Cody Butler

A Liberal Vision for Britain’s Overseas Territories

By Cody Butler | Wed 28th October 2026 - 8:55 am

The Liberal Democrats’ Defending Democracy policy paper calls for a codified UK constitution. If democratic consent and self-government matter at home, they must also shape our relationship with Britain’s 14 Overseas Territories, ten of which have permanent populations. In 2025, UK and Territory leaders agreed to develop voluntary Partnership Compacts, and in September 2026 the UK published a Charter affirming “devolution and democratic autonomy” and “nothing about you without you”. These are welcome commitments, but they must translate into a more equal constitutional partnership.

Recognising national identities

“Dependent Territories” became “Overseas Territories” in 2002, reflecting a move towards partnership. Yet there is still room to consider how the constitutional relationship can better recognise the distinct identities and democratic aspirations of each Territory. For some islanders, their primary sense of identity may be rooted in their own island and community, rather than in English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish identity. For others, local and British identities may coexist. These identities should be recognised on their own terms, rather than assumed to fit a mainland British model.

A survey conducted in Gibraltar in 2000 and reported in 2001 found that 45% of respondents identified as both Gibraltarian and British. Though dated and specific to Gibraltar, this illustrates how identities can overlap. We should invite discussion with Territory governments and communities about whether the term “British Overseas Territory” remains appropriate, or whether alternatives such as “British Overseas Nation” would better reflect the identities of some communities. 

A partnership in Official Development Aid

Financially self-sufficient Territories should be invited to invest in overseas development alongside British International Investment (BII), combining development benefits with financial returns.

A voluntary co-investment scheme could direct Territory government or institutional capital into independently managed projects, such as small-business finance and climate-resilient infrastructure. In 2025, BII, Zambia’s pension authority and Sweden’s Swedfund launched a platform with an initial close of about £52 million to finance Zambian small businesses.

Some Territories have institutions that could explore similar opportunities. Cayman’s Public Service Pensions Board held around £1.3 billion in assets at the end of 2024, while the Falkland Islands Government reported a £156.7 million Growth Fund in its 2025 accounts. Any investment must have local approval, credible returns and safeguards for pensions, public services and reserves. Participation must remain voluntary, with no expectation that Territories dependent on UK budget support contribute. Britain could invite interested Territories to design a pilot with BII.

Putting elected representatives in charge

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Daniel Duggan

What can republican political thought teach the Liberal Democrats?

By Daniel Duggan | Tue 27th October 2026 - 5:45 pm

A politics of power

Recent Liberal Democrat proposals for faster GP appointments, better support for rural and coastal schools, and investment in walking and cycling show our commitment to improving public services. These are important ambitions.

Yet improving services does not, by itself, challenge the relationships that leave people powerless: an insecure worker dependent on an employer’s goodwill, a tenant afraid to challenge a landlord, or a citizen unable to contest decisions made about their care.

Liberal Democrats must ask not only whether services are improving, but whether people have the rights, resources and voice to shape their own lives. The question of power must be central to our approach. Republican political thought, with its understanding of freedom as non-domination, offers a rich intellectual tradition from which Liberal Democrats can draw in developing a politics of power.

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Paul Walter

Conservative Councillor joins Lib Dems in West Berkshire

By Paul Walter | Tue 27th October 2026 - 4:15 pm

West Berkshire Conservative Councillor Paul Dick OBE JP DL has joined the Liberal Democrats.

For almost 30 years, Mr Dick was headteacher of Kennet School in Thatcham. At one point he was a “Super Head” and his “top earner” salary was highlighted by the BBC in 2010. He appeared on the BBC’s Panorama programme, as noted by the Financial Times.

He has been a sitting Justice of the Peace since 1994 and is a Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire.

He has represented Cold Ash and Chieveley ward on West Berkshire Council since 2023.

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The Voice

Lord Shipley’s Valedictory speech in full

By The Voice | Tue 27th October 2026 - 12:50 pm

Embed from Getty Images

As noted last Thursday, Lord Shipley gave his valedictory speech in the House of Lords Local Government debate. Here is his speech in full:

My Lords, I thank colleagues from across the House for the privilege of working with them over the last 16 years in this Chamber on Bills, on Select Committees and on the general work of this House. Having reached the age of 80, I have decided that the time has come to have a retirement. I thank all the staff of the House for their advice, efficiency and constant good humour. I thank my own Whips’ Office for its loyalty, help and command of its role. I thank my immediate colleagues—my friends—in the Liberal Democrat group, who have been such a support over the years, for their friendship, which I know will continue in the years ahead. I thank my wife and all my family for their support in my time here; it is so appreciated. I thank all the speakers who are going to speak in this debate. I look forward to the maiden speech of my noble friend Lord McCobb, who brings a wealth of experience from his many years in local government.

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The Voice

Bournemouth conference dates announced for 2027

By The Voice | Tue 27th October 2026 - 11:21 am

The dates for our Autumn conference at Bournemouth have been announced as follows:

Provisional auditorium timings:
Saturday 18 September: 09.00-18.00 (Rally 18.30-19.30)
Sunday 19 September: 09.00-18.00
Monday 20 September: 09.00-18.00
Tuesday 21 September: 09.00-15.30 (Leader’s speech: 14.20-15.30)

The latest conference news is here.

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Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: Prime Minister, it’s time to restore our freedom to move across Europe

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 26th October 2026 - 4:30 pm

There are few things that better demonstrate the damage Brexit has done to our country than the loss of our freedom to live, work, study and build a life across Europe.

It was a freedom we took for granted. A freedom that opened doors, broadened horizons and brought people together. A freedom that represented something profoundly liberal: the right of individuals to make choices about their own lives. And it was taken away.

Now, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues his discussions with European leaders about rebuilding Britain’s relationship with the European Union, I have a simple message: restore freedom of movement, and do it without delay.

