Category Archives: News

The Voice

Ed Davey calls on Government to “act faster and be bolder’ in delivering reform

By The Voice | Tue 31st December 2024 - 11:58 am

In his New Year message, Ed Davey has looked back to the fun and success of 2024 and promises more smiles alongside the hard work in 2025. He calls on Labour to get on with delivering the “change that people are yearning for.”

The text is below:

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The Voice

Lib Dems honoured in New Year list

By The Voice | Tue 31st December 2024 - 9:51 am

The traditional New Year Honours list has brought recognition for SIX Liberal Democrats.

Hina Bokhari AM is on her second term as a London Assembly Member. She has a great record within the party for campaigning on diversity and inclusion. Her OBE is given for “services to young People, to charity and to inter-faith relations.” Now is a good time to remind you of the articles she has written for us over the years which are full of tips for bringing people together and encouraging understanding.

Janet Grauberg is a Lib Dem campaigner in Camden. She lost by only 38 votes in West Hampstead in 2022.   She also has a long career in education and has been given her OBE for “for services to the community in North London and to education.”

Cllr Gareth Ratcliffe has represented his community on Powys Council since he was 21 years old. He gets an MBE in recognition of his “charitable Services to Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).” Gareth talked to the Powys County Times about how he found uut:

I was deeply touched to receive it,” said Cllr Ratcliffe. “It came on my birthday a letter arrived, my boy rang me and he said there is a letter from the cabinet office.

I chaired the national park authority through the change of chief executive and also through the pandemic.

He talked about his long  public service:

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Caron Lindsay

Merry Christmas, Everyone

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 24th December 2024 - 4:55 pm

We are planning on taking a Festive Break from now until 2 January, but don’t be surprised if I have some opinions I feel moved to inflict on you during this period. We won’t be publishing submissions before then but if you feel inspired to write something for us, please feel free to send it in.

Also, if you would like to send some Christmas cheer our way, you can donate here.

It’s been quite the year for the Liberal Democrats. We’ve come through an election where nothing went wrong, our bubble didn’t burst and we have more MPs than we’ve had for a century. Our leader is now well known and well liked and we’ve shown that we can offer strong opposition to Labour as well as the Conservatives. Here’s the party’s look back on a brilliant and happy year.

As always, I am incredibly grateful for the hard work of all the Lib Dem Voice team. Ryan, our technical guru regularly performs miracles to keep us on the internet. Alex keeps us on track financially and  Mark, Paul, Mary and Charley are a never ending source of wisdom, sanity and fun.  They put so much effort into supporting authors and producing their own material to keep this site going.

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Caron Lindsay

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s Christmas message – 500 sleeps till the Holyrood elections

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 24th December 2024 - 2:55 pm

Here is Scottish Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton’s Christmas message. Listen to his summary here.

The full text is below:

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The Voice

Ed Davey’s Christmas Message

By The Voice | Tue 24th December 2024 - 10:00 am

Ed Davey has released a Christmas message which contains a clip of him performing “Twas the night before Christmas” with his “Love is Enough” partners, the Bath Philarmonia at a concert in Bath last month.

His message celebrates young carers.

Enjoy:

 

Ed said:

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Matthew Ma

ALDC By-Election Report 19th December

By Matthew Ma | Fri 20th December 2024 - 7:32 pm

The results for the final by-elections of the year are here! It was Labour defences across the board for this week’s three contested seats. Labour held on to only one, suffering a huge loss of vote share to the Lib Dems, while the Tories and Reform each gained a seat from the ruling party in Westminster.

Starting off with Greenwich LBC, Steve Day stormed into second place in West Thamesmead, where we were fourth last time voters went out to the polls. Labour’s support while dropped from over 60% to under half while the Lib Dems almost quadrupled their vote. Well done and thank you to Steve and the local team for running such a great campaign, we have not got momentum in Greenwich for a long time, and this serves as a monumental first step towards putting us on the map!

Greenwich LBC, West Thamesmead
Labour: 464 (45.1%, -16.7%)
Liberal Democrat (Steve Day): 336 (32.7%, +24.2%)
Reform: 92 (8.9%, new)
Conservative: 82 (8.0%, -6.8%)
Green Party: 55 (5.3%, -9.6%)

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Mary Reid

Shaffaq Mohammed and Mark Pack join the Lords

By Mary Reid | Fri 20th December 2024 - 5:41 pm

Congratulations to Shaffaq Mohammed and Mark Pack who have been appointed to the House of Lords!

Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed has been Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Sheffield Council for 13 years and was a former Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and the Humber. He was a youth worker before he got directly involved in politics.

Back in 2011, he wrote about his story, from a boy in Kashmir to Leader of Sheffield Lib Dems. More recently he has been chairing a Carers’ Commission for Ed Davey, developing policy which has been so prominent in our campaigning as a party.

Dr Mark Pack has been no stranger to Lib Dem Voice, having been one of our founding editors and a prolific contributor over the years. His term of office as President of the Liberal Democrats comes to an end next year.

His early involvement with the party was at Lib Dem HQ where he served as Head of Innovations, bringing the party into the digital age. Although Mark has never stood for political office, he has acted as an energetic campaigner behind the scenes, developing real expertise in political campaigning, polling and electoral law.

There is a more detailed account of our two new peers here.

Mark and Shaffaq join Caroline Pidgeon, former Leader of the Lib Dems on the London Assembly, who was made a peer earlier this year.

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Caron Lindsay

Ed questions Starmer on young carers

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th December 2024 - 4:30 pm

Ed Davey used the final PMQs of the year to ask the Prime Minister for more support for young carers. Keir Starmer’s response combined warm words with no promises of action and a bit of gentle teasing about Ed’s Christmas single.

The text is below:

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Caron Lindsay

Oh look, another leopard…

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th December 2024 - 7:37 am

Last week, we brought you news of a consultation on the party’s internal election regulations which opened in mid December and closes on 3 January.

It’s clearly Consultation Season in the Party because members have had an email inviting them to contribute to the Federal Policy Committee’s Policy review by 6 January.

In the email, Ed Davey says:

In July, millions of people put their trust in the Liberal Democrats, many of them for the first time. They have handed us an exciting opportunity and a humbling responsibility.

So now we must continue to lead the way, with big, bold policies to tackle the challenges facing our country in the years ahead. Not just clearing up the enormous mess left by the Conservatives, but building the fair, free and open society we all believe in.

That’s why our Federal Policy Committee (FPC) has set up a new working group to develop a strategic programme for renewing our policy in the years ahead.

We want to hear from you, to help chart our course towards a policy platform that serves us well as we tackle the priorities of the British people; be a responsible opposition to the Government; finish the job against the Conservatives; and paint a clear vision of the more liberal Britain we want to build.

As a first step, we want to hear from you what are the most important areas for us to focus on, to help guide our work over the coming months.

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Lord William Wallace

Harmony in politics

By Lord William Wallace | Tue 17th December 2024 - 4:50 pm

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if politicians from different parties sang, in harmony, from the same hymn sheet?  That may seem like a Christmas thought but a workday impossibility.

Well, some of the time some of us do.  20 years ago, a Labour peer who knew how many of us were singers but found that the parliamentary timetable prevented us from being in the same church or hall at the same rehearsal time each week suggested that we form a choir within the Parliament estate.  I was sceptical of the idea, but turned up in the crypt chapel just off Westminster Hall for the rehearsal, and have been singing with it ever since.

There are many good voices among the several thousand people working in and around Parliament.  After all, one of the basic skills shared by singers and politicians is the confidence to stand up before an audience and project your voice.  David Lammy, like me, was a boy chorister (he in Peterborough Cathedral, me at Westminster Abbey).  Bernard Jenkin almost became a professional singer; his sister did become a professional, and has been a soloist with Parliament Choir concerts.  Sarah Teather, who sang with the choir when a Liberal Democrat MP, was a wonderful soprano; she also sang solos for us.

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Nick da Costa

Labour’s devolution plans: centralisation in disguise

By Nick da Costa | Tue 17th December 2024 - 3:23 pm

Labour’s new devolution plans promise to “transfer power out of Westminster,” but don’t be fooled – this isn’t about empowering communities. Instead of genuine decentralisation, Labour is un-devolving power, stripping it from local councils and concentrating it upwards into the hands of regional “super mayors.” Far from fixing local democracy, this plays into Labour’s increasingly authoritarian approach, where control is centralised under a single figure while local voices are sidelined.

