Neil Woollcott gives a very accurate summary of a letter he received from Simon Wright MP this week in his blog, but I really want to know how the party has come to put Simon Wright in this position.
I should declare that I consider Simon a friend. I went to his wedding, he came to mine. I've know him for 9 years and whilst I disagree with the coalition, I have always felt in the past that Simon shows good judgement. I feel though that at the moment, he is losing public sympathy over the student fees issue.
The policy on tuition fees has not changed or been overhauled in the last week, so the fact that Simon is yet to make a decision has allowed the opposition (and Labour in Norwich are already doing door to door campaigning it and using) to paint Simon as a ditherer. People like politicians who can pick up issues and make decisions. We don't want politicians to rush in to wrong decisions, but with this policy being clear to read and subject to virtually no amendment, students might be forgiven for feeling that lobbying hard to make Simon stick to his pledge is actually a worthwhile activity.
The quandary for Simon now is, if he sticks to his pledge, he looks like he has caved in to the student campaigns. but if he votes with Nick Clegg he looks like he has caved in to party pressure and can almost certainly kiss goodbye to any chances of holding his seat in 2015.
For me, the question is how party managers, both whips and those in Cowley Street have allowed this to happen. With 10,000 students in Norwich South, this issue will be a defining issue in Norwich South at the next election. The party and senior MPs should have found a way very early on to allow Simon to stick to his pledge. It is shocking mess that the party has become some under the thumb of the Conservative Party that they have failed to recognise the problems Simon faces.
Simon was my ward colleague in Fakenham North in 2003 to 2007. He is honest, decent and thoroughly like able. He will always try to do the right thing, and the fact that the party in the run up to the general election allowed, indeed encouraged people like Simon to sign a pledge that Nick Clegg himself says was unrealistic, is, I believe why Simon is still undecided. Does he stick to a pledge that was, in hindsight silly, or support a policy that is better than the previous Labour policy, but still a real slap in the fact for students.
If I were Simon, I'd say stick to your pledge. In the meantime, whilst he decides, his reputation amongst voters will sadly suffer, in my view unfairly. How has it comes to this ?
Showing posts with label Simon Wright. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Simon Wright. Show all posts
9/23/2009
Is there anything he will not say ?
Charles Clarke was when serving as a government minister that just about everyone despised. He would defend the indefensible, introduced legislation that was at odds with the principles of the labour movement from which he came, and seemed like your typical toadying minister.
As a result of this his majority was slashed last time and he now sits on a relatively small majority over the Liberal Democrats in his Norwich South seat.
Then he lost his job as a minister.
From that point on we are supposed to believe from his regular headline grabbing attempts to attack Gordon Brown, a man who Clarke spoke highly of when he was a minister, that he is Labour MP people can trust to speak the truth. Piffle and balderdash.
Charles Clarke, in my opinion, will do anything to save his parliamentary career. This week he was attending the Lib Dem conference speaking at a fringe event. Perhaps the aim was to try and persuade Lib Dems he isn't so bad and that a journey to Norwich South to help out Simon Wright's Lib Dem challenge there is not worth the time. I would strongly disagree. Anyone who wants to send a message to Labour MPs that they will be judged on how they acted when in power, they will be reminded of the wasted opportunities they had and they will have to take responsibility for the mess the country is in after 12 years of Labour rule, then Mr Clarke should be one of our top targets to unseat.
When it comes to MPs doing one thing in office but saying the opposite when out of power, in my opinion Mr Clarke really does take some beating.
As a result of this his majority was slashed last time and he now sits on a relatively small majority over the Liberal Democrats in his Norwich South seat.
Then he lost his job as a minister.
From that point on we are supposed to believe from his regular headline grabbing attempts to attack Gordon Brown, a man who Clarke spoke highly of when he was a minister, that he is Labour MP people can trust to speak the truth. Piffle and balderdash.
Charles Clarke, in my opinion, will do anything to save his parliamentary career. This week he was attending the Lib Dem conference speaking at a fringe event. Perhaps the aim was to try and persuade Lib Dems he isn't so bad and that a journey to Norwich South to help out Simon Wright's Lib Dem challenge there is not worth the time. I would strongly disagree. Anyone who wants to send a message to Labour MPs that they will be judged on how they acted when in power, they will be reminded of the wasted opportunities they had and they will have to take responsibility for the mess the country is in after 12 years of Labour rule, then Mr Clarke should be one of our top targets to unseat.
When it comes to MPs doing one thing in office but saying the opposite when out of power, in my opinion Mr Clarke really does take some beating.
2/08/2008
Lib Dems come within touching distance of winning a first Council seat on Great Yarmouth Borough Council since 1998
Voters in the Hopton & Bradwell South by-election almost gave the Liberal Democrats their first representative on Yarmouth Borough Council since 1998 on Thursday, in what was formerly a safe Conservative seat. Aleck Buchanan, the Liberal Democrat candidate, was only 6.1% of the votes away from winning, with Labour in third place.
