Category Archives: News

The Voice

Welsh Conference Round-up – Part One

By The Voice | Sat 2nd March 2024 - 5:30 pm

Today Welsh Liberal Democrats debated local government funding and set out their stall for the General Election.

More funding for Councils

According to estimates from the Welsh Local Government Association, councils in Wales are facing funding pressures of £720m in 2024-25, with real term funding for Local government’s being 12% lower in 2023-24 than it was in 2009-10.

The Welsh Lib Dems are now calling on the Welsh Government to to work towards restoring real terms local government funding to 2009-10 levels.

Jane Dodds said:

Our local authorities here in Wales have been left to deal on their own with a severe funding gap, created by the financial mismanagement of the UK Conservative government.

I know many councils have had to make some difficult decisions when it comes to their budgets for this coming financial year, which is why we have passed this motion today.

We as a party are calling for extra funding for our struggling local authorities here in Wales, to stem the tide of public service cuts and increases in council tax.

The Welsh Government must finally get their act together and put in place a long-term manageable plan to help restore local government funding back to where it was in 2009/10.

Welsh Lib Dem PPC for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney Jackie Charlton said:

I am extremely proud that we have passed this motion today calling for extra funding for local authorities across Wales.

It is no secret that councils across Wales have been presented with the difficult task of setting their budgets for the upcoming financial year in the shadow of an economic crisis that has gripped this country.

Difficult decisions around cutting public services and raising costs have sadly become the reality for many councillors in Wales facing an astronomical funding gap.

The UK Conservative government, through blatant disregard, have completely crashed our economy. And have forced ordinary working people to pick up the pieces and tidy up a mess created by years of Tory government

A fair deal for Wales

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The Voice

Welsh Lib Dems hold Conference in Cardiff

By The Voice | Sat 2nd March 2024 - 11:55 am

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are holding their Spring Conference in Cardiff this weekend.

They’ll be debating what makes a fair deal for Wales, childcare, support for farmers, businesses and tourism, local government funding and attracting graduate to Wales. They’ll also debate whether to remove the controversial 2o mph limit on restricted roads across Wales.

Ahead of the Conference, Welsh Leader Jane Dodds said:

“We currently find ourselves in difficult circumstances, surrounded by economic uncertainty and global instability that has clouded our future.

Our economic woes and current deprivation of public services have been fuelled by an indifferent UK Conservative government intent on running our country into the ground.

Never before or since have we been faced with a government so out of touch with the needs of its people.

Meanwhile, Labour have been too busy moving the goalposts and changing their promises to offer anything substantial for the people of Wales.

If you want to get rid of the conservatives, don’t vote Labour.

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Mark Valladares

1 March 2024 – today’s (other) press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2024 - 11:15 pm
  • Urgent theft from vehicle reports in London up 31%
  • Welsh Lib Dems look ahead towards Cardiff Spring conference

Urgent theft from vehicle reports in London up 31%

London is facing an epidemic of thefts from vehicles, new figures show.

Data obtained by Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie, under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), show that there has been a 31% increase in 999 calls relating to theft from vehicles since 2015 – the year before Sadiq Khan took office.

There were 27,584 theft from vehicle emergency reports in the capital in 2023 – up from 21,009 in 2015.

Lib Dem Mayoral Candidate, Rob Blackie, said:

This is yet another damning indictment of Sadiq Khan’s record as Mayor over the last eight years. Londoners tell me they are worried about cars being broken into on their street. They want the police to act because the problem is getting so much worse.

We need every officer out there investigating crime and focusing on what’s important to Londoners. That’s why I will be ensuring that the Met spends less time wasting effort on stop and searches for cannabis and more time on tackling serious crime.

Fixing the Met will be my top priority and the Liberal Democrats will give it the funding and focus it needs.

Welsh Lib Dems look ahead towards Cardiff Spring conference

The Welsh Liberal Democrats will be hosting their annual Spring conference this weekend in Cardiff.

Over a two-day period (Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of March), party members are expected to be debating motions on Childcare, Local Government funding and providing a Fair Deal for Wales amongst others.

The conference will be opened by the Rt.Hon. The Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Bablin Molik, the first woman of colour to be appointed as the Lord Mayor of the Welsh capital.

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The Voice

Ed Davey responds to Rishi Sunak’s speech today

By The Voice | Fri 1st March 2024 - 7:23 pm

Ed Davey has just responded to the Prime Minister’s speech:

The British people will take no lessons from a Prime Minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years.

This is the same Prime Minister who made Suella Braverman his Home Secretary and Lee Anderson his party’s Deputy Chairman.

If the Prime Minister is serious about bringing people together, he would call a General Election now, so that the British public can decide the future of our country.

