Tag Archives: Rock the boat

Presidential candidates respond to Rock the Boat

rocktheboatReaders may not all be familiar with ‘Rock the Boat – Lib Dems against sexual harassment’ given our semi-unofficial status within the party. We are not a formal association or SAO and we are mostly organised through networking and a private facebook group.

Launched in early 2013 in response to the first Channel 4 allegations about Lord Rennard’s behaviour, the group was a response from grassroots members to a fervent desire that the issues raised be thoroughly addressed in the party.

Posted in Party Presidency | Also tagged , , and | 11 Comments

Lord Rennard: Lib Dems continue investigation into peer while party official apologises for lapse

Chris RennardThe Guardian reports today on the latest developments in the Lord Rennard case, specifically:

  • A senior Lib Dem official has personally apologised to Lord Rennard “over the fact the party told the media an appeal against his suspension had been rejected before the peer himself was informed of the ruling.” (See LDV’s brief report, ‘Lord Rennard remains suspended’ (15th July).)
  • The party has abandoned its investigation into Lord Rennard for not apologising to the four women, who maintain he touched them inappropriately, as recommended by Alistair Webster QC’s inquiry,
  • Posted in News | Also tagged and | 30 Comments

    Opinion: So who are those Rock the Boat people?

    Rock the Boat logoEleven months ago the Liberal Democrat world was tipped on its axis when Channel 4 broadcast reports from women making serious allegations of sexual harassment against one of the Party’s most senior, loved and respected figures.  As the sorry tale unfolded it was clear that the party had failed to deal with the complaints they had made and had failed to let anyone involved in the terrible situation get justice. It became clear that we, as an organisation, had a cultural problem and no idea of how to get our house in order.

    As one would expect – if you know Lib Dems at all – the grassroots spoke, and James Shaddock set up a Facebook group called “Rock the Boat.” It grew rapidly and now has over 400 Liberal Democrat members.  The idea was that sometimes you have to say or do uncomfortable things to stop sexual harassment – whether that is to speak out about your own experiences, write policy motions, tell your friends if you think they are behaving inappropriately, or even reflect on your own actions and behaviours and perhaps change them after some soul searching and analysis. Sadly, eleven months ago it became quite obvious that when people had spoken up on sexual harassment, they had been told “Don’t Rock the Boat” – hence the name.

    Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 15 Comments

    Opinion: Why we’re rocking the boat in Brighton this weekend

    I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership in relation to the party over the past few weeks in the wake of the allegations about the conduct of Lord Rennard, which he denies.

    Why did no one tackle this effectively at the time? Why did it take several brave women talking to the media for us to finally deal with such a serious problem?

    Credit where credit is due, Tim Gordon, the party’s Chief Executive has been impressive so far but is it enough?

    Not for me or other Liberal Democrats members. That is why we set up

    Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | Leave a comment
    Advert

    Recent Comments

    • David Allen
      @cim Yes, we're both struggling to get beyond the waffle, to "do a single thing which will improve anyone’s life", rather than just theorising about "proce...
    • Caracatus
      All the focus groups highlight town centre regeneration as a key issue, the lib dems have a great policy and for 8 years, they have kept it a secret so not eve...
    • Mick Taylor
      Actually what is really needed is fearless politicians, unafraid to make difficult decisions. What we have seen over many years is vacillation and u-turns. In t...
    • Jonathan Parry
      Good article, Roz. I hope that in your essay you will flesh out what you mean by 'communities'. It's a neat word for Lib Dems to use, but part of the party's ...
    • cim
      @David Allen I think the key - for electoral communications, at least - is to skip the description of the process entirely and go straight to the outcome. Yo...