Author Archives: The Voice

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Christine Jardine to stand down as MP at next election

By The Voice | Sat 26th September 2026 - 7:22 pm

Many of our readers will be very sad to see that Christine Jardine MP will not fight the next election.

In a statement tongiht she said:

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged christine jardine and featured | 32 Comments

New party political – with the orange bench

By The Voice | Thu 24th September 2026 - 8:48 am

Posted in News | Tagged party political broadcast | Leave a comment

WATCH: Munira Wilson’s speech to Conference

By The Voice | Sun 20th September 2026 - 4:29 pm

Education spokesperson Munira Wilson gave her keynote speech to Conference yesterday. Enjoy:

Posted in News | Tagged 2026 autumn conference, munira wilson and speeches | Leave a comment

WATCH: Al Pinkerton’s speech to Conference

By The Voice | Sun 20th September 2026 - 2:30 pm

Watch Al Pinkerton talk about our vision for closer ties to Europe:

Posted in News | Tagged 2026 autumn conference, al pinkerton and speeches | 1 Comment

LibLink: David Howarth – How to stop billionaires buying our politics

By The Voice | Tue 15th September 2026 - 12:00 pm

Over on the Democracy For Sale site, former Lib Dem MP for Cambridge and electoral commissioner, David Howarth writes about the problem of big money in British politics and suggests three ways to combat it:

The £72 million donation by two crypto-billionaires to Reform UK, a party that just happens to have promoted tax cuts for crypto-billionaires, has prompted some previously complacent political commentators to notice the enormous flaws in Britain’s political funding regime. Those flaws are long-standing and simply stated.

No cap exists on donations to political parties and existing controls on political spending are riddled with loopholes. For example, spending caps only apply in the year that precedes a general election and they fail to include obviously political expenditure, such as employing national party staff.

Posted in LibLink | 1 Comment

LibLink: Anna Sabine, the ‘Whispering’ Lib Dem MP – “Do I seem weak now?

By The Voice | Tue 15th September 2026 - 10:30 am

There’s the heartrending story of Anna Sabine MP over on PoliticsHome’s The House section. Anna tells their Ben Gartside how emergency surgery led to the loss of her voice. The Frome and East Somerset MP says she is returning to Parliament more determined than ever to be heard:

When Anna Sabine finished a routine media appearance on Politics Live in the spring, she returned to her office and received an email that would prove life-changing.

Her parliamentary assistant warned her that they had been sent a “really weird” email, and they couldn’t be sure it was legitimate.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged anna sabine | 1 Comment

Demand for action over 100,000 “horror” sewage spills

By The Voice | Sun 6th September 2026 - 10:00 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Sanne Dijkstra-Downie has today written to the Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin demanding that the SNP start taking the sewage crisis seriously as new Scottish Water monitoring revealed that sewage discharges last year were four times as high as previously recorded.

This comes after Scottish Water published data from 1,009 newly installed sewage overflow monitors, which means annual monitoring data is now available for 30% of sites, compared to 6% in previous years.

Figures published by the government-owned water company earlier this week show that in 2025 alone:

100,041 discharges were logged, up from 24,398 incidents in 2024 –

…

Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Tagged sanne dijkstra-downie and sewage dumping | 4 Comments

Green asks Offord if Reform UK Scotland has benefited from foreign donations

By The Voice | Fri 4th September 2026 - 10:40 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrat public service reform spokesperson David Green MSP has today written to Reform UK’s Scottish leader Malcolm Offord, asking if he will categorically rule out ever having accepted or benefited from foreign donations.

It follows a Channel 4 News documentary showing Nigel Farage and Reform UK advisors discussing how to secure a foreign donation for the party.

Two senior Reform UK officials have stepped down in the wake of the documentary.

Foreign donations to UK political parties are banned to make sure that democratic decisions reflect the will of UK citizens, not those from overseas.

