Author Archives: The Voice

And the new Lib Dem peer is…

By The Voice | Tue 19th April 2016 - 5:28 pm

…Despite failing to submit a manifesto
…Despite one of his opponents submitting a manifesto with the word “cupidity” in it
…the new Lib Dem peer is the old Lib Dem Peer and former MP John Thurso.

He won the strangest by-election ever, the election of another Liberal Democrat hereditary peer to replace Eric Avebury who sadly died in February.

There was an electorate of 3 to choose between a field of 7.

We don’t need the full STV rundown because all 3 of the electors voted for Lord Thurso.

The BBC has more information:

Posted in News | Tagged house of lords and john thurso | 22 Comments

LibLink: Miriam Gonzáles says free trade has won: adapt or die is the only option left to us

By The Voice | Mon 18th April 2016 - 10:53 am

Embed from Getty Images

Writing on the Tata steel crisis in the Guardian, Miriam Gonzáles, who is a partner at the global specialist law firm, Dechert LLP, specialising in international trade, writes:

The Tata Steel sale has revived the battle between protectionists and free traders, a debate that became particularly acute in the run-up to the creation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995, which marked the success of “free traders” all around the world.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged miriam gonzalez durantez, tata steel and trade policy | 11 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 17th April 2016 - 2:25 pm

7 best Many thanks to the 12,800 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Baroness Lynne Featherstone writes…The State killed my nephew (4 comments) by Lynne Featherstone.

UKIP’s ongoing collapse – ducking a by-election in Farage’s “top target” (10 comments) by Antony Hook

Why, after a year of being involved with the Lib Dems, I’ll be renewing my membership (27 comments) by Benjamin Sims

Offshore 101, or can we please stop asking David Cameron to resign? (47 comments) by Alice Thomas

Breaking… A duo of by-election wins – one strong hold, one great gain (20 comments) by Caron Lindsay

The Bearing Group, helping to build a more liberal UK (25 comments) by Tristan Gray

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Farron: Rise in UK deaths related to hunger a “national scandal”

By The Voice | Fri 15th April 2016 - 1:30 pm

The Huffington Post reports a rise in the number of deaths in which hunger is a factor in the UK. It’s up from 255 in 2005 to 375 in 2014. In 2013, that figure was even higher at 392.

Tim Farron was horrified to hear this, saying:

This shouldn’t be happening in 21st century Britain and the Government’s response is hopelessly complacent.

We seem to be creating ‘Breadline Britain’ for some of the most vulnerable people in society.

People are living under greater pressure and hearing thousands of people have died, in part, due to malnutrition is a national scandal.

We wonder if there …

Posted in News | Tagged foodbanks, poverty, tim farron and uk | 12 Comments

Welsh Lib Dems launch manifesto – A Wales that works for you

By The Voice | Thu 14th April 2016 - 10:03 pm

At a Penarth health centre, Kirsty Williams launched the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ manifesto:

We’re at Stanwell GP surgery in #Penarth launching our manifesto: a vision of a Wales that works for you #Wales2016 pic.twitter.com/1qmZHX9Z9V

— Welsh Lib Dems (@WelshLibDems) April 14, 2016

Kirsty talked about its “relentless focus” on public services:

People want good schools, good hospitals and a vibrant economy – a strong future for Wales. After 17 years in office, people recognise that the Labour Government still fails to get the basics right.

We are launching our vision today in a GP surgery to send a clear message: we are relentlessly focused on better public services.

Our manifesto is a roadmap for an ambitious, optimistic and pioneering Wales, based on our values and our nation’s needs. Our priorities are the people of Wales’ priorities: more nurses on hospital wards, smaller class sizes for our children, and an Opportunity Economy so that people can get on in life.

It’s time Wales had a government that actually listened to people – this is a manifesto that will deliver a Wales that works for you.

