Category Archives: News

WATCH: How Lib Dems are fighting airport injustice

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 5th January 2019 - 9:57 am

Did you know that a disproportionate number of those stopped and checked at airports were BAME people?

Did you know that if, as a result of those checks, they and their families missed their flight, there was no compensation?

Thanks to the Lib Dem Campaign for Racial Equality, this issue is now being given the attention it deserves.

Watch Dr Mohsin Khan outline the problem and explain what LDCRE has done to try and sort things out.

Being racially profiled and stopped and searched in aiports is humiliating.
BAME passengers suffer disproportionately from this.
Vice-chair @thedoctorkhan speaks about his work to prevent unjust treatment and win compensation for victims' missed flights.#modernpartymodernbritain pic.twitter.com/u7GZS6QBaE

— Lib Dem Campaign for Race Equality (@LDCRE1) December 27, 2018

Transparency after Brexit?

By Tom Morrison | Fri 4th January 2019 - 2:57 pm

“This agreement is a further step towards more openness and better cooperation, facilitating fairer and more effective taxation throughout the EU.”

With those words, Pierre Moscovici, the commissioner responsible for financial affairs and taxation declared Europe as a ‘hallmark’ of financial transparency and openness.

Last March, the member states of the EU reached an agreement to create a more transparent environment for tax advisers, accountants and other financial workers and services. Amongst a context that saw leaks from the Panama papers, this agreement set a standard in how financial corruption and tax avoidance would be tackled, shining a light on those that attempted to subvert their financial responsibilities. The process would be up and running in 2020, with information being exchanged between member states from October that year.

It is imperative that the United Kingdom does not renege on this responsibility, regardless of what happens post-March 2019.

Corporation tax is a necessary evil. Whilst the drive for economic growth and profit has seen companies flourish, innovate and create jobs – those same companies are built on the foundations laid by our society.

Our schools train the workers of the future, our infrastructure allows for the smooth movement and running of day-today business activities, and our emergency services protect property and keeps workforces in good health. All of these things cost money and taxation is a fair way to pay for these ‘hidden’ expenses.

To avoid paying what is right is nothing short of theft. The EU’s transparency directive was a logical way of ensuring that there would be no hiding place for individuals or organisations not paying their fair share.

Therefore, the Liberal Democrats need to ensure that there are plans in place to ensure that these directives are not lost, regardless of what happens with Brexit.

Let’s put this in perspective: The UK has the largest number of offshore entities in Europe with around 18,000. The second largest is Luxembourg with nearly 11,000. With the UK economy predicted to fall next year – imagine the financial support available if some of these organisations paid what was fair?

Tagged brexit, taxation and transparency | 5 Comments

Obituary: Peter Boizot MBE (1929-2018)

By Michael Meadowcroft | Fri 4th January 2019 - 11:55 am

Peter Boizot had four great passions: pizza, jazz, Peterborough and Liberalism! With all four he was liberal in his support, both with finance and in enthusiasm. He had great entrepreneurial acumen so that his delightfully naive belief that what he was enthusiastic about would also create paying customers often proved to be the case, making him a very rich man. He was not at all embarrassed by being rich as he simply regarded wealth as a means of supporting his passions and financing new ideas.

His innate liberalism also showed in ways that others would regard as eccentric. When businesses started up in other parts of the country or abroad copying the Pizza Express style and menu, rather than suing them he regarded it as a tribute to his success and as an encouragement for their customers also to patronise his restaurants. Having introduced a string quartet in Pizza Express on one evening a week, his accountant produced figures to show that the extra cost meant they were losing money, Peter ignored the evidence on the grounds that music and food went well together and that it would encourage repeat visits. Also, rather than give cash to beggars encountered on his way through Soho to his restaurant, he would offer them employment.

Tagged obituary and peter boizot | 3 Comments

Liz Jarvis explains why she joined Lib Dems from Labour

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 3rd January 2019 - 4:19 pm

I’ve been talking to Liz Jarvis, who joined the Lib Dems from Labour in the Summer a bit on Twitter. Remarkably, out of 700,000 people, we found each other to have a brief conversation at the People’s Vote march in October. She’s written for the Independent Voices website about why she joined us.

