Andrew and Roger Reeves cutting their wedding cake.
Stephen Glenn posted earlier in the week about the Total Politics Blog Awards. Having been somewhat busy this week and also under the weather I only got told about his post when he and I were talking this morning about a project of ours. So, I quote:
Yeah it is that time of year where I have to decide whether I should be upfront and blatant of like Uriah Heep and ever so humble. This year for the Total Politics Blog Awards I have have no such qualms.
Yeah I’ve lost a great friend and the world has lost a great blogger. Many of my readers will probably also have been readers of Andrew’s blog either because you follow me since I’m a fellow Lib Dem, spent time in Scotland or are a fellow politico. If you did you should also have been aware of Andrew Reeves’ blog. If not Caron has a good summation of what he covered over the last year until his untimely death in early June. As she says “Andrew wrote punchy, pugnacious posts which made their point with all the subtlety of a pneumatic drill.” The most fitting tribute I could have for him is to finish behind him for the first time in the Total Politics Blog Rankings.
So follow the link the survey you have to fill in at least 5 blogs for your vote to count but you can vote for 10. Just remember.
I’m just in from Liberal Drinks in Belfast. Ian Walton from the Welsh Liberal Democrats so it was a reason to meet up, but part of the evening was a memory of Andrew Reeves of which four of the five present had something in common.
Myself you know about from the recent time we both spent in Scotland, Pam Tilson from her time in London, Ian also from his time there and of course in his current role in Cardiff, and Michael as he and Andrew both were part of the stewarding team at Federal Conference. The other person present was of course Michael’s Andrew.
We toasted our mutual friend, told stories of times we shared with Andrew and thought of what Andrew would have done, plus got on with catching up with each others news.
Even though we couldn’t be at the Joseph Pearce in Edinburgh we were part of the outpouring of lovce for Andrew. At this point we could all almost hear Andrew saying, “That’s enough sitting around, get up, get out and get on with telling people why we’re Lib Dems.” as he would often be heard to say on any campaign he was involved with. And that is what the five of us intend to do.
I woke up this morning to hear the tragic news that the man who changed the course of my life 7 months ago had tragically passed away.
It was Andrew Reeves, the Director of Campaigns for the Scottish Lib Dems, who when asked did he know of any good campaigners who could front up the Yes! to Fairer Votes campaign in Northern Ireland immediately thought of me and told me to apply. Of course in the four all too short years that I have really gotten to know Andrew much of that time was spent on the campaign trail, it was his job after all and my passion (until recent months when thanks to him it became my job too). It started in Glasgow East, when I myself was just returning to full campaign mode. Yet somehow I still managed a day of tenement mountaineering without any adverse health issues. That was the campaign that Stephen was back.
There followed Glenrothes, Glasgow NE, the European Election and last years General Election of course. The late night strategy meetings in Glenrothes always happened around the dart board. I was sometimes there waiting for Caron to give me a lift back, aware that the achieving a score wasn’t always as important as throwing the dart as hard as possible in the general direction of the board.
Andrew had set up his blog as Andrew’s Running Blog before he had come to Scotland. The aim was to get him into shape to run the Great North Run. Health was an issue that Andrew would visit time and again on his blog. Having lost his mother 6 weeks after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009, he chose her Birthday this year to be the day that he got married to his long time partner Roger.
But his own health was also something he fought hard for. He knew that having a sedentary life wasn’t helpful to him, so when he could he would get to the gym, walk (preferably with a bundle of leaflets in this hands). It was his approach that even though he was leading the campaign he still needed to get out and walk to keep some motion going that led me to due just the same at least once a week during the Yes! campaign. I even was on a conference call once while out and about delivering off the Falls Road in the rain.
For a while there were just three regular prominent Scottish Lib Dem bloggers, him, Caron and I. We could on occasion all take the same story and tell it in a different way that was our styles. We also could each get away with saying things in certain way because of our positions in the party and occasionally one of us knew that one of the other two was the better person to put something out there, so the idea was spread. Many of the rest of the Scottish blogosphere knew that while there only the three of us that didn’t lead to a lack of quality or quantity. Yesterday he was on about the E.Coli in Spanish and German cucumbers in a typical Andrewesque way. It seems strange to think that I will never again read a new blog post from him again.
My frequent visits into Scottish Headquarters at Clifton Terrace in recent years were always greeted with some sort of put down from Mr Reeves. For years before I was actually selected again for Linithgow and East Falkirk he would refer to me as the Potential Prospect Parliamentary Candidate PPPC rather than PPC for the seat. The case being that if Gordon Brown were to suddenly want to secure a mandate I would be willing to stand again for the seat. I was one less seat for them to worry about in a hurry. While of course he wouldn’t always have a smile on his face, he did sometimes have to be serious after all, there was always a sense that he would or could crack a joke to lighten the mood at any point.
Andrew was only a little over a year older than me, taken at the tragically young age of 43. The last words he said to me as I was leaving Scottish Conference in March were, “Go back there and win this thing, then we can talk about it next time your over.” sadly that chat will not be taking place. He was man with an immense heart for the party, for campaigning, for those he knew. Sadly this morning that heart gave way.
My thoughts are with Roger, who had to work in the recent days off that Andrew had been enjoying, therefore missing too many of what were unknown to be some of the last quality hours for his husband. Also to all the team in Clifton Terrace who have lost someone who’s motivation and passion will be hard to replace. To all my colleagues, friends and fellow campaigners, not just in Scotland but everywhere who were touched by this man that so many of us today know we have lost a dear friend.
Andrew with Katy Gordon and me out campaigning in 2009
The openly gay MP for St Austell & Newquay, sent the following message:
Today is a really important day to raise awareness, raise money for HIV/AIDS, and to show our support for those with the illness.
