Category Archives: News

The Voice

Get your nominations in for the Party Awards

By The Voice | Sat 24th July 2021 - 2:25 pm

Every year at  Conference we acknowledge those people who have made an outstanding contribution to the Liberal Democrats whether they have achieved elected office or not.

Nominations are open for this Autumn’s awards and close on 16th August.

So what are the awards and who is eligible?

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.

The Harriet Smith Liberal Democrat Distinguished Service Award

Background: this award is named for Harriet Smith, who campaigned and worked tireless 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.

The Belinda Eyre-Brook Award

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NewsHound

Layla slams Government for “opening floodgates to new variants” and failing to protect troops

By NewsHound | Sat 24th July 2021 - 12:27 pm

Good work from Layla Moran in today’s press.

First, the Guardian reports the Commons Library research commissioned by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, which Layla chairs, which shows that the number of positive cases tested for variants has fallen dramatically.

The results suggest that in the three weeks to 17 March, there were an estimated 1,769 to 1,827 positive tests from people entering the UK from red list countries, of which somewhere between 63% and 68% were sequenced to determine the variant involved.

By contrast in the three weeks to 30 June, there were an estimated 445 to 507 positive tests from people entering the UK from red list countries, with estimates of the proportion sequenced ranging from 12% to 33%.

Layla highlighted the dangers of this:

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NewsHound

Voter ID “straight out of the Trump playbook” – Broxtowe Lib Dems win vote

By NewsHound | Fri 23rd July 2021 - 4:57 pm

Where America leads, the UK follows is an old and sometime true adage. Suppression of voter rights in the United States is becoming rampant as the Republicans push to introduce legislation that would isolate the most disadvantaged from voting. Joe Biden has said: “Never before has there been an attempt by state legislatures to take over the ability to determine who won. Not count the votes, determine who won.”

Here, the government is determined to introduce voter ID despite no evidence of widespread fraud. Broxtowe was a pilot area for voter ID and the Lib Dems have taken a stand.

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NewsHound

Wera Hobhouse on 100 days to COP26

By NewsHound | Fri 23rd July 2021 - 9:56 am

Yesterday, MPs debated COP26 Conference Priorities in a Westminster Hall debate. The debate was co-sponsored by Wera Hobhouse. Lib Dem MP for Bath. She said this is the biggest opportunity for real climate action since the 2015 Paris agreement, after which we have had a “string of incredibly disappointing COPs”. Wera called for the government to get its own house in order instead of paying to lip service to climate change. The Government has failed to set any direction on how to heat homes in the future, how to expand the electricity grid for increased electricity need, let alone on tackling emissions from heavy industry, shipping or aviation.

COP26 must be a COP of global solidarity. It is time for the Government to put their money where their mouth is. The world is watching to see whether the UK will step up to the plate.

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NewsHound

That 3% rise for NHS staff in England

By NewsHound | Thu 22nd July 2021 - 9:40 am

Lib Dems have been quick to respond to pay rise of 3% to NHS staff in England. Munira Wilson is our Health & Social Care Spokesperson and here she is challenging the Government in the Commons BEFORE the pay rise was announced:

Only a hour later she was tweeting:

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day – 19 July: Freedom (to ignore the consequences) Day?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 19th July 2021 - 9:12 am

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the new “new normal”, when we’re all encouraged to throw off the shackles of Covid restrictions and return to our old lives. That is, unless you’re immuno-compromised, or minded to take into consideration that those around you might be cautious, or unvaccinated, or… well, you know the rest…

So, what have we got today?

Katie Hopkins (you remember her, yes?) is awaiting her deportation flight from Australia, having been flown in by a local television station to take part in their version of Celebrity Big Brother (and yes, the definition of “celebrity” is clearly being stretched gossamer thin here). Flouting Australia’s incredibly tight quarantine rules was one thing – telling the world via Instagram that you were doing it and deliberately so quite another. What is it about faux-libertarians and consequences?

