@shefflibdems
Councillor for East Ecclesfield
Parliamentary Candidate for Penistone and Stocksbridge
Email: robert.reiss
@councillor
.sheffield.gov.uk
he/him
@CllrDent
I received it as well. Won't be signing it regardless of my position as using naming and shaming as blackmail for political action is deeply disturbing.
Just had the most lovely phone call.
An elderly gentleman from Frome who I phone banked yesterday just rang me back to congratulate the Lib Dems and
@SarahDykeLD
.
Instead of National Service, why don't we give our young people:
- Good mental health provision
- Opportunity to travel
- Good employment prospects
- A planet that isn't burning
Vote Lib Dem!
With the news that Ian Blackford is standing down I can't help but remember Charles Kennedy.
A great liberal and the leader the Lib Dems needed. Taken too soon and hounded until the end it is in his memory that I strive to act with integrity and honesty at each election.
A very tired and husky me summing up to BBC Politics Live my thoughts on the conference,
@EdwardJDavey
's speech and our hopes for the future.
Life is always tough for Lib Dems, but I hope that we can do what we do best and hold Labour to account.
Good luck to every Lib Dem candidate standing in the locals!
Whether you are a target, development or paper candidate, I wanted to let you all know that I, and every other Lib Dem up and down the country, appreciate you putting your name forward.
There ain't no going back ☺️
When Ed Davey was Energy Secretary (2015) he approved huge offshore wind farms which can now generate 50% of our electricity demand.
Ed Davey was the man who helped take Coal out of coalition.
When Ed Davey was Energy Secretary (2015), coal generated 23% of U.K. electricity. This month, it has been zero.
Ed Davey was the man who put the Coal into the Coalition.
Straight home from work and straight on the phones for
@helenhalcrow
and
@DemsNorth
in
#NorthShropshire
.
Plenty of life long Tory voters voting for the Lib Dems for the first time.
Sad I couldn't make it for that by-election buzz, but the unlimited mins on my phone should do.
In 1910, my great grandfather Richard stood for the Liberal Party in Chichester.
He stood on a platform of electoral reform, Lords reform and federalism.
Apparently little has changed in the last 114 years, and Chichester will have another great candidate in
@JessBrownFuller
The Lib Dems supporting proportional representation is not about gaming the system to put favour, like Labour and Tory with FPTP, but a true belief that every vote should matter.
Interesting sub-question: what happens if the Lib Dems get 50-60 MPs, and Reform get 1 with the same voteshare?
Does a party that has been agitating for voting reform for two decades join Reform in pushing for proportional representation, or does it suddenly go very quiet?
What a great day helping Shaff get elected in Sheffield Hallam.
Hundreds of conversations, thousands of leaflets and one very good cake from
@JohnD2357
.
Thank you
@RichardNewby3
and those from across the country for coming over to help.
Made my maiden speech at
#LDConf
on how Industrial Strategy is not an abstract but a lived experience for those I represent in North Sheffield.
Years of Tory economic mismanagement and uncertainty in the future has left our communities in the lerch.
Spoke to Ian Blackford about the Labour attack ads, who told me if SNP HQ had made them he'd refuse to share it, and warned our politics was in a "bad place"
I hope that Peter Kyle's disgusting intervention yesterday is a lesson to some of my southern Lib Dem colleagues that the Labour Party isn't some fluffy progressive, anti-Tory, friend.
You give them an inch and they will take a mile, whilst dragging you through the mud
Well here it is, the moment we have all been waiting for.
I will be standing to get a Fair Deal for Penistone and Stocksbridge. Broken promises from Labour and Tories have let our communities down.
We need a local champion who understands and cares.
#GeneralElection24
Wow, just wow!
@timfarron
is probably the best communicator in the party (if not parliament) when it comes to the issues of migrants and asylum seekers.
Great answer
“Ask yourself what you would want to happen to you if this country was an unlivable, intolerable basketcase”
The Liberal Democrats’ Tim Farron says the government are using the lives of the world’s “most desperate” people as “political footballs”
#bbcqt
With
@shaffaqmohd
away helping
@SarahDykeLD
in
#SomertonandFrome
, I was holding the fort in Stannington.
The main topic of conversation was Labour's inability to commit to scrap the two child cap on benefits!
Glad to announce that I have been selected at the PPC for Penistone and Stocksbridge at the next General Election.
I look forward to representing both
@SheffLibDems
and
@BLibdem
on the national stage, allowing residents to vote for the liberal option.
When I am inevitably asked why I am standing as a Lib Dem in a Tory held "Red Wall" seat I will point to today when both Labour and the Tories put both trans rights and the future of the United Kingdom at risk.
Finding loads of long time Lib Dem voters turning out for
@WillSapwell
in the Stannington By-election.
Adding to their number are Tory and Labour voters who are voting
@LibDems
for the first time to get a hard working councillor that understands working people
If Natalie Elphicke had been welcomed into the Lib Dems I would have seriously considered tearing up my membership card.