The plans follow the government’s review into local government organisation and devolution, but they take entirely the wrong approach. Labour wants to abolish smaller district councils—the ones closest to residents, who understand local issues like planning, housing, and bin collections—and replace them with vast mega-authorities. Bigger doesn’t mean better. It means more bureaucracy, less accountability, and decisions made further away from the communities they affect.

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Mark Valladares

16 December 2024 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 16th December 2024 - 7:30 am
  • English Devolution plan: Deafening silence on social care
  • Revealed: 15 years of NHS ambulance time wasted already this winter – up from 10.5 years last year

English Devolution plan: Deafening silence on social care

Commenting ahead of government’s English Devolution plan, Liberal Democrat Local Government spokesperson Vikki Slade MP said:

The deafening silence from the government on the social care crisis is hugely concerning.

Council budgets are on the brink. The previous Conservative government pushed so many local authorities to the edge of bankruptcy.

Without properly investing in social care more of the vital services that councils provide will disappear to those who desperately need them.

Revealed: …

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 15th December 2024 - 8:30 am

Trump vs FBI

Trump clashed with FBI director Christopher Wray from the start. So much so that he didn’t bother to turn up for his swearing-in ceremony in 2017.
Wray led the investigation into Russian collusion; refused to condemn his agents as products of the “deep state”; attacked the January 6 riots as “domestic terrorism” and started the probe into the Mar-a-lago documents case.
When Wray refused to do as ordered during the George Floyd riots, Trump tried to fire him. He was blocked by the Attorney General. “Over my dead body,” said Bill Barr.
This week Wray bowed to the inevitable and resigned three years before his term of office was due to expire. Trump and his MAGA-supporting Republican claimed that even though Trump appointed him, Wray was  weaponisng America’s federal law enforcement agency against thim.
Kash Patel—the man who Trump wants to replace Wray—has served notice that that he wants to weaponise the FBI in the service of President Trump.
Patel is the fiercest of fierce critics of the FBI and the Department of Justice. The title of his book about the bureau speaks volumes: “Government Gangsters.”
In it he calls for the “eradication of government the tyrant” within the FBI by firing the top ranks.” More recently he has said that he wants to sack all but 50 of the agents in the bureau’s Washington office, which employs the bulk of the FBI’s 37,000 employees.
Patel is known for his blind loyalty the president-elect in a variety of offices ranging from the Pentagon, to the Department of Justice, to the National Security Council and various campaign positions. He does, however, break with a long-standing tradition of never having served in a senior position in the FBI.
Patel has promised Trump’s opponents: “We’re coming after the people in the media and the courts and the civil service and congress who have lied to American citizens; who helped Joe Biden to rig presidential elections…. We’re going to come after you whether its criminally or civilly. We’ll figure that out. But, yeah, we’re putting you all on notice.”
Kash Patel still has to be confirmed by the Senate. That confirmation is not a foregone conclusion, but It is becoming increasingly difficult for The Republican majority to keep rejecting Trump’s nominees.

Trump vs Canada

The master of the insult—Donald J. Trump—has struck again. This time his target is Canada and all things Canadian.
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Matthew Ma

ALDC by-election report 12 December

By Matthew Ma | Fri 13th December 2024 - 8:53 pm

Is it déjà vu? Or are there six principal council by-elections again? What’s different this week is a majority of seats sees holds in lieu of changing hands. The Tories defended their two seats, while the Lib Dems and the independents held on to their own. It was, unsurprisingly, another bad night for the governing party in Westminster, as Labour saw a collapse in vote share across the board, barely holding on to one seat and losing the other to Reform.

Starting with the good news, it was a run-away win for Cllr Andy Waters in the Dodworth ward in Barnsley MBC. The vote for the Lib Dems held steady as we secured close to half of the electorate. Here we see the Labour vote over halved, dropping them down to third overall. Congratulations to Andy and the team for all the work put into winning the seat!

Barnsley MBC, Dodworth
Liberal Democrat (Andy Waters): 1029 (49.7%, -1.7%)
Reform: 503 (24.3%, new)
Labour: 334 (16.1%, -18.5%)
Conservative: 147 (7.1%, -6.9%)
Green Party: 57 (2.8%, new)

Similarly, Labour’s vote also plummeted in Featherstone, Wakefield DC, but managed to defend their seat. Here, Christopher Howden established themselves as the definitive opposition, hopping into second place despite the lack of Lib Dem presence in the ward last time around. Thank you and well done to Christopher and the local team for the effort, this sets us up well to winning here next election!