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams, Wales and welsh assembly elections 2016 | Leave a comment

LibLink: Vince Cable makes the case for TTIP and free trade

By The Voice | Thu 14th April 2016 - 9:36 am

Vince Cable, who was involved in negotiations over the proposed EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, in his role as business secretary, has been writing about the issue, and that of free trade more generally.

Vince first summarises the rationale for TTIP:

The European Commission has prioritised a bilateral agreement with the USA: TTIP, which is proving a source of unexpected controversy, although negotiations are still at an early stage. The underlying objective is to apply, on a transatlantic basis, the same approach that helped to create the EU Single Market. Since, as within the EU, tariffs and quotas are no longer a major issue the emphasis has been on preventing differences in standards, mainly technical, acting as a barrier to trade. There are, for example, different specifications for seatbelt design and testing that make it difficult to export in both directions. In effect, a different production line is required to sell into the USA, which can be prohibitive, especially for low volume manufacturers.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged featured, free trade, ttip and vince cable | 41 Comments

Tim Farron launches blueprint for UK to take 3000 unaccompanied refugee children

By The Voice | Wed 13th April 2016 - 5:22 pm

Tim Farron has this afternoon published his blueprint for how the UK could take 3000 unaccompanied refugee children.

Earlier he spoke to the Daily Politics about the plan and his visit to Northern Greece yesterday.

“We know at least 10,000 have gone missing in the hands of traffickers” says @timfarron on child refugees #bbcdp https://t.co/VTpacwulaZ

— DailySunday Politics (@daily_politics) April 13, 2016

The plan has been drawn up in consultation with the charities and NGOs who attended his recent summit on the issue. The main recommendations are as follows:

Posted in News | Tagged eu, featured, refugee crisis and tim farron | 11 Comments

Welsh Lib Dems plan £20 million boost for hill farmers

By The Voice | Tue 12th April 2016 - 9:35 pm

Embed from Getty Images

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have announced plans to help hill farmers, recognising the difficulties they face in farming challenging terrain.

They include £20 million package for hill farmers and plans to enable farmers to be able to improve their resilience and competitiveness.

They say they are passionate about protecting Wales’ proud farming tradition and that farmers in Wales produce some of the greatest produce in the world, but too often they are not getting the support they need from an out of touch Labour Government.

Posted in News | Tagged elizabeth evans, farming, Wales, welsh assembly elections 2016 and william powell | 1 Comment

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

By The Voice | Sun 10th April 2016 - 1:33 pm

7 best Many thanks to the 10,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

It’s time for the Lib Dems to set some external goals, strategy and tactics (70 comments) by Antony Hook

Is it Game Over for David Cameron? (29 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Laws on Osborne v Duncan Smith (24 comments) by Joe Otten

Book Review: Charles Kennedy: A tragic flaw by Greg Hurst (8 comments) by Paul Walter

Ethnic minority pupils outclass white British pupils (41 comments) by Mary Reid

What Cameron and Osborne said bout Vince Cable’s proposals on corporate transparency (26 comments) by Nick Thornsby

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Sadiq and Zac agree for once: Caroline Pidgeon is “great” and “impressive”

By The Voice | Sat 9th April 2016 - 1:25 pm

We know that Caroline Pidgeon is making a very positive impact on London’s mayoral race. In virtually very debate, she is judged to be the winner, with even arch-Tory Iain Dale, now of the LBC parish, saying that the two women were eclipsing the men in the debate.

Caroline was featured in the Standard and the first paragraph of that article had praise from her two biggest rivals. They don’t often agree, but they are clearly both bowled over by her talents.

If the mayoral election was decided on a candidate’s grasp of policy, there’s a good chance Caroline Pidgeon would win it. The Lib-Dem hopeful — who has eight years on the London Assembly under her belt — has impressed even her better-known rivals with her inside knowledge of the City Hall empire.

Zac Goldsmith tells me “she’s great”, before glancing at his media adviser and asking, “Am I allowed to say that?” Sadiq Khan agrees that her handle on London policy is impressive.

