General Election preparedness

As is our key focus, in our last meeting we continued to discuss our General Election preparedness and planning.

In summary, our plan builds on what worked in the 2019 general election (and previous plans), changes what didn't work, and looks to the future for new ideas and approaches.

When will the next general election be?

Sorry, I don't know. But I do know that the range of plausible dates is wide open - from only a couple of months away through to January 2025. And that whenever the date is, we also have a massive round of local elections in May.

Which is why we need to step up our campaigning, capacity building and planning through the second half of this year. Even if this Parliament goes its full term, the benefits of extra canvassing, member recruitment and training this summer will still be considerable.

14^th July 2022

Teignbridge Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce the re-selection of Martin Wrigley as their candidate for the next General Election for the Newton Abbot parliamentary seat.

Huw Cox - chair of the local Lib Dem constituency party said "I'm delighted we have re-selected Martin as our candidate, I know that he will make an excellent Member of Parliament and a strong voice for Teignbridge and Newton Abbot in Westminster."

The Federal Conference Committee (FCC) met on Saturday, 9th July to start its work on the final agenda for Autumn 2022 Conference, which will be taking place in Brighton, with an option for online attendance.

If you haven't yet registered for Conference, I would recommend doing so here.

At the meeting we discussed several items in relation to future venues and the meeting and motions schedule for 2023 into 2024. As previously reported, we will be returning to York for Spring Conference 17 to 19 March 2023.

Each year, thousands of grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and family friends step up to support a child who is unable to live with their birth parents. They deserve more support.

Yesterday, I introduced the Kinship Care Bill in the House of Commons. This bill calls on the Government to provide all friends and relatives who look after a child who cannot live with their birth parents with an allowance of at least £137 a week: the same level as for foster carers.