Category Archives: News

The Voice

WATCH: Ed Davey’s speech to Spring Conference

By The Voice | Wed 20th March 2024 - 11:07 am

There were some very interesting nuggets from Ed Davey’s speech on Saturday. At last we seem to be showing a bit of what we’re about. And what better a place to start than with sorting out our democracy by showing people the harm the current system does to them:

It distorts democracy.

It leaves millions of people feeling powerless and excluded.

Unable to hold those in power properly to account.

Conference, we know proportional representation would be so much fairer…

So much better for our politics and our country.

And a majority of the British people now back electoral reform.

So why hasn’t it changed? Why are we still the only party fighting for political change?

He also mentioned the word Europe in such a way as to send the Daily Telegraph into a tailspin:

Only Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to rebuild this relationship with a better deal for Britain.

To renew the ties of trust and friendship,

To set us on the path back to the Single Market.

Our plan to repair the damage the Conservatives have done,

And, in time, to restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe. Where we belong.

There’s nothing new in there. It’s been our policy since 2021, but he did say the single market phrase out loud.

Watch here.

The text is below:

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Mark Valladares

Tonight! Join online for the kick-off of the “Renew Europe Now” Platform campaign!

By Mark Valladares | Wed 20th March 2024 - 10:08 am

This evening, at 6 p.m., the ALDE Party and other members of the “Renew Europe Now” platform kick-off their European Campaign, and you can watch from the comfort of your own home…

  • Hear from inspiring Liberal leaders from around the EU like Prime Ministers Alexander De Croo, Kaja Kallas, European Commisioners Margrethe Vestager, Věra Jourová, Thierry Breton, Didier Reynders and Kadri Simson and other speakers.
  • Meet the Renew Europe Platform lead candidates from ALDE Party, Renaissance and EDP, and find out their plan for Europe.
  • Discover the next wave of Liberal leaders who will fight against the artisans of European

…

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Caron Lindsay

WATCH: Layla Moran’s speech to Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 20th March 2024 - 8:55 am

I wasn’t in the hall for this but you can tell the quality of a speech from people’s faces as they came out. They were full of admiration for Layla, whose wisdom and compassion has impressed people across not just the UK but the world.

Layla’s Mum Randa was in the audience to watch her.

She described her family’s pre 1948 life in Palestine and the catastrophe that followed.

She said that the war was serving the wicked fusion  of Netanyahu’s government, calling their rhetoric genocidal.

Just as Hamas can’t remain in power, she said, Netanyahu and all who back his government must go too. They are all dangers and blockers to peace.

She reaffirmed the Liberal Democrats commitent to an International Criminal Couet investigation.  This is a fight between the extremists and the peacemakers and it’s spilling on to our streets, she said. She said that those flames were being fanned by the Conservative Party as much as anyone else.

Liberal Democrats do not pick a side she said, we stand for compassion, humanity and peace.

She talked about her deep despair for the Gazans who are trapped, her relatives who have spent the  past 5 months seeking refuge in a church. When she went to the area a few months ago, she described how an Israeli peace activist comforted her. She said she was astounded by how many people met chose not the path of anger, but to strive for peace.

She talked about the importance of  UNWRA in distributing aid in Gaza and called on the Government to restore funding to the agency.

She set out the Liberal Democrat approach and announced we are now calling on sanctions to apply to anyone who supports  and enables the “insidious settler movement.”

“No longer should acting with impunity go without consequence. When we say we believe in international law, we mean it.”

She says she is proud of our party and how our MPs have voted for a bilateral ceasefire at every opportunity. She condemned those who played petty party politics with Palestinian and Israeli lives with harsh words for SNP, Labour (who put electoral gain before its moral compass) and the Conservatives. The country, and the world, needs the Liberal Democrats more than ever.

It’s an incredible speech.  I defy you to watch it without getting something in your eye.

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Mark Valladares

20 March 2024 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 20th March 2024 - 7:30 am
  • Chamberlain to lead debate on electoral fairness and calls out attempts to “rig the rules”
  • PAC report on Social Care: Too many vulnerable people struggling to get the care they need
  • McArthur sets out response to embargoed climate report
  • Rennie comments on new claims from Pregnant Then Screwed

Chamberlain to lead debate on electoral fairness and calls out attempts to “rig the rules”

Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader Wendy Chamberlain MP will lead a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday about strengthening electoral fairness and preventing parties from “rigging the rules,” following recent moves by the Conservative Party to introduce certain changes ahead of the upcoming General Election.

The debate will take place in Westminster Hall tomorrow (Wednesday) and is expected to begin at 11am. Ms Chamberlain will pick up on a variety of changes recently introduced by the Conservatives, including compulsory Voter ID requirements and almost doubling the spending limit for UK elections to around £35 million.

In November, the UK election watchdog, the Electoral Commission, said it had “not seen evidence” to support changes to spending limits.

Ms Chamberlain’s debate comes just one week after her party called for the Conservatives to return donations from Frank Hester, a Tory party donor who reportedly said that the MP Diane Abbott made him “want to hate all black women.”

Speaking ahead of the debate, Ms Chamberlain said:

I am concerned that some of the latest moves by this Conservative Government represent a desperate and dirty attempt to rig the rules in their favour because they know they’ve lost the support of the public.

