Category Archives: News

Tim Farron: “Scrapping nutrient neutrality is a disgraceful act from the government”

By NewsHound | Tue 29th August 2023 - 10:28 am

Michael Gove is planning to rip up water pollution rules that builders have blamed for exacerbating England’s housing crisis but which environmental groups say are essential for protecting the country’s rivers.

The housing secretary, with Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, will announce the move on Tuesday, according to several people briefed on the plans, alongside hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of extra funding to mitigate the potential impact on England’s waterways.

The decision will spark anger among environmentalists, who say it will further add to water pollution, as water companies are already dumping raw sewage into rivers

…

6 Comments

Nadine finally quits – how you can help Lib Dem Emma Holland-Lindsay win Mid Beds

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 27th August 2023 - 10:21 am

Nadine Dorries first announced her intention to resign her parliamentary seat “with immediate effect” on 9th June. And then she decides to actually do it 79 days later while I’m out celebrating my 35th wedding anniversary, returning to the scene of the crime for an absolutely delicious meal and some even lovelier cocktails.

So this means that the formal starting gun will likely be fired on the by-election campaign to replace her when Parliament resumes on 4th September. However, the Lib Dem campaign to get our brilliant candidate Emma Holland-Lindsay elected has been going on since the day after Nadine made her original announcement. Within hours, campaigners were gathering and swapping leaflets in supermarket car parks and the like.

If, as expected, the by-election takes place on 5th October, the publication of Nadine Dorries book about the downfall of Boris Johnson on 28 September, and any serialisation before, is bound to grab some headlines.

Ed Davey was questioned on whether the Lib Dems were the challengers on the For the Many Live podcast with Iain Dale and Jacqui Smith in Edinburgh:

He said he was feeling good about the prospect of a Mid Beds by-election as Labour party members there had told them they were voting for us. He said he wasn’t sure that we were going to win, but we were definitely the challengers. There was no way, he said, that people in the predominantly rural constituency were going to vote Labour to get the Tories out. He accused Nadine Dorries of an abuse of Parliament for her behaviour.

Last night, Ed said:

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged emma holland-lindsay, featured, mid bedfordshire by-election and nadine dorries | 2 Comments

An extra million pounds in donations boosts Lib Dem finances

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 26th August 2023 - 12:06 pm

The accounts of political parties with an annual income or expenditure of above £250,000 for the financial year ending 31 December 2022 have been published by the Electoral Commission.

The results show that the SNP and Conservative show a fall in income, while the Liberal Democrats and Labour are in a much stronger position. Figures show that the Liberal Democrats attracted £1 million more in donations than it did the previous year, a sign of success and donor confidence. What is crucially important is that the party has been able to bring in a significant rise in donations at an earlier stage in the electoral cycle, allowing crucial investment in the seats we hope to win at the next General Election.

From the Guardian:

For the Lib Dems, whose profile has been raised by a series of byelection wins, total income increased only marginally, but within this, money from donations rose from £1.9m to £2.9m.

One of the things that adversely affected our income last year was having to cancel our first planned in person Conference due to the period of national mourning when the Queen died.

For the SNP and the Conservatives, things are less healthy:

In contrast, the SNP’s donation income halved from just under £700,000 in 2021 to about £350,000 last year. The party is heavily reliant on membership income, which dropped slightly but still brought in more than £2.2m of the £4.2m total.

The Conservatives’ accounts show the party spent over £2m more than it earned during 2022, with total spending of just over £33m. During the same period, donations, which are traditionally the Tories’ major source of income, fell by slightly more than this deficit, from £20.5m to £18.1m.

You can see all the parties’ accounts on the Electoral Commission website with ours here and the full documents and financial reports filed by the party here.

In their report, the party’s officers say:

Tagged accounts, electoral commission and featured | 5 Comments

Update on Nadine Dorries

By Mary Reid | Fri 25th August 2023 - 1:47 pm

Yesterday I reported comments made by Daisy Cooper and Ed Davey about Nadine Dorries’ reluctance to carry out her promise to stand down from Parliament “with immediate effect” (Nadine Dorries should do something).

It seems that our MPs are now planning to table a Bill as soon as Parliament returns on 4th September to suspend Nadine Dorries for 10 days if she doesn’t appear in Parliament by 14th September.

If the motion is passed, and a suspension results, then this would trigger a recall petition in the Constituency and allow her constituents to force a by-election.

Daisy Copper tells us:

For months Nadine Dorries has treated the people of Mid Bedfordshire with contempt and taken them for granted.

As thousands of people struggle to get a GP appointment and face steep hikes to their mortgages, Nadine Dorries continues to be missing in action. What’s worse is that the Conservatives just don’t seem to care that they’re letting people down.

We need an end to this sorry saga, once and for all. Nadine Dorries must resign, if not then this Government must do the right thing and force her to. Every day that Rishi Sunak sits on his hands the people across Mid Bedfordshire are being failed.

Tagged daisy cooper, mid bedfordshire by-election and nadine dorries | 7 Comments

Nadine Dorries should do something

By Mary Reid | Thu 24th August 2023 - 9:10 am

Our party’s calls for Nadine Dorries to do something – anything – have been getting more strident.