Those two get more like Stadtler and Waldorf from the Muppets every day and this is about the only thing they agree on. Why would Londoners want either of them when they could have Caroline?

Posted in News | Tagged Caroline Pidgeon and london mayoral election | 10 Comments

The world of puppet politicians

By The Voice | Fri 8th April 2016 - 1:20 pm

Here is last night’s Welsh Liberal Democrats’ election broadcast:

The world of puppet politicians

We've all heard the hot air of puppet politicians… but who will get the basics right and create a Wales that works for you?

Posted by Welsh Liberal Democrats on Thursday, 7 April 2016

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams, party election broadcasts and Wales | 15 Comments

Caroline Pidgeon judged winner of ITV/LBC mayoral debate

By The Voice | Wed 6th April 2016 - 2:15 pm

Mike Smithson had no doubt about the winner of last night’s ITV London/LBC mayoral debate.

Tonight' ITV London Mayoral debate. My verdict pic.twitter.com/ORTSkucDPo

— Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) April 5, 2016

And he wasn’t alone. Caroline’s strong performance attracted praise from unexpected quarters.

The two women in the London debate are totally eclipsing the three men. #londondebate. And not for the first time. pic.twitter.com/hxBg3yCKff

— Iain Dale (@IainDale) April 5, 2016

You can watch the whole thing here:

Posted in News | Tagged Caroline Pidgeon, itv, lbc and london | 8 Comments

Caroline Pidgeon taking Twitter questions this afternoon #AskCaroline

By The Voice | Wed 6th April 2016 - 11:45 am

Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon will be answering questions on Twitter this afternoon:

I'll be @TwitterUK later today answering questions. Tweet with #AskCaroline and I'll be responding this afternoon https://t.co/72sEXfkB3a

— Caroline Pidgeon (@CarolinePidgeon) April 6, 2016

This comes the day after her manifesto launch and a successful mayoral debate last night where her performance attracted widespread praise.

Yesterday, she launched her manifesto, which you can read here.

.@CarolinePidgeon launching positive @LondonLibDems manifesto www.@londonlibdems.org.uk pic.twitter.com/o0vZB0E46D

— Rob Blackie (@robblackie) April 5, 2016

Posted in News | Tagged Caroline Pidgeon, london and twitter | Leave a comment

Kirsty Williams slams Tories and Labour over steel failures

By The Voice | Sun 3rd April 2016 - 9:45 am

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams has slated the Conservative Government at Westminster and the Labour Government in Wales for its failures over the steel industry. She says it’s time to put British industry first.

She said that the Conservative Government had allowed the UK steel industry to “shrivel on its watch”, in response to the announcement that councils must now consider UK providers when when carrying out procurement for steel. She also blasted the Labour Government for doing nothing to ensure Welsh steel was used on infrastructure projects.

Once again the UK Government is shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. It’s no good asking councils to use UK steel now after letting the industry shrivel on their watch.

Of course councils and the UK Government should always be considering UK steel, but this is just a basic requirement to support our industry. It’s time this Tory Government put British industry first, rather than just kowtowing to the Chinese Government.

Labour’s record is no better. The Labour Government in Wales has completely failed to support Welsh steel. Time and time again Welsh Liberal Democrats have called for an audit of Welsh procurement, yet the Labour Government has done nothing. We called on Labour to publish new guidance when investing in steel, again nothing has happened. For 18 months we’ve called for reduced business rates on heavy machinery, again nothing. People are absolutely fed up of governments that offer warm words, but seem incompetent to realise how serious this crisis is.

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams, steel industry, tim farron and Wales | 6 Comments

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

By The Voice | Sat 2nd April 2016 - 1:55 pm

LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you’re reading now. The second is our private members’ forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access.

If you’re a member and want to chat with fellow party members about any issue that’s on your mind, then why not sign up? In addition, you’ll be included in our regular surveys’ of party members’ views.