Last year, thousands of people were denied at a voice at the local elections because of the Voter ID rules ushered in by the Tories. Hundreds of thousands of people now risk being turned away at the next election at a cost to the taxpayer of £120,000,000 over the next decade.

Their unjustified doubling of the national spending limits points to the Conservatives Party’s eagerness to design the system and play it to their advantage. We also know from the Frank Hester scandal that they will excuse the inexcusable if it means bringing in big money and clinging onto power.

Liberal Democrats have been and continue to be long-standing advocates for fairness, transparency and electoral reform. I want to show that our politics should not be tilted towards those with the deepest pockets, and that we need constructive discussions about how to make the system better and work in the interests of all.

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Mark Valladares

19 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 19th March 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Almost 20,000 older people waited over four hours for an ambulance after falls last year
  • Half of places on secondary postgrad teaching courses unfilled
  • Almost a third of pupils missing school and decline in support for teachers and pupils

Almost 20,000 older people waited over four hours for an ambulance after falls last year

  • The Liberal Democrats launch their local election campaign unveiling shocking new figures of elderly patients waiting too long for an ambulance
  • Ed Davey to visit Hertfordshire where he will declare this May “the chance to send this out of touch Conservative government a message”
  • Number of older patients waiting over 4 hours for an ambulance after falling has almost doubled since 2019/20
  • One patient waited close to three days for an ambulance to arrive after a fall

Almost 20,000 older people in England waited more than four hours for an ambulance to arrive after having a fall last year, more than double the number in 2019/20, figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will visit the Blue Wall battleground of Hertfordshire to launch his party’s local election campaign. Ed Davey will focus his party’s campaign on local health services.

The new data was uncovered by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests to ambulance trusts in England. It shows there were 19,904 incidents in 2022/23 where someone aged over 65 had a fall and had to wait more than four hours for an ambulance to arrive, or an average of 54 people a day.

This is a stark 96.5% rise since before the pandemic in 2019/20 for the trusts that provided data across the full four years.

Even more shockingly, 1,411 older patients waited over 12 hours for an ambulance to arrive after falling last year, a more than tenfold increase compared to 2019/20. The East of England Ambulance Trust had the worst record with nearly 8,000 incidents that took longer than four hours and 769 that took longer than 12 hours to respond last year.

The West Midlands had an average response time for elderly falls of one hour 54 minutes and in that region a patient waited close to three days after experiencing a fall.

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Mark Valladares

19 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 19th March 2024 - 9:45 pm
  • London Lib Dem Launch – Blackie slams Khan record on crime
  • Cole-Hamilton: Patients deserve better than the SNP’s new normal
  • “Our Welsh workers are not collateral damage”-Welsh Lib Dems call for clarification on jobs following Tata Steel oven closure
  • Cole-Hamilton attacks SNP ministers as opioids continue to blight Scotland

London Lib Dem Launch – Blackie slams Khan record on crime

Mayoral Candidate, Rob Blackie, has launched the London Liberal Democrat today with a pledge to ‘fix the Met’.

The party launched its campaign at Pop Brixton, located in the neighbourhood Rob has spent much of the past 20 years raising his family.

Blackie told the media and a group of close supporters that Sadiq Khan does “not deserve” a third term due to his record on crime. He also dismissed the Conservative chances, accusing the party of giving up on London after selecting a Trump-backing candidate.

Blackie said Sadiq Khan’s failure on crime is the reason he is standing as mayor.

Seasoned campaigner, Blackie, 50, described how he became a victim of crime himself. His neck was broken in a vicious gang mugging in Vauxhall, and he now has a titanium neck.

Speaking to journalists in Brixton this morning (Tuesday), Blackie said:

My top priority is crime and policing.

Sadiq Khan’s failure on those issues is the main reason I am standing against him.

Violent crime has risen by 30 percent in London since Mr Khan has been in office.

Sexual offence clear-up rates have halved in the last eight years.

Let me just read one shocking sentence from Baroness Casey’s report on the Met Police, published last year – the account of a serving police officer, who said: ‘If you look at our performance around rape, serious sexual offences, the detection rate is so low you may as well say it’s legal in London.’

Just let that sink in… ‘You may as well say it’s legal in London.’

It is just shameful.

Sadiq Khan blames everyone else for this but himself. The buck stops with him and we will call him out in this campaign.

In his speech, Blackie described how he grew up in London playing on the street with neighbouring children from all over the world. He added:

I love living and working in the most cosmopolitan city on the planet.

That is the London I love, and the London we want to ‘get back’.

He also took a swipe at the London Conservatives, describing Susan Hall as “beyond the pale”. He said:

Far from embracing London, she attacks it. Liking tweets that call our city Londonistan and venerate Enoch Powell.

Does she even like London? She certainly doesn’t love our great city. When the Conservatives chose her as their candidate, they gave up on this election.

Cole-Hamilton: Patients deserve better than the SNP’s new normal

Responding to new figures showing only 65.2% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 10th March, while 2,943 people waited over 8 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

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Caron Lindsay

Sunday at Conference: What’s on?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 17th March 2024 - 6:55 am

Top o’ the morning to you this St Patrick’s Day!

