Bridget nominated as Internet Hero

Islington campaigner Bridget Fox has been shortlisted as a finalist for the 2010 ISPA Internet Hero award.

The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA UK) has been organising the UK Internet Industry Awards since 1999 to herald the best of the Internet industry and to celebrate innovation and best practice.

The highly-prized Internet Hero award is bestowed upon an organisation or individual who has made a significant contribution to the Internet industry in the past year by the Internet Service Providers Association.

Bridget was nominated for organising a grass roots challenge to the Digital Economy Bill, with its draconian measures on web-blocking and disconnection. Her campaign led to a change in Liberal Democrat party policy, with her party’s MPs voting against the Bill at its third reading.

“The announcement of the Internet Hero and Internet Villain are always eagerly anticipated, and are the highlights of the ISPA award ceremony,” said Nicholas Lansman, ISPA Secretary General. “The Internet, now a major accelerator of the UK economy, has become increasingly a matter of public debate. It is therefore more important than ever to recognise those who have really made a positive impact on this sector.”

The winners will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony hosted at the London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square on Thursday 8th July.

Bridget Fox thanks to supporters

Bridget Fox, the Liberal Democrat candidate, has thanked the many supporters who backed her in Thursday’s election. 14,838 people voted Liberal Democrat in Islington South & Finsbury, more than the winning Labour vote in 2005, in a hard-fought campaign that saw Labour hold the seat.

Speaking at the election count, Bridget said:

“Thank you to the tens of thousands of people who voted Liberal Democrat in Islington.

“Just as five years ago, we have the result that, despite my getting more votes as your Liberal Democrat candidate than ever before, we have come second to Labour, who were helped, perhaps inadvertently, by the Tory votes.

“Although we did not win in Islington, tonight has seen some extraordinary gains for the Liberal Democrats, winning seats from Edinburgh to Eastbourne, from Burnley to Belfast.

“Five years ago, I was the first of Emily Thornberry’s constituents publicly to congratulate her: let me do the same again now. Emily, you have said that being our MP is the best job in the world. Now I ask you, as one of your constituents, to do the best job you can. We do not know who has won nationally, but whoever wins, we know that our country faces tough times. I ask you to work with people of all parties and of none, in the interests of Islington.

“Thank you to my amazing campaign team who worked so hard. I will never regret being part of this campaign, I will never regret being a Liberal Democrat in this election; my only regret is that I did not deliver the result your efforts deserved.

“There is no shame in standing and losing: there is only shame in not caring enough to stand – and no-one could ever accuse Liberal Democrats of not caring.

“I still love Islington and my fellow Islington people, however they choose to vote. And I will continue to serve our community in whatever way I can.”

The full results are here.

Thank you – now remember to vote!

Bridget Fox, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Islington South and Finsbury, has thanked local residents for the fantastic reception she has had while out campaigning in recent weeks.

Bridget, who finished just 484 votes behind the Labour candidate at the last election, has been out meeting residents daily with a large team of volunteers.

Bridget described the experience in a letter to local people:

‘I’ve really enjoyed calling around local homes in the last few weeks. It’s been really great to meet old friends and make so many new ones!

‘Working with local people and local organisations to get a better deal for our area is what makes it all worthwhile for me.’

Voters have been flocking to back Bridget.

Lyssa Barber of Canonbury said, “We now have Bridget Fox campaigning to represent us in the most heartfelt and public way. She has impressed all round and I will gladly be adding my vote to the many others on May 6.”

Aaron Savage of Kings Cross adds, “I’ve been a habitual Labour voter all my life and never voted anything but Labour in the past. It is clear that something completely new is needed in our politics and I think that Bridget Fox and the Liberal Democrats are the only ones placed to deliver that.”

Polls are open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 6 May. Full information on how to take part is available from Islington Council.

Whittington A&E safe – for now

Bridget Fox and Islington Liberal Democrats are saying a big thank you to local people after the future of the A&E and maternity units at Whittington Hospital looks to be safe – for now.

