Andrew McLean passes away

Earlier this week, one of the party’s foremost data experts, Andrew McLean passed away.

Andrew has been a great colleague to so many of us over several decades, from Vince Cable’s tilt at Parliament in 1992 through to many election contests this May.

He has helped so very many of us with data over the years, helping us get the most out of our efforts and unflappably and calmly stepping in to sort out crises in the middle of the pressures of election campaigns.

Whether it’s been useful utilities such as his householding program or behind the scenes data work, such as improving the phone number data in the party’s systems, many Liberal Democrat election victories have benefitted from his help.

So much so that he often featured in my training:

It’s a tribute to just how much he’s done for the party that many people who have benefited from his work will not even know that it was his hands that put extra data into their local datasets or ensured those direct mail letters were sensibly addressed.

I know many others in the party feel lucky as I do in having known him.

Many condolences to his family and friends.