Here’s some of the most active discussions this past 10 days:

Local Elections 2016: The Liberal Democrat battleground

TTIP

Military intervention in Libya

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Willie Rennie issues Living Wage challenge

By The Voice | Sat 2nd April 2016 - 11:30 am

Willie Rennie has challenged the other parties to commit to ending government bonuses for companies which fail to pay their employees the Scottish living wage.

He was speaking as the so-called living wage proposed by George Osborne came into force. The Tory living wage of £7.20 is £1.05 an hour less than the Scottish living wage of £8.25 an hour, which is calculated independently by the Living Wage Foundation. It’s also worth noting that the Scottish Liberal Democrats are the only party in Scotland to be accredited as Living Wage employers.

Last month, Willie called for the SNP to stop the payment of state aid to firms who fail to pay at least the national living wage.

Yesterday he broadened that challenge to all the other parties:

Posted in News | Tagged living wage, Scotland and willie rennie | 1 Comment

Exciting new venue for Spring Conference

By The Voice | Fri 1st April 2016 - 8:31 am

Embed from Getty Images

A party source has exclusively revealed to LDV that the Federal Conference Committee is seriously considering holding the 2020 Spring Conference in the Isles of Scilly.

As a first priority, after complaints about the lack of real ales in the Novotel at York, members of the Committee have rigorously checked the quality of the cask ale on offer in the conference hotel and can reassure party members on that score.

Travel to the venue will be memorable. Inspired by the razzle-dazzle ferries in Liverpool, the Conference Office is discussing with a ferry company the possibility of painting one for the occasion in a variety of Lib Dem shades of yellow and orange; there will also be an aqua-coloured rowing boat with sufficient capacity for that colour’s fans.

Posted in News | Tagged featured | 29 Comments

“A Wales that works for you”: Kirsty Williams launches Welsh Assembly campaign

By The Voice | Thu 31st March 2016 - 5:54 pm

Today, Kirsty Williams launched the Welsh Liberal Democrat campaign for the Assembly elections on 5th May. The theme is A Wales that works for you.”

.@Kirsty_Williams “The Labour Government still fails to even get the basics right” pic.twitter.com/VC4C0TyjkM

— Welsh Lib Dems (@WelshLibDems) March 31, 2016

She unveiled three key priorities:

More Nurses – extending the More Nurses Bill to include mental health wards, maternity wards and community nurses
Smaller class sizes – establishing an Infant Class Size Reduction Grant, with funding prioritised towards the largest classes
Opportunity Economy – promoting a package supporting people’s aspirations by increasing the number of apprenticeships, supporting small businesses, helping people buy their first home, and delivering a childcare package that enables people to get back to work if they choose to.

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams, liz evans, Wales and welsh elections 2016 | 2 Comments

Purvis slams Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson over disability benefit cuts

By The Voice | Thu 31st March 2016 - 2:55 pm

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson had a really bad interview on Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland today. She struggled on her plans to re-introduce prescription charges, to abolish free university tuition (which was secured by the Scottish Liberal Democrats in coalition with Labour back in 2001) and over free schools. She didn’t get grilled enough for our liking on her plans to do all that while cutting taxes for the richest, but you can’t have everything.

At around 2 hours 18 minutes in, the subject turned to cuts to disability benefits. Ruth says she opposed them before Iain Duncan Smith resigned although there is no record of her having done so. In fact, she praised George Osborne’s budget the day it came out. When pressed on exactly how she had expressed her opposition, she laughed. It was a nervous. hollow laugh, but, just as when Willie Rennie pursued this same point with her during the tv debate on Tuesday, it was clear that she was struggling to answer.

Jeremy Purvis, the Scottish Lib Dems’ campaign chair, said of her interview:

Posted in News | Tagged disability benefits, jeremy purvis, ruth davidson and Scotland | 8 Comments

Farron and Williams say UK Government must intervene on steel

By The Voice | Wed 30th March 2016 - 1:15 pm

Tim Farron and Kirsty Williams have said that the UK Government must intervene to be the lender of last resort for Tata Steel.

