Training

 

This is the reason I wasn't at the Gateshead Lib Dem action day on Sunday. I was at a Lib Dem training session instead. It wasn't a long trip for me to get to the meeting. It was at Sunniside Social Club which is only a few minutes' walk from my house. A useful day for me to dust down some of my campaigning skills and learn new ones.

There were inevitable discussions about the political situation on our home patches. I was told about the Labour retreat in Newcastle where it appears Labour are seriously fighting only a handful of wards. "Seriously" could be described as an over exaggeration.  The situation in Gateshead is similar. There seems to be no central direction or organisation by Labour in Gateshead. Wards are left to get on with their own campaigning and in most wards Labour's campaigning is zilch.

Action days in Birtley South and Birtley North and Lamesley

Over the weekend, Gateshead Lib Dems held another two action days, this time in Birtley South and Birtley North and Lamesley wards. Sadly, I was unable to attend. Instead, on Saturday I was tied up printing 25,000 address labels for our next mailing to voters. On Sunday I was at a training event. The two Birtley wards are interesting as far as the May local elections are concerned. Birtley South is represented by two Lib Dem councillors - Paul Elliott and Joe Sowerby - and one Labour (Daniel Weatherley). Both of our seats are recent gains (2023 and 2024) from Labour. Joe's majority was an eye wateringly tight five votes.

Meanwhile, Birtley North and Lamesley has been Labour held for decades. Normally Labour are returned with a comfortable majority but there is a significant non-Labour vote which can line up behind a party that is doing well nationally. In recent years, the Conservatives got a good showing in the ward when Boris Johnson was popular. Before that, UKIP once received a good number of votes (but still lost) and even further back in time the independent "Liberals" were within 150 votes of winning. The ward has not been intensively campaigned until now. The Lib Dems are campaigning hard in the ward.

We are not yet aware of the intentions of Daniel Weatherley in Birtley South. Even if he does decide to stand again, Labour are faced with finding two other candidates as well. We are not hearing of anything happening on the ground with regards to Labour candidates in the ward. Over the border in Birtley North, Labour have suffered a defection by Jane McCoid to the Independents. At this point, we have no information on her intentions. One Labour councillor (Sheila Gallagher) is retiring. Labour however have found two new candidates and therefore will present a full slate in the ward to voters in the May local elections. It seems Labour's Birtley North branch went for an early selection in the ward as their candidates were chosen last autumn. In the shrinking pool of what's left of Labour members willing to stand for the Council, Birtley North Labour snaffled up the available candidates early, unlike their counterparts south of the border.

For all parties, the clock is ticking on candidate selection. 66 candidates are needed for a full slate. Lib Dems are over 60 as I write. The final selections will take place soon. We hear that Labour may not field candidates for every seat. I will believe that when it happens. My 40 year experience of Labour on Gateshead Council is that they have always stood in every seat. I can't believe they won't apply the drag nets to haul in a few "volunteers"....but there is always a first for everything.

Great talk at the history society

We had our monthly meeting of Sunniside History Society on Wednesday. The speaker was Liz Purcell who gave a talk about horses in warfare. It was a fascinating presentation. Numbers attending were up as well. The next meeting is on Wednesday 4th March when we will be looking at some of the slides and photos which the society received from Francis Newman, one of the founders of the organisation. Francis passed away a few years ago but he gave us his entire photo collection. For historians, it is a treasure trove.

Gateshead executive meeting

 

On Tuesday, Gateshead Lib Dem executive met in the Civic Centre. Final changes and additions to the manifesto for the local elections in May were considered and agreed. We also discussed the local election campaign (which is already well underway) and the timetable for action days during February. Lots to do!

The Sunniside Heron

 

Last week when I was delivering Focus in Sunniside I spotted a Heron in the pond next to Kingsway, opposite Riding Barns Way. Herons are not a common sight in the village and it's been a few years since I last saw one. Nevertheless, there are enough of them to cause people to net their garden ponds in Sunniside. I doubt however that the Heron I saw was going to have a successful day catching goldfish. This pond drains the neighbouring field and normally dries up in the summer. Nevertheless, seeing the heron in Sunniside was a pleasure.

Sunniside delivered

Hooray! Delivery of the Sunniside Focus was completed this morning. I had a bundle of 220 to do. All I have left to deliver now is Ravensworth Estate. Geographically it is the biggest patch in the ward as it is entirely rural. In terms of quantity it is the smallest. There are only 13 letterboxes on the estate.

Meanwhile, I finished writing another two Focuses today. Watch out for their being delivered soon in Birtley South and Birtley North and Lamesley wards.

Happy birthday Ron

 

Gateshead Lib Dem Leader, Councillor Ron Beadle, has turned 60. To celebrate, he had a birthday party at the Valley Farm restaurant on the Team Valley. A ridiculously large meal followed by birthday cake. Lots of people there. It was good to see Frank Hindle. He had been the leader of the Lib Dem group before me, a role from which he stepped down in 2015.  Yes, eleven years ago! How time flies.

And another!

Yesterday was Saturday. And that means it was another action day. This time it was in Saltwell. I was paired up with a member from Chowdene and the two of us together delivered 400 Focuses. She then went back to HQ to get another patch to deliver. Alas, I headed home. I had two more Focuses to write.

More Focuses delivered

 

I delivered 330 of our Sunniside Focuses today. I have 400 still to put through doors. Fortunately, my shoe leather is surviving the pounding. Let's see how my shoes cope with the next 3 months.

Envelope stuffing

How to turn a mundane, repetitive job into something interesting!? On Sunday, Gateshead Lib Dems hired the concert room at Sunniside Social Club for an envelope stuffing event. 35 members turned up to help put 25,000 letters into envelopes. We turned the day into a social event and put on a lunch as well. My job was to manage the event, making sure the right letters went into the right envelopes. Thanks to everyone who came along.

The job of delivering the letters is next on the to-do list!