The Northern no.

52

Democrat
The newsletter for Liberal Democrats in the North of England
June 2010

Arise Lord Shipley

City Council Leader joins two former
Yorkshire MPs as Northern peers
One of the North East’s top councillors,
John Shipley, has been appointed a
member of the House of Lords in the
honours list published earlier this month.
John, who will step down from his position
as Liberal Democrat Leader of Newcastle
City Council, will be taking the title of Lord
Shipley of Gosforth in the Couny of Tyne and
Wear.
With nearly 40 years of service as a
councillor, John is looking forward to using his
expertise as a new member of the Lib Dems’
Local Government Parliamentary team.
Speaking to the North East Liberal
Democrat conference on 12th June, John
said that he will also be a strong voice for the
region and will use his expertise to highlight
the impact of policies on the North.
“It is a great honour to be asked by Nick lJohn Shipley will join the House of Lords in
Clegg to be one of the party’s new peers.” July.
John told the Northern Democrat.
“In Newcastle we already have experience
of being in government and I hope to bring to
the Lords and to our own government team
the knowledge I have built up over nearly four
decades in Newcastle City politics.”
Two former Yorkshire MPs are also
entering the Lords. Richard Allan who
represented Sheffield Hallam for 8 years and
Phil Willis, who retired as MP for Harrogate
and Knaresborough in May, will both take
their seats in July. lLord Willis lLord Allan

Produced, printed and promoted by Jonathan Wallace, 7 Laburnum Grove, Sunniside, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE16 5LY
 Northern Democrat June 2010
Contents
Page 2 Contents/The Emergency Budget
Page 3 The Emergency Budget
Page 4 I Support the Coalition Agreement - Chris Foote Wood
Page 5 Thirsk and Malton by-election result/forthcoming Darlington by-
election
Page 6 North East Regional Conference Report Back
Page 7 News from Europe
Page 8 News from Parliament
Page 9 News from Parliament
Page 10 News from Parliament
Page 10 Candidates committee report back

The Emergency Budget

£22,400 - Labour’s debt to every man, woman and child in the country
Labour in denial about Deficit
Labour are in denial about the state of the nation’s finances. Labour MPs attack the Coalition,
and especially the Liberal Democrats, over cuts. They refuse to accept any responsibility for
the mess inherited by the new Government. They have washed their hands of the problems
that happened on their watch, blaming bankers, the international economy, anyone but
themselves for the situation.
Northern Liberal Democrats should take the lead in exposing the responsibility of Labour for
the mess. Do not let Labour have an easy time of passing the buck. Remind people that
Labour need to carry the responsibility for what happened.
Expose Labour:
l Labour refused to rule out a VAT rise during the election. They wanted to keep this
option open if they won the election.
lDon’t let Labour get
l In March 2010 Labour Chancellor Alisdair Darling announced that the Budget deficit away with claiming the
would be more than halved to £74 billion by 2014-15. Budget deficit and the
l When Darling made his announcement, he said the work of reducing the deficit would economic mess had
begin in 2011 but gave no details of how this would be done. Labour were therefore nothing to do with them.
planning massive cuts from 2011 onwards but refused to say what the cuts would be.
l As a result of Labour’s management of the economy, every person in the UK carries a debt of £24,200.
l Labour’s record on employment is poor - when they came to office in 1997, there were 1.6 million jobless people.
When they left office in May 2010, there were 2.5 million.

Federal Conference - Liverpool

NORTHERN NIGHT
A Reception with drinks, a buffet and guest speakers will be held on Monday 20th September
18.15 -19.30 Hall 3A ACC
sponsored by Northumbria Water - North East and Yorkshire Region Members welcome
2
 The Emergency Budget
The Emergency Budget on 22nd June was designed to get the spiralling debt crisis under
control. The scale of the problem left by Labour was immense. Labour gave us the
biggest Budget deficit of the G20 group of the most wealthy nations.
If no action had been taken, the economy would have faced financial ruin:
l the Government would have found it difficult to borrow - what would have been lent to Britain
would have carried much higher interest rates;
l by the end of this Parliament we would have had a massive debt problem which would have
seen us paying £70 billion a year on interest alone, more than we spend on schools and
defence combined. lDeputy Prime
l cuts in the future would have had to be far more severe to pay for interest on the debt - it Minister Nick Clegg
would mean closing schools and hospitals in a few years’ time to pay the lenders.
The Coalition was determined not to go the way of Greece where a huge Government deficit led to a near collapse of the
economy and huge cuts to services. To get a grip on Labour’s massive Budget deficit, difficult spending and tax
decisions had to be made.