But this is someone that the current Labour Party are welcoming in with open arms...
Great start to Spring
@LibDemConf
with
@shaffaqmohd
but I felt like the Tory removal van needed a little bit of altering for the Sheffield Hallam fight.
(This photo was definitely not altered by Kate Middleton)
My final intervention at
#LDConf
, speaking on how access to nature and areas with good biodiversity can improve mental health outcomes, especially in urban areas.
Penistone and Stocksbridge needs, and deserves, so much better than having Miriam Cates MP representing them.
Will be good to see the back of her and her politics at the next General Election.
Or hopefully a by-election...
1) It is looking increasingly clear that the Lib Dems are the largest UK wide party with a genuinely progressive offering at the next election
2) The Lib Dems, as shown yesterday, is a democratic party. Labour is not and takes its members for granted.
Signatures Collected ✅
Nominated Papers Submitted ✅
Deposit Paid ✅
I am officially the candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Penistone and Stocksbridge!
Congratulations to
@shaffaqmohd
on his selection to fight for Sheffield Hallam. A man who knows the city and knows how to win.
Can't wait to start getting out there on the doors with you.
Not reversing the authoritarian government overreach implemented by the Tories just plays into their hands when they eventually take power again.
What use is Labour if they are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic?
Lammy stating clearly that Labour will not repeal the anti-protest legislation if it gets into government
'We can't come into office picking through all the Conservative legislation and repealing it. It would take too much time.'
Out with
@shaffaqmohd
and special guest
@IrinavonWiese
in Crosspool this evening before an evening of letter stuffing.
Great response and a few window posters handed out.
Pleased to announce that I am standing in the upcoming local elections in
#Southey
for the
@SheffLibDems
.
The Lib Dems offer a fresh and radical plan for the city and its residents. And a stronger
#Sheffield
means a stronger Southey.
The River Don starts it's journey in the hills above Penistone. Its a haven for wildlife and a quiet retreat for those looking to explore nature.
In 2023 Yorkshire Water pumped 18,312 hours of sewage into the Don.
We need a Fair Deal for our rivers.
.
"God no, have you been to Sheffield?"
I know that we have plenty of hills, but this isn't a great endorsement of Labour in Sheffield by their own MP for Heeley and Shadow Transport Minister,
@LouHaigh
.
We need more active travel to improve personal health and air quality.
Brilliant thread on why the Lib Dems have to campaign differently.
We can't snap our fingers and get the national media running towards us, nor do we have the money to throw at it.
What we have is one of the most committed memberships that want to win!
1/9
@LibDems
campaigning in
#MidBedfordshire
, a thread. I'm seeing a lot of ppl not connected to the party, or indeed the seat questioning why we're campaigning so hard here, let's look at the reasons why . . .
Labour abstaining on a Lib Dem amendment that covers:
- Cost of Living
- Industrial Strategy
- NHS Waiting Lists
- Sewage and Biodiversity
- Mental Healthcare
But they choose to pick a fight with their own side as they refuse to call for a ceasefire in Gaza
Makes you think 🤔
"voters in Sheffield Hallam look to Labour with reluctance"
In the only Lib/Lab marginal in the country, there is no need for anti-Tory tactical voting, just the option to vote for the best policies.
Took a trip up to Harrogate and Knaresborough today to help
@tomgordonLD
punt another Tory MP out of Westminster.
A lovely part of the world, but it was definitely warm!
Hi Miriam 👋🏼
I have been taking Amey to task for the last year to get the roundabouts fixed and fixed right first time.
I don't just helicopter in, record a video then tootle off.
Lib Dems are here all year round!
First stop on the campaign trail yesterday was Chapeltown, where I’ve been talking to residents about a wide range of issues, from potholes and speeding to immigration and crime…
#Chapeltown
#GE2024
It is stark how few party activists are in the main hall for the big speeches (this is the audience for Foreign Secretary James Cleverly).
The real action is elsewhere, such as a question and answer with Rishi Sunak and other fringe meetings.
#CPC23
I try to keep myself grounded in this increasingly polarised political landscape by thinking about politicians who might not share my rosette colour.
Mo Mowlam is both under-appreciated and under celebrated for the work she did in Northern Ireland.
A long long time ago myself and
@EnglishRachael
made a documentary about Mo Mowlam and her increasingly overlooked but vital role in the Good Friday Agreement.
Today seems like a good day to share it.
I have spoken to literally hundreds of people this past weekend in a Red Wall seat, giving them the opportunity to ask me anything about our policy, either nationally or locally.
How many asked about "culture wars" issues?
ZERO!
But the Tories think this is a vote winner?
I am a city councillor, but I am also a Young Liberal.
The leadership has tied themselves in knots over this, but
@JaneyisLittle
is right. Young people are in insecure and poor quality housing and it is a liberal mission to fix this.