To recap, on Friday 9th June she said she was resigning from Parliament, with immediate effect, mainly in a huff because her promised peerage in Johnson’s Resignation Honours had been blocked. But then she didn’t – resign, that is. Instead she said that she was waiting for an explanation of why her appointment was blocked.

In the meantime there are claims that she has been absent both from the House and from her constituency of Mid Bedfordshire. Dorries herself claimed yesterday that she is ‘working daily’, but the use of quote marks in the media suggest otherwise.

On Monday Daisy Cooper said:

Nadine Dorries’s actions are a gross insult to the people of Mid-Bedfordshire. Why on earth should their taxpayers’ money fund an MP who hasn’t worked in months? If Nadine Dorries had a shred of integrity left, she would stand down now and give local people a chance to elect a new MP who will actually do the job.

It is disgraceful that she continues to have the Conservative Party whip. Clearly Rishi Sunak thinks Nadine Dorries’s actions are still worthy of being a Conservative MP.

Local people are fed up with being taken for granted by this out of touch Conservative party.

The rhetoric was ramped up yesterday, when Ed Davey visited Flitwick, in the constituency and he referred to her as a “dosser”.

Tagged daisy cooper, ed davey, mid bedfordshire by-election and nadine dorries | 10 Comments

Caroline Pidgeon writes: Take Back Control?

By Caroline Pidgeon | Mon 21st August 2023 - 9:05 am

For decades, I have been championing devolution; for communities to take back control over the decisions that affect their lives from the very local allocation of funding to improve an area, to wider service provision and structures. The beauty of our local government is that it looks different in different areas, to suit local communities’ needs.

However, no matter what the structure, funding has always been a problem for local services. Back in 2013, Boris Johnson, as Mayor of London, commissioned Professor Tony Travers to Chair an expert panel called the London Finance Commission, which produced Raising the capital | London City Hall. This report transformed the debate and voiced the need for London and other cities to have more financial control.

The EU referendum, and Britain now having left the EU, has made the case for devolution and fiscal devolution more urgent. Whatever Leave voters felt they were voting for, it was not ‘business as usual’. It was not an endorsement of centralised power, simply removing it from Brussels to Whitehall and job done. People across the country feel isolated from the democratic process.

The referendum result not only affects the country as a whole but also within our nations, regions and cities. The uncertainties from Brexit and the pandemic may well be better managed at a local level, with local and regional government able to respond more effectively.

Tagged decentralisation. london, devolution, featured and taxation | 21 Comments

Cole-Hamilton calls for Illegal Migration Bill to be scrapped

By The Voice | Sat 19th August 2023 - 7:55 am

Today is World Humanitarian Day. According to the United Nations website:

This year, our World Humanitarian Day campaign brings together the global humanitarian community to mark the twentieth anniversary of the attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, and to show our unwavering commitment to deliver for the communities we serve, no matter who, no matter where and #NoMatterWhat.

Humanitarians have no other purpose than to save and protect lives and deliver the basic necessities of life, they stand shoulder to shoulder with the communities they serve and bring hope.

On 19 August, we come together to honour humanitarians around the world who strive to meet ever-growing global needs. No matter the danger or the hardship, humanitarians venture deep into disaster-stricken regions and on the front lines of conflict, strive to save and protect people in need.

Alex Cole-Hamilton has used his remarks on World Humanitarian Day to call for the scrapping of the Illegal Migration Bill:

Across the globe, the scale of human suffering is horrific.

Crises like those in Yemen and Afghanistan, the war in Ukraine and years of devastating civil war in South Sudan are just some examples of why we must use our freedoms to speak out in support of those who are persecuted and oppressed.

As we remember those atrocities, it’s also important that we mark the unwavering bravery of those who delve into them, endeavouring to protect and save the lives of those in need.

Those humanitarian efforts serve as an inspiration to my party, and that is why Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see both our governments playing their part to further our humanitarian objectives.

The UK Government must scrap their Illegal Migration Bill, which would only demonise the desperate and make the circumstances of some of the most vulnerable people on our planet even worse. We must strengthen support for those fleeing to our shores, implementing measures which will allow people to meaningfully rebuild their lives far from home.

Crucially, we must continue to prioritise tackling the climate emergency in our international work as it is often poorer countries which are left to deal with the gravest consequences of that emergency.

On World Humanitarian Day and beyond, Scottish Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for equality, justice and liberty for all.

Tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton and world humanitarian day | 13 Comments

ALDC by-election report, 17th August 2023

By The Voice | Fri 18th August 2023 - 3:25 pm

There were just 2 principal council by-elections this week.

However there was still much to celebrate with a fantastic hold in St Albans and a significant move forward in a previously safe Labour ward in Middlesborough.

First of all we would like to congratulate Councillor Raihaanah Ahmed and St Albans Lib Dems for a great hold in Marshalwick East & Jersey Farm ward – and in a crowded field getting almost half the vote. Well done on a fantastic result.