 

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Charles Quinn

ALDC by-election report 29th February

By Charles Quinn | Fri 1st March 2024 - 6:32 pm

It has been rare leap year by-election week. Thursday’s 5 council by-elections were the first to be held on February 29th since 1996 and though they were a mixed set of results we can still celebrate 2 excellent Lib Dem wins – and the fact that we stood in every single contest.

There were 2 by-elections on the East Riding of Yorkshire Council in Minster & Woodmansey and Tranby wards, both of which were Lib Dem defences. We recorded stonking victories in both of them thanks to a brilliant effort from the local team.

Councillor Tony Henderson held Minster & Woodmansey ward with over 50% of the vote and a majority of over 700, moving the Lib Dem share of the vote forwards by 9% too.

In Tranby ward Councillor Ross Harrison received 55% of the vote and a majority of 550. The Lib Dem vote share increased by 4%.

Congratulations to Tony, Ross and the Lib Dem team in the East Riding of Yorkshire on two brilliant wins!

East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Minster and Woodmansey
Liberal Democrats (Tony Henderson): 1438 (51%, +9%)
Conservative: 706 (25%, -4%)
Labour: 495 (17%, -12%)
Green Party: 198 (7%, new)

East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Tranby
Liberal Democrats (Ross Harrison): 958 (55%, +4.1%)
Labour: 408 (24%, +3.1%)
Conservative: 268 (15%, +3.7%)
Green Party: 97 (6%, -2.5%)

There were also 2 by-elections on Horsham District Council on Thursday.

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Caron Lindsay

Rochdale by-election – Lib Dem Iain Donaldson only mainstream party candidate to maintain vote

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 1st March 2024 - 8:21 am

Waking up to the news that the divisive George Galloway has yet again been elected to Parliament is not what any liberal minded person ever wants to do.

Galloway topped the poll in Rochdale by over 6000 votes on a turnout of 39.7%. However, he is unlikely to be there for long given that there is a General Election coming very soon.

He won in a bitter campaign where both Labour and the Greens had disowned their candidates.

Here’s the result in full:

George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain) – 12,335 – 39.7% (+39.7%)
David Anthony Tully (Independent) – 6,638 – 21.3% (+21.3%)
Paul Ellison (Conservative) – 3,731 – 12% (-22%)
Azhar Ali (Labour’s disowned candidate) – 2,402 7.7% (-48.4%)
Iain Donaldson (Liberal Democrats) – 2,164 7% (0.0%)
Simon Danczuk (Reform UK) – 1,968 6.3% (Brexit Party got 8.2% in 2019)
William Howarth (Independent) – 523
Mark Coleman (Independent) – 455
Guy Otten (Green’s disowned candidate) – 436
Michael Howarth (Independent) – 246
Ravin Rodent Subortna (Monster Raving Loony Party) – 209

Massive thanks go to our Iain Donaldson and his agent, a veteran of many campaigns, Paul Trollope. If we are looking for positives, we are the only mainstream party to hold on to our General Election vote share which is no mean feat in a by-election like this.

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The Voice

Everard Report: Khan still failing on women’s safety

By The Voice | Thu 29th February 2024 - 11:56 pm

Following the publication of the first report by The Angiolini Inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard, Lib Dem Mayoral candidate, Rob Blackie, has criticised the Mayor for his continued failures on London’s women’s safety.

Three years after the murder of Sarah Everard by a rogue Metropolitan Police officer, Blackie cites how sex offences have surged, recruitment of officers focused on sexual crime is failing, and public trust in the police has collapsed during Sadiq Khan’s time in office.

Sexual offences reported to the police in London rose from 16,147 in 2015 to 24,958 in 2023 – a rise of 54%. …

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Ed Davey

Ed Davey: I have just returned from the Middle East

By Ed Davey | Thu 29th February 2024 - 7:59 pm

Ed Davey has been on a visit to Israel and Palestine. He has sent out this email:

I’ve just returned from a visit to Israel and Palestine.

The 7 October attacks and the ongoing conflict and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza have affected so many lives. They have also had a profound impact on many communities here in the UK.

I felt that it was vital to travel to the region and meet with those whose lives have been turned upside down these past few months, and speak to politicians and civil society leaders about how we get to an immediate bilateral ceasefire and a two state solution.

In the past few days I’ve heard the stories of people whose lives have been changed by this conflict: Itzik Horn, whose two sons are right now being held hostage by Hamas; Palestinians whose lives in the West Bank are now a misery, thanks to settler violence and huge restrictions on their ability to work and travel.

I also met the United Nations Humanitarian Agency, UNOCHA, hearing about how vital it is that the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza is ramped up immediately.

You can read all about my visit to the region, as well as what we’ve done as a party since 7 October, here:

Read more  ➜

Since my return, I’ve called on the UK Government to sanction two far-right, extremist Israeli ministers who are figureheads for the illegal settler movement, a movement that wants to ensure that a two-state solution is impossible, in breach of international law.

