Category Archives: News

Willie Rennie

Willie Rennie’s New Year message: The forces of openness and tolerance tolerance must win the argument in 2018

By Willie Rennie | Sun 31st December 2017 - 10:30 am

In recent years we have witnessed the forces of division making advances in the court of public opinion. It has made our country more introspective and insular instead of the outward looking, optimistic nation that it has traditionally been.

In 2018, it is my ambition to make sure the forces of openness and tolerance start winning the argument again.

We should begin with immigration. It is good for our social fabric, our culture and our economy. Bringing people from across the globe enriches us with talented and energetic people who want to give to their new home

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The Voice

LDV’s top 12 posts of 2017 – Number 6

By The Voice | Sun 31st December 2017 - 10:00 am

So we kick off our second half of our most popular posts of 2017 with one of the most shocking and heartbreaking.

14th June is a day etched in our collective memory as the awful day when the Grenfell fire took place. We were all so horrified.

In the few days after the election, there had been some signs that all was not so harmonious in the parliamentary party. Some Lib Dem members of the House of Lords had publicly made clear their dissatisfaction with Tim Farron and there were reports of private grumblings.

We may never know exactly what it was that prompted Tim to resign so suddenly in the early evening. We had his resignation speech on video and text.

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Caron Lindsay

WATCH: Vince Cable’s New Year message – Liberal Democrats are the party who stand up for the underdog

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 30th December 2017 - 9:37 pm

Vince’s New Year message is a little different. It’s another of these W1A style videos where he goes completely off piste from the remarks prepared for him by his team. Which would never, ever happen in real life, obviously.

He concentrates on the principles that drive the Liberal Democrats, challenging vested interests and standing up for the underdog.

He’ll be wanting to get over in the next year how the Liberal Democrats have so often been right and ahead of our time. 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the Liberal Democrats and in that time we’ve led on issues like LGBT rights, the Iraq war, environmental issues, standing up for the rights of Hong Kong citizens and calling for humanitarian intervention in Bosnia. We should also remember that Vince was the lone political voice warning about the dangers of the credit crunch.

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The Voice

LDV’s top 12 posts of 2017 – Number 7

By The Voice | Sat 30th December 2017 - 6:00 pm

Your last one for today takes us back to 22 June when Vince Cable announced that he would be standing for leader.

#7: Breaking News: Vince Cable announces his candidacy for leader

A week after Tim Farron’s shock resignation, Vince Cable announced that he would stand to replace him. By the time he announced, all of his fellow MPs had ruled themselves out.

He outlined where he wanted the party to go:

There are big opportunities ahead. The Conservatives are in disarray and in retreat. The Labour Party outperformed expectations but complacently believes that ‘one more heave’ will see it into office. But an economic policy based on offering lots of free things lacks economic credibility and will be found out. Investing in infrastructure, rather than borrowing for everyday running costs is credible. There is a big space in British politics which I am determined that we should occupy.

The contest will take place with the largest membership electorate in our party’s history. We should be ambitious about increasing our number still further and in particular attracting young people to our cause. I welcome the more diverse party and parliamentary party we now have and will give priority to promoting diversity, an issue I championed as a minister and with some success in business leadership.

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The Voice

LDV’s top 12 posts of 2017 – Number 9

By The Voice | Sat 30th December 2017 - 2:00 pm

We continue our meander through the top dozen LDV posts of the year with another trip back to January.

#9 This is how to respect the referendum result

In this post, Rob Parsons tackled the argument that those of us who wish to remain in the EU were disrespecting the referendum result and flouting the “will of the people.”

Generally speaking electoral votes stand, even if the majority is unsatisfactory. But that is premised on two conditions.  The first is that the voters get a chance regularly to change their minds. The second is that the voters were – at least relatively –

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The Voice

LDV’s top 12 posts of 2017 – Number 10

By The Voice | Sat 30th December 2017 - 12:00 pm

In time honoured tradition, we are running down our most popular posts of 2017 in reverse order:

#10: Remainer myths and post truth politics

Back in January, Ben Andrew wrote that, while he was distraught at the referendum result and believed Brexit would damage us, we shouldn’t pretend to ourselves that people were going to change their mind:

Like most Lib Dems, I think that Brexit will be a total disaster. I think that it will vandalise our economy, damage our universities, and give us less influence on the global stage. However, the response of many Lib Dems and other Remainers to the referendum result has left me a little disheartened. And I’m not talking about this “referendum on the terms of the deal” – which I’m a bit on the fence about, but I do see some reasoning for. I’m talking about the nonsense claims bouncing around our echo chamber, which exist purely to make us feel better about this horrible referendum result.

