Wednesday, September 03, 2008
A VOICE FROM THE PAST
Email just received from the Liberal Democrats. The left hand clearly knoweth not where the right hand has been.
"Dear Neil,
According to records recently passed to me. you were at one time a Member of the Party in Greater Maryhill. It may well be that the failure to keep in touch with you is just another symptom of the malaise that gripped the former three Local Parties of Anniesland, Kelvin and Greater Maryhill.
At the end of last year we finally did something radical (and very overdue) about that.
We now have a body called Glasgow North Liberal Democrats. It has a considerable Membership (more than 140) that is growing quite steadily toward the initial target of 150, and then 200 this year. We have a FULL Executive Committee; we produce regular Newsletters; we have a Target Seat of Glasgow North (the Westminster seat) and a terrific PPC in Katy Gordon. We DO things: save two Post Offices, deliver FOCUS to 57,000 people and in 36,000 homes at least quarterly. We are fund-raising, looking to employ a full-time Organiser (and have our own premises!).
If you still subscribe to the ideals of the Party as enshrined in the preamble to our Party Constitution, if you would seriously like to see a non-Tory alternative to this present Westminster Government of ours, and something better than Alex Salmond in Bute House, then please get back to me. We're doing quite well, but not nearly well enough, yet, and Roy Jenkins was an age ago! We need lots more help and many more Members.
It would be splendid to hear from you.
With my/our best wishes,
Hugh Waterfield - Membership Secretary, GNLD"
Dear Hugh,
Thank you for your email & may I congratulate you on achieving what looks like a quite incredible 30% increase in local membership. The Scottish party having declined from 2nd position to 4th in Scotland since I left & you joined/moved here.
I can confirm that my traditional liberal principles are unchanged since I was the first party member to suggest cutting corporation tax to make our economy grow, as Ireland's has & spoke at conference in favour of free trade, against government control of most of our industry, for individual lifestyle freedom, for less bureaucracy in supporting the the H&I airports, for scientific progress, against fuel poverty, against illegal wars & against genocide.
Unfortunately the party position is officially against letting the economy grow by free market means, against free trade, for state & "special interest group" taking control of most of our industry, against individual freedom, in favour of maximum bureaucracy & waste, against scientific progress, in favour of killing pensioners by hypothermia, in support of war crimes & actively in support of genocide.
I have the official party assurance of this & indeed that to promote traditional liberal values is "incompatible with party membership" & in a particularly Orwellian remark that supporting liberalism is now officially "illiberal". That being the case obviously I cannot rejoin but should you wish to ever be part of a party committed to liberal values rather their opposites I suggest you check http://9percentgrowth.blogspot.com/
Sincerely
Neil Craig
"Dear Neil,
According to records recently passed to me. you were at one time a Member of the Party in Greater Maryhill. It may well be that the failure to keep in touch with you is just another symptom of the malaise that gripped the former three Local Parties of Anniesland, Kelvin and Greater Maryhill.
At the end of last year we finally did something radical (and very overdue) about that.
We now have a body called Glasgow North Liberal Democrats. It has a considerable Membership (more than 140) that is growing quite steadily toward the initial target of 150, and then 200 this year. We have a FULL Executive Committee; we produce regular Newsletters; we have a Target Seat of Glasgow North (the Westminster seat) and a terrific PPC in Katy Gordon. We DO things: save two Post Offices, deliver FOCUS to 57,000 people and in 36,000 homes at least quarterly. We are fund-raising, looking to employ a full-time Organiser (and have our own premises!).
If you still subscribe to the ideals of the Party as enshrined in the preamble to our Party Constitution, if you would seriously like to see a non-Tory alternative to this present Westminster Government of ours, and something better than Alex Salmond in Bute House, then please get back to me. We're doing quite well, but not nearly well enough, yet, and Roy Jenkins was an age ago! We need lots more help and many more Members.
It would be splendid to hear from you.
With my/our best wishes,
Hugh Waterfield - Membership Secretary, GNLD"
Dear Hugh,
Thank you for your email & may I congratulate you on achieving what looks like a quite incredible 30% increase in local membership. The Scottish party having declined from 2nd position to 4th in Scotland since I left & you joined/moved here.
I can confirm that my traditional liberal principles are unchanged since I was the first party member to suggest cutting corporation tax to make our economy grow, as Ireland's has & spoke at conference in favour of free trade, against government control of most of our industry, for individual lifestyle freedom, for less bureaucracy in supporting the the H&I airports, for scientific progress, against fuel poverty, against illegal wars & against genocide.
Unfortunately the party position is officially against letting the economy grow by free market means, against free trade, for state & "special interest group" taking control of most of our industry, against individual freedom, in favour of maximum bureaucracy & waste, against scientific progress, in favour of killing pensioners by hypothermia, in support of war crimes & actively in support of genocide.
I have the official party assurance of this & indeed that to promote traditional liberal values is "incompatible with party membership" & in a particularly Orwellian remark that supporting liberalism is now officially "illiberal". That being the case obviously I cannot rejoin but should you wish to ever be part of a party committed to liberal values rather their opposites I suggest you check http://9percentgrowth.blogspot.com/
Sincerely
Neil Craig