Read more  ➜

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Mark Valladares

28 February 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 28th February 2024 - 11:45 pm
  • Welsh Lib Dems call for national net zero framework
  • Welsh Lib Dems demand fairer deal for farmers

Welsh Lib Dems call for national net zero framework

Today in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to build a national framework to strengthen local authorities’ climate action plans.

Currently, the Welsh Local Government Association receives Welsh Government funding to help local Authorities develop a climate action plan.

19 of Wales’ 22 local authorities have declared a climate emergency, with 14 of these having a climate action plan.

However, according to the Climate Emergency UK’s 2021 scorecard, Welsh local government plans received an average score of 31% compared to a national average of 50%.

Commenting, the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

The Welsh Government’s net zero approach, whilst well-intended, lacks a clear framework for area-based climate action in Wales.

According to the Climate Emergency UK’s 2021 scorecard exercise, Welsh local authorities’ climate action plans received an average score of 31%, well below the UK national average of 50%.

With local authorities having influence over roughly a third of emissions in their local area, there is a clear need for a coordinated territorial approach.

We need a unified approach if we want to reach net zero within the set time zone.

By working together and establishing a coordinated national framework that can help guide local authority plans, we can take the first step in delivering a better tomorrow for us all.

Welsh Lib Dems demand fairer deal for farmers

Today in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to deliver a straightforward and simple farming scheme that works for both food producers and the natural environment.

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The Voice

Alex Cole-Hamilton on Scottish Budget: SNP and Greens out of ideas

By The Voice | Wed 28th February 2024 - 11:55 am

It was a depressing day in Holyrood yesterday as the SNP/Green budget passed. An unfunded Council Tax freeze crippling Scottish Councils, affordable housing cut by a third in the middle of a massive housing emergency, mental health support cut, education cut.

There was never a cat in hell’s chance that Lib Dems would vote for such an ill thought through budget. Alex Cole-Hamilton explained why:

In this budget, the Scottish Government is reaching for more tax rises. It is punishing low and middle-income families through fiscal drag, it is taking a hammer to the green renewables piggy bank and it is cutting public services for young and old alike. Why? It is doing so because Scottish National Party and Green ministers are completely out of ideas about how to spark growth, drive innovation or enlarge the tax base sustainably. They have a habit of making costly blunders—for example, the two ferries that are rusting in dry dock, the botched deposit return scheme, the independence papers and the selling of Scotland’s prized sea bed on the cheap. Next in their sights is the clueless and bureaucratic billion-pound ministerial takeover of social care that we are set to debate this week. In every case, taxpayers and public services are expected to pay the price.

The Government is out of touch and is taking people for granted. One thing that it must realise is that it needs the talents of everyone in order to grow the economy and make our country fairer. There is an intrinsic link between the health of our people and the health of our economy. People are waiting in pain for long-overdue operations. Their conditions are worsening by the day. It can take years for people to get the mental health treatment that they desperately need, which means that they cannot get on in life. There are now around 200,000 people in Scotland who are out of work because of mental ill health, long Covid and long-term conditions. According to the Our Scottish Future think tank, that costs our economy £870 million a year.

The longer people are out of work, the worse their prospects become. The longer they wait to be treated, the greater the cost to the NHS. That is why making yet another cut to overwhelmed mental health services makes no sense whatsoever.

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Mark Valladares

27 February 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 27th February 2024 - 11:50 pm
  • Lib Dems table motion calling on Parliament to rebuke Lee Anderson’s Islamophobic comments
  • Cancer survival rates: Lib Dems will put giving UK among best cancer survival rates at heart of priorities
  • Tory support in freefall – Rob offers London liberal choice
  • Welsh Lib Dems call for action against child health inequality in Wales

Lib Dems table motion calling on Parliament to rebuke Lee Anderson’s Islamophobic comments

The Liberal Democrats have tabled a censure motion, calling on Parliament to rebuke Lee Anderson’s Islamophobic remarks and calling for him to come to the House and apologise.

The party is calling on Conservative MPs and the government to back the motion, adding that the Conservative party must “show that Islamophobia is not tolerated in Parliament”.

It comes as Anderson said that he would not apologise for his Islamophobic remarks as to do so would be “a sign of weakness”.

The motion tabled by the Lib Dems, if adopted by the government and passed by the House, would be an unprecedented rebuke of the Ashfield MP’s remarks. It would show that Parliament found the remarks unacceptable and Islamophobic and that Anderson should apologise in the House.

Liberal Democrat Women and Equalities spokesperson, Christine Jardine MP said:

Lee Anderson’s remarks were damaging, divisive and need to be called out for what they are – Islamophobic. He should apologise immediately.

British Muslims across the country deserve so much better than this. There is no place in our society for hatred like this.

