Lib Dem health spokesman Norman Lamb MP was in Sunderland last Friday to help out in the Pallion by-election and to be the guest speaker at a local Lib Dem dinner at the Arabesque Egyptian restaurant in the evening. I was busy through the day but I was able to attend the dinner. Norman and I worked together 10 years ago when he was Lib Dem Shadow Business Secretary and I was the party's policy officer dealing with the DTI. So it was good to catch up.
Norman built up a strong and positive reputation while he was care minister in the Coalition and it is very much down to him that mental health issues are taken more seriously by the NHS. He spoke about this in his speech but also talked about the millions of people who feel dispossessed from politics because of a failure by the parties that represent them to engage with them. Sunderland is of course a classic example of this as Labour have been running the council for as long as people can remember yet outside an election, the ruling party is noticeable for its almost non-existent profile.
So, a good speech by Norman and a great event, attended by 40 people, which helped to boost the Sunderland party's funds.
1 comment:
Seeing Labour only 'comes out fighting' at elections we must now beware the new Community politics idea he is developing.We should develop our community practices s well as our national policies which can run in conjunction with our local campaigning.
Post a Comment