Author Archives: Simon McGrath

Simon McGrath is a directly elected member of the Federal Board
Simon McGrath

We need a tax rise to fund additional defence spending 

By Simon McGrath | Fri 12th June 2026 - 1:30 pm

I am an “Orange Book”  Lib Dem – I think we should have taxes as low as possible because people make the best decisions about how to spend their own money. That doesn’t of course mean that we don’t need taxes – there are lots of things the state needs to do to ensure everyone a decent society – and   tax as a % of GDP is currently a Post war high. 

But it’s very clear that our failure to adequately fund our Defences is putting our future as a safe, democratic nation at risk. John Healey’s resignation letter could hardly be clearer: 

You   spelled out the threats last week: “It is our intelligence assessment, and the assessment of other countries in Nato, that there could be an attack by Russia on Nato as soon as 2030. 

And he says the proposed backloaded plan 

falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time

Ed Davey has called for an extra £20bn to be funded via ‘Defence Bonds’ but there is no clarity  how these differ from any other Government borrowing nor does it seem sensible to add yet further to the UK’s massive debts. 

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Simon McGrath

How Sam beat Reform in Bromsgrove

By Simon McGrath | Tue 11th November 2025 - 4:05 pm

Like many Lib Dems I was  immensely pleased to read of the victory of Sam Ammar in Bromsgrove South last week,  taking a seat from Reform.  

I had met  Sam at the  London Region Conference a few weeks ago and was really struck by her story of how she joined us from Labour and her energy and enthusiasm and I  wanted to find our the inside story of how our   Bromsgrove Team beat Reform.

The by election was called after a Reform Cllr ( who had not attended any Council meetings since her election in May ) resigned due to ill health. The ward is  very diverse from heavy social housing in one end (in the District  Council  seat which Sam also represents ) to £million houses at the other end and 3  gastro pubs.

Sam has been our candidate in May 2025  coming a runner up when Reform took the ward from the Tories and  already represents part of the ward on the District Council. She was selected as candidate and the team immediately started intensive campaigning. 

There were a number of local issues which we were already campaigning on, one of them  was the Government Plan for an additional 9,000 homes to be built locally  with 500 in the heart of the ward. 

Dr David Nicholls one of our local Cllrs and PPC in 2024  said : “I absolutely accept that we need to build more houses, but concreting fields is not the answer,” 

Lib Dems have also been campaigning for a new road the ‘Western Relief Road” to run in parallel with the M5 and  relieve congestion on the A38 – something that will only get worse if new homes are built.

Our literature was classic ALDC by election stuff with an attack/squeeze  leaflet aimed at Reform issued at the end of the campaign. 

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Simon McGrath

From now on, no decent person can vote Tory – UPDATE

By Simon McGrath | Mon 3rd November 2025 - 11:45 am

Last week, I wrote about the appalling Tory plan to deport millions of legally settled people.

This plan involved cancelling the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) of people who are not UK Citizens if they were (among other things) living in a council house, not earning more than £38,700, or had a disabled dependent receiving State benefits. As Shadow Home Office Minister, Katie Lam, said at the time, this policy would target “a mostly, but not entirely, culturally coherent group of people.”

It seems this may have been a step too far even for the Tories. The Guardian reports that …

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Simon McGrath

From now on, no decent person can vote Tory

By Simon McGrath | Tue 28th October 2025 - 9:19 am

I have known lots of Tory voters in my life and a fair few Tory members and many  of them have been decent people who want the best for our country, albeit they have different ways of achieving it to us  (the same could be said for Labour supporters). But on October 18th the Tory Party changed and I do not believe any decent person can now vote for them.

Their  “ rising star” Katie Lam, who is a shadow Home Office Minister, says that she wants to deport  millions  of people who have “Indefinite Right to Remain” (ILR).  She told the Times (£):

There are also a large number of people in this country who came here legally, but in effect shouldn’t have been able to do so. It’s not the fault of the individuals who came here, they just shouldn’t have been able to do so. They will also need to go home. What that will leave is a mostly, but not entirely, culturally coherent group of people.

This is the language of mass deportations; of our friends, our workmates and members of our families, who have lived here , obeyed the law , paid their taxes and  brought up their families here.

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Simon McGrath

What would Nelson say?