For too long, British politics has treated freedom of movement as something to fear rather than something to celebrate. But what could be more liberal than allowing people to cross borders, pursue opportunities, fall in love, raise families and contribute to communities wherever they choose?

This isn’t simply about economics, important though that is. It’s about opportunity. It’s about internationalism. It’s about recognising that our neighbours across the Channel aren’t strangers to be kept at arm’s length, but friends and partners with whom we share so much.

Of course, restoring freedom of movement would benefit our economy. Businesses could recruit the workers they need. Our NHS and social care services could benefit from a wider pool of talent. Young people would regain opportunities that previous generations enjoyed. And European citizens would once again be able to make Britain their home, enriching our communities culturally, socially and economically.

But the argument must go beyond pounds and pence. Freedom of movement is a statement about the kind of country we want Britain to be. Open or closed? Confident or fearful? Internationalist or inward-looking?

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Jean-François Burford

London’s football pitch crisis is freezing out disabled children. We must stop treating inclusion as a charity luxury

By Jean-François Burford | Sat 24th October 2026 - 8:55 am

There is a cruel irony at play on London’s public sports pitches. While national governing bodies proudly launch multi-million-pound strategies to make football “the people’s game,” the cold reality of urban economics is quietly locking the most vulnerable children out of the sport entirely. For young Londoners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the barrier to entry is no longer just a lack of willing coaches; it is a hyper-financialised property market that has turned the simple act of kicking a football into a luxury.

On paper, the vision is exactly what the sport has desperately needed. The FA’s landmark “Football Without Limits” strategy is a genuinely progressive and vital intervention, injecting long-overdue funding and infrastructure into pan-disability football networks. Supported by corporate backing, this national push is finally providing the framework, specialized kit, and subsidized programs like the Comets initiative that grassroots volunteers have cried out for over decades. It is a massive step forward, proving that the will to change the game exists at the very top.

Yet, as this commendable national strategy hits the streets of the capital, it collides with a brutal, localised reality.

Despite the undeniable progress, grassroots organisers caution that London’s spatial and economic pressures mean the fight is far from over. Bureaucracy can still delay small grants from reaching the smaller, community led estates where the need is highest. Moreover, as land value pressures continue to squeeze urban green spaces, keeping pitch hire affordable remains a volatile challenge.

This isn’t a failure of the FA’s ambition; it is a fundamental design flaw in how urban spaces are managed. While governing bodies provide the funding, clubs must navigate layers of complex auditing and compliance to access it. The tragic paradox is that the tiny, estate based clubs embedded deepest within working class communities, where the concentration of under resourced SEND families is highest, rarely have the administrative muscle to unlock these coffers. Instead, the money naturally pools around wealthier, established suburban clubs with dedicated committees. The system, by design, feeds the fed.

Even when a community club beats the bureaucracy and secures a grant, they run headfirst into London’s brutal spatial politics. As inner city green spaces are swallowed by high density developments, grassroots football has been pushed onto commercial artificial pitches. In London, these venues operate on staggering commercial margins, with pitch hire fees frequently topping £100 an hour.

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Joe Nutt

ALDC by-election report, 22nd October

By Joe Nutt | Fri 23rd October 2026 - 4:38 pm

Five principal authority by-elections took place across England and Wales on Thursday 22nd October.

Labour were defending two seats (in Leeds and Carmarthenshire), the Conservatives defended one in Wychavon, the Green Party defended one in East Hertfordshire, and an Independent defended one in South Kesteven.

It proved to be a productive night for the Conservatives, who held their seat in Worcestershire and secured three gains from three different parties – taking seats from the Greens in Hertfordshire, Labour in Leeds, and an Independent in Lincolnshire.

For the Liberal Democrats, it was an undeniably tough set of contests where our vote was squeezed in non-target territory and in a disappointing result in East Hertfordshire.

Elsewhere, Reform UK and the Greens continued to experience electoral friction amidst wider national controversies, while Labour’s night was mixed – losing two seats, but showing signs of vote share recovery in West Yorkshire compared to earlier this spring.

 

Leeds City Council, Calverley and Farsley – 22 October 2026

Over in West Yorkshire, the Conservatives gained the Calverley and Farsley ward on Leeds City Council from Labour in a contest triggered by the resignation of former Labour councillor Peter Carlill on health grounds.

Leeds is currently governed by a Labour minority administration after the party lost eight seats in the May 2026 local elections, leaving them on 48 of 99 seats. Calverley and Farsley is a three-member ward elected by thirds, where Labour had previously held two seats and the Conservatives one.

In a crowded field of seven candidates, Conservative candidate Amanda Carter took the seat with 40.2% of the vote. While technically a seat loss for Labour compared to their 2023 defence, their 36.8% vote share actually represented a 9.5-point rebound compared to their May 2026 local election showing in the ward. The Liberal Democrats have not historically had an active base in this part of Leeds, and candidate Stuart McLeod was squeezed by the intense two-party battle at the top of the ballot.

Thank you to Stuart McLeod for ensuring local residents had a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot paper in a crowded contest!

Conservative: 2330 (40.2%, +4.8%)
Labour: 2134 (36.8%, -18%)
Reform UK: 693 (12%, new)
Green Party: 341 (5.9%, +2.4%)
Restore: 151 (2.6%, new)
Lib Dem (Stuart McLeod): 92 (1.6%, -1.3%)
Yorkshire Party: 57 (1%, -2.5%)

Turnout: 32.2%

Conservative GAIN from Labour

 

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Josh Matthews

Is kindness what we stand for?

By Josh Matthews | Fri 23rd October 2026 - 2:02 pm

If what we’re against, above everything else, is cruelty and the abuse of power… then are we for kindness?

But before I get into this article, I want to address a few points.

