Gateshead East branch meeting

I was at Heworth Golf Club tonight, not for a round of golf, but to attend the Gateshead East Lib Dem branch meeting. High on the agenda was a discussion about campaigning for the local elections next year in our target wards. Also discussed was the campaign for the Police and Crime Commissioner by-election.

There is a growing feeling of excitement and willingness to campaign among the members, including those who have joined recently. There is a great deal of confidence about the party's prospects.

Selected for Northumbria PCC by-election

I have been selected as the Lib Dem candidate for the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner by-election on 18th July, caused by the resignation of Labour's Vera Baird. This of course means that I will be fully occupied over the coming month.

The by-election will cost close to £3 million. Surely there is a better way to spend taxpayers' money?

Vote Lib Dem, get expelled. Vote Conservative, that's okay: Labour's approach to discipline

Recent high profile cases of senior Labour figures being suspended or expelled for voting Lib Dem stand in sharp contrast to Labour's response to the MPs who voted with the Tories last week. These MPs single handedly saved the Conservative government and made Hard Brexit more likely. Labour's approach to them has been to ignore their misdeeds. This turn-a-blind-eye approach too often extends to anti-Semitic behaviour in Labour's ranks as well.

In the eyes of the Labour leadership, the greatest of crimes is to vote Lib Dem. Voting to save the Tories doesn't even warrant the political equivalent of an ASBO.

Hardly a surprise

As I predicted, Esther McVeil has come out as a Johnson supporter. So her vote and presumably those of her supporters will now line up behind the Charlatan-in-Chief. Quite how she fits her "blue collar conservatism" in with Johnson's call for tax cuts for the rich is yet to be seen.

Labour's helping hand to the Tories

Plans to block no deal Brexit have yet again been shot down by the government. And again, Labour MPs were the saviours of the Tories. Had the 8 Labour MPs who back the government followed their whip, the Tories would have been defeated. Two of those Labour MPs were from the North East: Ronnie Campbell and Stephen Hepburn. Both are reactionary old school "socialists" who should have been decommissioned years ago. Thanks to them and their Brexit colleagues, Hard Brexit remains a strong possibility. Not very helpful for local jobs and economy. The next time they moan about the state of the region, they need to be reminded that they have Brexit blood on their hands.

Out of the race

I am on a train to North Wales at the moment but I can't escape politics and the infernal Tory leadership race. The first round ballot was declared just as we were getting on the train. McVile, Loathsome and Harpic are now out, leaving seven in the race. Johnson was in the lead, comfortably ahead of Hunt. My guess is that the supporters of McVile and Loathsome will line up behind Johnson. As for Harpic, I'm like most other people. I have no idea who he is so who his followers are and where they now end up is anyone's guess.

So, stay tuned for the next edition of the Tory Leadership Show (if I can be bothered to write it!) Meanwhile I am going to enjoy my trip to Wales.

Video: D-Day marked in Whickham

Last Thursday, the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings was marked in Gateshead with a short service at the war memorial which included the playing of the Last Post.

Speeches by Jo and Ed at the Newcastle hustings meeting

I videoed the opening and closing speeches by Jo Swinson and Ed Davey at the Newcastle Lib Dem leader hustings on Saturday evening. Each is included with this post.

Chase Park green flag inspection

There was an inspection of Chase Park, Whickham, for the green flag award on 6th June. Volunteers had spend a great deal of time replanting many of the flower beds in the park. I hear the inspection went well but we are not expecting the announcement of the result for a few weeks yet.

Lib Dem Leadership Hustings in Newcastle

The Old Assembly Rooms in Newcastle were packed out on Saturday evening for the Lib Dem leadership hustings meeting. Two candidates are in the running - Jo Swinson and Ed Davey. I will be happy with either though I am backing Ed Davey. Both spoke well at the meeting which I reckon must be in sharp contrast to Labour and Conservative meetings where blind panic and blood on the floor are common features.



