Handing Reform a by-election victory

 Labour's current leadership crisis was expected. Everyone knew Labour were heading for an absolute drubbing last week in the local and devolved elections. Starmer was going to have to accept the blame. The suggestion that Andy Burnham is the answer to Labour's problems is wishful thinking. I don't quite understand the Burnham appeal. He has, after all, twice tried to win a Labour leadership contest. He lost heavily in both. Burnham then gave up his parliamentary career in 2019 to be mayor of Greater Manchester. Now he wants to be back but his route to Parliament is perilous. Firstly he will have to get the permission of the Labour party nationally to stand in the forthcoming by-election in Makerfield. They may say no. (They said no earlier this year for the Denton by-election.)

Let's suppose they say yes, the next hurdle, sorry, I mean mountain, to climb is the Makerfield by-election itself. Reform won every council seat in the constituency earlier this month. It feels as though Labour have just gifted Reform a by-election win. A Labour loss will have the potential to tear Labour apart. But let's suppose Burnham wins the by-election and goes on to be Prime Minister. Will the people of the country be ready to accept someone who has only just been elected in a by-election? I'm not convinced he will be.

Doncaster - the UFO capital of the UK

This one is so unusual that it deserves a post of its own. Reform Councillor Kieran Lay has claimed that unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are visiting Doncaster. Cllr Lay told a council meeting that he wants the council to set up a scrutiny committee to monitor UFO activity and the dangers posed by all these illegal aliens to Doncaster airport.

I've read various posts over the past few days making all sorts of claims about Reform councillors. Some I have refused to believe as they are clearly fake. I started off believing the UFO story was a fake. I then realised it was for real! I assume the scrutiny committee was not set up. 

I wonder how the people of Doncaster feel about being the UK capital of UFOs

Ron and Chris re-elected

 

Gateshead’s opposition Liberal Democrat Group have confirmed that veteran councillors Ron Beadle (Low Fell) and Christopher Ord (Whickham North and Swalwell) will lead them over the next year.

Ron, who was re-elected with the highest individual vote of any Gateshead councillor last week, will be Leader of the Opposition because the Lib Dems are the largest of the three opposition groups on the Council.

He said: “We will provide the same level of constructive opposition to Reform as we have in the past to Labour.”

Christopher added, “Reform said very little about their plans for Gateshead during the election so we will watch with interest to see what they intend to do.”

Photo: Ron Beadle and Chris Ord at a recent Gateshead Lib Dem meeting.

Opposition on a knife edge

The election results in Gateshead last week were horrendous for Labour and disappointing for the Lib Dems. Labour dropped from 48 seats to 12. The Lib Dems dropped from 18 to 13. It means the Lib Dems remain the official opposition as the party has a single seat advantage over Labour. The Lib Dems' 13th seat, in Dunston Hill and Whickham East, was a tight race. Reform took the other 2 seats in the ward. The Lib Dem Councillor, Peter Maughan, who was returned had a majority of 11. Knife edge or what!? It did however sort out who would be the official opposition.

Another ward was in a similar knife edge situation. Dunston, Teams, Riverside saw Reform win all 3 seats but the contest for the 3rd place went down to the wire. Labour's Brenda Clelland lost to Reform by only 28 votes. Brenda had a reputation for being a hard working councillor and it was no surprise that she was the highest placed Labour candidate. Sadly for her, it wasn't quite enough to hold back the Reform tsunami.

Re-elected

On Friday last week, the election counts for Gateshead were held. I am pleased to report that I was re-elected alongside my two Lib Dem colleagues Marilynn Ord and Jonathan Mohammed. Marilynn topped the poll with 1711 votes, I was second with 1692 votes and Jonathan M was third with 1572 votes. So there were fewer than 150 votes between the three of us, indicating that most people voted for the team rather than us as individuals.