By Simon McGrath | Tue 21st October 2025 - 11:17 am

Embed from Getty Images
Today is Trafalgar Day – the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
 

When I attend meetings in the Council Chamber in Merton, it’s impossible to ignore the Borough’s most famous inhabitant: a huge picture of Admiral Lord Nelson looks down on the assembled Councillors.

Today is the 220th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, which cemented Britain’s naval supremacy. I wonder what Nelson would make of the Royal Navy today, which  cannot properly defend us. The core problem traces back to Tony Blair’s expeditionary foreign policy and its emphasis on distant wars. To support this, his government commissioned two large aircraft carriers designed for offshore bombardment and troop support.

In principle, that’s fine. Unfortunately, the focus on these two large ships means the Royal Navy cannot reliably carry out its most basic task: keeping our sea lanes open to receive vital supplies. 95% of our trade is carried by sea, including 66% of our gas supply. The risk isn’t just cargo ships being sunk; we also rely on pipelines from Norway, cross-channel power cables, and the huge web of critical undersea communications cables.

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Simon McGrath

Zack Polanski’s first email as Green Leader: not a word about  Climate Change

By Simon McGrath | Thu 4th September 2025 - 2:58 pm

I’ve known Zack since his days as a Liberal Democrat, so I was curious  to read the email he sent out after he was elected leader and how he would present himself in his new role. The email he sent out (text below) was certainly polished. But it focused on bills, childcare, public ownership of water, and taking on Reform. All important issues, but none of them are why people join the Greens.  It was remarkable for what it left out: not a single mention of the environment or climate change – the very issues the Green Party exists to champion.

Looking at his statement when he was elected, climate and environment barely feature and his Twitter feed tells the same story: the Green Party has chosen a leader who doesn’t seem especially interested in green issues.

This raises an obvious question for long-standing Green members and supporters. If the Green Party leader won’t put climate and environment front and centre, then what is the Party’s reason for existing? It starts to look less like an environmental movement and more like another version of  ‘Your Party’ – right down to the “In solidarity” sign-off.

For those who care passionately about the climate, there is a political home: the Liberal Democrats. Ed Davey has made environmental action a central priority, from investing in renewable energy to protecting nature. The party’s record – and its leader’s repeated focus on these issues – makes clear that tackling the climate crisis is not an afterthought but a core mission.

Those who want a Party which  treats the environment as  a core priority  won’t find it in Zack Polanski’s Greens. They will in Liberal Democrats.

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Simon McGrath

Pupil Premium: A Liberal Democrat success that needs a 2025 reboot

By Simon McGrath | Wed 13th August 2025 - 8:55 am

When the Liberal Democrats entered the Coalition Government in 2010 the introduction of a Pupil Premium was a key  part of  our agreement with the Conservatives.

It was a simple idea – give schools extra funding for each disadvantaged child they teach, and require that money to be spent in ways that improve those pupils’  life chances. It was a direct investment in fairness – helping to close the stubborn attainment gap between children from low-income families and their peers.

But a new report from the Centre for Social Justice  shows that while  £27 bn has been spent on the Pupil Premium it is not achieving as much as we would like – or was expected.   

The gap in attainment at the end of primary school remains at 21 percentage points – barely changed in eight years. At GCSE level, the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is now wider than at any point in the past decade. Only 45.6% of disadvantaged pupils secure a pass in both English and maths, compared to 73.7% of all others.

Even more worrying, six in ten schools saw worse results for disadvantaged pupils in 2023/24 than before the pandemic – while many improved outcomes for their better-off pupils. The Covid years hit vulnerable children hardest, but the recovery has not been even.

The Liberal Democrat vision behind the Pupil Premium was never just about more money. It was about targeted investment, accountability, and evidence-based spending. Yet the CSJ’s research shows that the system has drifted away from that vision. Schools often use the funds to plug general budget holes, and there is no consistent national tracking of how the money is spent or whether it works.

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Simon McGrath

Shocking report on Child Poverty

By Simon McGrath | Tue 15th July 2025 - 10:25 am

The Children’s Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza has produced a totally damming Report on Child Poverty in the UK.

The report is based on listening to children about their experiences of poverty – not just statistics but what it feels like – the sense of shame of being poor,  a great awareness of their families financial situation, the challenges of keeping homes warm and of living in temporary accommodation.   What struck me in particular was children  hiding the family’s financial circumstances and feeling embarrassed about it and being bullied and shamed by other children for being poor.

