Demolishing a wall so I can speak: a night in Wandsworth

Last night I was the guest speaker at the inaugural meeting of Wandsworth Liberal Democrats, formed out of the merger of the Putney and Battersea & Tooting local parties. Having one borough-wide party is a smart move and one that has worked well elsewhere in London, reducing bureaucracy and giving local parties a clearer and firmer footing than changing Parliamentary boundaries. It is a tribute to the hard work many put in that what could have been controversial and complicated went so smoothly last night.

In a good combination of symbolism and practicality the two predecessor local parties met in adjoining rooms to each agree the final steps of their merger, following which the wall between them was removed to make for one combined and larger room in which to hear a message of support from absent local party member Nick Clegg and then my talk and Q&A session. Technically that now makes it twice in my life where a wall has had to be demolished so that everyone who wants to hear me speak has been able to fit in the room…

But much more importantly, there were not only many new members in room, there were several new members elected to the new local party executive and many less-new members full of energy and plans too. Good luck, Wandsworth.