If the government is too weak to call out this behaviour, the House – including Conservative MPs – must take matters into its own hands and show that Islamophobia is not tolerated in Parliament. Not go completely silent on the issue or look for a way to excuse the inexcusable.

This latest scandal proves once again that the Conservative party is not fit for purpose and is certainly not fit for office.

Cancer survival rates: Lib Dems will put giving UK among best cancer survival rates at heart of priorities

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The Voice

Lib Dems unveil plan to improve Cancer care in the UK

By The Voice | Tue 27th February 2024 - 9:03 pm

Cancer will affect virtually all of it. The first time I saw it in all its awfulness was with my mother in law back in the 80s. By the time it had been discovered, she had no chance. And even with pretty good home care and wonderful support from Macmillan nurses, it was brutal for all of us.

This week the Lib Dems have unveiled a plan to boost Cancer care in the UK, which includes:

Make the UK a world leader in cancer research by:

  1. Passing a Cancer Survival Research Act that would require the Government to coordinate and ensure funding for research into the cancers with the lowest survival rates, including lung, liver, brain and pancreatic cancer.

  2. Saving the National Cancer Research Institute. The Government is presiding over the closure of the National Cancer Research Institute, which was established in 2001 and plays a vital role in coordinating cancer research, due to uncertainty over research funding. Its closure has been described by one oncology professor as like “turning off air traffic control and hoping the planes will be fine”.

  3. Halving the time for new treatments to reach patients. It takes an average of 11 months for a new medicine or medical technology to be approved and available to patients in England, compared to just 4 months in Germany. We will expand the MHRA’s capacity to speed up that process.

Boost treatment capacity to ensure survival rates are in line with the best in the world by:

  1. Introducing a two-month cancer treatment guarantee: a new target for 100% of patients to start treatment for cancer within 62 days from urgent referral, with this right written into law. Currently this is only a government pledge, and 36% of patients wait longer than 62 days.

  2. Boosting access to radiotherapy: replace ageing radiotherapy machines and increase their number, as well as widening access so that no one has to travel too far for treatment.

  3. Improving support for patients and their families: recruit more cancer nurses so that every patient has a dedicated specialist supporting them throughout their treatment. Ensure patients and their families are given information about charities, patient support groups and financial support at every key stage: referral, diagnosis and starting treatment.

This is particularly timely given today’s shocking research showing that Cancer survival rates in the UK are 10-15 years behind similar countries.

Ed Davey said:

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Mark Valladares

26 February 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 26th February 2024 - 11:00 pm
  • Lee Anderson: Sunak needs to condemn his comments for what they are
  • Bathing Water announcement: Half-baked which does not ban sewage in swimming spots
  • Wales’ Biggest Scarf? Showing Some Love to Our Care Experienced Community.

Lee Anderson: Sunak needs to condemn his comments for what they are

Responding to Rishi Sunak and Mark Harper’s latest comments on Lee Anderson this morning, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper MP said:

The refusal of Rishi Sunak and his ministers to properly call out Lee Anderson’s extreme comments shows just how low the Conservative Party has fallen.

Rishi Sunak needs to condemn Anderson’s comments for what they

…

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Mark Valladares

26 February – 1 March 2024 – this week in the Lords

By Mark Valladares | Mon 26th February 2024 - 2:30 pm

Welcome to another preview of the week’s events in the Upper House, one in which a space will become apparent following the loss of Conservative Peer, Patrick Cormack, who passed away over the weekend.

But on to business in what is another long week for the denizens of the red benches. Monday starts with a Liberal Democrat Oral Question – Lorely Burt will be asking the Government what is being done to encourage businesses to employ people with criminal convictions.

The Victims and Prisoners Bill reaches Day 6 of its Committee Stage but the …

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The Voice

Lib Dems mark 2 years since invasion of Ukraine

By The Voice | Sat 24th February 2024 - 8:55 am

Two years ago we all woke up to the awful news that Russia, after lots of menacing, had finally invaded Ukraine. Honestly, not many of us gave the Ukrainians much chance in fending them off. That they are still standing is down to their charismatic leader and a huge international effort.

Ed Davey said:

We stand with all Ukrainians as they bravely and brilliantly resist the Russian war machine.

The UK will continue to aid their fight for their country, for their democracy and for their freedom.

Sarah Green said:

Today we mark the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine (not forgetting the invasion of Crimea in 2014). We must continue to stand with the Ukrainian people – Putin’s aggression cannot be allowed to prevail.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton is marking the anniversary by urging the UK and Scottish governments to expand their support for the country.

Mr Cole-Hamilton is calling on the UK government to widen sanctions against those on the “Navalny list” and for the Scottish Government to deliver transparency over who owns land in Scotland as well as to support the 1 in 10 Ukrainians in Scotland who remain in temporary accommodation.

