Author Archives: Paul Walter

Paul Walter

Jo Swinson on brilliant form on transgender rights

By Paul Walter | Mon 9th December 2019 - 10:57 am

If you haven’t seen this clip, it’s worth watching. Jo is on brilliant form as she responds to an LBC caller who criticised boys wearing skirts. As Nick Ferrari wades in about “national security” and risks for British citizens in Saudi Arabia, Jo is passionate and concludes:

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Paul Walter

Hugh Grant on the frustrating lack of progress in combatting press abuses since the Leveson Inquiry

By Paul Walter | Thu 5th December 2019 - 5:10 pm

When I interviewed Hugh Grant on Monday, I started by asking him a couple of questions about his work with the pressure group Hacked Off on press abuse.

Firstly, I asked how he thinks the campaign to curb press abuse issue is looking at the moment. Here’s his reply:

Well, it’s extremely frustrating that we got as far as we did. Hacked Off campaigned for a judicial enquiry. We got it. Leveson’s recommendations at the end of that were very mild really, on the spectrum of what he could have recommended. It was then a struggle to get them into law but finally, as you’ll remember, they were passed by the entire House. There was the Royal Charter, and then there was Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, which I assumed, if the whole of Parliament has given it the thumbs up, must become law. It turns out there’s a technical glitch called “commencement”, which the Tory government managed to exploit, and they never pressed that commencement button.

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Paul Walter

Jo Swinson is impressive under the Andrew Neil grilling

By Paul Walter | Wed 4th December 2019 - 10:17 pm

Jo Swinson gave a very impressive performance under the grilling of Andrew Neil this evening on primetime BBC1. (You can view it here).

She was confident, offering contrition on the mistakes of the coalition and outlining the Liberal Democrat positions clearly.

There are plenty of past examples of car crash interviews with Andrew Neil at the helm. Jo did very well under his forensic questioning.

Here’s a selection of tweets reacting to tonight’s programme:

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Paul Walter

Traditional Tory voters in London are coming across to the LibDems

By Paul Walter | Tue 3rd December 2019 - 7:30 pm

Siobhan Benita, our London spokesperson and 2020 mayoral candidate (right), has been campaigning for LibDem candidates all over London. Yesterday she spoke to me about how things are going. This was her assessment:

I think it is going really well. We’re definitely seeing, in some of our key target seats, what we’ve heard here (in City of London and Westminster), which is (that) especially traditional Conservative voters, are (coming across to the LibDems). (This is) not just about Brexit – what we were hearing in Kensington yesterday, for example with Sam’s team, and a lot of the older voters there who have only ever voted Conservative, were saying they don’t associate with Boris Johnson’s Conservative party – they don’t like him – they don’t like the lies he is saying – and for the first time ever – some of them had already postal voted – they’d already given us their vote. So I think we are definitely seeing that across the capital. The nice thing for me, I think as well, is that I know we are obviously strong in parts of London – say south-west London – we have traditionally been strong. I’m definitely getting that sense in the north as well, in Finchley and Golders Green it’s going to be really really exciting there too. So I am hoping that we can – you know – change the map across London and that we’ll be seeing yellow pockets across London, other than the south-west – but I think we’ll grow there as well.

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Posted in London and News | Tagged , and | 23 Comments
Paul Walter

In pictures: Hugh Grant campaigning for Chuka Umunna and Luciana Berger

By Paul Walter | Tue 3rd December 2019 - 10:30 am

Here, from Getty Images, is a slideshow of Hugh Grant’s visit to support Chuka Ummuna yesterday, and Luciana Berger on Sunday evening.

Please use the arrows to go back and forwards across the slideshow, and hover your mouse or finger over each photo to read its caption:


Embed from Getty Images

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Paul Walter

Hugh Grant on Boris Johnson: Sinister, narcissistic and alarming with potentially no principles at all

By Paul Walter | Tue 3rd December 2019 - 8:55 am

Chuka Umunna and Hugh Grant talk with the press yesterday in St John’s Gardens, London SW1

“Could someone interview Hugh Grant tomorrow?” came the call from our esteemed LDV editor Caron, late on Sunday.

