems’ approval ratings, as voted by party members

By Stephen Tall | Tue 16th February 2010 - 3:23 pm

A week ago, Lib Dem Voice invited the members of our private discussion forum (open to all Lib Dem members) inviting them to take part in a survey, conducted via Liberty Research, asking a number of questions about the party and the current state of British politics. Many thanks to the 200 of you who completed it; we’ve been publishing the results on LDV over the last few days.

LDV asked, How would you rate the performances of the following leading Liberal Democrats? And here’s what you told us (with results from September 2009 – the last …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV pre-conference members’ survey (2): leading Lib Dems’ approval ratings

By Stephen Tall | Thu 17th September 2009 - 2:25 pm

Over the last week or so, Lib Dem Voice has invited the members of our private forum (open to all Lib Dem members) inviting them to take part in a survey, conducted via Liberty Research, asking a number of questions about the party and the current state of British politics. Many thanks to the c.250 of you who completed it; we’re publishing the results on LDV over the next few days. You can catch up on the results of our exclusive LDV members’ surveys by clicking here.

Tomorrow we’ll take a look at the satsfaction ratings with the Lib Dem shadow cabinet; but today we’re going to focus on those leading Lib Dems beyond Westminster.

LDV asked, How would you rate the performances of the following leading Liberal Democrats? And here’s what you told us (with results from April – the last time LDV asked the question – in brackets):

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Helen Duffett

Bexley Conservatives throw out Ian Clement

By Helen Duffett | Mon 29th June 2009 - 5:09 pm

Ian Clement may have resigned last week as Boris Johnson’s deputy mayor, but his troubles are far from over.

From the Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservatives’ website:

At a meeting held on 25th June of the Bexleyheath and Crayford Conservative Association Executive Council, a unanimous decision was taken to immediately suspend the Association Membership of Ian Clement in light of recent reports in the press about his conduct.

The process of formally terminating his membership has begun. By the terms of our constitution, this will require a special meeting of the Executive Council, whereby fourteen days notice must be given to Mr Clement.

Last …

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Stephen Tall

Lib Dem Scottish and London budget news

By Stephen Tall | Tue 3rd February 2009 - 8:45 pm

Okay, okay I admit it – that title isn’t likely to entice in hordes of readers. But it is kinda important, so read on…

In Scotland:

The SNP will be able to pass its budget, second time around, thanks to the support of the Lib Dems. As the BBC reports:

In return for the party’s backing, ministers have agreed to take forward a strategy for boosting the economy. … The agreement was reached after Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens combined to vote down the budget in parliament last week, saying it would fail to help the Scottish economy through the

…

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Mark Pack

Success for Mike Tuffrey’s campaign to help the unemployed

By Mark Pack | Wed 14th January 2009 - 10:12 pm

The Tory Troll blog brings the good news:

Fair’s fair Boris, you’ve made a good decision here:

“Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today announced that over the next year London’s half-price bus and tram travel scheme will be extended to include thousands of unemployed Londoners in receipt of Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) or the new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).”…

Lib Dem Assembly Leader Mike Tuffrey, who campaigned for the extension, said today:

“No one should be forced to turn down an interview because they can’t afford a bus fare. Yet Boris Johnson has put up fares this month by 11% – three times

…

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Posted in London and News | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Mike Tuffrey

Six months on, what shape is Boris Johnson’s mayoralty in?

By Mike Tuffrey | Mon 20th October 2008 - 9:54 am

Asked by Lib Dem Voice back in June what I was making of it all, I guessed that “careful news planning should carry him safely through the honeymoon period”. I warned that “he will need to articulate a coherent vision and develop an enthusiasm for the process of government if he is to be a successful and admired mayor of the greatest city in the world”. And I concluded that we didn’t yet know “what Boris Johnson really stands for nor how London will be different and better at the end of his four year mayoralty”.

Today that fundamentally remains …

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Posted in London | Also tagged | 6 Comments
Mike Tuffrey

Boris Johnson – two months on

By Mike Tuffrey | Wed 2nd July 2008 - 9:23 am

Just days after his May 1st victory, looking out from his 8th floor office across the skyline of our great capital city, Boris Johnson repeated to me his early days mantra – yes, I was elected as a Conservative, but I am now mayor of the whole of London and will govern for the whole of London. Don’t believe what my opponents said, was his message, I’m no rabid right-winger.

Assessing his progress two months on, that clearly remains his desired positioning. It’s significant that his first gaffe – the sacking of deputy chief of staff, James McGrath, over ill-judged (but …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Also tagged | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

Election results: London and looking to the general election

By Mark Pack | Sat 3rd May 2008 - 11:17 am

London: you’ve probably seen the results by now I suspect (!), but if you’re after full vote share details for the London Assembly seats they are here whilst the London list results are here. Labour’s hold of Enfield and Haringey and gain of Brent and Harrow Assembly seats are striking results at a time of Labour defeats in so many other places. On the list, the election of a BNP member is the main piece of news. Overall, the Liberal Democrats lost two Assembly seats, with Mike Tuffrey, Dee Doocey and Caroline Pidgeon the three elected.

Looking to the general election, the

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 21 Comments
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