At 11am this morning he will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial at Edinburgh Castle to commemorate the Ukrainians who have died in the fighting.

Alex said:

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Caron Lindsay

Layla Moran’s speech in tonight’s debate: We need to stop this now

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 21st February 2024 - 9:55 pm

I thought about putting Layla’s speech in the last post, but I didn’t want it getting lost. Her clarity and wisdom and persuasiveness, and her liberal desire to bring people together have been a huge credit to her and to this party in recent months. We can all be incredibly proud of her, especially when this has been so personally painful for her.

She spoke in the debate and her words in full are below:

I am speechless at the way this debate began. As the House knows, there has been scant opportunity for me to tell the story not just of my family or the hundreds in the church where they are in northern Gaza, but of Palestinians on the ground and, indeed, those who lost people in the horrendous attacks on 7 October, whether through murder or abduction. I am grateful that we have this opportunity. In the hours of debate in front of us, my first ask of anyone who speaks after me is, please, to hold all those people in their hearts as they say what they say. I believe sincerely that this House is moving towards a right position, and I will explain what I think that is in a moment. On the suggestion that this House is in some way against a ceasefire—I would hope an immediate one, however the semantics play out in the votes later—can we please try to send a message in particular to the Palestinian people perishing in their tens of thousands on the ground, and to those hostage families that, fundamentally, we need this to stop now? I do not care what we call it.

I should have started by drawing the House’s attention to my entry in the register of interests. I sit as an unpaid adviser on the board of the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians.

Last week I went to Israel and Palestine with Yachad, and I will start with a story. On the first day, we went down to the southern border with Gaza, to a place called Nativ Ha’asara, a place I have visited before. We met an incredible woman called Roni, who had lost family members—16 from that kibbutzim had perished. As I went there, I looked across at northern Gaza. I saw the plumes of smoke. I heard the drones and the “pop pop pop” of the gunfire, and I broke down. As I walked back through the village, Roni, an Israeli peace activist, took me to one side, gave me a hug and said, “I’m so sorry”, which I said back. We both cried and held each other.

It is important to remember that although those voices of peace in Israel have been silent for some time, many of the people killed on that day were allies of the Palestinian people who had been calling for decades against the occupation, calling out Netanyahu’s Government, and condemning Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. It is for that reason that I welcome the sanctions on those extremist settlers, because there is a direct link between the right wing elements of Netanyahu’s Government and those extremist settlers. The amendment that the Lib Dems tabled to the motion stated that we should not finish there. We need to continue those sanctions on those people and their connected entities.

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Caron Lindsay

Ed on tonight’s drama in Parliament: We need an urgent end to the humanitarian catastrophe

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 21st February 2024 - 9:17 pm

So I managed to sleep thoughout tonight’s drama.

Waking up to a phone glowing with WhatsApp messages, I realised there had been a bit of a rammy in the Commons. I checked out the BBC summary and my immediate and instinctive reaction is that the Speaker had been right to allow votes on three distinctive positions on such a huge issue. The SNP’s motion called for an immediate ceasefire, the Government’s called for a humanitarian pause and Labour’s had a bit more meat on its bones about how you actually get to a lasting peace. Normally on an opposition day, you’d get the motion and a Government amendment. It is unusual to have a third option, but in this instance, it made sense to reflect as broad a consensus as possible. He could have done better by including a fourth option, ours.

Ours said:

Expresses its devastation at the mounting humanitarian disaster in Gaza with tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians killed, millions displaced and thousands of homes destroyed; calls on the Prime Minister to oppose publicly and at the UN Security Council the proposed IDF offensive in Rafah; further urges Hamas to unconditionally and immediately release the over 100 hostages taken following the deplorable attacks on 7 October 2023; notes the unprecedented levels of illegal settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories left unchecked by the Israeli Government; welcomes the recent sanctions by the UK Government against four extremist Israeli settlers who have committed human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank; urges the UK Government to sanction all violent settlers and their connected entities; calls on the UK Government to uphold international law and the judgments of international courts under all circumstances; further notes that the only path to regional security is a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with Hamas not in power; condemns Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s repeated assertions that there is no future for a Palestinian state; and further urges the UK Government to call for an immediate bilateral ceasefire in Gaza, which will allow an end to the humanitarian devastation, get the hostages out and provide an opportunity for a political process leading to a two-state solution, providing security and dignity for all peoples in Palestine and Israel.”

You would hope that when discussing one of the biggest humanitarian disasters and most dangerous conflicts we have seen in a long time, the Mother of Parliaments would model generous, collaborative behaviour. It was not beyond the wit of the SNP to work with the other opposition parties to bring together something that truly reflected the will of the House.

