Category Archives: News

The Voice

Lib Dems force the Government to cancel the “Golden Visa” scheme

By The Voice | Fri 18th February 2022 - 2:31 pm

The “Golden Visa” scheme, technically known as Tier 1 investor visas, has been scrapped following pressure from the Liberal Democrats in the Lords.

The scheme offered residency to people, and their families, from overseas if they invested £2million in the UK.

The Liberal Democrats in the Lords had tabled an amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill calling for the scheme to be stopped until a full review is published.

Yesterday the Home Secretary finally recognised that it was a complete can of worms, and scrapped the scheme, with immediate effect.

Layla Moran, who is our Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said:

The Conservatives have turned a blind eye to Russian interference in this country for years and had an open door policy to Kremlin cronies.

Shockingly this Government still hasn’t published a report about the possible misuse of golden visas.

Cancelling the scheme is long overdue, it shouldn’t have taken the threat of a defeat in Parliament to finally get this Government to act.

They must publish this report immediately and take urgent steps to tackle the influence of Russian money including a public register of overseas property ownership.

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NewsHound

FT says Labour and Lib Dems have informal pact for next general election

By NewsHound | Thu 17th February 2022 - 4:18 pm

The Financial Times today reports that Labour will fight only a “minimal campaign” in most of the Lib Dems’ top 30 target seats at the next general election, in “an informal Lib-Lab plan to topple the Conservatives”.

Apparently, Keir Starmer has told colleagues that Labour must “ruthlessly focus” resources on its target seats in the general election freeing the ground for the Lib Dems to be the main challengers in some seats.

Labour is aiming to gain more than 125 seats to reach the 326 required to form a government. The Tories are worried by potential Lib Dem gains in the blue wall southern and rural heartlands after the wins in the Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire byelections.

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NewsHound

Dodds: Wales must stand in solidarity with Ukraine

By NewsHound | Thu 17th February 2022 - 1:05 pm

Jane Dodds, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Member of the Senedd has called on Wales to stand in solidarity with Ukraine amid continued threats to its independence by the Russian Government. This morning Dodds submitted a Statement of Opinion to the Senedd in support of Ukraine which can now be signed by other members.

Commenting, Dodds said:

Now more than ever, the rules-based international order is under threat. After years of hybrid warfare, threats and provocations, which tragically have seen over 13,000 casualties in the last few years, a further Russian incursion into Ukraine now looks like a serious possibility. Russia’s amassing of over 130,000 troops on the Ukrainian border may seem like a far-flung conflict for many in Wales, but we must be unwavering in our support for the freedom of Ukraine or come to face the consequences in the future.

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NewsHound

Partygate: Lib Dem motion to reveal if PM and officials fined by Met

By NewsHound | Thu 17th February 2022 - 7:40 am

The Liberal Democrats have tabled a ‘Humble Address’ motion to force the government to reveal whether Boris Johnson, ministers and senior officials have been fined by the Met police over law-breaking parties in Number 10.

The parliamentary motion would require the publication of a full list of the names of any elected officials, senior civil servants and political appointees given Fixed Penalty Notices as a result of the police investigation. It would also require the Sue Gray report to be published in full alongside any accompanying evidence including photographs.

The motion states that this information should be published no more than two days after the Metropolitan Police investigation is completed. It has been tabled by Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey and signed by all 13 of the party’s MPs.

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The Voice

Daisy Cooper: Scrapping free lateral flow tests would leave the public flying blind.

By The Voice | Wed 16th February 2022 - 12:14 pm

Yesterday, LBC reported that the Government would scrap free PCR and lateral flow tests for Covid from as early as next week.

Lib Dem Health spokesperson Daisy Cooper highlighted the dangers in this approach, saying it would also make it impossible for those at highest risk of severe disease to properly assess what was safe for them to do. She also highighted the impact of making people pay or tests when they are already struggling with rising living costs.

Scrapping free tests when case rates are still sky high will leave the public and scientists flying blind. If there’s one sure fire way to put the country at risk of another lockdown, it’s scrapping all the warning lights like this.

It will also be impossible for the immunosuppressed to take ‘personal responsibility’ for assessing their risk if there’s no actual data on the level of risk in their community.

Charging for essential tests would hit those who can least afford it hardest, at a time when families are already being clobbered by rising taxes and soaring energy bills.

