Julie Smith

I have sought reassurance that the government's controversial replacement for the Educational Maintenance Allowance would help city youngsters from the poorest backgrounds.

On Saturday, I had the chance to ask the government Advocate for Access to Education, Simon Hughes, about the new Learning Support Fund. I strongly believes it is vital to get this right if young people are to be helped to attend colleges such as Cambridge Regional College and Long Road.

Lib Dems from across the East of England converged on Huntingdon on 30th October for the Annual Regional Conference. A packed day included lively debates on Governance in the East of England, Aviation and Tuition fees and contributions from all four of the Region's MPs as well as Ros Scott, Tom McNally and guest speaker, Lorely Burt, MP for Solihull and Chair of the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party. Apart from moving her Chair's Report, fortunately approved unanimously, Julie spoke alongside Norman Lamb on Facing the Future, the Party's Working Group looking at policy-making during this parliament and beyond. At the end of the conference, delegates had the benefit of hearing Tim Farron and Susan Kramer in hustings for the Party Presidency.

Speaking to a packed Parliamentary Candidates' Associate fringe meeting, PCA Deputy Chair, Julie Smith argued that entering the Coalition was indeed the right thing to do given the hand the electorate had played. Initially anxious about working with the Tories, Julie, like the vast majority of Lib Dems, realised that the Lib-Con coalition was the right course of action in the circumstances. It offers huge opportunities to promote Liberal Democrat policies but clearly entails risks. Thus Julie stressed the importance of maintaining a distinctive Liberal Democrat voice; failure to do so could indeed lead to our demise.

Taking a break from Federal Conference, Julie recently joined many of the Crosby team who'd been involved in the historic 1981 by-election to celebrate Shirley Williams's 80th birthday. Dru Haydon, Val Conway and Carol Tonkiss did a fantastic job getting people together for a very convivial evening. Flanked by Anthony Hill who stood as the Liberal candidate in the 1970s and Scott Donovan who succeeded her as the Alliance candidate in 1987, Shirley talked fondly of her time campaigning in Crosby. Having cut her political teeth at the by-election in her native town, Julie, like Shirley, was delighted to catch up with old friends.

Regional Politics

Julie became Chair of the East of England Region of the Party on 1st January 2010. She was previously a member of the Regional Policy Committee from 2007 to 2009, serving as chair for the last two years. In that role, she was responsible for drafting regional policy papers on Climate Change (2007), the economic situation in the region (2008) and a regional manifesto in 2009, all of which link to her policy priorities for Cambridge. She was a member of the Regional Development Committee in 2009 and served ex officio on the Regional Conference Committee and Regional Executive and Management Committees in 2008 and 2009.

Arts and Recreation

Julie was Executive Councillor for Arts and Recreation on Cambridge City Council from 2006 to 2010, having previously chaired the Community Development and Leisure and then Community Services Committee, which also covered issues of arts, sport and leisure. A keen theatre- and ballet-goer, she became a Trustee of the Cambridge Arts Theatre in June 2011.

Why I am a Liberal Democrat

I have supported the cause of Liberalism/Liberal Democracy since the 1979 when the Liberal Party seemed the voice of reason between the damaging left-right swings of two party politics. The advent of the SDP gave me my first insight into practical politics - and the euphoria of electoral victory - when I campaigned at the historic Crosby by-election.

Local Cambridge activities

Julie is an academic and local activist.

She has taught at Cambridge University since 1997, first at the Centre of International Studies, serving as its Deputy Director for five years until merger with the Politics Department to form POLIS at the start of 2009. Her main teaching and research interests are in European politics. She has written extensively on European elections, EU enlargement and the UK's thorny relations with the EU. She has also published on immigration policy, an area where her academic and political interests coincide. Her current research projects include patterns of cooperation in the enlarged European Union, which links with the Cambridge part of a new European Commission-funded project, and the problem of Europe for UK political parties.

Around Newnham

Julie has been City Councillor for Newnham since 2003, most recently being re-elected in May 2011. She became Chair of the West-Central Area Committee of the City Council in June 2011.

She is Chair of the Newnham Lib Dem Branch. Over the years she has worked with the Lib Dem team in Newnham to tackle transport and highways issues. She led the campaign to preserve the already limited 199 'shoppers' bus' in 2006/07 and again helped fight to save this vital lifeline for residents in 2011 - granted a temporary reprieve, the bus's future is not yet certain, so we will keep fighting for it. She also worked with a colleague from Queen Edith's to support the Uni 4 bus, when its future seemed under threat.

About Julie

I have been a City Councillor for Newnham since 2003 and chair both the City Council Licensing Committee and the West-Central Area Committee, comprising the Market, Newnham and Castle wards, which cover most of the Cambridge Colleges. I have served as Chair of the Area Joint Committee on Transport. I was Executive Councillor for Arts and Recreation, with responsibility for sports, open spaces and arts in the City, from 2006 until May 2010.