David Green MSP said:

These laws apply to

…

Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Tagged david green, political party funding and reform uk | 3 Comments

Cole-Hamilton: Violence against women and girls demands action now

By The Voice | Thu 3rd September 2026 - 9:30 pm

At First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP urged the government to act with urgency to tackle violence against women and girls, as he stated that it should not take victims, including those like Vikki Solomon and Stacey Hunter, to lose their lives before proper action is taken.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader has repeatedly pressed the government over their failure to implement important domestic abuse protections, which are still not in force despite being passed by parliament five years ago.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for:

Homes with a history of domestic violence should be properly flagged for priority

…

Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton and violence against women and girls | Leave a comment

Cole-Hamilton responds to Swinney on BBC Radio

By The Voice | Wed 2nd September 2026 - 9:30 pm

Responding to John Swinney’s interview on BBC Radio Scotland, in which he failed to explain how his plans to cut the number of health boards did not amount to a centralisation, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

John Swinney has not explained how these plans are any different to the SNP’s previous centralisation projects. Rural communities have been seriously harmed by those schemes.

It is also not at all clear how exactly these plans would save money or help front line services that are struggling right now, including social care.

Communities should be in charge of decisions that directly affect them,

…

Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton, health policy and snp | Leave a comment

Welsh Lib Dems: Burnham must back Wales with more than words

By The Voice | Thu 27th August 2026 - 11:15 pm

Responding to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments in Port Talbot today, Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

Burnham says his visit to Port Talbot sends a powerful signal to the community, but he still hasn’t actually committed to Wales receiving its fair share of the £2.5 billion steel fund, the single biggest decision that could benefit Port Talbot and the wider economy.

Our priority is securing the powers that will make the biggest difference to people’s everyday lives, from rail and infrastructure investment to research and development funding to the Crown Estate.

Most fundamentally, Burnham is still refusing to look at

…

Posted in News, Press releases and Wales | Tagged david chadwick | 1 Comment

Ed Davey on “unfair mean and nasty” attacks on Jason Arday

By The Voice | Wed 26th August 2026 - 7:23 pm

Ed Davey has spoken to Politics Home about the death of Jason Arday following an extended period of vicious press coverage.

Davey told PoliticsHome that parts of the media had seemed to “focus in on it and attack him in a way which seems awfully disproportionate, unfair, mean, and nasty”.

What it shows is that we have to push back against this Trump-like attack on liberal values where we embrace everybody equally and respect everybody.

“There seems to be a movement, particularly on the right, to move away from the liberal progress I thought we made, where we respect people, we judge them on their merit, and we celebrate the contribution that everybody made.”

Posted in News | 3 Comments

Wendy Chamberlain highlights Afghanistan “gender apartheid”

By The Voice | Sun 16th August 2026 - 12:42 pm

There’s been a lot of coverage about the fifth anniversary of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the desperate sight of people trying to get out while there was still a chance. The vast majority of them never did or could.

The Taliban originally tried to say that it was all fine and women would still be able to continue their education. The reality is that women have little legal status and fewer rights, and are essentially counted as property of the men in their lives.

Wendy Chamberlain chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Afghan Women and Girls which put out a statement this week.

The statement describes the “gender apartheid” faced by women and girls in Afghanistan:

For five years, millions of Afghan women and girls have lived under a system deliberately designed to erase them. They have been denied education, excluded from work, stripped of basic freedoms and silenced simply because they are women. This is not discrimination of isolation. It is the systemic oppression of half a population. It is gender apartheid.

As we mark this moment, we must also acknowledge that the international community has failed to reverse this trajectory. Afghan women and girls have shown extraordinary courage and resilience, continuing to resist despite immense personal risk. Yet they cannot be expected to shoulder this burden alone.

The United Kingdom must continue to stand firmly against any attempt to normalise or legitimise the Taliban while this system of gender apartheid remains in place. Recognition cannot come while the Taliban continue to deny the Afghan people their fundamental rights and freedoms. Whilst women and girls are the primary targets of the Taliban’s gender apartheid policies, all Afghans, including men and boys, continue to suffer under a totalitarian regime.

Posted in News | Tagged afghanistan and violence against women and girls | 3 Comments

Four ways you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Tue 11th August 2026 - 12:59 pm

Liberal Democrat Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that’s fine, we’re grateful for people taking the time to read the site.

You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways:

Posted in Site news | 3 Comments

Conference Agenda is out!

By The Voice | Sat 8th August 2026 - 10:58 am

It’s just six weeks until Lib Dems gather in Brighton for our Autumn Conference. Yesterday afternoon, the Conference agenda came out.

