It's been a long time for many of my friends and colleagues, so here's something to soothe the troubled brow, "Ich will dir mein Herze schenken", from Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion...
You viewed Liberal Democrat Voice 25,316 times so far today. Thank you for making us the place you come to when the proverbial solids of fate hit the Vent-Axia© of the Electoral Process. (RIP Humphrey Lyttelton).
"We need an agenda that's more like an unconference - an opportunity for us to have open discussions, big and small, about where we are, where we want to be, and why we want to get there. Let's have a blank slate and talk properly about what we're doing." Nick Barlow believes the Lib Dem spring conference should not see business as usual. Johnny Lyons argues that Isaiah Berlin's ideas have lost none of the bit of relevance. "Prehistoric sites cannot, and should not, be viewed through a Brexit lens, whether leave or remain." Kenny Brophy does not appreciate seeing ...
I've rather left the rest of the LDV team to their own devices today. Without a campaign of my own to worry about (we were stood down for the Greens, here in Bury St Edmunds), and with the nearest target seat fifty miles away, I've been slightly adrift from the experiences of the rest of you, and thus free to mind the shop, so to speak. Here are some thoughts... It wasn't a great night. Losing four sitting MPs, including Jo, and all of the newcomers is hardly something to celebrate. But, our share of the vote was up by ...
1. Eleven MPs is desperately disappointing, accentuated not only by Jo Swinson's own defeat but also by there being six further seats where the Lib Dems missed out by less than a thousand votes. The amazing hard work of so many people was not matched by the result. 2. The national vote share – up by 4%, an increase of a half on last time's 7% – salves that disappointment. The 1.3 million increase in the Liberal Democrat vote numbers means many more second places from which the party can build in the future and many more supporters from which ...
Tactical voting was one of the hot topics of this general election; dozens of independent websites, celebrities and even some of our own candidates were banging the drum of tactical voting to 'get the tories out' and deliver a hung parliament. It was also pushed relentlessly in the media that tactical voting was going to be a seismic force this election and the polls even seemed to suggest that may be the case. In Southport we garnered the support of tactical voting websites early on in the campaign only to be urcerimoniulsy dumped in favour of Labour later on, we ...
Mike Gayler points a way forward for the Liberal Democrats - and any other party that will listen. I'm not a Liberal Democrat. I'm not a member of any political party, although I was a Labour Party member sometime in the early 1980s. My leanings are Green, and in 2019 I voted for my local Liberal Democrat candidate in Charnwood, as I believed that she had a good chance of giving the safe sitting Conservative a bit of a fright. It was not to be. I think you can see that although I'm not a natural Lib Dem supporter, that ...
I joined the Lib Dems in 2016, on the day after the leave vote happened. At the time, if felt I could no longer be a bystander, I had to do something. In the time since, I certainly have, becoming the convener of my local party and a committee member of the LGBT+ Lib Dems. When I joined the party, my thoughts were primarily on Brexit, and the party's stance of opposing it. But as I've become more involved, met members, attended conferences I have realised how much more we are and how truly I do belong. I spent last ...
Roofed by gloom and floored by chill, walls shaken from outside by hammer blows, I focused on the fire that keeps us warm. A turn inward? It gave me space to speculate: What could we teach the sea? Who understands its driving tides? Who may plumb its sulphur deeps or gauge its acid waves?What can tame its rise before it reaches us, in [...]
First, it seems that I have a new fan (thanks to my old friend Bairbre for alerting me). Here are the scores on the doors for the third election this year. Full results: DUP 8 seats (-2), 30.6% (-5.4%) SF 7 seats (nc), 22.8% (-6.6%) Alliance 1 seat (+1), 16.8% (+8.9%) SDLP 2 seats (+2), 14.9% (+3.2%) UUP 11.7% (+1.4%) Comment: The best Westminster result ever for the Alliance Party, echoing the European Parliament result from May. Four seats changed hands: Alliance won North Down, vacated by Sylvia Hermon; Sinn Féin won North Belfast from the DUP; the SDLP won ...
It had become apparent to those of us involved in politics that what came to pass was coming so in many ways the result was no surprise. Contributory factors? Corbyn – Yes I know and understand that his devotees couldn't and still can't see any faults in him but those outside of that bubble always could. The 2017 GE should have been a wake up call as a credible opposition would have won that election. But the cracks were papered over on the back of Labour winning some seats back from the Tories when that was in fact an indication ...
