Author Archives: Richard Wingfield

Opinion: Why Liberal Democrats should support lowering the age of consent

By Richard Wingfield | Sat 23rd November 2013 - 2:30 pm

Liberal Democrats have long-championed the rights of young people. We were the first major party to call for the voting age to be lowered to 16. We were the only party in 2010 which committed to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law. In government, we have ended the detention of children for immigration purposes. But in one area of personal freedom and development, we remain distinctly illiberal: the age of consent.

In response to the recent calls from Professor John Ashton, president of the Faculty of Public Health, to lower the age of consent …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged john ashton, nick clegg and sexual health | 29 Comments

Opinion: Prisoner voting and the rule of law

By Richard Wingfield | Tue 20th November 2012 - 11:25 am

Liberal Democrats have always been proud defenders of the rule of law. As our manifesto stated in 2010, the values of ‘fairness and the rule of law’ lie at the heart of our foreign policy. However, just as we call on other states such as Burma, Belarus and Zimbabwe to respect the rule of law, so we must be ever vigilant that there is no weakening of this fundamental principle at home. The Liberal Democrat policy on the Justice and Security Bill at conference in September was a powerful reminder to the leadership on how seriously we, as a party, take this issue.