West Herts Liberal Democrats Hold AGM in Rickmansworth

On November 9th the West Herts Liberal Democrats held their Annual General Meeting in Rickmansworth.

The meeting re-elected the out going chair, Sally Symington, as also were the Secretary and Treasurer also re-elected. However from a packed meeting room several new members joined the committee. In the interests of inclusivity the committee adopted the twin principals of Flexibility and Job Sharing that will ensure the formal structures can respond rapidly to change and encourage the sharing of skills and responsibilities with newly joined members.

The formal business done, a series of lively discussion ensued among like minded groups with a social media sub-group arranging to meet informally to share expertise and pool ideas.

The meeting was delighted to welcome Daisy Cooper, the Parliamentary Spokesman for St Albans, as their Guest Speaker.

In the sombre shadow of the Trump result, Daisy warned about an international resurgence of right wing extremism - the very same mix of nationalism and ethnic based populism that spawned the First World War and smouldered on to erupt even more hideously as World War II.

Daisy reminded everyone that this was now a time for liberals and democrats everywhere to stick together. "We must reaffirm clearly and firmly our continued commitment to tolerance, liberty, internationalism and the rule of law."

She continued, "In particular we Liberal Democrats in the UK must acknowledge our own failings in the past. We need to broaden our appeal and work hard to encourage fairness, to reduce income inequality and to encourage equal opportunity and social mobility. We must do this not only to remain true to our ideals but also improve the conditions and life chances of those who, for whatever reason, have been left behind by the great increase of wealth from which all too few have benefitted."