Category Archives: News

The Voice

Priti Patel failing on legal routes for refugees

By The Voice | Tue 15th June 2021 - 11:20 am

As Refugee Week begins, the Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion in Parliament calling on the Government to establish safe and legal routes for refugees to come to the UK.

The motion, tabled by the party’s Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP, calls on the Government to resettle 10,000 refugees each year, as well as a further 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in Europe over the next 10 years.

It follows Home Office data showing that just 353 refugees were brought to the UK last year, compared with 4,968 the year before.

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said:

The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, but now the Conservative Government is turning its back on refugees.

Priti Patel is threatening to punish refugees who don’t come here by safe and legal routes, but at the same time she is failing to provide those routes.

Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to make an ambitious, ten-year commitment to resettle 10,000 vulnerable refugees a year from Syria and other dangerous conflict areas.

That is the best way to combat people smuggling and human trafficking, and to prevent people from making dangerous attempts to cross the Channel.

The full text of the motion is as follows;

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Phil Bennion

ALDE Party Congress online or, how to juggle four screens and a print-out

By Phil Bennion | Mon 14th June 2021 - 2:12 pm

At the weekend we met with old friends and new from our European sister parties for ALDE Congress, albeit via a Zoom link, as the Congress was online for the first time. It was my privilege to lead a diverse Lib Dem delegation of around forty, which in addition to the official categories for diversity, included several UK nationals resident in the EU and a few EU citizens resident in the UK.

Ahead of the Congress we had met to propose amendments and again to discuss the amendments tabled by other delegations. These are negotiated in the “Working Groups”, which usually take place onsite at the beginning of Congress. Online they were held several days in advance of Congress and a high proportion of delegates were unavailable. Some were unaware that this was the real forum for debate. The procedure is not unlike the European Parliament Committee stage where the political groups negotiate compromise amendments. At the final plenary voting session there is no debate and delegations work to voting lists.

The Working Groups did not go to plan, as the scheduled sessions of two and a half hours each ran to six and five hours respectively. Even delegates who started the sessions were often not there by the end. I was sat with original text on one screen, amendments on another, proceedings on my iPad, delegation WhatsApp and the voting platform both on my iPhone plus a print-out of our voting line.

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged | 2 Comments
Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review: China and the US, democracy and Brexit fallout

By Tom Arms | Sun 13th June 2021 - 8:00 am

There has been an acute outbreak of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill. It has been brought about by an even more acute outbreak of Sinophobia. It appears that the one—and possibly only—thing that upon which Democrats and Republicans can agree is their common fear of the rise of China. But most of all, they worry about they worry about defeat in the technology race which provides the essential tools for all the above. That is why the Senate this week voted by an overwhelming majority of 68 to 32 to pump $250 billion over five years into and development in America’s high-tech industries. It needs it. They worry about losing the values debate, the economic competition and the military debate. At the core of the technology business is semi-conductors and America’s global share of production of semi-conductors has dropped from 37 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, China, this year surpassed America’s spending (private and public) on R and D spending in high-tech. Xi Jinping has said that he aims to have China self-sufficient in the production of semi-conductors and other high-tech products and services by 2025. It is a short jump from self-sufficiency to global dominance. US and Chinese competition in this field should be great news for the rest of the world because the likely result is more and better technology services for the rest of us. It should also spur other countries to follow suit for fear of falling behind. Israel and South Korea already invest more of their GDP’s on research and development than anyone else—4.6 percent according to the latest available figures. Britain has recently announced that its R and D investment will rise to more than $250 million a year to turn the country into a “science super power.”

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The Voice

And the new chair of Federal Conference Committee is…..

By The Voice | Sat 12th June 2021 - 12:39 pm

… Cllr Nick Da Costa.

Nick was one of the Committee’s Vice-Chairs and is also a Councillor in Haringey.

In a post on Facebook, he said:

I am delighted to have been elected as Chair of the Federal Conference Committee taking over from the brilliant Geoff Payne who stood down as Chair at the end of May.

Firstly, a massive thanks to Geoff for his hard work for this party as member, Vice Chair and then Chair of the Federal Conference Committee. He has always championed the importance and sovereignty of Conference in our party and will be sorely missed as he moves onto his next exciting work.

My previous position as Vice Chair of FCC will be filled at the next meeting of the Federal Conference Committee on 11th July, which will also be the agenda setting meeting for Autumn Conference.