She was pretty involved in the Labour Party as a student and voted Labour throughout her adult life. When the Liberal Democrats went into coalition with the Tories, any positive feelings she had towards our party evaporated and she continued to vote Labour. But along came Jeremy Corbyn:

I might have remained “soft” Labour but for the perfect storm of Jeremy Corbyn and Brexit. The latter is quite simply anathema to me, not just because I’m the granddaughter of immigrants, but because I believe so strongly in freedom of movement, and that the evidence backs up the overwhelming truth that we are better off in the EU than we can possibly be out of it.

The Momentum-propelled adulation of Jeremy Corbyn left me cold. I was also increasingly uneasy about the accusations of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, and for the first time in my voting life I started to feel politically homeless.

Last summer I explained how I was feeling to a friend who had joined the Lib Dems, and he asked me why I was still supporting Labour. After a heated debate, the conclusion was tribalism. I had been clinging on to my political heritage and the promise of what might have been, had Blair not led Britain to war in Iraq, had Corbyn not become leader, had David Miliband stuck around or Ed not eaten that bacon sandwich.

Tagged brexit, independent, labour and liz jarvis | 4 Comments

We Demand Better for Race Equality

By Merlene Emerson | Wed 2nd January 2019 - 3:46 pm

Last week, the Resolution Foundation found that UK black and ethnic minorities (BAME) lost an estimated £3.2bn a year in pay gap and called for equivalent gender pay gap reporting for BAME workers. There was another report from the Centre for Justice Innovation on how community sentencing has decreased due to the loss of trust between the judges and magistrates and the probation service since the latter was privatised.

It seems like there is report each week of evidence of race discrimination or breakdown of trust between the UK establishment and the ethnic minority communities. …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged ldcre and race inequality | 11 Comments

Coalition blues

By David Warren | Wed 2nd January 2019 - 10:35 am

Back in 2010 after a General Election that left our party with the balance of power in a hung parliament the Liberal Democrats went into coalition with the Conservatives.

Every section of the party overwhelmingly supported this move and after decades out in the cold Liberals were finally back in government.

The circumstances weren’t ideal given the dire economic situation, and for a party that faced the Tories as the main opposition in many areas, it was sure to be difficult electorally over the coming five years.

That said options were limited, Labour were the clear losers, and the parliamentary arithmetic made a deal with them impossible.

A coalition or confidence and supply arrangement with David Cameron’s Conservatives were the only realistic choices.

Liberal Democrats joined the cabinet, became ministers, and an agreement was concluded on legislative priorities.

Also posted in Op-eds | 105 Comments

CCTV – What of Liberty

By Tahir Maher | Wed 2nd January 2019 - 7:30 am

The UK has approximately 1 per cent of the world population and well over 10 per cent of the world’s CCTV cameras. London alone has around 422,000 CCTV cameras, and it is estimated that on an average day an individual, in London, will be captured on a camera at least 30 times. Third in line with the most CCTV cameras is Chicago, with at least 17,000. However, according to a recent report in the Chinese state media, People’s Daily, the city of Beijing now has a CCTV network that covers ‘every corner’ of the city. The total number of cameras is around 470,000. Without any obvious trace of irony, the system’s official name is ‘Sky Net’.

In George Orwell’s novel, 1984 one of the things that the protagonist Winston Smith hated was the surveillance by cameras and how the Thought Police could remotely talk to you. Someone mentioned to me that as he was coming out of Reading Station, about a year ago, someone dropped an empty packet of crisp on the floor, only to be told via a speaker to pick up the litter he discarded that had been spotted by CCTV.

We now learn that Christmas shoppers have had their faces scanned in central London as part of a police trial. The Metropolitan Police says it invited people to take part in testing the technology rather than scanning people covertly. Privacy campaigner Big Brother Watch has described the use of such technology as “authoritarian, dangerous and lawless”. In a statement, the group said that “monitoring innocent people in public is a breach of fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of speech and assembly”. Investigations by them also revealed that the system at the moment is not fully functioning as it identified a large number of innocent people as potential suspects.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged cctv and liberty | 13 Comments

Happy New Year, everybody!

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 1st January 2019 - 12:00 am

Happy New Year, everyone! Enjoy the Sydney fireworks which I’m posting because my friend Tom is out there at the moment and he sent me a photo of himself a while ago with the bridge in the background.

Eat, drink and have general fun in whichever way you like today because tomorrow (or Wednesday in Scotland since we have a much-needed extra bank holiday) we get on with stopping this Brexit nonsense.

Let’s hope that we can still say that we are citizens of the European Union at the end of this year.