The commentary by Dame de Souza on the Report could hardly be blunter. She says there is:

 an almost-Dickensian level of poverty facing some children in England today. After four years as Children’s Commissioner and as a teacher and headteacher before that, few things truly leave me speechless

She says that there are no simple solutions and that “the extension of  free school meals to all children living in households receiving Universal Credit will help” – this is of course a long standing Lib Dem request. 

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Simon McGrath

Lib Dem Stockport awarded Local Authority  of the Year at Municipal Journal Awards 

By Simon McGrath | Wed 25th June 2025 - 10:25 am

At the Municipal Journal Awards last Friday, Stockport Council were given the award of “Local Authority of the Year “  with the judges singling out their “ ‘standout’ submission for its ‘clarity of purpose and impact’ and a ‘commitment to people-centred progress’.. 

The judges also said that  “The “OneStockport” ethos shone through bold investment, strong service delivery and genuine co-production.”

In an article earlier this   year Cllr Mark Hunter (until May 2025 Leader of Stockport Council)  explained their approach.  

 I was particularly struck by the attention to building new homes: 

Our ‘One Stockport’ approach unites public, private and voluntary sectors, ensuring everyone has a stake in our borough’s future. For example, our Mayoral Development Corporation has delivered more than 1,200 new homes and is on track to reach 8,000 by 2040, creating vibrant communities and opportunities for all.

And helping poor families:

Since April 2023, we have helped 49,000 residents’ access nearly £20m in benefits and written off £3m in debt. These are not just numbers, they are lives transformed.

Lib Dem Councils were shortlisted for numerous awards 

and  Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council won the award for Senior Leadership Team of the Year.   Council Leader Millie Earl said: 

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Simon McGrath

Lib Dems should say no to the UK acquiring tactical nuclear weapons

By Simon McGrath | Wed 18th June 2025 - 12:34 pm

The Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June, contains plenty of ideas which I believe our Party should support – an increase in the number of ships in the Royal Navy, increased reserves of munitions, and a big increase in our capacity to produce them, many more drones and protection of our underwater communications are all sensible proposals in the more dangerous world in which we now live.

But there is one part of the review which I do not believe we should support, and that is a proposal for the UK to acquire tactical nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver them. The SDR says (Recommendation 30):

“Commencing discussions with the United States and NATO on the potential benefits and feasibility of enhanced UK participation in NATO’s nuclear mission.”

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LGA Group elections under way

By Simon McGrath | Sun 1st June 2025 - 12:55 pm

The elections for the Officers of  the Lib Dem Group at the Local Government Association and for Lib Dem members of various Boards have started.

When nominations closed on 23 May, three of the most senior officer roles were unopposed and saw the incumbents re-elected :

  • Cllr Joe Harris, who recently stepped down from his role as Leader of Cotswold District Council, will be starting his third term as Leader.
  • Cllr Bridget Smith, who is Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, continues as Deputy Leader.
  • Cllr Heather Kidd, who has just become Leader of Shropshire Council, will continue as the Group Whip.

Cllr  Harris said:

It’s an honour to be re-elected to lead the Lib Dem group at the LGA, especially at a time when local government is under more pressure than ever. Whether it was the chaos and neglect of the Conservative years or the centralising instincts of the new Labour government, local councils are too often ignored or undermined by Westminster. I’m determined to fight that head-on—demanding proper funding, real devolution, and genuine respect for the work our councillors do day in, day out. We’ve made big strides in amplifying our voice and improving our influence, from boosting communications to building alliances in Parliament—but we’re only just getting started. I’ll keep standing up for our communities, our councillors, and the liberal values that set us apart, and look forward to working with colleagues across the country to do this.

The only leadership position to be contested is that of Group Chair. Here, the incumbent Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, is opposed by Cllr Carl Cashman, Leader of the Lib Dem Group on Liverpool Council.

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A great victory for Liberals everywhere

By Simon McGrath | Tue 29th April 2025 - 11:00 am

Embed from Getty Images

Mark Carney and the Canadian Liberals have won an extraordinary victory which seemed impossible a few months ago.

In hispowerful victory speech in English and French, he said that he would be guided by 3 values ; Humility , Ambition and Unity and stressed the importance of bringing the whole country together to deal with the new world we are in.