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Also posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged and | 1 Comment
NewsHound

Moran attacks Hancock on his denial that there was a PPE shortage early in pandemic

By NewsHound | Fri 11th June 2021 - 11:36 am

The collective memory, the memories of the front like medical workers and the records in all manner of media outlets are wrong. The PPE shortage in the early months of the pandemic was an illusion, maybe a few shortages locally. That’s according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

He is blind to PPE shortages and the consequences. His appointment at Specsavers is overdue. Today, Layla Moran takes Hancock to task and tells of harrowing evidence she has heard from families who lost loved ones to Covid caught on wards, and from NHS and care home staff who were left without adequate PPE.

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The Voice

Simon Hughes wins damages from the Sun

By The Voice | Thu 10th June 2021 - 7:00 pm

The publisher of the Sun has paid an (undisclosed) substantial sum to Simon Hughes over phone hacking. According to The Guardian:

Hughes claimed “he had been the victim of unlawful information gathering by various journalists and executives at the Sun” who were intent on publishing details of his past relationships with men.

…

Speaking outside the court, Hughes said: “It went to the top in the Sun – senior editorial people, senior people at the top were clearly involved.”

Asked if he thought Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of the Sun in 2006, knew about how his private information had been obtained, Hughes said: “I have been very clear that we have not named names, but it is clear from all I have seen that it went to the top of the Sun. I think I will have to leave you to draw your own conclusions about that.”

…

The former MP, who describes himself as bisexual, said he now believes this “private and sensitive information was obtained through unlawful information-gathering techniques and was used with the knowledge and approval of key senior executives at the newspaper”.

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Mary Reid

Tories worried about Chesham and Amersham

By Mary Reid | Thu 10th June 2021 - 2:20 pm

With so many Lib Dems heading over to Chesham and Amersham to support Sarah Green, it was interesting to read a letter published today in The Guardian. Dr Peter Dawson, a voter in the constituency, writes:

This has long been an ultra-safe Conservative seat, but there appears to be some anxiety among Tories, locally and nationally, about a possible Liberal Democrat win. Boris Johnson has made an appearance here and canvassers have been drafted in from London.

Apparently Rishi Sunak has written to all voters encouraging them to vote for a candidate “who can work with me”. As Dr Dawson says:

Now, I am not a Lib Dem supporter, but I recognise that the Lib Dem candidate is not some beyond-the-pale extremist, so I see no reason why Sarah Green and Sunak could not work together. But perhaps Sunak is not that kind of politician, and perhaps this is not that kind of government.

Most party members will by now have received emails (possibly more than one!) explaining how to get involved.

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Caron Lindsay

Jane Dodds questions First Minister on preventing violence against women

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 9th June 2021 - 9:12 pm

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds used her first question as a Member of the Senedd to the First Minister to demand action on ending violence against women and girls.

This comes at a time when Operation Encompass, an initiative set up to notify schools if domestic abuse has taken place in pupils’ homes, report that there has been a huge rise in Public Protection Notices to do with domestic abuse to 2254 from September 2020 to March 2021 compared to 1043 during the same period in the previous year. The impact of Covid-19 appears to be severe.

What actions, Jane asked,  will the Welsh Government take to end violence against women and girls, particularly within black, Asian and minority ethnic communities?

After Mark Drakeford talked about an increase in funding that the Government had put in place, she followed up with:

Can I just follow that through with a focus on what’s been happening in this COVID time? We all know that there’s been a significant increase in the need for refuge places, in the need for services, and better, more focused responses to those women and children who are coming forward after these lockdown periods. I’m particularly interested to hear what issues and services will be targeted into rural areas, where we know that there are particular shortages of those effective responses and services.

You can watch the exchange here at about  32 minutes in.

Afterwards, Jane said:

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Caron Lindsay

Lembit Opik “expelled” from Lib Dems for advising Tories how to beat us

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 9th June 2021 - 8:55 am

Controversial former Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik has reportedly been expelled from the Liberal Democrats after he spoke at a Conservative Party event on how to beat the Lib Dems.

From Nation Cymru:

Lembit Öpik, who used to be the MP for Montgomeryshire, upset his former colleagues when he claimed the party had become a “become a parody of itself” and suggested that there is “currently no vaccine against stupidity”.

In the run up to the Senedd election, he spoke at a ‘How to Stop the Lib Dems with Lembit Öpik’ event organised by the Conservative Party.

He was introduced by former Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling, Conservative Member of Parliament for Epsom and Ewell.

I feel quite sad about this because I remember the good times. I first came across Lembit in the early 90s when he was so focused on growing the party’s membership and was making a name for himself in the north east.

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The Voice

Boundary Commission proposals – what do you think?