Tagged Happy New Year | 5 Comments

Offer amnesty to end hostile environment

By James Cox | Mon 31st December 2018 - 12:04 pm

The Conservatives finally published their immigration white paper before the Christmas break, setting out their vision of how immigration policy would work after Brexit.

The Lib Dem response was robust and clear, setting out redlines on scrapping the net migration target, limiting immigration detention and lifting the working ban on asylum seekers to name a few. But our approach to the estimated one million population of illegal migrations living and working in the UK seemed to be lacking a strong, decent and Liberal solution.

Windrush, after Brexit, was the biggest story of

…

Also posted in Op-eds | 2 Comments

Vince Cable’s New Year Message

By Mark Valladares | Mon 31st December 2018 - 8:23 am

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable will use his New Year’s message to highlight the urgency to win a people’s vote on Brexit with people having the right to choose to remain in the European Union, something the Liberal Democrats have argued for since the summer of 2016.

He also highlights the need to address issues that the government has neglected due to the focus on Brexit including properly funding health and care services, increasing resource for schools and police services, tackling homelessness and the lack of affordable housing, and harnessing the power and opportunities of new technology.

You can view …

Tagged New Year message 2019 and vince cable | 3 Comments

21-30 December 2018 – press release catch-up

By Mark Valladares | Sun 30th December 2018 - 10:30 pm

You’d been wondering where I’d gotten to, hadn’t you? Well, following some consideration of how this regular feature works, I’ve decided to change it a bit. From now on, I’ll publish on Monday to Thursday inclusive, and on Sunday evening. My thinking is that politics goes a bit quiet when Parliament isn’t sitting, and one can develop a false expectation as to the flow of press releases from that.

And now, a catch up of press releases you’ve probably missed…

Lib Dem call to scrap Vagrancy Act gets Labour backing
Cable: Corbyn offers no real alternative
Govt must take no deal off the table

…

Tagged business rates, ed davey, ferries, food security, homelessness, jeremy corbyn, labour, layla moran, security and vince cable | 3 Comments

WATCH: Lib Dem Campaign for Racial Equality Chair Roderick Lynch review 2018 and set out plans for next year

By The Voice | Sun 30th December 2018 - 11:00 am

The new Lib Dem Campaign for Racial Equality has hit the ground running these past few months.

In this video, their chair, Roderick Lynch, outlines all they have achieved from Conference motions to Black History Month and looks forward to the issues they will be campaigning on in 2019.

Backing from party leaders ✅
Passed conference motion ✅✅
New BAME party Vice-Pres ✅
Viral Black History Month campaign ✅

Charismatic chair Roderick Lynch outlines the numerous successes of the LDCRE in 2018 and some of our plans for 2019.#modernpartymodernbritain pic.twitter.com/ZPzRkdL6OC

— LDCRE (@LDCRE1) December 29, 2018

Tagged BAME and ldcre | Leave a comment

How dare we treat our friends and neighbours like this?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 30th December 2018 - 8:55 am

If you go to the shop and buy an iron, say, you expect it to work and for any manufacturer’s claims or guarantees to stand. You are entering into a contract that can’t be mucked around with. I should emphasise at this point that I would never buy an iron. The quality of my life improved immeasurably when I gave up ironing. But that’s beside the point.

You wouldn’t stand for the manufacturer contacting you a few weeks’ later telling you that you had to pay another £20 for the iron, or reducing the guarantee period.

Yet this is exactly what our government is doing to many people in this country.

Every time I see that Home Office tweet telling the 3 million EU citizens in this country that they will have to apply for settled status, I get angrier.

I am furious that my friends, my next door neighbours, the surgeons who saved my husband’s life two years ago, the nurses who looked after him and comforted him through a terrifying experience, my colleague and so many of my friends’ spouses or children are being put through this.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu citizens and immigration | 21 Comments

Why is everyone going to Peterborough?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 29th December 2018 - 10:55 am

There’s a lot of Lib Dems heading for Peterborough at the moment.

Mark Pack went there yesterday and I’ll overlook that he described himself as the Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice in his video about his trip. I’m not precious. Really.

34 Comments

Harborough Lib Dem Zuffar Haq and Dorchester’s Molly Rennie get MBE in New Years Honours

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 29th December 2018 - 8:42 am

Leicestershire Liberal Democrat candidate and health campaigner Zuffar Haq has been awarded an MBE in this year’s New Year’s Honours.

