Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

WATCH: In full: Tim Farron on the Queen’s Speech

By The Voice | Wed 18th May 2016 - 9:43 pm

Here is Tim Farron’s speech in full from the Queen’s Speech debate. He cracks some pretty decent jokes, maybe a couple that aren’t quite as funny, and sets out what we would have done differently.

He also took time to pay tribute to David Rendel.

The text follows.

Mr Speaker, may I first start by commending the Honourable Member for Meriden and the Honourable Member for Bracknell for the grace and humour with which they moved and seconded the humble address.

These occasions often show the House at its best and its worst and I think we would all agree that their speeches were examples of the former.

And as the Prime Minister did, may I pay tribute to Harry Harpham and Michael Meacher whose contributions here will be missed.

Can I also take this opportunity to remember my former colleague, David Rendel, who died just this week, and whose by-election victory was transformational to the fortunes of our party.

Those of us who knew him will remember his phenomenal hard work and absolute commitment to the people of Newbury that continued long after he ceased to be the Member of Parliament. He will be sadly missed by many of us.

Spaceport
Mr Speaker, may I start by saying I was most excited to learn that the Modern Transport Bill will enable the development of the UK’s first commercial spaceports, just like Mos Eisley, the spaceport in Star Wars.

I don’t know what inspired the Prime Minister to invest in something that Obi Wan Kenobi said was ‘no greater hive of scum and villainy’… But I’m sure it was definitely… probably… nothing to do with the emergence of the Leave Campaign whatsoever.

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The Voice

Lib Dems condemn Gove’s prison reforms

By The Voice | Wed 18th May 2016 - 9:13 am

So the Government thinks the solution to the crisis in our prisons is to give governors more power rather than have a more strategic sense of what the prison system is for and how best to lessen re-offending and properly rehabilitate offenders.

Liberal Democrat peer Jonathan Marks is unimpressed with the Government’s plans. He said:

It is a scary thought that the grand architect who oversaw the dismantling of the school system as we knew it is now getting his hands all over the nation’s prisons.

It is no secret that our prison system is in crisis. We lock up far too many people each year with inadequate facilities and staffing.

These reforms might tackle the problems at the surface but without root and branch reform of our criminal justice system the whole process will be built to fail.

The academy model for schools is falling apart as we speak so why the Government feels that this template is appropriate for prisons is incomprehensible.

Instead we should be focusing on ensuring that our criminal justice system is centred on rehabilitation and diverting people away from prisons wherever possible rather than this continued obsession with locking them up.

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The Voice

Tim Farron and Paddy Ashdown pay tribute to David Rendel

By The Voice | Tue 17th May 2016 - 11:31 am

David Rendel on Newbury Town Hall steps - Some rights reserved by Martin TodPaying tribute to David Rendel, former Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury who passed away last night, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said:

I am hugely saddened by the loss of David Rendel. He was a committed, selfless individual who I will remember particularly for his unyielding campaigning over so many years. I will miss him.

He won a stunning by-election victory in Newbury where he and his team showed the Liberal Democrats had the fight and passion to deliver a fantastic result in a challenging political climate. It was inspirational then, and is inspirational today as Liberal Democrats fight to rebuild.

His continuing work with the party, standing again as a candidate in the 2010 and 2015 elections, and serving on the party’s Federal Executive typified the resilience, commitment and resolve with which he approached politics.

He was a friend and colleague who I know will be sorely missed by his friends, family and the party.

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The Voice

Former Liberal Democrat MP David Rendel dies

By The Voice | Tue 17th May 2016 - 11:18 am

We’re very sorry to report that former Liberal Democrat MP David Rendel has died. Our sincere thoughts are with David’s family at this very sad time.

Party leader, Tim Farron has tweeted:

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The Voice

Clegg speaks at #libdempint’s first birthday – on the Lib Dem recovery and the stark choice we have on EU

By The Voice | Mon 16th May 2016 - 9:16 pm

After 20,000 people joined us in the wake of the horrific election result last year, a few of them had the idea of trying to get a few of them together in London for a drink. A few hundred turned up, Nick Clegg came to speak and the #libdempint phenomenon was born. They’ve spread across the country and are characterised by a few speeches from ordinary members as well as the occasional appearance from the great and the good.

#libdempint celebrates its first birthday today. It was obvious that the guest of honour had to be Nick Clegg. For the next 22 hours or so, you can watch his speech, thanks to Jon Ball putting it up on Periscope. Enjoy.