Thousands of local people marched with the Lib Dems against the cuts Labour were planning at our local hospital. Many more signed the petition that Bridget and the Lib Dems handed in to 10 Downing Street.

In an 11th hour move, that some local people have called a cynical bid for re-election, Labour have finally joined Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg in a pledge to secure the future of our hospital.

Bridget Fox said: “This is a great example of what our community can achieve when we work together. I’m absolutely delighted that myself and the local Lib Dems were able to play a part in saving these vital health services.”

Lib Dem leadership chooses Islington South & Finsbury to launch General Election manifesto

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg MP joined Bridget Fox to launch the general election manifesto in Islington South & Finsbury

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg MP led other high profile MPs in launching the general election manifesto in the ultra-marginal seat of Islington South & Finsbury today, boosting local candidate Bridget Fox’s campaign.

Nick was joined by Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable at the manifesto launch held at Bloomberg in Finsbury Square, where the key buzzword was “fairness.”

The manifesto, which is the only fully costed of all the main political parties’, centres around 4 main themes: Fair taxes, that put money back in your pocket; a fair chance for every child, a fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener and a fair deal, by cleaning up politics.

Vince Cable MP spoke about the “elephant in the room,” referring to himself as “The Elephant Man,” as the only Treasury specialist to be honest and upfront about the deficit and what we need to do to tackle it and get Britain back on its feet.

Party leader Clegg pledged to use the money saved by scrapping the ID card system to put 3000 more police back on our streets. University tuition fees would be scaled out for students whilst older people would benefit from the state pension increasing in line with inflation every year.

Immigration would be clamped down on with tightened border and exit controls and the climate would benefit from green jobs made necessary by the building of new, greener industry and public buildings.
Young people out of work for 90 days would be offered paid training or work and getting back to work would be financially incentivised for people currently claiming benefits.

Crucially, tax loopholes currently exploited by big businesses and the very wealthy would be closed, saving the country around £40 billion a year. This money would be used to cut the deficit and get Britain’s books balanced again so our economy and citizens can thrive.

Bridget Fox said: I am honoured that Nick and Vince chose Islington South & Finsbury to launch the manifesto. Their support means a great deal and it’s great to have the endorsement of the party leadership.
The launch was exciting, especially as it’s a manifesto I feel we can be proud of. We are the only party to have done the sums to show how we would pay for our aims, including taking the lowest paid earners out of paying any tax at all.

Nick also pledged that savings in the NHS would be made by cutting the salaries of the big chiefs, who earn more than the Prime Minister, so that no A&E and maternity departments would be closed-in line with our campaign to save the Whittington.

The pledges in this manifesto will resonate with people in Islington South and Finsbury, where people know their only choice is the same old, tired Labour party or fresh change and fairness under the Liberal Democrats.

Bridget launches General Election campaign with fight for fairness

Islington South & Finsbury Liberal Democrat challenger Bridget Fox launched her General Election campaign with a call for fairness.

Bridget, who came just 484 votes behind Labour at the last election, began the campaign with a busy programme of visits, including a tour of Finsbury Health Centre with Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb MP.

Bridget is fighting on the Liberal Democrat programme of four steps to a fairer Britain:

Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket
The first £10,000 you earn tax-free: a tax cut of £700 for most people
3.6 million low earners and pensioners freed from income tax completely
Paid for in full by closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the wealthy and polluters

A fair future creating jobs by making Britain greener
Break up the banks and get them lending again to protect real businesses
Honesty about the tough choices needed to cut the deficit
Green growth and jobs that last by investing in infrastructure

A fair chance for every child
Ensure children get the individual attention they need by cutting class sizes
Made possible by investing £2.5 billion in schools targeted to help struggling pupils
Give schools the freedom to make the right choices for their pupils

A fair deal by cleaning up politics
Put trust back into politics by giving you the right to sack corrupt MPs
Restore and protect hard-won British civil liberties with a Freedom Bill
Overhaul Westminster completely: fair votes, an elected House of Lords, all politicians to pay full British taxes

Bridget says: “People in Islington have been let down by Labour for years. We’ve had 65 years of Labour and Conservative Governments taking it in turns to make the same old mistakes over and over again.