From Leicestershire Live:

“Another recipient of the MBE was Zuffar Haq, who was awarded for public and political service
Zuffar, of Oadby, is well-known as a campaigner who helped save the children’s heart unit at Glenfield Hospital. He has also stood for election for the Liberal Democrats in Parliamentary elections and runs a medical aid charity.
He said: “I am honoured, and humbled, to receive this award.
“Born and brought up in

…

Tagged new year honours 2019 | 3 Comments

LibLink: Olly Grender Paddy Ashdown leaves behind a legacy of profound decency and kindness

By NewsHound | Fri 28th December 2018 - 1:00 pm

Olly Grender, who for so long was one of Paddy Ashdown’s closest colleagues, has written a lovely tribute to him in the New Statesman.

She highlights how he was willing to say things that weren’t popular but showed his commitment to liberal and humanitarian values:

“As Liberal Democrat leader (from 1988-1999) he “banged on about Bosnia” every week in parliament, to the groans of most MPs, but he was vindicated: a humanitarian atrocity was happening on Europe’s doorstep. He fought for the Hong Kong Chinese to obtain British citizenship, a deeply unpopular position

…

Tagged paddy ashdown | 5 Comments

New Edition of Ad Lib out

By The Voice | Thu 27th December 2018 - 6:25 pm

The party has revamped its online magazine Ad Lib and you can read the new version, hot off the digital press, here.

It’s jam packed full of stuff – a profile of our candidate in the most marginal seat in the country. Wendy Chamberlain is working to take the seat where sitting SNP MP Stephen Gethins and his wife make up his majority.

There’s an interview with Lucy Salek, our brilliant candidate in the Lewisham by-election and articles from Vince on housing and Tom Brake on Brexit.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged AD LIB | 6 Comments

Championing Freedom of Belief

By Kirsten Johnson | Thu 27th December 2018 - 4:25 pm

Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review into the persecution of Christians worldwide. We are fortunate in this country to be able to practice our faiths, or have no faith, whichever the case might be. But in many countries of the world this is not the case.

Our 2017 General Election manifesto called for the UK to lead on establishing the right to religious freedom around the world:

Appoint an ambassador-level champion for freedom of belief to drive British diplomatic efforts in this field, and campaign for the abolition of

…

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged christianity, faith, freedom of speech, persecution and religious freedom | 22 Comments

Post-war Liberal leaders in perspective

By David Warren | Wed 26th December 2018 - 6:45 pm

There have been ten leaders of the Liberal Party and its successor the Liberal Democrats since 1945 as follows. I have resisted the temptation to rank them 1 – 10, but my top three are revealed later. The roll of honour is as follows;

Clement Davies 1945 -56

A reluctant leader who led a depleted parliamentary party in a chamber dominated by Labour. He was credited with keeping organised Liberalism alive during one of our darkest periods.

Jo Grimond 1956 -67

A youthful breath of fresh air who oversaw a mini-revival with famous by-election victories at Torrington and Orpington. Ultimately his vision of a non-socialist progressive alternative to the Conservatives would falter with the return to power of Labour under Harold Wilson.

Jeremy Thorpe 1967 -76

Flamboyant and energetic. At the February 1974, General Election with the country polarised and the powerful miners on strike led the party to an amazing 20% of the vote but only 14 seats due to FPTP. Eventually, scandal affecting his personal life would force his resignation.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged Lib Dem Leaders | 27 Comments

Paddy Ashdown and the bobble hat

By David Warren | Mon 24th December 2018 - 3:06 pm

I joined the Liberal Democrats not long after the national coalition with the Conservatives was formed.

In 2011 my local party asked me to stand as the candidate in the ward where I lived and I accepted their offer.

The ward in question had been safely won by Labour for decades and no other party had previously campaigned there.

I wasn’t surprised to finish a poor third come polling day.

That didn’t stop me, following that election I set up the Southcote Liberal Democrats with a Facebook page, Twitter account and courtesy of ALDC a website.

Quarterly FOCUS leaflets were produced and delivered across one of the four polling districts.

Delivered by yours truly to a thousand or so addresses.

This was backed up by targetting letters to residents and surveying.

I picked up casework and ran campaigns.

The incumbent Labour councillors were not amused, they hadn’t seen this kind of activity from a rival party before.

Tagged paddy ashdown | 5 Comments

Christmas Competition

By Tahir Maher | Sun 23rd December 2018 - 10:00 pm

I wanted to give an update on the 2018 Christmas Competition. We had twelve good submissions by 17th December. The articles have now been judged, and three were very close. I want to thank everyone who submitted an article. It was a shame that we didn’t have more submissions from ladies.