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The Voice

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 15th May 2016 - 2:10 pm

7 bestMany thanks to the 13,200  visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

The Liberal case for Leave (121 comments) by Anne Cremin

John Pugh MP writes…2 lessons from Thursday (15 comments) by John Pugh MP

Election expenses: Nine of the Tory MPs being investigated named (7 comments) by The Voice

Tim Pickstone writes…45 gains must only be the start (23 comments) by Tim Pickstone

Liberal Democrats for free trade (59 comments) by Richard Flowers

Progress for Lib Dems in local elections (31 comments) by Thomas Shakespeare

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The Voice

Watch: Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus say why he thinks Britain should stay in the EU

By The Voice | Sun 15th May 2016 - 10:15 am

It’s like Lib Dem Christmas this weekend, with Eurovision and a National Day of campaigning to stay in the EU.

So many readers will be pleased to see that Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus has come out for Remain. Watch his interview here:

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The Voice

Rennie calls for Minister for Mental Health

By The Voice | Sun 15th May 2016 - 8:58 am

Willie Rennie and therapetWillie Rennie, seen here seemingly enacting a scene from Lady and the Tramp with a therapet during the election campaign, has called on Nicola Sturgeon to appoint a dedicated minister for mental health when the new Scottish government is announced next week.

A major part of the Liberal Democrat election campaign was a call for a step change in the way mental health services are supported.  Willie said that this appointment would send a clear message that the Scottish Government is taking mental health issues seriously:

Mental health spending has been cut as a share of the overall NHS budget every year since 2009 and too many young people still wait more than a year for urgent treatment.

Everywhere I went during the election people came up to me to say how important they felt it was to hear a political leader speaking out on mental health. It has been kept as a Cinderella service for too long.

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The Voice

Rennie: It’s time for answers on China deal

By The Voice | Sat 14th May 2016 - 11:45 am

During the election, the Scottish Liberal Demcorats raised questions about a trade deal signed between the SNP Government and Chinese companies with dubious human rights records.

Willie Rennie has now stepped up his quest for more information by tabling  a series of parliamentary questions.

During the election it emerged that the China Railway Group, who own one of the companies involved, had been blacklisted for investment by the Norwegian government’s oil fund over corruption allegations and criticised by Amnesty International over forced evictions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The First Minister admitted that due diligence was not completed on the businesses involved in a deal that it is claimed could be worth up to £10bn. Scottish Government officials failed to respond to Freedom of Information requests from journalists on the deal ahead of the election last week.

Willie said:

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The Voice

Kramer: Cameron and Osborne must stand up to despots and oligarchs

By The Voice | Thu 12th May 2016 - 12:22 pm

Lib Dem Economics Spokesperson Susan Kramer was not entirely impressed with David Cameron’s pronouncements on corruption. It’s fair to say she won’t be holding her breath. She said:

We welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement that those buying property in the UK or bidding for government contracts will be required to register, but quick action is vital for him to show sincerity, and any such register should be publicly available.

Don’t forget, we have heard similar platitudes before that have amounted to nothing. Back at the G8 conference in 2013 a new drive against tax havens was heralded, and the Panama Papers have exposed just how pathetic that action turned out to be.

When push comes to shove, Cameron and Osborne have shown they will always cater to the whims of corrupt billionaires from across the globe rather than pushing through real change. Unless they are willing to stand up to despots and oligarchs from places like China, Russia and Nigeria, any commitment will prove to be utterly shallow.

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The Voice

Rennie calls for new rural affairs secretary after SNP CAP payments disaster

By The Voice | Thu 12th May 2016 - 10:50 am

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said there is no way that the First Minister can keep Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead in his post following repeated delays to vital EU payments.

Farmers and crofters have been hit by extended delays to Common Agricultural Policy payments as a result of the failure of a Scottish Government IT system. Mr Lochhead was informed of potential problems with the £178m IT system before the referendum but waited for months before warning farmers that payments could be delayed.

It also emerged during the election campaign that farmers receiving support from an emergency Scottish Government scheme could face punitive interest charges.

Willie said:

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The Voice

Last chance to shape Lib Dem policy on liberty and security and social security

By The Voice | Wed 11th May 2016 - 8:12 am

When should the state be able to collect data about you? Should you be able to be tried in a secret court and not informed of the evidence against you? How can we make sure that our social security system is sustainable and needs-based?

The party is currently trying to answer these questions with two consultations, one on liberty and security and another on social security. They have been seeking input for some time from party members, charities and NGOs and members of the public.

Today is the last day that you can give your opinion before the two working groups draw up their final proposals which will be debated at Conference in Brighton in September.

Each will take you 10 minutes. It is worth it to have a say on these important issues.

