The Northern

Democrat

no. 54no. 54no. 54no. 54no. 54OctoberOctoberOctoberOctoberOctober20102010201020102010

The newsletter for Liberal Democrats in the North of England

Produced, printed and promoted by Jonathan Wallace, 7 Laburnum Grove, Sunniside, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE16 5LY

Cabinet Members head toNorth Lib Dem Conference

TWO Cabinet ministers are tospeak at the North EastLiberal Democrats’ RegionalConference on Saturday 16thOctober.

Northern members are encouragedto come to the Conference, which willbe held in Gateshead Civic Centre, tomeet the Liberal Democrats at theheart of Government.

Chris Huhne

is Secretary of Statefor Energy and Climate Change and isplaying a crucial role in pushingforward the Coalition’s green agenda.

Michael Moore

is the Secretary ofState for Scotland. New MP forRedcar,

Ian Swales

, will also beattending.“We are delighted to haveGovernment ministers for the first timeever attending our regionalconference,” said Regional Chairman

Frank Hindle

.The Coalition has set out to become the greenest government ever. Chris Huhne is in the driving seat of thiscrucial policy area and he will be addressing the Conference on the Coalition’s energy policy and the North East.

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Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg speaking at the Northern Nightreception at the Liberal Democrats’ Federal Conference in Liverpool. Fora full report on Conference, see pages 5 - 7.

Michael Moore hasconsiderable experienceof Scottish politicswhere for eight years aLib Dem/LabourCoalition ran theScottish Government.He will be talking on thelessons from Scotland.A registration formcan be found on page10. Registration costs£15. The Conferencestarts at 10.30am,though doors open at10am. Lunch is includedin the price.

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Conference line up for the North - Michael Moore MP, Chris Huhne MP and IanSwales MP

Page 2

Labour “won’t find us an easy touch” - David Faulkner

Page 3

By-elections

Page 4

News from our Euro MPs

Page 5

Conference - Nick Clegg’s speech

Page 6

Conference - key Conference decisions

Page 7

Conference photos

Page 8

Labour’s Hubris - Ron Beadle

Page 9

National News

Page 10

Conference registration

Labour “won’t find us an easy touch”

Northern Democrat

October 2010Contents

Editorial: please send material for inclusion to the editor, Jonathan Wallace,at jonathanwallace@compuserve.com or phone 0191 4883190

New Leader of Newcastle City Council, David Faulkner, writes for Northern Democrat

John Shipley will be a hard act to follow and the time ahead forlocal government will be very tough. But we have a strong base tobuild on and I’m determined that we won’t just be seen to bemanaging cuts and decline.

We’ll protect frontline services to the maximum extent possible. We’llcontinue Newcastle’s record as a national exemplar council for tacklingchild poverty, homelessness and long-term unemployment, forsustainability, for community engagement and devolution and forworking with business.We’ll provide leadership with the new opportunities in health and withthe local enterprise partnerships. With Gateshead, Newcastle drives thegrowth of the regional economy and we’re determined that flagshipprojects such as Science City take off and create the jobs of the futurein the knowledge economy.There will be a strong challenge from an emboldened, deficit-denyingLabour Party next May, but they won’t find us an easy touch andwe’re determined to keep control of the city council.

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Cllr David Faulkner

Liberal Democrat MPs, led by Deputy Prime Minster Nick Clegg, have voted in Parliament to give people anopportunity to throw out the archaic First Past the Post system.

Up and down the country activists are coming together to campaign to replace that system with the Alternative Vote(AV). This is a fairer system which forces MPs to work harder to earn and keep your support.Over the months until the referendum on May 5, 2011 the Fairer Votes Campaign from the Liberal Democrats will befighting hard for a ‘yes’ vote.Members are encouraged to be part of this campaign. It will not be easy to win, defeating the voices of conservatismwho want to keep the status quo because it protects them from the will of the masses.But with your help we can do it. We need you to inspire, enthuse and persuade your friends, family and neighboursto come out on May 5 and cast their ballot for fairer votes.To keep up with the campaign, go tohttp://www.libdems.org.uk/fairervotes.aspx

Join the Fairer Votes Campaign!

By-elections

Help put Lib Dems on course for win in Leeds

report by Ian MacFadyen

Here in Leeds, we have an important by-election inGuiseley and Rawdon ward on 14 October. Our candidateis Cindy Cleasby, who grew up in the area (attending thelocal primary school with David Miliband among others).Many may know her father Cllr Brian Cleasby.

The sitting Tory councillor resigned after some delayfollowing his election to Parliament. We have a good chanceof winning and winning would put us on the path back to beingthe administration on Leeds City Council as the leading partyin a coalition with the Conservatives, which we were until theelections in May.

Northern Deomcrat

readers’ help could make all thedifference. Please come to Leeds and help us win.There are leaflets to deliver each weekend and canvassingto do from Cindy’s home (which she shares with her parents),11 Carr Lane, Rawdon, LS19 6PD, telephone

0113 250 4318

.Enquiries can also be made to the Campaign Organiser,

Rob Jacques on 0113 267 2802.

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Cindy Cleasby with new MP for Bradford EastDavid Ward

September Results

Thursday 2nd SeptemberCastle, Alnwick TC