Wakefield DC, Featherstone
Labour: 893 (42.1%, -30.7%)
Liberal Democrat (Christopher Howden): 548 (25.9%, new)
Reform: 463 (21.8, new)
Conservative: 141 (6.7%, -8.8%)
Green Party: 74 (3.5%, -8.3%)

The other amazing performance by the Lib Dems comes from Ronan McCaughey in the Ottershaw ward in Runnymede BC. The independents, who used to hold all three seats in the ward before this by-election, won with over 40% of the votes. Despite such a strong presence, however, the Lib Dem vote tripled. Thank you to Ronan and the team for the astounding result, you’ll get them next time.

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The Voice

Watch: Christine Jardine on BBC Question Time yesterday

By The Voice | Fri 13th December 2024 - 5:34 pm

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Mary Reid

Do you want to see Ed Davey do a sky dive?

By Mary Reid | Fri 13th December 2024 - 2:46 pm

He has rashly pledged that he will do a sky dive if his Christmas single with the Bath Philharmonia Young Carers’ Choir gets at least 10,000 downloads next week.

“Love is Enough” can be downloaded here. You all know what to do…

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Mary Reid

Ed Davey on Have I Got News For You

By Mary Reid | Thu 12th December 2024 - 12:22 pm

If you follow Have I Got News For You then you will have noticed that jokes featuring Ed Davey have featured for several weeks now. So perhaps it is no surprise that he will be appearing as a guest panellist this week. Expect some gentle (and maybe robust) ribbing from the two regulars and Stephen Mangan who will be in the chair. You can watch the episode tomorrow at 9pm on BBC1 or on iPlayer.

And the panel for this evening’s edition of BBC Question Time will include Christine Jardine, bringing her usual common sense to the programme that can be so irritating. She shares the table with fellow MPs Wes Streeting and Tom Tugendhat, plus writer Emma Dabiri and Piers Morgan.

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Caron Lindsay

Beware of the Leopard

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 11th December 2024 - 9:02 pm

There is a truth universally acknowledged that if you want to go through the motions of consulting people, but you don’t really want to encourage them to respond to you, you slip out a consultation, say, in the second week in December when nobody is really thinking about the issue in hand and close it on 3rd January.

I’m minded of the consultation process for the destruction of earth to make way for a hyperspace bypass as outlined by the brilliant Douglas Adams in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

So this is a roundabout way of saying that the Federal Board has slipped out a consultation on the party’s Internal Election Regulations in the second week of December that closes on 3rd January.

By doing so, they give off vibes that they are going through the motions of consultation. They want to know whether we think a larger threshold of nominations is needed. They haven’t set a figure, but will look at the result of the consultation and bring a proposal to Spring Conference. That would mean the changes would be in place for the next elections in Autumn next year.

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The Voice

Josh Babarinde introduces bill to create specific domestic abuse offences

By The Voice | Wed 11th December 2024 - 6:52 am

Yesterday, Lib Dem justice spokesperson Josh Babarinde has introduced a new Bill which would create specific offences relating to domestic abuse. People convicted under these offences would not be eligible for early release schemes.

On the last day of the annual 10 days of activism to end violence against women and girls, Josh appeared on Good Morning Britain to say why this was important:

He said after he tabled the Bill, which has the backing of Women’s Aid:

Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on survivors, and the law is leaving too many of them without protection. It’s only right that all domestic abusers are convicted of precisely what they’ve done. My bill will mean abusers can no longer hide behind more general convictions they’ve relied on until now.

The loopholes in the Government’s SDS40 early release scheme have made clear that this change cannot wait any longer.

I hope the government will work with us – and with the survivors backing this bill – to finally create new domestic abuse aggravated offences and give victims and survivors the protection they deserve.

He questioned Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Here is their exchange in full:

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Mark Valladares

8 December 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 8th December 2024 - 9:30 pm
  • Ambulance delays crisis: Streeting must make a statement to Parliament
  • Syria: Assad must now face justice for his crimes

Ambulance delays crisis: Streeting must make a statement to Parliament

Responding to reports that heart attack patients are being advised to make their own way to hospital while six of England’s ten ambulance trusts are at risk of service failure, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan said:

The shocking reports on the state of ambulance services are extremely concerning, and show the dire situation in which the Conservative government has left so many of our vital NHS services.