This winter election has been dark in more ways than one. Leaders evading scrutiny, whether it was Corbyn ducking phone-ins or Johnson hiding in a fridge. Voters feeling forced to choose the least worst option, squeezing out positivity. Even before it started, we saw an exodus of MPs, especially women, ground down by abuse, intimidation and threats. I'm proud that the Liberal Democrats provided a welcoming home for those abandoned by their parties, those who were hounded out, like Luciana Berger. sadly the results have seen us lose Luciana from Parliament and many other talented MPs such as Tom Brake, ...
Let's be honest, had there been any prospect of a Liberal Democrat gain in Suffolk, we'd have been in 1906 territory, but you do have to look forward some of the time, especially after a night like this one just past. And, if things go as badly as some suspect, Conservatives in local government may be the first harbingers of public unhappiness. And maybe, just maybe, if we do things better, we might persuade the electorate to turn to us. So, how did we get on? I'll start in Waveney, now part of East Suffolk District Council, as it has ...
Much will, I am sure, be written about the results of the 2019 general election and there is little to add to that. Anyone standing for election, no matter who they are, is going to be affected more by the fortunes of their party as a whole than by individual situations. With a better than expected showing for the Tory party in England and Wales and for the SNP in Scotland, the lack of trans/non-binary candidates from either party meant a poor showing in the General Election. [IMG: Liberal Democrats] Helen Belcher Chippenham 2nd place, 34.5% (+8.9%) Independent Sophie Cook ...
The other day I received a letter raising an issue that unless you have been close to how parish councils are allowed (by statute) to operate you may well not be aware of. It concerned Maghull Town Council's distribution of Christmas hampers but it could have been about other expenditure of that or indeed any other parish council. You see parish councils are limited in the main from expending money other than for the benefit of the civil parish residents of their own parish. So for example Melling Parish Council could not expend money in say Aintree Village Civil Parish ...
I welcome guest posts on Liberal England. As you can see from this list of the 10 most recent, I am happy to consider a wide range of subjects. If you would like to write a guest post yourself, please drop me an email so we can discuss your idea. The importance of respectful relationships between teachers and pupils - Sean Warren and Stephen BiggerThe Lib Dems and Brexit: How a shot in the arm became a shot in the foot - Neville FarmerDrinking with Daniel Farson - James TarryAn ideological conflict is coming - time for Liberals to seize ...
We're all hurting today. The election result might not have been completely terrible - our vote share went up! - but it's not been a good campaign for us, the results are far below what we wanted or expected, we've lost our leader, and we're now going to be leaving the EU in just seven weeks' time. The easy response would be for us to dust ourselves down, elect a new leader as quickly as possible and dive straight back into the fight, but I think that would be a mistake. Last night was a massive moment for us as ...
Now that Britain's general election is over I can resume my blog. I was too close to the heart of what could have been an important Lib Dem campaign to risk saying something that could be misused out of context, as well as not having the time. That isn't a decision I regret, but I'm ... Continue reading The morning after
Well there is no disguising how disappointing last nights results were for us. Nationally we improved our vote share by 4.5% but ended up with less MP's than previously, and of course we lost our leader Jo Swinson. Something clearly went wrong with our messaging as we started the campaign on a high and went very significantly backwards. There will be a full inquest into that in due course, but now is not the time for that. Here in Newark we exceeded our national performance (just) by doubling our vote share from 5% to 10%. This gives us a platform ...
This does not, in my view, have the hallmarks of a particularly well thought-out plan. Continue reading →
Fri 13th
11:12
What went wrong with the Lib Dems 2019 general election campaign? Here's a forensic examination
The Lib Dems have been crushed. Jo Swinson lost her seat; none of the defectors from the Labour and Conservatives parties managed to either hold or take the seats they were contesting; the Liberal Democrats managed to overall net lose seats in an election where that seemed almost impossible going in. What follows is a forensic examination of where I believe the Lib Dem 2019 general election campaign went wrong. I write this not to rub salt in anyone's wounds, but to start a serious discussion about how liberal campaigns can stop losing every time. There is a Lib Dem ...
Thu, 13:49: You can watch me live from 10pm to 6am tonight on BBC Northern Ireland, repeated tomorrow night on BBC Parliament f... https://t.co/AmL0uQ3W0z Thu, 18:38: Ivy Day in the Committee Room, by James Joyce https://t.co/jcy8w2ZjY1 Thu, 20:37: RT @djmgaffneyw4: Here's an awful truth about knocking up from someone who wasn't able to participate today. It works. It's low-productivit... Thu, 21:00: Here goes... (@ BBC Northern Ireland - Broadcasting House in Belfast, County Antrim) https://t.co/NTbl6KWC10 Thu, 21:54: RT @McGurkEamonn: It's beginning to look a lot like an Election night with @markdevenport @nwbrux... #GE2019 https://t.co/mCFaQIsLS3 Thu, 22:55: And we're live... https://t.co/we2chGQlEW ...