The Government was happy to waste billions of taxpayers’ cash on useless PPE, but is penny-pinching when it comes to providing people with vital Covid tests.

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The Voice

Christine Jardine: Families need a lifeline to help with impact of inflation

By The Voice | Wed 16th February 2022 - 10:45 am

Today inflation reached a 30 year high of 5.5%. Lib Dem Treasury Spokesperson called for the Government to take action to help those facing being cold and hungry as a result:

Families are facing an unprecedented cost of living crisis, with a triple whammy of spiralling energy bills, Conservative tax rises and 30-year high inflation.

People are worried about heating their homes and putting food on the table, yet all we’ve seen from this Government is half measures and a raft of tax hikes in April. That’s not the leadership people need in this crisis.

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The Voice

Lib Dem Peer David Chidgey dies

By The Voice | Wed 16th February 2022 - 9:09 am

Yesterday, David Chidgey, victor of the Eastleigh by-election in 1994 died at the age of 79. He remained MP until 2005 and became a life peer when he left the Commons.

During his time as MP he served as spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Industry, Transport and Employment.

Ee Davey paid tribute to David:

As did LGA Lib Dems

Our leader in the Lords Dick Newby talked about how he was still campaigning, right to the end of his life;

Last September, the Romsey Advertiser described his work to strengthen the Environment Bill

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The Voice

Welsh Liberal Democrats Pay Tribute to Former Assembly Member Aled Roberts

By The Voice | Mon 14th February 2022 - 3:24 pm

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds Stated:

I am devastated to hear of the passing of Aled. Aled was a committed liberal and was known for his extraordinary hard work as both an Assembly Member for North Wales and as a senior councillor on Wrexham Borough Council. This news is a deep blow to the Welsh Liberal Democrat family and my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time.

Throughout his time as an Assembly Member Aled continued to put standing up for his communities at the very heart of everything he did. Just one example was his tireless and successful campaign for Llay to have solar panels installed on all homes within the estate.

In his role as Shadow Minister for Children, Education and the Welsh language, he fought tooth and nail for investment in our young people, not least for the Welsh Government to maintain the Pupil Deprivation Grant. He is also well remembered for only ever making his contributions in the Siambr in Welsh.

As a councillor, Aled was a role model community servant and represented the Ponciau Ward from 1991-2012 and served as Mayor of Wrexham in 2003-04. He was elected Leader of Wrexham County Borough Council in March 2005.

Outside of politics, Aled also had a distinguished career as local solicitor and in 1985 he was part of a campaign to protect a local Miners’ institute from closure. He also was the Chair of Governors for many years at Ysgol Gymraeg I D Hooson and a Governor at Ysgol Maes y Mynydd, Rhosllanerchrugog. He was also a committed Christian.

Aled will be most remembered for his dedication to the Welsh language. A tireless advocate of the protection and promotion of Welsh, he excelled in his role as the Welsh Language Commissioner and sought to promote the language in all aspects of life, including in his role as an Assembly Member.

Aled’s passing will leave a deep hole in Welsh political life and in our Party, he was someone who knew everyone and left a positive impression on all those he knew. We will miss him greatly.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 14 February 2022 – “A change would do you good”

By Mark Valladares | Mon 14th February 2022 - 7:52 am

* taps microphone *

Is this thing on?

* taps microphone a bit harder *

Right, yes, now where was I?…

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, here at Liberal Democrat Voice, the online home of liberal comment on the questions that face us all.

So, the Government is still an utter shambles, with the possible exception of the Ministry of Defence, pursuing what the Economist describes as “the rise of unpopulism”, pursuing causes that don’t resonate beyond the Westminster bubble – the BBC, the National Trust – are contrary to their promises – NIC rises – or simply spouting slogans without any apparent intent to make them come true – levelling up.