By The Voice | Tue 8th June 2021 - 8:55 pm

Today the Boundary Commission for England released its first stage proposals for parliamentary seats in England. You can read the proposals for every part of the country here. The proposals for Scotland and Wales come out next month.

For Liberal Democrats, there was mixed news.

In Hertfordshire, there is a new constituency which comprises the entire Three Rivers Council area, which should be a good prospect for us as we have run that Council successfully for a long time. This will mean that one ward from Daisy Cooper’s St Albans constituency will move into the new seat but it’s otherwise largely unchanged.

However, the news was less promising in Cumbria where Tim Farron’s seat is proposed to be split with our strong areas of Westmoreland and South Lakes being put into separate seats.

It’s fair to say that Tim was less than impressed:

The overall picture is that seats are being created in the south east and lost in other parts of England.

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Mark Valladares

ALDE Party eCongress opens today with policy discussions

By Mark Valladares | Mon 7th June 2021 - 3:56 pm

Whilst the observant amongst our readers will be slightly puzzled by the headline, the postponed 2020 ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe) Party eCongress opens this afternoon in offices and homes across Europe with the first of two working groups to consider eleven of the twenty-two resolutions submitted for debate, as follows;

  • Responsible and smart spending for sustainable growth and jobs
  • Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Borders – The Core of the European Idea
  • Spending reviews as a path towards prioritizing durability
  • Religions and LGBTI Rights: A Liberal Perspective
  • Towards a more inclusive society:

…

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Simon McGrath

The most important elections you have never heard of

By Simon McGrath | Mon 7th June 2021 - 9:42 am

Today, Liberal Democrat Councillors in England and Wales will be getting an e-mail to vote in the elections for a number of positions on the Liberal Democrat Group on the Local Government Association (LGA). These include the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group (also a Vice Chair of the LGA), Deputy Leader and a number of members of LGA Boards. A full list can be found here.

All of the positions receive an allowance, ranging from £36,769 for Group Leader to £2,919 for Board members.

The most interesting and important contests to my mind are those for Group Leader and Deputy Leader.

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Also posted in Local government | Tagged | 4 Comments
The Voice

Long-serving Lib Dem Legend Flick Rea steps down as Camden Councillor

By The Voice | Sat 5th June 2021 - 3:31 pm

Camden’s longest serving Lib Dem Councillor Flick Rea has decided to step down.

Flick, who was elected 35 years ago, is now in her 80s and her decision to resign as a councillor was in part motivated by the Government’s insistence that local Government resumes in-person meetings.

Camden Lib Dems celebrated her time at the Council on Twitter:

From Camden New Journal:

“I’m ok but not great,” said Cllr Rea, who is in her 80s and has had problems with her eyesight.

“Being asked to go to Mornington Crescent feels too much for me. It’s a hard break for me and I will be sad to be leaving, as I’ve always tried to be a voice for my constituents. They want to know somebody will listen to them.”

The article looks back at her long record of service:

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The Voice

Meet Tom Gordon, the new Lib Dem candidate for Batley and Spen

By The Voice | Thu 3rd June 2021 - 6:35 pm

Wakefield Councillor Tom Gordon is the new Liberal Democrat candidate for the Batley and Spen by-election.

He was chosen to fight the seat after previous candidate Jo Conchie stood down for health reasons.

Tom announced the news on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/tomgordonLD/status/1400469065588559876?s=20

The by-election takes place on 1st July and was caused by the election of Tracy Brabin, the former MP, as West Yorkshire’s mayor last month.

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Mary Reid

Lord Nigel Jones asks question about Eurovision

By Mary Reid | Thu 3rd June 2021 - 3:10 pm

Embed from Getty Images

We don’t often cover our country’s performance at the Eurovision Song Contest here on LDV, but Nigel Jones (the other one) used it as an opportunity to ask a serious question in the Lords. He asked Brexit minister Lord David Frost:

Is the minister making any progress on negotiating a new deal for the creative sector touring Europe?

While he’s thinking of a plausible answer to that, when he decided in the negotiations to reject the EU’s generous offer and threw touring musicians under a bus, did he anticipate, is he surprised by or does he accept any responsibility at all for the humiliation of our country scoring zero – nul points – in the Eurovision song contest?

David Frost replied:

I am happy to accept responsibility for many things but I don’t think I can reasonably have accepted the effect of the result on Saturday night.

Of course we work to support all our creative industries in the situation that now prevails.

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The Voice

New Lib Dem mayor of Truro: I’m working out how to use my platform to make others suffer less

By The Voice | Sun 30th May 2021 - 10:55 am

Last week, Liberal Democrat Steven Webb became Mayor of Truro.