I’m talking about a kindness that is radical in the change it demands. A kindness that fights when facing down cruelty and those looking to concentrate and abuse power.

We also need a vision of what a kind society could be. I’m not only talking about the how of doing politics. That radical, standing-up-to-cruelty type of kindness must flow into our policy and campaigns.

I don’t think I’m suggesting kindness as a slogan or headline message. And we don’t have a monopoly on kindness in our party, policies, members, or voters.

What I do think, is that there is space for a politics that grasps and leads with that strong, radical kindness.

“What do the Liberal Democrats stand for? I don’t know”

That most of the public don’t know what we stand for has become a dominant and tiring narrative. But we must keep addressing it.

We stand for so many things. And that’s often the problem.

Liberal Democrats struggle to create an instinctive subconscious reaction where people feel connected with an overarching story.

I wrote recently about that challenge and the idea of a platform. I’ve come to view my own liberalism as trying to give people the platform to thrive and live their unique version of a best life. Genuine freedom and opportunity. Without accepting that there must be winners and losers in society.

But despite standing by that platform as a guiding beacon for politics, policymaking, and as a vision for society, I wasn’t fully convinced in it as a clear answer to what we’re for.

That’s where kindness comes in.

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Lord William Wallace

Don’t take Democracy for granted

By Lord William Wallace | Fri 23rd October 2026 - 10:49 am

We’re Liberals and Democrats, and we should be outspoken in support of both.  And both have to be fought for to prevent our country sliding back into illiberalism and authoritarian government.

At the end of the Cold War American liberals thought that democracy had triumphed, and that authoritarian states would move towards liberal democracy as they became more prosperous and more integrated into our open world society.  35 years later, things look far less rosy.  Orban’s illiberal regime in Hungary has thankfully just fallen, although it is still too soon to see how stable and constitutional its new government will be.  Trump’s second administration in the US has shown how easy it is for a populist leader to sweep past constitutional safeguards and create a corrupt and chaotic autocracy; we may at last see after the mid-term elections some belated resistance.  In France we are watching a surge of anti-constitutional violence, which may well lead to a hard-right executive presidency in their coming elections.   And we are witnessing in Britain illiberal movements on the left and the right, with Farage as a pluto-populist (a politician financed by the ultra-wealthy who claims to stand for the ‘people’ against the elite) and Tommy Robinson as a violent anti-democrat.

In the face of this, the current Labour Government is astonishingly complacent.  Manifesto promises to modernise the Commons have shrunk to a few measures to improve access; Burnham’s government payroll in the Commons is even larger than Starmer’s or Sunak’s.  Its changes to the composition of the Lords have been minimal, and a flood of new appointments is again leading to an oversized House.  The Representation of the People Bill passed through the Commons virtually unchanged; the Lords will do its best to regulate political finance and foreign interference more tightly than the government is proposing.   Behind Burnham’s rhetoric about changing the voting system many Labour veterans are denying the need for change.  David Blunkett, among others, has welcomed the troubles that Reform and the Greens now face as marking a return to our traditional two-party system.  Public trust in Westminster politics is low, and many young people are disillusioned and disengaged.

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Mark Hofman

Britain’s gas gamble: Why Jackdaw is a bad bet for our energy future

By Mark Hofman | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 5:43 pm

Ministers have approved a gas field that will create 27 jobs, while heat pump grants face the axe in next week’s budget. They are backing the wrong horse.

Gas is in terminal decline in British homes, and today’s decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field will not change that. Every year, more developers and families choose clean electric heating over a gas boiler. My own home is one of them: it no longer burns any gas, thanks in part to the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

That scheme is now under threat. With Whitehall hunting for savings to fund defence ahead of next week’s budget, heat pump grants are reportedly on the table. So in the space of a week, the government could back a new gas field and cut the support that helps families leave gas behind. That is exactly the wrong way round.

Look at what Jackdaw actually offers. Over its lifetime, it would produce around 2 months of UK gas demand, a sliver of what the country burns. Its developers say it will create just 27 full-time jobs. And it will not bring down bills. North Sea gas is sold at international prices, so British households will keep paying whatever the global market demands.

What Jackdaw does do is tell investors that gas is still a safe bet. That is the last message they should be hearing. We need every pound of capital flowing into wind, solar, nuclear and the grid connections that bring cheaper, cleaner power to all of us.

There is a better use for what is left under the North Sea: leave it there. Gas is not just a fuel. It is also the raw material for the fertiliser that grows our food, and there may be times ahead when we need it far more than we do today. Keeping our remaining reserves as a strategic store would give future generations a buffer in a crisis, instead of burning it now for a short-term return.

In the meantime, we can import cleaner gas. According to the regulator’s own figures, pipeline gas from Norway is produced with less than a third of the emissions of Britain’s North Sea output.

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The Voice

Hello and goodbye

By The Voice | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 3:11 pm

One of our newest peers, Dave McCobb, (Baron McCobb, of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire) gave his maiden speech in the Lords last week.  Appropriately enough for a former councillor it was in a debate on Local Government: Democratic Accountability, Participation and Electoral Reform – he even managed to include some poetry.

The debate itself was opened by John Shipley (Baron Shipley of Gosforth), giving his valedictory speech. He was previously the Leader of Liverpool City Council and vice-president of the Local Government Association, so was eminently suitable to lead on the issue.

Dave McCobb said:

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Vince Cable

Vince Cable writes: The endless hunt for painless taxes

By Vince Cable | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 11:55 am

Few expect Andy Burnham’s extended political honeymoon to last beyond the October 28 budget. The fiscal position is precarious. The bond vigilantes are signalling their nervousness about the UK in the form of 10 year bond yields of 5.4% : the highest of developed economies (despite some nice comments from the IMF). The public will expect to see some evidence of the Prime Minister’s commitment to spend more on defence, employment for young people, affordable housing, meeting the NHS and social care needs of an ageing population, together with some relief from high energy costs, which may spiral further if Trump returns to war with Iran after the mid-term elections on November 5. A promise to defer difficult budget decisions until next year will not convince markets.

