Politics in a Pub -January – Keith Hinde

Politics in a Pub reached The Gate, Winsford on Thursday. Lively discussions across three tables covered NHS and Social Care funding, Cross Party commissions,Social Media, Closures at Ellesmere Port, giving up on reversing Brexit, MP lobbying, Pensioner poverty, Housing, opportunities of May 2019 CWaC elections, the reshuffle, Farage’s 2nd referendum.

Some time was spent on planning support for the Alyn and Deeside by-election, party going over Saturday (12th)  and the anticipated Bunbury by-election.

Keith Hinde

Our Annual General Meeting

We had a great AGM on Thursday. Attendance was good despite the cold weather and several local residents also joined us at the Bunbury Village Pavillion.

Dick Newby, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords was our Guest Speaker

After the formal AGM business was completed and new Executive was elected Dick gave us a fantastic insight into the crisis in our Public Services and of course Brexit.

The main themes that came across were that it is clear that Brexit is consuming almost all the bandwidth at the centre of Politics and Government. Its distracting attention resources and money from so many other issues in the country that need urgent attention.Our public services are in a very real crisis and intergenerational inequality is increasing it’s clear that Brexit can be stopped but it will be hard to do. Despite an unfolding crisis, public opinion is not (yet) shifting so we must redouble of efforts as an effective local campaigning force on the issue.

We had a lively Q&A session to finish off with great questions from members and residents on the NHS, Prisons, and Brexit.

We’re looking forward to another busy year campaigning hard locally and getting ready for the 2019 local elections in Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Cheshire. Our membership is growing and our finances are healthy we are optimistic about our prospects in 2018.

Our Membership Officer Keith Hinde receives the North West Liberal Democrats Presidents Award from our guest speaker Dick Newby,

Richard Dawson – EWV Liberal Democrats Exec Member

 

 

 

 

Report on the ALDC Kickstart Weekend (24th to 26th November) : Daniela Parker

Kickstart is the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors (ALDC) flagship training event. Held twice a year, it is a residential training course over two days. It includes a training session on all aspects of campaigning as well as team-by-team mentoring to ‘kick-start’ your campaign into action.

Being a relatively new Liberal Democrat, and having only recently decided I may like to stand in the next council elections, I decided that this Kickstart weekend would be a great place to start. I did attend some of the ALDC training sessions and conference and got a lot from them, but they seemed to be aimed towards areas with big local parties, dedicated campaigner bases, and some councillors already in post. Therefore it was the mentoring that I was most looking forward to a kickstart, well that and the political conversation with likeminded individuals.

The mentoring did not disappoint. The Eddisbury and Weaver Vale team (of 4) were mentored by Councillor Heather Kidd. A councillor for Shropshire she was originally elected in 2009 and re-elected with 81% of the vote in 2013, and again in 2017 with 78% of the vote, so we were in very capable hands. Heather discussed with me the issues in my local ward, where I hope to stand, and talked me through some ideas. First and foremost fundraising so that we can start putting out focuses. I came away with a clear idea of what I wanted to do to start my campaign, and with some ideas of how I could do that. In fact, within a couple of hours of getting home, I started getting involved with a local campaign with my local resident’s group. Not for political purposes but because I could see it was the right thing to do, and now I had some ideas of how to take it forward.

Between the 4 of us, we attended as many training sessions as we could, including ‘Focus and Campaign Literature’, “Being an Agent’, ‘Social Media and Online Campaigns’, ‘Fundraising’, ‘Knocking on Doors’ and ‘Community Campaigning’.  For me, all of these training sessions brought new ideas, and tried and tested ideas for effective campaigns. For more experienced campaigners I was told it was reassuring to know they were doing the right thing, picking up new ideas, and an opportunity to discuss theirs with other Lib Dems.

I took an awful lot away from Kickstart that I hope to put into practice in the coming months. However for me, there was one clear highlight, I was lucky enough to win a bottle of Champagne in the raffle which Tim Farron (see picture) very kindly signed for me. He said to me “Make sure you save that to celebrate your first election win”, and I very much hope that I get that opportunity. Kickstart was certainly the first step on that road.

If you are interested in supporting any of our local campaigns please do not hesitate to contact me on [email protected]. Alternatively, come and find me at our AGM on 7th December, or at the next Policy in the Pub or Liber-tea events. All of these events will be emailed to you or found on the local Facebook page or in the regular local Newsletter.

Tarporley Railway Station and the Government Rail Strategy : Ian Priestner

My Statement to the Media

Tarporley and surrounding towns and villages have been completely ignored in the Conservative government’s latest rail strategy.

Local people, backed by the Liberal Democrats, have been clamouring for the re-opening of Tarporley and Beeston Castle Station but have been snubbed by the Tories. Over 1100 local residents have signed a petition (see HERE) calling for the re-opening of the Station.

Local Liberal Democrat campaigner Ian Priestner said:

“For too long the people of Tarporley have been ignored by the Tories.

“The local economy will be greatly boosted by improvements to the local rail infrastructure. The Conservative MP and Councillor have completely failed to stand up for local interests.

“This is a wasted opportunity to fix our local railway, vital for commuting and business alike. Instead, the Tories have gone off track leaving Tarporley and its residents shunted into a siding “

Opinion: What We Lib Dems Need to Do Now : Cllr Malcolm Gaskill

I have just been reading comments from some of our worthy members across the Country on the subject of how relevant the Lib Dems are to the voting public.