Here’s what’s on on the last day of our Spring Conference in York. All details, including the text of motions are in the agenda.

09.00-09.45 F16 Emergency motion

Navalny and sorting our pitiful, cruel, brutal asylum system out

09.45-10.25 F17 Report: Federal Board

F18 Report: Campaign for Gender Balance

F19 Report: Federal Communications and Elections Committee

F20 Report: Federal International Relations Committee

F21 Report: Federal Council

10.25-10.40 F22 Speech: Alistair Carmichael MP

10.40-11.25 F23 Policy motion: The Funding Crisis in Local Government

Another one that’s a potential flashpoint. Tony Vickers writes here why he thinks the motion is not …

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Charles Quinn

ALDC by-election report 14th March

By Charles Quinn | Fri 15th March 2024 - 5:42 pm

This week has been a quiet one for principal council by-elections with just two being contested – including a resounding win.

We were defending Cricklade and Latton ward on Wiltshire Council. Not only did newly elected Councillor Nick Dye hold the ward for the Lib Dems – he did it in some style. Increasing the Lib Dem vote share by 14% and taking a staggering 76% of the vote. Considering the Conservatives, Labour and the Green Party all stood that is a truly impressive result. Congratulations to Councillor Dye and the whole Lib Dem team in Wiltshire.

Wiltshire UA, Cricklade and Latton
Liberal Democrats (Nick Dye): 1030 (76%, +13.9%)
Conservative: 253 (18.7%, -19.2%)
Labour: 45 (3.3%, new)
Green Party: 27 (2%, new)

The other by-election this week was on Lancaster City Council where the Green Party retained Castle ward. Thank you to Cormac Evans for flying the flag for us here and making sure that Lib Dem supporters were represented in the election.

Lancaster City Council, Castle
Green Party: 524 (65%, +6.4%)
Labour: 212 (26.3%, -3%)
Conservative: 43 (5.3%, -1.8%)
Liberal Democrats (Cormac Evans): 27 (3.3%, -1.7%)

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Mary Reid

Caroline Pidgeon steps down

By Mary Reid | Fri 15th March 2024 - 2:53 pm


Liberal Democrats Party Autumn Conference at Bournemouth International Centre – Caroline Pidgeon

Caroline Pidgeon has led the Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly for 14 years, and has been a member for 16. Today was her last day in the chamber, because the London elections kick into action next week and she is not standing again.

Caroline has been Co-Chair of the Transport Committee for 16 years, and has asked an amazing 8,235 Mayoral Questions (the most of any Assembly Member ever since its establishment in 2000).

This morning Sadiq Khan paid a …

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Changes to the party’s Complaints procedure

By Candy Piercy | Thu 14th March 2024 - 12:40 pm

At Conference, members will have the chance to approve updated rules to the party’s Independent Complaints process.

These changes are informed by feedback from complainants, respondents and people involved at all stages of the complaints process over the last few years.

They aim to clarify parts of the process that were unclear, simplify much of the language used and ensure that the Complaints process is well-run.

But we appreciate that reading two extremely long documents to compare for changes is an arduous task – and often won’t explain why we made many of the changes.

We also appreciate that most members maybe don’t live and breathe the minutiae of the party’s Complaints Process, like the Disciplinary Sub-Group do.

So, to help make the changes more understandable and explain why, we’ve produced a video that explains both the process as a whole and this latest round of changes to it.

You can watch that here:

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Caron Lindsay

Conference Extra out – what’s missing?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th March 2024 - 6:57 am

Conference Extra, the booklet containing all the amendments, emergency motions and questions to Committees, has now been published ahead of our Spring Conference in York this weekend. You can read it here.

The prize for the most direct question must surely go to Abrial Jerram, who asked Federal Conference Committee:

Please explain your selection of F23, Tackling the Funding Crisis in Local Government, given its lack of substance.

Tony Vickers will be writing more about that later today.

There is one thing missing, though. There won’t be the traditional emergency motions ballot, because only two emergency motions appear on the agenda. There is one on the death of Alexei Navalny and one on a fairer asylum system which is proposed by two key seat PPCs, Danny Chambers and Max Wilkinson.

The emergency motions debate takes place on Sunday morning.

All the papers for Conference can be found here.

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Mark Valladares

12 March 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 12th March 2024 - 11:45 pm
  • Stuart’s failure to call out racist Hester comments “jaw-dropping”
  • 1,197 suspected drug deaths in 2023
  • Firefighters face risks as government fails to deliver RAAC register
  • Welsh Lib Dems call for more support for childcare sector in Wales
  • Care leavers shouldn’t be forced to “bear burden of proof” when it comes to accessing housing support
  • Blackie calls on Susan Hall to disown racist Frank Hester remarks

Stuart’s failure to call out racist Hester comments “jaw-dropping”

Responding to Graham Stuarts’ comments this morning on Times Radio where he refused to say Frank Hester’s alleged comments were racist and refused to say the money should be returned, Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

Graham Stuart’s refusal to call out these racist comments was simply jaw-dropping.

The Conservative Party has flat out refused to return these donations despite these comments being inexcusable. How low can you go?