The tax options are seriously constrained by the unnecessary pre-election promise not to raise VAT rates or the rates of income tax and employees NICs. Taxes are already approaching 40% of GDP, a post-war high. But more will be needed. The government has, however, already discovered that seemingly easy options targeted at companies and rich people can backfire. Rachel Reeves’ increase in employers’ NICs has angered employers and threatens jobs. A tax raid on inheritance has proved to be less of a tax on rich heirs to family fortunes than a major threat to family farms and firms. Some big taxpayers amongst the ‘non-doms’ have emigrated rather than pay more tax. VAT receipts on private school fees have had to be netted off against the costs of educating children of less affluent families who have migrated to the state sector. Successive attempts to hit the well off by salami-slicing pension tax relief have undermined savings. Gordon Brown’s seemingly innocuous ending of tax relief on company dividends helped to end DB pension schemes. Clever schemes to combat cleverer tax avoidance have added to complexity and economic distortions. The Law of Unintended Consequences is unforgiving.

Taxation is unpopular and so is ‘austerity’ applied to popular public services. Politicians who want to be liked, or win elections, face a dilemma: how to raise revenue painlessly while avoiding damaging unintended consequences. Experience tells us that it is impossible to square this circle. Taxes on companies are hidden from the public but are mainly passed on in -unpopular – higher prices or by reductions in investment. Taxes on rich people may be popular with people who aren’t rich but rich people are potentially mobile and able to afford tax advice on avoidance techniques. Wealth taxes have been largely abandoned except where they are very small (as in Switzerland). Property is not mobile but the taxation of family homes is deeply unpopular with the public outside of ‘mansions’. These problems are unlikely to deter Mr Healey from trying to squeeze a bit more from Capital Gains Tax (which can deter the establishment of new businesses), tax relief on pension contributions (deterring savings) or high-value property (which can’t be isolated from the wider property market). These all tick the box marked ‘fairness’ but they represent the last bit of a much squeezed toothpaste tube.

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Mary Reid

Sorry – not our fault

By Mary Reid | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 9:59 am

Apologies for our downtime yesterday, and the lack of posts!

Our tech guru was sorting out the fallout from the PHP crisis, which affected our website as well as many others globally.

 

 

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Caron Lindsay

Jane Dodds to step down as Welsh Lib Dem Leader

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 20th October 2026 - 7:50 pm

Jane Dodds on Conference stage in front of banner saying "none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity"

For nine years, Jane Dodds has led the Welsh Liberal Democrats through some very challenging times. By the time she took office, the party had been brutally punished at the ballot box for its role in the Coalition and the ensuing decade has not provided the most fertile of territory for us.

However, Jane has stood up consistently for our values in that challenging environment. She has always stood up for human rights, proposed ways to alleviate child poverty, including a Universal Basic Income. In fact, she was responsible for me becoming more sympathetic to that. She was one of the first politicians to talk about tackling loneliness and social isolation. She’s been a voice for marginalised people and deserves our pride and gratitude.

Just as in the Federal Party, elections for the Scottish and Welsh parties trigger a  leadership election. Alex Cole-Hamilton was quietly re-elected as Scottish Leader unopposed a month or so back. Tonight, Jane has announced that she is stepping down as Welsh Leader.

In a statement emailed to Welsh Lib Dem members before being released publicly, she said:

I wanted you to hear this from me first, before anyone else: I have decided to stand down as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Leading this party has been the honour of my life. When you elected me in 2017, I said I wanted to bring like-minded people together, rebuild our party, and make the Welsh Liberal Democrats a radical, progressive force in Welsh politics again. Nearly nine years on, I hope you feel we have done that together.

We’ve won councillors in every corner of Wales. With just one voice in the Senedd, we used our budget deal to win real money for childcare, for families who were desperate for it. We’ve fought for the children growing up in poverty in our country. And when others wanted Wales to turn its back on refugees, we stood up, loudly and proudly, for Wales as a Nation of Sanctuary.

None of that happened because of me. It happened because of you: the leaflets, the doorsteps, the phone banks, the wet Saturday mornings. Thank you.

I’ve spent the summer thinking hard about May’s election. If I’m honest, it wasn’t the result we worked so hard for. Once again, I am our party’s only Member of the Senedd. I don’t want to be the only one after the next election. Wales needs a team of liberal voices in the Senedd, and that means starting now. We need new candidates, new councillors and new leaders who will spend the next few years in their communities, shaping our policies and making our case on the airwaves. I believe that work should be led by a new generation, and that the right time to hand over is now, while there is time to build.

When I became leader, Theresa May was Prime Minister and Carwyn Jones was First Minister. Six Prime Ministers and five First Ministers later, I hope I have given our party something steady to build on.

I am not going anywhere. I will carry on as the Member of the Senedd for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, and I will carry on doing what brought me into politics in the first place.

I spent 27 years as a child protection social worker. I saw what poverty does to children, and I have never been able to accept it. One child growing up in poverty is one too many. Today, more than 200,000 children in Wales, almost one in three, are growing up poor. The new Plaid Cymru Government has promised to put child poverty at the heart of everything it does. I will hold them to that promise every single day, and I will keep pushing them to go further and faster, until every child in Wales gets the start in life they deserve.

Our Party President, Tim Sly, will write to you in the coming days with the timetable for the leadership election.

Finally, my thanks to our staff and volunteers, who have given so much, and above all to my husband Patrick. I could not have done any of this without his love, patience and support.

Diolch o galon, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Jane.

At the time of writing, the only eligible candidate is Wales’ other parliamentarian, David Chadwick.

