Decades of Dedication Recognised

Veteran campaigner and life long Liberal, Elizabeth Shields, 98, has been recognised by the national Liberal Democrat party as the most life experienced living former MP in the country.

Elizabeth was guest of honour at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference held in York, where Party President Josh Babarinde MP paid tribute to her dedication to liberalism over many years before and after her period as an MP in the 1980s.

Josh said: “When she was elected to Parliament, Elizabeth became the first Liberal woman to enter the House of Commons since Megan Lloyd George 57 years before.

“She has spent her life fighting for women’s rights and equality and has never stopped – she is still a serving parish councillor!”

Describing her as a ‘living legend’, Josh went on to thank Elizabeth for everything she has done for the Liberal Democrats and presented her with a bouquet of flowers as she received a standing ovation from the entire conference in her honour.

Speaking after the event Elizabeth said: “I would like to thank everyone for inviting me to the York Conference and for the lovely flowers.

“I enjoyed listening to some of the debates and especially to the Leaders speech. It was also quite something to spend time with Ed Davey after the conference ended, when I had the opportunity to congratulate him on the big increase in Liberal Democrat MPs at the last General Election – especially as a good number of them are women.”

Elizabeth’s day out at the Liberal Democrat Conference at York Barbican was completed by a private meeting with Party Leader, Ed Davey, when she presented him with a table cloth illustrated with leaders of the Liberal Party and they chatted about her time at Westminster.

She added: “I presented him with the tablecloth and suggested he get a new version printed with his image as current leader surrounded by more recent leaders of the party such as Charles Kennedy and David Steel. 

“My dearest wish now is that the Party continues to grow, successfully elects many more Liberal Democrat councillors and MPs across the country, with the ambition of becoming the official opposition at Westminster.”

Cllr Di Keal, who arranged the presentation and accompanied Elizabeth to Conference, said: “It was Elizabeth who recruited me to the Liberal Democrats many years ago and persuaded me to stand for both town and district councils. Her long lasting dedication to the Party and particularly her passion for promoting women in politics is an absolute inspiration.

“She is an Honorary Alderman of Norton on Derwent, which she represented on Ryedale District Council and North Yorkshire Council, and one of her last campaigns was to save the towns library from closure – something for which the community will forever be grateful.”