Gateshead members Vicky Anderson and Leanne Brand are backing Jo.



Ed's leaflet - you may recognise the photo at the bottom!



Me and Ed.

Ballot papers will be circulated shortly and the winner will be declared on 23rd July.

Gateshead Strategy Meeting

Lib Dems in Gateshead are already planning for the local elections in May next year. On Saturday, we held our next strategy meeting. There was a wide ranging discussion on the selection of target wards and the criteria we apply to come into target status. Within that status there are a couple of different categories based on how far down the route of winnability a ward it. We will be defending five seats next year and we have drawn up a target list of an additional six wards. The meeting also looked at campaigning plans with the result that I ended up adding to my to-do list before meaving the meeting!

Marking D-Day in Whickham

On Thursday a short service was held at the Whickham War Memorial to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The Last Post was sounded. Residents were also joined by three soldiers attending a recruitment event in the village.

A video of this event will follow shortly.

I'm backing Ed

Nominations close today for Lib Dem Leader. Unless there is a sudden and unexpected 3rd candidate, the race will be between Ed Davey and Jo Swinson. Both are first class candidates and I will be happy with either as Leader. However, I will be voting for Ed. For me, Ed has the lead on the environment. 10 years ago I gave up work to live the good life. The aim was to produce our own food and power and live as sustainably as possible. So the environmental agenda is very important to me.

I told Ed over the weekend I will be backing him and he phoned me yesterday (moments after having just dealt with a bee swarm - I learnt at that moment that Ed's mother is also a beekeeper!) When I worked for the Lib Dems over 10 years ago, I was part of the team that supported Ed when he was Shadow Communities, Housing and Local Government Secretary. So we got to know each other quite well.

The hustings meeting for the North East is in Newcastle tomorrow evening. Attendance is expected to be high from members. It should be a good meeting.

Good luck to both candidates. Both are very worthy of the role.

The Peterborough curate's egg

Peterborough is a place I don't know. I have been there once, many years ago, for a Lib Dem training event. I have passed through on the train hundreds of times when I used to go to London most weeks. From the train I could see the prison on one side and the cathedral on the other. Yesterday however it was on our radar screens as we awaited the much trumpeted Brexit Party's victory to win their first seat in Parliament. Except, it never happened! It was another of those occasions in which a few votes made the difference between a political earthquake and a footnote in history.

Labour are behaving as if they have just won a general election, which only goes to show what a dire state they are in. In normal political times, the main opposition should be looking to hold seats it had won marginally with majorities more akin to those in safe seats. Winning by the skin of their teeth with a 17% drop in vote share hardly inspires confidence.

The Lib Dems put in a creditable performance in a constituency which previously saw us win only 3% of the vote. 9% increase is welcome.

Overall, the result is something of a curate's egg. The good parts are: the Brexit Party did not win, the Lib Dem vote improved, Labour performed poorly but not too poorly to risk Corbyn's leadership (he is a vote winner at the moment but for the Lib Dems, not Labour).

The bad part is that the Brexit Party nearly won and Labour's victory means they will continue to have Leaver Corbyn at the helm, blocking a confirmatory referendum.

So definitely mixed news from Peterborough.

Blaydon Lib Dem meeting

Blaydon constituency Lib Dem branch had its monthly meeting last night at Marley Hill. I say "monthly" but our last meeting was actually in March. April and May meetings weren't held because we were too busy winning Dunston Hill and Whickham East ward from Labour. The usual issues were discussed and plans for Focuses were agreed. I am currently writing the next edition for Whickham South and Sunniside.

We also had a discussion about social events - we have been heavily focused on campaigning in the past so we have given insufficient thought to these. This needs to change, especially as we are picking up lots of new members and supporters. So I have been dispatched to contact possible speakers for pizza and politics events. More fundraising is also needed. We have lots of campaign plans but money is needed to pay for them!