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The Voice

Lib Dems launch rescue plan for farmers

By The Voice | Wed 21st February 2024 - 9:42 am

Tim Farron is going to be speaking to the National Farmers’ Union today and he’ll set out a rescue package for Britain’s farmers who have essentially been done over by the Government in so many ways. Whether it’s post-Brexit payments, unworkable rules on workers visas or trade deals that put our own farmers at a disadvantage, the party is announcing its solution, which includes an extra £1 billion for farmers.

Tim said:

British farmers need to be rescued from years of Conservative neglect and failed rural policies, which have left our countryside in dire need of help. For too long Conservative MPs have taken farmers for granted. Conservative Ministers are shamelessly attempting to rewrite history ahead of the General Election.

Farmers are increasingly turning to the Liberal Democrats to send this Conservative government a message.

Farmers do not only put food on our tables, but crucially, act as the custodians of our environment. Yet Ministers have failed spectacularly to roll out new payment programmes, and signed botched overseas trade deals which have undercut environmental standards.

Enough is enough. It is time for change and the British countryside won’t be ignored any longer by this out of touch Conservative government.

Lib Dems would:

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The Voice

Christine Jardine introduces Bill to give British citizens right to Consular assistance

By The Voice | Mon 19th February 2024 - 10:05 am

Back in November, there was not a dry eye in the house when Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard Ratcliffe spoke to Scottish Lib Dem Conference.

From our piece at the time:

One of the most moving sessions was an interview, hosted by Christine Jardine, with Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe. Christine said she still has the blue flower Richard gave her when she went to visit him outside the Iranian Embassy when he was on hunger strike during Nazanin’s six year imprisonment in Iran.

Nazanin and Richard want British citizens to have a right to consular protection after the Foreign Office was so slow to help her. At the moment, the commitment is dependent on ministerial whim, and, if ministers are reshuffled, you have to build the relationship up all over again.

Next week, Parliament will debate a Bill tabled by Lib Dem MP Christine designed to give British citizens abroad a right to consular assistance when their human rights are under threat.

Yesterday’s Sunday Post had a feature on the Bill. Christine told the paper:

We assume that if something happens, someone will speak to the Foreign Office and you’re guaranteed assistance – but you’re not.

I think it’s something most of us would take for granted that we already have.

After Richard and I spoke about it, I thought about the number of cases where people have found themselves in that situation over the years.

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Caron Lindsay

A great gain and 2 strong holds in this week’s by-elections

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 18th February 2024 - 11:04 am

There were a couple of great results in this week’s local government by-elections.

In the Four Marks and Medstead ward of East Hampshire District Council, Roland Richardson held on to the seat with 62.2% of the vote! Thanks to ALDC for compiling the results.

Also in Hertfordshire, Caroline Smith-Wright held the Tring West and Rural ward on Dacorum District Council with an even greater vote share.

DACORUM DC; Tring West & Rural Ward

🔵 Con, , 21.1%, -3.0%
🔴 Lab, , 7.6%, -0.3%
🔶SMITH-WRIGHT, Caroline, LibDem, , 62.7%, +12.8%
🟢 Green, , 8.6%, -9.6%

EAST HAMPSHIRE DC; Four Marks & Medstead

🔶 RICHARDSON, Roland, LibDem, 1212, 62.2%, +11.7%
🔵 Con, 736, 37.8%, -11.7%

Avenue ward in Hull has been the site of many a good scrap between us and Labour over the years. The ward was represented by ALDC’s Abi Bell until she stood down a couple of years ago and in this year’s local elections returned 2 Labour and 1 Lib Dem Councillor.

That changed on Thursday when Rhiannon Beeson took a seat from Labour:

KINGSTON-UPON-HULL UA; Avenue

🔶 BEESON, Rhiannon, LibDem, 45.7%, +4,3%
🔵 Con, 1.7, -1.3%
🟢 Green, 7.6%, +7.6%
🔘 Ind, 5.3%, +5.3%
🔴 Lab, 39.7%,-8.7%

And thanks to Susan Jay for standing for us and making sure people had the chance to vote Lib Dem in the Rhos ward of Neath Port Talbot

Lab, 137, 14.5%, -30.9%
🔶 JAY, Susan Helen, LibDem, 60, +6.3%, +6.3%
🟢 Green, 15, 1.6%, +1.6%
🟩 Plaid, 242, 25.5%, -29.1%
🔘 Ind, 494, 52.1%, +52.1%

Elsewhere, the two parliamentary by-elections have taken up most of the headlines. The Wellingborough and Kingswood seats were not great prospects for us, but we did have excellent candidates in Andrew Brown and Ana Savage Gunn. We lost our deposits, but that happens in seats where we are not in competition. These were not the same kind of places as the four by-election seats we have gained in this Parliament.

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The Voice

Lib Dems react to Alexei Navalny’s death

By The Voice | Sat 17th February 2024 - 9:16 am

Lib Dems have been reacting to the shocking news of Alexei Navalny’s death.

