Tag Archives: neil trafford

Emotion, mischief, hard work and an absent friend: inside the Sleaford & North Hykeham campaign

Yesterday, sitting at my desk here in Sleaford and North Hykeham two of the best activists I have had the pleasure of working with over my 28 years in the party, were somewhat surprised to see me holding my head in my hands and crying.

The morning had been busy, too busy, the press have just noticed that this by-election is happening, and I have lots to do. Too much to do. In fact we are doing massive amounts and it’s going well. But I had a wobble and so went out delivering a round of leaflets or two. It’s cold here in Lincolnshire on these December mornings and it’s clears your head a little. But nonetheless I was thinking too much and making little progress. As I got back in the car and went to come back to the HQ we put the radio on and out came Snow Patrol’s Run.

Let me explain – my best mate Cllr Neil Trafford was killed in a car crash 8 years ago and at his memorial service – 8 years ago on 6 December 2008 (!) we played a recording of his sister Hannah singing Run.

Now this by-election in deepest Lincolnshire is going on and Neil is one of the people I would have turned to for help, advice and assistance. He would have loved it and been here and amusing us all, and he would have been causing mischief. As it is, I am causing enough mischief.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 4 Comments

Outstanding Liberal Democrat Campaigner of the Year

Campaigning is an all year round slog and most intensive for the staff and full-time campaigners who do this every day, every week. In that context many of you will have fond memories of Cllr Neil Trafford, Federal Campaigns Officer for the north west of England. Neil tragically died in an accident last year, but a group of us have used that sad occasion to institute a new award within the party.

This award will be for the outstanding member of campaigns staff – be they employed by a Local Party, constituency, MP, MSP, AM, MEP or indeed the federal …

Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 7 Comments

LDV Awards 2008: Lib Dem Campaigner of the Year & Most Desperate Press Release of the Year

Many thanks to the 200+ LDV readers who took part in our end-of-year awards, which ran between 23rd and 28th December. Voting was conducted via Liberty Research using the alternative vote method of ranking the nominees for each of the eight categories. Yesterday, we announced the winners of Politician of the Year, and By-election Performance of the Year. Today, the next and final two Lib Dem categories:

Liberal Democrat Campaigner of the Year

There were four very strong contenders in this category. In particular, can I highlight Neil Trafford, a Lib Dem councillor in Manchester and the party’s …

Posted in LDV Awards | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Tim
    Hywel - the source of the "Norwegian gas is cleaner than UK gas" is here - https://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/sp-global/two-thirds-of-uk-and-...
  • Jason Connor
    No that was Nick Clegg in full flow on tuition fees....
  • Jason Connor
    I couldn't agree more with the first 3 posts. I heard a figure of 75% of households still use gas. The council stopped installing heat pumps on my estate as the...
  • Hywel
    "According to the regulator’s own figures, pipeline gas from Norway is produced with less than a third of the emissions of Britain’s North Sea output." W...
  • Chloe
    Well said David. There are 20 million gas boilers in the UK & not everyone has a spare few grand to change to heat pumps or have a suitable system that enab...