St Albans DC, Marhsalwick East & Jersey Farm
Liberal Democrats (Raihaanah Ahmed): 774 (46%, -3.8%)
Conservative: 661 (39.3%, +5.3%)
Green Party: 102 (6.1%, -2.3%)
Labour: 82 (4.9%, -2.8%)
Independent: 62 (3.7%, new)

The next by-election took place in Middlesborough UA in Ayresome ward. Well done to our candidate Claire Brent and the local team for moving forwards significantly – finishing 3^rd just over 100 votes behind the Independent winner with a 14.6% increase in share of the vote! In coming third we leapfrogged the Conservatives and this really demonstrates how by-elections can develop seats for the future.

Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 3 Comments

Ed Davey calls for action to help those struggling with rising bills

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 16th August 2023 - 8:48 am

As inflation falls to 6.8%, Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey appeared on Sky News this morning to give our party’s reaction:

While it was positive news that prices aren’t using quite so fast, he said, but they are rising fast, faster than they are in many other countries and faster than they have for many, many years.

Families and pensioners when they go and do their shopping, when they get their energy bill, when they pay their mortgage, their rents, they are still seeing them go up by huge amounts. And what is worrying Liberal Democrats today is that this month’s inflation figures will be used to calculate rail fares for next year and we are calling for a freeze as some way of helping people who are really really struggling.

Challenged that the Government has to balance the books, Ed said that we always do balance the books and go to the country with a fully costed manifesto, compared to the Conservatives who have been reckless with Government money and that’s why the country is in such a mess.

I listen to Conservative ministers and they seem so out of touch with the realities that most families and pensioners are facing. When we talk about these sorts of figures they seem quite complacent and give themselves a pat on the back when families are really struggling out there. I just want a Government that seems to care a bit more and this lot just don’t.

Let’s just pause a minute there. This “families and pensioners” phrase irks me a bit. It isn’t quite as bad as the awful “hard working families”, but it completely ignores a huge swathe of people who are struggling just as much as the soft Tory voters in the blue wall seats we are going after. They like the “families and pensioners” language because it has a comforting ring of deserving poor about it but that’s no excuse.

We need to make sure that the young people struggling to get by on low incomes, earning less and getting less in benefits despite living costs being just as high feel included, or the growing number of single person households with only themselves to rely on.

What’s wrong with just using people? Our mission as Liberal Democrats is to build a fair, free and open society where NO-ONE is enslaved by poverty, ignorance and conformity and our language should reflect that universality. We have so many good ideas that would help all people who are struggling so it seems a shame to limit our language.

Rant over and back to the interview. Ed was challenged that our plans to help people were not realistic. He said:

The real world is that the economy is struggling and we need to get people back to work. If you took up Liberal Democrat ideas to boost the economy, you would get more people using public transport which is more important for our economy, for the environment and so you have many benefits.

I just think the Government is so out of touch. They don’t seem to get how the combination of price rises, mortgages, rents, energy bells railway fares, is hitting people. We’ve calculated that a commuter family is going to be clobbered by an extra bill of £300 every month due to the combination of mortgage, food and rail fares. This is a huge amount and when I hear government ministers saying they can’t do anything. They could do something but they don’t. The fact that they don’t backs up my argument that they are out of touch and don’t care.

He was asked whether the energy price cap should be rethought as it harmed competition:

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged cost of living crisis, economy, ed davey, featured, inflation and sky news | 31 Comments

Our candidate announced for the by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West

By The Voice | Fri 11th August 2023 - 7:31 pm

There is going to be a Parliamentary by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West following the recall of the SNP MP Margaret Ferrier. You may remember that she was suspended from the House of Commons over a serious breach of Covid regulations in 2020.

It will be a fairly clear fight between SNP and Labour, but as always it is very important that we field a credible candidate. The local party has selected Gloria Adebo, who lives in Rutherglen with her family.

Gloria was originally from Nigeria; she stood as a council candidate for Rutherglen Central and North in 2022 and works as a data analyst with a major financial institution.

We have this quote from her:

I am passionate about giving people right across Rutherglen and Hamilton West the representation they deserve.

For me, putting public service back into the beating heart of our politics is so important, and that is why I am standing as a candidate in this by-election.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election is a real chance for local people to deliver a judgement on the difficulties and disasters we have been landed in by incompetent, populist governments in London and Edinburgh.

It needn’t be like this. And it is the Liberal Democrats who, increasingly, are a growing and dynamic part of an alternative way forward– offering hope in place of despair, founded on a belief in individuals, in the rule of law, in equality of opportunity and the importance of human rights here and across the world.

In this by-election, I will be focussed on the issues that matter to local people. That means bringing down bills for households struggling with the cost of living and ensuring that people can access healthcare close to home and within a reasonable time.

It is time, in particular, for the government to accept Liberal Democrat demands to support people in difficulty with their mortgages, paid for by reversing Conservative tax cuts for banks, to protect families falling into arrears or facing repossession as a result of soaring interest rates.

Tagged Gloria Adebo and Rutherglen and Hamilton West | 21 Comments

ALDC By-Election Report – 10th August

By Charles Quinn | Fri 11th August 2023 - 5:18 pm

There were 3 principal council by-elections this week. It was great to see a Lib Dem candidate standing in all of them. We also had an excellent gain to celebrate in Somerset which is where we start.

Congratulations to Cllr Kevin Messenger who gained Castle Cary ward on Somerset Council from the Conservatives – with over 50% of the vote, a very healthy majority of over 600 and a 10.4% increase in vote share!