The one which I hear most often is that, having seen what Brexit really means, those who voted Leave have decided that this isn’t what they wanted after all and that they now wish to turn back the clock. This is a fantasy. Poll after poll after poll has shown that Regrexit doesn’t exist – that no more Leavers than Remainers have changed their mind in the aftermath of the referendum.

He concluded:

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The Voice

BREAKING: Swinson and Clegg honoured

By The Voice | Fri 29th December 2017 - 10:51 pm

Lib Dem MP for East Dunbartonshire, Jo Swinson, has been awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

The rumours were true, about Nick, then.

 

Elizabeth Riches, who came within two votes of winning North East Fife in June becomes an MBE. She was a councillor for many years and was depute leader of Fife Council from 2007-12.

Depute Leader of our group on York City Council, Ann Reid gets an MBE for services to local govermnent.

Another Scot, Graham Garvie, former Convener of the Borders Council and now a member of the Lib Dems’ Federal International Relations Committee, gets an OBE.

Reg Barry,  Lib Dem Councillor on the Isle of Wight gets a BEM for services to the community.

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NewsHound

Vince reflects on 2017, looks forward to an exit from Brexit and expresses Strictly anger.

By NewsHound | Fri 29th December 2017 - 2:58 pm

This time last year, Vince Cable was looking forward to potentially winning the bad sex award for his novel Open Arms. He certainly wouldn’t have thought that by the end of 2017, he’d not only be re-elected as MP for Twickenham but would be leading the Liberal Democrats.

That his failure to pick up the said bad sex award was his low point of the year shows how spectacular 2017 has been for him.

He talked to Politico about his hopes for 2018. It’s simple, really.

To secure referendum on stopping Brexit. And winning it.

His lesson learned in 2017, “never to give up,” may help him to that goal.

His high point of 2017 wasn’t winning back his seat or the leadership, but something much closer to his heart.

My younger son happily married.

He was asked about his favourite tv show or movie from the year and he didn’t shy away from the controversy over the treatment of Alexandra Burke during Strictly.

“Strictly Come Dancing.” Dancing addict. But got very cross over final.

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Caron Lindsay

15 year old Lib Dem Jess Insall’s campaign gets support from Scottish Government

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 29th December 2017 - 1:14 pm

Last month, 15 year old Scottish Young Liberal Jess Insall successfully proposed a motion at Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference which called for gender neutral school uniforms, a simple concept that would make a huge difference to the culture in our schools. Jo Swinson backed the motion and told Conference that if uniform stopped girls doing cartwheels, then it was the wrong uniform.

Today the Scottish Government has expressed support for this move, as reported in iNews.

Schools across the country should consider making uniforms gender-neutral rather than forcing girls to wear skirts and boys to wear trousers, the Scottish Government has said.

Responding to a campaign led by a 15-year-old schoolgirl, a spokesman said ministers agreed that boys and girls “should be treated equally” when it came to the uniforms they wore. “It’s not about dictating the way anyone dresses”

The development comes after teenager Jess Insall successfully passed a motion in favour of the move at the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference earlier this year.

Jess is quoted in the article:

“It isn’t saying that everyone has to wear the same uniform – it’s saying that whatever the uniform is, there can’t be any difference between genders,” she told i. “Instead of saying boys have to wear trousers and girls have to wear skirts, schools can say pupils can choose between skirts or trousers. “It’s not about dictating the way anyone dresses. ‘Gender-neutral’ can be quite an alienating term, but all it really means is not treating people differently because of their gender.”