Over the four days we will see debates on such subjects as:

Ending Violence against women and girls
Mortality of children in temporary accommodation
Maternity care
Party strategy
Defending Democracy
Food security
Water companies
AI
Making music matter
Rural and coastal education

There will be keynote speeches from:

Posted in News | Tagged 2026 autumn conference | 5 Comments

WATCH: Charles Kennedy Memorial Lecture

By The Voice | Tue 16th June 2026 - 8:55 am

You might remember that a few weeks ago we told you about the Charles Kennedy Memorial Lecture organised by the European Movement.

Nick Clegg talked about the path to closer alignment with the European Movement.

You can watch his speech courtesy of the European Movement’s You Tube channel.

The text is below:

We are here in part to remember a much-missed friend and colleague, Charles Kennedy. It has been just over a decade since Charles passed, and we are all the poorer for it. He was one of the lights of liberalism in this country, and his absence in public life is felt …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged charles kennedy memorial lecture, eu, europe and nick clegg | 1 Comment

Alex Cole-Hamilton announces new spokesperson team

By The Voice | Wed 10th June 2026 - 7:55 am

Alex Cole-Hamilton has announced the Scottish Liberal Democrats new spokesperson team, declaring that they are “ready to roll up their sleeves and get things done”.

And the party’s social media gurus clearly had the World Cup in mind when they did their comms on this:

The spokesperson line-up will be as follows:

• Andrew Baxter – Rural Affairs

• Yi-pei Chou Turvey – Justice

• Sanne Dijkstra-Downie – Climate, Environment & Energy

• Duncan Dunlop – Education, Children & Young People

• David Green – Public Service Reform, Europe, External Affairs & Culture

• Adam Harley – Health & Care

• Morven-May MacCallum – Housing, Social Security & Local Government

• Liam McArthur – Economy, Finance & Tourism

• Willie Rennie – Chief Whip & Transport

Alongside his duties as leader, Alex will take on the equalities brief.

Alex said:

Posted in News | Tagged holyrood, MSPs and scottish liberal democrats | 1 Comment

WATCH: Daisy Cooper’s plan to cut energy bills

By The Voice | Tue 9th June 2026 - 10:55 am

Yesterday, Daisy Cooper announced measures to cut energy bills. Under Lib Dem plans everyone would get £100 off their bills with more targetted support for, for example, households with disabled people or children or low incomes. Watch her speech here.

She said:

Energy is not a luxury. It’s a basic human need. It’s essential. Every single household in Britain should be able to afford their basic everyday energy needs regardless of what happens in global energy markets, and regardless of who happens to be sitting in Number 10.

For too long, governments have responded to every energy crisis with short-term schemes and sticking plasters, while big corporations have made a fast buck.

That is why we are going after the big energy network operators who are gaming the system, to fund our new Essential Energy Guarantee. It is an absolute scandal that a weak regulator has allowed these monopolies to make billions in windfall profits at the expense of bill payers.

Labour’s leadership contenders have a choice: turn a blind eye to the windfall profits of energy network operators and big banks, or step in to guarantee basic dignity for families. Commit to introducing our Essential Energy Guarantee within your first 100 days.

Our Energy Spokesperson, Pippa Heylings MP, added:

This opportunity is an open goal for giving families the energy bills relief they have been hoping to see for far too long. The unfair profits accumulated by energy network companies must be reigned in and used for the public good.

This is the newest part of a package of common sense policies put forward by the Liberal Democrats: solar on every new home, a new home insulation upgrade programme, breaking the link between electricity and gas prices, and removing the renewables obligation levy.

Time after time we have put no-brainer recommendations to this government but the pace has remained painfully slow. This time they must not sit on the idea, and instead save families struggling with the cost of living now.

The small print

Posted in News | Tagged cost of living, daisy cooper and energy | 15 Comments

Michael Meadowcroft

By The Voice | Tue 2nd June 2026 - 9:08 am

Embed from Getty Images
It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Michael Meadowcroft.

The West Leeds Dispatch reports:

“Former Liberal MP for Leeds West, alderman, journalist and political affairs consultant, Michael Meadowcroft, has died at the age of 84 after a short illness, his family have announced.”

We will, of course, carry a full obituary for Michael in due course.