The Liberal Democrat leader said that the Westminster Government should be prepared to step in and act as a temporary buyer for the plant if required, and also offer financial support to ensure key staff are retained during any sales process.

Tim Farron said:

The Conservative Government in Westminster has let down Port Talbot, not least because of Sajid Javid’s disgraceful veto of measures at an EU level to stop the dumping of cheap Chinese steel that is destroying the UK steel industry. Their actions have helped escalate this crisis while the Labour Government in Cardiff bay has failed to stand up for steelworkers in their own backyard. It’s now time that both Governments started acting in the best interests of workers at the plant and our steel industry.

The Port Talbot plant is the crucible of the British steel industry. It is a proud beacon of our industrial heritage and part of the reason we are a world leader in manufacturing. Generations of families have worked at the South Wales steelworks which still employs thousands of people and provides work for thousands more in supply industries.

That is why the Government should be prepared to step in as an investor of last resort, to bridge any gap between Tata’s ownership of the plant and a future buyer. Our steel industry is of strategic interest to Wales and the whole of the UK and if temporary nationalisation is needed to protect it then the Government should be prepared to act.

Kirsty WIlliams highlighted the importance of Wales’ steel industry:

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams, tata steel, tim farron and Wales | 22 Comments

Tim Farron launches John Leech’s campaign to take on Labour in Manchester

By The Voice | Wed 30th March 2016 - 10:45 am

On Monday night, Tim Farron went to Manchester to launch former MP John Leech’s campaign to win the Didsbury West Council ward in Manchester. The Lib Dems missed out by just 162 votes last May. The Labour Council is desperately in need of opposition. At the moment, Labour holds all the seats which is not a healthy situation in any democracy.

John was MP for Manchester Withington from 2005-15.

He told the packed meeting:

Fear has won where liberalism, hope and hard work has been trampled on by politics wreaked by division, complacency and the attitude of ‘that’ll do’. Well it doesn’t. It’s not good enough for me. And it’s not good enough for Manchester.

Nothing keeps me and the Liberal Democrats fighting more than an unjust system. And as long as residents in Manchester aren’t getting the best deal I’ll be here fighting and challenging that every step of the way.

I promised not to give up on the residents of Manchester Withington, and I’m not going to. I will continue to fight for south Manchester as I always have done. I’m not going anywhere.

We will rebuild. We will start making a difference again. We offer a fresh and strong voice on an often complacent council.

Tim Farron said in support of his friend:

Posted in News | Tagged john leech, manchester and tim farron | 6 Comments

Lib Dems call for Welsh Assembly to be reconvened over Port Talbot steel decision

By The Voice | Wed 30th March 2016 - 9:23 am

Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat Finance Minister, has e-mailed First Minister Carwyn Jones calling on him to ask the Presiding Officer to reconvene the Assembly over the announcement that Tata Steel is to sell its UK interests including the plant at Port Talbot. 5,500 jobs are at risk in Wales.

The Assembly’s Standing Order 12.3 states:

If no plenary meeting is timetabled for a particular date or time, the Presiding Officer may, at the request of the First Minister, summon the Assembly to consider a matter of urgent public importance.

Peter Black AM said late last night before Tata confirmed their plans:

If true, these reports are truly devastating and our thoughts go out to Tata employees and their families.

This is clearly a matter of urgent public importance and therefore it is inconceivable that the Assembly doesn’t reconvene.

Ministers in both governments need to act fast. Simply holding up their hands and saying they are out of ideas is simply not good enough.