The result was:
Conservative 475 (37.3%; drop of 15.9% compared with 2007 result)
Lib Dem 397 (31.2%; increase of 31.2% compared with 2007)
Labour 254 (20%; -7.9%)
UKIP 116 (9.1%; -9.8%)
Green 29 (2.3%; +2.3%)
Seat last fought: May 2007
Turnout: 25%
The Lib Dems made a wise choice in having a long time local resident who understood the issues, but this was also the first test for Great Yarmouth Lib Dems since they have been getting support from Norwich and North Norfolk Lib Dems. The experience they have now got, and the boost to their small but very keen campaigning team will pay dividends in the future.
The campaign was masterminded by Simon Wright, Liberal Democrat agent for Norman Lamb in 2005, and also parliamentary candidate for Norwich South Lib Dems.
Simon Wright said “Many Conservative voters switched to supporting us in this election, because they were so angry over the dreadful state of the Conservative-controlled Council’s financial reporting.”
Mr Wright added: “Labour should also be concerned by this result, which has seen them slip into poor third place. Great Yarmouth parliamentary constituency has in the recent past been close between Labour and Conservatives, but what this by-election result proves is that there are many voters rejecting the stale politics of the old two party system. These are exciting times for the Liberal Democrats who are offering a positive and distinctive alternative.”
Having myself spent a few rather fruitless sessions in Great Yarmouth over the years, this really is a massive turnaround in Lib Dem fortunes in the Borough. I have been involved in a couple of by-elections there in the past and despite a lot of support and outside effort on those previous occasions, we never ever came close, so this result bodes well for the future.
The result was:
Conservative 475 (37.3%; drop of 15.9% compared with 2007 result)
Lib Dem 397 (31.2%; increase of 31.2% compared with 2007)
Labour 254 (20%; -7.9%)
UKIP 116 (9.1%; -9.8%)
Green 29 (2.3%; +2.3%)
Seat last fought: May 2007
Turnout: 25%
The Lib Dems made a wise choice in having a long time local resident who understood the issues, but this was also the first test for Great Yarmouth Lib Dems since they have been getting support from Norwich and North Norfolk Lib Dems. The experience they have now got, and the boost to their small but very keen campaigning team will pay dividends in the future.
The campaign was masterminded by Simon Wright, Liberal Democrat agent for Norman Lamb in 2005, and also parliamentary candidate for Norwich South Lib Dems.
Simon Wright said “Many Conservative voters switched to supporting us in this election, because they were so angry over the dreadful state of the Conservative-controlled Council’s financial reporting.”
Mr Wright added: “Labour should also be concerned by this result, which has seen them slip into poor third place. Great Yarmouth parliamentary constituency has in the recent past been close between Labour and Conservatives, but what this by-election result proves is that there are many voters rejecting the stale politics of the old two party system. These are exciting times for the Liberal Democrats who are offering a positive and distinctive alternative.”
Having myself spent a few rather fruitless sessions in Great Yarmouth over the years, this really is a massive turnaround in Lib Dem fortunes in the Borough. I have been involved in a couple of by-elections there in the past and despite a lot of support and outside effort on those previous occasions, we never ever came close, so this result bodes well for the future.
1/31/2008
Charles Clarke Running Scared
There was an interesting piece in today's Eastern Daily Press about Charles Clarke highlighting the precarious situation Labour find themselves in at the moment.
"Former home secretary Charles Clarke, has warned the prime minister that Labour is in danger of losing power at the next election and that it may need a maximum, five-year, parlia-ment to rebuild public confidence.
In an article - written before he was passed over in last week's cabinet reshuffle - in today's Progress magazine he argues that “most people in the country believe that Labour has a long way to go to establish both clarity of purpose and the confidence that we are genuinely looking to the future and not backwards”. The Norwich MP says that “if Labour gets it right, it could easily win well again and even lay the basis of a more long-term, Scandinavian-style, progressive century”.But he also warns that “if Labour gets it all wrong the next general election will become the next major turning point, leading to more than a decade of Tory power”.
He adds that he now expects the election not to come until May 2010 - five years after the last one.
The publication of Mr Clarke's further views may generally aggravate his relations with Gordon Brown, which have long been tense and difficult.But there is likely to be warm appreciation in 10 Downing Street of one section of the article, in which Mr Clarke stresses that Labour has to move on from the policies and views of Tony Blair.“We have to understand that Tony Blair, though an outstanding Labour prime minister who massively changed Britain for the better, has departed the British political scene, and neither he nor his policy prescriptions have any future significance”, he says.
