Its awards season at the moment and last week the focus shifted to Europe where the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe held its annual LeaDeR (Liberal Democrat Regional and Local Politicians) Awards. Two British Liberal Democrats were successful.
The first was Cllr David Tutt, Lib Dem group leader of East Sussex County Council and leader of Eastbourne Borough Council who had been nominated for the Achievements in Government prize by MEP Catherine Bearder. He won for:
…his visible leadership in having put core liberal values of innovation, forward-thinking and opportunity into action in transforming what was officially the worst Council in the south-east of England into one widely recognised as among the very best in the country.
Catherine explained why she nominated David:
David has worked tirelessly in Eastbourne to ensure the town continues to go from strength to strength and when I heard about the awards I was delighted to put David’s name forward as I know the huge impact his work is having on the Eastbourne community.
David is now a winner, just as he’s made Eastbourne a winner.
When David took over the leadership of the council it was recognised by the National Audit Office as being in a state of serious financial instability, now a third of Councils across England have visited Eastbourne to see the improvement programme in action.
David said:
I am delighted to have received this award for Achievement in Government. It reflects the work that the Liberal Democrat administration have done to transform the Council from being to judged the worst in the South East to one which is frequently visited by other Local Authorities who are seeking to copy our work.
The changes have improved the service which Eastbourne provides to the local community whilst absorbing cuts in Government expenditure and freezing Council Tax for 4 years.
In addition, the Lifetime Achievement Award was won by Lord Graham Tope for:
his dedicated work with liberal democrats throughout decades, during which he campaigned for a community that takes pride in participatory democracy and has direct communication with the leadership of the Council
Congratulations to both David and Graham.