A Lib Dem since his teenage years, he was first elected to Truro City Council in 2017.

In 1991, he was paralysed in an accident.

The BBC has done a profile of Steven.

He talked about what he hopes to achieve as Mayor:

In a time where clinically vulnerable people have had to isolate for so long, I see it as an opportunity to make sure there are no groups left behind and we rebuild from the pandemic together.

There are so many people who have self-isolated and have hardly left their flats.

We’ve got to make sure everybody is included – that will help businesses, that will help Truro and that will reduce suffering.

It’s time we had a vision to keep the amazing heritage of cobbled streets and granite pavements but make it open to everybody.

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The Voice

Jo Conchie is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Batley and Spen

By The Voice | Sat 29th May 2021 - 4:35 pm

Well done to Jo Conchie, who has been chosen as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Batley and Spen by-election which takes place on 1 July.

From Yorkshire Live:

Ms Conchie, who is also a community volunteer, said her first priority would be to “ensure that our small towns and villages are no longer neglected”.

“I am delighted to have been selected to represent the Liberal Democrats in the Batley and Spen by-election,” she said.

My family are based in Birkenshaw and I’ve seen the entire constituency change drastically over the last two decades. With the Tory government and the Labour councils focusing their attention on Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield, we’re not getting our fair share here in Batley and Spen.

“If elected to be your MP my first priority would be to ensure that our small towns and villages are no longer neglected.

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Jeremy Hargreaves

Report of the Federal Policy Committee – 26 May 2021

By Jeremy Hargreaves | Sat 29th May 2021 - 9:26 am

We hope this autumn federal party conference, our third online one, will have plenty of interesting topics to debate, and FPC is certainly planning to play its part in that by bringing what we hope will be some interesting and important policy papers and motions.

What this means practically for us now is that over the next month or so, before the motions deadline on 30 June, we have an intense burst of meetings to discuss all the work on our proposals, and finalise them. Towards the end of this period, after the hoped-for lifting of restrictions, we hope to have an in-person awayday meeting, our first physical meeting since February last year.

This week saw the first of these meetings. We started by remembering two long-standing servants of Liberal Democracy, Tony Greaves and Jonathan Fryer, both of whom had been active members of FPC at the times of their deaths in March and April. In their very different ways they contributed a huge amount to our work, and we hope to continue to remember their perspectives in our future work.

We welcomed Phil Bennion, the new chair of the Federal International Relations Committee (FIRC) back to FPC, and also Martin Dickson, the chair of the working group on the “Nature of Public Debate”. Since re-starting work in February, and drawing on their previous consultation at conference, this group has developed some really strong, and powerfully Liberal Democrat, responses to some of the quite inchoate challenges here. We had a good and full discussion of their analysis and proposals to promote good and effective public discourse, on aspects such as tackling ‘fake news’, the competitive and regulatory perspective on social media, supporting journalism, and information during elections. We will come back to this again to finalise the paper and motion.

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NewsHound

Baroness Sheehan leads debate on climate change targets in Lords

By NewsHound | Fri 28th May 2021 - 8:40 am

Yesterday afternoon, the Grand Committee of the House of Lords debated climate change targets. The debate was initiated by Shas Sheehan who emphasised the importance of grasping the nettle of collaborative action on climate change during 2021. She criticised the UK’s investment in fossil fuel projects oversees and worldwide fossil fuel subsidies totalling £3.9 billion annually.

Baroness Sheehan highlighted the planning system which is not aligned with the government’s climate change targets.

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The Voice

Lib Dem Amanda Hopgood to lead Durham County Council

By The Voice | Thu 27th May 2021 - 11:23 am

Great news from Durham. Liberal Democrat Councillor Amanda Hopgood has taken over as Durham County Council leader after Labour lost their majority (and 21 seats) in May’s local elections. 

From the BBC:

The alliance, made up of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, independents and a Green councillor, officially took over at the council’s annual meeting on Wednesday.

Ms Hopgood, who leads the Liberal Democrat group, said she was “honoured and privileged” to have been elected leader.

She said: “County Durham is a fantastic place, not just for those of

…

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Caron Lindsay

One way to increase your chances of winning in 2022’s local elections

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 27th May 2021 - 10:02 am

If you are standing in next year’s local elections, which include every Council seat in Scotland and Wales and London’s boroughs, you will want to give yourself the best chance of winning.

Elections are not won in the 4 weeks of the short campaign. They take long and careful planning and hard work.