Sadly, the Lib Dems lost 5 seats in Gateshead, reducing us to 13 councillors as the northern Reform tsunami swept away some great councillors and campaigners. Labour suffered a huge collapse, losing most cabinet members, their leader and deputy leader and 36 out of 48 councillors. Reform started with no seats and are now in control with 38. As yet we have no idea who their leaders will be.

Back to Whickham South and Sunniside - this is my 12th term of office as councillor for the ward. Our terms of office are usually four years but this time it is a two year stint as we switch back from this one off all out election back to elections by thirds.

And finally, a big thank you to everyone who voted Liberal Democrat in Whickham South and Sunniside. It has been, and it continues to be, a great honour to serve as the ward councillor and I will continue to give my best to the role.

Reform plans to scrap net zero will cost Gateshead a fortune

 

A few notes on the back of a fag packet and Reform call it a "plan for Gateshead". Nevertheless, in that jumble of meaningless slogans, there is one hard policy that will cost Gateshead dearly. Reform claim that by axing net zero, they can save a ton of cash. The reality is something different.

Like many councils, Gateshead has taken advantage of the move to net zero. Solar panels on council buildings are a familiar sight. In the photo above, you can see the panels covering the Civic Centre car park canopy and the Civic Centre roof. The installation of the panels means the council is paying far less for  electricity. Why buy in electricity when we can generate our own?

The panels were paid for by capital reserves, government grants and loans (the council can only borrow from the government but interest rates are only around 3-4%).

Along comes Reform who have promised to scrap all of this. They will have to employ contractors to strip out the panels, an unwelcome cost to Gateshead taxpayers. Council tax will have to go up or other services will have to be cut to cover the increased cost to the council of buying in electricity. The council will have to repay the government for the grants used to install so many of the panels. And somehow the capital reserves will have to be replenished as the asset paid for will have been scrapped. (The auditors will look very dimly on wasting an asset in this way.)

Meanwhile, the Council's electric vehicles will be scrapped, just at the point when it is cheaper to run EVs than petrol or diesel powered vehicles. At a time of soaring crude oil costs and blockades, Reform want to make us more dependent on Gulf supplies of fuel. This is madness.

So, Gateshead under Reform will give us vastly increased costs for electricity, hand back cash to the government and and trash our capital reserves to say nothing of the damage they will do to the environment.

The story behind statues

Last night I chaired the monthly meeting of the Sunniside History Society at Sunniside Club. The speaker was Gloria Dobbin who gave a presentation about statues in the Gateshead/Newcastle area. She explained why the statues were there and the background of the people from history who donated the funds to pay for them. A very interesting talk and it has inspired me to visit all the statues she featured to learn more about them. However, that is a task to do later in the year when I may, or may not have time on my hands depending on the election today.

Eve of poll

There was no let up yesterday with Lib Dem campaigning despite it being the eve of poll. I spent much of the day in Saltwell ward helping to deliver leaflets and a target letter. I saw no sign of the other parties except for a single, A5 leaflet for the Conservatives, of all people! Across Gateshead there are 66 seats but the Conservatives are standing in only 14. I don't hold out much hope for them. There are not many certainties in this election but it is a dead cert that the Conservatives will win nothing in Gateshead.

Back to the Lib Dem campaign - I had delivered a few hundred leaflets by early afternoon. I then met up with the rest of the team delivering in the ward and then headed back home to do a few things agricultural on our farm. So, last day of campaigning before polling day went off without a hitch.

Tormenting the council staff

 

Google AI overview of the meaning of "torment": "Torment refers to an extreme physical or mental suffering, agony, or severe harassment. As a verb, it means to inflict such suffering or to cause severe worry/trouble."

The reason I have posted the meaning of the word "torment" is because the three Reform candidates for Whickham South and Sunniside have posted on the Reform Facebook page for their ward that they will "torment" council staff if they are elected.

Such behaviour is unacceptable. Staff should never be treated in this manner. They should be respected. In my 39 years as a councillor in Gateshead, I have worked with officers to achieve changes and improvements which my constituents tell me they want. Tormenting staff is not the way to get progress. And it is certainly not the way to treat people.