Lack of services and wait

…

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NewsHound

Deep fried oreos and hummus – and MPs do karaoke

By NewsHound | Sun 8th December 2024 - 8:28 am

We have it on very good authority that there were some exceptionally sore heads in Lib Dem offices at Westminster and in constituency offices on Friday morning.

Thursday night saw the biggest Lib Dem staff Christmas party in a decade as Party HQ and staff from many of the 72 parliamentary offices gathered in a nightclub called “The Big Chill” in Kings Cross.

Politico has some more details:

Also spotted … eating humus and deep-fried Oreos at the Lib Dems’ Christmas party at Big Chill bar in Kings Cross: Equalities spokesperson Christine Jardine doing Cher’s “Believe” in the karaoke, and dueting on “Don’t You Want Me” with MP Munira Wilson … MPs Sarah Olney and Cameron Thomas doing triple karaoke with head policy adviser Will Cowie … party CEO Mike Dixon … campaigns director Dave McCobb, who was the architect of the Blue Wall wipeout … Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain … frontbenchers Josh Babarinde, Alison Bennett and Danny Chambers … MPs Calum Miller, Zoe Franklin, Paul Kohler, Cameron Thomas, Anna Sabine and Olly Glover … Director of Communications Paul Haydon … Ed Davey’s press secretary Tim Wild … spinners Gareth Lewis, Will Terras, Ami Wylie, Rob MacDonald, Lily Carlse and Liv Ransome … and long-time former press chief and peer Olly Grender.

Hummus and deep fried oreos? We just hope not together. Our liberal tolerance stretches a long way but this is an odd combination.

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Matthew Ma

ALDC By-Election Report, 5th December

By Matthew Ma | Fri 6th December 2024 - 6:25 pm

Six principal council by-elections were held across the UK this week with Labour losing two of their three seats, one to the SNP and one to the Conservative, successfully defending only one. The Tories additionally gained a seat from an independent, while the Liberal Democrats held comfortably held their seat.

In South Oxfordshire DC, Cllr Crispin Topping won the seat in the Cholsey ward, increasing the already impressive vote share further to 62.2% this time around! Congratulations to Crispin and the team in South Oxfordshire on the stellar win.

South Oxfordshire DC, Cholsey
Liberal Democrat (Crispin Topping): 949 (62.2%, +16.1%)
Conservative: 362 (23.7%, +0.9%)
Social Democratic Party: 116 (7.6%, +2.3%)
Labour: 71 (4.7%, new)
Independent: 28 (1.8%, new)

Staying in the South, Chris Johnson stood in the Shinfield ward in Wokingham BC, where the Labour vote plummeted, losing ground to all three parties and in turn handing the Conservatives a win. Thank you Chris and the team for growing our vote and nearly beating Labour to second in the ward.

Wokingham BC, Shinfield
Conservative: 765 (49.0%, +10.4%)
Labour: 387 (24.8%, -18.9%)
Liberal Democrat (Chris Johnson): 336 (21.5%, +3.8%)
Green Party: 73 (4.7%, new)

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Mary Reid

Spring Conference registration is now open

By Mary Reid | Fri 6th December 2024 - 3:54 pm

Federal Spring Conference will be held next year from 21st to 23rd March in beautiful Harrogate. and Early Bird registration is now open. The Conference Hotel will be the Crowne Plaza which is very close to the Harrogate Convention Centre where we will be meeting. Full information here.

You can see all the registration options here, but the key points are that the Early Bird registration rate is £85 now, rising to £125 on 10th January. Of course, there are concessions: full-time students and recipients of various benefits pay £15 rising to £30 on 10th January

In addition, first time attendees pay only £35, under 18s pay £5, and those who wish to participate (and vote) online pay £15.