I have nothing but praise for the ink company used to print this door poster back in 2004.
Spotted on one of my rounds and was amazed it was still going strong after 19 years.
Too many families across Sheffield don’t feel safe. And, too often, when things go wrong no one comes and nothing is done.
We need more neighbourhood police to make our streets safe.
Sign our petition here.
Conversion Therapy is brutal and amounts to torture of vulnerable people. The idea that there are those in parliament that still believes that it should be legal is disgusting.
@miriam_cates
should be ashamed and I am going to enjoy helping kick her out at the next GE.
EXCL: Latest reports that PM will drop conversion therapy ban follow intense lobbying by
@miriam_cates
who wrote to Tory MPs:
“This Bill will anger our base, split the party and effectively put a Stonewall charter into law. We have a matter of days to persuade No 10 to pull it.”
Ironically a council meeting about standards stopped me doing polling day in a by-election caused by a lack of them.
But I am here on the phones for
@EmmaMidBeds
A year ago today,
@HelenMorganMP
was elected to Parliament on the back of a huge swing to the Lib Dems in North Shropshire.
Helen has been fantastic on championing access to emergency healthcare in rural areas whilst the government collapses.
Here's to another year!
Happy Pride Month!
The last Labour government did more to advance LGBT+ equality than any other in British history.
My Labour government will build on the positive legacy of the last to advance LGBT+ rights.
This "campaigning" thing is great isn't it!
Off to a flying start in Stannington with
@TraffordLibDems
talking to hundreds of people and delivering thousands of leaflets.
(I promised I wouldn't tell the Stockport lot they were here!)
Thank you so much to the residents of East Ecclesfield for electing me as one of their councillors for the next four years.
It is an honour to be representing you in the city.
Thank you also to Vic Bowden for her commitment to the area since 1994, I have big shoes to fill
Getting by-election ready with a trim at The Golden Scissors in Hillsborough.
A cooler head and a more aerodynamic style, according to various studies, increases leaflet delivery rates by 7.354%
@politicaltrims
Canvassing is a great opportunity to pick up issues that affect the local community, like this water main that burst literally 15 minutes before I arrived.
Channeling my inner
@markpack
, I took a photo and reported it to
@YorkshireWater
I need help.
Unbeknownst to me before today, due to my dad not thinking of telling me, my granny was a Liberal/Lib Dem Cllr in Cambridge in the 1980s.
Is there any way of me finding out more about her work on the council?
I am going to a few shout outs over the next few days to champion the Lib Dems across the country that are either the single Lib Dem candidate in the area or part of a small group.
The first is Helen Jane Miller-Viney standing alone in Tamworth.
🫡
Labour in Sheffield abstains from an amendment that calls for the end of the two-child cap on benefits.
Are they worried that voting for it might annoy their bosses in London?
Great to be out in the sun delivering leaflets and chatting with the residents of Parson Cross about how Alan and the Lib Dems can help them build stronger and safer communities.
It was Paddy and Charles that helped me come to the conclusion, post 2015, that there was a liberal party in the UK that was worth fighting for.
Rest in Peace.
Paddy Ashdown was my political hero. He was a mentor and a dear friend.
Paddy would have been so proud to see the Liberal Democrats winning again in the West Country and I wish he had been there for our victory in Somerton and Frome in July.
Five years on, we still miss him.
The liberal alternative to Labour's austere attitude should be building stuff and investment.
But laying track and building houses isn't ambitious enough. The state can, and should, take risks on supporting blue sky thinking.
My contribution to conference at the weekend.
100,000 ethnic Armenians were forced to flee as part of this "liberation". Experts have described it as a crime against humanity.
David Lammy should be asked to resign over these comments.
🚨 NEW: Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said Azerbaijan has ‘liberated’ land lost in the 1990’s and compared the country to Ukraine’s war against Russia
In 2023, Azerbaijan invaded the Nagorno-Karabakh region, displacing its majority ethnically Armenian population
Another autistic person helped get me, an autistic person, into politics. But that is a long and complicated story I shall tell another time.
Neurodivergent and autistic people have a different and valuable view on society that needs to be heard. Which is why I am involved.
Today, on
#WorldAutismAwarenessDay
we celebrate our differences and advocate an inclusive, supportive world for individuals with autism and their families.
We will always champion acceptance, embrace diversity and appreciate autistic people as valued members of our communities.
We need a more engaging type of politics, not one that just points and says "Vote for me because I'm not them"
I got into politics because I was annoyed and I wanted to give people a chance to vote for real hope and a
#FairDeal
My short chat with
@CharanpreetTV
and
@itvcalendar
Some thoughts on
@LibDemConf
now that I am back home and had time to process my first in person conference.
This is going to be semi chronological to the proceedings of the weekend but might take a tangent here or there.
I will also be adding stuff over the next few days.