Cait Hart Dyke

A lifelong LibDem, I am an active member of Wandsworth Liberal Democrats.

With over two decades’ experience in Events and Marketing, my work as a consultant was primarily focused last year on delivering high-end integrated events and marketing strategies for large corporates during the World Economic Forum at Davos.

Within the NLC, I was responsible for redesigning the website and overhauling the NLC News magazine, which I edited from 2017-22. I have recently been elected Chair of the Club’s Marketing and Communications Committee and also sit on three
other committees: Events and Activities, Catering, and Beer Wines and Spirits. I also hope to harness my extensive events knowledge and actively promote the Club for weekend weddings and outside hires to bring in much-needed revenue.

For a total change of scene, literally, I recently played Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream directed by my husband, Barney, another Club member. We are both Co-Artistic Directors of Putney Arts Theatre and also have our own, occasional, theatre company, The Colour Noise. (Cait joined the Club in 2019 and was elected to the Members’ Council in 2022)

Val Stansfield

I now chair the Club’s Events and Activities Committee, and the Women’s Network. The popular Tuesday and Thursday Tables are something I co-host: these provide an opportunity for members, new and old, to meet together, get to know new people and enjoy the comforts of the Bar and Dining Room just as much or as little as they please.

My work is as an employment rights adviser for a trade union and, in such spare time as I have, I enjoy reading (mainly novels) and knitting. (Val joined the Club in 2008 and was elected to what is now the Members’ Council in 2019.)

Robert Orchard

Hello, I’m a freelance political journalist, lecturer and copy editor, based in Cardiff and London, writing occasionally for Parliament’s own magazine, The House, among others. The son of a Devon farmer and Welsh nurse, I trained as a teacher after university before entering journalism in Cardiff, moving later to Westminster via Brussels and Strasbourg.

After 25 eventful years as a BBC Political and then Parliamentary Correspondent, I became a very mature MA student at King’s College London – decades after my 1st degree. I also rejoined the Club and was part of the working group that successfully recommended liberalising the dress code, though there is still more to do. I now sit on the Membership Cttee.

Outside work, I have long enjoyed acting and producing – latterly with Tower Theatre in London and my own company, Moonlight Theatre, which toured Under Milk Wood to Malta in 2019. I am also a charity trustee for Homeopathy UK. (Robert joined the Club in 1984 and 2013 and was elected to what is now the Members’ Council in 2018).

Dr Nick Kirby

I have been Lead Officer (Pensions) at the largest education union in the UK, the National Education Union, and formerly at the National Union of Teachers, since 2007.

Before this, I was senior and then principal researcher at Which? magazine for six years, specialising in articles on pensions and investments. This followed on from my Ph.D. at the London School of Economics on UK pension policy.

At the Club, I now chair the Beer, Wines and Spirits Committee, am a member of the Chess Circle and a regular attendee at Tuesday and Thursday Table. (Nick joined the Club in 2009 and was elected to what is now the Members’ Council in 2014)

Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett (they/them)

I joined the Club as a political member in 2017, having been a regular visitor for more than 12 years. In 2018, I founded the Club’s LGBTQ+ Forum with a dedicated committee and represent an essential part of NLC’s motto of being London’s most “inclusive” and “diverse” club.

I moved up from Vice-Chair of the Club’s Membership Committee to become Chair in January 2023 on Karin Rehacek’s appointment as Chair of the Club following the resignation of Tim McNally.

Currently, I work for a not-for-profit organisation, The Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI), as their Global Relationship Manager. In 2015 I stood, as the first openly HIV+ parliamentary candidate in Vauxhall, and then in Ipswich at the 2017 & 2019 elections.

Previously, I have chaired LGBT+ Liberal Democrats and, since 2018, I’ve chaired Liberal International British Group, part of Liberal International – which is also based at the Club. (Adrian joined the Club in 2017 and was elected to what is now the Members’ Council in 2020.)