She also talked about the practical disadvantages of strict gender rules:

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Caron Lindsay

Sick absence figures reveal extent of strains on NHS staff as 45 million hours lost in Scotland alone

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th December 2017 - 12:53 pm

Last year, my husband spent 51 days in hospital. He received excellent care from compassionate and skilled staff at what was an absolutely terrifying time for us.

That experience gave us an insight into the strains and stresses that the NHS faces. The most common refrain from staff was that it was so stressful and the Winter hadn’t even started yet.

He spent a just over a month in a medical ward in our local hospital and a further three weeks in a specialist centre in our nearest city. On only one occasion in the whole 51 days did I see staff going home when they were actually supposed to. There were times when I was shocked to see the same members of staff on their 5th or even 6th 12 hour shift in a week. One day I arrived at the hospital in the afternoon to see a health care assistant who had been on night shift the previous night. Because the ward was so under-staffed, she had gone home, slept for a couple of hours and come back in for the busy stretch around lunch and dinner.

During their shifts, the nurses did not stop. They were dealing with multiple stressful situations at a time. They were stretched to the limit.

Obviously a situation like that is not sustainable. It’s going to affect people’s health in some way or another. Alex Cole-Hamilton now has evidence of that.

He revealed that more than 45 million hours have been lost by Scottish NHS boards to staff ill health during the past four years and said the immense pressure staff are under could account for rates rising.

Data obtained from health boards under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that the number of hours lost to illness increased from 11.4 million hours in 2014-15 to 13.1 million hours in 2016-17, with the number rising year on year.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 25 December 2017 – peace and goodwill to all…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 25th December 2017 - 8:00 am

Welcome to Creeting St Peter, on this Christmas Day – that’s St Peter’s, just before last night’s carol service, by the way. Caron has already said a few very kind words to welcome the day, and my job is to… well… not do very much really.

However, in keeping with my habit of giving you a musical offering, and because it’s been a trying year for liberals, here are the Muppet Chickens…

May I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

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Caron Lindsay

Daisy Cooper attacks sexist Bible stories for girls book

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 24th December 2017 - 1:55 pm

I was taken the other day by this tweet from Daisy Cooper, who was unimpressed by a book she found in a branch of The Works:

If, like me, you had no idea who the Five Daughters of Zelophehad were, their story is interesting. They took on an all -male establishment and challenged the fact that they had no right to inherit their father’s property.

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Caron Lindsay

Swinson: Sectoral analysis shows that Brexit is a far-reaching, ridiculous folly

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 22nd December 2017 - 11:00 am

So MPs and peers had some time alone with the Brexit “sectoral analysis” papers. And those of ours who expressed an opinion were far from impressed. You can make your own mind up as the papers have been partially published here.

Vince Cable had been particularly scathing about them in an article for the Independent on Sunday:

Those who have seen them – under a procedure rivalling access to the Crown Jewels – say they are descriptions of the sectors, not assessments of impact, and contain nothing unavailable on Wikipedia.

The second, more serious, point was that the decision to leave the customs union was taken by the Cabinet without any quantitative assessment of impact.

This doesn’t surprise me. Whenever I try to engage Brexiteers with technical issues which face supply chain industries, whose components cross borders, along with practical problems surrounding border certification and rules of origin, eyes glaze over.

Then Jo Swinson had some time alone in a darkened room with them and she was underwhelmed to say the least. She set out her thoughts in a series of tweets.

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NewsHound

Police facing £125m real-terms cut

By NewsHound | Thu 21st December 2017 - 10:45 am

The party has criticised the government after it emerged the Home Office police grant for 2018-19 will remain exactly the same as this year, meaning police forces will see the equivalent of a £125m real-terms cut once inflation is taken into account.

The Home Office Police Core Settlement announced today for 2018/19 is £4,054,533,651 (link, p.3), which is exactly the same as in 2017/18 (link, p.6).

If funding had kept pace with annual inflation of 3.1%, it would have been increased by £125.7m (Office for National …

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The Voice

Lib Dem Amendment for people’s vote on Brexit deal defeated

By The Voice | Thu 21st December 2017 - 8:25 am

Last night, the House of Commons voted on Amendment 120 of the EU Withdrawal Bill, whether people should be given a vote on the final Brexit deal.