Posted in News | Tagged peter black, tata steel and Wales | 6 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 27th March 2016 - 1:55 pm

7 best Many thanks to the 10,500 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

The Nitty Gritty: Evidence of the #libdemfightback (20 comments) by John B Grout

David Laws on Marr: I want to expose how NHS chief was leant on to encourage debate on NHS funding (20 comments) by Caron Lindsay

David Laws’ “Coalition”: the Coverage (18 comments) by Nick Thornsby

Tom Brake MP writes…Do you support military intervention in Libya? (56 comments) by Tom Brake MP

How are you getting on with Tim Farron’s membership recruitment challenge? (17 comments) by Caron Lindsay)

We already have the Social Liberal Forum, so why do we need a Social Democratic Group? (33 comments) by George Kendall

Disability is nothing to hide, so let’s not act like it is (22 comments) by Henry Foulds

Posted in Site news | 6 Comments

WATCH: Willie Rennie in last night’s Scottish leaders’ debate

By The Voice | Fri 25th March 2016 - 6:30 pm

Last night, the day that Scotland could have been declaring independence and have been facing a very uncertain future, the leaders of 6 political parties debated the issues of the Scottish election. You can see Willie Rennie’s contributions here.

Watch him outline his vision for a transformative investment in education to give kids the best chance in life and boost the economy by ensuring that we have the skills we need for the future.

The First Leader’s debateLast night,was the first #LeadersDebate of the Scottish Parliament election. Just incase you missed it, here are some of the highlights from last night’s debate, including our plans for education, Scotland’s new tax powers and what I’d say to President Trump:

The First Leader's debate

Last night,was the first #LeadersDebate of the Scottish Parliament election. Just incase you missed it, here are some of the highlights from last night's debate, including our plans for education, Scotland's new tax powers and what I'd say to President Trump:

Posted by Willie Rennie on Friday, 25 March 2016

If you want to watch the whole debate, you an do so via the magic of iPlayer.

Posted in News | Tagged scottish parliament elections 2014 and willie rennie | Leave a comment

Ogmore and Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough by-elections set for May 5th

By The Voice | Thu 24th March 2016 - 6:56 pm

In news that will surprise nobody, Labour today moved the writ for the Ogmore and Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough by-elections. It is defending the two seats following the resignation of Huw Irranca-Davies to stand for the Welsh Assembly and the death of Harry Harpham.

This news comes on the day a very welcome poll puts us at 10%, just 1% behind UKIP:

Westminster voting intention:
CON: 36% (-3)
LAB: 34% (+1)
UKIP: 11% (-1)
LDEM: 10% (+4)
GRN: 3% (-)
(via Ipsos Mori / 19 – 22 Mar)

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 24, 2016

One poll is nothing to get too excited about, but, combined with the trends in local by-elections, it is an encouraging sign. There are certainly worse ways to kick off election season. The fieldwork was conducted in the aftermath of the budget, and may suggest that people are starting to see how much we reined the Tories in when we were in Government.

Posted in News | Tagged janet ellard, ogmore, parliamentary by-elections, shaffaq mohammed and sheffield bright side and hillsborough | 4 Comments

Former Lib Dem councillor enstooled (enthroned) as prince and chief advisor in Ghana

By The Voice | Tue 22nd March 2016 - 9:20 am

Godfried Gyechie was a Lib Councillor in Lewisham from 2006 to 2010. In a ceremony in Akwamufie in Ghana earlier this month he was formally installed as the Tufohene (Chief advisor) to the Osomanyawa of the Akwamu state. The Osomanyawa is the second in command to the paramount King of the Akwamu. Akwamufie is the capital of the Akwamu state, which was once a great empire and ran from the Ivory Coast, through Ghana to Togo in its height.

As the Tufohene, Godfried has the responsibility of settling disputes across the area. He is Head of the Armed Forces and leader of the asafo companies (the warrior groups in Akan culture).

Posted in News | Tagged Godfried Gyechie | 5 Comments

Willie Rennie banned from discussing working conditions with Amazon employees

By The Voice | Mon 21st March 2016 - 10:35 am

Willie Rennie, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has been banned from meeting staff at Amazon’s base in Dunfermline today. He was planning to meet staff there to discuss their working conditions, but the meeting was cancelled at the last minute by Amazon bosses in London.