“A Conservative vote in Islington will just help Labour cling on. The choice in this election is between more of the same with Labour and the Conservatives or real change with the Liberal Democrats.”

Bridget rallies crowds at Stop Disconnection Demo

Islington South & Finsbury’s Liberal Democrat parliamentary campaigner Bridget Fox joined writer Cory Doctorow and rebel MPs as one of the speakers at the Stop Disconnection Demo organised by the Open Rights Group.

Bridget has led a successful campaign within the Liberal Democrats to oppose the worst provision of Labour’s Digital Economy Bill which includes controversial measures to enforce web-blocking and internet disconnection.

Hundreds of protestors demonstrated against the disconnection measures at Westminster this week, and heard Jim Killock of the Open Rights Group praise Bridget’s work.

Bridget told the crowd how the Liberal Democrat conference had voted against web-blocking, against disconnection, and in defence of free access to the internet.

Bridget said:

“I started out campaigning for Freedom of Information under a Conservative government; now I find myself campaigning for free access to information against a Labour government. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and I want to thank you all for your vigilance in defence of our freedoms today.

“When someone dies we go through a cycle of emotions, from grief, through anger, to acceptance. As Liberal Democrats, when we see our freedoms killed off by this Government, we are aggrieved and we are angry, but we will never accept it.”

Bridget supports RNID’s campaign to raise awareness about hearing loss

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Campaigner Bridget Fox visited Finsbury-based RNID to hear about the work they are doing to raise awareness of the issues around hearing loss, and their campaign to make sure no-one with hearing loss loses out.

Bridget said:

“Hearing loss can affect anyone, no matter how old they are.

“The RNID do sterling work to campaign against the stigma associated with hearing loss and to encourage the Government to fund research into cures. They help people to adjust if they do suffer from hearing loss and provide advice for employers to break down the barriers people with hearing loss face.”

Read the full story here.

Bridget joins peers and performers in calls for more debate on Digital Economy Bill

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary campaigner for Islington South & Finsbury, Bridget Fox, has written an open letter, published in the Guardian, calling for more debate on the controversial Digital Economy Bill.

The Bill, backed by Labour and Conservatives, has attracted criticism for its measures allowing web-blocking and internet disconnection.

Bridget led a campaign within the Liberal Democrats leading to a motion condemning parts of the Bill being passed at her party’s conference earlier this month.

The digital economy bill is highly controversial. We believe that it threatens to severely infringe fundamental human rights, by allowing the disconnection of internet accounts for alleged copyright infringement, and also by new “website blocking” laws that could result in new ways to suppress free speech and legitimate activity. There are also dangers to business, through restrictions on provision on open wifi networks, that could damage our economy.

But our worry today is that none of this will be properly debated by parliament. Last week, Harriet Harman MP failed to give the Commons any reassurances that this bill would be properly scrutinised by our elected MPs. Democracy and accountability will be sidestepped if this bill is rushed through and amended without debate.

For these reasons we are writing to ask that those most controversial parts of the bill – covering “technical measures” and court orders for website blocking – either be properly debated, or be taken out of the bill and subjected to genuine democratic scrutiny in a new parliament.

Bridget tells Amnesty audience “Let Them Work”

Bridget Fox has attacked Government policy on refugees as dehumanising, and called for refugees and asylum-seekers to be allowed to earn a living while their cases are considered.

Bridget spoke alongside Jeremy Corbyn MP in support of the Let Them Work campaign at the Asylum in the UK event organised by the Islington and Hackney group of Amnesty International.

Bridget told the packed meeting in Highbury Baptist Church:

“It’s shameful that asylum seekers are kept in poverty, even criminalised, instead of being allowed to work; meanwhile the dehumanising bureaucracy takes years to process their cases while costing us all a fortune. If they were allowed to work, then asylum seekers, many of them highly-educated, could support themselves and their families, put their skills to service in society, and pay taxes.

“Jeremy Corbyn may agree with the Liberal Democrats on this: unfortunately his Government does not.”

Read the full story here.