Category Archives: News

Ed Davey: “The Blue Wall is game on”

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:

Leave a comment

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

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.

Tagged | 9 Comments

Wera Hobhouse calls for Olympian steps to halt Xinjiang atrocities

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?

Tagged , , , and | 8 Comments

Up and down

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.

Tagged and | 14 Comments

Munira Wilson: Coercion is not the answer to vaccine hesitancy

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:

Tagged , , , and | 45 Comments

Tuesday by-election GAIN for Lib Dems

Good news from Wells:

Tagged , and | 3 Comments

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

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:

Tagged and | Leave a comment

Wendy Chamberlain hits out on cynical tests for overseas aid cuts

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.

Tagged | 10 Comments

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

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:

Tagged | 2 Comments

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

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.

Also posted in Press releases | Tagged | 73 Comments

Wera Hobhouse speaks out on fuel poverty

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.

Tagged | 7 Comments

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

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.

Tagged , and | 20 Comments

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

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

Also posted in Press releases | Tagged and | 77 Comments

Sarah Green on her victory in Chesham and Amersham

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.

Tagged and | 1 Comment

Breaking… Labour narrowly hold Batley and Spen

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%.

Tagged | 29 Comments

Kirsty Williams talks about why she left front line politics

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.

Tagged | 9 Comments

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

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.

Tagged , , and | 4 Comments

Hancock out, Javid in

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.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 15 Comments

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

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.

Tagged | 31 Comments

Lib Dem Bounce beginning to show nationally and locally

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

Tagged | 10 Comments

Daisy Cooper slams “barmy brainwashing” One Britain event

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.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 30 Comments

Key dates for Scottish Autumn Conference

Yesterday Scottish Conference Convener Paul McGarry announced in an email to members that our online Autumn conference will take place online on 8th and 9th October.

So the key deadlines are:

Drafting advice: 16th July at noon

Constitutional amendments: 16th July at noon

Motions deadline: 12th August at noon

You can get your ticket here. And the first timer rate for Scottish members is but a mere pound.

Tagged , and | 2 Comments

Norman Lamb writes to the Times on solving adult social care funding crisis

Media reports suggest the Government is to hold off on announcing its plans to reform social care until at least the autumn amid continued disputes within the Cabinet. Boris Johnson this week delayed a meeting with the Chancellor and Health Secretary to discuss the reforms and is said to have ruled out using rises in income tax, VAT and national insurance to pay for social care in England.

In a letter in the Times this morning, Sir Norman Lamb, minister of state for care from 2013-15, calls for the “Dilnot cap” to be implemented and for all parties to work together to resolve funding.

Tagged | 5 Comments

Ed Davey talks Chesham and Amersham and progressive alliances on Sunday media

Ed Davey did the Sunday morning media round today. He did look a tiny bit smug, but he’s allowed to given Sarah Green’s spectacular win in Chesham and Amersham, declared in the early hours of Friday morning.

First he appeared on Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday:

And then we went on Marr:

Tagged , and | 7 Comments

Chesham & Amersham: what the Spectator said on Monday

Nick Tyrone – that’s T-Y-R-O-N-E – concludes the article as follows:

Instead, the Lib Dems will lose on Thursday, most likely fairly badly, and they will have no one to blame but themselves. If they want to get back to being the by-election masters of old, they will have to do a lot better than this.

You can read the full article here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-lib-dems-are-utterly-lost

22 Comments

Chesham and Amersham: the swing was 25.1%

Tagged | 11 Comments

Chesham & Amersham: the fine print result

Tagged | Leave a comment

Chesham & Amersham: Ed Davey hails huge victory

Tagged and | 1 Comment

Chesham & Amersham election results since the seat was created

Tagged | 2 Comments

Chesham & Amersham: Sarah Green’s victory speech

In a confident speech earlier this morning, Sarah Green said she was humbled by the faith the people of Chesham and Amersham had placed in her.

Together, we have said enough is enough. We will be heard. And this government will listen.

No matter how safe the seat, you can have a Lib Dem representative.

Sarah had a message for young women. Don’t let people put you down or block your way. You can. You must. You will.

Tagged and | 3 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Simon Costain
    I'm guessing around a thousand high net worth individuals are resident on the Isle of Man for tax purposes, though others suggest up to 3,000 Low earners on ...
  • David Wright
    While Trump's "gift of the license to manufacture Patriot air defence missiles" is welcome, it won't stop a single Russian missile aimed at Ukraine this year or...
  • Matt Wardman
    Thanks for the piece, Tom. I tend to disagree on the NATO summit. Listening to serious reports (my goto since February 2022 has been the Telegraph's Ukraine ...
  • theakes
    Considerable concern in Democratic circles that Trump will call the coming election rigged, cancel the States results won by the opposition and then impose mart...
  • Peter Martin
    @ Roland, I'm not sure I understand your comment. Every company which is registered for VAT can reclaim VAT on purchased items. The question is whether VAT s...