Stephen Tall

The names of six new Lib Dem peers have been published today. They are:

Chris Fox – Director of Group Communications for GKN; former Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats

Cllr David Goddard – elected Member of Stockport Metropolitan Council; former Leader of Stockport Council; former Member of the Greater Manchester Police Authority; former Non-Executive Director of Manchester International Airport

Cllr Barbara Janke – elected Member and former Leader of Bristol City Council; former teacher

Cllr Kath Pinnock – elected Member and former Leader of Kirklees Council

Paul Scriven – managing partner for Scriven Consulting; former elected Member and Leader of Sheffield City Council; former senior NHS manager

Cllr Dr Julie Smith – elected Member of Cambridge City Council; Senior Lecturer in International Relations in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at Cambridge University; Fellow of Robinson College

There’s an equal split of three men and three women and five of the six have direct experience of local government from around the country.

By the way, to the question of why do the Lib Dems continue to nominate new peers even while wanting to do away with the unelected House of Lords, the answer is very simple. It’s the same reason we contest elections under first-past-the-post while continuing to support its reform: you have to be in it to deliver change.

Nick Clegg had this to say about the new peers:

“Our new peers highlight the campaigning heartbeat of our party, standing up for their local areas and championing the Liberal Democrat cause to deliver a stronger economy and a fairer society. I am delighted to welcome them all to our Parliamentary team. I know that every new peer on this list will make a valuable contribution to British politics, the House of Lords and the Liberal Democrat team in Westminster. Along with their Liberal Democrat colleagues, I am sure they will take up the mantle of being committed reformers and continue to make the case for a smaller and more democratic upper chamber.”

* Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, and editor of the 2013 publication, The Coalition and Beyond: Liberal Reforms for the Decade Ahead. He is also a Research Associate for the liberal think-tank CentreForum and writes at his own site, The Collected Stephen Tall.