But he also warns that time is running out for Labour in terms of creating a new, election-winning, agenda. “By now, people are entitled to expect Labour to know what works, and not to need short-term reviews and pilots,” he argues. “Now, above all, we need clarity in each policy area. The current uncert-ainties are wide-spread and deb-ilitating and give ammun-ition to our opponents.”
The interesting thing is that Charles Clarke now has a very small majority in Norwich South over the Lib Dems, who also recently starting employing a full time member of staff and the Lib Dems also have permanant premises in Norwich, a phone bank and have a first class candidate in place in Simon Wright.
I was slightly surprised when catching up on the 18 Doughty Street Website with the "Election battleground" programmes Iain Dale did, to hear Iain Dale praise the campaigning skills of Simon Wright so openly and say that this would be a key factor in Norwich South.
I don't often agree with Tories, but Iain is right and Charles clarke is starting to sound worried.
"Former home secretary Charles Clarke, has warned the prime minister that Labour is in danger of losing power at the next election and that it may need a maximum, five-year, parlia-ment to rebuild public confidence.
In an article - written before he was passed over in last week's cabinet reshuffle - in today's Progress magazine he argues that “most people in the country believe that Labour has a long way to go to establish both clarity of purpose and the confidence that we are genuinely looking to the future and not backwards”. The Norwich MP says that “if Labour gets it right, it could easily win well again and even lay the basis of a more long-term, Scandinavian-style, progressive century”.But he also warns that “if Labour gets it all wrong the next general election will become the next major turning point, leading to more than a decade of Tory power”.
He adds that he now expects the election not to come until May 2010 - five years after the last one.
The publication of Mr Clarke's further views may generally aggravate his relations with Gordon Brown, which have long been tense and difficult.But there is likely to be warm appreciation in 10 Downing Street of one section of the article, in which Mr Clarke stresses that Labour has to move on from the policies and views of Tony Blair.“We have to understand that Tony Blair, though an outstanding Labour prime minister who massively changed Britain for the better, has departed the British political scene, and neither he nor his policy prescriptions have any future significance”, he says.
But he also warns that time is running out for Labour in terms of creating a new, election-winning, agenda. “By now, people are entitled to expect Labour to know what works, and not to need short-term reviews and pilots,” he argues. “Now, above all, we need clarity in each policy area. The current uncert-ainties are wide-spread and deb-ilitating and give ammun-ition to our opponents.”
The interesting thing is that Charles Clarke now has a very small majority in Norwich South over the Lib Dems, who also recently starting employing a full time member of staff and the Lib Dems also have permanant premises in Norwich, a phone bank and have a first class candidate in place in Simon Wright.
I was slightly surprised when catching up on the 18 Doughty Street Website with the "Election battleground" programmes Iain Dale did, to hear Iain Dale praise the campaigning skills of Simon Wright so openly and say that this would be a key factor in Norwich South.
I don't often agree with Tories, but Iain is right and Charles clarke is starting to sound worried.
6/09/2007
Labour MP follows Lib Dem PPC in signing petition denouncing shortage of housing
Shelter have installed a "Wall of shame" in Norwich. The have asked members of the public to sign their wall of shame in order to support their criticism of the government's policy on housing.
The charity is calling on the Government to fund and extra 20,000 social homes on top of existing plans to sort out this crisis. They have built a wall outside the Forum in Norwich, and are asking people to add their name to a brick to help get the Government’s attention.
Interestingly, following Lib Dem candidate for Norwich South, Simon Wright, signing a brick on the wall (pictured), Ian Gibson, Labour MP for Norwich North also later added his name to the protest.
Firstly, well done to Ian Gibson, not unknown for criticising his own government. I know Norwich people appreciate his virtues a an MP who stands up for Norwich, even if he does prop up a Labour regime no one likes. But well done to Simon Wright who appears to have led on this.
I guess there is no danger of government lackey and MP Charles Clarke signing the petition ? No, thought not.
3/02/2007
Norwich South Vulnerable To Being Lost - Says Peter Kellner
Peter Kellner, Chairman of YouGov, the UK Polling Organisation, announced on Anglia TV's 'Late Edition' programme last night (Thursday) that Charles Clarke's Norwich South constituency is vulnerable to being lost by Labour at the next general election.
Simon Wright, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Norwich South, would be most likely to gain. The Liberal Democrats came a close second last time in 2005. Boundary changes at the next election are also favourable to the Liberal Democrats, and the independent UK Polling Report (associated with YouGov) puts the swing required for a Lib Dem gain next time as just 3.85%
Norwich South was virtually the Labour Party's only seat in East Anglia in 1987, but nearly 10 years of Tony Blair has done a lot to change that. No-one should be surprised that Charles Clarke appears to be seeking an alternative to Gordon Brown to back in the leadership contest.
Charles Clarke appears desperate for any publicity at the moment in order to raise his profile and save his seat.
