Hastings and Rye Liberal Democrats

About Nick Perry

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesman for Hastings and Rye

Educated at Cambridge and London Universities, Nick read History for his first degree. Following a period living and working in Cambridge, Nick moved to London where he worked in the anti-poverty lobby. Nick went on to train as a social worker, qualifying with a masters degree in social work in 2002. He has held different social work, policy and research positions, working mainly with older adults, and in adult mental health settings.

Nick's passion for social justice has shaped his approach to politics. He first became involved with the Lib Dems in the London Borough of Lambeth - one of the most diverse and disadvantaged boroughs in the country - where he was appointed an advisor to the Lib Dem Group. He went on to become the Group's spokesperson on social justice and tackling poverty.

Nick has always wanted to live by the sea and his move to Hastings in 2007 was a dream come true. Nick lives on the West Hill with his family, and works as a senior practitioner social worker in the local community mental health team.

Hailing from St Helens, he is a committed supporter of his home town rugby league team. He also enjoys cooking, spending time with friends and family, swimming and jazz.

• Feb 3, 2012:
  • Nick petitions to keep St Mary in the Castle as an arts centre
    

    Labour Councillors have failed to secure the future of St Mary in the Castle as an arts centre

    Please sign our petition here:

    http://har0ld.org.uk/en/petition/i-want-st-mary-in-the-castle-to-be-kept-as-an-arts-centre

    
    
  • Nick blasts Labour and announces intention to run for Council
    

    Labour Councillors have failed to secure the future of St Mary in the Castle as an arts centre

    Nick Perry, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye, has announced that he intends to run for election to Hastings Borough Council on 3 May this year.

    Nick, who was his party's candidate at the 2010 General Election said to The Observer,

    "There are local and national reasons for wanting to be selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Castle - the ward where I live and work.

    "The failure of Labour Councillors to secure the future of St Mary in the Castle as an Arts Centre, the unbelievably poor treatment of the fantastic Barbara Rogers, and Labour's lack of a credible and integrated tourism strategy for Hastings and St Leonards number among the local reasons."

    Nick lives on the West Hill with his family and has been involved for a number of years with ward-based organisations like the Castle Ward Forum and WHAC - West Hill Against Communal Bins.

    He also cited national politics as a reason for deciding to run:

    "I am sick and tired of Labour's hypocrisy about the cuts. The Leader of Hastings Borough Council takes no responsibility whatever for Labour's failure in Government; he blames the Coalition for a reduced central grant, and by extension the Borough's failure to improve its position in the deprivation league tables. At the same time, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls are saying at a national level that the cuts are necessary and they won't reverse them. This is economic irresponsibility of the worst kind.

    "Finally, I am determined to do all I can to expose the control-freak tendencies of the Labour leadership on the Council. The recent decision to get rid of the Chief Executive and give the Leader more power should have been a decision for the full Council, not just Cllr Birch and his cronies.

    "The Conservatives, by the way, are offering nothing of value. I am sorry to say that the Conservative Group and its invisible leader are to Hastings politics what Anne Widdecombe is to ballroom dancing.

    "At a national level the country is benefitting from Liberal Democrat determination to combine economic responsibility with fairness. So in Hastings we need committed, co-operative and caring councillors, and that's what I will be if I am elected in May."

    If you would like to help in the campaign to get Nick elected please make contact here:

    http://nickperrylibdem.wordpress.com/join-the-team/

    
    
• Jan 26, 2012:
  • I am proud to have been a signatory urging Nick to accept the Lords' amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill

    As reported in The Guardian today, more than 50 of us 2010 parliamentary candidates have signed a letter to Nick Clegg urging the party to accept the recent Lords' amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill.

    Read the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/26/welfare-lib-dems-nick-clegg

    
    
• Jan 2, 2012:
  • All the very best for 2012…

    Here's hoping it's a great year for the constituency.

    
    
• Dec 12, 2011:
  • Has the Tory EU veto sunk our fishermen?
    

    Nick delivered a 4,000-strong petition in support of our fishermen

    Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye, has spoken of his concerns that the Prime Minister's decision to use his veto at last week's EU summit may scupper attempts to get a fairer deal for local fishermen.

    Nick, who presented a 4,000 signature petition demanding fairer quotas for the under-10m fleet to Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP soon after the formation of the Coalition, said:

    "I have been cautiously optimistic about the progress that has been made by our Lib Dem MEPs at Brussels, and by the efforts of Amber and the DEFRA Select Committee in partnership with local fishermen. I particularly welcomed the Select Committee's visit to Hastings last week. But all this work may come to nothing if Britain loses its voice in key EU negotiations.

    "We know how well the French and the Spanish advocate for their inshore fleets when the crunch comes. We need Britain to have more clout not less as the Common Fisheries Policy is reformed. I am afraid that Mr Cameron has signally failed to anticipate various unintended consequences for his veto. I only hope that our fishermen will not lose out because of it."

