Tag Archives: sleaford and north hykeham

Lessons from Lincolnshire

By Ed Fordham | Fri 9th December 2016 - 7:14 pm

Elections come and go, but the memories and the camaraderie live on. The telling of old by-election stories and hearing them re-written over time and years is part of the fun. But they can also be sad and hurtful.

It has taken me years to get over the deep personal trauma that I now realise I suffered in the aftermath of years of campaigning to win Hampstead and Kilburn, and the impact of losing on a recount. And I probably will never fully lose that trauma. Yet I am sitting here now in the wreckage of a by-election HQ and I’m beaming.

Here in the HQ it’s down to just me and the agent Ian Horner. Even Ada our host has gone shopping, and yet neither of us feel sad. There is a positive mood about what we achieved and a satisfaction about a job well done.

You all know the result. You had predicted it and over analaysed it before the count had even commenced so I won’t attempt to drag over it again here. But let me offer some thoughts that I think are important for the Liberal Democrats, and for me, issues we urgently need to address and tackle.

Why we need to help in Sleaford and North Hykeham

By Sam Webber | Wed 7th December 2016 - 3:30 pm

Okay, it’s true I enjoy elections! I get a buzz, enjoy the friendships made and love the campaign. Every election has a different vibe, atmosphere – much set by the tone and timing of the campaign and much set by the candidate & campaign manager. I started with Brent East and have a string of by-elections under my activist belt – Leicester South, Bromley and Chislehurst, Ealing Southall, Henley, Norwich North, Oldham East and Saddleworth, Croydon North, Eastleigh, Rochester and Strood, Witney, Richmond Park and now I will be helping Sleaford and North Hykeham.

I don’t pick and choose my elections – in many respects none of us do. They occur and time and travel permitting we go. But there is a small outstanding issue it seems to me. People make a judgement based on their perceptions. They sit and home and become a specialist results predictor – who will win and who will lose.

Posted in Op-eds | 3 Comments

From Witney to Richmond Park – and then to Sleaford and North Hykeham

By Ross Pepper | Thu 24th November 2016 - 8:55 am

Wow. That’s the only response that I have found so far that fully expresses our delight, surprise, joy and gratitude at the level of activity and campaign that has been launched so quickly and so effectively for the Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election.

Our objective in this by-election is simple – we want to build and light as many beacons of liberal democracy across the towns and villages here in the middle of Lincolnshire. We are determined to end the way that the Tories have taken Lincolnshire for

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged parliamentary by-elections and ross pepper | 2 Comments

Sleaford and North Hykeham: Lighting a beacon of liberal democracy

By Ed Fordham | Mon 21st November 2016 - 4:27 pm

So what have the following years got in common? 2007, 2005, 1999, 1935 and 1937. It might seem a bit unlikely, but they are the year of birth of five of our activists who came out, fed and watered activists, wrote envelopes, stuffed and folded and delivered in Sleaford and North Hykeham.

Yes, this is a snapshot insight into the most unlikely and optimistic by-election campaigns that Lincolnshire and, indeed I would venture, the East Midlands has ever seen.

On paper the odds and the basis for such optimism is very very low, but let’s go through a few elements. We have two county councillors in the constituency and those seats successfully defended in 2017 should see us elect up to 7 councillors on North Kesteven District in 2019. So that would be progress. But it’s not enough. So we are also working very hard in Sleaford Town. That campaign, translated up in 2019, would elect a further 6 district councillors. So that too would be progress. But it’s not enough. So we are working to activate our traditional Lincolnshire support base in some of the larger villages. This is being done through contacting, motivating and empowering our members and critically our new members.

The means of doing this is very intensive, but the by-election is a great trigger and excuse so we are starting it all now.

Posted in News | 7 Comments