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Upcoming events in Hackney

Sunday 1st August, 3.00pm
Hackney Liberal Democrats Summer Garden party. This Parliament does not represent us. Time for the Alternative Vote?

Our summer garden party for 2010 is at a new venue for us at 60 Lordship Park, Stoke Newington, N16 5UA, just north of Clissold Park. You are very welcome to come along and bring friends along with you.

Our guest speakers will be focussing on a very important referendum taking place next May on the Alternative Vote.

Anthony Barnet is for many years a leading campaigner for liberty and democracy. He was the founding director of Charter 88, now Unlock Democracy and co-director of the Convention on Modern Liberty. Currently he is co-director of the Take Back Parliament campaign which supports changing the voting system to proportional representation. Currently they are part of the "Yes" campaign for the referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV), which takes place next May. He is a founder of the excellent Open Democracy website, and often writes articles in the OurKingdom section

Bridget Fox was the Lib Dem candidate for Islington South at the last 2 general elections, and turned a safe Labour seat into a marginal in the process. Bridget is a passionate campaigner and a popular speaker at these kind of events.

To help us organise this event we are offering a cheap advance booking rate of £5

Or you can turn up on the day and pay £10

Alternatively you can send a cheque made payable to "Hackney Liberal Democrats" to this address;
Shaun Sanders,
2 Cleveleys Road,
Clapton.
E5 9JN.

We look forward to seeing you!

Recent events

We have had a huge selection of social and campaigning events here in Hackney as you can see below;

Pizza and Politics event: The Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition: will it work?

Wednesday 16th June, 7.30pm for an 8pm start

Our special guest will be Matthew Hanney, who has been at the heart of Nick Clegg's office since Nick was a rookie MP and the party's humble Europe spokesperson. Please come and hear him tell the story of how the coalition came to be and how it will actually work in practice.

Location: Central Hackney, send an email to events@hackneylibdems.org.uk to find out where the venue is.

Book online now - £8 or £5 low income

£8 click here;
£5 click here;

Alternatively you can send a cheque made payable to "Hackney Liberal Democrats" to this address;
Shaun Sanders,
2 Cleveleys Road,
Clapton.
E5 9JN.

We look forward to seeing you!

Leaders debate part 1 - in the pub! Thursday 15th April, 8pm

Come and watch the leader's debate with Hackney Liberal Democrats at "The Albion", 94 Goldsmith's Row, London E2 8QY. See map here; http://tinyurl.com/yz9y74f. This event is FREE and open to the general public. Better than watching it at home, as expert punditory is provided from local Lib Dems!

Leaders debate part 2 - in the pub! Thursday 22nd April, 8pm

Come and watch the leader's debate with Hackney Liberal Democrats at "The Duke Of Wellington" pub, 119 Balls Pond Road London N1 4BL. See map here; http://tinyurl.com/y2rn5ba. This event is FREE and open to the general public.

Hackney Lib Dems Campaign Launch; "Reflecting Hackney".

To celebrate the large number of Lib Dem candidates from a variety of ethnic groups standing in the forthcoming Parliamentary and Local elections.

You are welcome to come and meet them at;

The Vortex Jazz club, Dalston, Monday 22nd March, 7.30pm.

Speakers; Turhan Ozen (Liiberal Democrats Friends of Turkey) and Lester Holloway (Operation Black Vote).

Liberals believe that a diverse society is something to celebrate. We are pleased therefore that many of our candidates in the forthcoming elections this year come from different ethnic backgrounds. You are welcome to come along and find out who they are. Also we have 2 excellent speakers; Lester Holloway who is a member of the Lib Dems and an activist in Operation Black Vote (OBV) and Turhan Ozen, founder member of the Lib Dem Friends of Turkey.

The event is at the Vortex Jazz Club in 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8AZ and starts at 7.30pm. Nearest train station is Dalston Kingsland, which you can get to via Highbury and Islington or Stratford. Also there are lots of buses; including 149 from Liverpool Street and 76/243 from Old Street.

The cost of advance tickets is £10, or £5 for those on low incomes. Or you can pay on the door for £12. Included in the price is a finger food buffet with good vegetarian options.

Advance Discounted Tickets £

Full price £10.00Low income £5.00

Or send a cheque to "Hackney Lib Dems", 2 Clevelys Road, Clapton E5 9JN.

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict: a war without end?

A public meeting at B6 college, Clapton.

7.30pm, Monday 15th February.

When president Obama was elected into office he made it clear that tackling the Arab-Israeli conflict would be his top priority. Since then however very little progress has been made, and now there are serious concerns that the conflict will continue to escalate and get worse.