Well done to Kevin and everyone in Somerset and thank you for keeping the Lib Dem momentum going. That’s 4 by-election gains in the space of a week now!

Somerset Council, Castle Cary ward
Liberal Democrats (Kevin Messenger): 1,247 (54.8%, +10.4%)
Conservative: 614 (27%, -15.7%)
Green Party: 415 (18.2%, +5.3%)

In Havering London Borough Council, Thomas Clarke flew the flag for the Lib Dems in the Upminster ward by-election. Thank you to Thomas for ensuring there was a Lib Dem for people to vote for. The ward was held by the Upminster & Cranham Residents Association.

Havering LBC, Upminster ward
Residents Association: 1,642 (63.2%, +0.1%)
Conservatives: 421 (16.2%, -3.7%)
Labour: 234 9%, -0.5%)
Independent: 150 (5.8%, +5.8%)
Green Party: 115 (4.4%, -3.1%)
Liberal Democrats (Thomas Clarke): 35 (1.4%, +1.4%)

Tagged aldc local government by-elections | Leave a comment

++ BREAKING NEWS ++ Lib Dem candidate for London Mayor revealed

By Mary Reid | Fri 11th August 2023 - 10:06 am

London Liberal Democrats have announced that Rob Blackie will be our candidate in the Mayoral elections next year.

Congratulations to Rob!

OK, so not quite the usual photo for a serious candidate, but we loved this photo of Rob with Hina Bokhari, London Assembly member. They had been Wombling on Wimbledon Common.

Rob grew up in Pimlico and now lives near Brixton in South London and runs his own business as an adviser to start-up tech companies.

Rob has been a life-long Lib Dem who served as Charles Kennedy’s Director of Research during the Iraq War. Since then he has been the London Assembly candidate for Lambeth and Southwark in 2012 and a Londonwide list candidate in 2016 and 2021.

You can read much more about him on his website, including his project that stands up to Russian censorship.

3 Comments

Sewage: Investigation reveals water firms failing to admit how much sewage is being discharged

By NewsHound | Wed 9th August 2023 - 10:30 pm

Thames Water refused to hand over data despite saying publicly they do measure the volume of sewage discharged

Scottish Water make public how much sewage is discharged into rivers and seas

England’s water firms accused of “scandalous cover up”

Liberal Democrats demand water firms measure how much sewage they are discharging into waterways

Water firms are failing to disclose how much sewage is being discharged into rivers, lakes and coastlines, Environmental Information Requests by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The staggering admission follows public outrage at water companies destroying the environment with sewage discharges. Currently, water firms only provide the length of sewage discharges, broken …

Also posted in Press releases | Tagged sewage dumping, tim farron and water companies | Leave a comment

Hospitals suffer chemical leaks and broken fire alarms as repair bills rise

By Mark Valladares | Wed 9th August 2023 - 9:28 pm

More than 100 chemical leaks in hospitals last year, including in children’s wards, A&Es and delivery units.

Other hospitals suffering from broken fire alarms despite 1,159 fires recorded last year

Liberal Democrats demand urgent plan to fix England’s hospitals as repair bill tops £10bn

A Freedom of Information investigation by the Liberal Democrats has found that England’s hospitals are crumbling, with chemicals leaking in patient areas and others with multiple broken fire alarms.

The frightening new revelations follow record repair costs, as the cost of eradicating the repair backlog at NHS hospitals and equipment hit £10bn for the first time last year. Last …

Also posted in Press releases | Tagged daisy cooper, health and safety and NHS | Leave a comment

Lib Dems target seat gains on new boundaries

By NewsHound | Wed 9th August 2023 - 12:35 pm

An interesting article on Politics Home highlights how our campaign team is now targeting more seats based on the new boundaries.

PoliticsHome understands that there are a number of areas across the country where Lib Dem activists are confident that the new make-up of seats could play in their favour, generally in areas where Lib Dem council wards are merging into areas that currently have Conservative MPs or have leaned Conservative in the past, and campaigners are now specifically targeting their canvassingin patches.

They talk to Victoria Collins, our candidate in the newly formed seat of Harpenden and Berkhamstead, who told them:

Victoria Collins, who has been selected as the Lib Dems candidate for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, told PoliticsHome that there has been a “groundswell” of movement towards her party in the area, as demonstrated by local election results over the last few years as the party have made gains.

She said that she was selected before this year’s local elections and the final results of the boundary review. “We were looking forward and saying ‘actually, how do we start building a campaign for the next general election?’,” she explained.

The article also cites how our campaign in Selby and Ainsty targeted parts of the constituency that are moving into the new Harrogate and Knaresborough seat:

Tagged general election speculation and lib dem campaigning | Leave a comment

Young Liberals’ Local Elections campaigning and successes

By Joe Norris | Mon 7th August 2023 - 12:13 pm

In May, we at the English Young Liberals got massively stuck into campaigning for the local elections! Proving ourselves to be a massive driving force in the locals, we held multiple action days in twenty different locations across the country, with many often happening on the same day. We’d like to thank all the local parties in supporting us setting up these action days, and to give a huge thank you to every Young Liberal that turned up and made the action days a success!