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Paul Walter

The silent scandal of ME…and in praise of Tessa Munt

By Paul Walter | Tue 20th October 2026 - 1:30 pm

Embed from Getty Images

I wrote on the subject of ME back in February 2025. Sadly no progress seems to have been made, questions to the government receive “dead bat” pro-forma answers and still the silent scandal of 1.35 million people in the UK suffering from ME/CFS (or Long Covid with ME-like symptoms) continues. That’s about 2,000 on average per UK parliamentary constituency.

Some figures: The average lifetime costs per patient with ME are £4.7 million on average.

There are £20 billion per year costs to the economy due to ME – and this is rising. (This includes loss of productivity and the fact that many patients are cared for by their parents)

There is currently no UK ring-fenced funding for long term research into the illness. This compares badly with Germany who have dedicated 500 million Euros over 10 years for research labelled a “National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases” (photo above shows the sort of public protests which preceded the commitment of that money).

Recently there have been a few reasons for hope.

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James Hill

The Lib Dems should be bolder. Here’s how….

By James Hill | Tue 20th October 2026 - 12:00 pm

It is no secret that the party is narrowly focused on retaining the 72 seats we won at the last general election and expanding further into triple digits. Local election results in those constituencies are a sign that it seems to be working. Recently, the Guardian published a sensible editorial pointing out that it is imperative for the Lib Dems to achieve this goal to keep an unholy Tory-Reform alliance at bay in the next general election. Furthermore, it will maximise our influence over a Labour minority in a potential hung parliament. So yes, in our FPTP system, and facing the dire threat of Reform and Reform-lite, this ruthless commitment to target seats is the correct one.

However, pursuit of this goal has led to an overabundance of caution that is diluting the party’s messaging and enabling us to fade further away from the national conversation. We seem to have leapt at the opportunity to snatch Kier Starmer’s fabled Ming Vase and have been hobbling around with it for the past two years – afraid of saying anything too bold, too radical or too liberal. This matters because if we are ever to make progress across the whole country, we need to be present in the national political agenda to give our local activists something to build off. If we don’t establish the party’s identity now, a potential coalition may simply reduce us to the yellow branch of the Labour party and could prove existential in the event we do get PR elections. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, if we don’t actively go out and preach the liberal solutions to our country’s problems, we actively concede the intellectual ground to our conservative opponents.

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Maria Linforth-Hall

Before we talk about coalition, we must ask: What are the Liberal Democrats for?

By Maria Linforth-Hall | Tue 20th October 2026 - 10:24 am

Today, a Liberal Democrat friend suggested that perhaps the best way forward for our party would be to enter into a coalition with Labour.

It was an interesting proposition. Could the two parties work together? What might they achieve? What compromises would be necessary? And what would happen to our political identity?

But as I explored these possibilities, I realised that a much more fundamental question had emerged.

Before we decide whom we might govern with, shouldn’t we first be absolutely clear about what we want to govern for?

This is not an argument against coalition government. It is an invitation to examine the identity, purpose and future direction of the Liberal Democrats.

We have policies on healthcare, social care, education, housing, taxation, climate change, Europe and constitutional reform. Many reflect longstanding liberal principles. But having individual policies is not necessarily the same as communicating a coherent political vision.

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Richard Whelan

Support to enable Disabled People to live Independently

By Richard Whelan | Mon 19th October 2026 - 1:27 pm

I welcome Gordon Lishman’s article on Social Care and the Triple Lock.

One of the issues though that many people overlook when it comes to Social Care is how to help those disabled people who are fit and healthy and need Personal Care as a wider package of support to enable them to lead an independent life.

These are disabled people who need Personal Care as a means to an end but need so much more besides. Being taken to work, for example, and the administrative support at work in order to succeed. Support as a Council or Parliamentary Candidate to …

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Jack Meredith

You don’t need to be a hero to fight fascism

By Jack Meredith | Mon 19th October 2026 - 10:43 am

The normalisation of fascism is becoming a common occurrence. In Britain alone, from cowards wearing balaclavas protesting in Dover to Reform UK’s Suella Braverman referring to the actions of anti-immigrant agitators in Gosport as “people power”, we are seeing this all too often in our electoral politics and on our streets.

It is not going unchallenged, however, with anti-fascist protests taking place across the country in places like Bristol and London, with fascists like “Young Bob” being cuffed and led away by police for aggressive behaviour towards an abuse survivor. Meanwhile, ITV is exposing just how deep the rot has spread within Reform UK with an undercover sting operation lifting the lid on the racism and bigotry that runs within the party, and how little Nigel Farage and his cronies actually care about handling this, with the article highlighting that Farage went so far as to protect a candidate caught in the sting.

None of this is new, of course. So many people are far more experienced than I am in the fight against fascism, having taken part in protests across the 70s, 80s, 90s, and beyond. But what stands out to me is how much more organised and “professional” the far right portray themselves. They’re no longer just National Front hooligans, though the evidence I’ve provided so far suggests they still exist; they’ve learnt how to play the political game.

Take Germany, for instance.

Following World War Two, lessons needed to be learnt from the capture of the state by the Nazis and the atrocities carried out against the Jews in the Holocaust, among atrocities committed against other minority groups, which came in the form of adopting an idea founded back in 1937. Streitbare Demokratie, roughly translated as militant democracy, holds that a liberal democratic society must be willing and able to defend itself against any forces that seek to dismantle democracy using the tools liberal democracy provides, even if those forces command a majority government.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 19 October 2026 – so much for that rebellion…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 19th October 2026 - 7:30 am

There will doubtless be those who are disappointed that the rebellion against Ed Davey’s leadership turned out to be big on pitchforks and flaming torches but not so hot on turnout. A couple of seemingly uncoordinated resignations, talk of a “spicy” Parliamentary Party meeting but, at the end of it all, we are where we were in terms of the Leader. Whether that means that there will be some changes in approach in response to criticism is yet to be seen, but it is clear that whilst there might be unhappiness in some quarters, the mood favours evolution rather than revolution.