Nick Clegg has called for a 2 state solution negotiated between the elected governments of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This has to include Hamas, even though Israel refuses to negotiate with them. He has also called for the ending of the blockade of Gaza, and for an arms embargo of Israel after their disproportionate attacks on Gaza last year.

Meanwhile back in the UK it is important for Liberals to ensure that tensions in the Middle East do not spill over into the UK. We are determined to speak out against any Islamophobia or Anti-Semitism.

Hackney Liberal Democrats believe these are important matters that affect many people who live in Hackney. For this reason we have organised this public meeting to debate these issues with local people.

The speakers for this event are;

• Fiyaz Mughal - an advisor to Nick Clegg, director of Faith Matters. He is a frequent visitor to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
• Jonathan Fryer - a journalist for the BBC World Service, and one of the Liberal Democrat candidates for the 2009 European Parliament elections and a blogger.
• Yossi Mekelberg - Associate Fellow at Chatham House and International Relations Programme Director at Regent's College, speaks in a personal capacity.

The event will be chaired by;

• The event will be chaired by Dave Raval, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney South and Shoreditch. Dave's website can be found here; www.daveraval.com

The event will be held in B6 college, see map, Clapton from 7.30pm.

You are welcome to come along and bring your friends.

Pizza and Politics event: A Post-Copenhagen world - where next for the environment?

Hackney Liberal Democrats invite you to an open meeting on 21 January, from 7.30pm, to discuss what we all can do after the failure of Copenhagen. This is an issue that transcends party politics, so everyone is invited.

Speakers:

• Hackney resident and science graduate Joe Jordan, who attended the Copenhagen conference as an NGO rep with Liberal Youth, will give a first-hand account of what happened in Copenhagen, why we don't have a meaningful international agreement and why this matters. Joe has a blog at http://libdeminhackney.wordpress.com/
• Thor Hendrickson will give a presentation on his revolutionary new "ReGen" device that helps save energy in buildings and is specifically designed to retrofit into the chimneys of older houses. The venue for the meeting is the demonstration site for the world's first Re-Gen prototype, which is being tested by University College London.
• Alexis Rowell, a councillor in Camden who has led that council's environmental policy for 4 years, will share with us some of the practical steps that can be taken. Camden has done so well under his stewardship that Friends of the Earth cite it as best practice for other councils to follow. Alexis has a blog on www.ecocouncillor.org.uk . Alexis has an outstanding record as a councillor, see here

The event will be chaired by;

• The event will be chaired by Dave Raval, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Hackney South and Shoreditch, who also heads up a team helping entrepreneurs commercialise low carbon technologies. Dave's website can be found here; www.daveraval.com

7.30pm for an 8pm start

Location: Central Hackney, send an email to events@hackneylibdems.org.uk to find out where the venue is.

Book online now - £8 or £5 low income

£8 click here;
£5 click here;

Alternatively you can send a cheque made payable to "Hackney Liberal Democrats" to this address;
Shaun Sanders,
2 Cleveleys Road,
Clapton.
E5 9JN.

We look forward to seeing you!

Your invitation to a fundraising dinner from Hackney Liberal Democrats.

With special guest Floella Benjamin Sunday 29th November, from 7pm The Private Dining Room, Yum Yum’s restaurant, Stoke Newington Join us for an extra-special dinner at award-winning Yum Yum’s Thai restaurant in Stoke Newington, where we’ll be welcoming TV presenter, actor, writer and children’s rights campaigner, Floella Benjamin.

The all-in cost of £33 per person includes a three course Thai banquet meal, ½ bottle of wine (or soft drink), tea/coffee and service. This is cheaper than you’d get by walking in off the street, thanks to the generous support from the team at Yum Yum’s.

We’ll also be holding an auction with some fantastic lots you’ll be able to bid for, from a holiday to a Christmas hamper, and much more besides. Our auctioneer’s already polishing his gavel in preparation! We’ll also have our ever-popular raffle, giving you even more prize-winning opportunities.

This is the perfect way to support the campaign – by enjoying a great meal in good company.

Book today. You can pay by credit card via PayPal – a secure and easy-to-use way to pay for your tickets. Click on the link below.

Alternatively you can pay by cheque. Send cheques (payable to Hackney Liberal Democrats) to: Hackney Lib Dem Dinner, FREEPOST RSCK-HJJA-RBAE, 74 Amhurst Road, London, E8 1JH.

If you want more info then contact the organiser Keith Angus – email

Yum Yum’s is located in the heart of Stoke Newington – close to Stoke Newington station and on many bus routes. See their website for more information

We look forward to welcoming you on November 29th.