Rishi Sunak can bunker down and hide in Downing Street as long as he wants but every day he doesn’t return this money is another damning blow to the Conservative Party’s credibility.

1,197 suspected drug deaths in 2023

Responding to new Police Scotland figures showing that there were 1,197 suspected drug deaths between January and December 2023, which is a 10% increase compared to 2022, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

When 100 people a month are dying in Scotland’s drugs deaths emergency, we need to be open to anything that will save them. Each represents a life cut short and a family torn apart by grief.

These numbers are already going in the wrong direction and with the SNP and Greens having pushed through a budget that delivers a real-terms cut to drug services, I am extremely concerned that problems will simply get worse.

Every tool at our disposal needs to be used to reduce harm and save lives. That includes protecting the drug and alcohol budget, integrated drug checking facilities and preparing now for a network of safe consumption rooms because help can’t just be limited to Glasgow.

Well-meaning words won’t stop people dying. Humza Yousaf and his government must deliver swift change and ensure they never take their eye off the ball again.

Firefighters face risks as government fails to deliver RAAC register

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today urged the Scottish Government to compile a complete list of buildings where the dangerous bubbly concrete known as RAAC is present, as a minister conceded that the presence of the material could present safety implications for firefighters responding to incidents.

In response to a parliamentary question from Mr Cole-Hamilton, community safety minister Siobhian Brown admitting that “Where the material is in poor condition there could be greater risk of weakness or collapse”.

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Mark Valladares

11 March 2024 – yesterday’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 12th March 2024 - 11:30 pm
  • McArthur looks to include cruises ships in visitor levy bill
  • Prison exec admits no plans to bring back rehabilitation services
  • Yousaf’s economic credibility is down the drain

McArthur looks to include cruises ships in visitor levy bill

Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur has lodged amendments to the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill to allow a debate on the inclusion of cruise ship visitors within the scope of the legislation.

In light of concerns raised by local tourism businesses in Orkney, as well as Orkney islands Council, Mr McArthur is seeking to ensure the bill is both more flexible and fairer in the way that any levy might be applied by local authorities.

Commenting ahead of the Local Government Committee meeting that will begin consideration of Stage 2 amendments on the bill on Tuesday, Mr McArthur said:

Providing local councils with the power to set a visitor levy is a reasonable step to take. As ever, though, the devil is in the detail.

At present, Ministers have come forward with a bill that would apply to some parts of the tourism sector but not others. People in Orkney will not be alone in wondering why visitors to our islands who stay in hotels, self-catering or B&Bs should be charged, but not the increasingly large numbers who visit Orkney on cruise ships or indeed in mobile homes. All place demands on the local infrastructure and services, and all should therefore contribute. Anything else would be unfair and undermine business and public confidence in the scheme.

I am concerned too at the lack of flexibility local councils will have in the way any levy will apply. Just because it works in Edinburgh or Glasgow doesn’t mean it will work in our islands. Councils should therefore have scope to apply any levy in ways that make sense in local circumstances, such as collection via airlines and ferry companies.”

I support the principle behind this legislation but getting the detail right will be crucial. Unfortunately, that has not been a strong suit of this SNP/Green Government over recent years.

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Mark Valladares

11 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th March 2024 - 11:41 pm

  • Lee Anderson: PM cannot govern his own party let alone the country
  • David Neal: Home Office in a state of disrepair
  • Frank Hester: Sunak must return donations and rule out peerage
  • “Early childcare the key to fighting poverty” – Welsh Lib Dems push for fully integrated childcare system in Wales

Lee Anderson: PM cannot govern his own party let alone the country

Responding to reports that Lee Anderson will defect from the Conservatives to Reform, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

Rishi Sunak’s authority lies in tatters after the man he personally appointed to be Deputy Chairman of the Conservatives has defected to another party. This is a Prime Minister that cannot govern his own party let alone the country.

Even now Sunak is too weak to rule out Nigel Farage joining the Conservative Party. It just shows that there is now hardly a cigarette paper between the Conservative Party and Reform.

David Neal: Home Office in a state of disrepair

Responding to the comments made by the former Independent Borders Inspector David Neal to the BBC, the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

These comments confirm what we already suspected – the Home Office is in a state of total dysfunction and disrepair.

Nothing is working how it should. Now, we don’t even have a Chief Inspector to provide the scrutiny that is so desperately needed.

To think that this Conservative Government can push forward with their failing Rwanda policy while ducking accountability is disgraceful. The Home Office cannot just withhold reports and information that they don’t like.

At the very least, its implementation should be delayed until the Government can get its act together and appoint a Chief Inspector.

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Mark Valladares

Lee Anderson defects to Reform UK – Liberal Democrats respond

By Mark Valladares | Mon 11th March 2024 - 12:20 pm

Whilst you should never be surprised by anything that happens to the Conservative Party these days, this was perhaps one of the more readily predicted events. And, naturally, because you’d have to have a heart of stone not to get some amusement from this, there have been a number of Liberal Democrat responses to the news that Reform UK Ltd has its first MP.