In that sense, we are where we were six months before the General Election, where initial expectations of thirty seats were subsequently ratcheted up in response to emerging opportunities. And it has to be noted that, for all the concerns that have been raised about how the Party is run and led, the same people who delivered us the best General Election result in a century (in terms of seats) are still holding the reins. Perhaps we should show more faith in their judgement, potentially three years out from the next General Election?

But we’re liberals, we tend to rebel against the command and control, centralised method by which the Party seems to be run these days. We want some passion and to see our values to the fore in the words of our leadership. We want, if you like, to be the cavaliers in a world of political roundheads, rather than a Party which tiptoes around a core vote in seats across southern England.

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The Voice

Rodney Berman and Joe Carter selected for Cardiff Westminster seats

By The Voice | Sun 18th October 2026 - 4:30 pm

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have selected former Cardiff Council leader Cllr Rodney Berman (left) for the Westminster seat of Cardiff East, and Cllr Joe Carter (right) has been selected for Cardiff North.

Cardiff as a key battleground in the Lib Dem fightback in Wales and selecting these big hitters is a signal that we offer voters a real alternative to Labour in the capital.

Rodney led Cardiff Council between 2004 and 2012 and has a long record of standing up for the city. He said:

I’m proud to be standing again for the people of Cardiff East. Labour keeps telling us this is as good as things get. It isn’t. Under Jo Stevens, our nation’s capital has been left behind.

In her time as Secretary of State for Wales, our voice was quietly diminished. She failed to stand up for Wales when we were owed our fair share of HS2 funding. And when residents rightly demanded action on the crumbling Heath Hospital, she stayed silent while her Welsh Labour colleagues oversaw its decline from government in the Senedd. People here deserve far better than being taken for granted, and I’ll take that message to London loud and clear.

“Families in the east of Cardiff shouldn’t lose their Welsh-medium secondary school, and patients and staff shouldn’t lose a vital link to the hospital. I’ll keep pushing for the Heath to be rebuilt, because many of its older buildings are in a very poor state. And I’ll be pressing the UK Government to do far more on the cost of living, including real action to bring down the impact of rising energy bills.”

Cllr Joe Carter said of his selection:

Cardiff North has been let down by Labour at all levels of government and needs a local champion. I have fought to save the Maindy Velodrome, called for a plan to fix the crumbling Heath Hospital and opposed Welsh Water’s  sewage pumping station in Llandaff North. I will fight for cleaner streets, more neighbourhood police and more money in the pockets of hard working people by raising the thresholds on when people pay income tax.

Congratulating Rodney and Joe on their selection, Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP added:

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John Kelly

The defence of International Law in an age of impunity

By John Kelly | Sun 18th October 2026 - 2:30 pm

In October 2026, the United States imposed sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), the latest escalation in its campaign to undermine and “dismantle” the Court. The US objects to the ICC investigating or prosecuting American nationals and has also opposed its investigation into senior Israeli officials over war crimes in Gaza. The sanctions are troubling not only because they threaten the Court’s ability to operate independently, but because they expose a deeper question: does international law apply to everyone, or only to those without power? 

International law has never been free from hypocrisy. Great powers have often defended global rules while exempting themselves from them. Critics are right to point to double standards, selective enforcement and the influence of geopolitics. Yet these failures do not invalidate international law. They demonstrate why it is needed.

The modern international legal order emerged from the catastrophe of two world wars. Its foundation was a simple but transformative idea: that power alone should not determine what states may do and that even leaders can be held accountable for their actions.

The Nuremberg Trials established that principle. Sovereignty could no longer serve as a shield against responsibility. Political leaders, military commanders and officials could be judged for crimes committed in the name of the state. No one, in principle, stood above the law.

That achievement is now under threat.

Too many governments support international law only when it targets their enemies. Courts are praised when they investigate rivals and attacked when they scrutinise allies. Human rights are defended selectively. Legal principles are embraced when convenient and dismissed when politically costly.

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Gordon Lishman

Social care and the triple lock

By Gordon Lishman | Sun 18th October 2026 - 12:30 pm

I have read the various posts about Andy Burnham’s proposals for social care and the proposed implication for the pensions triple-lock. After some decades of involvement on both issues, I thought my perspective and experience might have some relevance.

I was closely involved in the review of pensions including the Turner Review of 2006 and the resultant settlement, leading on to the triple lock in the coalition Government. I was also much engaged in the debate about social care from the campaign which led to the Sutherland Commission, then working with proponents of both majority and minority views on the Commission.  I worked with Labour Ministers throughout the 2000s in trying to devise and get agreement (crucially from Treasury and No 10) on a reform package for social care and then helped Paul Burstow as Social Care Minister to set up the Dilnot Commission. On social care, it has been a record of failure which reflects the difficulty of achieving  a satisfactory outcome.

The two key problems were and remain (1) financial and (2) political. The issue is NOT the detailed structure and operation of the care system; around the world, there is a good deal of experience of the options.  The challenge is political consent which depends on money and particularly the long-term costs of a commitment to meet needs. Governments around the world are trying and usually failing to establish a system which is both effective and involves a generally acceptable level of tax. However, the numbers involved are improving as a result of the entirely unexpected decline worldwide in the incidence of dementias associated with old age.

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The Voice

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s speech to Scottish Conference

By The Voice | Sun 18th October 2026 - 10:55 am

Alex Cole-Hamilton made his keynote speech to Scottish Conference last weekend. It was a very people centred, practical speech which centred Lib Dems connecting people.

Worth mentioning is that he was very positive about immigration:

So let me tell you what I mean when I talk about liberty, equality and community.

Because as liberals we believe in a Scotland that is open, tolerant and internationalist of outlook.