As well as campaigning, we also saw at …

Also posted in Local government | Tagged 2023 local elections and young liberals | 1 Comment

ALDC by-election report, 3rd August

By Charles Quinn | Fri 4th August 2023 - 5:57 pm

Thursday was one of the best nights for Lib Dem by-election results in recent years!

Out of 4 principal council by-elections we made gains in 3 – winning seats from both Labour and the Conservatives. In the other we moved forwards from fourth place to second place!

There is so much to celebrate this week!

In Dudley, Cllr Ryan Priest and the local Lib Dems gained Cradley & Wollescote ward from Labour by winning over 50% of the vote and a 14% increase in Lib Dem vote share.

Congratulations to Ryan and the team. Ryan just missed out on the ward by 21 votes in May’s local elections. Persistence has paid off and with the fantastic win he has become the first Lib Dem councillor on Dudley MBC.

The campaign also received support from an ALDC Fighting Fund Grant.

Dudley MBC, Cradley & Wollescote ward
Liberal Democrat (Ryan Priest): 1321 (52.2%, +14.3%)
Labour: 771 (30.5%, -8.2%)
Conservative: 353 (14%, -4.8%)
Green Party: 79 (3.1%, -0.2%)
TUSC: 5 (0.2%, -0.7%)

Lib Dem GAIN from Labour

Our next gain comes from Norfolk County Council where Cllr John Crofts gained Freebridge Lynn division from the Conservatives. This was another stunning victory made all the more impressive by the fact that we did not stand in the division the last time it was contested in 2021!

Congratulations to John and the Lib Dem team in Norfolk. Coming from nowhere to winning – leapfrogging both the Green Party and Labour – shows that people want a Lib Dem option on the ballot paper and we can achieve amazing things with hard work.

Norfolk CC, Freebridge Lynn division
Liberal Democrats (John Crofts): 669 (38.4, +38.4%)
Conservative: 539 (31%, -33.7%)
Green Party: 418 (24%, +4.3%)
Labour: 115 (6.6%, -9%)

Lib Dem GAIN from Conservative

Three was the magic number this week as we made yet another gain on East Sussex Country Council as Cllr Brett Wright beat the Conservatives in Meads division. With this loss the Conservatives also lost overall control of the council!

Congratulations to Brett and the local Lib Dem team. Yet another fantastic result which saw the Lib Dem vote share increase by 10%! A superb result.

East Sussex CC, Meads division
Liberal Democrats (Brett Wright): 1649 (50.1%, +10.1%)
Conservative: 1361 (41.3%, -4.3%)
Labour: 157 (4.8%, -1.1%)
Green Party: 127 (3.9%, -2.2%)

Lib Dem GAIN from Conservative

Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 3 Comments

Are you planning on being an agent at the General Election?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 2nd August 2023 - 5:56 pm

If so, you’re an absolute hero. The job of agent, keeping the candidate and campaign on the right side of the law, recording donations and making the returns to the Electoral Commission is essential. It’s hard work and it doesn’t end on polling day. I feel like we need to appreciate those who act as agents more.

For this coming election, all election agents need to be certified by the Party as required by the Electoral Commission. This is a really good thing as it means that every agent will have been through training and will know where to get help should they need it during the campaign. It also makes the job a lot less scary if you feel that you have the right tools at your disposal.

One or two day courses are being run all over the country in the next few months. I’ve signed up for one in, I think, November in Scotland.

It’s really important that every local party identifies who is going to be their agent soon and signs them up for a course.

Tagged election agents and training | Leave a comment

Jo Swinson and Duncan Hames welcome third son

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 2nd August 2023 - 11:43 am

Former Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson and her husband Duncan Hames are getting used to being outnumbered by their children at the moment. On Friday night, their third son, Robin arrived.

Last night, his proud mum announced his arrival on Instagram

Welcome to the world, our baby boy Robin! Born at home on Friday night, a happy and healthy 8lb 3oz bundle of love.
.
The best things come to those who wait, and though he didn’t appear until 17 days after his due date, he didn’t hang about in the end: first contraction to delivery a very intense 1hr 45mins!
.
We’ll never know if it was the dates, raspberry leaf tea, curries, pineapple, birth ball bouncing, multiple sweeps, the more fun ways to induce labour or just the fact that he had to come out sometime. But – well – my waters broke 4 hours after @duncan.hames and I watched Barbie, maybe that was #kenough?

Tagged births, duncan hames, featured, happy news and Jo Swinson | 4 Comments

ALDC Campaigner awards – submit your nominations now

By The Voice | Sat 29th July 2023 - 11:29 am

Last week, we invited you to submit your nominations for the Party Awards which will be presented at Conference.

This week, ALDC invited nominations for their equivalent of the Oscars for Lib Dem campaigners. You don’t have to be a member of ALDC to nominate but, let’s face it, if you have anything at all to o with campaigning, you should be a member of ALDC anyway, because you are more likely to win.

From their website:

Each year, we recognise the outstanding work and achievements of Liberal Democrat councillors, campaigners and campaign teams through our Campaigner Awards. And nominations are now open for 2023, sponsored by our print partners, Election Workshop.

THE CATEGORIES

Best literature – We’re looking for local parties’ examples of well-designed literature with strong messaging, photos and layout. We want to see your best.