The official response first though…

Wera Hobhouse was quick to point …

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The Voice

£109bn household debt bombshell to wipe out National Insurance tax cut

By The Voice | Mon 11th March 2024 - 11:15 am
  • Debt interest costs to rise by average of £1,917 per household this year, double the amount before Liz Truss’s mini budget
  • The debt bombshell will be ten times higher than the government’s National Insurance rate cut
  • Lib Dems warn Budget was a “Conservative con” with households still paying the price for Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng crashing the economy

Households will spend a staggering £109 billion this year servicing their debt, including mortgages and credit cards, double the figure before Liz Truss’s mini-budget.

Figures buried in the small print of the Budget reveal the enormous household debt bombshell, which is more than …

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Hannah Shimko

Introducing Digital Lib Dems

By Hannah Shimko | Sun 10th March 2024 - 8:55 am

As we get ever closer to an election, it is essential a Liberal Democrat voice and viewpoint is in every policy sphere – including tech and digital policy. Policy-making on online safety, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data protection, and digital competition will shape everyday life in Britain, as well as our success as a country on the world stage.

Our counterparts, DigitalTories and LabourDigital, frequently speak out about their parties’ viewpoints on tech and digital matters so it is crucial for the Liberal Democrats to be equally represented in this conversation. That’s why we are proud to announce the launch of the Digital Lib Dems.

This network will bring together Lib Dems across the digital and technology sectors to collaborate, develop high-quality policy proposals, share valuable opportunities, and represent the party in tech and digital spaces. By harnessing the expertise and insights of professionals within these sectors, we can ensure that our party’s policies are informed, innovative, and responsive to the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.

If you’re passionate about shaping the future of tech and digital policy and want to play a vital role in influencing the direction of the Liberal Democrats, we invite you to join us. By becoming a member of the Digital LibDems, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to meaningful policy development, connect with like-minded individuals, and help shape the party’s stance on key issues.

To get involved, simply follow the link here and sign up to join the network. 

We will be launching the network at the upcoming Spring Conference in York. RSVP today to secure your spot, as spaces are limited. If you register your interest, we’ll be in touch soon with confirmation and further details.

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Mark Valladares

8 March 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 8th March 2024 - 8:30 pm
  • Keegan remarks: Hardly surprising from gaffe prone minister
  • Khan’s Friday fares cut branded ‘pre-election gimmick’
  • McArthur writes to MSPs about timeline for assisted dying bill

Keegan remarks: Hardly surprising from gaffe prone minister

Responding to Gillian Keegan’s remarks at the Association of School and College Leaders conference, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Munira Wilson MP said:

A Secretary of State talking about assaulting someone should be shocking, but for Gillian Keegan it’s just another day at the microphone.

Gillian Keegan has form and this is the latest gaff from a minister who has a potty mouth, an obviously quick temper and still thinks she is doing a good job. Hardly the qualities we should be instilling in our children.

Khan’s Friday fares cut branded ‘pre-election gimmick’

London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Friday fares reduction trial has been branded a pre-election gimmick.

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Charles Quinn

ALDC’s by-election review – 6/7 March 2024

By Charles Quinn | Fri 8th March 2024 - 6:55 pm

There were 4 principal council by-elections this week, including a rare Wednesday by-election. It was all change as each contest resulted in a change of representation.

There was a fantastic Lib Dem gain from the Conservatives on Mid Devon District Council in Upper Yeo Valley and Tawe ward. Congratulations to Councillor Alex White and the team in Mid Devon on winning over 50% of the vote and increasing the Lib Dem share by 11%. A brilliant result. 

Mid Devon DC, Upper Yeo Valley and Tawe
Liberal Democrats (Alex White): 405 (52%, +11%)
Conservative: 226 (29%, -14.5%)
Labour: 91 (12%, -16%)
Green Party: 54 (7%, new)

The next by-election was in Hillhead ward on Glasgow City Council. Thank you to Daniel O’Malley for standing for the Liberal Democrats here and flying the flag. In a close election the Green Party gained the seat from Labour on the seventh round of the STV count. 

Glasgow City Council, Hillhead

First Preferences:
Labour: 1298 (31.9%, +9.7)
Scottish Green Party: 1284 (31.5%, -4.7)
SNP: 1015 (24.9%, -3.7)
Conservative: 217 (5.3%, -1.4)
IGV: 133 (3.3%, new)
Liberal Democrats (Daniel O’Malley): 106 (2.6%, -2.8)
Independent: 22 (0.5%, new)

Stage 7 Final Result:
Scottish Green Party: 1908
Labour: 1721

The final by-election on Thursday took place in Wales on Bridgend County Borough Council in Aberkenfig ward. There was no Lib Dem candidate here. Just Labour and an Independent contested the ward, meaning that that Plaid Cymru didn’t even defend it. In the end Labour gained the ward from Plaid but the result was close. 

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Mary Reid

Liberal Democrats celebrate International Women’s Day

By Mary Reid | Fri 8th March 2024 - 10:46 am

Last week there was a debate in the House of Commons on the subject: International Women’s Day: Language in Politics. The actual text of the motion was:

That this House has considered the use of language in politics in light of International Women’s Day; agrees that the respectful use of language is an important feature of a strong and inclusive democracy; and calls on all parliamentary candidates to pledge that respectful language will be used at all times in the upcoming General Election campaigning period.