Better late than never for the Greens

 At first they did nothing. And then they had to act. What was once the cuddly Green Party has been wilting under the glare of media and political scrutiny. In Newcastle, concerns were swirling about anti-semitic comments made by a couple of Green candidates - Philip Brookes and Mohammed Suleman.

The BBC reports:

One post on Brookes' Facebook page included an image which branded Israel "a bunch of Polish, Russian, Hungarian terrorists killing Palestinian people for 76 years".

His account also published an image of an Israel flag being torn to reveal a Nazi swastika flag, and in a post about the war in Gaza said it "takes serious effort not to be a tiny bit antisemitic".

On Suleman's account, a TikTok video was reposted which claimed Jewish prisoners of war were willing to bury Soviet prisoners alive under Nazi instruction during World War Two.

Concerns about these two Green candidates have been circulating for some time and it was only earlier this week that the Newcastle Greens took any action against them by "removing their endorsement" of them. They remain on the ballot paper as the legal deadline for withdrawal passed in April.

Suleman and Brookes are not alone. Another Green candidate has also been dumped. Tina Ion is standing in Blakelaw and Cowgate in Newcastle. Her name too remains on the ballot paper.

Reform split, secrecy and exposure

Northumberland County Council is run by a minority Conservative administration. The official opposition are Reform. I'm not sure what the number of Reform councillors is as the Farage party has a habit of losing members. But I hear on the grapevine that Reform met recently in secret and voted against their own leadership. This is not something that can be kept secret for long. Everything was exposed at the annual meeting of the council yesterday. Reform councillors were seen voting against their leadership's nominations for various posts. What a mess. Fortunately Reform are not in control of Northumberland but let their chaos and internal wars be a lesson to everyone not to vote Reform. Please don't bring Reform chaos to Gateshead.

Final deliveries

We are moving inexorably towards polling day. So here's a short round up of what I've been doing. On Saturday I was in Ryton delivering leaflets aimed at squeezing what's left of the collapsing Labour vote. On Sunday there was an action day in Dunston Hill and Whickham East. I was there to help deliver Focus leaflets. Monday may well have been a bank holiday but I was delivering Focuses in Whickham. And on Monday evening, I was in the Lib Dem office printing yet more leaflets. This morning I had to drop off the leaflets I had printed. And tonight I will be out delivering.....yes, a load more letters and leaflets!

Delivering in Ryton

Ryton ward in western Gateshead was my destination today. I was there yesterday as well, delivering our Labour and Reform squeeze leaflets. Between the two of us on the patch we delivered 500. Not bad for a morning's work.

Christmas donkeys 7 months early

At 10.30pm on Wednesday evening, I had just finished my dinner and just watched one of my favourite episodes of Dr Who (Genesis of the Daleks) when the phone rang. It was a resident of Streetgate, advising me that there were three donkeys on his drive! He asked me if I knew who owned them. The only donkeys in the Streetgate area are housed in stables near my farm. I guessed they had escaped from there and had followed the bridlepath to Streetgate. I phoned the owner who immediately headed to the stables though it was a half hour drive.

In the meantime, I walked over to Streetgate to find the donkeys, various residents and two police officers on the drive of the house where the donkeys had ended up. I explained that the owner was heading over but it would take half an hour to get there. The decision was taken to walk the donkeys back to the stables along the main road with one police in front with a torch and the police car bringing up the rear. I was at the front as well as I was the only one there who knew where to take them and I also had a torch. It took about 15 minutes to walk them back. There were, understandably, lots of twitching curtains.

Shortly after arriving at the stables, the owner arrived and got the donkeys into another paddock. Everyone then headed back home (with a story to tell!) and I got a ride in the back of the police car so I could give the officer directions on how to get back to Whickham.

The three donkeys are known as the Christmas Donkeys as they were booked last year for the Sunniside Christmas tree lights switch on (see photo above). We hope to have them back in November for this year's events, just not 7 months early!