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The Voice

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 8th May 2016 - 3:30 pm

7 bestMany thanks to the 20,700 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Undeclared Conservative election expenses unearthed by Channel 4 News (20 comments) by The Voice

Nick Clegg tells the inside story of how the Conservatives put party before country (17 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie gets the biggest cheer of the final Scottish leaders’ debate (13 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Caroline Pidgeon elected in London (30 comments) by Mary Reid

Kirsty Williams stands down as Leader of Welsh Lib Dems (16 comments) by Mary Reid

The new Liberal Democrat Director of Campaigns and Elections is… (8 comments) by Caron Lindsay

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The Voice

Great news from Torbay: Lib Dems gain seat from Conservatives in council by-election

By The Voice | Sun 8th May 2016 - 12:34 pm

Excellent news.

Nicholas Pentney, the son of Ruth, who was Adrian Sanders’ long time agent and who sadly died last year, has won the Tormahun by-election in Torbay.

It’s unusually to get this sort of news on a Sunday morning, but the result has just been declared:

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The Voice

Mark Williams MP is the new Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader

By The Voice | Sat 7th May 2016 - 6:14 pm

Mark Williams MP by LIberal Democrats

Ceredigion MP Mark Williams has been confirmed as the new Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader by the Welsh National Executive Committee. As the only other Parliamentarian after Kirsty Williams stood down yesterday in the wake of the election results, he is the only other person eligible for the job as the Welsh Constitution outlines:

The Leader of the Party shall be elected from the Welsh Liberal Democrat members of the European Parliament, House of Commons and the National Assembly for Wales and shall become Leader of whichever Group they originate from.

From the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ website:

The National Executive Committee has announced Ceredigion MP Mark Williams as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats following a meeting today.

Mark Williams was first elected the MP for Ceredigion in 2005. He studied at Aberystwyth University before working for Geraint Howells, the Liberal MP for Ceredigion, and then becoming a Research Assistant to Liberal Peers in the House of Lords. He later worked as a Primary School Teacher and Deputy Headteacher before being elected to Parliament.

Following the meeting, Mark Williams MP said:

“It is a great honour to become leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

“It is a great challenge to follow in the footsteps of Kirsty Williams, who has served us outstandingly for eight years through challenging times. Every one of us owe her a huge debt of gratitude.

“These coming months and years will test the flame of liberalism, and I will do everything possible to ensure that flame burns brightly again across our great nation.

“Despite the election results, I’m heartened by the growing number of members and activists joining us because they believe in our cause, and I call on any person who shares our values to join us in our fight.”

 

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The Voice

Over 22,000 page views on Liberal Democrat Voice yesterday – thank you!

By The Voice | Sat 7th May 2016 - 1:15 pm

Yesterday a stonking 22,189 Liberal Democrat Voice pages were viewed by readers. We feel privileged and honoured that Liberal Democrat supporters turn to us in such numbers for news of elections.

Thank you!

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The Voice

Tim Farron on last night’s results: “When we get knocked down, we refuse to get knocked out”

By The Voice | Fri 6th May 2016 - 10:42 am

Tim Farron's q and a at Newcastle Uni
Tim Farron has just sent the following email to party members:

12 months ago we suffered the worst defeat in our party’s history, yet in this election we have shown that when we get knocked down, we refuse to get knocked out.

I’m incredibly proud of all our candidates and grateful for their hard work and the commitment.

We are starting to see the result of our hard work and determination, and recognition of an unwavering commitment to the communities we wish to represent. These elections are starting to show that Liberal Democrats are in a position to grow.

In Scotland, Willie Rennie and Alex Cole-Hamilton gained seats – against the odds – from the SNP. And despite the full onslaught of the SNP machine we increased our share of the vote in both Orkney and Shetland.

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The Voice

Catherine Bearder wins Green Ribbon award for championing air quality

By The Voice | Thu 5th May 2016 - 12:06 pm

News reaches LDV that Catherine Bearder has won the Green Ribbon Political Award recognising her outstanding environmental achievements.

Catherine was awarded in the “MEP of the Year” category for her work fighting for stronger European targets to tackle air pollution. The judges commended Catherine for generating public awareness of the issue and championing EU action to improve air quality, often in the face of opposition from the UK government.

Catherine is currently a lead negotiator on the EU’s 2030 air pollution limits and has helped ensure that the European Parliament prioritises improving air quality ahead of the vested interests of individual industries …

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The Voice

Kirsty Williams: Vote Lib Dem to make more nurses and smaller class sizes a reality

By The Voice | Wed 4th May 2016 - 4:55 pm

Kirsty Williams has made her final pitch for Lib Dem votes in Montgomeryshire, supporting candidate Jane Dodds, where she will say that the Welsh Liberal Democrats are the only party to consistently work to achieve results and put narrow party-political interest aside, their leader Kirsty Williams has said today on the eve of the Assembly election.

