Reading Liberal Democrats

Jamie Wake is a well known and liked LGBT and community campaigner. We were privileged that when Jamie looked to join a political Party he chose to  join the Liberal Democrats. Jamie wanted to further his involvement in the community by representing them on Reading Borough Council. His has been an asset to our Local Party, taking on additional campaigning work around the whole of Reading on a wide range of issues. Jamie was our Candidate in Whitley in May 2011, and received homophobia from our opposition as a result of his connection with the Greater Reading Liberal Democrats. This behaviour should be unacceptable within our society, especially from a major political Party.

Last month Jamie Wake informed myself, and other key activists in the Local Party, that he would be resigning his membership from the Liberal Democrats. We consider this a great loss, and Jamie shall be missed by many people. We are already feeling his absence from our team. Although no longer officially one of our members, we shall still be working closely with him in order to continue to support Reading’s LGBT community. Jamie has agreed to work with us to advance the motion he put to our AGM in November further in our democratic policy making. His insight into the LGBT community in Reading is invaluable to us. We also look forward to his input about issues that Kennet Island residents put forward, as it still an area of Reading that gets little to no political attention. This is a great injustice to a growing part of our population.

We wish Jamie all the best in his new roles on the committee of the Kennet Island Residents Association and as a Trustee of Reading Pride, an event very close to the hearts of many of our members.

Georgina Hughes
Chair of Greater Reading Liberal Democrats