Here are the deadlines for submitting motions and amendments:

  • Drafting advice: 1pm on 18th December 2024
  • Motions: 1pm on 15th January 2025
  • Amendments and Emergency motions drafting advice: 1pm on 24th February 2025
  • Amendments and Emergency motions: 1pm on 10th March 2025
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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem PR Bill wins surprise Commons vote

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 4th December 2024 - 9:01 am

The margin of two votes has been significant several times in Lib Dem history – winning Winchester in May 1997, heartbreakingly not taking back North East Fife by two votes in 2017. Yesterday, we won a surprise vote in Parliament on the first stage of a Ten Minute Rule Bill on changing the electoral system for Westminster and English local government elections to Proportional Representation which was introduced by our Sarah Olney. Normally what happens with these Bills is that MPs hear the speech. The MP proposing the measure then does a carefully choreographed approach to the Speaker and hands it over to be buried with loads of other Bills on some sitting Friday months in the future. But the Tories forced a vote to try to kill it without, it seems, doing their sums first.

Interestingly more Labour MPs voted for it than voted against.

This Bill doesn’t have a hope in hell of becoming law as Keir Starmer has said repeatedly that Labour opposes PR, despite the wishes of many of its members. However, between now and its second reading on 24th January, we can talk up the benefits of PR. For me, it’s about giving people the Parliament they ask for.

From the Guardian:

As well as 62 Lib Dem MPs, 59 Labour backbenchers voted for Tuesday’s bill, including a number of those first elected in 2024. Last month it emerged that dozens of Labour MPs from the 2024 intake had signed up to a parliamentary group calling for the UK to move to a PR system.

Labour’s 2022 annual conference voted overwhelmingly for the party to back a proportional system, after trade unions that had blocked previous motions swung behind the idea. However, while Keir Starmer has previously expressed at least some support for electoral reform, his leadership team has ruled out any immediate change, at least in the first term of a Labour government.

In Tuesday’s vote, 50 Labour MPs opposed the motion, indicating the continued lack of agreement on the issue. None of the government frontbench took part in the vote. All of the Conservatives who voted, 78 of them, opposed the idea, including some frontbenchers.

After the vote, Sarah Olney said:

This is a historic day in the fight for fairer votes and I am grateful to all the MPs who backed it.

Trust in our political system is broken following years of the Conservative Party riding roughshod over standards in public life.

Fixing our broken electoral system, introducing fair votes, and making sure everyones’ voice matters is the best way to rebuild this trust.

Today, as we have done for a century, Liberal Democrats are leading the fight for fair votes and making sure that no one can be ignored in our democracy.

The government must now listen to the will of the House, make time for the legislation and make fairer a votes a reality and we will be holding their feet to the fire to make this happen.

Her speech in favour of her bill is below:

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Mark Valladares

30 November – 1 December – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 1st December 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Pat McFadden: government’s targets will be meaningless unless they reverse disastrous mistakes
  • Scot Lib Dems reveal 27,954 empty homes across Scotland
  • Key mental health targets breached for 168,000 people

Pat McFadden: government’s targets will be meaningless unless they reverse disastrous mistakes

Responding to Pat McFadden on the Laura Kuenssberg show on the government’s plan for change, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The government’s targets will be utterly meaningless unless they reverse the disastrous mistakes made so far.

Scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment will force vulnerable pensioners to choose between heating and eating and their family farm tax risks a lost generation of farmers.

Ministers must swallow their pride, recognise the damage that these proposals will do and scrap the family farm tax and reinstate Winter Fuel Payments.

Scot Lib Dems reveal 27,954 empty homes across Scotland

Scottish Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson Paul McGarry has today accused the SNP of a “massive failure” to tackle the housing crisis after new research by his party uncovered that almost 28,000 homes are lying empty across Scotland.

A freedom of information request submitted by Scottish Liberal Democrats asked all 32 of Scotland’s local councils how many homes were classed as long-term vacant, meaning they have been empty for longer than 6 months.

The request found that:

  • Across the 30 councils with data on how many homes are long-term vacant, there are 27,954 long-term vacant properties.
  • There are 3,093 long-term vacant homes in Edinburgh, 2,929 in Aberdeenshire, 2,801 in Glasgow and 2,584 in Argyll & Bute.
  • Of the councils with data for how long they had been vacant, 1,420 had been vacant for longer than a year, while 2,609 had been vacant for more than 5 years and 5,937 more than 10 years.
  • In 2023/24, only 579 properties were brought back into use in Glasgow- just 20% of the number of long-term vacant homes.
  • In 2023/24, just 71 properties were brought back into use in Dumfries & Galloway, despite the number of long-term vacant properties being 1,211.
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The Voice

Obituary for former Essex Lib Dem Councillor Derek Hardy

By The Voice | Sun 1st December 2024 - 6:53 pm

Former Essex Lib Dem Councillor Derek Hardy died earlier this year. His daughter Janet Hardy-Gould wrote an obituary for the Guardian which appeared online in October but has only recently been published in the paper itself.