The Structural Deficit

l The independent Office of Budgetary Responsibility showed that the “structural deficit” - ie the amount the
Government is spending which will not be covered in future by growth in the economy is tax rates and current
spending plans are maintained - is wider than Labour’s prediction of 7.3% of GDP in 2010-11. They put the figure
at 8%.
l To eliminate the structural debt by the end of this Parliament, spending cuts and tax rises were needed. For this
reason, VAT was raised from 17.5% to 20%.
l If the rate of VAT had remained the same, other spending cuts or tax rises would have been needed.

Nick Clegg’s Budget message:

l We have had to take difficult decisions to tackle the deficit and lay the foundations of a fairer society. These are
not decisions any government wants to take but we have no choice except to clear up the financial mess that
Labour left us.
l The Budget takes these difficult decisions in an honest and fair way and with the clear stamp of Liberal
Democrat values running through it.
l In the past, efforts to tackle a big deficit have always hit the poorest the most. The coalition has ensured that –
for the first time – this will not happen. The richest will pay the most, while pensioners and children will be
protected.”

VAT background details

l On basic goods such as children’s clothes, mains water, most food (though not takeaways or meals in
restaurants), public transport, newspapers and books no VAT is paid. This will not change as a result of the
Budget. These goods form a larger part of the household budgets of low income families.
l VAT on domestic gas and electricity is 5% and this will stay the same.
l Unlike income tax, VAT is far more difficult for the wealthy to avoid paying.