And yet they’re still there. In Bolivia, they’d be preparing the lampposts by now…

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review – Key players in the Ukraine crisis

By Tom Arms | Sun 13th February 2022 - 7:58 am

Putin

Vladimir Putin must be as happy as a five-year-old who has just inherited a sweet shop. Statesman after stateswomen are trekking to Moscow to implore him not to plunge Europe into war by invading Ukraine. If the Russian leader’s intention was to put himself and Russia at the centre of the world stage then he has succeeded. At the top of this week’s visitors’ list was French President Emmanuel Macron who spent five hours talking geopolitics across a table the size of a football field. Macron was in Moscow with several hats: President of France, current President of the European Council, a rabid Europhile, and a candidate in the 2022 presidential elections. He needed results for the sake of European peace, EU unit and his campaign. At the post-summit it seemed as if Macronian diplomacy had worked. The French president said he had offered “concrete security guarantees” and Putin confirmed that they were worth exploring.” However, neither side was willing to elaborate on what the guarantees were and almost as soon as Macron was on the plane for Paris via Kiev, Putin was rattling his sabres again.

NATO splits?

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Charles Quinn

ALDC’s by-election report – 10 February 2022

By Charles Quinn | Sat 12th February 2022 - 12:45 pm

It has been a stonking week for the Lib Dems in this week’s by-elections – winning all 3 principal by-elections contested on Thursday night and coming within a whisker of taking a Town Council seat too.

In Eastleigh the local Lib Dem team held onto Eastleigh Central ward increasing their vote share by 7%.Congratulations to Cllr Bhavin Dedhia and the team on a great hold.

Eastleigh BC, Eastleigh Central ward
Liberal Democrat (Bhavin Dedhia): 781
Labour: 433
Conservative: 362
Green: 140
Reform: 64

In Somerset West and Taunton the Lib Dems gained the Independent seat of Alcombe with over 50% of the vote and a very impressive 16.7% increase in our share of the vote. Well done to newly elected Councillor Nicole Hawkins and everyone who helped on the campaign there.

Somerset West and Taunton DC, Alcombe ward
Liberal Democrat (Nicole Hawkins): 259
Conservative: 223
Labour: 21
Independent: 13

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NewsHound

Powys Lib Dems call for pause in school transformation process

By NewsHound | Fri 11th February 2022 - 8:37 am

The 21st Century Schools Programme in Powys is a £200 million project to transform schools across the county. Powys County Council’s cabinet considered a report by Estyn on progress which rated the programme amber/green.

The Lib Dem Group, currently the largest party group on the council, is concerned that the consultation process on the transformation strategy was undertaken prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and may be based on outdated assumptions about how closely individual schools are working together within a cluster.

The group is now calling for the transformation process to be reviewed.

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NewsHound

Wendy Chamberlain says Tories have plunged older people into cost of living crisis

By NewsHound | Thu 10th February 2022 - 4:14 pm

Today’s Express runs an article featuring Wendy Chamberlain who speaks on work and pensions for the Lib Dems.  She accuses the Conservatives of breaking their manifesto promise to protect the state pension, especially for poorer pensioners. “The Conservatives have plunged older people into the depths of a cost of living crisis.”

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The Voice

Ed Davey challenges Boris Johnson on fraud

By The Voice | Wed 9th February 2022 - 4:30 pm

Ed Davey used his question to the Prime Minister today to tackle the Prime Minister on the Government’s attitude to fraud:

He demanded that  Boris Johnson correct the record after misleadingly claiming crime has fallen, and apologise to the four million victims of fraud he has written out of the picture.

Seventy-four-year-old Janet had twenty-five thousand pounds stolen by fraudsters.

The money was my mum and dad’s and I just felt I let them down,” she told the BBC.

For Janet and for the 4 million people who fell victim to fraudsters and online scammers last year, fraud is a crime.

Does the Prime Minister understand the hurt he and his Ministers cause fraud victims like Janet, when they write them out of the crime figures, and dismiss fraud as something people don’t experience in their day-to-day lives?

Will the Prime Minister correct the record and apologise?

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The Voice

WATCH: Ed Davey say Boris Johnson using Trump playbook to distract from his failings

By The Voice | Wed 9th February 2022 - 3:00 pm

Yesterday, our Andy Boddington asked if democratic dystopia was now the order of the day after the incident where Keir Starmer was threatened outside Parliament.

He said:

I was not prepared for a prime minister who, like Trump, became estranged from the truth. And like Trump, doesn’t understand that when you get something wrong and that is leading to civil unrest, you apologise.

We have always had protests. Protests don’t concern me. I have taken part in many. What scares me is the way that legitimate differences in points of view have become entangled with madcap and frankly dangerous conspiracy theories.

I don’t think we are yet a dystopian society, here, in the USA or in Canada. But I do think we are showing symptoms of political dystopia.