Another missing Reform candidate

 

It looks as though Reform in Gateshead are suffering from another missing candidate. In Crawcrook and Greenside ward it was recently reported that Reform's Peter Gray has disappeared from the Reform campaign. Now, another Reform candidate appears to have disappeared.

Take a look at the above screenshot of Reform's High Fell Facebook page in which they announce their 3 candidates for the ward. Look at the first line: "our 3 candidates". But there are only two candidates featured. On the Council's statement of nominations, Danielle Cavanagh is listed as a Reform High Fell candidate, alongside her two colleagues pictured above. So why the disappearance from the Reform campaign? 

As with Peter Gray, there has been no public announcement about Ms Cavanagh so we are left to speculate about what's happened. As with Peter Gray, and Reform's BNP candidate David Prior, Cavanagh remains of the ballot whether she likes it or not. The deadline for withdrawal has been and gone. So stepping back or resigning from the campaign, or as with Prior, having been sacked, makes no difference. They are all still on the ballot papers and each one could potentially be elected (watch out for the by-elections).

The absence of Cavanagh from the Reform publicity may just be an oversight. An accident. A cock up. Or she may have stepped back from the campaign because she is unhappy with what's happening. Maybe she finds the campaign hard going or perhaps it was something of a mistake to stand. Perhaps she has seen what has happened to people with a past that has resurfaced.

The people of High Fell need to know what Cavanagh's status is. And if elected, does she intend staying on as a councillor or does she will she resign and cause a rather expensive by-election?

Voted!

 

I am signed up for a postal vote so although polling day is on Thursday 7th May, I've already completed my ballot paper. It will go into the post tomorrow.

This is probably the longest ballot paper I've ever had. We have the unusual situation of all seats on Gateshead Council being up for grabs plus there are lots more parties contesting elections. Hence the reason for the ballot paper doing a creditable performance as wallpaper.

Not flying the flag

 

Over the weekend, the above leaflet was delivered in my ward, along with lots of other leaflets about gardening services and pizza home delivery. The back page is shown above. Disregarding the completely incorrect imprint, people were encouraged to display the poster. I have seen one across the whole ward. It seems the flags aren't out for Reform.

Magazine delivered

 

I am delighted to announce that we finished delivery of our election magazine today! The whole of the ward is now done.

Reform candidate no.3 in trouble

In Gateshead, so far we've had one Reform candidate disappear (no explanation given) and one candidate booted out because he forgot to tell Reform he had previously been a member of the BNP. Now another candidate is in trouble. Linda McFarlane, standing in Chopwell and Rowlands Gill for Reform, has been exposed for her white supremacist views on social media.

Please note that you may find the following deeply offensive.

McFarlane has called for a "white Britain", Starmer and Lammy "should be shot", migrants "should be drowned" and only white people should be allowed to stand for Parliament. Hope Not Hate has referred McFarlane and the evidence to Reform's national party. They have promised a thorough investigation. Three days on and nothing. Well there's a surprise.

The good news is that McFarlane is likely to go down to defeat in Chopwell and Rowlands Gill. It would take a nuclear armed confrontation for Labour to be stripped of the ward. It is one of the strongest Labour areas in the universe. If Labour lose it, it's the end of the world for them.

More about McFarlane on this link.

2 down, 64 to go!

We are two weeks into the local election campaign in Gateshead and Reform have already lost 2 candidates (that's an average of one a week). Firstly, Peter Gray has resigned in Crawcrook and Greenside. The reasons for this are not clear. Yesterday brought us the second loss - David Prior was kicked out because of his previously undeclared membership of the racist, anti-semitic and far right BNP.

Meanwhile, across the border in Durham, Reform have now lost their 6th Councillor since taking over last May. Dawn Saunders went Independent last night. Meanwhile, 5 Reform candidates have dropped out of the running for the Scottish Parliament (including 2 who said they never intended standing!) and in Wales, Reform have lost 6 candidates in the race for the Senedd.

