Hughes News - March 2008 - Simon Hughes' article for Liberal Democrat News

Written by Simon Hughes MP, Liberal Democrat Federal Party President on Wed 5th Mar 2008

Twenty-five years in Westminster certainly gives plenty of opportunity to reflect - and to say thank you. Thank you, first, to all those who encouraged me to put my name forward as a candidate and who helped me to be selected in Bermondsey in 1982. Thank you also to the thousands who helped in the Bermondsey by-election - especially Peter Bray, Ron Tindall, Andy Ellis, David Rebak but also the many others who canvassed through wet winter evenings and manned polling stations. Thanks to the thousands of local residents who were willing to see if I could do the job and who have kept their faith through six further elections. Thanks too to all those local party officers, agents and organisers over the years, to the wonderful succession of people who have worked with me in my constituency and in Westminster, and to the councillors who took us from our first council win in 1983 to being the largest party in our borough in 2002. Thanks to the many others who have helped along the way, to those who have sent their congratulations and last but not least my family and friends - without whom none of this would have been possible. Winning any election is exciting, but winning political by-elections has a particular excitement, and over twenty-five years, my thanks go to Chris Rennard and Hilary Stephenson who have ensured so many Liberal Democrat successes in elections over many years.

In researching how many others have had the privilege of being a Southwark MP since the first in 1295 (!), I discovered one extremely eminent predecessor whom I had not previously spotted. He was Henry Thornton, elected at the age of 22 in 1782 and who was then MP for thirty-two years. He was a great philanthropist, campaigner with Wilberforce and particularly committed to freeing slaves in West Africa. He understood that political campaigns and responsibilities may start but must never end on our doorsteps.

So while locally we are right to keep up the fight for local services like Post Offices and the affordable housing we must just as often engage people in campaigns to challenge authoritarian regimes, like those in Burma, China and Saudi Arabia, and to have open and accountable politics at every level from town hall to the European Union and United Nations.

Our first Federal Conference in Liverpool is the obvious opportunity to remember that if our great party is to fulfil its promise of leading the way in reaching the parts politics haven't already reached, we must complement good local campaigning with effective communication of our policies and priorities in each of the regions of our countries and counties too. We who are the federal and national leadership must not only be out on the road in Cities like Liverpool once or twice a year on a special weekend, but build up our effectiveness at regional level all the year round. If we're seen to be as much the party of the nations and regions as we are the party of the towns and villages, then we are likely to reach more people with our message and recruit more supporters to our cause.

This week we tried in every way we could to bring about a national vote on Britain continuing membership of the European Union. But one setback should not discourage us; indeed quite the reverse. A democratic replacement for the antiquated unelected House of Lords, real financial powers for our regions, and more direct democracy, with really modern proposals for ensuring representative politicians could give Britain the political excitement which the USA is enjoying today. If you were to divide the politics of the major powers into dull or exciting, I fear ours would be firmly in the category of Germany or Russia rather than the US. Exciting politics does not dumb down democracy. Mass mobilisation of thousands of people, like in the Obama campaign now (or more modestly in my by-election all those years ago) can act to rekindle enthusiasm and restore hope. Aim high, friends. With Nick at the helm, we have great days ahead, if only we are bold enough.