Since then, Ed Davey has spoken to the BBC about the Starmer incident. Watch here:

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The Voice

Carmichael: New partygate picture shows Boris Johnson is not fit to be PM

By The Voice | Wed 9th February 2022 - 1:00 pm

Within the past hour, Pippa Crerar at the Mirror has tweeted out yet another picture of a Downing Street “work event”, this time showing the PM next to a tinsel clad staffer with an open bottle of bubbly on the desk.

Our Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said that this showed that Boris Johnson is not fit to be Prime Minister:

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The Voice

Former Conservative Senedd member joins Lib Dems

By The Voice | Wed 9th February 2022 - 11:52 am

Nick Ramsay, former Conservative Shadow Finance Minister in the Senedd, has joined the Welsh Liberal Democrats.  He will stand as a Liberal Democrat in the Monmouthshire Council elections this coming May.

Nick lives in Raglan. He served as a Monmouthshire County Councillor before his election to the Senedd in 2007.

He held many shadow ministerial roles in the Senedd. He chaired the Enterprise and Business Committee and, more recently, the Senedd’s influential Public Accounts Committee.

He is a keen fundraiser for local charities such as Love Zimbabwe, and was appointed as a Vice President of Chepstow Mencap.

After he joined the Liberal Democrats he said:

I have thought long and hard about the future of politics in Wales and the UK.  The Conservative Party is not the party I once joined.  They have lost the trust of the people, and are unable to manage our country.  They have failed the fundamental test of competence.  I can think of little of them with which I agree.

I have spent a long time examining the Liberal Democrats, and I find their underpinning values of fairness, community, and internationalism match my own. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are the best way to achieve a new village hall for Raglan, support for struggling local businesses and sustainable development for Monmouthshire, and I am pleased to be able to join them in their campaign to provide a better future for our county.

Liberal Democrat leader in Monmouthshire Cllr Jo Watkins welcomed Nick:

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NewsHound

Spinning cancer care targets is shameful – Daisy Cooper

By NewsHound | Tue 8th February 2022 - 3:52 pm

The Liberal Democrats have slammed Boris Johnson for having “nothing new to offer” as it emerges several of the cancer treatment targets announced today are simply re-announcements of existing policies. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Cancer treatment is a matter of life and death for thousands of people yet Boris Johnson clearly has nothing new to offer.

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NewsHound

BP £10bn profits shows windfall tax is about “basic fairness”

By NewsHound | Tue 8th February 2022 - 2:22 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Responding to the news that BP has made £10 billion in the past year following surging oil and gas prices, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The truth is that this is about basic fairness. It simply cannot be right these energy companies are making super profits whilst people are too scared to turn their radiators on and terrified there will be a cold snap.

The government has said that a windfall tax would harm investment but this is an absolutely bogus argument. These profits

…

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NewsHound

Davey: We need leaders who can act over energy supplies

By NewsHound | Mon 7th February 2022 - 10:42 am

Writing in today’s Times, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey says that Boris Johnson has spent much of the past two weeks shacked up in his parliamentary office pleading for his own skin. Meanwhile, one hundred thousand Russian troops have massed on Ukraine’s border threaten the largest military action in Europe since the Second World War. Telling the Tories they need to get a grip fast, he warns that the gas Russia supplies to Europe could fall by up to 30 per cent and that already high gas prices will treble or worse.

Liberal Democrats have called for a “Robin Hood tax” on the super-profits of oil and gas producers and traders, including Russian energy giant, Gazprom.

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Mary Reid

Wikipedia quoted at length in the Levelling Up White Paper

By Mary Reid | Fri 4th February 2022 - 3:02 pm

For most of us, our go-to source when doing a bit of background research is Wikipedia. Sometimes when we are looking for simple facts (like the election results in a particular year) the online crowd-sourced encyclopaedia is all we need. Sometimes it provides the starting point for more in-depth research, especially if we need to verify the sources.

Some years ago I was intrigued by an animation which showed the same Wikipedia page as it evolved over time. The number and frequency of changes was astonishing, which underlined the dynamic nature of knowledge, but also suggested that it should be used with some caution.

However it seems Wikipedia was enough for Government advisers who drew up the Levelling Up White Paper.