Tomorrow’s vote is your chance to make a difference for your community. Before you cast it, I want you to ask yourself: who has delivered the most for you and your family?

More often than not, the people I talk to across Wales aren’t interested in the cheap party-political point-scoring. What they always ask me is, ‘What have you done to make my life better?’ As a Welsh Liberal Democrat, I always have a long list of things to tell them about.

When Labour wanted to cut the numbers of apprenticeships in Wales, we used our influence to stop them. When rural councils were getting a raw funding deal, it was us who secured more money. When our poorest pupils were consistently underachieving in our schools, it was us who stepped in and gave them that extra support.

Unlike the other parties, we’re not content with whinging from the sidelines. Welsh Liberal Democrats always roll up our sleeves and get things done for our communities, and for the people of Wales.

If our record over the last five years shows anything, it’s that a vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats is a vote for our policies being put into action. Tomorrow will be no different – your vote could help make our ideas a reality.

If you support smaller class sizes, if you want more nurses on hospital wards, if you want an Opportunity Economy that enables people to get on life, then you have to vote for it – you have to vote Welsh Liberal Democrat. Only then can we begin to deliver a Wales that works for you.

The last few days of her campaign have been a whirlwind of campaigning that has seen her everywhere from Ceredigion to Cardiff to North Wales to her home patch of Brecon and Radnorshire.

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The Voice

Five ideas to fight for

By The Voice | Tue 3rd May 2016 - 5:06 pm

Five ideasAnthony Lester, the Liberal Democrat peer, lawyer and “the most eminent human rights lawyer in Britain” has been interviewed by the Huffington Post.  He highlights how, as a Jew, he was exposed to prejudice and discrimination from a young age, starting with the loss of relatives in the Holocaust, and later in the army when he was barred from attending a dance in the officer’s mess to “prevent miscegenation”.

As a barrister he devoted a large amount of his life to combating discrimination, and he also worked with Roy Jenkins, then Labour Home Secretary, on developing laws against race and sex discrimination. Later he fought for the Human Rights Act.

Anthony’s new book Five Ideas To Fight For will be published this week. He focuses on the ‘big ideas’ of human rights, equality, free speech, privacy and rule of law. He is very worried about the future of the Human Rights Act, which the current government is planning to repeal and replace with a British Bill of Rights.

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The Voice

WATCH: Tim Farron on the Sunday Politics: Progressive, centre left voters are turning to us

By The Voice | Sun 1st May 2016 - 6:15 pm

Farron on Sunday Politics

 

Tim Farron was interviewed on the Sunday Politics today ahead of the local elections. Andrew Neil gave him a hard time, as you would expect, but he came out of it quite well.

You can watch the whole thing here.

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The Voice

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 1st May 2016 - 1:30 pm

7 bestMany thanks to the 11,400  visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Inquest verdict: the 96 were unlawfully killed (73 comments) by Joe Otten

Could Trumpland reach Britain? (35 comments) by Lord William Wallace

Poll boosts for Kirsty Williams and Eluned Parrott in Wales (5 comments) by Caron Lindsay

WSTCH: Tim Farron on the Andrew Marr Show (8 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Missing the civility of coalition (27 comments) by Nick Thornsby

We shouldn’t just be the party of remain, we should be the party of reform (30 comments) by Alex H

Farron makes plea to centre left voters (3 comments) by Caron Lindsay

 

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The Voice

Katy Gordon challenges SNP minister on housing and homelessness failures

By The Voice | Sun 1st May 2016 - 11:30 am

Scotland 2016 held its final election debate, on housing, earlier this week. West of Scotland lead candidate Katy Gordon represented the Liberal Democrats. She put forward the Lib Dems’ plan, which takes in mental health, addiction and prison services as well and confronted SNP Housing Minister Alex Neil on his government’s failure to keep its promises and deal with a very real housing crisis in Scotland. As always, Katy was full of practical detail and put in a very thoughtful and engaging performance. You can watch her here.

<iframe src=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FScotLibDems%2Fvideos%2F989758271119459%2F&show_text=0&width=560″ width=”560″ height=”315″ style=”border:none;overflow:hidden” scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ allowTransparency=”true” allowFullScreen=”true”></iframe>

You can see the whole …

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The Voice

Rennie: Sturgeon must shred China deal after human rights warning

By The Voice | Sat 30th April 2016 - 9:11 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie today said that the SNP risks dragging Scotland’s reputation through the mud following reports that a Chinese firm at the heart of a controversial £10bn deal with the Scottish Government is tied to human rights abuses.