He could not have been clearer about the threat and the fundamental change: “America wants our land, our resources, our country …. President Trump is trying to break us, so that America can own us. Our old relationship with the United States is over ….. The system of global open trade .. is dead”

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Simon McGrath

Russia sanctions ten Lib Dem Parliamentarians

By Simon McGrath | Fri 25th April 2025 - 10:04 am

The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry have banned 6 peers and 15 MPs from entering the Russian Federation for:

Hostile statements and unfounded accusations coming from members of the UK Parliament, including public statements in favour of seizing Russian assets “immobilised” in Western jurisdictions

Lib Dems are very well represented on the list. Among the  peers are Lord Purvis and Baroness Smith (and Lord Alton, a cross bencher was a Liberal MP for 18 years ) and Russia has sanctioned no fewer than 8 of our MPs – Alistair Carmichael, Chris Coghlan, Helen Maguire, James Maccleary, Mike Martin,  Manuela Perteghella, Cameron Thomas and Will Forster.

Alistair Carmichael said :

“In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting to travel there anytime soon,” he said.

“On one view, it’s nice to know they hear the criticism, even if they don’t like it.

“I wear this ban as a badge of honour.”

James MacCleary said on X :

and

Helen Maguire said on X :

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Simon McGrath

Lib Dem led Councils shortlisted for top Award

By Simon McGrath | Tue 15th April 2025 - 9:20 am

The Local Authority publication the Municipal Journal has shortlisted a number of Lib Dem-led Councils for their ‘Local Authority of the Year Award’.

The Award recognises “councils who, through a collective effort, drive innovation and are delivering the best outcomes for their communities”. What is really striking is that, of the seven finalists, all but one are either Lib Dem-run or with Lib Dems involved in running the councils.

One finalist is the Lib Dem-run Council of Watford. Peter Taylor, the elected Mayor of Watford said :

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Making Labour Councillors more comfortable

By Simon McGrath | Mon 7th April 2025 - 4:04 pm

Labour Councillors in Merton have come up with a way of cutting down on scrutiny from opposition councillors – led by 17 Liberal Democrats. Last week’s Council meeting saw Labour force though a whole series of changes to the constitution which will drastically affect the ability of Opposition Councillors to hold them to account.

The draconian new rules:

  • Limit accountability on key issues by halving the number of questions to Cabinet Members.
  • Reduce the publication of key information on the administration’s performance and whether it’s meeting its own promises, by abolishing ‘strategic theme reports’ and questions.
  • Stifle debate on issues residents care about by limiting opposition motions. For smaller groups – like the Conservatives – that’s to fewer than one a meeting. Independent councillors will rarely, if ever be able to propose motions.
  • Gag minority political opinions. Again, smaller groups – like the Conservatives – will see their speaking time in debates limited.
  • Rig the rule’s in Labour’s favour by fixing it so that Labour councillors get more speaking time in debates, and giving the Labour Leader of the Council unlimited interventions.
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Simon McGrath

Merton Lib Dems seek action on £118m of unclaimed benefits

By Simon McGrath | Mon 29th July 2024 - 3:00 pm

The amount of unclaimed benefits in the UK is estimated by Policy in Practice to be £22bn – the largest unclaimed benefits being Universal Credit (£8.3bn), Council Tax support (£3.4bn) and Carers Allowance (£2.3bn).

Councils have an important role to play in helping people claim benefits to which they are entitled but do not claim and so Merton Liberal Democrats proposed a motion at a recent council meeting to ask the Council to take some simple and inexpensive actions to ensure Merton residents claimed what they are due.

Proposing the motion, Cllr John Oliver highlighted an estimate of …

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Simon McGrath

Campaigning success and out matching the Prime Minister in Wimbledon

By Simon McGrath | Mon 27th May 2024 - 12:05 pm

The General Election campaign in Wimbledon (the closest LD/Con seat in the country) got off to a cracking start at the weekend.

On Friday we heard that one of our longest running campaigns – for step free access at Raynes Park station (used by 4.3 million people a year) has succeeded in getting funding from the ‘Access for All’ fund for feasibility works on making it step-free. Key to this was our Raynes Park Councillors meeting with the rail companies and co-ordinating letters of support from the public.

We knew that it …

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Biographical Directory of Parliamentary candidates

By Simon McGrath | Thu 18th April 2024 - 12:59 pm

Following a reference in the Journal of Lib Dem History I recently came across the most extraordinary labour of love, a biographical directory  of   people who have been  Liberal, SDP and Lib Dem parliamentary candidates from 1945 – 2019.

