Special AGM Held

Last night, Wycombe Liberal Democrats held a special AGM. Due to boundary changes, it was the final AGM of the local party of the old Wycombe constituency, and the Inaugural General Meeting of the local party of the new Wycombe Constituency. Naturally, it was an occasion of mixed emotions because some long term members and friends will leave Wycombe constituency, but we also welcome new friends joining because of the boundary changes. Vice-chair, Frances Alexander paid tribute to members who had given many years of service, and were now transferring out – recalling when several of our departing members has served on the District Council (from 1999-2003, Wycombe District Council was run jointly by Liberal Democrats and Labour).

Wendy Guy gave the traditional annual address from the Chair:

Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the 'new' Wycombe Liberal Democrats.

'New' has become a jaded word in politics. New Labour has come to be synonymous with Tony Blair's triumph of spin over substance - a party willing to ditch any and all of it's principles in the pursuit of power.

And oh, how he has abused that power: 365 new laws, many of which have eroded the freedoms that the British used to take for granted. New Labour means new threats to British justice, and restrictions on peaceful protest. New Labour has ushered in a 'Big Brother' society, where citizens will be forced to carry an identity card - and DNA data on innocent people is held on a central database. But above all, New Labour gave us Iraq. Today, Blair has finally been forced to admit that
post 2003 Iraq has been a disaster.

Now David Cameron is getting in on the act, offering us 'New Conservatism'. A touchy, feely caring conservatism. But Cameron's Conservatism is paper thin. He is a cardboard cutout leader without substance, and precious little in the way of policies. The scene of David Cameron pedalling his bicycle while a car follows with his shoes, sums up what kind of leader he is: he is a leader to whom image is all that matters. Let us never forget that he was the author of Michael Howard's 2005 manifesto - one of the most right-wing, reactionary manifestos I have ever seen.

Thank goodness that the Liberal Democrats, under new leader Sir Ming Campbell, have been the steadfast voice of liberal values. We may have a new leader, but we are still the party that people can trust to tell them the truth about issues that really matter, like Iraq, the environment, justice and freedom.

Fortunately, the 'new' in our case simply means 'new boundaries'. We are sad to have lost old friends to Aylesbury and Beaconsfield. We hope that they will stay in touch, and continue to support their new teams in the way they have supported us. But we are delighted to welcome new members from Tyler's Green and Hazlemere. We hope that you will soon feel valued members of the Wycombe team - for there is much work to be done!

A year ago, you gave me the honour of electing me as your chair. After the excitement of 2005, and the buzz of the James Oates campaign, I said that 2006 needed to be a year of consolidation and growth. Looking back, 2006 has been a year shaped by events. Early in 2006 we fought a District Council by election in Greater Marlow. This was followed within weeks by a double by election in Ryemead, Tyler's Green and Loudwater. Most recently, we challenged for the seat of Greater Hughenden. In all of these by elections, we achieved strong second place showings. Labour votes were derisory, and in Greater Hughenden they didn't even turn up. I would like to thank our excellent candidates Ivor, Trevor, Ian and William - and add a special thanks for our tireless campaign manager Ian Morton. In 2006, we established ourselves to be the clear and credible challengers to Tory dominance in local politics.

2006 was also to be the year in which we selected our next PPC. Unfortunately for us, many other local parties also had the same idea! The resulting shortage of Returning Officers means that we will now select early in 2007. Despite this setback, we have seen a modest net growth in membership over the past twelve months. The first four months of 2007 will be a challenging time for us. All sixty seats on Wycombe District Council will be up for grabs. Our new team will have to hit the ground running to rise to this challenge. We will vigorously defend the seats that we hold, and seize the opportunity to increase our representation. Work is already underway in our target wards, but there is much, much more to be done. There is so much campaign work to do, please consider offering to deliver Focus leaflets or help with canvassing. There are also still seats without a Liberal Democrat candidate, so please consider standing so that everyone in Wycombe District can have the opportunity to vote Lib Dem.

It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve as your Chair during 2006. I have been ably supported by a great team, and I thank you all for the important parts you have played this year. However, there is one person who deserves a special mention at this time. Marie Burnand has been a loyal servant of the party for many years, and I was very sad when she told me that she felt she could not continue as Secretary because of heath problems. When I was new to my role, her advice and support were invaluable. Even though she is now effectively house bound, she still continues to serve the party as telephone canvasser. Her indomitable spirit in the face of adversity is inspiring. I would like to thank her on behalf of us all for the contributions that she has made, and continues to make to the Liberal Democrat cause.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your support during 2006. Let us look forward to the battles ahead with relish. Let us make 2007 our best year yet!

Turning to the election of officers, the nominations were read out and the following were all unanimously elected to serve in 2007:

• Honorary President: Marie Burnand
• Chair: Wendy Guy
• Vice-Chair: Frances Alexander
• Secretary: Richard Groom
• Treasurer: Ian Forbes
• Membership Secretary: Neil Timberlake
• Committee Members:

• Ray Farmer
• Stephen Guy
• Robert Perkins
• Trevor Snaith