Tim Farron has been questioning Michael Gove (Minister for, among other things, Levelling Up) about the White Paper, mainly about the issues for people living in rural communities. But in the process he noticed that whole chunks of the White Paper were copied in full from the relevant Wikipedia entry.

According to The Independent

The white paper includes large sections of padding, with three pages devoted to the history of Jericho, Rome, and renaissance Europe.

But bits of this section appear to have been lifted directly from the popular internet encyclopaedia.

One off-beat part of the report reads: “Constantinople was the capital of the Roman/Byzantine Empire (330-1204 and 1261-1453), the Latin Empire (1204-1261) and the Ottoman Empire (1453-1922)”.

The text is identical to the first line of the Wikipedia page for Constantinople, right down to formatting and punctuation.

Another section of the report includes a full-page timeline of the largest cities in the world since 7,000 BC which is identical to a table on Wikipedia’s “List of largest cities throughout history” page.

Tim said:

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Mary Reid

Forcing ministers (and the PM) to reveal any fines they are given for partygate

By Mary Reid | Fri 4th February 2022 - 12:14 pm

Alistair Carmichael has tabled a rather niche motion in Parliament – the Ministerial Disclosure Bill. This would force Boris Johnson to admit to any fixed penalty notices he receives for lockdown breaches.

The Independent covers the story: Bill tabled to force Boris Johnson to reveal Covid fines which could total more than £12,000.

On Tuesday No 10 agreed to tell the media if the Prime Minister was fined as a result of the Met Police investigation into Downing Street parties. But they did not extend that to other ministers, nor did they say they would state the amount of any fines, both of which are covered in Alistair’s motion.

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NewsHound

Farron: Nationality and Borders Bill impact on LGBTQ+ refugees

By NewsHound | Thu 3rd February 2022 - 10:09 am

While the main attention in parliament yesterday was on tributes to Jack Dromey and Michael Gove’s statement on Levelling Up, an important debate also took place in Westminster Hall. Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam had secured a debate on the impact of the Nationality and Borders Bill on LGBTQ+ asylum seekers l. Tim Farron made a major and passionate contribution to the debate. It is notable that no Conservative MPs spoke during the debate.

Farron described the Nationality and Borders Bill as a peculiarly awful piece of legislation that is designed to solve problems that do not exist and to ignore problems that do. It is playing to the gallery rather than seeking to make a difference. The negative impact the Bill will have on LGBTQ+ asylum seekers is a prime example of what is wrong with it.

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The Liberator Collective

Liberator 411 is out now

By The Liberator Collective | Wed 2nd February 2022 - 12:30 pm

Liberator 411 is out and can be downloaded here.

This is the February 2022 online-only edition of Liberator and we hope you enjoy reading it.

Remember Liberator is now free and you can sign up on our website to get notifications of each new issue: www.liberatormagazine.org.uk

What’s inside this issue?

Alongside Radical Bulletin, Commentary and Reviews,  Liberator 411 includes:

UNABLE TO COUNT

The Liberal Democrats will be finished if they further narrow their appeal to voters, says Nick Harvey

TORIES PLUMB NEW DEPTHS

Home secretary Priti Patel’s use of cross-channel refugees as a populist weapon hasn’t been widely welcomed on the south coast, says Stewart Rayment

TIME TO GROW HAIRS

Last year’s two by-election gains showed what ‘Big Hairy Audacious Campaigns’ can do. Now spread that to wider campaigning, says Roger Hayes

LIBERATE SCHOOLS

Authoritarianism characterises too many schools, when wellbeing should be at the heart of everything they do, says Liz Makinson

AFGHANS NEGLECTED BY PATEL’S HOME OFFICE

Afghan refugees are being persecuted by the Home Office for suggesting how it could save money, says Rebecca Tinsley

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Lord William Wallace

William Wallace writes: Can we campaign on local democracy

By Lord William Wallace | Wed 2nd February 2022 - 7:30 am

One of the assumptions of political campaigning is that voters are not interested in political machinery.  Schools, hospitals, trains and buses, yes: Councils, regional authorities, elected mayors and voting systems, no.  But have we now reached a point where this has changed, where it might even help us to include in this year’s local election campaigning arguments for stronger local authorities and less dictation from Westminster?

