Where's the convention centre?

The Bridges by-election in Gateshead is turning into quite a battle between Lib Dems and Labour. Since the general election, we have held 4 action days and delivered 4 different leaflets across the ward. So far Labour have delivered 2 while the Greens are in the bronze medal position with one leaflet.

Labour's first leaflet talked about lots of plans being in the "pipeline" which I guess is Labour's way of explaining why little appears to have happened in the ward. Labour talk about plans for the High Street which is still decaying away, new homes at Chandless and Clasper Village though the sites were cleared years ago and nothing has been built on them since, and "new life" for the old Town Hall which is still closed.

But what was not mentioned was the convention centre that was meant to be coming to Gateshead, in the heart of Bridges ward. Given the noise made by Labour about the convention plans in the past, and the significant sums poured into them, Labour's silence on what should be one of the country's biggest urban redevelopments seems to be rather odd. I wonder why the convention centre failed to make it into Labour's pipeline.

(Video about - the site of the convention centre though not a brick has been laid.)

5 in the running for the Bridges by-election

 

The Bridges by-election in Gateshead will be held on 12th September. There are 5 candidates in the running. The Lib Dem candidate is Jonathan Aibi (pictured above). He is 23 years old and my guess is that he is the youngest of the candidates. Labour are defending the seat and their candidate is Robert Waugh. He has been a Labour candidate in 4 wards. Only 18 more to go to get the full set!

Other candidates include Conservatives, Greens and Reform.

Picnic in the Park - video

 

As usual, I had my video camera with me when I was at the Pride Picnic in the Park at Saltwell Park yesterday. So here is my latest blockbuster video of the event!

Picnic in the Park

 

There was a good turnout of Gateshead Lib Dems for the borough's first Pride Picnic in the Park, held in Saltwell Park yesterday. We were joined at one point by Cllr Freda Geddess, Deputy Mayor, accompanied by her consort Cllr Alex Geddess.

An enjoyable event and hopefully it will become a regular event in future years.

Bridges action day no. 3

 

Gateshead Lib Dems held our 3rd action day in Bridges ward of Gateshead on Saturday morning. A bunch of Lib Dems descended on my car and stripped me almost bare of Focuses newsletters. Thank you to everyone who helped. I had to head quickly to the office to get another batch of leaflets. It's early days in this by-election but from conversations reported back to me by our leafletting team, we are being received positively by residents.

Washingwell Woods history talk

 

The next meeting of Sunniside History Society will be held on Wednesday 4th September 2024 at 7pm at Sunniside Club. I will be the speaker! Washingwell Woods is packed with historical sites going back to the Roman period. These will be discussed as part of the park.

All welcome.

Pride event postponed in light of riots

This Saturday, 10th August, should have been a day of celebration of diversity in Gateshead. Organisers of the event - Out North East - however have decided to postpone the event, planned for Gateshead town centre, because of concerns about the recent riots carried out by far right extremists. While it is worrying that a tiny minority of extremists threatening violence can impact on the wider community, public safety has to be the primary concern. Hopefully a new date will be announced soon.

The good news is that the Pride Picnic in Saltwell Park will be going ahead on Sunday (12pm-4pm). I'm already working on making flans and so on, using produce from our farm.

Bridges by-election

 

There is to be a by-election in Bridges ward of Gateshead Council following the sad death of Labour Councillor, and chair of planning, Bob Goldsworthy. Bob was one of those people everyone could get on with. He had always treated me with respect and politeness, particularly when I was representing constituents at planning committee meetings.

The by-election will be held on Thursday 12th September. It means the constant election campaigning stretches into the late summer, having started in January as activities ramped up for the local elections (only then to run straight into the general election). Our most recent Focus in the ward is pictured above, awaiting delivery.

Say no to racism

Given the current riots by the far-right, Gateshead Liberal Democrats are taking a stand against racism. Visit their website on this link.

Those taking part in the riots are not patriotic or pro-British. They are a stain on the country, using a terrible tragedy as an excuse to destroy property, threaten people, steal, loot, vandalise and attack the police. True Brits are those volunteers who have banded together to clear up the mess left by the thugs and rioters.

Looking back on July: exceeding expectations

 

I filmed this the day after the general election last month. I have to confess I was surprised the Lib Dems had won 72 seats. My expectation was around 40-50. Well, better to exceed expectations rather than fall short!

Look back at July: not the Official Opposition

 

I recorded this video on the evening before polling day last month. In it I said that the suggestions from opinion polls that the Lib Dems could become the official opposition were highly unlikely to happen. Our realistic aim should be to regain our position as the 3rd party in the Commons, taking back the position lost to the SNP in 2015. My expectation was for a total Lib Dem MP count of 40-50.