Well, one of the advantages of being gloriously retired is that you can often turn on a sixpence. So I jumped at the chance to interview the great man despite basic logistics issues such as “where” and “when” being still unclear. As these basics remained unclear as hours passed I realised I would have to bring forward my powers of initiative and assertiveness.

Fortunately, thanks to the great assistance of our old friend Dr Evan Harris of Hacked Off and Helen Davies, chair of City of London and Westminster Liberal Democrats, yesterday I was introduced to Hugh Grant as a “friend” and got my three minutes with him. You can hear the whole interview here on SoundCloud. (It includes a section about press abuse.)

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Paul Walter

Something which might be an essential investment for the winter campaigning!

By Paul Walter | Thu 31st October 2019 - 9:47 am

Thanks very much to Jane Reed from York Liberal Democrats, who has emailed us about “touchscreen gloves”.

These are gloves which keep your hands warm but allow you to input data into your mobile phone or tablet.

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Sam Gyimah to stand for Lib Dems in Kensington

By Paul Walter | Wed 30th October 2019 - 12:00 pm

Sam tweets:

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Paul Walter

Stephen Lloyd MP intends to stand for the Lib Dems in Eastbourne

By Paul Walter | Wed 30th October 2019 - 10:30 am

Stephen Lloyd MP has posted a YouTube video for his Eastbourne constituents. In it, he says that he has kept his word and voted for a EU exit withdrawal bill four times in parliament. He adds that, now he has done that, the slate is wiped clean with the forthcoming general election, so he will now be a ‘full throated’ “remainer”. He states that intends to stand in Eastbourne as the Liberal Democrat candidate.

This now means that there are 20 Liberal Democrat MPs in the House of Commons.

Here is Stephen’s video:

And here Layla Moran welcomes Stephen back to the Liberal …

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Paul Walter

Fortune favours the bold

By Paul Walter | Wed 30th October 2019 - 8:54 am


And so we head into an election campaign as ‘the goose is getting fat’ and Brenda from Bristol boards up her front door to keep out invading journalists.

We’ve whirled around and around the entire gamut of constitutional and Brexit permutations many times, and so we end up with a general election when the Rubic’s Cube of parliamentary arithmetic will be re-spun. Then the whole darn thing will start again.

It is somewhat forbidding to face the prospect of knocking on doors in the ‘deep mid-winter’.

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Paul Walter

Professor John Curtice predicts big gains for Lib Dems in 12th December election

By Paul Walter | Tue 29th October 2019 - 9:46 pm

From LBC:

The UK’s leading election expert Sir John Curtice told LBC he expects parties other than the two major ones to have a record number of MPs in the upcoming General Election.

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Paul Walter

+++MPs back 12th December General Election

By Paul Walter | Tue 29th October 2019 - 8:45 pm

From Guardian Live:

Boris Johnson’s wish for a general election on 12 December looks set to be granted after MPs voted in favour of it by 438 to 20; a majority of 418.

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Paul Walter

Repeated delays to Brexit are down to the failure of Conservative leaders to persuade their own, and partner, MPs

By Paul Walter | Sun 20th October 2019 - 6:18 pm

We get comments here on Liberal Democrat Voice of this type from Simon today:

If you want to try to frustrate and cancel Brexit that’s up to you, you won’t succeed because eventually the majority will win. In the meantime you are just making people’s lives a misery. All this stuff about workers rights and the environment is nonsense scaremongering, any government that tried to do it would get voted out, that’s why we have votes albeit you don’t respect them.

This line of argument ignores reality.

The people who stopped the May deal being approved three times were Conservative MPs – the ERG – who voted against it each time. Yes, extreme Brexiteers and Euro-Sceptics stopped May’s deals – not the Liberal Democrats. They indicated support for her negotiating strategy in December 2017 but then withdrew it later. On 15th January 2019 May’s deal had no less than 118 Tory MPs voting against it, including the Eurosceptic’s Eurosceptic, Sir Bill Cash, plus Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

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Posted in Op-eds | 11 Comments
Paul Walter

Jo Swinson on “What’s next?”

By Paul Walter | Sat 19th October 2019 - 6:19 pm

Embed from Getty Images
Use the arrows above to see a slide show of today’s People’s Vote march

After today’s historic session in parliament, which has extended PM Johnson’s unblemished record of defeats, Jo Swinson has written to party members with the following summary:

After today’s votes, the fight to stop Brexit continues.