For now, we link to a 2020 piece Michael wrote for Liberal Democrat Voice which politely gave the party a kick up the proverbial, ending with these words:

Posted in Obituaries | Tagged michael meadowcroft | 30 Comments

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie’s maiden speech in the Scottish Parliamnt

By The Voice | Fri 29th May 2026 - 12:11 pm

Sanne spoke yesterday in the debate on Scotland’s energy.

Posted in News | Tagged sanne dijkstra-downie and scottish parliament | 3 Comments

New policy working groups – are you interested?

By The Voice | Thu 28th May 2026 - 10:25 am

Three new policy working groups have been set up by the Federal Policy Committee, and they are seeking members. The working groups will take evidence and prepare policy proposals to submit to Autumn Conference 2027. The deadline for applications to join one of the groups is 8th June.

Click here for more information about how policy is developed in the Liberal Democrats.

The new groups are:

Victims of Crime

Victims of crime have been let down for too long. Many wait hours for a police response; many never see their crime investigated or the perpetrator charged; many wait years for the trial, prolonging the trauma.

A new working group will develop policies that cut across traditional policy silos to look at policing, the justice system and other public services from a victims’ perspective.

Apply here

Rural Issues

Rural communities face distinctive challenges and are being let down on everything from transport to health services to crime. They have been failed by a Conservative Government that took rural communities for granted and a Labour Government that clearly doesn’t understand them.

A new working group will develop distinctive Liberal Democrat policies that would protect rural communities’ public services and ensure they have access to decent public transport, affordable housing, adequate broadband connectivity, or protection from crime.

Apply here

Empowering Local Communities

For a hundred years, Liberals and Liberal Democrats have been fighting for fair votes, to give everyone equal power in our democracy and hold all Members of Parliament properly to account. We want to shift more power out of the centre in Whitehall, so local decisions are made by and for the people and communities they affect.

A new policy working group will develop our vision of a society where residents and community groups have far more control over the decisions that affect their communities. This will be a cross-cutting, thematic working, embracing voluntary community activity as well as elected local government.

Apply here

Posted in News | Tagged policy working groups | Leave a comment

Tanvir Ahmad selected to fight Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election

By The Voice | Mon 25th May 2026 - 3:35 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrats have announced that Tanvir Ahmad has been selected as candidate for the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election which was caused by the election of Stephen Gethins to Holyrood earlier this month.

Tanvir brings over 20 years of experience leading major projects in the technology and telecoms sectors. He has a proven record of building partnerships with global organisations, bringing new innovations to market, and creating opportunities for growth both at home and abroad. Alongside his professional career, he is a Royal Navy Reservist, a grassroots community campaigner who has managed a youth centre for minority communities, and holds both Honours and Masters degrees in International Relations.

At the 2026 Holyrood election, he almost doubled the Scottish Liberal Democrat vote share in the constituency of Dundee City East, campaigning on issues including tackling vandalism and anti-social behaviour, improving housing and supporting households affected by the RAAC scandal.

Tanvir said:

I am delighted to have been selected to contest the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election.

Too many families in our area are living in poverty, and child hunger is a daily reality. Young people have seen services cut and opportunities dry up, while households are struggling with rising bills and insecure jobs. That has to change.

People have been let down by the SNP, the Conservatives and the Labour party.

Last week, Labour voted against Liberal Democrat proposals for a customs union with the European Union and relaxed sanctions on Russia. That’s not good enough.

Scottish Liberal Democrats believe in fairness for everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from.

I want to fight child poverty and give families the support they deserve. I want to create opportunities for young people through apprenticeships, skills, and safe spaces. And I want to back local businesses to grow, creating secure, well-paid jobs.

People across the constituency feel like things aren’t working. People deserve a change with fairness at its heart and that is what I will be campaigning to deliver.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

Posted in News | Tagged arbroath and broughty ferry by-election and tanvir ahmad | 1 Comment

Jake Austin is our candidate in Makerfield

By The Voice | Mon 25th May 2026 - 2:30 pm

Jake Austin has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Makerfield in the upcoming by-election, pledging to champion local issues that matter most to residents. Jake is passionate about revitalising our high streets, ⁠improving public transport across the North West, and providing affordable homes for the next generation.