I want to thank David Warren for his articles, and I particularly liked the poem by Tony Harris, but the winner was … Andrew Toye. A Waitrose hamper will be on its way to Andrew.

Thank you again for all those who submitted an article and hopefully next year you too …

Tagged Christmas competition | 5 Comments

Caroline Pidgeon calls for Blue Plaque recognition for 100 women

By The Voice | Sun 23rd December 2018 - 4:55 pm

You know these blue plaques you find on houses recognising former inhabitants of historical significance?

It will probably not surprise you to realise that only 14% of them in the country’s capital city remember women.

Lib Dem London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon has long campaigned to change that. She’s welcomed London Assembly members’ support and call for people to nominate 100 women to be commemorated in this way.

As part of this centenary year, the London Assembly is seeking to submit 100 nominations of women worthy of a Blue Plaque.

Caroline Pidgeon has long supported ensuring more women are recognised for their record, and three years ago highlighted that incredibly the suffragette Emily Davison was not even recognised by a Blue Plaque.

It is great news that her fellow London Assembly Members are now backing an issue Caroline has long championed.

Caroline and the London Assembly thinks that the criteria being used by English Heritage when considering submission are totally unfit for a modern London.

English Heritage incredibly refuse to consider a Blue Plaque if the original house no longer exists. Yet Emily Davison’s home no longer exist due to a V2 rocket demolishing the property she lived in. Many other properties across London were also destroyed during the Second World War.

English Heritage seem to think that remembering properties is far more important than people.

Tagged history and women | 3 Comments

Paddy’s warning on the threats to democracy and peace

By The Voice | Sun 23rd December 2018 - 12:55 pm

In his last speech to the House of Lords in January this year, Paddy had some strong words for both Donald Trump and the Brexiteers and some useful reflections on where the world should go from here.

Here is the speech in full:

My Lords, I will wait for noble Lords to perform the usual exodus. My noble friend Lord Campbell of Pittenweem has just said, “What we want is genesis, not exodus”—which may well be correct.

I am privileged to lead this debate. For reasons that I will not bother the House with, I have been spending a lot of time recently doing some research into the 1930s. I am struck—actually, horrified—by the similarities between our suddenly turbulent and unpredictable age and those years. Then as now, nationalism and protectionism were on the rise; democracy seemed to have failed; people hungered for the government of great men; and those who suffered most from economic pain felt alienated and turned towards simplistic solutions and strident voices. Public institutions, conventional politics and the old establishments were everywhere mistrusted and disbelieved. Compromise was out of fashion; the centre collapsed in favour of extremes; the normal order of things did not function; change and even revolution was more appealing than the status quo; and fake news—built around the effective lie—carried more weight in public discourse than rational arguments and provable facts. Painting a lie on the side of a bus and driving it around the country would have seemed very normal in those days, too.

Perhaps the last time that we stood as close to large-scale conflict as we stand now in the world was at the height of the Cold War—but then we had a comfort which I fear we do not enjoy today. Then, the western liberal democracies stood together in defence of our interests and our shared values. Now it pains me to say that, under President Trump, the most powerful of our number thinks that standing together is less important than going it alone, that the abdication of leadership and responsibility is preferable to engaging in the international space and that collective action takes second place to “America First”.

Throughout the long years of the American century we have taken great comfort in the fact that our alliance with the United States and its Presidents has been built not just on shared interests but on shared values. Today we have to face the wrenching reality that this US President seems not to share our values; his recent racist comments have shockingly illuminated that fact. The liberal principles that have underpinned every civilised age, every peaceful period and every prosperous society are now under attack as never before, but President Trump appears more aligned with those forces ranged against liberal values than with those seeking to defend them. Throughout the American century we have taken comfort in the fact that the leader of the western world, although flawed like the rest of us, was well informed, judicious and cautious about going to war. Now I fear that we have an American President who seems all too frequently ignorant of the facts, unpredictable, foolhardy and reckless. Bang goes my invitation to the state dinner.

This is frightening stuff for those who, like me, place their faith in the Atlantic alliance. So what do we do about it? For the moment I fear that the answer is to grin and bear it in the hope that the US will find its way back to sanity. After all, we in Britain are not entirely free of this kind of lurch into stupidity ourselves. When the battle between the America that we know and love and Donald Trump ends, I think only one side will remain standing: either Donald Trump will destroy American democracy as we know it or American democracy will destroy Donald Trump. Personally, my money remains on the strength of that old and deep democracy.