Back here in Gateshead, we are 2 Reform candidates down, only 64 to go!

Reform's BNP candidate kicked out

Yet another example of Reform's useless vetting of candidates was on display last night when David Prior was expelled, half way through the election campaign here in Gateshead. Prior had previously been in the BNP, membership of which is regarded as incompatible with Reform. Prior had been chosen as one of the three Reform candidates for Saltwell, a ward which contains one of the largest orthodox Jewish communities outside London.

The BNP was at its peak about 18 years ago. It was known for its far right stance and anti-semitism. They did however hit the headlines when their membership list was leaked. It has been on WikiLeaks ever since. That was what did it for Prior. The question has to be asked, who else lurks in the ranks of Reform? And do all of Reform's candidates support the expulsion?

Meanwhile, the Reform national party (or is that a company?) says all support for Prior's campaign has been withdrawn. It's odd therefore that on Saltwell Reform Facebook, you can find all of this:

It's been a day since Prior was expelled but their joint Facebook posts are, as I write this, still up.

Chuck out the checker?

Tonight I was sent by a colleague the link to the Gateshead page on Poll Check. I've always had a bit of a sceptic view of polls that take the average of national polls and then project them onto ward contests. There is a significant proportion of the electorate which votes for a different party in local elections to national elections. Add into the equation some basic mistakes. For example, in Gateshead, the Conservatives are fielding only 14 candidates, leaving 8 wards in which Conservative candidates are absent. Yet Poll Checker give the Conservatives a small share of the vote in Birtley South, one of the wards where the Conservatives are not standing. Admittedly, they are projected to get only 1.2%. Nevertheless, that could be the difference between winning and losing. So, there are some Conservative ghosts in these statistics.

But let's have some fun anyway with Poll Checker's projections. In my ward of Whickham South and Sunniside, the Conservatives get a barely noticeable 0.7%. Since 1988, Labour have always come second in the ward. This time they are projected to come 4th with 10.5%. So Labour have vacated the position of runner-up to Reform.

Thankfully, the Lib Dems are projected to hold all three seats in the ward.

So, do we chuck out the checker? Let's see how they perform over the next couple of weeks and then decide.

Reform bar chart shows Gateshead is Lib Dem/Reform battle

Thank you Reform for publishing the above bar chart showing Gateshead is a battle between Reform and Lib Dems. It speaks for itself!

Reform's attack on Lib Dems in Gateshead

Reform are circulating a leaflet in Gateshead which is packed full of attacks on the Lib Dems. With the meltdown of Labour, Reform's leaflet shows just how much the local elections in Gateshead have become a two horse race between Lib Dems and Reform. In their leaflet, Reform attack Lib Dems for being focused on local issues.

"Like other wards, in Low Fell they [the Lib Dems] 'focus' on minor local issues rather than what really matters," claims Reform. I guess Reform have not realised this is a LOCAL election. But Reform clearly believe fixing potholes, emptying bins, providing care for the elderly, tackling flytipping and so on are "minor" and of no consequence. But the issues Reform normally shout about - stopping the boats - is nothing to do with local government.

Among the other attacks on the Lib Dems was one about Southwark Council in which they claim "enforcement of a catastrophic roads policy leading to gridlock. The problem with this statement is that Southwark is currently run by Labour, not the Lib Dems. Oooops!

Don't ring us....

Our thanks to Hope Not Hate for this slide and the revelations about the history of Mike Porritt's business activities.  Who is he? He's one of the Reform candidates in Whickham South and Sunniside ward of Gateshead Council. Back in 2007, Mr Porritt's car supermarket, "carshock" collapsed and he was forced into bankruptcy. Now, Mr Porritt is offering his business experience to run Gateshead Council. I'm sure Gateshead's finance officers will not be in a hurry to take up Mr Porritt's kind offer. More a case of "don't ring us..."

You can read the full story on this link.