This is a 20 year piece  of work by Lionel King who I find from the directory is 87 , fought  Kidderminster in  1964, Sutton Coldfield in  1970, and Walsall South 1987, is  former chair of Birmingham University Liberal Society, worked as a teacher and then TV/Media lecturer in FE and held many roles in the Birmingham and  West Midlands Party.

The directory is divided into 14 parts, by region  and gives a fascinating insight into the range of people attracted to become our Parliamentary candidates over the years. In my own constituency of Wimbledon for example I could read about Alick Kay who stood for us in 1945 and was a former independent member of the New South Wales Parliament, George  Scott who ran in 1964 who fought two parliament by election for us in Middlesborough East and West both in 1962 and who is decribed as “very tall and slim, he tended to be rather aloof in bearing, not a strong public speaker”, Alison Willott in 1992 and 1997 who was a professional concert singer and mother of Jenny Willott who became Lib Dem MP for Cardiff Central and finally Paul Kohler candidate in 2019 (and current PPC ) and his campaign to  Save Wimbledon Police station.

The collator of all this Lionel King would love to hear from candidates with more up to date information (his email can be found in the directory). You can find the directory here:

https://liberalhistory.org.uk/resources-type/election-candidates-directory/

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Ed Davey : I stand in solidarity and support tonight with Israel and all Israelis

By Simon McGrath | Wed 11th October 2023 - 9:20 am

Those were the opening words of a powerful speech by Ed Davey at the  Vigil outside 10 Downing Street on Monday evening following the Hamas attack on Israel. Ed was there  representing our Party with Daisy Cooper. 

Ed went on to say: 

The Liberal Democrats stand in solidarity and support tonight with Jewish people across the world and we stand in support and solidarity with the amazing Jewish community in Great Britain.

And I stand in support together tonight with Tom, with Robert, with David .  Let them hear this, the government and the opposition stand in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people. This most horrendous terrorist attack by the terrorist Hamas must be condemned by everybody completely.

Let us, as we do that, remember the people who were killed. Let us mourn for each and every one of them.

The children, the women, the men who were killed in their homes, killed in their villages, killed as they came together in a festival for music and peace.

That is what the terrorists want to do. They want to kill innocent civilians going about their everyday lives and they must never be forgiven or forgotten that they impose this murderous act on Israel.

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If you back our immigration policy, you should vote to keep a housing target

By Simon McGrath | Mon 18th September 2023 - 9:23 am

In 2022, the population of the UK grew by 606,000. In the year ended June 2022, 173,520 new homes were built in England. The mismatch between the two figures is one factor in rising rents.

Our Party – more than any other – is the one which has been happy about immigration. We also have a policy on asylum seekers which would mean we were welcoming more asylum seekers to the country. Given that, it seems quite extraordinary that the Federal Policy Committee is seeking to remove a target for new homes from our policy.

They say that …

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London members vote to choose the top of the list for the Greater London Assembly

By Simon McGrath | Tue 18th April 2023 - 9:50 am

Ballot e-mails will be going out shortly for members in London to decide the order of our candidates for the List election for the Greater London Assembly in May 2024. The Assembly has fourteen constituency members and eleven elected on Party lists. So, if our share of the vote gives us four people to be elected on the List, the top four on our list will become Assembly members.

We currently have two GLA members – Caroline Pidgeon and Hina Bokhari, though Caroline has announced she is not standing again.

There are eleven members competing:

  • Chris Annous
  • Rob Blackie
  • Cllr Hina Bokhari
  • Michael

…

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My complaint to IPSO about a story in the Telegraph about the Lib Dems

By Simon McGrath | Tue 11th April 2023 - 10:11 am

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me about an article in the Telegraph by Iain Dale entitled “Trans activism is eroding tolerance in politics” which included this passage:

Last weekend, in a little noted decision, the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference passed a motion which urged anyone in the party who didn’t subscribe to full self ID and the wider trans agenda to leave the party. How very “liberal” of them.

The original article is behind a paywall but an amended version can be found on Dale’s website.

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The Lord Mayor, the packets of dates and the lie

By Simon McGrath | Thu 16th March 2023 - 8:00 am

An extraordinary case was concluded  in the election court in Birmingham last month    in which a former Labour  Lord Mayor of Birmingham  was given leave by the Election Court to withdraw an election petition  seeking to overturn his loss at the May 2022 elections to two Lib Dem Councillors.