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Caron Lindsay

Suzanne Fletcher on her lifelong mission to speak up for the most vulnerable people

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 18th July 2021 - 3:38 pm

Suzanne Fletcher is one of the hardest working, humanitarian, compassionate people I have ever known. She has devoted her life improve living conditions for the poorest people with the least power.

Her local paper, the Darlington and Stockton Times, has done a wonderful profile of her as part of their series of features inspired by Middlesborugh Soroptimists’ list of outstanding local women.

Suzanne talked of her own experience of poor housing when she was small:

“We lived in an awful place, near the slag heaps,” says Suzanne. “It was difficult and dangerous as there was so much pollution in the air. Coal gas came up through the cellar, our plants died, as did my pet mouse, and the curtains rotted. My mother and father were both hardworking and did their best to keep everything clean, but when we complained the authorities didn’t listen. They considered our living conditions to be fine.

“The noise and swearing from the police cells at night kept us awake. My mother would prepare meals for the prisoners. They were sometimes sent back uneaten, but she was determined they would be treated with dignity.”

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Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie: “A cheerful voice for a more decent politics”

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 18th July 2021 - 1:35 pm

Willie Rennie has done two major interviews this weekend talking about his decision to stand aside as Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and his hopes for the future.

The Times (£) leader had praise for him yesterday, too:

It is to be hoped that Mr Rennie remains active in public life. He has been a cheerful voice for a more decent politics and his brand of low-key, relaxed liberalism is more necessary than ever. After a summer running in the hills he should return to the fray, ready to play his part in building a bigger and better centre.

Willie spoke to Magnus Linklater for the paper (£) and talked about his hope that Labour and the Lib Dems would work more closely together to present a progressive, pro-UK alternative to the nationalism and populism of the SNP and Conservatives:

“I think working together with Labour on issues of common interest would be a good thing,” he said in an interview with The Times. “I wouldn’t run before we can walk. But build confidence between the parties and also amongst the electorate to show we’re getting our act together.”

This is about trying to show that for middle Scotland there is something better and stronger than the Conservatives or the SNP, that it’s got energy, it’s got momentum, it’s got ideas, and that’s the most important thing, so people know that if they vote for it, it will be worth it,” he added. “The actual mechanism is less important — it’s the energy behind it that matters.”

He talked about how much Scotland had changed in the past decade or so – and not for the better:

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Caron Lindsay

ALDC Conference – a must for anyone who wants to be a Lib Dem Councillor

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 18th July 2021 - 10:25 am

If you are hoping to be a Lib Dem Councillor next May, you really need to be a member of ALDC, the Association of Lib Dem Councillors and Campaigners. They have all the tools you need to win and you will be able to access all of them and attend their brilliant online training if you join.

They are having an online conference for members which includes their AGM on Saturday 4th September. There are sessions on things like how to win, how to make a difference in your community and local government in Europe.

ALDC Chief Executive Tim Pickstone said in an email to members:

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NewsHound

Ed Davey: “The Blue Wall is game on”

By NewsHound | Sat 17th July 2021 - 5:00 pm

In an interview with the I, Ed Davey has announced that the Lib Dems are picking candidates in “blue wall” seats like Chesham and Amersham with the aim of taking seats off the Tories at the next General Election.

Speaking in Guildford, a former Lib Dem seat held by the Tories since 2005, Sir Ed said: “We’re selecting our candidate, do it early and get them on the doorstep.”

He added: “If we get through these selections, which are now going well apace, we’ll have campaigns, we’ll have people who are going out there and knocking on doors, week in week out, listening to people, and the Tory MPs are going to find them getting worried. They’ll start feeling that at the local level but it will feed through to the national level.”

He talked about his experience of knocking on doors in Chesham and Amersham:

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Greg Spruce

Lib Dems win Telford & Wrekin Lawley by-election by one vote

By Greg Spruce | Fri 16th July 2021 - 4:48 pm

The Liberal Democrats are celebrating a close win in the Lawley and Overdale Parish Council by-election.