Reform chaos reaches Gateshead

It didn't take long! Reform chaos has started lapping at the political shores of Gateshead. Peter Gray, one of the three Reform candidates for Crawcrook and Greenside has resigned. Except it is not as straightforward as that. His resignation was too late to remove his name from the ballot papers. So Reform hobble forward in the ward with only 2 cylinders firing, dragging along with them their former colleague in tow. If he is elected, there will be an immediate by-election in the ward, costing in the region of £10K. It seems Reform have made an interesting start to the election campaign.

So, one Reform candidate down, just 65 to go.

Only 14 Conservatives

Nominations for the local elections in Gateshead closed on Thursday last week and candidates were announced on Friday. One of the notable points to emerge is that the Conservatives have put forward only 14 candidates for the 66 seats available. The last time the Conservatives failed to field a full slate of candidates was in the late 1980s. Since then they have fielded candidates for every vacancy. In a normal year, there are 22 seats up for election in Gateshead. In 2004, all 66 seats were contested because of boundary changes and the Conservatives fielded a full set of candidates. 22 years on and the Conservatives are fielding a team so small, it leaves many wards without a Conservative candidate at all.

This is a truly appalling situation for the Conservatives. They last topped a poll in Gateshead in 1992, 34 years ago, when the last surviving Conservative councillor held his seat of Low Fell (it went Lib Dem four years later). Their absence from the Council did not mean they were absent from the electoral battle. Until now. I understand that other areas are seeing the collapse of the Conservatives  so we are not talking about their disintegration as a Gateshead specific issue. The malaise is wider, much wider.

There are some good people in the Conservative Party who are horrified with the Reform lite direction in which their party is moving. Centrists and right of centre are looking for a new home. They are repelled by the Reform Party and want nothing to do with them. Pragmatic liberal conservatives can still play a role in politics, but not in the Conservative Party where their efforts are now wasted. If you are a liberal minded, pro-European, caring Conservative, it's time to join the Liberal Democrats.

The Team photo

 

The Whickham South and Sunniside team. Polling day is 7th May.

Election slides

 

Along with my colleagues Jonathan Mohammed and Marilynn Ord, we have been nominated for Whickham South and Sunniside ward of Gateshead Council. Polling day is 7th May. 

Nomination accepted

 

I am seeking re-election to Gateshead Council. Nomination papers went in earlier this week and were accepted. I have already done 11 terms as councillor for Whickham South and Sunniside, starting in 1987. Four weeks of solid campaigning ahead of us. Given Gateshead Lib Dems have been working solidly on the elections since May 2024, the next four weeks shouldn't be much different for us!

Polling day is 7th May.

Promoted by Ron Beadle on behalf of Jonathan Wallace (Liberal Democrats), c/o 21 Beaconsfield Avenue Low Fell NE9 5XT.

Daffs on display

 

As I travel around my ward, I spot things that fall into the categories of Good, Bad and Ugly. This one definitely falls into the Good category. This is the daffodil bed ay Byermoor next to the A692 and very close to the border with Co Durham. It comes up blooming every year and makes a great display for people coming into Gateshead.

What a bruiser

 

I've got quite a black eye! Florence, one of my nanny goats, had two babies yesterday but her udders where so full of milk that the babies could not suckle. I therefore took her to out milking shed and encouraged her to get onto the milking stand. That was when it happened. I made the mistake of bending over as she jumped onto the stand. The result was an impact as her horn collided with my glasses and nose.

On the plus side, I took 4 litres of milk off her which are currently being fed to her two babies.

So it wasn't the end result of a difference of opinion with a political opponent or party members! Just plain bad luck! The last time I had a black eye was nearly 50 years ago. Let's hope it's another 50 years before the next!

The irony of it!

 

I wonder if Labour spot the irony in this banner. The issue at hand here is the closure of the Gateshead flyover which, a year and a half ago, was found to be in a poor and dangerous state. The resulting closure has added to the congestion next to a zone where Labour's one way system has itself added to congestion in the town centre. "Brought to you by Gateshead" - the words are really quite accurate. Just stick the word "Labour" before Gateshead.