Secrets and Spies - November 4th 8.30pm, Alevi Cultural and Community Centre, Ridley Road, E8

Gordon Brown wanted to hold the Iraq enquiry behind closed doors. He refuses to release information on the deaths of four soldiers at Deepcut Barracks. Reports into the Hillsborough disaster are still classified. MPs fought to keep their expenses secret.

But the government wants us all on a DNA database. It can track your movements through your Oyster card and your mobile phone. It wants us to be vetted before wecan babysit for our friends.This country has the world's greatest concentration of CCTV cameras.

And the government minister in charge of ID cards is Hackney South Labour MP Meg Hillier.

It's time to be really open about government attitudes to secrecy. Liberal Democrat candidate for Hackney South, Dave Raval will chair a discussion on the issues involved with a rich panel of experts taking part:

• Diane and Geoff Gray - are still trying to find out how their son died at Deepcut Barracks in 2001
• Lester Holloway - is a journalist and former editor of "The Nation"
• Lembit Öpik MP- has to deal with these issues in Parliament
• Carl Reynolds - Hackney co-ordinator of the No2ID Campaign Group
• James Welch - is Legal Director of Liberty which campaigns to protect civil liberties in the UK

Tickets are £5 in advance or £8 on the door. Paid up members of the local party attending the earlier AGM may attend free of charge.

You can buy your advance ticket here:

Hackney Liberal Democrats Autumn Dinner - guest speaker Cory Doctorow.
Privacy, Civil Liberties and Technology - Is Privacy Possible in the 21st Century?
Monday 19th October 2009, 7.30pm at the Hoxton Apprentice

We have an extra special speaker and a wonderful venue for our autumn dinner this year.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger -- the co-editor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net) and the author of the bestselling Tor Teens/HarperCollins UK novel LITTLE BROTHER. He is the former European director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Shoreditch, London. Cory spoke recently at the Islington Liberal Democrats Pizza and Politics event on the above theme where everyone was impressed by his knowlege, passion, and remarkable turn of phrase. We are delighted that he has agreed to speak at our autumn dinner this year.

The venue is the Hoxton Apprentice, a restaurant run by a charity in Hoxton Square. You can find out more about the charity on their website . This is a top quality restauarant and normally out of the price range for many of our members, however we have negotiated a special deal where you can attend our event for just £10 if you pay in advance (or £12 on the door). Part of the deal is that the restaurant's trainee chef's - working under expert supervision - will cook the best meal they can for the price we are offering. The dinner will include good vegetarian options. We recommend that you make sure you know where the place is. It is just 5 minutes walk from Old Street tube in the corner of Hoxton Square, see map. It is recommended you book in advance as it is cheaper and places are limited.

Sunday 13th September, 3.00pm
Hackney Liberal Democrats Summer Garden party. Are more equal societies also more liberal?

We are delighted to have our annual garden party once again at Victoria's in Clapton. We love her garden, her house and her wonderful food! The theme for this event; "Are more equal societies more liberal?" is inspired by research done by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett over many years and recently published in his highly regarded book; The Spirit Level - Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better . Their research shows that on virtually every indicator of the well being of society, a more equal society is better. Liberals need to decide whether they agree with his research and if so what they should do about it. We are delighted to announce that Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett have agreed to be our speakers for this event. In addition we are also delighted to announce that Neil Stockley, a leading Lib Dem Blogger will be putting the Lib Dem perspective on this topic.

To help us organise this event we are offering a cheap advance booking rate of £5

Or you can turn up on the day and pay £10

Alternatively you can send a cheque made payable to "Hackney Liberal Democrats" to this address;
Shaun Sanders,
2 Cleveleys Road,
Clapton.
E5 9JN.

We look forward to seeing you!

Pizza and Politics

We hold regular events where a speaker gives us an overview on a salient issue and then we tuck into a lovely meal of pasta or pizza whilst debating the issue at hand. It's a great evening out for a bit of lighthearted political discussion with friendly, like minded people.

Pub night

We meet the second Thursday of the month at the Globe Public House opposite Tesco in Morning Lane for a beer/cider/glass of wine/orange juice. From 8pm. In the summer we meet at The Pub in the Park, Mortello Street, London Fields.

Campaigning events

We are actively campaigning across Hackney. To see how you can get involved in your area please contact us or see our get involved page.
 

Tuesday 16th June, 6.30pm for 8pm start.
Hackney Liberal Democrats Summer Dinner; Police Under Fire - will they protect our civil liberties?

Liberal Democrats want an effective police force that protects our safety and civil liberties. We are committed to recruiting more police from the money saved by scrapping national identity cards. So we are definitely pro-police. However we have seen under the current Labour government a politicisation of the police in which in some instances they have become more authoritarian and illiberal. This is something Liberal Democrats would also like to urgently address and we will look at examples of that for this evening.