Lib Dem Catherine Salter took 140 votes, to the Conservative’s 139, with Labour trailing a distant third on 69 votes. The independent candidate came fourth with 38 votes.

The focus of Cllr Salter’s campaign was engaging with and listening to local residents’ concerns about speeding, lack of public transport and poor finishing of new estates by developers.

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NewsHound

Wera Hobhouse calls for Olympian steps to halt Xinjiang atrocities

By NewsHound | Fri 16th July 2021 - 7:31 am

In a Commons debate on Thursday, Bath MP Wera Hobhouse warned it would be unacceptable for the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, senior diplomats and officials to attend the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year. To do so would give credibility to a regime that is accused of genocide in Xinjiang. Western countries had to take a stance against China’s human rights abuses.

Hobhouse told MPs is totally unacceptable that peaceful demonstrations during protests on the field of play or in medal ceremonies are barred by the IOC under the threat of sanctions. Given the ongoing human rights abuses, is it at all justifiable for the games to go ahead?

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Mary Reid

Up and down

By Mary Reid | Thu 15th July 2021 - 12:13 pm

At Lib Dem Voice we don’t usually cover the results of political polls, because they do fluctuate. Also, paying too much attention to poll results can have unintended consequences for our party’s campaigning. Liberal Democrats were riding high in the polls during the last elections to the European Parliament in 2019, and some people imagined that we could win a swathe of seats in the General Election later that year simply based on the polling data. Seasoned campaigners, however, know that we only win seats if we do a lot of work on the ground – the support shown in polls is never enough.

But we have to admit that it is exciting when our poll position makes a substantial leap from 6% to 13%. The Evening Standard  reports an Ipsos-Mori poll which shows that support for both Labour and the Conservatives has fallen by 4 points since their last poll. The Conservatives are still 9 points ahead, but net satisfaction of Boris Johnson and the Government have fallen to and -16 and -20 respectively. But the Liberal Democrats have jumped to 13%, and this is the first time we have been at that level since the 2019 General Election.

So what do we make of it? Undoubtedly our win in Chesham and Amersham produced this bounce. The party cleverly exploited the publicity immediately afterwards. The image of Ed Davey knocking down the blue wall with a small yellow mallet visually encapsulated our key message to the whole country very neatly – those who criticised it as a stunt clearly don’t understand how the media works.

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The Voice

Munira Wilson: Coercion is not the answer to vaccine hesitancy

By The Voice | Wed 14th July 2021 - 11:25 am

Last night, Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the Government’s Statutory Instrument which made vaccinations compulsory for care home staff.

Munira Wilson, our health spokesperson, had a right go at the Government for its approach, pointing out that the care sector had long been undervalued and the Government’s approach had let down so many staff and residents during the pandemic.

She said that, while Liberal Democrats were absolutely in favour of vaccination, we would not support making it mandatory. She said:

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The Voice

Tuesday by-election GAIN for Lib Dems

By The Voice | Wed 14th July 2021 - 8:53 am

Good news from Wells:

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NewsHound

Howard Sykes condemns “appalling” arson attack on Oldham Council leader’s car

By NewsHound | Tue 13th July 2021 - 7:49 pm

In the early hours of this morning, a car belonging to Cllr Arooj Shah was firebombed. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

From the Oldham Times:

A force spokesman said: “Police were called just before 1:30am on Tuesday, July 13 to reports of a vehicle on fire in the Glodwick area in Oldham.

“Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attended along with police, and it was established that the vehicle was deliberately ignited, also causing slight damage to a neighbouring property.

“The fire was extinguished, no-one was injured, and officers are investigating the circumstances.”

Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Howard Sykes condemned the attack and called on people to stand together in the face of such appalling acts:

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NewsHound

Wendy Chamberlain hits out on cynical tests for overseas aid cuts

By NewsHound | Tue 13th July 2021 - 6:18 pm

Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife attacked the government’s commitment to reducing the overseas aid budget below 0.7% in the House of Commons today.

It is a straight choice: do we return to 0.7%, as we were all elected to this place to do, or do we fail to be the global leader on this issue that the UK has been to this point?… the poorest will be hardest hit by these cuts. The reality of the covid pandemic is that no one is safe until everyone is safe… The fiscal tests for development spending presented today are the height of cynicism. They are designed never to be met.

The government, which has a majority of 80, won the vote by 35.

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The Voice

Pilates, comedy and an orchestra – Lib Dem virtual conference registration open

By The Voice | Tue 13th July 2021 - 8:57 am

When you think of Lib Dem conference, you think of debates, packed fringe meetings with varying quality of buffets and events like the Glee Club.

These things are difficult to replicate on a virtual platform, but the Federal Conference Committee  has flagged up Pilates classes, a comedy night and a classical music concert with an orchestra as just a few of the attractions at this year’s digital Autumn Conference, to be held from 17-21 September.

Registration is now open, as FCC Chair Nick De Costa announced in an email to members:

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The Voice

Lib Dems say “Give firms right to require face masks worn by customers”

By The Voice | Mon 12th July 2021 - 4:05 pm

Following the Government’s update on plans to ease restrictions on 19th July, the Liberal Democrats have called on businesses to be given the legal right to require customers to wear face masks on their premises.

Sarah Olney MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Business, has heard from businesses who want to protect young staff who have not received their second jab, and those who are clinically vulnerable, by ensuring face masks are worn by customers.

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NewsHound

Wera Hobhouse speaks out on fuel poverty

By NewsHound | Sun 11th July 2021 - 11:05 am

Speaking in a House of Commons debate on fuel poverty on Thursday, Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP for Bath, said no one should have to make the choice between feeding their family or heating their home. The pandemic has made things even worse. People working from home faced an extra £16 a month on energy costs, adding up to £195 a year for those on poor value tariffs. She said the clearest example of the Government’s failure was the scrapping of the green homes grant only five months after it was introduced with only 6% of the budget spent.

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NewsHound

Sarah Teather on equal marriage – “I tied myself up in ridiculous intellectual knots”

By NewsHound | Tue 6th July 2021 - 9:48 am

Embed from Getty Images

Sarah Teather has written the following public post on Facebook:

Next week marks 8 years since the Marriage (same sex) Act gained Royal Assent and became law. When the proposal for gay marriage came to parliament I tied myself up in ridiculous intellectual knots trying to find a way to navigate official Catholic teaching on marriage and my liberal instincts and campaigning history on gay rights. In the end, I voted against the bill. Wise friends said to me then that it didn’t fit with what they knew of me and I would regret it. They were right. In the years since as friends and acquaintances have got engaged and married I have inwardly cheered and thanked God that I was then in an irrelevant minority. I think this anniversary is a good time to say more publicly that I was wrong then and I am delighted now that gay people have the right to be married.

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The Voice

Liberal Democrats: Keep masks mandatory on public transport a little while longer

By The Voice | Mon 5th July 2021 - 2:35 pm

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to keep masks mandatory on public transport after 19th July.

Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Health, believes it would be a small price worth paying to protect others:

Many people, especially the vulnerable, do not yet feel confident enough to travel on crowded public transport. There are millions who have still not been double jabbed, and are therefore at greater risk of both becoming ill themselves and spreading the virus to others.

Keeping masks mandatory on public transport which can often become overcrowded is the right thing to do.

We

…

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NewsHound

Sarah Green on her victory in Chesham and Amersham

By NewsHound | Fri 2nd July 2021 - 1:44 pm

Our newest MP has been talking to the Guardian about her landslide victory in leafy Buckinghamshire. She told political correspondent Peter Walker that the Conservative voters in Chesham and Amersham felt ignored by the Tories. They felt they could no longer relate to Boris Johnson and the Conservative party.