It was defeated, with 23 for and 319 against – most of Labour didn’t vote!

You can watch Wera Hobhouse’s passionate speech for giving people a say on the Brexit deal here.

And Tom Brake’s speech here.

Commenting on the vote, LibDem Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

This is a shameful showing from the Labour party. They are meant to be opposing the government, but instead they

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Caron Lindsay

Carmichael: The Cabinet crumbles

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 20th December 2017 - 10:45 pm

A few weeks ago, I was out drinking (which I don’t do very often these days) on a Wednesday night and Michael Fallon resigned.

Tonight I was out drinking on a Wednesday night and Damien Green resigned. Robert Peston, who predicted he’d be absolutely fine, must be crying into his beer now.

All I can say is that it’s a sacrifice I would be prepared to make on a regular basis, especially for the Hanging Bat’s excellent honeyed ale with a schooner of rather excellent Porter on the side, all in the company of a very bad  influence indeed.

It must …

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NewsHound

Former Tory London Deputy chairman explains why he’s joined Lib Dems to fight Brexit

By NewsHound | Wed 20th December 2017 - 1:30 pm

Last week, Vince Cable welcomed Kishan Devani, former Tory Deputy Chairman of the London Conservative Party, to the Liberal Democrats. Mr Devani stood as a parliamentary candidate for the Conservatives in 2015 and in the London Assembly elections in 2016.

Brexit was a key motivator for Mr Devani’s decision as he explains in an article for Asian Lite International.

This lurch to the right began to be visible to me during the EU Referendum campaign. Having been instrumental in setting up ‘British Indians for In’ with the now Housing Minister Alok Sharma MP, I travelled up and down the country talking to the British Indian Community about the benefits of remaining in the EU. Currently the only political leader and party outlining the inconcistences in the Brexit argument are the Liberal Democrats & Sir Vince Cable – everyone else seems to have vanished & with them their ‘remain’ arguments too.

But not the only one…

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Caron Lindsay

A chance to choose to #exitfromBrexit

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 20th December 2017 - 8:55 am

The EU Withdrawal Bill finishes its Committee stage in the House of Commons today and for Liberal Democrats the emphasis will be on our amendment calling for a referendum on the final deal.

Most of us baulk at the idea of another referendum, especially those of us who have been through two horrible and divisive referenda in the last three years as it is. Referenda are not an efficient tool to resolve complex issues and, as we have seen, can be manipulated by populists with an agenda.  However, the only chance we have of getting out of this mess is to …

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Rachel Palma-Randle

Some news about AdLib

By Rachel Palma-Randle | Tue 19th December 2017 - 6:55 pm

A lot has changed since 2014 – the biggest part of which is the fact that we now have around 100,000 members.

This is amazing, and it is radically changing us as a party but also challenging us to do things differently.

One challenge is that the cost of producing AdLib has escalated to the equivalent of the entire staffing budget for the Party’s Membership Department.

Because of these high costs, with regret, the Federal Board has decided to cease publishing it as a printed magazine in 2018.

I understand that this will be disappointing for many of you.

It has been a much-loved publication but we wanted to make sure you were aware of this change.

I am committed to exploring all opportunities in 2018 to make sure we have better, two-way communication with our members. That means using all sorts of tools, channels and formats.

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Joe Otten

Stephen Kinnock and Nick Clegg debate Brexit strategy

By Joe Otten | Tue 19th December 2017 - 10:43 am

Stephen Kinnock writes in Politics Home of his amicable clash over Brexit strategy with Nick Clegg.

Clegg is arguing for a change of course before 29 March 2019.

Look, it’s David Davis who famously said that ‘if a democracy cannot change its mind, then it ceases to be a democracy’. And the fact of the matter is that on an almost daily basis all those lies that were told by the likes of Boris Johnson during the campaign are being exposed, and the reality of what Brexit will do to our country is emerging,” he says.

Surely, as it becomes clear that things are not going to turn out as we were told, then we should be given the opportunity to re-consider, and to change course?

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Caron Lindsay

Don’t feel too sorry for Nigel Farage

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 17th December 2017 - 1:18 pm

I know that many of us who read and contribute to this site are pretty much bleeding heart liberals.