We are delighted to welcome former Liberal Democrat candidate for mayor of London, Brian Paddick as one of guest speakers at our summer dinner. Brian was, until his retirement in May 2007, Deputy Assistant Commissioner in London's Metropolitan Police Service and the United Kingdom's most senior openly gay police officer. Brian has a unique insight, both from the point of view from running the police, AND one who passionately believes in civil liberties.

The inspiration for this event came from a vigorous campaign by Lib Dem member Andy May, also a speaker at this event. Andy attended the recent G20 demonstrations and witnessed at first hand the unacceptable heavy handed police tactics that made the national headlines. As a result, Andy set up a Facebook group that has over 2000 members, "Defend peaceful protest" (see here) and has presented evidence to Parliament about what happened on the day.

For a long time now Muslim members of Hackney Liberal Democrats have been expressing concern about their experience of police harassment and Islamophobia. So our third speaker is Ozcan Keles, Director of the Dialogue Society (DS), an organisation of study and engagement for community development, see www.dialoguesociety.org. Ozcan recently spoke at an event jointly organised by DS, Islington Liberal Democrats and Liberal Democrats Friends of Turkey, and he impressed all of us by making a strong case for a moderate interpretation of Islam, made more likely by a better understanding of Islam.

This event will be held at one of our favourite restaurants, Shish. There will be a delicious buffet meal with good vegetarian options.

To see a map for Shish, visit their website here . You can see it is just 5 minutes walk from Old St tube in the City of London.

Entry is £12 waged, £10 low income. It is recommended you book in advance whilst places are still available. You can pay by paypal by clicking the button below;

Alternatively you can send a cheque made payable to "Hackney Liberal Democrats" to this address;
Shaun Sanders,
2 Cleveleys Road,
Clapton.
E5 9JN.

We look forward to seeing you!

Thursday 30th April. Can we stop the BNP getting a Euro-MP elected in London?

Meeting at a members house in Stoke Newington, 8pm - 10pm.

Recently the BNP got a councillor elected to the Greater London Authority (GLA). Next they want to get elected a Euro MP, and they need just 8% to do it in London. We want to stop them, and we have invited a speaker from Hackney TUC to outline the campaign they are running locally on this. Also we will be discussing the appeal of the BNP and how we in the Liberal Democrats should oppose them.

Book online now - £8 or £5 low income

£8 click here;
£5 click here;

Autumn Dinner

Tuesday 28th October. The Obama Phenomenon - A British Liberal Perspective

A black Liberal politician is on the brink of becoming president of the richest and most powerful nation on Earth.

Yet the contest is close, and if he wins he will take over from a government that has suffered catastrophic failures in both their foreign policy, and more recently in their economic policy.

Barack Obama stands for change, and along the way he has re-energised the US Democrat party, and reached out to previously apathetic sections of the electorate, such as young people and ethnic minorities.

What lessons are there to be learnt for British Liberal Democrats in this epic presidential campaign?

Our speakers for this event are Lord Tom McNally and Matthew Sowemimo (see picture).

Matthew Sowemimo is a former Editor of the Reformer and was researcher for the Lib Dem Treasury team. He has a PhD in Political Science. He has studied the rise of African-American politicians in the post-civil rights era, including the opportunities and challenges for candidates at state and national level.

Lord McNally is the Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. Prior to joing the SDP in 1981, he was a foreign policy advisor to the then Prime Minister James Callaghan, and accompanied him to meetings with the Presidents Ford and Carter, Dr. Kissinger, Mr. Breznev and Mr. Gromyko, the Heads of Government of all the European Community countries, and a wide range of Government and political leaders in Africa and the Middle East.

This event is in the basement at Shish restuarant on 313 Old Street, 7.30pm.
Details about Shish are on their website; http://www.shish.com/restaurants/index.htm
A buffet meal with vegetarian options will be served. Drinks can be bought at the bar seperately.

Book in advance to guarentee a seat - £10 

 

7th September 2008 - Annual garden party

London, Liberal Democracy and the post-Ken agenda

Speakers: Caroline Pidgeon AM, Cllr Fiyaz Mughal (previously chair of Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats) and Josh Ryan-Collins of the New Economics Foundation (NEF) have agreed to speak at this event.

Josh Ryan-Collins published a book last year presenting a critique of the Olympic games in London and he is an advisor to Camden Borough Council. The NEF is a think tank that advocates economic policies that are ecological and socially sustainable.