I came away from the meeting with a long to-do list!

Echoes of the Enabling Act

Dominic Raab is best known as the Brexit Secretary who resigned in protest at the Brexit deal he negotiated. Now he wants to be Tory Leader and PM. With a large number of contenders for the top position, the race is on to make the most extreme pledges on Hard Brexit. It is reported that Raab is ready to prorogue Parliament to stop MPs having a say on a No Deal Brexit. In effect, the future of the nation would be in the hands of the loonies of a government of the Extreme Brexit Right. So much for Parliament "taking back control".

One of the worrying features is that the exclusion of Parliament and MPs from decision-making has echoes of how the Nazis seized control and turned a democracy into a dictatorship. Hitler used a crisis (the burning down of the Reichstag) to pass the Enabling Act, a move which put legislative power into his hands, thereby sidestepping all Parliamentary representation.

Were we to crash out of the EU without an agreement, it is almost certainly the case that the government will need emergency powers to deal with the crisis that will arise from what effectively is our own, self-imposed siege of our own borders. Perhaps the Raab idea of proroguing Parliament is a hint of how governance will operate under a Raab premiership.

Marking D-Day in Whickham

Thursday 6th June is the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy Landings. A service, led by Revd Barry Abbott of St Mary's Church, will be taking place at the War Memorial in Whickham on Thursday at 10.25am. The Last Post will be played and minute's silence will be held.

All residents are invited to attend.

Meeting Trump

I had planned to be in London yesterday for a meeting of Lib Dem group leaders. Alas, the meeting was postponed until later this year. Frankly, I didn't want to be in London at the same time as the Trump visit and the demonstrations taking place against him. The postponement also allowed me to go to the Sunniside History Society meeting last night. As chairman, I had already arm twisted someone to stand in for me so I was able to relieve them of that burden.

And now for something rare: praise for Corbyn! I think he was absolutely right that he tried to seek a meeting with Trump. Corbyn is a waste of space but he is, sadly, Leader of the Opposition. In that capacity, he should have been given an audience with Trump. In the nightmare scenario in the years ahead of a 2nd Trump term of office and a Prime Minister Corbyn, the two are going to have to deal with each other. A meeting should therefore have been held between the two. After all, if Trump could find time to meet Nigel Farage, whose party has no seats in Parliament, he should find time to meet Corbyn.

Where were you when we needed you Mr Corbyn?

Jeremy Corbyn attended the anti-Trump rally in London today. This seems to be a break with recent practice. Where was he when the People's Vote rallies were taking place. Nowhere to be seen. Trump's anti-EU comments must be music to Corbyn's ears.

What negotiations?

After the European election results were announced, the Brexit Party demanded a seat at the negotiations with the EU over how we leave. The same demand has just been made by Trump, in his capacity as self-appointed leader of America First. This all strikes me as rather odd. The Brexit Party demands a No Deal Brexit. So what is there to negotiate about, at least in terms of how we leave? And if we leave without an agreement (the key Brexit Party demand), it is highly unlikely that there will be any negotiations on a future relationship. So quite what role there is for the Brexit Party in negotiations they believe should not happen now and won't happen in the future is not clear.

Trump has always made it clear that he backs Brexit. In terms of world politics, he wants no competition to his country's superpower status. America First means negotiating from strength with smaller countries many of which have smaller GDP than some of the big states of the USA. Such an approach is destroyed by the existence of the EU, itself a bigger economic superpower than the USA. The UK has an economy a fraction of the size of the off the USA. There is no way that negotiations between the UK and USA on trade could be anything other than totally one-sided in favour of America. That is why, in the Brexit negotiations, the EU has the upper hand - the UK is a fraction of the economic strength of the EU and in negotiations that is what counts. When Brexit Britain goes out into the big wide world to negotiate our own trade agreements, we will constantly bump up against the same problem. We will, of course, have thrown away the advantages that go with being part of the economic powerhouse of the EU.