Hundreds of thousands of people are marching outside Parliament, where I’ve just finished voting, to demand a final say.

After today’s votes, Boris Johnson must obey the law and send a letter asking for Article 50 to be extended.

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Paul Walter

Woodford – a lesson in hubris, both for individuals and councils

By Paul Walter | Wed 16th October 2019 - 1:30 pm

Embed from Getty Images

The story of the Woodford Equity Income fund should give investors great pause for thought concerning how many eggs to put in one particular basket.

The Guardian reports:

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Paul Walter

Brexit: the penny drops as Sir Humphrey is wheeled in amidst the “whiff of sexism”

By Paul Walter | Wed 16th October 2019 - 8:55 am

Sir Ivan Rogers, former UK ambassador to the EU, had to have an uncomfortable conversation with the then Prime Minister, Theresa May in 2016. He told her:

…you have made three commitments in good faith to different audiences, but they are not really compatible with each other.

You have said to the Irish, under no circumstances will a hard border be erected across the island of Ireland.

You have said to the Democratic Unionist community under no circumstances will there be divergence from the rest of Great Britain.

And you have said to the right of your own party that you are heading out of the customs union.

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Paul Walter

World mental health day is tomorrow

By Paul Walter | Wed 9th October 2019 - 4:32 pm

The World Health Organisation recognises World Mental Health Day on 10 October every year. This year’s theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is suicide prevention.

The Mental Health Foundation are encouraging people to share the infographic above. There is much relevant information on their website, including the list below of ways to get help.

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Paul Walter

Would you like to help at the exciting Lib Dem HQ?

By Paul Walter | Wed 9th October 2019 - 1:30 pm

The Lib Dem HQ is almost literally protected by Lloyd George’s raincoat

I was wandering around the exhibitions at the Bournemouth conference when my eye was caught by a most glamorous display. -Lots of glitter and lovely gold-wrapped chocolate hearts. These adorned the LibDem HQ volunteering stand. The cheerful helper there explained the whole HQ volunteering thing.

There are volunteer roles for people who are interested in them. But also, it is possible to volunteer to do tasks at the HQ as and when they fit in with your other commitments and activities.

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 4 Comments
Paul Walter

In praise of Marcus Ball – doughty fighter against the £350 million red bus lie

By Paul Walter | Wed 9th October 2019 - 9:38 am


Embed from Getty Images

Marcus Ball has announced that he can no longer move forward with his legal fight to hold Boris Johnson responsible for his “£350 million a week” red bus statement.

High court judges threw the case out in June after Johnson challenged a summons to attend court on three claims of misconduct in public office. However, Marcus Ball had continued fighting in the hope of taking the case to the Supreme Court.

Last weekend, news came from the legal fraternity that this would not be possible.

This young man has put up an extraordinary fight over the last three and a half years, working at below the national minimum wage per hour.

Goodness knows, there are many roads to riches in the legal profession.

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Paul Walter

WATCH Online hustings for party President

By Paul Walter | Tue 8th October 2019 - 9:28 am

You can watch the whole of the online presidential hustings below. The event was chaired by Lorely Burt last night. Questions were submitted by members on a range of issues. You can see the two candidates, Christine Jardine MP and Mark Pack, outlining their vision for the role of the President and the future of the party.

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Nicola Horlick, investment fund manager and NHS champion, to be Lib Dem candidate

By Paul Walter | Thu 3rd October 2019 - 5:43 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Kensington and Chelsea LibDems have announced that businesswoman and campaigner Nicola Horlick is the Liberal Democrat PPC for Chelsea and Fulham.

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Paul Walter

Is this why many “leavers” are against a People’s Vote?

By Paul Walter | Wed 2nd October 2019 - 4:00 pm

The latest polls on a third referendum:

Jacob Rees-Mogg was recently asked by an LBC listener:

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 33 Comments
Paul Walter

Jo Swinson on Johnson’s speech: ‘Beneath the bluff & bluster, he’s determined to crash us out of the EU’

By Paul Walter | Wed 2nd October 2019 - 2:15 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Commenting on PM Johnson’s Manchester speech today, Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson said:

When you strip away the bluff and bluster, this was a speech by a Prime Minister who is determined to crash us out of the EU without a deal.