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Breaking… Labour narrowly hold Batley and Spen

By Andy Boddington | Fri 2nd July 2021 - 5:46 am

Labour have narrowly retained Batley and Spen after two bundle checks. Keir Starmer has been spared the ignominy of losing a red wall seat at a time when there is talk in his party of a leadership challenge. The majority of 323 defied the doomsayers but a 7.4% reduction in the Labour vote will still lead to continued questioning of his leadership.

The Conservatives did not make ground and lost 1.6% of the vote. George Galloway came third, the Lib Dems fourth.

The turnout was 47.6%.

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Mary Reid

Kirsty Williams talks about why she left front line politics

By Mary Reid | Thu 1st July 2021 - 3:34 pm

In an interview with ITV News Kirsty Williams, Lib Dem Senedd Member since 1999 and former Welsh Education Minister, reveals the reasons why she stood down this May.

We can’t embed the clip but you can view it here. She says:

I think for me it became increasingly more and more difficult to protect my family, not from the threats of violence that we’re talking about but the general level of abuse.

When my children were small they weren’t on social media, they didn’t have access to those things, but now it’s pretty difficult to keep them away from that. So trying to protect my family – or failing to succeed in protecting my family from some of the fallout from having a mother in political life was definitely a factor in me standing down.

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Tom Arms

World Review: Voter suppression, wobbling Macron and the Great Barrier Reef

By Tom Arms | Sun 27th June 2021 - 8:31 am

Our foreign affairs correspondent, Tom Arms, this week defends the use of the filibuster in Congress but criticises the Republicans for making it more difficult to vote. Joe Biden, desperate to avoid the addition of America to the sad list of states buried in Afghanistan’s imperial graveyard, is to throw money at the country problem’s rather than soldiers.

The first round of French local elections show President Macron to be in deep trouble and right-winger Marine Le Pen is not far behind him. The Australian government’s reaction to UNESCO’s warnings on the Great Barrier Reef show that the country is a big problem for the climate change community.

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Hancock out, Javid in

By Andy Boddington | Sun 27th June 2021 - 5:55 am

Under relentless pressure after he was pictured in a romantic clinch in breach of coronavirus restrictions, Matt Hancock last night resigned as secretary of state for health. He told Boris Johnson:

The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis… We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance.

He is replaced by former home secretary and chancellor, Sajid Javid.

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NewsHound

Ed Davey hits right note on Matt Hancock’s dalliance and competence

By NewsHound | Fri 25th June 2021 - 11:00 am

According to reports across the media, Matt Hancock had an affair with an adviser to his department. This happens all the time and is barely a matter of public concern these days. Unless Gina Coladangelo had been hired, or her hiring, had been influenced by her relationship with the health secretary.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey hit it spot on in his response on Twitter this morning.

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The Voice

Lib Dem Bounce beginning to show nationally and locally

By The Voice | Fri 25th June 2021 - 10:46 am

Congratulations to Bill Brisbane who took Chichester Eastward for the Lib Dems yesterday with a swing of 25%

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Caron Lindsay

Daisy Cooper slams “barmy brainwashing” One Britain event

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd June 2021 - 9:59 pm

When I heard that some schoolchildren in the UK are going to be asked to sing a song saying how great Britain is on Friday, to be honest, I thought someone was just having a laugh. Surely nobody could be so crass?

I was wrong. As The Independent reports,

The Department for Education this week announced it would encourage schools to celebrate One Britain One Nation Day on 25 June.

Celebrations for the event include singing a song called the “OBON Day Anthem 2021”, which ends with the children repeatedly chanting, “Strong Britain, great nation”.

It also includes the chorus: “We are Britain and we have one dream, to unite all people in one great team.”

I find the whole thing nauseating.

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