Ed Davey in Newcastle

 

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey was in Newcastle today as part of his local election tour. In this group shot Marilynn managed to be right at the front, next to Ed himself!

Marilynn is introduced to Ed.

Gateshead Lib Dems photographed with Ed.

Ed rather liked the Gateshead Lib Dem manifesto.

Promoted by Ron Beadle on behalf of Gateshead Liberal Democrats, c/o 21 Beaconsfield Avenue Low Fell NE9 5XT.

Pictures of Noel

 

Noel Rippeth was Leader of the Lib Dem group and Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council from 1994 to 2010.Sadly, he passed away last month. His family asked me to pass on any photos I have of him from his days as group leader. SO here are some of the ones I sent. All photos are pre 2005 and some date from the 1990s.

Above - Noel in his ward of Crawcrook and Greenside.

Mid 1990s, a social event at my house (I recognise the curtains!)

Mid to late 1990s, Noel with then Leader of the Party, Paddy Ashdown, with Cllr Peter Maughan in Whickham.

2003 - Noel and local members are joined by Ed Davey MP.

Mid 1990s - Noel as part of the group meeting Paddy Ashdown in Chase Park. At the tiime, Labour were planning to remove and not replace the play equipment in local parks. Paddy joined in the campaign and suddenly the Labour council found the money to replace the old equipment.

Noel joins the winning Lib Dem candidates from the local elections, 1990s.

Noel and Councillor Peter Maughan in Crawcrook, 1990s.

Noel and Ione join me in Ryton, 2017. This was 6 years after they had retired from Gateshead Council.

Save Gateshead from Reform's opencast mining

 

Don't bring Reform chaos to Gateshead

 

Lib Dem boy band

 

I set myself the task of sorting through a filing cabinet of photos in my office at home this morning. All my photos taken since 2005 are digital. So the contents of the filing cabinet are something of a historic nature, being at least 21 years old. Some were over 40 years old. I did however find this photo which we decided to scan. It was taken in spring 2001. These 5 young people (I'm on the front left) were the Lib Dem's youngest candidates in the North East for the general election which has been delayed (if I remember correctly) by an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

We look something like a boy band on a comeback tour! I suspect I was the oldest. More middle-aged than boy!

Back to Bridges

 

On Sunday Gateshead Lib Dems had the last action day before the election expenses kick in. Again, it was another mopping up day in which bundles of manifesto leaflets were delivered. We split into 4 groups. All deliveries in the morning were in the blocks of flats on or near the Quayside. The final bundles were delivered on a new estate near Gateshead Stadium. The to Tesco (yet again) for lunch.

Promoted by Ron Beadle on behalf of Jonathan Wallace (Liberal Democrats), c/o 21 Beaconsfield Avenue Low Fell NE9 5XT.

Saltwell action day

 

On Saturday Gateshead Lib Dems had yet another action day, this time in Saltwell. The aim was to mop up remaining target letters. Job done and we then headed to Tesco cafe for lunch. Over the past two years of action days, Tesco has been our regular eating place. I dread to think of how much Lib Dems have spent in the place.

Promoted by Ron Beadle on behalf of Jonathan Wallace (Liberal Democrats), c/o 21 Beaconsfield Avenue Low Fell NE9 5XT.

Good to see the media at the manifesto launch

 

Gateshead Lib Dems held their manifesto launch at the Tynesider on Gateshead High Street on Tuesday. Good to see both the BBC and Chronicle attending.

The Chronicle focused on the battle for Gateshead being between Lib Dems and Reform. You can read the write up, and Reform's attack on us, in this link.

Birtley South action day

 

I missed the Birtley North and Lamesley action day last week as I was at the Whickham Library easter fair. I was however able to make it to the Birtley South event the following day. 13 of us finished the delivery of target letters in the ward.