Following the opening speech by Dame Maria Miller, Wera Hobhouse asked this question:

The right hon. Lady has mentioned online platforms and a form of responsibility, but does she believe that Parliament itself should take more responsibility for the barriers that women are facing, or citing as their reasons for not entering Parliament, and for the language that we use here? What might that responsibility look like?

She later said:

We are hearing terrible things in this discussion about banter. People say things are just banter, but banter can be very offensive. We should not be intimidated by people who say that we cannot take banter. It is important that people realise that some banter is offensive.

Christine Jardine made these points:

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Mark Valladares

7 March 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 7th March 2024 - 11:45 pm
  • Resolution Foundation reveals £8bn pensioner tax bombshell in Budget
  • “All the hallmarks of a backroom deal”- Welsh Lib Dems react to decision to keep new controversial Senedd voting system
  • Donelan scandal: Lib Dems demand ethics advisor probe and Science Minister to step aside whilst investigation ongoing
  • Carmichael calls for UK ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements
  • SNP cancel bus fund after spending less than 6% – Rennie
  • McArthur responds to news that more crimes will not be investigated

Resolution Foundation reveals £8bn pensioner tax bombshell in Budget

Jeremy Hunt’s Budget includes an £8bn tax bombshell for pensioners, analysis from the Resolution Foundation has revealed.

All 8 million tax-paying pensioners will see their taxes increase due to the freezing of income tax thresholds. This will leave the average taxpaying pensioner £1,000 worse off by 2027-28, – or an £8 billion collective hit.

Responding to the analysis, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Buried in the small print of this Budget is a disgraceful £8 billion pensioner tax bombshell.

People who have worked hard and done the right thing all their lives are being hammered by Jeremy Hunt with years of unfair tax hikes, leaving them an average of £1,000 worse off each.

This Conservative government has shown their true colours, pensioners are not their priority. They would rather cut taxes for the big banks than look after those who have given so much for so long to our society.

“All the hallmarks of a backroom deal”- Welsh Lib Dems react to decision to keep new controversial Senedd voting system

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have described the decision to keep the new Senedd voting system as having “all the hallmarks of a backroom deal”.

From 2026, votes will be cast for parties instead of individual candidates as part of plans to expand the Senedd.

Critics of the new voting system say that it takes power away from the voter and places it in the hands of political party bosses.

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Mark Valladares

6 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Wed 6th March 2024 - 11:58 pm
  • Budget: Rishi’s recession followed by Hunt’s hangover
  • Scot Lib Dems respond to a spring budget that lets down NHS and mortgage holders
  • “Bottler’s Budget”: Hunt and Sunak slammed for running scared of May General Election
  • Dock Donelan’s pay to foot £15,000 legal cost
  • Rwanda Bill Votes: Policy is fatally flawed

Budget: Rishi’s recession followed by Hunt’s hangover

Responding to the Spring Budget, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey MP said:

This is a bottom-of-the-barrel Budget from a Conservative government that has given up on governing. Rishi’s recession is being followed by Hunt’s hangover, with years of unfair tax hikes while local health services are stretched to breaking point.

This Budget had nothing to offer for people seeing their mortgage soar due to Conservative chaos or being left waiting for months in pain for NHS treatment.

The public will see this for what is: a desperate last throw of the dice by a Conservative government that has neglected the NHS, trashed the economy and overseen a record fall in living standards. It couldn’t be clearer that we need a general election now so voters can finally kick this tired and out-of-touch government out of office.

Scot Lib Dems respond to a spring budget that lets down NHS and mortgage holders

Responding to the Spring Budget, Liberal Democrat Scottish Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

This really is a budget with little to offer families struggling with Rishi’s recession. It felt like a few scraps from a government which knows it’s out of time.

The national insurance cut is meaningless because of stealth taxes elsewhere.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are on the side of hardworking Scots who want to see their bills and NHS waits cut. Where was the help for people with soaring mortgages or spending months in pain waiting for NHS treatment?

The sooner voters get the chance to deliver their verdict the better.

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Mark Valladares

6 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Wed 6th March 2024 - 11:47 pm
  • Liberal Democrats call for health spending in forthcoming budget
  • Donelan legal payments: Lib Dems demand Cabinet Office inquiry
  • Budget: ‘nothing for London’ says Lib Dem mayoral candidate
  • Donelan must pay libel action costs herself

Liberal Democrats call for health spending in forthcoming budget

Speaking ahead of the budget, Liberal Democrat Scottish Affairs spokesperson Christine Jardine said:

All Rishi is doing is prolonging the agony for all of us.

Families are fed up picking up the tab for his economic mismanagement.

Conservatives have been bad for the economy and bad for the country’s health.

The Conservatives must put the NHS at the heart of the budget. It is no wonder the economy isn’t growing when millions of people are stuck on NHS waiting lists, unable to work.

More funding for the NHS in England means an increase in Barnett consequentials, which can then be spent on ensuring that patients can finally get access to their GP in Scotland.

Lifelong Conservative voters are rejecting Rishi Sunak’s Government just as long-term SNP voters are seeing that Humza Yousaf’s government has no plan for rescuing the NHS. They are out of touch and out of ideas about how to bring down waiting lists.

