You are here: Home » Local Government »

Councillor defects to Labour from “untrustworthy” Lib Dems

June 8, 2012 11:00 am

Tags:

Share this Article

John Mead becomes one of Labour’s newest councillors. He told the Stevenage Comet:

“I joined the Liberal Democrats because I thought they were a progressive party, now I know that I was wrong. The people I represent have been let down by Nick Clegg and his broken promises. The actions of Liberal Democrats in government show they have no claim to be on the side of families feeling the squeeze.

“Every Liberal Democrat candidate signed a pre-election pledge to vote against an increase in tuition fees, however in parliament they all voted to raise the fee cap to £9,000. This broken promise means young people in Stevenage could be priced out of going to university.”

“In Stevenage and travelling around the country for my work I have seen the effect these cuts are already having on the most vulnerable. With prices going up faster than wages, people are worried about how they’ll make ends meet. Parents are worried about their children’s futures with one million young people out of work, and pensioners are having to pay more while millionaires are getting a tax cut.”

Related posts:

  1. Lib Dem candidate defects to Labour two days before election
  2. Senior local government Lib Dem defects to Labour
  3. Half of Plymouth Lib Dem executive defects to Labour
  4. Top Liverpool Tory defects to Labour
  5. I’m a Labour Councillor and so’s my Mom*
  • treborc1

    One thing I have never been able to stand is people who defect after just going through an election, we need to bring in new rules if people including MP’s defect we should have another elections, because the people who voted this pratt in to power now should have the chance to kick him out.

    • John Dore

      OMG we agree on something.

      • treborc1

        me and you mate agree on sod all.

        • John Dore

          Referring to me as mate is about as patronising as it gets, get a life.

          • treborc1

            I have one mate

        • aracataca

          There you go Treborc you and John Dore the Tory agree. Ah, isn’t it sweet?

          • treborc1

             This from a school child with New labour nappy rash

    • truth hurts

      And I can’t stand people who are in the Labour Party that think they are above others – isn’t that what the blues do?  The Labour Party should be for everyone – regardless of who they are.  Isn’t that right?  John Mead was suffering under a tyrant of a local lib dem leader, feels humiliated by his party and he has defected because of this – and that Labour are now closer to his priorities than the party he has been paying to be a member of for 10 years.

      Please try and open your mind to what Lib dems must feel right now.

      • treborc1

        But of course he is a Liberal, so why not fight to get rid of Clegg after all he was backing  him to the hilt until the moment he left, I suspect this has more about looking at tomorrow and does he keep his position in the Liberals, can he keep it by joining labour.

        Of course if he had been fighting Clegg I would say fine, but he was not was he.

  • anniesec

    please check you facts Treboci . He was elected in 2010 not this year. I for one am happy to welcome all those who recognise Labour values and value our local defectors and would never call anyone a pratt – even if they are political opponents. Welcome to Labour, John and anyone else who sees sense.

    • treborc1

      sense within labour, they should have another election to allow the people to selected the party they voted in. After all if he has changed his heart stand down allow another election.

      The lab liberal party

  • Keithnevols

    “Every Liberal Democrat candidate signed a pre-election pledge to vote against an increase in tuition fees, however in parliament they all voted to raise the fee cap to £9,000.

    This is not true. Less than half of the Lib Dem MPs voted in favour.

    Given that Labour introduced fees, topped them up, and have now stated they would have been doubled had they won the last election – and the Tories wanted unlimited fees of up to £15k a year, then it is clear that ALL parties have let the students down.

    • Slakah

      Lets keep a tally shall we:
      Tuition fee rises while in power:
      Labour: £3k
      LibDems: £9k
      Tories: £9k

      Please stop your attempts to tar all parties with the same brush. The numbers in the student protests for the respective tuition fee rises tell you whom the students have been let down by.

      • treborc1

         Ah labour £6,000

  • http://about.me/woollymindedlib Kevin McNamara

    it sounds like he always was labour by the rubbish lines he is trotting out. either that or stupid.

    • truth hurts

      Not everyone in the lib dems are against Labour – they hold progressive ideals.  However I don’t think they dreamed that their leader would ever sell their souls to the devil to become the weakest part of a governenment.
      It is natural that at the current time they are re-evaluating which party is closest to their ideals – and that of course is Labour.

  • David Heathcote

    I’m proud to have moved to Labour – just before the General Election 2010.  I’d supported the Conservatives for 20 years and believed Cameron’s vision for detoxifying the Tory brand.  However, when a cruch point came to stand up to the old guard he couldn’t do it.

    I took the opportunity to re-evaluate where my personal policy beliefs were best suited and was very surprised to find they were more at home with Labour than with any other party.

    See clip 3: http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist/ITN/2010/04/14/R14041002/

    As an active campaigner I’ve never met a more dishonest lot than the Liberal Democrats.  And the national figureheads pretend they don’t know what dirty tricks the people on the ground so desperately carry out to get where they want to be.  Simon Hughes is a prime example.

    So a warm welcome to our new friend, John Mead.  I hope you enjoy being in the party as much as I do.

    David

    • treborc1

      Yuck

  • treborc1

     http://johnmead.mycouncillor.org.uk/

    Interesting reading

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Graeme-Hancocks/1156294498 Graeme Hancocks

    Well done.

Latest

  • Europe Featured You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    You can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe

    By Douglas Alexander

    Europe is not often the issue which comes top of people’s concerns on the doorstep. Nor do opinion polls suggest that Europe is a priority for voters when compared to issues like the economy or jobs. But you can always rely on the Conservatives to ignore the public when it comes to Europe. This week saw over a hundred Conservative MPs rebel and vote against their own Queens Speech. They were angry that it hadn’t included a bill which would [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft selected as Labour’s PPC for Lewisham Deptford

    Vicky Foxcroft has been selected by Lewisham Deptford CLP as the party’s candidate for 2015 at a selection meeting this afternoon. Here’s a brief biography: Vicky grew up in the North West in a single parent household, and was the first person in her family to go to university. She has held many positions in the party including Chair of Labour Students, has sat on the National Policy Forum and is currently a local councillor and is Chair of Lewisham [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    Labour’s future schools policy: why accountability matters

    By Mike Ion

    Stephen Twigg, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary is one of the more thoughtful and pragmatic individuals to hold this vitally important brief for some time. To his credit Stephen has been out and about these past two years listening to pupils, teachers, parents and governors and finding out more about the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. In addition Stephen has been looking closely at some local, regional, national and international programmes that have had a demonstrable impact in raising [...]

    Read more →
  • News Seats and Selections Falkirk selection process suspended by the party

    Falkirk selection process suspended by the party

    The Labour Party have this afternoon suspended the selection process for Falkirk, after concerns were raised about “membership recruitment”. We understand that Ed Miliband was “keen to act swiftly” as the selection process was due to formally begin on Sunday. An officer of the party – yet to be confirmed – will investigate. A Labour spokesperson told us this afternoon: “We have suspended the start of the selection process of the Falkirk parliamentary seat. Concerns have been raised about membership [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Seats and Selections Unions Working Class MPs – the end of a era?

    Working Class MPs – the end of a era?

    By Paul Wheeler

    It is interesting to see that the Labour Party is returning to the vexed issue of its parliamentary selection process. The changes may be well and good.  But maybe we should be asking a bigger question – are we  witnessing the end of working class representation in Parliament? When the Labour Party was first founded it was more simple. Then the explicit  aim was to secure working class representation, and specifically organised labour, in Parliament. Inevitably it became more complicated [...]

    Read more →