Willie is campaigning to stop the Scottish Government from giving hand-outs to companies which do not pay their staff at least at the Scottish Living Wage rate of £8.25 an hour. Under the current arrangements, over £5 million has been paid to Amazon in Scotland even though the company is only paying staff £7.20 an hour.

Posted in News | Tagged amazon and willie rennie | 9 Comments

Willie Rennie: The way we tackle drug addiction is broken

By The Voice | Sun 20th March 2016 - 5:30 pm

Willie Rennie has called for a sea-change in drugs policy after new analysis showed that 1,000 people in possession of drugs for personal use have been imprisoned in the last five years instead of being sent for treatment or education.

The figures, compiled by Scottish Government analysts at the request of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, revealed an average of 200 people in Scotland were incarcerated for drug offences between 2010 and 2015. In contrast, an average of just 55 Scots per year were handed drug treatment and testing orders.

Our manifesto for the Holyrood election proposes to end the use of imprisonment for vulnerable people addicted to drugs, calling for it to be treated as a health issue instead. Drug dealers would still face tough criminal sanctions and people failing to abide by treatment or education plans would be subject to additional penalties.

Willie spoke to Liberal Democrat campaigners in Glasgow, where 189 people died as a result of drug misuse in 2014.

Posted in News | Tagged drug addiction, Scotland and willie rennie | Leave a comment

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

By The Voice | Sun 20th March 2016 - 1:55 pm

7 best Many thanks to the 12,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Sexual harassment reports from Conference (53 comments) by Baroness Sal Brinton

Why culture change is a necessary pre-requisite for gender balance (68 comments) by Rachel Edwards

Liberal Leave campaign (50 comments) by Paul Walter

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Op-eds

Recollections of 9/11 (George Cunningham)
Why we need a Trade NATO (Dominic Sokalski)
‘I Fear a Target on My Back’ — A Liberal Democrat’s fight for Hong Kong’s freedom (Alan Dai)
Making the most of the Government’s belated action on illegal Israeli settlements (Jonathan Brown)
Somerset’s farmers are on the front line of climate change (Sarah Dyke)

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Sarah Olney bids to become candidate for Mayor of London

Going for four in a row in Scotland

Observations of an Expat: Canada

Happy Birthday to us!

Author Archives: The Voice

And the new Lib Dem peer is…

LibLink: Miriam Gonzáles says free trade has won: adapt or die is the only option left to us

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

Farron: Rise in UK deaths related to hunger a “national scandal”

Welsh Lib Dems launch manifesto – A Wales that works for you

LibLink: Vince Cable makes the case for TTIP and free trade

Tim Farron launches blueprint for UK to take 3000 unaccompanied refugee children

Welsh Lib Dems plan £20 million boost for hill farmers

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

Sadiq and Zac agree for once: Caroline Pidgeon is “great” and “impressive”

The world of puppet politicians

Caroline Pidgeon judged winner of ITV/LBC mayoral debate

Caroline Pidgeon taking Twitter questions this afternoon #AskCaroline

Kirsty Williams slams Tories and Labour over steel failures

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

Willie Rennie issues Living Wage challenge

Exciting new venue for Spring Conference

“A Wales that works for you”: Kirsty Williams launches Welsh Assembly campaign

Purvis slams Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson over disability benefit cuts

Farron and Williams say UK Government must intervene on steel

Tim Farron launches John Leech’s campaign to take on Labour in Manchester

Lib Dems call for Welsh Assembly to be reconvened over Port Talbot steel decision

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

WATCH: Willie Rennie in last night’s Scottish leaders’ debate

Ogmore and Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough by-elections set for May 5th

Former Lib Dem councillor enstooled (enthroned) as prince and chief advisor in Ghana

Willie Rennie banned from discussing working conditions with Amazon employees

Willie Rennie: The way we tackle drug addiction is broken

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

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Sarah Olney bids to become candidate for Mayor of London

Going for four in a row in Scotland

Observations of an Expat: Canada

Happy Birthday to us!

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