Best local election campaign – We’re looking for local parties that have fought effective and strong 2023 local election campaigns. Tell us about your winning strategy. What innovative new ideas did you use? What great literature did you deliver? Did you develop a digital strategy and run a successful online campaign? How did you raise the funds to support your campaign?

Tagged aldc and featured | Leave a comment

ALDC by-election report, 27th July

By Charles Quinn | Fri 28th July 2023 - 5:25 pm

It has been a busy week for by-elections with a number of principal and town council elections and some great Lib Dem victories and performances.

We start with a couple of excellent town council Lib Dem wins.

On Sevenoaks Town Council, Lionel O’Hara gained Northern ward for the Lib Dems from the Conservatives. Impressively this gain now means that the Lib Dems hold every single town councillor and district councillor in Sevenoaks! Congratulations to Cllr O’Hara and the team in Sevenoaks for truly turning the town GOLD!

Sevenoaks TC, Northern
Liberal Democrat (Lionel O’Hara): 351 (73%)
Labour: 131 (27%)

We also held Summerlands ward on Yeovil Town Council with a fantastic 58% of the vote. Congratulations to Cllr Kayleigh Fieldsend and the local team in Yeovil.

Yeovil TC, Summerlands
Liberal Democrats (Kayleigh Fieldsend): 329 (58%)
Independent: 128 (22.6%)
Green Party: 71 (12.5%)
Unaligned: 33 (5.8%)

We have excellent town, parish and community council by-election wins every week up and down the country. Let us know if you have a town or parish election coming up that you are contesting, or a good win, by emailing [email protected] and we will make sure we report it.

We stood in 4 principal by-elections on Thursday – improving our vote share in all of them.

Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 7 Comments

By-Election winner Sarah Dyke to visit Mid Bedfordshire

By The Voice | Wed 26th July 2023 - 9:12 am

It’s just five days since Sarah Dyke became MP for Somerton and Frome in that stunning by-election win.

But she may not hold the crown of most recent by-election winner for long.

Emma Holland-Lindsay hopes to win in Mid Bedfordshire if and when Nadine Dorries ever gets round to resigning.

Emma’s campaign is going well and the odds of a Lib Dem victory are becoming more favourable, shortening to 8/15, while Labour have seen their odds slashed to 4/1 after they failed to win in Uxbridge.

It sounds like that “two horse race” phrase might be used soon….

Here’s our newest MP on her trip east:

Last week marked another stunning success for the Liberal Democrats, now the momentum is with us as we take on this out-of-touch Conservative government.

I’m so proud to be handing the by-election baton to Emma Holland-Lindsey who will make an incredible local champion for people in Bedfordshire.

Just like in Somerset, people here are fed up with having an absent MP failing to stand up for them in Parliament. Families are facing soaring mortgage costs and struggling to see a GP, while there is an endless Conservative circus in Westminster.

It’s clear it’s a two-horse race between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives in Mid-Bedfordshire.

Emma added:

Tagged emma holland-lindsay and Sarah Dyke | 20 Comments

Lib Dem Lords’ maiden speeches – Earl Russell

By Mark Valladares | Tue 25th July 2023 - 12:16 pm

I noted a few weeks ago that it has been a very long time since there was a Liberal Democrat maiden speech in the Lords but, following the recent hereditary Peer by-election, John Russell took the opportunity to make his maiden speech during a debate on climate change yesterday evening…

My Lords, I rise to speak very aware of the history of this great Chamber, and very aware of my small part in the narrative. I am honoured to be a Member of this House and I wish to thank everyone, particularly the doorkeepers, who have made me so

…

2 Comments

Unsolved burglaries soar to more than 580 a day

By The Voice | Tue 25th July 2023 - 10:01 am

A staggering 213,279 burglaries went unsolved across England and Wales in the 2022/2023 financial year – an average of 584 a day, new analysis by the Liberal Democrats of Home Office statistics released last week has revealed.

The figures show that in 2022/2023, a grand total of 213,279 burglary investigations across England and Wales were closed without a suspect being identified, accounting for 76.8% of all cases.

The South Yorkshire force recorded the worst outcomes, with a staggering 84.4% of all recorded burglaries going unsolved. They were followed closely by Hampshire Police (83.1%) and the Met (81.6%).

The Liberal Democrats have slammed the …

Also posted in Press releases | Tagged Alistair Carmichael, burglaries and crime and policing | 2 Comments

24 July 2023 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 24th July 2023 - 11:00 pm

Lib Dems demand GP rescue plan as one in six left waiting two weeks for appointment
Rhodes Fires: Call to protect holidaymakers by adding to no travel list

Lib Dems demand GP rescue plan as one in six left waiting two weeks for appointment

One in six (16.5%) GP appointments had waits of two weeks or more over past year

The South West was the worst-affected region with one in five (20%)

Liberal Democrats call for GP rescue plan over summer including campaign to urge retired GPs to return back to work

One in six GP appointments over the past year involved waits of two weeks or more, House of Commons Library commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

The figures show the length of time between when a GP appointment was booked and when it took place, with data covering the year to May 2023.