We believe immigration makes this country stronger. Because in Scotland more people die each year than are born. Every person who comes here to nurse, to farm, to teach, to build, is helping keep our hospitals open and our towns alive.

When others want to pull up the drawbridge, we say you are welcome here.

We could do with more of this from colleagues in Westminster.

Watch here with subtitles.

The text is below

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 18th October 2026 - 9:30 am

US Midterm elections

Since 2002 the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been observing elections in the U.S. On each occasion—including the hotly debated 2020 presidential elections—it has stamped the votes as “free and fair.”

The organisation’s elections observers, however, will be conspicuous by their absence, from the mid-term elections in a few weeks’ time. For the first time the Trump Administration has refused to invite them.

The State Department’s official reason for the lack of an invitation is that the OSCE “should focus its limited resources on elections where it can have the greatest impact.”

The OSCE has responded by diplomatically expressing its disappointment. Human Rights Watch, however, has been more forthcoming. Its Director, Philippe Bolopion, said: “The US has long criticised Russian and other governments for dodging external scrutiny of their elections. Now the Trump Administration is mimicking them.”

HR Watch then went onto cite several reasons to be concerned about the fairness of the mid-term elections including the possible basing of ICE agents near polling stations; plans to base Department of Justice federal election monitors and over 1,000 polling places; repeated administration claims of non-citizens voting and voter eligibility checks.

Bolopian said: The test for November 3 will not be only on who wins, but whether everyone’s rights are respected before, during, and after the vote.” He added that without external monitors, it would be harder for the international community to establish reliably whether voters’ rights had been respected.

Since 1990, the OSCE has sent observers on 470 missions. Under the Copenhagen Document of 1990, it is tasked with observing elections in its 57-member countries. The United States joins Russia and Belarus in being the only two countries to have banned OSCE observers from its elections.

Elon Musk

It is rare in history for one man—who is not a politician—to have a massive impact on the outcome of the election in the world’s most economically and politically advanced country in the world. Trillionaire Elon Musk, however, is just such a man. He is believed to have given more than $366 million to support Republican candidates in the upcoming November mid-terms.

According to a report in the New York Times this week more than $276 million of that money has poured into groups and political action committees just since July. More than $76 million has gone into his own super PAC, which is focused on seven Senate seats in battleground states, and more than thirty House races.

The Times notes that this is just the money that law requires must be disclosed. It is believed that in both this election and in 2024 Musk made seven-figure donations to candidates through so-called “dark-money”  channels that circumvent America’s incredibly lax political donation laws by protecting donors’ identities.

The money goes primarily on advertising for, as the saying goes: “It pays to advertise.” And in America during the election cycle the airwaves, billboards and newspaper columns are dominated with political advertising. It has become an accepted political fact that the prize of elected office goes to the politician who can spend the most on ads.

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George Cunningham

Ukraine‘s plight means UK must rearm for war now, and not by ten years’ time

By George Cunningham | Sat 17th October 2026 - 12:06 pm

Crowds gather to view destruction in an Odesa residential area that included a university student residence (photo: Anna Beria, with thanks).  

We are possibly reaching the culmination point of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

After almost five years of warfare, Ukrainian resilience is being put ever more to the test. Ukraine’s forces are edging forward, regaining lost land in the Donbas from Russia’s armed forces. Not winning on the ground, Putin has declared unlimited warfare on Ukraine’s civilian population to terrorise them into submission, destroying critical infrastructure and causing mayhem as winter approaches.

Ukraine’s position is being further undermined much more overtly by Donald Trump, who has just now lifted sanctions on Russian diesel in an attempt to save his neck on the US mid-term election due on 3rd November. His showdown with President Zelenskyy over this issue had led to the US denying Ukraine access to Starshield, the military version of Starlink, in a move which one Ukrainian officer said is “comparable to a nuclear strike against us”. Trump seems to have backed down but nobody knows if it will be cut again and for how long, as Trump strives to end the war on Russia’s terms so he can pursue his business deals with Putin.

Money is critical factor for all sides. The EU and Ukraine have agreed that Ukraine’s needs can be met for the rest of this year. The Ukraine parliament has just passed some anti-corruption measures which should help the Ukraine’s government’s credibility in being able to use international assistance. But 2027 is underfunded. The ascendance of pro-Russian parties across much of the EU poses a threat to future budgetary support to Ukraine. French presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen has said France will stop funding Ukraine if she becomes President. Even if US Democrats win both Houses of Congress, it is by no means assured that the US will restore funding for Ukraine, which Donald Trump can stall even if it were to pass both Houses. The outlook for 2027 is uncertain.

That is why it is more critical than ever that Russia’s frozen assets are permanently confiscated and fully deployed in support of Ukraine. This would put them out of reach of Trump’s business schemes with Russia if a settlement ceasing the war were to be reached in Putin’s favour.

If Ukraine were to fall, it would have profound implications for the UK and its European Union partners.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: Ukraine in Trouble

By Tom Arms | Sat 17th October 2026 - 9:58 am

Ukraine is in deep trouble. Its soldiers are holding the frontline but behind the lines there are serious problems.

Russian missiles are hitting the country’s energy infrastructure. Millions of Ukrainians are facing a bitter East European winter without heating or electricity. And American support—already shaky—is wavering even more.

Donald Trump, facing a Democratic landslide in the November mid-term elections, is ignoring the economic impact of his Iran War to blame Ukraine—and its president Volodymyr Zelensky—for the unsustainable rise in American fuel prices.

This has in turn led to lifting of sanctions on Russian oil, more attacks on  Zelensky and the temporary cuts in the vital US-provided Starshield which provides protection against Russian missile attacks.