Our hearts are not bleeding, though, when we hear Nigel Farage whinging in the Daily Mail about how hard his life is. He complains about being skint and how there’s no money in politics.  

His near £90k salary apparently isn’t enough for him to live on. I’m sure  someone struggling on Universal Credit would have a different perspective.

But his MEP salary isn’t his only source of income. He doesn’t do all his media stuff for nothing. His most recent update to …

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The Voice

Vince: Brexit has no good options

By The Voice | Sun 17th December 2017 - 11:12 am

Vince Cable has been on Pienaar’s Politics on Radio 5 Live this morning. He told Pienaar and journalists Paul Waugh and Kate McCann there there were no good outcomes to Brexit.

There are no good options now. We are either going to get a very poor deal or none at all.

He added that the Single market was originally a British project and walking away imposes very major economic costs.

Those costs aren’t being felt yet as business is “sitting on its hands” waiting to see what emerges from the negotiations:

We haven’t got to decision point yet. All the Government has done is got through the first stage of agreeing to have negotiations and what happens then will determine whether there will be large scale disinvestment from the UK.

He confirmed that, when the Bill goes to the Lords, Lib Dem peers will be working with dissident Tory and Labour peers to “improve” the legislation, particularly by adding in a commitment to remain in the single market and customs union.

By the time the Bill comes back to the Commons, those MPs who favour the single market may well be prepared to vote for it.

More and more people were becoming disillusioned with Brexit, he added. He reminded everyone, as you would expect, that we would be pushing for an exit from Brexit referendum, emphasising that it isn’t a second referendum, but the chance for the public to have the final say on the deal. 

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Caron Lindsay

Politics Galore – a new podcast about Scottish of politics

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 16th December 2017 - 3:04 pm

One of the reasons I prefer writing over speaking in public is that my gob doesn’t have a backspace key. However, I am not known for my silence or unwillingness to express an opinion so when I was invited to take part in a new podcast about Scottish politics, I jumped at the chance.

On Thursday, just after the Scottish Budget was announced, I spent an enjoyable half an hour talking over the issues of the day with the hosts Andrew Jackson and David McColgan.

I don’t think I said anything too embarrassing but have a listen to try and …

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Duncan Brack

Report of Federal Policy Committee meeting – 13 December 2017

By Duncan Brack | Fri 15th December 2017 - 8:55 am

FPC met on Wednesday evening for its last meeting of the year. Taking place in the House of Commons, we were regularly interrupted by the results of votes on amendments to the Brexit bill – including the one the government lost!

Tuition fees

Vince Cable – who is chair of the FPC as well as party leader – pledged in his leadership election manifesto to look at party policy on the tuition fees system: ‘We need a solution that keeps the benefits of the current system – relating contributions to income and protecting university funding – but is fairer across the board, including for the 60 per cent who never go to university, many of whom pursue vocational options instead.’ As he reported to conference in September, he asked David Howarth (Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge 2005–10) to consider options for reforming or replacing the current system and present them to FPC as a basis for consultation within the party.

David’s paper, which he outlined to FPC, sets out the benefits and drawbacks of five options. FPC members raised a series of fairly minor issues, but overall were happy with the paper. I won’t attempt to summarise it here, as the options deserve to be read in detail, and it’s not completely finalised yet. We will publish it as a consultation paper in late January or early February and hold a consultative session around it at the Southport conference, on the afternoon of Friday 9 March. Local and regional parties might like to consider organising discussions on the issue in the spring and summer. Based on the feedback we receive, FPC will aim to put a policy motion for debate to the autumn conference.

Education policy paper

Lucy Netsingha, chair of the Education policy working group, presented a near-final draft of the paper, following our discussion on its outline proposals at our previous meeting. FPC members raised a few new issues and resolved a number of others. We left the remaining major issue, on the future of the schools inspection regime and Ofsted, for discussion at our January meeting, when Layla Moran, the party’s education spokesperson, should be able to join us. The paper will then be published and submitted for debate at the spring conference in Southport.