Lib Dems ensure fairness is at heart of Budget

The recent emergency Budget was introduced to get the spiralling level of debt left by Labour under control. Key Liberal
Democrat measures were included to ensure fairness was at the heart of the Budget:
l the personal tax allowance will be increased by £1000 next April, taking 880,000 low paid workers out of
Income Tax altogether. By the end of this Parliament, thanks to the Liberal Democrats, no one will pay tax on
the first £10,000 of income.
l new tax on banks, ensuring that they help to pay to clear up the mess left by the financial crisis.
l top earners will pay a full 10% more in Capital Gains Tax than under Labour, ensuring those with the
broadest shoulders carry more of the burden of cutting debt.
l the state pension will rise in line with earnings. That means a bigger rise than under Labour. They also
penalised people who saved to support themselves in old age. Under our pension plans we will start to moved
away from the penalties Labour put on pensioners.
l Regional Growth Fund for areas where public sector employment is higher than average. The fund will help to
create jobs in the private sector.
l we have increased tax credits for the poorest families and put up to £ 2 billion into child tax credits to help 3
ensure children of all backgrounds get a fair start in life.
 I Support the Coalition Agreement
Chris Foote-Wood
Since the signing of the historic Coalition Agreement
in May, Liberal Democrats have come under furious
attack. We have been accused of “selling out”, of
being unprincipled and opportunist, of betraying our
voters, of becoming Tory lap-dogs, and even of
destroying the LibDems as an independent party.
All this is complete rot, of course, but we need to be clear
about why we support the coalition government and to
make those arguments forcefully and publicly at every
opportunity. If we remain silent or appear half-hearted, we
risk some of those jibes sticking.
I support the Coalition Agreement first and foremost
because Liberal Democrat policies are now being put into
action. We campaign as a political party to get into power,
form a government and enact the policies we believe to be
best for our country. We have now, in part, succeeded in
that basic objective – so what’s the problem? By being part
of government we will get fixed-term parliaments, a
referendum on a fairer voting system, wholly- or mainly-
elected House of Lords by PR, public recall of erring MPs,
limits on political donations, a statutory register of lobbyists,
real rises in the state pension and the restoration of the
earnings link, regulation of CCTV, restrictions on storage of
internet and email records, ID cards scrapped, no third runway at Heathrow – all good LibDem policies
that will benefit the nation.
Giving the UK firm and stable government for I support the Coalition Agreement first
the next five years is the best way, indeed the
and foremost because Liberal Democrat
only way, of tackling our most serious financial
crisis since WW2. A coalition between the policies are now being put into action.
LibDems and the Tories, together representing a We campaign as a political party to get
majority of voters and with a secure majority in into power, form a government and
parliament was the only outcome that met this
criterium. What were the alternatives? A
enact the policies we believe to be best
“Rainbow Coalition” with Labour and others for our country. We have now, in part,
would have been vulnerable to any small party succeeded in that basic objective
pulling out to suit their own purposes. In any
case, Labour did not negotiate seriously, refused to make any compromises, and could not even deliver an
AV referendum.
The only other result would have been a minority Conservative government with 100% Tory policies, able
to call another election at any time to go for the extra 2% they needed for an overall majority. Another
general election very soon would have been bad for the country and very difficult for us – remember the two
elections of 1974. Anything other than the present coalition would have meant uncertainty and instability –
making the country’s financial situation even worse.
At our special LibDem conference in Birmingham on May 16, a mere ten delegates out of 2,000 voted
against the Coalition Agreement – a sure sign that our grass-roots activists are confident it is not only good
for the country, it will also strength us as a party. No longer will voting LibDem be a wasted vote, no longer
will there be jibes about us never getting into power. At the next general election (in 2015 of course) we will
go to the electorate with our own distinctive programme for government, but also with the experience of five
years in government. With AV (let’s win that referendum!) we will turn those second places into many more
LibDem MPs, especially here in the North-East.
4 Chris Foote-Wood, former Leader of Wear Valley Council, was the LibDem candidate for
Middlesbrough in the general election
 By-elections
Lib Dems leapfrog Labour in Thirsk and Malton election
The delayed election for the Thirsk and Malton constituency on 27th May saw the Lib Dems
leapfrog Labour to gain second place. Labour had hoped to do well, believing the Lib
Dems’ decision to enter a coalition with the Conservatives would cost the Lib Dems dearly.
But on the day, it was Labour’s vote that nosedived, dropping over 11% in share of the vote. The
Conservative share was barely changed whilst the Lib Dem candidate, Howard Keal saw his share
rise by 5%.
“I am grateful and humbled by the support I have received from the voters,” said Howard. “The
campaign was an incredible process and incredible journey”.
Liberal Democrat Party President, Ros Scott said, “Howard Keal and his team ran an energetic
and spirited campaign for the Liberal Democrats, achieving the biggest vote increase of the night.
“The result is yet another damning indictment of Labour’s record. Despite all its
arrogance following the coalition, Labour has been beaten into third and proven to
be way off the mark when it comes to public opinion.”
The result in full:
Anne McIntosh (CON) 20,167
Howard Keal (Lib Dem) 8,886
Jonathan Roberts (Lab) 5,169
Toby Horton (UKIP) 2,502
John Clark (“Liberal”) 1,418 lHoward Keal

Darlington by-election
Following the election of one of Darlington’s Labour Councillors to Parliament, there will be a by-
election in the Cockerton West ward of Darlington Borough Council on July 8th.
Lib Dem candidate is Brian Jefferson.
Contact details for anyone wishing to help the campaign are:
Anne-Marie Curry, 07989310147 or 01325 482415 or curryannemarie@aol.com or
Malcolm Dunstone 01325 362462.
As usual, there will be plenty of literature to deliver and canvassing to do.

Visit to the European Parliament and

Commission in Brussels
6th-8th October 2010
Invite from Fiona Hall MEP
single room: £290, sharing a room: £190 (per person)

Travel as a group from Darlington by train and then by Eurostar to Brussels. The price includes
return travel from Darlington to Brussels, two nights B&B in Brussels, some internal travel costs
in Brussels, European Parliament and Commission briefings and an evening meal with Fiona.
There is some free time as well.
For further details and to book your place, call Richard Randall or Judith Fletcher on
0191 3830119 by 8th July at the latest. 5
 North East Liberal Democrat
Conference report back
lBelow and right, John Shipley
addresses the conference in
Gateshead Civic Centre on 12th June.

lHilary Stevenson, Lib Dem

Director of Campaigns, and
Campaigns Officer Dave McCobb
lFormer Northern Re gave a presentation about the
gion President Peter general election campaign
welcomes Lord Ship Freitag
ley and Baroness Mad
the conference dock to