The background is that in the election Labour’s Muhammed Afzal and a colleague were  defeated by Lib Dem Cllrs – Ayoub Khan and Mumtaz Hussain  – the  relevant bit of the result was:

Ayoub Khan (Liberal Democrat) 3012 votes

Mumtaz Hussain (Liberal Democrat) 2542 votes

Muhammad Afzal (Labour) 2463 votes

Nagina Kauser (Labour) 2223 votes

During the election the Lib Dem candidates had said that Mr Afzal   had been ‘treating’  voters –  by giving out packets of dates with a Labour sticker on while canvassing. Cllr Khan had said on his Facebook page

Such is Labour’s desperation in the Aston Ward…that the current sitting councillor has decided to bribe the people of Aston for votes by giving them a special treat. They ought to know better…this is not Pakistan where you can buy votes.

The election petition said that this claim was false  and intended to defame Mr Afzal’s personal character and that therefore  the result of the election should be overturned.

This was clearly a very serious allegation: apart from losing their hard won council seats, losing the petition would make the 2 Lib Dem councillors responsible for heavy costs putting their homes at risk, possible criminal charges and  and as Cllr Khan is a barrister it  may have had  very serious consequences for his career.

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Labour show their true colours

By Simon McGrath | Sat 12th November 2022 - 2:30 pm

It has not been a great  week for those who think Liberal Democrats will find it easy to work with a minority Labour Government  or that Labour are our natural partners.

First we had Keir Starmer’s very odd comments on  people working in the NHS – where he said 

What I would like to see is the numbers go down in some areas. I think we’re recruiting too many people from overseas into, for example, the health service.

 

I have recently  spent time visiting someone in hospital and was struck by what a high % of the nursing and auxiliary staff were from overseas : what a message to send to them !  

Of course Starmer knows perfectly we need people from overseas to staff the NHS – this is pure dog whistle stuff designed to get a headline. 

Then we have that old  Labour favourite, identity cards. Labour’s last, fabulously expensive plan, for these was  rightly scuppered as one of the first  (and widely acclaimed ) actions of the Coalition but now  revived by Stephen Kinnock who says Labour is thinking : 

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We should be talking about Lib Dem Councils Building new homes 

By Simon McGrath | Wed 2nd November 2022 - 2:01 pm

One of the achievements of Lib Dem controlled  Councils  has been a focus on building social and affordable housing – but it’s not one the Party has made much of. Given that access to housing is one of the key issues in our society that seems a  pity.

In York for example the Lib Dem run council is focused  on increasing the number of  affordable homes  – 447 have been delivered in the last 3 years – and the numbers are increasing year or year. The Council is planning to have delivered  no less than 600 affordable  homes in it’s 4 years term and to have done so while protecting the local Green Belt.

Even better many of these are being delivered to ‘Passivhaus ‘ standards meaning that they are  much  better for the environment.

In Kingston we are doing something most Labour councils say is impossible – building new council  housing – and new housing build to the highest environment standards. .As the Portfolio Holder for Housing , Clr Emily  Davey says -“providing homes which meet our residents needs is a priority for us.”

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Why aren’t the Government talking about the winter fuel crisis?

By Simon McGrath | Fri 28th October 2022 - 6:09 pm

One of the characteristics of this Government has been an extraordinary inability to plan in advance for obvious  problems ahead and to take basic steps to avert them.

Last week the National Grid issued a statement about  the possibility of power cuts this winter if a cold snap is combined with gas shortages, with households experiencing 3 hour black outs.

This scenario has been entirely predictable  since Russia invaded Ukraine but as usual the Government has acted with a mixture of sloth and ignorance. The UK doesn’t directly import much Russian gas but  we will still be affected by reductions elsewhere – and while there are many advantages to our increasing renewable energy supplies  they are, give the problems of storing electricity , prone to problems if the wind doesn’t blow ( or blows too hard ) and the sun doesn’t shine.

So we have an urgent need to ensure we have a good store of gas and are reducing demand as far as possible. The UK has very low gas storage capacity – there is the ‘Rough’ facility, a former gas field which as used by Centrica  but which closed down in 2017 – the Government acting  at its usual (low) speed finally negotiated and reached agreement with Centrica in August about reopening – but its not clear how much gas it will hold this winter.