Despite recent medical advances, HIV/AIDS remains a life-limiting illness and we still have a huge way to go to tackle it.
I urge everyone to join me today in support of the work of charities such as the Terrence Higgins Trust and RED to help those at home and across the world.
There are vigils and events around the UK to commemorate the day. LGBT Lib Dems will be present at events in Manchester, London, and elsewhere.
Stephen also tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in the House of Commons calling on Her Majesty’s Government to end the ban on gay and bisexual men, and their partners, being blood donors.
Stephen Gilbert said:
As an openly gay Member of Parliament, I am a passionate believer that we must end this ridiculous and situation where law is based on stigma not science. This is one important area where true equal rights still don’t exist for LGBT people and that must change.
Technological and scientific advances mean that this unsound ban just isn’t fit for the 21st Century. It’s time to reviewed this outdated legislation and allow science and common sense to prevail.
The text of the EDM reads:
That this House notes with concern that men who are openly gay or bisexual are barred for life from donating blood; further notes that the regulations which call for this life ban have been in place since the 1980s in response to the HIV pandemic and have not been updated since, despite greater understanding of the disease; further notes that New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Japan and Australia currently allow gay and bisexual men to give blood; believes that policy on blood donation, individual exclusion and time limits thereupon should be based on science not stigma; and calls on the Government to introduce an evidence-based approach to allow as many people as possible, regardless of their sexuality, safely to donate blood.
Please write to your MP to ask them to sign this EDM to highlight and support this important issue.
Lynne Featherstone MP
Minister for Equalities has made a video…
She has asked that everyone takes the ‘Count Me In’ Pledge.
I will know my HIV status,
I will not assume I know someone else’s HIV status,
I will take personal responsibility for using condoms,
I will value myself and my health and,
I will stay informed about HIV and how it is spread.
Stephen Williams MP
Stephen Williams MP
MP for Bristol West said:
Like millions of people around the world, I am wearing my red ribbon for World Aids Day. Over the last 6 years I have worked with a variety of Aids related charities, most notably the Terrance Higgins Trust, on several HIV issues both in Bristol and in Westminster.
I have constantly spoken up for the need for proper sex and relationships education in schools, for affordable anti-retro viral drugs for Africa and for access for treatment for asylum seekers in Britain.
Today I used the rare opportunity of a question to the Prime Minister to ask David Cameron about the coalition government’s plans to combat HIV. The answer is that we are doing a lot, at home and abroad. Yesterday’s launch of the Public Health White Paper signals a new approach to public health, often the cinderella of the NHS. And abroad, we will be the first major country to hit 0.7% of GDP on overseas aid, much of which will benefit public health programmes in the developing world.
I have just had a baby and I was tested automatically for HIV during my pregnancy. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that extending such automatic testing could play a valuable role in identifying cases very early so that people can receive the treatment that, as he said, will not only help them with their own medical needs, but prevent them from spreading the condition?
Will the hon. Gentleman also suggest that we need to tackle the stereotypes about the kind of person who might have HIV? That is one issue for people who do not go to their doctor, or who do go but whose GP does not pick up on it. As Pauline Latham mentioned earlier, GPs may not think that a middle-aged, heterosexual white woman is likely to be HIV-positive. We need to tackle those stereotypes.
Tim Farron MP, President Elect of the Liberal Democrats
boarded the Stop AIDS Campaign bus outside Parliament this week to show his support for the effort to bring an end to children being born with HIV by 2015.
Commenting afterwards, Tim said:
It is important we mark World AIDS Day however we can. Last year 400,000 babies were born with HIV or contracted it through their mother’s breast milk. But there are simple and affordable medicines to prevent this. We’re asking the Government to support the campaign for an AIDS-free generation born in 2015.
The Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria has saved nearly six million lives since its creation in 2002 and if fully funded, could ensure virtually all babies are born HIV free by 2015.
Diarmaid McDonald, Coordinator of the Stop AIDS Campaign said,
The UK could lead the world in ending children being born with HIV by 2015. By giving its fair share to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria the government could make this incredible goal possible. I’m delighted by Tim’s support for our campaign.
Michael Carchrie Campbell
Here in Northern Ireland, I came out on my other blog Gyronny Herald as a person living with HIV.
I gave the example of how one person can start to help to break the stigma of living with HIV.
Unsurprisingly given my job and other interests, I was at a political conference a few weeks ago. I was talking to a friend, who was also in attendance. He was asking what I was doing with my life, I told him that I was still working for my boss two days a week. He asked what I did the rest of the time.
I said:
“I help out down at The HIV Support Centre in Belfast. I’m a Trustee there.”
He asked:
“Is there much need of that, here?” “Well, going on last year’s figures, there are about two people diagnosed in Belfast each week.”
“That’s bad.” “Do you know anyone living with HIV?”
“No, I don’t.”
I stretched out my hand, he shook it, and I said,
“Hello, my name’s Michael, and I am living with HIV – you do now.”
My friend was rather stumped for words. But he then asked about how I was coping, and he said that I looked really well, and that I was coping well.
Here in Northern Ireland one of the best ways that you can support people living with HIV is by supporting our own local HIV-specific charity, The HIV Support Centre, which is based in Belfast. As a trustee and as a client there I know the work that they do is vital. Many have gone there when they think all is lost, when they think that their lives are over, and the staff and clients there help to turn them around, set them back on the road to better health, and to sorting out their own mental health when they learn the often devastating news that they are HIV positive.
If you would like to be support The HIV Support Centre, I know that they welcome donations not only of money, but of time, as well. Please visit their website to see how you can make a difference.