100 members gathered at the North East Regional Conference in Gateshead on 12th
June. Speakers included Newcastle City Council Leader John Shipley who is soon to be
elevated to the House of Lords.
John spoke about the opportunities and challenges ahead. Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith
announced that a North East regional group of Lib Dem Parliamentarians will be set up, consisting
of himself, John Shipley, Baroness Maddock, Lord Redesdale and Ian Swales, MP for Redcar.
Lib Dem Leader in the European Parliament, Fiona Hall, spoke about the challenges ahead and
how Lib Dem Euro MPs can help to influence the Coalition Government. Hilary Stevenson, Lib
Dem Director of Campaigns, spoke about the election campaign and how we are likely to develop
our campaigning over the coming years.
6
 News from Europe
Welcome for Nissan Grant
The decision by Vince Cable’s Department for Trade and Industry to go ahead with
a grant of £20 million to Nissan has been welcomed by Fiona Hall MEP.
“I welcome the Coalition Government’s decision to approve the £20m grant to Nissan’s
Sunderland plant. This is great news for the budding electric vehicle industry in the North
East and confirms the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition’s commitment to support
green business in the region.”
“This grant, together with the European Investment Bank loan, will help to safeguard
important jobs in the North East and further the region’s ambition of becoming a
manufacturing hub for green vehicles and technologies.” lFiona Hall MEP

Diana welcomes Icelandic bid to join Europe

On Iceland’s national day, Lib Dem Euro MP for
Yorkshire and the Humber, Diana Wallis, made a
key-note speech at a seminar in Copenhagen
about that country’s economic difficulties and the
expected news from the Council of Ministers
meeting the following day that would give the
green light to the opening of negotiations with
Iceland to join the EU.
Coinciding with the publication of a book: ‘Kreppa!
What we should learn from the Icelandic Crisis’ in
which Diana has written a chapter: ‘Icesave - whose
debt is it anyway?’, Diana said:
“The opening of negotiations is to be welcomed. This
should be separated out from the bilateral issue
between Iceland and the UK and the Netherlands
(enough diplomatic clout without having to hide behind the EU) over the Icesave debt. Both countries have new
governments now. This is an excellent opportunity to restart serious negotiations. The Icelanders have never denied
‘the principle of the principal debt’ being due. All sides now need to get round the table again as soon as possible.
“There should be no worry about Icelandic membership happening too quickly and conversely no need for anyone to
slow the pace. Indeed it is in the interests of both parties, the EU and Iceland, that the pace should be sedate. this
would allow for a proper internal debate in Iceland; a country which has just been through a bruising and difficult
financial and economic storm and likewise for the EU to be convinced that this is indeed a country that really has a
European vocation and it not just looking for a convenient ‘safe haven’.”
In July 2009, Iceland presented its application for membership of the EU. In February this year, the European
Commission responded by providing a favourable opinion on Iceland’s application for membership.

Holiday phone calls cheaper following EU action

North East Euro MP Fiona Hall has welcomed the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) decision to back moves
to cut mobile roaming rates by up to 70%. Mobile phone operators including Vodafone and O2 lost their
challenge in court to scrap caps on the cost of making calls while abroad.
The court decided that the EU’s roaming regulation was legally sound, fair for protecting consumers and did not
infringe the sovereignty of member states, because roaming is a cross-border phenomenon that needed a common
response.
“This decision is great news for North East holidaymakers and business people who rely on their mobile phones to
stay in touch with people back in the UK,” said Fiona. “They are now protected from receiving nasty shocks when
opening their mobile phone bills on return to the region.
“Mobile phone operators were given a lot of time and encouragement to bring down voluntarily the excessive costs of
using mobile phones abroad. Their refusal to give customers a fair deal forced the EU to step in and introduce caps on
making and receiving calls as well as texting and receiving texts whilst abroad. The ECJ’s decision is a real victory for
consumers across Europe.”
7
 News from Parliament
Beith finds out what it’s like to live without sight
Berwick’s Liberal Democrat MP
Sir Alan Beith met with RNIB at
a parliamentary reception
designed to give MPs a first
hand experience of the
everyday challenges faced by
blind and partially sighted
people.
Wearing a blindfold, Sir Alan
tried to carry out some everyday
tasks, like making a cup of tea and
using a cash machine, within the
kitchen and bank areas that had
been set up in the House of
Commons.
Sir Alan said, “It was a real
challenge to carry out these simple
everyday tasks without the use of
sight. It made me aware of the
need for support to be in place
when someone loses their sight
and is struggling to adjust, trying to Sir Alan Beith at the RNIB reception with Steve Winyard, RNIB’s Head
remain independent in their own of Campaigns with the RNIB’s new guide for MPs on how to ensure
local area and home.” communications are accessible to blind and partially sighted people.
There are nearly 2 million people living in the UK with sight loss, and every day another 100 people start to lose their
sight. Nearly a quarter of people losing their sight leave the eye clinic without even being certain of the name of the
condition that caused their sight loss. The majority are getting no support when they lose their sight - most receive no
counselling and are left to cope with their diagnosis alone.
Steve Winyard, Head of Campaigns at RNIB, said, “Every week in the UK hundreds of people begin to lose their sight.
You might think that support services would be waiting to step in and help, but that’s not the reality many people
experience. For example, we know that in the weeks after being registered as blind or partially sighted many people will
not be visited by social services.
“A year after losing their sight only about a quarter of people will be offered mobility training to get out and about
independently. RNIB is campaigning to ensure that everyone diagnosed with sight loss gets the practical and emotional
support that they need to rebuild their lives.”

