Nick Clegg welcomed on visit to Tyneside

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg was welcomed to Tyneside by the party's local Parliamentary Candidates on Friday 3rd October.

Peter Maughan (Blaydon), Ron Beadle (Newcastle North) and Greg Stone (Newcastle East) met Mr Clegg at Newcastle Central Station. The Liberal Democrats' leader was in the region to visit flood victims in Morpeth and to speak at the annual constituency dinner in Berwick upon Tweed.

"I was delighted Nick was in the North East," said Peter. "Nick is a northern MP, representing a constituency in Sheffield, and he knows the problems faced by our region.

"We discussed the Conservatives' policy to leave the North East out of a high speed rail network.

“We know the Conservatives have little interest in the region. However their announcement that they support a high speed rail network for the country except for the North East and Scotland shows they are not prepared to give the region the investment it needs."

Photo: Greg Stone, left, Cllr John Shipley, Leader of Newcastle City Council (to left of Nick Clegg), Peter Maughan (behind John and Nick) and Ron Beadle, front right, are joined by other Lib Dem members to greet Nick Clegg and protest about the decision of the Conservatives to leave the North East off their proposed high speed rail system.