Author Archives: Rebecca Taylor LibDem

After being rather annoyed by the lacklustre efforts/sabotage (depending on what you believe…) of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the recent EU referendum campaign, I decided to throw my hat in the ring to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Islington North, Mr Corbyn’s seat.

I have only ever been a parliamentary candidate in Yorkshire (I wasn’t even on the London candidates list) and was usually intending to stand in Yorkshire again in the next General Election. I previously stood in Rotherham in 2010 and Morley and Outwood in 2015.

Morley might sound familar; it was Ed Balls’ seat. Despite having no money bar my deposit being paid (I had to fundraise £800 for my election address), very few activists, and being almost unable to take time off my non political day job, I managed to poll over 1400 votes. Ed Balls lost by 422, so I would like to claim at least some credit : )

I happen to live in Islington North (since 2009 with a lengthy interlude in Leeds while being a Yorkshire MEP) and have been a reliable foot solider with the local party in many elections/by-elections.

I was actively involved in campaigning in the EU referendum both with Islington Liberal Democrats and my local Stronger In group (Islington North). Despite being asked numerous times to come along to local Stronger In campaigning activities, Mr Corbyn didn’t manage to do this once. Not once. He did however manage to go on holiday during the campaign : (

I don’t have anything personally against Mr Corbyn; I met him once at an anti pub-co sit-in (trying to stop a landlady being evicted by big pub company) and thought he was a nice man. I also understand from LibDem colleagues who have previously been councillors in Islington North that he is a good constituency MP who effectively assists those who need his help. 

However, his lack of effort on the EU referendum combined with his appalling lack of leadership skills, which means that her Majesty’s official opposition is too busy fighting itself to effectively oppose the current Tory government, is enough to make me want to stand against him.

There are three candidates shortlisted to be the next LibDem parliamentary candidate for Islington North. The other two candidates are both long standing local LibDem activists. They are Julian Gregory who stood for the LibDems in Islington North in 2015, and Keith Angus who has twice been LibDem parliamentary candidate for the neighbouring Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency.

Local party members are invited to attend a hustings next Monday 5 September to choose the candidate. Now I have just under a week to persuade them to choose me!

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After being rather annoyed by the lacklustre efforts/sabotage (depending on what you believe…) of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the recent EU referendum campaign, I decided to throw my hat in the ring to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Islington North, Mr Corbyn’s seat.

I have only ever been a parliamentary candidate in Yorkshire (I wasn’t even on the London candidates list) and was usually intending to stand in Yorkshire again in the next General Election. I previously stood in Rotherham in 2010 and Morley and Outwood in 2015.

Morley might sound familar; it was Ed Balls’ seat. Despite having no money bar my deposit being paid (I had to fundraise £800 for my election address), very few activists, and being almost unable to take time off my non political day job, I managed to poll over 1400 votes. Ed Balls lost by 422, so I would like to claim at least some credit : )

I happen to live in Islington North (since 2009 with a lengthy interlude in Leeds while being a Yorkshire MEP) and have been a reliable foot solider with the local party in many elections/by-elections.

I was actively involved in campaigning in the EU referendum both with Islington Liberal Democrats and my local Stronger In group (Islington North). Despite being asked numerous times to come along to local Stronger In campaigning activities, Mr Corbyn didn’t manage to do this once. Not once. He did however manage to go on holiday during the campaign : (

I don’t have anything personally against Mr Corbyn; I met him once at an anti pub-co sit-in (trying to stop a landlady being evicted by big pub company) and thought he was a nice man. I also understand from LibDem colleagues who have previously been councillors in Islington North that he is a good constituency MP who effectively assists those who need his help. 

However, his lack of effort on the EU referendum combined with his appalling lack of leadership skills, which means that her Majesty’s official opposition is too busy fighting itself to effectively oppose the current Tory government, is enough to make me want to stand against him.

There are three candidates shortlisted to be the next LibDem parliamentary candidate for Islington North. The other two candidates are both long standing local LibDem activists. They are Julian Gregory who stood for the LibDems in Islington North in 2015, and Keith Angus who has twice been LibDem parliamentary candidate for the neighbouring Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency.

Local party members are invited to attend a hustings next Monday 5 September to choose the candidate. Now I have just under a week to persuade them to choose me!

more …

1. Above all, the EU is a political endeavour to create peace through trade and it has WORKED! My grandparents* (sadly no longer with us), lived through world war two and some of its horrors. The EU is the Europe that came after that and said “never again”.
2. Being a key player in Brussels increases Britain’s standing in the world. Our global allies like the USA and Commonwealth countries appreciate our voice being in the room, and our very British pragmatism and level-headedness is appreciated by many of our European partners.

   Despite the attempts of Leavers to do Britain down and paint us as a helpless victim of the rest of the EU, since 1999, the UK has been outvoted 2% of the time. So in fact we’re very good at getting British priorities accepted at EU level. We should be proud of this! Being outside the door when crucial decisions about our continent are being made would be a loss of control and influence for the UK.

3. I believe in cooperation! In an interconnected world facing serious challenges, Britain can do much more by working together with our European neighbours to tackle the big issues like climate change, organised crime and terrorism.

4. The UK economy benefits massively from being part of the world’s biggest single market. It’s not just about big corporations exporting good and more importantly services (8/10 British jobs) seamlessly, but also universities, the science sector, the tech sector, the green economy, the arts, farming and more.

   It’s also about the billions of pounds of foreign direct investment from companies setting up EU operations in the UKand the many jobs and opportunities that creates.