Questions to the Deputy Prime Minister

Another first was notched up by Nick Clegg on 22nd June when the first session of Deputy Prime Minister’s
Questions was held. Nick is responsible for the constitutional reform programme of the Government and
many of the questions focused on the referendum due next year on reforming the voting system.
The cheekiest question came from Labour’s David Hanson who claimed that only Labour had a manifesto
commitment to a referendum on electoral reform and “gave thanks” to the Deputy Prime Minister for implementing a
Labour policy. Nick replied by pointing out that Labour had had a policy of holding a referendum on electoral reform
during their entire 13 years in office but never once tried to implement it.
Questions were also taken on plans to make constituencies the same size so that all votes are equal in general
elections. From the former Labour Home Secretary Jack Straw there was special pleading for urban (and mainly
Labour) constituencies so that they could continue to be over-represented in Parliament.
In answer to a question from Conservative Douglas Carswell, Nick said proposals to set up a register of lobbyist
would be brought forward.
Questions were also raised about the need to increase voter registration, following complaints from Labour members
that little was being done to ensure under-represented groups were encouraged to register to vote. Nick said that the
Government was considering how to tackle this but reminded Labour MPs that this issue was not tackled in their 13
years in office.

8
 News from Parliament
Chicken parmesans and
lemon top ice creams
It is a tradition in Parliament that MPs should base their maiden speeches on their constituencies. Ian
Swales, new Lib Dem MP for Redcar, where he overturned a Labour majority of 12,000, took up the
constituency tradition challenge with relish when he gave his maiden speech on 7th June.