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Caron Lindsay

Rennie: Scottish Budget a “missed opportunity”

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 14th December 2017 - 9:57 pm

Today was an historic day. Twenty years and three months ago, the Scottish people voted to have a Scottish Parliament with tax raising powers.

In his annual Budget, Scottish Finance Minister Derek Mackay increased the basic rate of income tax to 21p for those earning above £24,000. He also decreased it to 19p for the lowest earners up to £13,850. He put up the higher rate to 41p and the top rate to 46p.

It’s all pretty modest and it represents the sort of moves we were calling for in the Scottish elections last year and since. We wanted to see the money brought in put into education to make what Willie Rennie calls a “transformative”investment.

So we’re not going to complain about the idea of tax rises in principle. However, Derek Mackay is getting a world of pain from the Tories because the SNP said in their manifesto that they wouldn’t raise the basic rate of income tax. They were pretty scathing about our plans during the campaign and there are a whole load of words they said that are coming back to haunt them now.

They could have saved themselves that grief by ceding the principle last year.

Anyway, that is their problem to deal with. The Budget is a pretty modest affair. It’s certainly not the sort of budget to deal with a struggling health service, unfit for purpose education system and a housing crisis that keeps getting worse.

Willie Rennie had this to say:

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Kirsten Johnson

Faith and Liberalism

By Kirsten Johnson | Thu 14th December 2017 - 1:30 pm

Following on from previous discussion on this site around the interaction between faith and being a Liberal Democrat,  I thought I’d share my story and, hopefully, encourage others to do the same. I am writing in a personal capacity, but happen to be Vice-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum.

I am only a Liberal Democrat because of my Christian faith.  I’d better unpack that.  My faith has been a journey, brought up in a protestant household, with my childhood and teenage years in the Assemblies of God, and then working as a musician

…

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Liz Leffman

A way forward for the English Party

By Liz Leffman | Thu 14th December 2017 - 11:55 am

Since late 2016, the English Party has been reviewing its structure and governance. This was initiated following the consultation conducted by the Federal Party following the 2015 General Election, which revealed some considerable criticism of the English Party for a lack of transparency and accountability.

The English Party established the English Review Group towards the end of 2016, with members drawn from each of the 11 English Regions. This is chaired by Sally Symington, who has not previously been a member of any of the English Party committees. She was recommended for her common-sense approach, her fresh eye, and her experience …

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems GAIN another Council seat

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 14th December 2017 - 8:30 am

Wednesday by-elections may be rare and weird but they are very welcome when they result in a Lib Dem GAIN.

Paul Follows took the Waverley, Surrey seat of Godalming Central an Ockford. We didn’t even stand a candidate there in 2015. We had a reasonable record there, pulling in 400-500 wards in previous years but this is a very good leap forward for us.

…

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The Voice

Vince to argue for single market and customs union on visit to Ireland

By The Voice | Thu 14th December 2017 - 6:58 am

Our Vince is off to Ireland tomorrow, where he’ll meet leading Irish politicians to discuss Brexit.
Vince will be discussing the implications of the end of the first phase of Brexit negotiations, set to be approved by EU leaders, which failed to find a long-term solution to the Irish border issue.

He said:

The Conservative government has so far botched Brexit, and amongst the people who stand to be most affected are those living on the island of Ireland.

Even after the ‘divorce settlement’ and the agreement to proceed with trade talks, it isstill unclear how a hard border will be averted.

Audiences in Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland are being told different things. Many of the achievements of the Good Friday Agreement have been put at risk as a result.

The unnecessary decision by the Conservatives to leave the Single Market and Customs Union was not mandated by the EU referendum. It is a miscalculation that will harm commerce between our countries.

Those economic ties are much stronger than is generally realised, given the Republic is the fifth biggest customer for UK exports and we are the second biggest market for Irish exports. 6,000 vehicles cross the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland every day.

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The Voice

WATCH: Christine Jardine explain why the British people must have a final say on the Brexit deal

By The Voice | Wed 13th December 2017 - 9:58 pm

Earlier today, Christine Jardine told Sky News why the Liberal Democrats support the people having the final say on the Brexit deal. The things the Leave campaign dismissed as scaremongering are now happening and people need to have the chance to say if this is what they wanted:

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