In the much-delayed Levelling-Up White Paper Michael Gove has promised ‘devolution’: by which he means imposing elected mayors, with limited local scrutiny, on most urban areas that haven’t yet accepted them, and ‘governors’ on rural counties.  Governors are what empires send out to keep distant districts under control, while money and power remain at the centre.  Ministerial treatment of almost all elected mayors except Ben Houchem (Teeside’s Tory mayor) has been patronising – expected to do Whitehall’s bidding and be grateful for the Packages of money they are offered.  Michael Gove treats even Andy Street and Andy Burnham with disdain; Grant Shapps has attacked Tracey Brabin and Dan Jarvis (West and South Yorkshire mayors) as ‘irrational’ for their criticisms of the Integrated Rail Strategy.

This Tory government is irrationally against public service (and public servants) in general, and autonomous local authorities running local services close to ordinary people in particular.  One of the many scandals of the past 3 years is Johnson’s instinctive preference for outsourcing companies to run Test and Trace when the pandemic erupted, ignoring the public health officers with their established local knowledge and contacts across the country – who would have organised a better scheme at a fraction of the vast among of money paid out to these multinational firms.  Education is micro-managed from Whitehall, in partnership with academy chains, with intermittent attention to what local parents want.  ‘Levelling Up’ is packaged as hand-outs from the centre, with competitive bids and ministerial discretion to favour places with Conservative MPs.

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The Voice

Amna Ahmad is our new Vice President

By The Voice | Tue 1st February 2022 - 6:29 pm

The following announcement has been published on the party website today by Chief Executive, Mike Dixon:

Amna Ahmad has been elected and will take up the role of Vice President responsible for working with ethnic minority communities.

Thank you to Amna and all of the candidates for taking part in the election. The results can be found in full here.

As this was a by-election, Amna’s term will run until January 2023.

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Newspuppy

Johnson’s future – “Blue wall” Tory MPs targeted

By Newspuppy | Tue 1st February 2022 - 5:00 pm

On the i wesbsite, Richard Vaughan reports:

The Liberal Democrats are targeting Tory MPs representing the “Blue Wall” in the Southern shires demanding they submit a letter of no confidence in Boris Johnson or face being “sacked by the public”.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem MPs challenge Boris Johnson on Sue Gray report

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 31st January 2022 - 7:01 pm

It’s been quite the afternoon in the Commons.

Boris Johnson faced sustained criticism over the findings of the Sue Gray report. The most effective were the contributions that fought his fire and bluster with ice rather than more fire.

That’s why Theresa May’s takedown of her successor was so effective. I will never forgive her for what she did at the Home Office, nor in her pursuit of a hard Brexit, but her contribution today was brilliant, asking him if he had read the rules, ignored them or didn’t think they applied to him.

Ian Blackford just had to make it all about him, daring the Speaker to throw him out of the Chamber for saying the PM had misled Parliament. The rule may be daft. But it is the rule, and not to observe it when we are talking about rulebreaking seems illogical. There is a debate to be had around whether that rule is fit for purpose when the man at the despatch box has plainly misled Parliament, but it should have been about Boris today, not Blackford. They are both experts at meaningless bluster and not so good at the incisive point.

There were two brilliant contributions from Ed Davey. He really spoke up for all of us who had followed the rules, often in searingly painful, heartbreaking circumstances.

Later he added that the PM’s performance had been “horrific.”

 

Christine Jardine said that people were livid not just at the culture of rule-breaking in No 10, but at the dodging of accountability by the Prime Minister.

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The Voice

Ed Davey on Sue Gray Report: Conservative MPs must do their patriotic duty and sack Boris Johnson

By The Voice | Mon 31st January 2022 - 2:46 pm

So the Sue Gray Report has finally been released and its findings, even in the “lite” version, are not pretty:

Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the Government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify.
ii. At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time.
iii. At times it seems there was too little thought given to what was happening across the country in considering the appropriateness of some of these gatherings, the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public. There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.
iv. The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time. Steps must be taken to ensure that every Government Department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace.

Ed Davey said that Conservative MPs must get rid of Boris Johnson:

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The Voice

“Disgraceful but predictable” – Ed Davey on failure to publish full report

By The Voice | Mon 31st January 2022 - 2:03 pm

So it looks like Sue Gray’s report will not be as illuminating as it could be. And No 10 has apparently said it won’t publish the whole thing once the Met Police Enquiry is complete.

Ed Davey said

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