Ed Davey said:

Horrified by reports of the death of Alexei Navalny – at the hands of Putin, no doubt.

Putin’s despicable methods might be to kill his enemies, but he will never kill the light of freedom and democracy which Navalny has stood for so courageously.

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton attended a vigil last night at the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh:

It was a privilege to join Russian citizens outside the Consulate this evening in a vigil for the life of Alexei #Navalny, murdered by the Putin kleptocracy today. Their defiance and their desire to follow Navalny’s dream of a free and democratic Russia was inspiring.

This is nothing short of state sanctioned murder. Putin will never brook any form of opposition and Navalny presented so many young Russians with the hope of a future free from corruption and Tsarist fascism.

Putin is a despot and a war criminal.

Lib Dem Foreign Affairs spokesperson Layla Moran said:

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The Voice

Rob Blackie: Met Police funding “too little, too late”

By The Voice | Wed 14th February 2024 - 3:13 pm

Today, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced more funding for the Metropolitan Police.

Sadiq Khan on Wednesday announced almost £50m of additional funding for the Met police as he set out final details of his annual City Hall budget.

The mayor said the financial support given by the Greater London Authority to the Met from April – much of it already announced last month – would be £151m higher than for the current year.

However the amount is not enough to provide all of the £76m sought by Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to fund his “New Met for London” plan to boost community policing and tackle racism and misogyny in light of the damning Baroness Casey report.

Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie was unimpressed:

This is too little, too late. The Met Police has got into a complete mess under eight years of this Mayor and Londoners won’t be fooled by his latest pre-election giveaway.

The amount the Mayor has pledged still falls short of what’s needed and he should back the Lib Dem plan to divert further headroom in the budget to the Police.

Interviewed on LBC this morning Rob confirmed his top priority as mayor would be to fix the Met Police. He said:

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The Voice

Party awards – get your nominations in by 27 February

By The Voice | Wed 14th February 2024 - 9:47 am

Every Conference, the Liberal Democrats honour individuals who have served the party well with our party awards.

In York, the following awards will be presented:

The Leader’s Award
Eligibility: Any member of the party.

Criteria: Awarded to someone who has shown exemplary dedication to canvassing voters.

The Bertha Bowness Fischer Award
Background: This award is named for the country’s first woman to become a qualified election agent, a trailblazer who is a testament to our traditions of equality, inclusion and campaigning rigour.

Eligibility: Any local party.

Criteria: Awarded a local party for the excellence of its local delivery network.

The Albert Ingham Award
Background: This award is named for one of the Party’s great Election Agents, Albert Ingham. Albert’s work, much of it in his home county of Yorkshire, was prodigious and his impact on the Party ranged from organising to fundraising to promoting fresh talent.

Eligibility: Any election agent or campaign manager.

Criteria: Awarded for a recent campaign that through its excellence, fastidiousness, tenacity or novelty is a model for others.

The Laura Grimond award

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The Voice

Spring Conference Agenda and Directory now available – and a date for your diary

By The Voice | Tue 13th February 2024 - 4:15 pm

It’s less than 5 weeks till Liberal Democrats gather in York for what could, but possibly won’t be, the last Conference before the General Election.

The agenda and directory have now been published and you can read them here.  We have been amusing ourselves seeing how many target seat PPCs we can see proposing or summating motions.  We will see plenty more giving speeches across the weekend, too. It’s a real opportunity to show your potential constituents that you are supporting things that will make their lives better.

In his foreword, Ed Davey is keen to say how well we are …

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The Liberator Collective

Liberator 421 is now out

By The Liberator Collective | Tue 13th February 2024 - 11:45 am

Liberator 421 is out and you can download it for free here.

You can sign up to be emailed when each new Liberator comes out here.

What’s in this issue?

Find out the news in Radical Bulletin, Lord Bonkers’ thoughts in his Diary, plus Commentary and Letters

PRETTY VACANT

Keir Starmer has a shadow cabinet of nonentities poised to deliver nothing very much in government. It’s a long way from the Blair era, says Jon Egan

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Mark Valladares

12 February 2024 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 12th February 2024 - 3:24 pm
  • Revealed: 1.5 million patients waited 12 hours or more in A&E in past year
  • OfWat fines: A gimmick. Money should go back in people’s pockets

Revealed: 1.5 million patients waited 12 hours or more in A&E in past year

  • One in ten (9.6%) patients waited 12 hours or more in A&E over the past year, five times higher than official target
  • Shocking new figures show average of 4,200 patients a day waited 12 hours or more after arriving in A&E
  • At some NHS trusts over one in four patients faced 12 hour A&E delays as Lib Dems warn long waits “becoming the norm”