Tagged paddy ashdown | 2 Comments

Paddy “was the most heartfelt person I have known” – Nick Clegg

By The Voice | Sun 23rd December 2018 - 9:28 am

Nick Clegg has paid tribute to “his” leader, the man who brought him into the party and then supported him throughout his career and throughout the darkest days of the coalition:

My heart goes out to Jane and Paddy’s whole family.

Paddy was the reason I entered politics. He was the reason I became a liberal. And he became a lifelong mentor, friend and guide. Much will, rightly, be said about him in the days ahead. He was a soldier, a diplomat, a writer, a leader, a campaigner, a servant of his constituents, and an international statesman.

Tagged nick clegg and paddy ashdown | 1 Comment

Paddy – some Liberal Democrat reflections…

By Mark Valladares | Sat 22nd December 2018 - 11:19 pm

But whilst the political world is paying tribute, the loss is more acute to the family that is the Liberal Democrats. Here are some of the reactions from Twitter. For those of our readers who didn’t know Paddy as well, or for as long, perhaps these will give you a flavour of the man…

Paddy listened to what I had to say and then blasted all my arguments to pieces.
I shouldn't *always* use military metaphors for him, but they always come to mind. Sorry.
Paddy was open to anyone, but he'd never patronise by giving you less than fully armed & operation Paddy.

— Alex Wilcock 🔶 🏳️‍🌈 (@alexwilcock) December 22, 2018

"He never gave the impression when he talked to you that he was looking over your shoulder for someone more important," https://t.co/Fu95NhjkBL

— Jonathan Calder (@lordbonkers) December 22, 2018

In 2014, in the wake of nightmare Euro election results, I went on the Today programme at about 5 minutes notice to try to spread some peace and calm. Literally within seconds of me coming off air I had a highly complimentary email from #paddyashdown which I have always treasured

— Caron Lindsay 🔶 🇺🇦🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🇪🇺 (@caronmlindsay) December 22, 2018

I am absolutely devastated. I'll never forget my first big speech at Lib Dem party conference & coming off stage to have Paddy pat me on the back and tell me what a good job I did. My thoughts and prayers go to his family. https://t.co/w41iPpSpu6

— Amna Ahmad (@amnajahmad) December 22, 2018

It turns out that so many people had pictures of themselves with Paddy…

So very sad to hear that @paddyashdown has lost his last battle, with cancer. A sad day for Somerset, which he dearly loved. My thoughts are with Jane and his family x pic.twitter.com/lGBMiZbjhD

— Tessa 4 Wells (@tessamunt) December 22, 2018

https://twitter.com/aprilpreston_/status/1076584392561213440?s=21

Just 3 Months ago.
Thank you for spending time with us and share an insight in to your life. RIP Paddy Ashdown..
.@merleneemerson @ChineseLibDems @THLDs @LibDemLords @LibDemDiversity @ALDC @SiobhanBenita @CarolinePidgeon @caronmlindsay @CandyPiercy pic.twitter.com/XgPCsWXMey

— Lib Dem Campaign for Race Equality (@LDCRE1) December 22, 2018

And the stories…

Paddy Ashdown: a human tornado whose energy seemed inextinguishable. But also a brilliant boss, author and international diplomat. My best memory: visiting Mitrovica, he got fractious local mobsters to commit to a common ideal, then made hot drinks (badly) for the local staff

— Iain King (@Iainbking) December 22, 2018

Fond memories of a campaign visit to an Indian restaurant kitchen with #PaddyAshdown. He brandished the skewers like a ninja while chatting to the chefs in their native language. I just watched in silent awe. We’ve lost a genuine hero today.

— Sarah Olney (@sarahjolney1) December 22, 2018

Thanks for the memories, Paddy…

Tagged paddy ashdown | 1 Comment

Paddy and the Kooks

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 22nd December 2018 - 11:05 pm

There will doubtless be so many personal tributes to Paddy. My Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of them.

There have been so many generous tributes from across politics. Nicholas Soames, for goodness sake, and Iain Dale and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Paddy was known for not being tribal.

Back in the Summer of 2016, he was involved in setting up More United, a cross party group aimed at getting generous spirited, internationalist people with a social conscience elected. I was initially pretty sceptical and had some questions for them. Paddy was right back at me within 24 hours.