As I posted on Facebook a few minutes ago, The country may have lost its collective senses but cheer up, you can still buy my novel here. Of course you may wish to buy it for somebody else, after all, Christmas is less that two weeks away. If so, then it is worth reading this piece in the Guardian, on the etiquette of gifting books. Elle Hunt tells us about rare book dealer and author Rick Gekoski's two rules on buying books for others: "The first is, always save a receipt" - the reason being, if a book has jumped ...
My blood was chilled to a thick ice twice last night. Firstly, when the size of the Tory majority was predicted in the Exit Poll. In fact, it got worse as the night progressed. I had hoped for a balanced ... Continue reading →
This email has come into members' inboxes from Shaun Roberts, the party's Director of Campaigns and Elections: I'm tired, I'm sad and I'm frustrated, (member). In 6 seats, we were less than a thousand votes away from winning. That is agonising. Some of these campaigns saw increases in vote share of 20-30% – an extraordinary leap forward, achieved by hard work from fantastic teams. We lost three outstanding MPs. Jane Dodds in Brecon and Radnorshire, Tom Brake in Carshalton and Wallington and of course, Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire. We are still coming to terms with these three results. Jo ...
I'm just in from one of the worst nights of my political life. Don't get me wrong, at my count, Liberal Democrats in every seat increased their vote share. For election after election, I, as Scottish Party Treasurer, would have to set aside a ridiculous amount of money that could have been spent on campaigning to cover lost deposits. Not many of them this time around. Any other time we would be celebrating a bigger increase in vote share than any other party. It is kind of ridiculous that a rise in the Conservative vote of 1.2% was met with ...
A resident recently suggested it might be helpful in advertising events within Blackness Library is there was a noticeboard outside advertising activities within the library. I took this excellent idea up with the Head of Library and Information Services and she has responded positively as follows : "We are in agreement that this is a great idea. Budget and planning permission may be hurdles, but we will look into this and see what is achievable." I will keep residents updated with progress.
Yesterday afternoon seems so long ago now. Back when we had some vague hope that somehow the Tories wouldn't get a majority, yet Labour would lose badly enough to get rid of Corbyn. Tactical voting would work, it really would. Raab and Johnson are going to lose their seats. Now, we're here in the early moments of a new era of Tory hegemony. In 2017, right after the general election, I stuck my neck out by writing a book entitled "Apocalypse Delayed: Why the Left is Still in Trouble", the thesis of which is that the next election would turn ...
The results of the 2019 General Election in the Thornbury and Yate constituency are as follows: Luke Hall (Conservative) 30,202 ELECTEDClaire Young (Liberal Democrats) 17,833 Rob Logan (Labour Party) 4,208Many thanks to everyone who supported Claire, and to all those who worked so hard on our campaign.
Fri 13th
06:01
General election: Labour plummets as Tories strengthen grip on the country and Lib Dems fall flat
At the time of publishing this (6.00am), Boris Johnson will command a very comfortable majority in the House of Commons. Jeremy Corbyn's leftist agenda and dithering over Brexit has cost his party seats and influence in parliament. He will also stand down as leader. The Lib Dems fell flat with a campaign that was too much focused on Jo Swinson. She lost her seat by just 149 votes. The Greens kept their one seat. The Brexit party proved to be a figment of Nigel Farage's imagination. A new vote on Scottish independence looks to be on the cards after Nicola ...
Party members have just received this email from James Gurling, Chair of the Federal Communications and Elections committee: ...This is not the email I had hoped to be sending you. We wake this morning to a double blow. A Conservative majority Government, hell bent on pushing Brexit through, and the loss of our Leader, Jo Swinson from Parliament. First, let me pay tribute to Jo. Her declaration speech in the early hours of this morning moved us all. Focusing on the future of our country and, importantly, standing by our principles and values as a Party. She will make a ...
Fri 13th
05:05General election: Clean sweep for the Conservatives in Shropshire and Dunne wins again
Congratulations to Philip Dunne on being elected MP for Ludlow for the fourth time. He has now been MP since 2005. He has a vote share of 64%, up just 1% on 2017, and commands a 23,648 majority. Heather Kidd increased the Lib Dem vote share by 6%. Labour's vote dropped by 9% coming third after parachuting Kuldip Sahota in as a last minute candidate. Hilary Wendt achieved a small increase for the Greens. Shrewsbury & Atcham, Shropshire North, Wrekin and Telford were returned for the Conservatives. Shropshire results Ludlow was held by Philip Dunne, with an increased vote share ...