The only way out of this mess is a General Election to deliver the change this country desperately needs.

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The Voice

Daisy Cooper, Layla Moran and Kath Pinnock in Women in Westminster 100

By The Voice | Wed 6th March 2024 - 10:24 am

Two Lib Dem MPs and a Peer have made it into Politics Home’s Women in Westminster 100 for 2024.  The list is made up of prominent women in Parliament and political media.

Daisy Cooper, Layla Moran and Federal Campaigns and Elections Committee Chair Baroness Kath Pinnock are all mentioned.

Daisy Cooper “brings the single-,minded focus of a seasoned campaigner to the Liberal Democrats.” Her citation sets out her campaigning career prior to becoming an MP, working for organisations such as More United, Hacked Off and for human and LGBT rights internationally.

Layla’s personal experience of the terrifying and heartbreaking situation in Gaza is mentioned:

With members of her own family caught up in the war between Israel and Hamas, Moran has found herself at the forefront of public discussions about the conflict. It is not a subject she has shied away from, speaking with compassion, authenticity and depth of understanding about the complexities of the situation.

Kath Pinnock is praised for her work on the levelling up brief, particularly on rights for renters and fire safety:

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The Voice

Cole-Hamilton to host Russian dissidents event in Scottish Parliament

By The Voice | Wed 6th March 2024 - 8:34 am

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP will be hosting a visit from Russian dissident, Ekaterina Schulmann, in the Scottish Parliament following the death of Russian opposition politician, Alexei Navalny.

As a Russian dissident, Ekaterina has been labelled a foreign agent by the Kremlin which means she is unable to work in Russia. She is a high-profile lecturer, a columnist and gives expert commentary to the media. She is also an associate fellow of Chatham House and hosts a YouTube channel on which she commentates on Russian affairs to her 1.2 million subscribers.

On Wednesday, Ekaterina will be delivering a presentation to …

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Mark Valladares

5 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 3)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 5th March 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Embargoed budget trail: The Conservatives are the great tax swindlers
  • Welsh Lib Dems accuse Welsh Gov of abandoning rural Wales in final budget debate
  • “Funding our futures” – Welsh Lib Dems demand action on school deficits
  • Welsh Lib Dems call for major culture change in care system

Embargoed budget trail: The Conservatives are the great tax swindlers

Responding to the Chancellor’s embargoed budget trail, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

The Conservatives are the great tax swindlers after years of hiking them on hardworking families.

Rishi Sunak has led the economy into a recession and forced families to pick up the tab. They have no shame.

The Conservatives must put the NHS at the heart of the budget. It is no wonder the economy isn’t growing when millions of people are stuck on NHS waiting lists, unable to work.

The only way out of this mess is a General Election to deliver the change this country desperately needs.

Welsh Lib Dems accuse Welsh Gov of abandoning rural Wales in final budget debate

Today in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have accused the Welsh Labour Government of abandoning rural Wales.

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Mark Valladares

5 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 5th March 2024 - 8:30 pm
  • More than 1,800 people stuck in hospital
  • Cole-Hamilton: SNP cut £30m from mental health despite missing targets yet again
  • Lib Dems reveal some of the biggest nationalist failures on the international stage
  • Lib Dem Mayoral candidate beats cancer

More than 1,800 people stuck in hospital

Responding to new Public Health Scotland figures which show 1,860 people were stuck in hospital due to their discharge being delayed, with 57,860 days being spent in hospital by people waiting to be discharged, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Amid a chaotic turnover of SNP health secretaries, the Scottish Government has completely failed to tackle core problems that are leaving far too many languishing in hospital wards.

People should never have to wait weeks or months in hospital for a care home place or help to return home.

The SNP’s ill-fated centralisation of social care will do absolutely nothing to ease pressures. This billion-pound bureaucracy must be scrapped, not salved.

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Mark Valladares

5 March 2024 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 5th March 2024 - 6:30 pm

We’ve now managed to gain access to press releases from our Scottish colleagues, and so, welcome to our newly enhanced press release coverage…

  • Lords Rwanda Bill votes: “Morally bankrupt government” defeated five times
  • Ed Davey visits Chancellor’s seat ahead of Budget as GP funding in Surrey slashed by £10 million
  • January the worst month on record for waits over 12 hours at A&E
  • Scot Lib Dems respond as council debt at record levels

Lords Rwanda Bill votes: “Morally bankrupt government” defeated five times

Responding to the series of five heavy defeats for the government on their Rwanda Bill in the House of Lords this evening, which saw several Conservative peers voting against the government’s position, Liberal Democrat Leader in the Lords Dick Newby said:

For months this Conservative government has been pushing this policy that does nothing to solve the asylum backlog. This Bill has cost hundreds of millions of pounds, and doesn’t combat dangerous Channel crossings or create safe, legal routes.

By declaring Rwanda safe when it is clearly anything but, and excluding the courts, the Bill also undermines the rule of law. It is the product of a morally and politically bankrupt Government.