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Paul Walter

Johnson has deeply split the Tory party – on an historic level

By Paul Walter | Wed 2nd October 2019 - 12:33 pm

Embed from Getty Images

It is worth standing back and pausing to consider how remarkable the historic split in the Tory party has been under PM Johnson is just a few weeks.

“One Nation” Tories have been the backbone of the Conservative party for a couple of centuries. But now they have been cast out of the party.

This extraordinary split can be seen in the words of two “One Nation” Tories who now sit in Parliament as independents.

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Paul Walter

Resumed Parliament discusses things that don’t begin with “B”

By Paul Walter | Wed 2nd October 2019 - 10:48 am

The resumption of Parliament has meant that important issues, that would have been sidelined during the ill-fated prorogation, are being discussed.

One subject very dear to Tim Farron’s heart is his private member’s bill, the Access to Radiotherapy Bill, which has been languishing in its first reading stage since December 2017. The resumption of parliament gave him a chance to implore the leader of the House to allow time for its second reading. This Bill is important because it would end the hell of cancer sufferers who have to take 3 hour round trips for radiotherapy day after day, week after week, in places like Tim’s constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale:

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Paul Walter

Where we are – Lib Dem morning briefing

By Paul Walter | Tue 1st October 2019 - 11:24 am

The Lib Dem press office has provided an excellent summary of where we are this morning, together with the agenda for Parliament today:

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Posted in News | Tagged | 38 Comments
Paul Walter

The Rise of the Nazis – some parallels today?

By Paul Walter | Wed 25th September 2019 - 4:30 pm

Anyone who has flicked around cable TV channels will know that somewhere in the world you can always watch: (1) Friends and (2) Lots of Nazis goose-stepping backwards and forwards on history channels.

So, it was with some trepidation that I saw that the BBC were to air “The Rise of the Nazis”.

I expected yet another compilation of black and white clips of goose-stepping soldiers.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 54 Comments
Paul Walter

+++Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament unlawful, supreme court rules

By Paul Walter | Tue 24th September 2019 - 11:01 am

Embed from Getty Images

A stunning judgment, with huge constitutional importance, which is a massive rebuke to Boris Johnson. Johnson has only succeeded in stirring up a hornets’ nest!

The Guardian reports:

The supreme court has ruled that Boris Johnson’s advice to the Queen that parliament should be prorogued for five weeks at the height of the Brexit crisis was unlawful.

The judgment from 11 justices on the UK’s highest court follows an emergency three-day hearing last week that exposed fundamental legal differences over interpreting the country’s unwritten constitution.

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Posted in News | 15 Comments
Paul Walter

Horrific Labour conference motion on private schools proposes nothing less than theft

By Paul Walter | Tue 24th September 2019 - 9:42 am

Christ's Hospital Dining Hall
Christ’s Hospital school, Sussex, which has been admitting mainly pupils from less privileged backgrounds since 1552

There has been much debate following the Labour conference’s motion to “abolish private schools”.

When explaining the rules of cricket to the average American, one sees their eyes glazing over even before one reaches mention of “deep square leg”.

It’s the same when you try to explain to them that, in the UK, public schools are private schools. You may reach the point when you feel further explanation is pointless. Why not, instead, try explaining to them that Scotch whisky has no “e”, but Irish whiskey does. It may be easier.

Anyway, I went to a public school. Or, if you prefer, I went to a private school.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 52 Comments
Paul Walter

Conference pays heartfelt and fulsome tribute to Paddy

By Paul Walter | Tue 17th September 2019 - 8:15 pm

There were 20 minutes set aside this morning in the main hall to pay tribute to Paddy Ashdown.

In the front row for the session were Jane, Kate and Simon Ashdown.

(Baroness) Liz Barker presented the salute to our founding leader with a quiet and heartfelt voice. She emphasised that this was a tribute to a partnership – Paddy and Jane.

The section started with a video on the big screen. Relaxed and sincere tributes came from Ed Davey, Nick Clegg, Tony Blair, Jane Ashdown and (Baroness) Cathy Bakewell (who worked with Paddy during his early days as an MP in Yeovil).

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