The data shows the South West was the worst-affected region with one in five GP appointments taking place two weeks after being booked over the year. Gloucestershire (24.6%) and Dorset (23.6%) were the top two worst areas for two-week waits in the country. This was more than double the 9.2% of two-week waits in Liverpool.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Health Secretary Steve Barclay to launch a GP rescue plan over the summer, including a campaign to urge retired GPs back to the workforce.

It comes after the party’s successful by-election campaign iin Somerton and Frome. The newly elected Lib Dem MP Sarah Dyke campaigned hard on the issue of access to GP appointments in Somerset.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a new right for patients to see a GP within a week, or within 24 hours if in urgent need. This would be achieved by increasing the number of GPs by 8,000.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey commented:

The Conservative government’s neglect of our local health services is having real consequences for so many. People unable to get a GP appointment are being left waiting in pain, anxious about when they will get the care they deserve.

This week the people of Somerton and Frome spoke for the whole country. They are fed up with this failing government and fed up with ministers who just don’t get it or don’t care.

Conservative ministers must listen for once and come up with a plan to tackle the GP crisis before Parliament returns. That should include a recruitment campaign over the summer to encourage retired GPs back to work.

Ministers should also back the Liberal Democrat plan to guarantee everyone a GP appointment within seven days for a first appointment, or 24 hours if it’s urgent. Anything less would be failing patients up and down the country.

Also posted in Press releases | Tagged climate emergency, ed davey, layla moran and nhs waiting times | 2 Comments

Party Awards – just over a month to get your nominations in

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 23rd July 2023 - 11:55 am

There’s just over a month to get your nominations in for the party awards which will be presented at Autumn Conference.

You need to get your nominations together by 24th August.

All the information you need about how to do this is here.

The awards being presented in Bournemouth are:

The President’s Award

Eligibility: open to any Party Member elected to public office and who has demonstrated excellence and commitment.

Criteria: the winner will be recognised for outstanding commitment and service to the Party. Local, regional, and state parties should be seeking to nominate people who deserve recognition for their hard work, long service, and demonstrable dedication to the party, at whatever level. It is expected to be special awards to be awarded from the Party for whom public recognition is overdue. Nomination portal

The Harriet Smith Liberal Democrat Distinguished Service Award

Background: this award is named for Harriet Smith, who campaigned and worked tirelessly for the Party, notably alongside Paddy Ashdown, with the Federal Conference Committee, and in the Bath party. A beloved figure, she is also missed from the Conference revue and by the team at the Liberator Magazine.

Eligibility: open to any Party Member never elected to public office.

Criteria: the Harriet Smith Award shares its conditions with the President’s award. Nomination portal

The Belinda Eyre-Brook Award

Background: this award is named for legendary campaigner Belinda Eyre-Brook, whose achievements with the Party include being Ed Davey’s agent in 1997, overturning 15,000 Tory Majority, and establishing one of the party’s longest-serving MPs.

Eligibility: given to recognise and celebrate the efforts of people working for our elected representatives in their local areas – from local party employees to political assistants to council groups, to people working in MPs’ constituency offices.

Criteria: the winner of this award will care about their local area and be committed to the success of Liberal Democrats within it. Turning local political priorities into electoral success, and priorities for elected officials is a key part of the work of successful local Party figures – as is linking with the national party. Nomination portal

The Dadabhai Naoroji Award

Background: this award is named for the ‘Grand Old Man of India’, Liberal MP, and joint founder of the Indian National Congress, Dadabhai Naoroji. His work highlighting the reality of British rule over India and campaign for justice is an example to us all and his place in history, as the first non-white and first Indian Parliamentarian, is assured.

Eligibility: presented annually to the local Party that has done most to promote ethnic minority participants to elected office as Councillors, Assembly Members, Members of Parliament or Members of European Parliament.

Criteria: this award is designed to encourage local parties to work towards the goal of increasing their ethnic diversity to more accurately reflect the areas they represent, and to recognise those that already make a great effort to involve different communities in their work. Nomination portal

The Penhaligon Award

Background: this award is named for former MP David Penhaligon, a cherished former stalwart of the Cornish Party who took the seat of Truro in 1974. David was a prominent figure in the party and the nation and will always be remembered for his succinct advice to local campaigners: “‘stick it on a piece of paper and stuff it through a letterbox’.

Eligibility: any local Party

Criteria: presented to the local party anywhere in the world which demonstrates the most impressive increase in membership and exemplary activities to deliver and involve members and supporters. It recognises the hard work done to build a Party which is attractive and effective at a local level. Nomination portal

The Patsy Calton Award

Tagged featured and party awards | Leave a comment

Look how hard Lib Dem MPs work!

By The Voice | Sun 23rd July 2023 - 9:53 am

As MPs head off on their Summer break, which will often include weeks of visiting every community in their constituencies, the House of Commons Library has produced a sort of “end of term report” which shows how much they have contributed in this Parliament from December 2019 to the beginning of this month.

To access the data, you need to go to this page and put in their constituencies. You will then see the four graphics for each of them.

You can see how many debates they have taken part in, how they voted, how many questions they have asked, how many words they have spoken, what Committees they are on and there’s even a word cloud which shows the words they use most. It’s hardly a surprise that people, health and community feature so strongly. As well as the names of their constituencies.

When you consider that the average length of a novel is around 90,000 words, and most of our MPs are well over that, it shows just how much they contribute to life in Parliament.

