![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosmolinguistWhat's your name, where are you from, and which committee(s) are you standing for?
Candy Piercy. I am standing for the Federal Board.
I live in Aylesbury constituency but am active across the UK. I am particularly involved in the Highlands of Scotland. I ran both Scottish and General Elections for Charles Kennedy, including his last General Election Campaign in 2015.
Are you standing for the first time or restanding? If first time what new thing do you bring that nobody else could; if restanding, what about your record are you most proud of that you think should make us vote you back in?
I have been a member of the FE on and off, for around a dozen years.
I am most proud of three things in particular
1. Standing up for the members and challenging the Party Leadership and organisation. I have regularly consulted members and taken their feedback to the FE. I have always been one of the more vocal members of the FE, willing to take a stand on key issues.
2. Changing the Party's strategy for both General By-elections. I was elected to the Campaigns and Communications Committee (CCC) by the members of the FE at the beginning of 2015. The first project we ran was to review the General Election. The resulting report was hard hitting. It laid the foundations for changing the Party strategy for fighting General Elections in the future.
That report also highlighted the need of fighting by-elections differently - Along with my CCC colleagues, we enthusiastically backed the Campaigns Department on the need to commit to fighting a full on campaign for the Witney By-election
3. Being part of the team who ran the review the Candidates Approval Process in 2003 which resulted in a revamp of the process to make it fairer to women and people from other underrepresented groups and to remove some barriers to their success (I do think it is time we had a new review!)
Are you standing for any other committees, if so which ones; and if elected to more than one how do you plan to divide your time?
I would also like to stand for the CCC again. I am confident I have time to do justice to both.
Are you an active member of any SAOs, and if so which ones?
The Agents and Organisers Association - I am one of the Editors of the General Election Agents Manual.
LDW - Campaign for Gender Balance. I organise and run CGB training at Conference and training days around the UK such as Inspiration Days and the annual Future Women MPs Weekend.
ALDC - I regularly run training for them
Training for Trainers - I train trainers for all the SAOs a Regions
If someone asked you on the doorstep, the hustings or on TV to sum up in one or two sentences what the Lib Dems, uniquely, stand for – and then why anyone should vote for us – what are your answers?
I tell them that the Lib Dems stand for fairness, justice and equality. That we listen to our members and they are the ones who make policy. The other two main parties are top down. We are grassroots up and more in touch with our members and with our local communities.
What is your view on diversity quotas for committees? Should they be extended to cover more than just gender, scrapped totally, kept as is or something else?
Very important to extend committee quotas.
Secrecy rules prevent the party knowing what committees are doing. What will you do to communicate with members; and in what circumstances is confidentiality justified?
I believe we should start with a presumption of transparency and openness. .I think the vast majority of the work of the FB should be shared with members and open to scrutiny. Clearly some issues need to stay confidential where they might form a damaging press story, be legally sensitive or prove unfair to individual members.
As the party has now backed the principle of OMOV, how will you ensure all members are represented, not just those who can afford to go to Conference?
Live streaming of conference and key fringes alongside online voting. I would also like a formal Party fund to support less well off members attendance by paying for travel, accommodation and subsistence.
If police accreditation to attend conference was proposed again, would you support or oppose it and why?
If there was an identified terrorist threat we would need to take advice. However I would oppose the ridiculous and complicated vetting system and accreditation used in the past during the coalition years.
What is your view on electoral pacts? Should the party make them, and if so, who with?
Formal pacts are very difficult and in my view have unintended consequences. However I think co-operation with other progressive Parties on a case by case basis should be explored.
The list of all candidates who have answered can be found here.
Candy Piercy. I am standing for the Federal Board.
I live in Aylesbury constituency but am active across the UK. I am particularly involved in the Highlands of Scotland. I ran both Scottish and General Elections for Charles Kennedy, including his last General Election Campaign in 2015.
Are you standing for the first time or restanding? If first time what new thing do you bring that nobody else could; if restanding, what about your record are you most proud of that you think should make us vote you back in?
I have been a member of the FE on and off, for around a dozen years.
I am most proud of three things in particular
1. Standing up for the members and challenging the Party Leadership and organisation. I have regularly consulted members and taken their feedback to the FE. I have always been one of the more vocal members of the FE, willing to take a stand on key issues.
2. Changing the Party's strategy for both General By-elections. I was elected to the Campaigns and Communications Committee (CCC) by the members of the FE at the beginning of 2015. The first project we ran was to review the General Election. The resulting report was hard hitting. It laid the foundations for changing the Party strategy for fighting General Elections in the future.
That report also highlighted the need of fighting by-elections differently - Along with my CCC colleagues, we enthusiastically backed the Campaigns Department on the need to commit to fighting a full on campaign for the Witney By-election
3. Being part of the team who ran the review the Candidates Approval Process in 2003 which resulted in a revamp of the process to make it fairer to women and people from other underrepresented groups and to remove some barriers to their success (I do think it is time we had a new review!)
Are you standing for any other committees, if so which ones; and if elected to more than one how do you plan to divide your time?
I would also like to stand for the CCC again. I am confident I have time to do justice to both.
Are you an active member of any SAOs, and if so which ones?
The Agents and Organisers Association - I am one of the Editors of the General Election Agents Manual.
LDW - Campaign for Gender Balance. I organise and run CGB training at Conference and training days around the UK such as Inspiration Days and the annual Future Women MPs Weekend.
ALDC - I regularly run training for them
Training for Trainers - I train trainers for all the SAOs a Regions
If someone asked you on the doorstep, the hustings or on TV to sum up in one or two sentences what the Lib Dems, uniquely, stand for – and then why anyone should vote for us – what are your answers?
I tell them that the Lib Dems stand for fairness, justice and equality. That we listen to our members and they are the ones who make policy. The other two main parties are top down. We are grassroots up and more in touch with our members and with our local communities.
What is your view on diversity quotas for committees? Should they be extended to cover more than just gender, scrapped totally, kept as is or something else?
Very important to extend committee quotas.
Secrecy rules prevent the party knowing what committees are doing. What will you do to communicate with members; and in what circumstances is confidentiality justified?
I believe we should start with a presumption of transparency and openness. .I think the vast majority of the work of the FB should be shared with members and open to scrutiny. Clearly some issues need to stay confidential where they might form a damaging press story, be legally sensitive or prove unfair to individual members.
As the party has now backed the principle of OMOV, how will you ensure all members are represented, not just those who can afford to go to Conference?
Live streaming of conference and key fringes alongside online voting. I would also like a formal Party fund to support less well off members attendance by paying for travel, accommodation and subsistence.
If police accreditation to attend conference was proposed again, would you support or oppose it and why?
If there was an identified terrorist threat we would need to take advice. However I would oppose the ridiculous and complicated vetting system and accreditation used in the past during the coalition years.
What is your view on electoral pacts? Should the party make them, and if so, who with?
Formal pacts are very difficult and in my view have unintended consequences. However I think co-operation with other progressive Parties on a case by case basis should be explored.
The list of all candidates who have answered can be found here.