LIB DEM CAMPAIGN CHIEF RETURNS TO CHESTERFIELD

Lib Dem Party Chief Executive, Lord Rennard, spoke at a packed Chesterfield annual constituency dinner on Saturday 20th May.

In a humorous speech Chris Rennard recounted his long involvement in the local area, beginning with his first visit to Chesterfield when in 1984 he ran a Council by-election in New Whittington which saw David Stone elected as the then sole Liberal Cllr. on Chesterfield Borough Council, as a lead into the 'Benn by election' a few weeks later. On election day itself, Chris was incapacitated with glandular fever and had to be prodded awake at regular intervals to issue his instructions.

Paul Holmes, Chesterfield's Liberal Democrat MP who in 2001 replaced Tony Benn and 72 years of Labour rule in Chesterfield, added:

"We have all come a long way since 1984 which was the first election with which I ever helped. Chesterfield in 1984 was the first election campaign Chris had run outside of his home city of Liverpool. In 1986 he ran the famous West Derbyshire by election which saw a massive Tory majority plummet to just 100 votes.

"Chris went on to become the most feared political campaign manager in the UK, master-minding a series of stunning by election victories, such as those in Newbury and Romsey, which sealed the Conservative Government's fate. Chris Rennard is now the Chief Executive of our party and a member of the House of Lords, but he still keeps his hand in by helping his campaign team mastermind massive Labour Government defeats such as Brent East and Dunfermline.

"Just as Chris's career took off in 1984 so did the local Liberal Democrats rising from one Cllr then to 36 today, and from third in every election since the War to having the MP today."

Lord Rennard ended his speech by looking ahead:

"Today we have our largest number of MP's since 1922 and lead 73 Councils across the country including here in Chesterfield. With Blair's discredited New Labour Government collapsing and the Conservatives making no impression in large parts of the country the Liberal Democrats are set for even greater gains in future elections."