Jake was born and raised in Hindley, and has lived in Greater Manchester his whole life. Hei is a Liberal Democrat Councillor and works in fundraising.

In 2024, Jake was the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Greater Manchester Mayoralty election, increasing the Liberal Democrat vote share against Andy Burnham from the 2021 election.

Jake said:

Posted in News | Tagged jake austin and makerfield by-election | 2 Comments

Camden legend Flick Rea has died

By The Voice | Mon 25th May 2026 - 12:45 pm

We are very sad to say that Camden Liberal Democrat legend Flick Rea has died just 4 days after her 88th birthday. She was incredibly loved by many in the party and will be very much missed.

Flick was a Camden Councillor for the Fortune Green Ward from 1986 to 2021 and had two spells as Group Leader. She had started out as an actress, training alongside Glenda Jackson.

In 2022, she was appointed an Honorary Alderman of the London Borough of Camden. You can watch her acceptance speech here.

Posted in News | Tagged flick rea | Leave a comment

Lords Parliamentary Party reshuffle – who’s who in the new Parliamentary session

By The Voice | Fri 22nd May 2026 - 9:32 am

Readers may have noticed over the past few days a few personal announcements as to what certain Peers will be doing now, so we thought that we’d better provide readers with a complete list. And, with thanks to Humphrey Amos from the Lords’ Whips Office, we can announce that our Lords Spokespeople are as follows:

Leader – Jeremy Purvis

Deputy Leaders – Kath Pinnock and Mike Storey

Chief Whip – Dave Goddard

Attorney General – Martin Thomas

Business and Industry – Chris Fox

Cabinet Office – Mark Pack

Culture, Media and Sport – Jane Bonham-Carter, Dominic Addington (Sport) and Liz Barker (Voluntary and Charity Sector)

Defence – Julie Smith

Education – Shaffaq Mohammed and Sue Garden (Higher and Further Education)

Energy and Net Zero – John Russell

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Olly Grender

Equalities – Meral Hussein-Ece and Paul Scriven (LGBT issues)

Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged liberal democrat lords | 1 Comment

Is this the first public call for Ed to go?

By The Voice | Mon 18th May 2026 - 9:55 am

It is being reported that the our Council Leader in Colchester, David King, has called for a change of leadership. Talking to the BBC’s Simon Dedman, he said;

We need to let the party take the time to look to the future, and that’s my appeal to Sir Ed. It’s politely saying, time’s up.

Whether or not this is simply a reaction to disappointing results in Colchester – the Party lost Shrub End and Stanway wards to Reform – or indicative of a wider movement remains to be seen.

Posted in News | Tagged lib dem leadership | 13 Comments

Sunday fun: the uninvited guest at Ed Davey photocall

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

Yesterday, Ed Davey came up to Edinburgh to celebrate our very good election results

He and Alex Cole-Hamilton filmed a video and had an unexpected guest.

Enjoy.

Posted in News | Tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton, ed davey and humour | Leave a comment

And that’s a wrap – thanks everyone!

By The Voice | Thu 7th May 2026 - 10:00 pm

Millions of steps taken, thousands of doors knocked on and phone calls made. There will be a lot of very tired Lib Dems this evening.

Many of us will have to wait till tomorrow to know the results. Only a few areas are counting tonight and we’ll round up those results in the morning.

Alex Cole-Hamilton has said a big thank you to the teams who have been out across Scotland today:

As polls close I would like to thank all of the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidates and activists who have worked so hard to deliver a positive and energetic campaign from

…

Posted in News | Tagged 2026 holyrood elections, 2026 local elections and 2026 senedd elections | Leave a comment

How to support Tom Gordon, Helen Morgan and Wendy Chamberlain in the London Marathon

By The Voice | Sat 25th April 2026 - 2:30 pm

Three of our MPs will be on the carb loading today as they prepare to take part in the London Marathon tomorrow.

Tom Gordon, Helen Morgan and Wendy Chamberlain are tackling the 26 mile, 385 yard course starting in Blackheath and finishing on the Mall.

Here at LDV Towers we have our app set up to track them, despite our slight reservations about technology that allows you to do this. Helen’s number is 62224, Tom’s is 59608 and Wendy’s is 72506.