Ken Livingstone looked unasailble as London mayor. Even though his radical policies were sometimes unpopular, he was very effective in mobilising ethnic minorities to shore up his base support.

This time it was not enough, and the kind of politics he brought to London looks as though it is gone forever. Despite having a good candidate, the Liberal Democrats were unable to present a compelling vision in the last London elections. How should Liberal Democrats pitch themselves in London given the next choice is likely to be between and mainstream Labour and Conservative candidates?

15th May 2008 - Gordon Lishman on "The Theory and Practice of Community Politics"

Author of the classic book on the subject, Gordon Lishman will be joining us in May to discuss the Theory and Practice of Community Politics.

12th March 2008 - Fiyaz Mughal on "Can Sharia Law co-exist in a Liberal Society" (Pappadum and Politics)

Liberals welcomed the ordination of Rowan Williams as the Archbishop of Canterbury as he was clearly one of us; a liberal.However in a speech that was seeking to improve community cohesion between the different faiths, the Archbishop inadvertantly discovered the incendary nature of the words "Sharia Law", prompting alarm and controversy that he was not seeking.Liberals in general now face a dilemma; we want a positive and sensible debate about Sharia, but at the same time we do not want to be tainted with the more well known extreme interpretations of Sharia such as harsh punishments and the subjugation of women that Liberals are clearly against.So how do we navigate this moral maze? Start by coming along to our Popadom and Politics event and join the debate!

 

Annual Dinner

We were delighted to welcome Steve Webb MP to Hackney on 25th February to address our annual dinner on the subject of the manifesto for the next General Election.

AGM with Rt. Hon. Charles Kennedy MP

We were delighted to welcome former Liberal Democrat leader and Member of Parliament for Skye, Charles Kennedy MP to Hackney on November 21st as the guest speaker at our Annual General Meeting at the Alevi Cultural and Community Centre in Dalston Lane. Full details and Charlie's speech will be posted here very soon.
 

Upcoming events

Below, you'll find a list of some of our upcoming events. Stay tuned as we expect to see some more big names here in Hackney before the end of the year.

Earl's Court group photo, by-election campaigning and pub lunch (Saturday, July 31st, 2010)

Campaigning session on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 at 12.00 pm. This Saturday at 12 noon we are meeting at the Earl's Court Road exit of Earl's Court tube for a group photo for everyone who is supporting our campaign to WIN a council seat for the Liberal Democrats in the Earl's Court by-election. For those who can stay on and help us a little afterwards, at 12:30pm we will then do some delivering of Lib Dem literature to the lucky residents of SW5. At 2:30pm, we'll meet back at the Pembrok...e pub, 261 Old Brompton Road for lunch.

Deadline for amendments to motions, emergency motions, topical issues and questions to reports at Federal Conference (Monday, September 6th, 2010)

Conference on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 12.00 pm.

Hackney Lib Dems Garden Party - "This Parliament does not represent us. Time for the Alternative Vote?" (Sunday, August 1st, 2010)

Social event on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at 3.00 pm. Our summer garden party for 2010 is at a new venue for us in Stoke Newington, just north of Clissold Park. You are very welcome to come along and bring friends along with you.Our guest speakers will be focussing on a very important referendum taking place next May on the Alternative Vote.Anthony Barnet is for many years a leading campaigner for liberty and democracy. He was the founding director of Charter 88, now Unlock Democracy and co-director of the Convention on Modern Liberty. Currently he is co-director of the Take Back Parliament campaign which supports changing the voting system to proportional representation. Currently they are part of the "Yes" campaign for the referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV), which takes place next May. He is a founder of the excellent Open Democracy website, and often writes articles in the OurKingdom sectionBridget Fox was the Lib Dem candidate for Islington South at the last 2 general elections, and turned a safe Labour seat into a marginal in the process. Bridget is a passionate campaigner and a popular speaker at these kind of events.To help us organise this event we are offering a cheap advance booking rate of £5.Visit our website to find out how to do this;http://www.hackneylibdems.org.uk/events.php 

Autumn Conference, Liverpool (Saturday, September 18th, 2010-Wednesday, September 22, 2010)

Conference on Saturday, September 18th, 2010-Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 10.00 am.  We are delighted to be taking autumn conference 2010 to Liverpool, a city which has thrived since earning its European Capital of Culture title in 2008.Conference will open on Saturday 18 September with consultative sessions at 10.00 and the formal opening of conference at 14.20. On Wednesday 22 September, conference will close with the Leader's speech at approximately 15.00.Policy issues under discussion at this conference will include a full debate on papers on Localism, International Development and Youth Justice and consultation sessions on Quality of Life, Volunteering and the Voluntary Sector & Facing the Future.