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No room for complacency about the Tories

By Simon McGrath | Sun 23rd October 2022 - 10:41 am

t’s tempting seeing the fall in the Tory poll ratings and the turmoil in Government as presaging a disastrous General Election for them. But we  have been here before – in the early summer of 2019 they were regular getting polls ratings in the 17-24% range and they lost 1,300 councillors that May and yet they went on to win a General Election a few  months later. 

If there is  one thing we know about the electorate it is that it has become hugely volatile with voters much more willing to switch parties which is great  in many ways but may still work against us. 

Nor can we assume a continuous economic crisis: The EY Item Club Forecast has inflation dropping to  1.8% in 2024 with growth of 2.4%. There is plenty of economic pain in store for 2023 with average earnings  continuing to fall but we should not under estimate the Tory’s ability to present lower inflation as an achievement of theirs.

The Tories are probably the most electorally successful party in the world: they have an extraordinary ability to reinvent themselves -helped of course by vast amounts of money and a formidable lack of scruples in how they fight elections.

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Simon McGrath

The Conservatives fail because they think they know best.

By Simon McGrath | Sun 16th October 2022 - 8:15 pm

One of the characteristics of this awful government is that they manage to present even ideas with a modicum of sense in a way which ensures they will be unpopular.

Yesterday we had a classic example in the news that the new Health Secretary, Thérèse Coffey as part of her ‘Plan for Patients’ is planning to allow pharmacies to prescribe antibiotics (and other drugs) in some cases. It has also come out that she has said that she has handed out her own antibiotics to friends who were feeling unwell in the past. Reaction to this news has been swift – Stephen Baker, Professor of Microbiology at Cambridge said widening access to antibiotics was ‘nuts’ and Professor Penny Ward, of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine was equally scathing: “The Health Secretary really should take the time to familiarise herself with what is a difficult topic”

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Simon McGrath

Lib Dem Eastleigh wins Council of the Year award

By Simon McGrath | Tue 27th September 2022 - 9:22 am

Eastleigh Council has won the prestigious “ Council of the Year” award from the  Association for Public Service Excellence,  recognising its excellent performance in delivering front line council services. The awards receive hundreds of submissions every year and only outstanding councils, that have met the stringent criteria of the expert judges, are shortlisted for Council of the Year.

There are 22 Categories of award and as well as Council of the year. Eastleigh’s  Direct Services team won the  award for Transport and Fleet Maintenance and  the Council was  shortlisted in 4 other categories.

Accepting the award  on behalf of the Council, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Policy, Councillor Tonia Craig said:

Being recognised as Council of the Year is a superb accolade and reflects the commitment of our staff to deliver truly excellent frontline services. I would like to pay tribute to all our teams who work so hard to support communities and improving lives in our Borough – and to thank APSE for this recognition.

Eastleigh is one of the Party’s flagship Councils with has 34 Lib Dem Councillors  out of 39 and we have been in control since 1995.

You can see the Eastleigh Team receiving the award here:

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Simon McGrath

Floella Benjamin pays tribute to the late Queen

By Simon McGrath | Fri 16th September 2022 - 2:42 pm

Baroness Floella Benjamin has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in the House of Lords.

Floella  talked about the late Queen as someone constant in the lives of young people :

She gave them that sense of pride which is so important for the human soul and spirit, which young people need.

She also  talked about her own meetings with the Queen – something which as she said is something she could never have dreamed of as a child growing up in Trinidad in the 1950s and singing “God Save the Queen ‘ at school.

I first met her in 1995, when I was president of the Elizabeth R Commonwealth broadcasting fund, which was set up with funds she donated from the royalties of the BBC programme for the 40th anniversary of her reign and which hundreds across the Commonwealth have benefited from.

And she goes on to talk about a visit paid to the University of Exeter when she was Chancellor :

As Chancellor, I had the task of hosting her. It was then that I got a glimpse of the true character of this remarkable woman. It was like having a masterclass in people skills. She loved to indulge in finding out about everything and in a short time I had to judge who she wanted to find out more about and when she wanted to move on

The Queen had a well known admiration for, and friendship with, Nelson Mandela and this came out in her conversation in Exeter:

We chatted and shared stories about everything, including faith and forgiveness, which were qualities she told me she admired in Nelson Mandela

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