It was reported in today’s Herald that Amnesty International named China Railway Group Ltd (CRG) and subsidiaries it controls in a report exposing human rights abuses related to the mining industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It had previously emerged that CRG had been blacklisted for investment by Norway’s oil fund over fears that the construction giant was involved in gross corruption.

Willie said:

The last thing that the First Minister did before the election started was sign a £10bn deal with a business directly tied to allegations of corruption.

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The Voice

WATCH: Richard Younger-Ross’s pitch to be Devon & Cornwall’s Police and Crime Commissioner

By The Voice | Sat 30th April 2016 - 1:55 pm

Here is former Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-Ross being interviewed as candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner. Find out what he had to say about why he thought he was the best person for the job, what his priorities would be and how he tackled the “why should people vote for you when you don’t think the role should exist?” question.

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The Voice

WATCH: Norman Baker’s Reform Club’s hard-hitting song “Give War a Chance”

By The Voice | Fri 29th April 2016 - 11:48 am

Norman Baker’s band, The Reform Club has a new album, Never Yesterday, out. Today, they release a very professional looking video.

Watch the hard-hitting song Give War a Chance which satirises the activities of a “peace envoy” and is published ahead of the Chilcott Report which we are sure will be published at some point this millennium. Norman plays the role of the envoy to absolute perfection. And there are tanks. Real tanks.

Of the song, Norman says:

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The Voice

LibLink: David Laws – The road to student retention

By The Voice | Thu 28th April 2016 - 12:12 pm

David Laws has been writing for Times Higher Education focussing on the worrying number of disadvantaged students dropping out of higher education:

The UK government’s target to double the number of disadvantaged young people going to university by 2020 is laudable. Access to higher education offers a platform for young people to succeed and is central to establishing a meritocratic society.

Nevertheless, while access provides the foundations, it doesn’t build the house. If we’re really serious about meritocracy, we have to be ever vigilant about what happens to young people once they are at university too.

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The Voice

Jenny Randerson urges Welsh Labour voters to support the Lib Dems to stop Ukip

By The Voice | Thu 28th April 2016 - 10:56 am

WalesOnline reports some interesting comments from Jenny Randerson ahead of next week’s Welsh assembly elections. Jenny said:

The truth is that Labour voters can stop Ukip gaining large numbers of Assembly Members. The power, so to speak, is in their hands.

Even Labour insiders know, in their heart of hearts, that it’s unlikely that they will pick up regional Assembly Members. Therefore, Labour voters must consider lending their regional vote to the Welsh Liberal Democrats to stop Ukip.

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The Voice

Can you help the London Liberal Democrats beat UKIP and win a third Assembly seat?

By The Voice | Wed 27th April 2016 - 5:04 pm

London Liberal Democrats are making a push for funds to help them run the best possible final flourish to the campaign and get out the vote operation.

A You Gov poll indicated that if we can just get one more percentage point, we could beat UKIP and get Merlene Emerson elected as our third assembly member.

Caroline Pidgeon says on the London Liberal Democrats’ website:

Polls show that a handful of votes could separate UKIP and the Lib Dems on 5th May.

Those votes will either elect Merlene Emerson to join me on the Assembly, a British-Chinese liberal, or a prejudiced UKIP voice.

For every additional £500 we can contact 93,000 people with Facebook advertising to run alongside our targeted literature and canvassing. We’re aiming to raise £10,000 in the next few days so we can contact our target voters three times each on Facebook to maximise our chances of getting our vote out.

Four years ago we pushed the BNP off the London Assembly. And, by just a few votes, kept out UKIP as well. Help me make sure we do it again.

Thanks again for your support!

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The Voice

Tim Farron: SNP taking Scotland for granted

By The Voice | Wed 27th April 2016 - 2:20 pm

Tim Farron went to Aberdeenshire East to join candidate Christine Jardine on the campaign trail yesterday.

He had this to say about the SNP’s record and how the Liberal Democrats would improve things:

This is the first Scottish election when people are really starting to judge the SNP on their record. And the further you get from the central belt in Scotland, the more you get a sense that people don’t believe the SNP cares about rural communities.

We’ve seen the terrible way they’ve handled farm payments. Farmers should have been paid what they are owed months ago. We’re now nearly into May and the delays have led to a huge black hole in the rural economy.

Liberal Democrats stand up for the communities for they represent. There is real Liberal Democrat strength in Scotland, our MSPs punched well above our weight at Holyrood and voters know that people like Christine won’t take rural Scotland for granted.

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