A staggering 1.5 …

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Mark Valladares

12-14 February 2024 – this week in the Lords

By Mark Valladares | Mon 12th February 2024 - 1:50 pm

Whilst the Commons takes the week off, their senior colleagues down the corridor continue to work their way through the legislative process…

There were no Liberal Democrat Oral Questions last week, so of course Monday sees two. Dominic Addington has a question on Government plans what plans they have to ensure that all schools have the capacity to identify and implement a plan of support for the most commonly occurring special educational needs, a particularly topical question given the impact of such support on local government budgets. Tim Clement-Jones wants to know what …

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The Voice

Jim Wallace remembers Donald Dewar

By The Voice | Sun 11th February 2024 - 10:39 am

This week, our Jim Wallace delivered the annual Donald Dewar Memorial Lecture in Glasgow. This lecture, held every year in memory of Scotland’s First First Minister, has previously been delivered by senior political figures such as Alistair Darling and Jack McConnell. Donald Dewar died suddenly in October 2000.

Jim served as Deputy First Minister to him and was Acting First Minister when Donald Dewar had heart surgery and in the immediate aftermath of his death while Labour selected a new leader. The Labour/Lib Dem coalition, over 8 years, delivered things like freedom of information legislation, free eye and dental checks, STV for local government, free personal care and land reform.

Jim’s lecture gave insights into the coalition negotiations back in 1999, Dewar’s style of Government and his hopes for the future.

He said:

The most liberating election campaign which I ever fought was the first election to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. To a greater or lesser extent, all the general elections in which I’d been a candidate, had been fought against a backdrop of an ongoing constitutional debate about Scotland’s future. By 1999, we had a Parliament, endorsed overwhelmingly in the 1997 referendum; so now we could debate what the Parliament was going to do.

“With so many challenges today facing our NHS, our education system, our environment, transport links to islands and mainland destinations, in local government and not least in advancing Donald Dewar’s great passion for a more socially just Scotland, wouldn’t it be a refreshing change to think that these would be the issues which should again dominate the Parliament’s agenda.

“In that speech on 1st July, almost a quarter of a century ago, Donald also said,

“We are fallible. We will make mistakes. But we will never lose sight of what brought us here: the striving to do right by the people of Scotland; to respect their priorities; to better their lot; and to contribute to the commonweal.”

“It takes a special politician with great character to admit to fallibility and the possibility of mistakes. But at least they would be our mistakes. I can’t imagine him having the knee-jerk response always to blame Westminster. But compared to many countries with devolved powers, the competences of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Ministers are extensive – more extensive today than they were in 1999. So, wouldn’t a fitting tribute to the legacy of Donald Dewar be for today’s Scottish Parliamentarians to resolve again to focus on using these powers – to better the lot of the people of Scotland, and to contribute to the common weal.

The full text of Jim’s speech is below:

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Charles Quinn

ALDC By-Election report – 8 February 2024

By Charles Quinn | Sat 10th February 2024 - 11:12 am

There were 4 principal by-elections this week on a soggy and snowy Thursday. 

We start with a cracking result on West Northamptonshire Council where Councillor Carl Squires gained East Hunsbury and Shelfleys ward from the Conservatives. Carl overcame a 1000 vote Conservative majority and took the seat from 3rd place in 2021 – increasing the Lib Dem vote share by over 15%! Congratulations to Carl and the West Northamptonshire Lib Dem team. 

West Northamptonshire Council, East Hunsbury and Shelfleys
Liberal Democrats (Carl Squires): 820 (38.8%, +15.8)
Conservative: 746 (35.3%, -16.9)
Labour: 547 (25.9%, +1.1)

Thank you to Lib Dem candidate Andrew Joyce for standing in Criccieth ward on Gwynedd Council and giving voters a Lib Dem option on the ballot paper. Plaid Cymru gained the seat from an Independent councillor. 

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Mark Valladares

8 February 2024 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Thu 8th February 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • No fault-evictions: PM must deliver on his government’s promises
  • Welsh Lib Dems react to “farcical” rise in train fares
  • Crumbling schools: Govt must stop sitting on its hands and speed up rebuilding

No fault-evictions: PM must deliver on his government’s promises

Responding to figures that show no-fault evictions spiked by almost a third last year, Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said:

Rishi Sunak’s failure to bring forward the ban on no-fault evictions is having devastating consequences for vulnerable families across the country.

No family should lose their home through no-fault of their own. Yet, under this Conservative government that is exactly what they are allowing to continue.

The Prime Minister needs to do something that does not come naturally to him, deliver on his government’s promises.

Welsh Lib Dems react to “farcical” rise in train fares

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have described the latest rise in train fares by the Transport for Wales as “farcical”.

The Welsh Government has announced that rail fares in Wales will rise by 4.9% from the 3rd of March, claiming that the rise was needed to allow Transport for Wales to meet higher costs and continuing investment.

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