Ed Davey visits Chancellor’s seat ahead of Budget as GP funding in Surrey slashed by £10 million

  • GP funding in Surrey fell by 5.3% in real terms between 2018/19 and 2022/23, equivalent to a £9.2 million cut when accounting for inflation
  • Funding per patient took an even starker hit, falling by 8.6% in real terms resulting in a £14 per patient shortfall
  • Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey will visit a GP surgery in Jeremy Hunt’s seat ahead of the Budget to call on the Chancellor to cancel his planned £1.3 billion real terms cut to NHS spending
  • A recent poll of the Chancellor’s seat showed it was at risk of falling to the Lib Dems with voters in the seat naming the NHS as their top priority as 59% of them had close friends and family who had struggled to get a GP appointment

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey will today (Tuesday 5th March) visit a GP surgery in the Chancellor’s Godalming and Ash constituency ahead of the Budget to demand that Hunt cancel his planned real terms NHS spending cuts.

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The Voice

Welsh Conference Round-up – Part 2

By The Voice | Mon 4th March 2024 - 9:25 am

Welsh Liberal Democrats held their Conference in Cardiff this weekend. You can read part one of the round-up here.

Support for farmers

Welsh farmers have been completely done over by both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour Government in many ways in recent years, not least post Brexit trade deals. Conference turned its attention to the post Brexit reform of payments to farmers.

Conference called for a fairer and more workable farming payment scheme.

Last Wednesday thousands of farmers held a protest in Cardiff against the Welsh Government’s funding proposals, which included the controversial Sustainable Farming Scheme.

In their draft budget for the 2024 financial year, the Welsh Labour Government announced that they were cutting the Rural Affairs budget by 13%, equivalent to a loss of £62 million in funding.

Jane Dodds said:

Our stance as a party has always been to stand up for the interests of our farming communities here in Wales, and this still hasn’t changed.

I know from first-hand experience that many farmers earnestly support the desire to make nature-friendly farming the standard across Wales.

But when they are being presented with something as complex as the Sustainable Farming Scheme, these farmers are at the same time rightfully anxious about the prospect of transitioning.

We must offer them a viable and sustainable scheme that aims to build resilience and bolster thriving rural economies. Whilst at the same time prioritising the Welsh Language.

The current Sustainable Farming Scheme offered by Welsh Labour falls dramatically short of delivering these key priorities.

We cannot afford to alienate our farming community, particularly when they are willing to work with us in transitioning to a greener approach to farming.

Ynys Mon PPC Leena Farhat said:

We as a party recognise that our farms are the lifeblood of Wales, without them, we as a nation would be hopelessly lost.

It is concerning that Welsh Labour have failed to provide a comprehensive long-term plan for agriculture, a core sector of Wales, despite being in government for 25 years.

The future of the Welsh agriculture industry, and rural Wales as a whole, hinges on the presence of a fair, effective, and appropriate funding scheme.

Regrettably, the current Sustainable Farming Scheme, offered by this Welsh Labour Government, not only proves unworkable but also poses a threat to the future livelihoods of numerous families within the sector.

It is disheartening to witness our farmers being made scapegoats by Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay, who repeatedly demonstrate a profound lack of understanding of rural areas’ needs.

Over the years, their governance has failed to address the fundamental challenges facing our agricultural communities.

The Tories’ claim to champion farmers’ interests is laughable, particularly given their readiness to sacrifice them in favour of expediting questionable trade deals.

Their track record hardly reflects a commitment to safeguarding the welfare of our farmers.

Farmers deserve sincere and transparent support.

They deserve politicians who prioritise their well-being and livelihoods over political expediency.

It is time for a change, a change that places the interests of our agricultural communities at the forefront of policy making.

Industrial strategy

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The Voice

Wendy Chamberlain highlights under-representation of women in key areas of Police Scotland

By The Voice | Sun 3rd March 2024 - 8:30 am

Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain has today unveiled new analysis showing that women are under-represented in many areas of Police Scotland and warned that lack of proper funding could reverse progress in increasing diversity.

Analysis by the party ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday 8th March, reveals that:

  • There are almost twice as many male police officers (11,064) as there are female police officers (5,549).
  • Among those ranked Inspector or above, the disparity is even larger, with 900 male officers and 350 female officers.
  • The number of female PCs has actually fallen by 54 since 2021.
  • Despite women outnumbering men by 3,621 to 2,247 among Police Scotland’s civilian staff roles, the top roles remain male-dominated with 58 men reaching Grade 11 and above compared to 34 women.

In 2022 a report by Dame Louise Casey warned that an “anything goes” culture had been allowed to develop in the Met with racists, misogynists and criminals allowed to stay in the force.

On Friday a review was published into how off-duty Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens was able to abduct, rape and murder Sarah Everard, which recommended improving vetting and examined the extent to which any issues relating to his behaviour, particularly in relation to women, were known and raised by colleagues.

Wendy, a former Police Officer herself, said:

This is an area where Police Scotland need to do more. It was an area that the 2018 Angiolini Review highlighted and the outgoing Chief Constable agreed.

As Police Scotland goes forward under Jo Farrell’s new leadership, it must reflect on these numbers, closely and carefully, and take meaningful steps to ensure that the police service is as diverse as the public it serves.

Within the service, staff surveys should be regularly on offer so that issues can be identified early on and discriminatory practices and behaviours rooted out.

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