Leading LibDem councillor defects to Liberals

A leading Liberal Democrat city councillor in Liverpool defected to the Liberal Party yesterday. :-)

This increases the size of the Liberal Party group on Liverpool City Council to four. It decreases the overall majority of the LibDem administration to six. Here's the story from today's Liverpool Echo:

Second Lib Dem councillor quits ahead of elections - Liverpool Echo.co.uk

Originally Posted by :
Second Lib Dem councillor quits ahead of elections

APR 3 2008

A SECOND Liberal Democrat councillor today defected to a rival party weeks before Liverpool’s council elections.

West Derby’s Ann Hines resigned from the group and joined the minority Liberal party.

She was deselected by the Lib Dems two weeks ago, despite having a 1,650-vote majority the last time she went to the polls in 2004.

Cllr Hines will now stand for her new party, led by town hall veteran Steve Radford, against a new Lib Dem candidate in the May 1 elections.

Her decision follows the defection of fellow Lib Dem Beatrice Fraenkel to Labour. And it comes just days after education chief Paul Clein quit the council’s executive board.

It reduces the Lib Dems’ majority at the town hall to just six going into the most crucial elections for a decade.

The former teacher, a councillor for 14 years, said: “After a prolonged period of reflection and discussion I decided to join the Liberal party and stand in my community of West Derby for re-election.

“Not a year goes by without another green space, playing field or park being built on.

“I believe the Liberal party is the best vehicle to defend our parks, environment and heritage. I look forward to putting my record of 14 years’ dedicated public service to my neighbours in West Derby.”

Cllr Radford, whose group also holds three seats in Tuebrook, claimed Cllr Hines’s deselection by the Lib Dems made “no sense”.
He said: “Most parties cull their weakest councillors.
“But in Ann’s case they deselected one of their strongest.

“Ann has been absolutely first class when it comes to tackling issues important to our group such as derelict housing, problems on the Boot estate and the youth service.

“We have a good, practical working relationship.”

[Rep]

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I see it's a matter of principle: when de-selected, resign and stand as the candidate for another political party with different policies, some of which reverse positions on major issues.

Very good!

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[Rep]

cassie,

What would you do if after 14 years council service your party deselected you without asking the electorate?

We have a first past the post system which allows, indeed encourages, people to vote not only for parties, but also the individuals concerned. This deselection strikes me as cynical. Cllr Hines has probably worked hard to build up her majority (more votes than most UKIP candidates got at the GE) and has no doubt done a lot for her ward in 14 years. By deselecting Cllr Hines the Lib Dems can shoe in a 'yes' man who could possibly hold the seat on the basis her efforts.

If Cllr Hines is opposing development of green spaces and is trying to save Liverpool's Georgian heritage then she is at odds with the LibDem group who are selling to the highest bidder and allowing the destruction of listed buildings (see this week's Private Eye).

Most parties do not deselect sitting councillors unless there are good disciplinary reasons to do so.

[Rep]

Liverpool politics is up the wall at the moment, Lib Dems are falling apart whether Labour can make ground on that is to be seen but whether people would trust the Labour party to run the council is another thing. She is unlikely to hold the seat for the Liberals who have a stronghold in one ward, the Liberals once recieved 1 or 0 votes in a ward.

[Rep]

Originally Posted by Aardvark:
cassie,

What would you do if after 14 years council service your party deselected you without asking the electorate?

We have a first past the post system which allows, indeed encourages, people to vote not only for parties, but also the individuals concerned. This deselection strikes me as cynical. Cllr Hines has probably worked hard to build up her majority (more votes than most UKIP candidates got at the GE) and has no doubt done a lot for her ward in 14 years. By deselecting Cllr Hines the Lib Dems can shoe in a 'yes' man who could possibly hold the seat on the basis her efforts.

If Cllr Hines is opposing development of green spaces and is trying to save Liverpool's Georgian heritage then she is at odds with the LibDem group who are selling to the highest bidder and allowing the destruction of listed buildings (see this week's Private Eye).