Problems started in January 2024 when the Ukrainians first demonstrated the capability to hit Russian oil refineries with their drones. Russia is a major exporter of refined oil products and the money earned from those exports is financing Russia’s war effort. The US initially supported the attacks and they were coordinated with intelligence from the CIA. But then in  March 2024, the US position shifted and Washington  urged Kyiv to stop striking Russian oil infrastructure, citing concerns about global oil prices and possible Russian retaliation.

Then on 28 Feb 2026, the US and Israel attack Iran and 20 percent of the world’s oil supply ceases overnight as the Iranians close the Strait off Hormuz and bomb Saudi pipelines to the Red Sea. Meanwhile Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have increased. Between 30-50 percent of the Kremlin’s refining capacity is closed. Ukrainian attacks are affecting the ability of Russia’s industrial and agricultural wheels to keep  moving as well as its export earnings. But between them, 45  percent of the world’s seaborne energy, is carried by Russia and the Gulf countries.

Congress (including 18 Republicans) , however, is on the side of Ukraine. In early June it passes Lindsey Graham’s toughening sanctions by a comfortable majority of 226 to 159 The sanctions include additional American assistance to Ukraine. In the Senate, the bill had 60 co-sponsors. Trump  signed the Graham Act into law on 18 September.

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Joe Nutt

ALDC by-election report, 15th October

By Joe Nutt | Fri 16th October 2026 - 4:29 pm

Five principal authority by-elections took place across England and Wales this week – one on Tuesday 13th October and four on Thursday 15th October.

The Liberal Democrats were defending two seats (in Wiltshire and Mid Devon), Labour defended one in Gloucestershire, Reform UK defended one in Leicestershire, and an Independent defence in North Wales.

It was an exceptional week of defensive strength for the Liberal Democrats, holding both of our contested seats with authority. In Mid Devon, we swept nearly three-quarters of the vote in Bradninch, while in Wiltshire, we halted a Conservative comeback in Salisbury Milford. Elsewhere, Reform UK’s defensive slump continued, marking over a month without a by-election victory, as Labour gained Shepshed in Leicestershire, held off the Greens in Stroud, and localist group Flintshire People’s Voice secured a landslide gain in Wales.

 

Salisbury Milford, Wiltshire UA – 15 October

In Wiltshire, the Liberal Democrats successfully held the Salisbury Milford division on Wiltshire Council following a competitive contest with the Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrats have made consistent gains in Wiltshire across the 2021 and 2025 county elections. In 2025, we ended decades of Conservative rule, becoming the largest group with 43 seats (to the Conservatives’ 37, Reform UK’s 10, Independents’ 7, and Labour’s 3) and forming a minority administration with Independent support. The Wiltshire wards of Salisbury form a bit of a patchwork with Lib Dems, Reform, Labour, Conservative and Independent councillors holding seats. Milford was gained from the Conservatives in that 2025 breakthrough with a 16-point swing.

Last night, Mac McIntyre Brown stopped a Conservative recovery in its tracks, increasing our vote share to 45.6% (+1.7%) and maintaining a solid 9.2 percentage point lead over the Conservatives. This success was compounded on Salisbury City Council, where our candidate Lawrence Gillies was also elected in a city council by-election on the same day.

Huge congratulations to newly elected Cllr Mac McIntyre Brown, Lawrence Giles and the team in Salisbury on a well-fought (double!) victory!

Lib Dem (Mac McIntyre Brown): 759 (45.6%, +1.7%)

Conservative: 605 (36.4%, +12.4%)

Reform UK: 189 (11.4%, -6.7%)

Labour: 110 (6.6%, -2.1%)

Turnout: 40.0%

Liberal Democrat HOLD

 

Bradninch, Mid Devon DC – 15 October 2026

Over in Devon, the Liberal Democrats delivered a dominant defence in the Bradninch ward of Mid Devon District Council.

The Liberal Democrats took majority control of Mid Devon in 2023 for the first time since 1999, securing 33 seats while reducing the Conservatives to just 5. When the new Bradninch ward was first contested in 2023, we won an overwhelming 82% of the vote against only Labour and the Conservatives.

While the headline vote share showed a slight decline due to a more crowded five-candidate field – with both Reform UK and the Greens standing this time – Mary Ryan hoovered up nearly three-quarters of the total vote on 72.5%. An astonishing achievement and continues our party’s remarkable defensive record in local by-elections.

Congratulations to Cllr Mary Ryan and the Mid Devon campaign team on a massive win!

Lib Dem (Mary Ryan): 476 (72.5%, -9.7%)

Reform UK: 91 (13.9%, new)

Conservative: 37 (5.6%, -0.6%)

Labour: 31 (4.7%, -6.9%)

Green Party: 21 (3.2%, new)

Turnout: 39.5%

Liberal Democrat HOLD

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Jonathan Parrott

What is democracy?

By Jonathan Parrott | Fri 16th October 2026 - 12:43 pm

This is a question that can be asked of anyone, and will allow any person to receive a variant of the answer every time. Yet one idea remains clear, and that is the government operates under the consent of the governed.

As Liberal Democrats, we need to understand our namesake. We are democratic, we are a group that promotes liberalism and equality and importantly in relation to this, we promote a fairer system of voting; proportional representation. Everyone should have the right to feel as though their vote counts, everyone should feel valued as a participant in a democratic society.

But there is an issue in our country, as we can see in many other countries both democratic and non-democratic.

Apathy.

Apathy is the death of democracy, apathy is the death of freedom, justice, passion and of a country. A democratic state is not a right, it is something that must be fought for, something that must be defended at every opportunity. This fails when people look at an election and turn their attention elsewhere.

This is the critical state we must never allow to become entrenched in our society. We must never allow the population to allow democracy to pass them by.

Democracy is a sacred thing that must be a part of our everyday lives because it affects our everyday lives. If we permit apathy to flourish, and defeatism to become entrenched in our minds, then those who shout the loudest will claim the seat of power in this country and wrench power from the people to themselves.

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