Lib Dem councillor to residents: Should I join Labour?

Left Foot Forward

A Lib Dem councillor has written to local residents to ask whether she should leave her party and join Labour in protest at the formation of the Coalition.

A Liberal Democrat councillor in Barnsley has written to local residents to ask whether she should leave her party and join Labour in protest at the formation of the Coalition.

In a joint letter to residents of Dearne South, a ward in Barnsley Borough Metropolitan Council, Councillor Sharron Brook and defeated candidate in the recent local elections, Sarah Brook, write:

“The main reason that we are writing to you is to ask you what you would like us to do, seeing as the Liberal Democrats have chosen to form a coalition with the Conservatives, never considering the people in the deprived north. This will not make any difference to how we work for you within Barnsley Council and our villages.

“We are ashamed, as you are, of what the National Lib Dems have done in joining the Conservatives. Since 1964 I have had faith in the Liberals thinking they were principled, perhaps they were in years gone by but not after this election.”

The letter ends by setting out that:

“There are three alternative ways to choose and would you please let us know your wishes:

1. Go it alone

2. Join the Labour party

3. Stay as a Liberal Democrat”

LD Leaflet

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66 Responses to “Lib Dem councillor to residents: Should I join Labour?”

  1. fljf

    RT @SJ_Consigliere: Lib Dems in freefall as councillor asks residents: Should I join Labour?: http://bit.ly/bVcDab #ukpolitics #libdems …

  2. Rosa Rubicondior

    RT @SJ_Consigliere: Lib Dems in freefall as councillor asks residents: Should I join Labour?: http://bit.ly/bVcDab #ukpolitics #libdems …

  3. Mr. Sensible

    Sam, we’ve effectively got a Tory government anyway; the Lib Dems have sold out on a lot of things, not least the big issue of the election; the economy, spending cuts, and VAT. That might have something to do with the 13% poll ratings, and may be part of the reason why we are where we are.

    There’s compromise, and there’s compromise.

    At any rate, Will, it seems that all’s not quite 100% within the coalition, on both sides. First, you had David Davies’s comments picked up by an FT journalist,
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/24/david-davis-brokeback-coalition-pub-talk

    And then elsewhere in the Guardian they reported today that 5 Lib Dem MPs were unhappy with the Academies Bill, 1 saying that:
    “There are few things more important than education, and if my actions make problems for me, so be it.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jul/23/michael-gove-school-admissions-selection

    At any rate, Will, I definitely think there’s something simmering in there. Some analysts have suggested things could come to a head next May, with both local elections and the AV referendum, but I think things could come to a head sooner than that. Because to get the referendum legislation first has to be passed. As I understand it, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill is due to get its Second Reading in September, and there is tension with regard to it and so the passage of the Bill.

  4. Georgina Rannard

    RT @leftfootfwd: Lib Dem councillor to residents: Should I join Labour? http://bit.ly/cUD72Y

  5. A week is a long time

    Is it me being dumb? Surely she’ll be sacked in a couple of days so option 3 is kind of f***ed?

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