We are winning local Council seats – true. But we cannot get past 10% in the national opinion polls.
I am the first to admit that national opinion polls are no guide to local elections- I won my first seat in 1999 with 65% of the vote when we were around 11% in the national opinion polls.But the Polls will not move for us until we have something tangible to offer

What we need right now is develop two or three policies that resonate with the Liberal minded voters from all Parties, especially the millennials [25-40].

Corbyn promised them a land of milk and honey in his June General Election Manifesto. Tuition fees debt- gone. Hundreds of thousands of affordable homes built. A promise to stay in the Customs Union and the Common Market- even though he has been a lifelong critic of the European Union and almost certainly voted to leave.

What he didn’t say was how we got to this promised land who was to finance the journey and when would we arrive. Corbyn was gambling on a General Election before Christmas. As it is, his promises and policies are crumbling under scrutiny. He won’t be able to pull off the same trick twice.

So let us shout from the rooftops where we stand on just three issues:

  1. We would add a penny in the pound to income tax, the proceeds to go directly from the Taxman to the NHS and not into the bottomless pit of the Exchequer.
  2. There is a movement afoot to campaign for a fairer voting system –proportional representation to be introduced for Parliamentary and local elections. This welcome move is supported by numerous Labour MP’s, the Greens, the SNP, the Lib Dems and yes even UKIP. The myth that ‘First past the post’ produces stable governments is not borne out by the facts of the last three general elections. Let us use Facebook, this website, and other social media to see what the reaction is from the local voting public for a fairer voting system.
  3. So far I have avoided mentioning Brexit with good reason. Nearly 17 million electors voted to leave and every day that passes they are in receipt of more bad news. Whether it is their Job that is being exported, their food bills going through the roof or the fact that ever lengthening waiting lists for hospital beds due to staff shortages as trained doctors and nurses head back home to Europe mean they and their loved ones cannot get the medical help they need.
    They do not need us to bang on at them saying “ we told you so” What we need to point out is they can change their mind when they are ready to do so.
    The Lawyer who wrote the Article 50 which we triggered in March 2017 has repeatedly told the Government It be can be reversed and we can then take our time to negotiate a carefully orchestrated withdrawal from Europe keeping as many as the good bits as we are allowed. But it will be at a price. It cannot however be as bad as jumping out of the aeroplane, when the only passengers with a parachute [ land, money, property, overseas accounts ] are the landed gentry of the Tory party such as Rees- Mogg and Redwood.

Cllr Malcolm Gaskill 

Please feel free to leave a comment below:

We are delighted to announce that Dick Newby ,Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords will be our Guest Speaker at our AGM

We are delighted to announce that Dick Newby, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords will be our Guest Speaker at our AGM on 7th December at the Bunbury Village Pavillion.

Dick worked for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for its whole life and was its chief executive from 1983-88. He has worked on all subsequent Lib Dem General Election campaigns, as press officer to Paddy Ashdown (1992), Deputy Campaign Chairman (1997) and subsequently as a member of the Campaigns and Communications Committee. He was also Charles Kennedy’s Chief of Staff during his period as Leader.

He was created a life peer with the title Baron Newby, of Rothwell in the County of West Yorkshire in 1997.

He was Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Treasury Parliamentary Party Committee from 2010 until May 2012. He then became a Minister as Deputy Government Chief Whip and Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Lords.

As Leader of the 101 Lib Dem Lords, he will be at the very heart of the Brexit legislative process and the battle for an ‘Exit from Brexit’ 

Dick will speak at about 8.15pm after the formal AGM business is completed: we expect the meeting to finish about 9.30pm. Light refreshments will also be served.

As campaigners in the community it’s important to understand the views and priorities of fellow residents – particularly those who share our vision for a fairer, more democratic and outward-looking Britain – so we would like to meet you.

Eddisbury and Weave Vale Residents wishing to attend please contact us HERE or email [email protected]

Update on the Tarporley Rail Station Campaign

Ian Priestner our 2017 GE Candidate in Eddisbury reports,

I am delighted to have been invited by Beeston Parish Council to discuss plans and prospects for the Tarporley Railway Station reopening campaign.
Beeston, alongside Tarporley itself, will benefit directly from reopening the station.
With plans for HS2 gathering steam, it is even more important to improve our local rail infrastructure, for too long neglected.
I will let you know how our discussions develop.
If you want to join me at the Parish Council on the evening of 7.30 pm on Tuesday 7th November 2017 at Peckforton & Beeston Village Room please do.
If you haven’t already please sign my petition
http://www.ianpriestner4eddisbury.co.uk/tarporley_rail_stat…

#StopBrexitManchester March October 1st

Several Eddisbury and Weaver Vale members attended Kay Carson from Bunbury commented that there was a ”Peaceful and determined crowd. We marched against Brexit. From every speaker: Vince Cable, Jolyon Maugham, Alison McGovern, Bonnie Greer, AC Grayling, Alastair Campbell (playing bagpipes) : Democracy is a process. Let the government be held to account for the Brexit deal it negotiates if it is not good for our country we should exit Brexit.”

Our very own Charlie West took this great selfied with Vince Cable too.