Simon Wright, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Norwich South, would be most likely to gain. The Liberal Democrats came a close second last time in 2005. Boundary changes at the next election are also favourable to the Liberal Democrats, and the independent UK Polling Report (associated with YouGov) puts the swing required for a Lib Dem gain next time as just 3.85%
Norwich South was virtually the Labour Party's only seat in East Anglia in 1987, but nearly 10 years of Tony Blair has done a lot to change that. No-one should be surprised that Charles Clarke appears to be seeking an alternative to Gordon Brown to back in the leadership contest.
Charles Clarke appears desperate for any publicity at the moment in order to raise his profile and save his seat.
2/12/2007
10,000 now signed up to Norfolk health petition
Lib Dems across Norfolk have now gathered more than 10,000 signatures on a petition asking the Primary Care Trust to reconsider their mass cull of beds and services across the county.
Lib Dem campaigners and PPC's including Simon Wright (Norwich South) , April Pond (Broadland) and Norman Lamb MP (North Norfolk), as well as council leaders, have been collecting signatures on highstreets and door to door, but petitions can no be signed on-line via a link from Simon Wright's website HERE.
If you object to the closure of so many rural community hospitals only two years after Labour promised to save them in the election manifesto, then make sure your voice is heard.
Lib Dem campaigners and PPC's including Simon Wright (Norwich South) , April Pond (Broadland) and Norman Lamb MP (North Norfolk), as well as council leaders, have been collecting signatures on highstreets and door to door, but petitions can no be signed on-line via a link from Simon Wright's website HERE.
If you object to the closure of so many rural community hospitals only two years after Labour promised to save them in the election manifesto, then make sure your voice is heard.
1/20/2007
Simon couldn't be more Wright on policing
Well done to Norwich South Lib Dem prospective Parliamentary candidate Simon Wright for highlighting the dreadful way Norfolk Constabulary have been treated in the latest funding round.
Simon has called on the Minister to help Norfolk's Police Authority to stick to the Government's own manifesto commitment to neighbourhood policing. In the light of the government's decision on funding for Norfolk, Norfolk's Police Authority has proposed the case for a 7% council tax rise to fund neighbourhood policing. This larger than inflation rise could have been avoided if the one third of the promised Government funding had not been withdrawn.
Interestingly, Simon could have mentioned that Norfolk had some extra and extraordinary expenditure this year to cover the cost of the proposed merger of police forces which Norfolk had to pay costs towards, but when Labour scrapped the proposals, Norfolk Police were not fully reimbursed.
Well done Simon Wright. Keep at them on this as Norfolk deserves a better deal. Read more about this story HERE.
1/16/2007
Norfolk Lib Dems rally to support cottage hospitals.
Norfolk Lib Dems today handed in an 8,000-name "Hands Off Our Hospitals" petition to Downing Street in response to plans to close community hospitals across Norfolk.
Newly selected target seat candidates April Pond from Broadland, and Simon Wright from Norwich South were joined by North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, who is also the Lib Dems shadow health secretary.
Broadland campaigner April Pond made clear that if these closures went ahead they would leave a “gaping hole in health care in Norfolk. The financial reasons for closures do not stack-up unless a much poorer, patchy service is the alternative, and we do not want this for Norfolk."
Norman Lamb stressed that it was unlikely the government would change its mind but the rally and petition at the very least highlighted the growing state of anxiety, across the country and not just the county, about the possible closures.“The brutal truth is that there are threatened closures all over the place,” he added.
Norfolk Liberal Democrats have been campaigning across North Norfolk, the worst affected constituency affected by the cuts, but also in South Norfolk, Norwich South and Broadland. This also affects the council wards covering Fakenham, currently represented by Simon Wright and Nich Starling (aka Norfolk Blogger), because cuts are proposed to Cranmer House in Fakenham.
Newly selected target seat candidates April Pond from Broadland, and Simon Wright from Norwich South were joined by North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, who is also the Lib Dems shadow health secretary.
Broadland campaigner April Pond made clear that if these closures went ahead they would leave a “gaping hole in health care in Norfolk. The financial reasons for closures do not stack-up unless a much poorer, patchy service is the alternative, and we do not want this for Norfolk."
Norman Lamb stressed that it was unlikely the government would change its mind but the rally and petition at the very least highlighted the growing state of anxiety, across the country and not just the county, about the possible closures.“The brutal truth is that there are threatened closures all over the place,” he added.
Norfolk Liberal Democrats have been campaigning across North Norfolk, the worst affected constituency affected by the cuts, but also in South Norfolk, Norwich South and Broadland. This also affects the council wards covering Fakenham, currently represented by Simon Wright and Nich Starling (aka Norfolk Blogger), because cuts are proposed to Cranmer House in Fakenham.
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