    
    
• Dec 5, 2011:
  • Lib Dem influence has secured £1bn for Youth Contract
    

    Campaigning with Vince Cable: Cable & Clegg have secured £1bn to help our young people

    Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye, has welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement that he has secured £1bn to address the real and pressing problem of youth unemployment in the UK.

    Nick said, "I know that for many local families there are real fears at the moment about our children's prospects. Nick Clegg and Lib Dem ministers have battled hard with the Conservatives to ensure that there will be 400,000 more jobs created over the next three years, and 250,000 new work experience placements. We must make sure that Hastings & Rye benefits from this additional funding."

    Read more here

    .

    
    
• Nov 14, 2011:
  • I'm shocked that there are vacancies at Finding Futures
    

    Nick and Philippa White post the letter to Lib Dem Minister Sarah Teather MP

    Here's the press release:

    Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has expressed his concern that a local project funded to help excluded and hard to reach young people has 50% vacancies, despite the high levels of need and disadvantage in the town.

    Finding Futures, part of the Brighton Housing Trust family of organisations, hit the local news recently after winning a Heritage Lottery grant of £500,000. However, four out of its eight intensive support places are still available, despite schools being over half way through the first term of the academic year.

    Nick Perry says this is not right, and may herald potential problems with Pupil Premium funding - calculated to deliver an extra £1.5m of Government spending for Hastings & Rye young people:

    "I am determined to support projects like Finding Futures to work with as many excluded and disadvantaged young people as they can. That is why I have written to Sarah Teather MP, the Lib Dem Minister for Children & Families, to ensure that the Government is very aware of the practical obstacles that can arise, even though it has earmarked money for the hardest to reach. This money must follow these learners, and I will work to make sure that it does," he said.

    The news comes as Hastings Borough Council prepares to launch a campaign in the New Year to create 100 apprenticeships in 100 days. Nick added,

    "I am delighted that Hastings Borough Council is taking up Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne, Stephen Lloyd's idea. Eastbourne businesses managed 182 apprenticeships in 100 days. I hope we will be beating Eastbourne's tally - not least to see the look on my good friend Stephen's face!"

    
    
• Nov 3, 2011:
  • Shirley Williams has led Lib Dem efforts to protect the NHS

    The Guardian newspaper has reported this week on Lib Dem efforts in the House of Lords to maintain the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health to provide a comprehensive national health service.

    Follow this link for the full article by Randeep Ramesh.

    Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye said,

    "As a health professional, I am very proud of the way that Shirley Williams has fought for a cross-party consensus to protect what is great about our NHS."

    
    
• Oct 19, 2011:
  • Hastings & Rye Pupil Premium will be £1.5m

    Liberal Democrats have always believed that education is the engine of social mobility; now we are delivering on this within the Coalition.

    Last week the Government released the final Pupil Premium figures for every English local authority, constituency and school. Lib Dem Minister Sarah Teather MP announced that every school will receive an extra £488 for each child on free school meals they have on their roll.

    Schools in our constituency are getting an extra £1.548m from the Pupil Premium to improve the education of the most disadvantaged children.

    The Pupil Premium is a policy Liberal Democrats devised and campaigned for, and put at the heart of the Coalition negotiations. Now it is more than good policy, it is a reality making a difference to the school down your road. It goes directly into classrooms and will benefit all pupils.

    It is also a milestone in breaking the link between poverty and achievement, tackling Labour's shocking legacy where the richest 16-year olds are three times as likely to get five good GCSEs as the poorest.

    Nick Perry, parliamentary spokesperson for Hastings & Rye welcomed the news -

    'At the General Election Liberal Democrats made clear our commitment to increasing Education funding for the children in our communities experiencing poverty and social exclusion.

    'I hope that this Pupil Premium money for Hastings & Rye children will encourage teachers, parents and students that the needs of the most disadvantaged will continue to be prioritised and promoted by us, within Government. There's no doubt that we still have a lot of work to do if we are going to meet the national target of eradicating child poverty by 2020. I know that colleagues in the parliamentary party are determined to stay on course to meet this target.'

    
    
• Sep 24, 2011:
  • WHAC gears up for another fight with Hastings Borough Council

    West Hill Against Communal Bins - or WHAC as the acronym has it - has re-assembled and fears that another fight with Hastings Borough Council is on the cards.

    Back in April 2009, WHAC won a famous victory for People Power when the then Conservative-run Council decided that it was not going to introduce communal bins on the West Hill after all. See this link for the story that the Hastings Observer wrote at the time.

    Now it seems that Hastings Borough Council again want to change the system for refuse collection and recycling on the West Hill, and have already started to worry residents that they will not be consulted in a proper and meaningful way.

    I went to the Vicarage Road meeting of WHAC on Thursday evening. Residents are very cross.

    We have set up a Facebook Page here - please sign up in support and pass the message on to any West Hill residents you know who will be concerned too.