North Northumberland CLP Honoured at Labour North Regional Awards
Representatives of the CLP recently attended the Labour North Members’ Awards Dinner, held in Durham, and celebrating the achievements of local parties across the region. With some special guests and our CLP bringing home two prestigious awards, a fantastic time was had by all.
A fantastic evening for all
On a unseasonably warm February evening, party members from across the North East & Cumbria gathered in Durham for the Labour North Member’s Awards Dinner. The evening kicked off with welcome drinks, catching up with friends old and new, and then finding our way to our tables. A team of 10 CLP members from North Northumberland came together to dine and discuss our achievements, reflections and plans for the months ahead.
Special guests were in our midst – during dinner, we were fortunate to receive a warm welcome from Mary Kelly Foy MP, before fantastic speeches from Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Kim McGuinness, North East Regional Mayor. The speeches helped us look back on all our hard work and achievements, reflect on the progress the Labour Government has made in just 8 months, and recommit ourselves to work even harder for local people and communities, to continue our drive for change in the upcoming Local Elections in 2025.
In the Chancellor’s Speech, attention was paid to North Northumberland, and our new hard-working MP David Smith. The local party and volunteers on the ground were recognised in achieving a fantastic result for the Labour Party in an area not typically regarded as a Labour stronghold. The unwavering commitment of David Smith, and of our volunteers – getting out into the community, listening, and working on behalf of local people has been absolutely key in allowing David to represent us in parliament – so to all involved, thank you so much for your support.
‘So honoured to receive this recognition tonight. It really is a team effort, and I have huge support from those around me to deliver for the CLP.’
Adelina McLeod
CLP Chair
The Awards
When it came to the awards, the hard work of our volunteers and officials across North Northumberland CLP didn’t go unrecognised. The CLP won two awards, one of the highest totals across the region, for our hard work in delivering for local members and our achievements in campaigns.
Campaign Innovation Award
We were very fortunate as a CLP to be awarded the ‘Campaign Innovation’ award, for our work in campaigning for David Smith to be elected as our MP in the 2024 General Election. The amazing teamwork from a myriad of supporters and volunteers allowed us to support David to achieve a majority of 5,067 at the count.1
This wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic support of everyone across the constituency and even further afield, giving time, donations, and resources to help support us. A huge amount of recognition is due for Vicky Oakley, our Campaign Co-ordinator who spearheaded the movement. The key focus of our campaign was speaking to as many people as possible and listening, demonstrating our empathetic, transparent, open and honest approach to democratic representation. In our opinion, David Smith is a fantastic example of all these qualities, and his commitment has been evident throughout the campaign, and his time as our MP.
CLP Officer of the Year
Adelina McLeod was co-awarded CLP Officer of the Year by Chi Onwurah MP, alongside members from other constituencies. Addy has worked tirelessley for the constituency party after taking on the role of Secretary just last January, in 2024. From this point Addy has worked to completely reshape the CLP, bringing about changes to organisation, governance, campaigning, fundraising and much more, which were instrumental in supporting David’s campaign throughout the General Election campaign. All this voluntarily, whilst also working as an NHS Consultant Doctor, and a BMA Trade Union Representative!
Adelina has now taken on the role of Chair of the CLP, overseeing the running of the organisation, as we continue to go from success to success, and work on revitalising our branches and grassroots movements, and developing our online, digital and campaigning presence. Thank you so much for all your hard work so far Addy, on behalf of the whole CLP!
A huge congratulations to all those who received awards throughout the region. We look forward to continuing our drive for change with the upcoming Local Elections in May throughout Northumberland.
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References
- UK Parliament: https://members.parliament.uk/constituency/4212/election/422 ↩︎