5. Worker’s rights including paid holidays, pension rights, parental leave and anti-discrimination rules are enhanced by EU membership. The EU sets minimum standards below which no decent country should fall; the UK is free to set higher standards. When many on the Leave side talk about “cutting red tape”; remember they mean worker’s rights.

6. The EU has led the world on tackling climate change and protecting the environmentoften with Britain at the forefront. At home this has meant cleaner beaches and greater protection of our beautiful countryside and native wildlife.

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1. Above all, the EU is a political endeavour to create peace through trade and it has WORKED! My grandparents* (sadly no longer with us), lived through world war two and some of its horrors. The EU is the Europe that came after that and said “never again”.
2. Being a key player in Brussels increases Britain’s standing in the world. Our global allies like the USA and Commonwealth countries appreciate our voice being in the room, and our very British pragmatism and level-headedness is appreciated by many of our European partners.

   Despite the attempts of Leavers to do Britain down and paint us as a helpless victim of the rest of the EU, since 1999, the UK has been outvoted 2% of the time. So in fact we’re very good at getting British priorities accepted at EU level. We should be proud of this! Being outside the door when crucial decisions about our continent are being made would be a loss of control and influence for the UK.

3. I believe in cooperation! In an interconnected world facing serious challenges, Britain can do much more by working together with our European neighbours to tackle the big issues like climate change, organised crime and terrorism.

4. The UK economy benefits massively from being part of the world’s biggest single market. It’s not just about big corporations exporting good and more importantly services (8/10 British jobs) seamlessly, but also universities, the science sector, the tech sector, the green economy, the arts, farming and more.

   It’s also about the billions of pounds of foreign direct investment from companies setting up EU operations in the UKand the many jobs and opportunities that creates.

5. Worker’s rights including paid holidays, pension rights, parental leave and anti-discrimination rules are enhanced by EU membership. The EU sets minimum standards below which no decent country should fall; the UK is free to set higher standards. When many on the Leave side talk about “cutting red tape”; remember they mean worker’s rights.

6. The EU has led the world on tackling climate change and protecting the environmentoften with Britain at the forefront. At home this has meant cleaner beaches and greater protection of our beautiful countryside and native wildlife.

more …

Judging from media coverage of the referendum, many Brits would be excused for believing that EU free movement is absolutely unconditional and that the UK has no right to refuse entry to any EU national or prevent them living here long term. Hence the accusations of “uncontrolled” EU migration.

• The person can show they are working (employed or self-employed) or have sufficient resources to support themselves e.g. via a pension or other income/savings

• The person has comprehensive sickness insurance to cover their healthcare needs e.g. valid European Health Insurance Card enabling the NHS to claim back the cost of treatment or private health insurance

• The person is currently working or self-employed and earning enough to pay national insurance contributions
• The person is self-sufficient e.g. via a pension or savings, or a student
• The person has been living in the UK for at least five years is therefore a permanent resident

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Judging from media coverage of the referendum, many Brits would be excused for believing that EU free movement is absolutely unconditional and that the UK has no right to refuse entry to any EU national or prevent them living here long term. Hence the accusations of “uncontrolled” EU migration.

• The person can show they are working (employed or self-employed) or have sufficient resources to support themselves e.g. via a pension or other income/savings

• The person has comprehensive sickness insurance to cover their healthcare needs e.g. valid European Health Insurance Card enabling the NHS to claim back the cost of treatment or private health insurance

• The person is currently working or self-employed and earning enough to pay national insurance contributions
• The person is self-sufficient e.g. via a pension or savings, or a student
• The person has been living in the UK for at least five years is therefore a permanent resident

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Here is the unabridged version of my letter to the Evening Standard which was published last week:Dear Evening Standard,The 13 June letters about young people seem to think EU membership is only about opportunities to work, study and travel across Euro…

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Here is the unabridged version of my letter to the Evening Standard which was published last week:Dear Evening Standard,The 13 June letters about young people seem to think EU membership is only about opportunities to work, study and travel across Euro…

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(1) Fullfact is an independent fact-checking charity which is examining claims from IN and OUT campaigns: https://fullfact.org/europe/.

Worth noting that 38 degrees, the campaigning organisation, which has no position on the EU referendum, is advising its members to consult fullfact, see: https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2016/04/12/eu-referendum-lets-get-the-facts/

(2) BBC news EU referendum reality check: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35603388

Interestingly enough, the BBC EU referendum reality check conclusions have sometimes contradicted news reporting by the BBC (which isn’t a great advert for BBC impartiality and accuracy….)

(3) Channel Four fact check on the EU: http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/category/europe

(4) King’s College London website promoting high quality independent research on the UK’s relationship with the EU. Also includes some fact checking of claims from both sides:  http://ukandeu.ac.uk/

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(1) Fullfact is an independent fact-checking charity which is examining claims from IN and OUT campaigns: https://fullfact.org/europe/.

Worth noting that 38 degrees, the campaigning organisation, which has no position on the EU referendum, is advising its members to consult fullfact, see: https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2016/04/12/eu-referendum-lets-get-the-facts/

(2) BBC news EU referendum reality check: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-eu-referendum-35603388

Interestingly enough, the BBC EU referendum reality check conclusions have sometimes contradicted news reporting by the BBC (which isn’t a great advert for BBC impartiality and accuracy….)

(3) Channel Four fact check on the EU: http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/category/europe

(4) King’s College London website promoting high quality independent research on the UK’s relationship with the EU. Also includes some fact checking of claims from both sides:  http://ukandeu.ac.uk/

more …