Most parties do not deselect sitting councillors unless there are good disciplinary reasons to do so.

If the Liberal Party's policies were more acceptable than those of the Lib Dems, it would be understandable for this person to have switched or (as they say in today's heavily biassed reportage) defected from one to t'other. However, she appears to have swallowed her scruples and made the jump simply because she was deselected.

Of course, she could always stand as an Independent which would have the advantage of preserving her integrity. It's been done before eg Blaenau Gwent where the issue was purely one of principle (All-woman Short Lists). Cllr Hines would have built up a personal following - especially in local level politics - if she has been as effective as you describe.

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[Rep]

Ann Hines seems to have been utterly straightforward about her reasons for switching to the Liberal Party: (a) She has been deselected but feels she still has a lot to offer the people in her ward; (b) she agrees with the Liberals, not the LibDems, on the important issue of local redevelopment and green spaces and (c) she gets on well with Liberal leader Cllr Steve Radford. Also, as her council seat is up for re-election in less than 3 weeks, she is hardly occupying it under false pretenses! Where exactly do you see a lack of integrity there, cassie?

The interesting thing will be to see whether she can hold this seat on 1st May. It will be tricky as the Liverpool LibDems have always had big majorities in West Derby ward, but on the other hand she is a well-known and popular sitting councillor. The LibDems in Liverpool are in an utter mess right now. Their administration was recently officially rated the worst in the country by local govt inspectors and they are busy arguing with one another over whose fault it is that they are so dreadful. No wonder the decent ones are jumping ship.

[Rep]

Originally Posted by Tom Wilde:
A leading Liberal Democrat city councillor in Liverpool defected to the Liberal Party yesterday. :-)

This increases the size of the Liberal Party group on Liverpool City Council to four. It decreases the overall majority of the LibDem administration to six.

Good - the less Liberal 'Democrats' the better :-).

[Rep]

Originally Posted by Tom Wilde:
Ann Hines seems to have been utterly straightforward about her reasons for switching to the Liberal Party: (a) She has been deselected but feels she still has a lot to offer the people in her ward; (b) she agrees with the Liberals, not the LibDems, on the important issue of local redevelopment and green spaces and (c) she gets on well with Liberal leader Cllr Steve Radford. Also, as her council seat is up for re-election in less than 3 weeks, she is hardly occupying it under false pretenses! Where exactly do you see a lack of integrity there, cassie?

The interesting thing will be to see whether she can hold this seat on 1st May. It will be tricky as the Liverpool LibDems have always had big majorities in West Derby ward, but on the other hand she is a well-known and popular sitting councillor. The LibDems in Liverpool are in an utter mess right now. Their administration was recently officially rated the worst in the country by local govt inspectors and they are busy arguing with one another over whose fault it is that they are so dreadful. No wonder the decent ones are jumping ship.

All this apologia avoids dealing with the issue I pin pointed at the start. Instead, you fall back on the well known tactic of posing questions yourself!

The fact is that she was in the Lib Dems. Lib Dem policies are not identical to those of the Liberals, and so, she was (presumably) a member of the party nearest her set of beliefs. Indeed, if the policies of both are identical or very similar, why the two parties and why should she move from one to t'other?

We know that her move to the Liberals was prompted by her de-selection, NOT the fact of the forthcoming election itself. Hardly a move inspired by principle!

You assert that "The LibDems in Liverpool are in an utter mess right now. Their administration was recently officially rated the worst in the country by local govt inspectors and they are busy arguing with one another over whose fault it is that they are so dreadful. No wonder the decent ones are jumping ship." Again, one can hardly cite this as evidence of principle. Au contraire, it looks more like expediency to me!

Having said all this, I can well understand why she has done it, but you must learn to stop trying to defend the indefensible! It only gives the likes of me more scope to emphasise that which you are so jolly keen to deny!

Cheers. :-) :-)

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[Rep]