Of his political work, Janet writes:

Having joined Ilford Young Liberals in 1945, Derek retained an interest in politics, and first stood for the London county council as a Liberal candidate in the early 1960s. Moving out of the capital in 1967 to Kelvedon Hatch, near Brentwood, Essex, he stood as a Liberal then a Liberal Democrat candidate in many local elections.

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The Voice

Lib Dems mark World AIDS Day

By The Voice | Sun 1st December 2024 - 3:47 pm

Today, 1st December, is World AIDS Day. Senior Liberal Democrats have been marking the occasion.

The party itself posted on social media:

Today we remember those who’ve lost their lives, and commit to ending deaths by AIDS.

We must:
☑️ Ensure everyone has access to HIV prevention and treatment.
☑️:End stigma and discrimination around HIV.
☑️:Make testing the norm.

Christine Jardine MP, our Women and Equalities Spokesperson said:

Today we remember everyone we have tragically lost to AIDS. For the UK to reach zero new HIV diagnoses by 2030, it is vital that we expand testing, provide compassionate support to those living with HIV/AIDS, and end the stigma surrounding the disease.

 

LGBT+ Lib Dems said:

World AIDS Day is a moment to remember those we’ve lost, stand in solidarity with everyone affected by HIV, and renew our commitment to ending AIDS-related deaths and eliminating HIV transmission by 2030.

The Lib Dems have consistently championed evidence-based solutions to tackle HIV, AIDS, and improve access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). We continue to push for increased funding, free access to PrEP, and wider HIV testing, including opt-out testing in A&E settings.

We held the Conservative govt accountable for its failures in HIV policy, pushed for better investment in sexual health, and noted rising diagnoses among young people. We will continue to demand action and hold the new govt to account and work together to meet our shared goal.

We thank our vocal campaigners and champions like Baroness Liz Barker who plays a proactive role on the All Party Parliamentary Group for HIV and AIDS
and has long advocated and pushed for opt-out HIV testing in A&E settings, helping thousands know their status and receive advice and support.

On Wednesday last week, Helen Morgan represented the party in the House of Commons debate for World AIDS Day:

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Caron Lindsay

Love is Enough surges into iTunes top 10

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 30th November 2024 - 3:11 pm

So the first chart announcement since Love is Enough,  the song by young carers featuring Ed Davey was released is out.  It would melt even the most permafrosted heart.

And they’re at……

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Mark Valladares

29 November 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 29th November 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Bank of England: Ministers need to set out steps to Trump-proof economy
  • McArthur urges MPs to back assisted dying bill
  • McArthur expresses delight as UK Parliament backs Assisted Dying bill

Bank of England: Ministers need to set out steps to Trump-proof economy

Responding to the Bank of England’s fiscal stability report which warned of the potential impact of the impending Donald Trump Presidency on the economy, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

After years of Conservative economic vandalism our economy has seen sluggish growth and people have been hammered by spiralling mortgage rates.

The incoming Trump administration could cause yet more damage and the new government needs to urgently act to prepare our economy to prevent this.

Ministers need to set out the steps they are taking to Trump-proof our economy and ensure that people will not be hit with another round of financial hardship.

McArthur urges MPs to back assisted dying bill

Speaking ahead of the debate and vote on Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill in the UK Parliament, Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur has urged MPs to back the bill in the first debate and vote on end-of-life choices in the UK Parliament since 2015.

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Mary Reid

Wendy Chamberlain wins an MP of the Year award

By Mary Reid | Fri 29th November 2024 - 4:25 pm

Congratulations to Wendy Chamberlain who has won one of the MP of the Year awards from the Patchwork Foundation.

The Patchwork Foundation describes itself thus:

We promote, encourage and support the active participation of young people from disadvantaged and minority communities in British democracy and civil society.

Here is a useful video from 2020 which explains what the awards are all about.

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