Birtley South is an interesting ward. We first won a seat in the ward from Labour in 2023. A year later we won another seat from Labour but this time only by 5 votes. This is the closest result I have ever seen in my 45 years experience of political campaigning in Gateshead. Now, it appears Labour have largely given up, even though they are defending their last seat in the ward.

So the battle is now between Lib Dems and Reform though Reform's candidates are yet to be announced. Birtley South is definitely a "one to watch".

Labour's council tax rise in Gateshead

 

We'll be back

 

Gateshead Lib Dems meet for a monthly social gathering at the Tynesider on Gateshead High Street. The last gathering was on Thursday last week. We are however returning tomorrow. We will be launching the Gateshead Lib Dem manifesto "Get Gateshead Going". There is a 6pm kick off. I will be there with cameras!

Vote Labour - get Reform

 

There have been grumblings of discontent within Labour's ranks in Gateshead about our recent leaflet which included a page about the Lib Dems being the main challengers to Reform in the borough. The Labour vote, reflecting what has happened across the country, is collapsing. Labour, in by-elections and polls, are lucky to hold on to half their vote share.

Anyway, above is another graphic to demonstrate that only the Lib Dems can beat Reform in Gateshead. Labour are out of the race.

Goodbye Jim

 

Today I attended the funeral of Jim Turnbull. Jim had been a councillor in Gateshead since 1982, setting the record for membership of the authority at 44 years. The funeral was at Windy Nook Methodist Church. It was also an opportunity to catch up with retired officers and former councillors, some of whom I hadn't seen for 2 or 3 decades. 

Farewell Jim. Rest in peace.

The implosion of the Conservatives in Gateshead

We have heard on the grapevine that the Conservatives in Gateshead have imploded on the eve of the local elections. Perhaps we should not get too carried away as there was little to implode anyway. The last time a Conservative councillor was elected in Gateshead was in 1992 and much of that was the result of the Conservatives doing well nationally - they had just pulled off a surprise general election victory and John Major continued as Prime Minister. Given the history of the following 5 years, Major probably regretted his victory in 1992.

So, back to 2026, and we have learnt that there is deep unhappiness in the depleted ranks of the Conservatives at the merger of the Gateshead constituencies with Newcastle and Jarrow. Hopes of getting a full or near full slate of candidates for the May local elections are looking unlikely to be achieved. Indeed, it will be a challenge to get enough candidates to fly the flag in each ward, therefore leaving some wards uncontested.

The Conservatives may seem a bit irrelevant in Gateshead and to a significant extent, they are. But in tight seats, a couple of hundred people voting for the Conservatives rather than the Lib Dems has, in the past, saved Labour. So, the Conservatives do have some relevance in Gateshead. What we don't know is whether or not the Conservatives have lost members to Reform. I guess we will find out when nominations for the local elections are closed.

Dunston Hill - the full history

 

On Wednesday I will be chairing the next meeting of Sunniside History Society. The speaker is Dr Richard Pears and he will be talking about Dunston Hill, the home of the Carr-Ellison family.

The Kylie and Jason of Gateshead Lib Dems

 

This photo was doing the rounds of Gateshead Lib Dems yesterday. Marilynn Ord and I in 1987 at a party to celebrate the election of myself and Ione Rippeth to Gateshead Council. We were immediately dubbed the Kylie and Jason of Gateshead Lib Dems! Marilynn was elected councillor in 1998.

I am pleased to report that I have since found a decent hairdresser! Alas, I am no longer the brunette bombshell I once was. Aging and silverhaired are now more accurate descriptions of me!

RIP Noel Rippeth

 

Sad news. On Friday we learnt of the passing of Noel Rippeth, former Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Leader of the Opposition on Gateshead Council. He was a founder member of the SDP in 1981 and had been a Lib Dem campaigner ever since. He was elected to Gateshead Council in 1992 and became Leader in 1994, holding the position until 2010. Unfortunately, poor health forced Noel's retirement from the Council in 2011.

Despite his health, he still found time to join me on the campaign trail in Blaydon constituency in 2017, when this photo was taken.

RIP Noel Rippeth.