A few MPs’ local papers have highlighted that they are the hardest working MPs in their area.

The Edinburgh Reporter stated that Christine Jardine was Lothians’ busiest MP:

Earlier this year, Ms Jardine was re-selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh West at the next general election, having first taken the seat from the SNP in 2017.

Christine Jardine MP said: “It is a real privilege to represent the people of Edinburgh West in the House of Commons, and I see these figures as little more than a spur to do so much more.

“For me the most important thing is being available to constituents and anyone who lives in Edinburgh West can make an appointment to meet me in my office or at my surgeries around the constituency, to discuss any issues they may be having.

“So often what we do in Parliament is as a result of issues that constituents bring to the office, rather than any party policy or point to be made.

“But for me, these figures also prove that when people elect a Liberal Democrat, they get a Member of Parliament that will always fight their corner in Westminster.

“I am committed to making our community a better place to live and work for everyone, and I will continue to stand up for what is right for Edinburgh West.”

Behind a paywall, the Courier highlighted that Wendy Chamberlain was the hardest working MP in Fife and Tayside.

These figures are truly impressive when you consider that they only spend around 40 weeks of the year in Parliament and they do so much more work in their constituencies attending events, holding surgeries. That’s not to mention what they do on the media, going on things like Any Questions and Newsnight and the local press or what they do for the party, going to dinners and regional and state party conferences.

Here’s how many words each of our team has spoken in this Parliament, and the percentage of votes they have taken part in.

The OGs

Tagged house of commons library and lib dem mps | Leave a comment

ALDC By-Election Report 20th July 2023

By Charles Quinn | Fri 21st July 2023 - 6:35 pm

While attention may well have been on this week’s three Parliamentary by-elections, there have also been Council by-elections across Britain with some great holds for the Lib Dems and some very tight and dramatic results.

Firstly we would like to say a huge congratulations to Cllr Raymond ‘Truck’ Evans and Ceredigion Lib Dems for holding Llanfarian ward on the Ceredigion County Council.

We know the local team worked extremely hard for the win, beating Plaid Cymru by 8 votes. Such a narrow victory shows that every single leaflet and every single door knocked on really does count!

Congratulations once again to Councillor Evans and the local team.

Ceredigion CC, Llanfarian
Liberal Democrat (Raymond Evans): 298 (48.2%, -19.8)
Plaid Cymru: 290 (46.9%, +15.0)
Conservative: 30 (4.9%, +4.9)

Our second win of the evening came on Dorchester Town Council as Cllr Kate Reid held the seat of Dorchester East for the Lib Dems.

It was a competitive election with all 4 main parties standing plus an independent. But well done to Kate and the local team for polling exactly double the number of votes as the Green Party in second place.

Congratulations Cllr Reid on a great win!

Dorchester TC, Dorchester East
Liberal Democrat (Kate Reid): 480 (39.6%)
Green Party: 240 (19.8%)
Independent:181 (14.9%)
Conservative: 168 (13.9%)
Labour: 142 (11.7%)

Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 2 Comments

Rosie Jones is a brave woman

By Mary Reid | Fri 21st July 2023 - 4:14 pm

Yesterday evening I watched Rosie Jones’ programme on Channel 4 about ableist trolling and would strongly encourage you to watch it too. In case you haven’t come across the term before I rather like this explanation:

Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled people require ‘fixing’ and defines people by their disability. Like racism and sexism, ableism classifies entire groups of people as ‘less than,’ and includes harmful stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations of people with disabilities.

There is meta-irony in the fact that Rosie Jones has been trolled for her choice of title for the programme: “Rosie Jones: Am I a R*tard?”. In fact she spends the first few minutes explaining why she decided to go with those words, and even before the programme started the continuity announcer had warned us that it contained offensive language.

But the shock value was justified. Some time ago the she had used a company to remove offensive material from her Twitter feed, but in the programme she asked them to show her what she had been missing. I do hope she was receiving counselling at this point, because it was pretty awful.

She homed in on the use of the term “retard”, and then decided to report one of the comments to Twitter as a test case and ask them to remove it. Twitter responded suspiciously quickly and said that they couldn’t see anything offensive in the use of the term. She became very angry at that point, on behalf of the many disabled users who might have also reported similar tweets. When she discussed that response with a social media expert she learnt that it was an automated response, so she needed to find a way to speak to a real person. So she delivered a cookie (geddit?), decorated with the offending tweet, to the headquarters of Twitter UK, and that seemed to do the trick.

5 Comments

Op-eds

Protecting children shouldn’t mean abolishing their right to privacy (Tara Foster)
AI and Liberal Democracy (Robin Ashby)
The chaos dividend: Why the ultra-rich thrive on an unstable world, and why that’s rational in the short term and suicidal in the long term (Tanya Park)
Vince Cable writes…Labour and Fiscal Rules (Vince Cable)
Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy (Josh Babarinde)

Advert

Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Category Archives: News

The President’s Award

The Harriet Smith Liberal Democrat Distinguished Service Award

The Belinda Eyre-Brook Award

The Dadabhai Naoroji Award

The Penhaligon Award

The Patsy Calton Award

The OGs

Subscribe

Most Read

Search

Op-eds

Recent Comments