As it happened, the MPs elected with its support have done some darned good stuff, from getting funding for access to elections for disabled candidates to developing a more liberal consensus on immigration to campaigning to restore the migrant impact fund and lots more.

Austin Rathe, once our Head of Membership, worked with Paddy at More United. He has given me permission to share the story he put on Facebook with you all.

Lots to say about Paddy, and we’ll all be to sharing memories in the coming days.

For now, I just wanted to share my favourite Paddy story, from about 18 months ago.

More United had an event for the people who had helped us launch, including Luke Pritchard from The Kooks.

Afterwards Paddy, Corinne Sawers and I go for dinner. The following conversation occurs:

Paddy: “Who was that guy with the curly hair you were talking to?”

Me: “He’s the singer in a band called The Kooks.”

“The Kooks? I’ve never heard of them.”

“Well Paddy, I promise you they’re pretty famous.”

At this point Paddy, unconvinced, turns to a guy at the next table, taps him in the shoulder and says.

Tagged more united and paddy ashdown | 1 Comment

Paddy – some early tributes…

By Mark Valladares | Sat 22nd December 2018 - 10:23 pm

It is the mark of a person when, in the hours after their death, tributes come from less expected corners. Here are some of the early ones, from across the political spectrum and beyond…

First, from the world of politics…

https://twitter.com/sebastianepayne/status/1076571700370829312?s=21

“I am deeply saddened and shocked by the news about Paddy. He was motivated by values of compassion, decency and a profound commitment to make the world a better place… He will be hugely missed by his many friends and admirers.”

Tony Blair’s statement https://t.co/670JHUABpM

— Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (@InstituteGC) December 22, 2018

Absolutely devastated to hear of the death of Paddy Ashdown. I'm actually crying. He has been a very good friend to me over the years and would always go out of his way to help me. What a bastard cancer is. A liberal light has gone out tonight. pic.twitter.com/7G3akpqEVl

— Iain Dale ⚒️🇺🇦.🇮🇱 (@IainDale) December 22, 2018

Saddened by the loss of a towering political figure who was a strong European and a dedicated constitutional reformer. Paddy Ashdown had endless energy, was prepared to cross party lines and served the UK and international communities with distinction. Thoughts with his family.

— Gordon Brown (@GordonBrown) December 22, 2018

I am so very sorry to hear of the death of my old friend Paddy Ashdown and before the ghastlies get at him , he was a formidable Royal Marine ,a bold and effective Liberal Leader and a first class administrator.#abigbeastgoesfartoosoonRIP

— Nicholas Soames (@NSoames) December 22, 2018

Shocked at the passing of former leader of the liberal democrats Paddy Ashdown, whilst we had our political differences he was a staunch defender of human rights and social justice, a truly sad evening for all who fight for social justice in our country. R.I.P Paddy xxxx pic.twitter.com/sqrsKmmsce

— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) December 22, 2018

But, of course, Paddy had a far wider impact on the world around him…

We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of our friend and loyal supporter, Lord Paddy Ashdown. He will be remembered as a strong advocate for Bosnia, serving as the country's High Representative & doing his best for the victims & survivors of genocide https://t.co/1apuIvs2O6 pic.twitter.com/MIkcZe603d

— Remembering Srebrenica (@SrebrenicaUK) December 22, 2018

So sad to hear the news of Paddy Ashdown. I saw the huge international respect he won for his inspirational leadership in Bosnia. His combination of prodigious energy, infectious enthusiam and total integrity came through in everything he did. And his capacity for friendship.

— Peter Ricketts (@LordRickettsP) December 22, 2018

Paddy Ashdown was a friend of the Syrian Revolution. He supported us in bringing the Assad regime to justice, he supported us in humanitarian aid and vouched for aid drops in Syria – and openly berated those who didn't care for Syrian lives. RIP Lord Ashdown.

— Razan Saffour (@RazanSpeaks) December 22, 2018

On behalf of everyone at Unicef, we are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Paddy Ashdown. Supporting the organisation for more than 8 years as President & Ambassador, Lord Ashdown was a passionate advocate for children everywhere. Our thoughts go out to Jane & his family. pic.twitter.com/WxAUbcZaXh

— UNICEF UK (@UNICEF_uk) December 22, 2018

and in some more unexpected places…

We send condolences to Paddy Ashdown’s family and friends. We often saw him in our reading rooms researching. He was latterly the President of @FriendsTNA and was a passionate supporter of our work.