“
As the Member for Redcar, I am proud to be the first Liberal to represent the area since 1923 and also very pleased
to hear this afternoon’s debate about potential voting system changes, which might do something to add to the House
the 100 Liberal Democrats who ought to be Members but, due to our current voting system, are not.
My constituency comprises the north-east corner of the historic north riding of Yorkshire, flanked by the River Tees
to the north, the North sea to the east and the Cleveland hills to the south. The coast boasts miles of golden beach,
the site of the recent British kite-surfing championships and is adjacent to Yorkshire’s only proper golf links. Redcar is
a bustling coastal town, incorporating the formerly separate villages of Coatham and Dormanstown, and it has a race
course with one of the few straight, level miles in the country. There was much excitement
in 2007 when for a few weeks our sea front became Dunkirk for the shooting of the
Oscar-winning film “Atonement”.
Local delicacies include chicken parmesans, which we all know as “parmos”, and
lemon top ice creams-probably not a diet that the Secretary of State for Health would
choose, but nevertheless absolutely delicious. Down the coast is the pretty village of
Marske, which has history going back to Viking times, and inland we have a port and
industrial complex of national importance. Teesport is the second biggest port in the UK, and
I am glad that this Government moved quickly to freeze the extra taxes that were
imposed on PD Ports, because they put it at a disadvantage to ports in mainland Europe.
The Corus steel site still employs more than 2,000 people in steel processing, but we
were all devastated in February when the blast furnace closed, ending 150 years of steel
making on the River Tees. We are hopeful that the blast furnace will be sold to a new owner
and that steel making can be resumed. My constituency also contains the UK’s biggest
chemical manufacturing site at Wilton, another powerhouse of the national economy,
where I worked for many years.
To the west of the port, steel and chemical complex lies an area that, to the
uninformed visitor, looks like a continuous area of housing-casually referred to as Greater
Eston by Redcar and Cleveland council. People who live there know that it actually comprises a number of separate
places: the historic villages of Normanby, Nunthorpe and Ormesby; the proud former ironstone mining village of Eston;
and the struggling industrial settlements of South Bank and Grangetown. They all have their own distinct centres and
unique stories.
I must pay tribute to my learned predecessor, Vera Baird, QC. Vera has a tremendous capacity for work and is a
formidable campaigner for women’s rights in particular, fighting on behalf of women who are the victims of violence and
abuse. She was a notable parliamentarian, having won The Spectator Back Bencher of the year award in 2004 and
then rising to ministerial level as Solicitor-General in the previous Government.
I cannot represent Redcar without mentioning Vera’s predecessor, the late Marjorie Mowlam. Had her health
remained good, I am sure that she would still be in Parliament today. As well as her towering achievements in
government, particularly on the Northern Ireland Good Friday agreement, she was, and still is, much loved in the
constituency. She must have had a prodigious ability to consume tea, judging by the number of houses that I
canvassed where they all said, “We all loved Mo, and she was always popping in for a cuppa.”
The No. 1 issue in my area is jobs. The headline unemployment figure is about 9%, but that does not tell the whole
story. There is a lot of hidden unemployment, a lot of people on incapacity benefit and many other people are out of
work. A Financial Times reporter visited during the general election and had no trouble finding a woman who had just
lost out as one of 490 applicants for a job cleaning the local supermarket. I hope that when this Government carry out
the much-needed review of benefits policy, they will not unjustly penalise those who desperately want to work but
simply cannot find a job.
There have been numerous job losses in our area: 98,000 manufacturing jobs have gone since 1971-particularly 9
 News from Parliament
under the previous Government, during whose period in office manufacturing declined from 22% of the national economy
to just 11%. I am very pleased that the new Government recognise the value of manufacturing and, in particular, want to
stimulate the green manufacturing economy. Teesside is a great place to do that.
Before leaving jobs, I must mention Government jobs. After recent remarks by the Prime Minister, people might have
got the impression that any cutbacks in the civil service would somehow be in the north-east of England. In fact, of well
over 520,000 civil servants, only 36,000 are in the north-east, and of those very few are in the Teesside area. I shall
constantly press the case for the Tees valley to be the new location of a Government agency. Indeed, James Wharton
and I have already written to our Cabinet colleagues, suggesting Teesside as a good location for the administrative
centre of the new green investment bank. I welcome the Government’s commitment to localism on planning laws and
hope to see more local control over schools, rather than the central diktats that went with the Building Schools for the
Future programme. Many of my constituents know how important that is.
It is a fantastic honour and privilege to have been chosen to represent the passionate and proud people of Redcar,
and I shall constantly fight for what I feel is in their best interests.

Regional Candidates’ Committee report back ”

by Doreen Huddart, RCC Chair
This last election has been a bit of a mixed bag for us in the North East. Although we had some hiccups
with candidates standing down and replacements having to be found; in many ways we were very
fortunate to have our seats filled before the rest of England.
Of our 29 candidates
l 28 had a permanent address in the NE
l 9 were 1st time candidates
l 4 were female
We also had several 1st time Agents, many of whom attended the Agents training session, thereby managing to
keep their teams out of Jail!
Our Candidates got the bit between their teeth and worked hard for their local constituents and the Party. Many
also turned up to help deliver and canvas in our Target Seats, as well as juggling their home/job and own
constituency work.
On behalf of the Party I want to express our thanks to everyone who stood as a candidate, an agent, helped
deliver, canvass, design, print and undertake general dogs body duties; we couldn’t have done it with out you.
It was disappointing that we only got one new MP out of it while Labour’s ‘push polling’ methods scuppered our
chances in the other Key seats, but I’m sure we will all be up, planning and campaigning to win the next round of
council seats
At present the Party is undertaking its usual survey of Candidates and Local Parties to assess how things
went. I expect that in the Autumn we will again begin a new round of Assessment Days and Candidate Approval
sessions.
We will also begin a new series of training days for Candidate Assessors and Returning Officers. In the NE we
do need more members to come forward to help out with these activities as we have too few at present.
If you would like to become either an approved candidate an Assessor or a Returning Officer please contact
Doreen Huddart on 0191 240 1084 or dorhud@btinternet.com

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