— The National Archives (@UkNatArchives) December 22, 2018

But, for now, I’ll finish with a typical Paddy anecdote. If it had been anyone else, you probably wouldn’t believe it. But Paddy…

Paddy Ashdown, a true Liberal hero, RIP. When he was High Rep in Bosnia his team had a tip off about an incoming car bomb. Paddy's HQ was next to a petrol station, but he told his team to stay calm: "Don't worry. I tried to blow up a petrol station once – it didn't work."

— George Parker (@GeorgeWParker) December 22, 2018

Tagged paddy ashdown | 8 Comments

Paddy Ashdown has passed away

By The Voice | Sat 22nd December 2018 - 8:19 pm

Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, passed away earlier this evening following a short illness.

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said:

It is with great sadness that we announce that Paddy Ashdown passed away earlier this evening following a short illness. He will be desperately missed by everyone at the Liberal Democrats as a dear friend and colleague, and remembered as someone who made an immeasurable contribution to furthering the cause of liberalism.

Our thoughts are with his family and all of his friends at this difficult time, and we ask that their privacy is respected.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable said:

Our thoughts are with Jane and Paddy’s family this evening.

This is a hugely sad day for the Liberal Democrats and for the very many people across political and public life who had immense affection and respect for Paddy.

He was famous for his politics, but his talents extended well beyond that arena. He was an accomplished author, and had spent many years serving the country before he got near the House of Commons.

Few people know how hard he fought to get into politics following his service in the marines and diplomatic service. He exercised every ounce of his considerable personal stamina to win the Yeovil seat. He was a personal example to me and to many other candidates.

Once in Parliament, he made a real mark. He was always listened to, in particular, on international issues and defence. He took up unpopular causes where he was respected for his convictions. He inspired the Liberal Democrats from a polling position he famously described as ‘represented by an asterisk’, to become a formidable campaigning force laying the ground for the strength which later took the party into government.

Tagged featured and paddy ashdown | 32 Comments

Corbyn: Labour would deliver Brexit

By The Voice | Sat 22nd December 2018 - 10:55 am

Anyone still clinging on to the hope that the Labour Party would somehow get us out of this Brexit mess will be sorely disappointed by an interview with Jeremy Corbyn in today’s Guardian.

But asked if he could imagine a referendum emerging as a solution if it becomes clear that parliament is deadlocked – as the work and pensions secretary, Amber Rudd, mooted this week – he said: “I think we should vote down this deal; we should then go back to the EU with a discussion about a customs union.”

As to what stance Labour would take if a referendum were held, Corbyn said, “it would be a matter for the party to decide what the policy would be; but my proposal at this moment is that we go forward, trying to get a customs union with the EU, in which we would be able to be proper trading partners.”

And he struck a distinctly Eurosceptic note by again highlighting Labour’s concerns about the state aid rules that form part of the architecture of the single market.

“I think the state aid rules do need to be looked at again, because quite clearly, if you want to regenerate an economy, as we would want to do in government, then I don’t want to be told by somebody else that we can’t use state aid in order to be able to develop industry in this country,” he said.

Neither is he willing to countenance the idea that Labour should support May’s deal, to avoid Britain crashing out with no deal in place at all – a move the prime minister has repeatedly said is in the “national interest”.

He’s clearly not looking at the clear trend now emerging that the people are unimpressed with the reality of Brexit and want to change their mind.

So if Corbyn wins an election, all he’ll do is go unicorn hunting in Brussels. He won’t stop Brexit.

22 Comments

John Appleby to fight North of Tyne Mayor contest for the Lib Dems

By The Voice | Fri 21st December 2018 - 1:31 pm

Dr John Appleby has been selected as the prospective candidate for the election of a Mayor of the new North of Tyne Combined Authority in May.

He has lived in the North-East for over thirty years, and now lives in Whitley Bay, where he enjoys walking on the ever-changing beach with his wife, Janet.

He was formerly Head of Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University, responsible for over 1000 staff and students, a budget of £14 million, strategy and safety. He continues to be a popular teacher of maths for engineering students.

John served as a Lib Dem councillor in Newcastle from 2004 until 2007, representing Woolsington ward and taking an interest in transport, education, scrutiny and audit. He has subsequently stood for Parliament, in local elections, and as mayoral candidate in North Tyneside.

He also has experience as a trustee of several local charities and as a school governor, and has been a union branch president, also serving on local and national church committees.

He said:

Tagged john appleby, mayoral elections and north of tyne mayor | 3 Comments

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