One of the best ways to plan the best campaign for your ward is to listen to everything ALDC (the Association of Liberal Democrat Campaigners) tells you. They know everything there is to know about how to run a brilliant local election campaign and win.

If you want to be a councillor next May, I would strongly recommend you attend their Kickstart weekend from 2-4 July. It’s the first big in person event since Covid hit us and they will be sticking to whatever restrictions are in place at the time.

It’s really helpful to get inspiration and ideas from others so actually being there to swap tips with other campaign teams is going to be such an important part of our 2022 preparations.

It’s at he Yarnfield Park Training and Conference Centre near Stone in Staffordshire.

Here’s ALDC’s chief executive Tim Pickstone talking about the event:

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Mary Reid

Geoff Payne to stand down as Federal Conference Committee chair

By Mary Reid | Wed 26th May 2021 - 5:23 pm

Geoff PayneEarlier today Geoff Payne announced that he is standing down as Chair of the Federal Conference Committee – the party body, elected by members, which organises our Spring and Autumn Conferences.

He writes on Facebook:

Some personal news: I have decided to stand down as Chair of Federal Conference Committee. I have thought about this for a while and now seems the right time to do so because we have reached a natural pause between conferences. The reason is nothing to do with the party or the committee, or conference. It is simply that I am finding it increasingly difficult to square conference with my professional life and soon I think it will not be possible at all.

I have been Chair of FCC for three years now. Before that, I served as a Vice-Chair for nine years, and as a member for six years before that. That is probably enough for anyone – some would say too much! But those years have been a privilege for me personally.

Conference continues to represent the very best of the democratic traditions of the party. I am proud of what FCC and the Conference Team has achieved, particularly in pulling together the online conference but also in the many in-person conferences that were run before that. There is immense talent on the committee as well as staffing support of the highest standard from the Conference Office, Policy Unit and party at large. I am very grateful for that, and I wish my successor, whoever that may be, the very best of luck.

A number of members have thanked him:

Jon Ball:

Thank you for everything you have done – especially the Herculean task of making the first virtual conference happen. I’m aware of what an enormous amount of your work that involved and of the consummate skill you applied.

Jennie Rigg:

Geoff has been an excellent, calm and capable chair. He was a worthy successor to Andrew, gracefully steering FCC through numerous crises (including one caused by me). He will be very much missed.

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The Voice

Tim Farron on dog thefts

By The Voice | Wed 26th May 2021 - 2:10 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Ever since we were able to leave the house at the end of the first lockdown I have been going out for walks with my husband, whenever the weather allows. Just a short drive from our home we have discovered many woods and even lakes that we didn’t know existed even though we have lived here for over 40 years.

On our walks we have met a lot of very well behaved dogs. We don’t have a dog ourselves but have really enjoyed seeing so many beautiful and much loved pets out enjoying the countryside.

But we have also spotted notices warning about dog thefts. One ploy, it seems, is for people in fake uniform to approach a dog owner claiming to be from the RSPCA, with a van badged up so it appears official. Then they say they need to take the dog for a check-up and make off with it in the van.

Dog theft has rocketed recently, largely because pedigree dogs are not at all cheap. So it is good news that the Prime Minister is threatening tougher sentences for dog thieves as well as for those who abandon their pets. But it is not good news that it could be some time before this comes into legislation.

Tim Farron has been campaigning on this issue for some time:

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Mary Reid

Local lockdowns by stealth?

By Mary Reid | Wed 26th May 2021 - 11:30 am

The Government has been having to deal rapidly with the cock-up over the restrictions in areas where the Indian variant is spreading.

Munira Wilson was in the Guardian today, after confusion reigned in Westminster:

An appearance in the House of Commons on Tuesday by the vaccines minister, Nadhim Zahawi, failed to clarify the matter.

“What we’re asking people in those affected areas is to be cautious, is to be careful – so on visiting family, meet outdoors rather than inside where possible. Meet 2 metres apart from people you don’t live with, unless you have formed a support bubble,” said Zahawi. “Yes, people can visit family in half-term, if they follow social distancing guidelines.”

But then he added: “Avoid travelling in and out of the affected areas, as the prime minister said on the 14th, unless it is essential, for example for work purposes.”

…

In the House of Commons, the Twickenham MP, Munira Wilson, challenged Zahawi about whether her constituents should be avoiding travelling across the borough boundary into neighbouring Hounslow to shop or go to school.

The minister replied: “People need to exercise that caution, that common sense.”

It’s a pity that the Government didn’t follow it’s own advice and act with common sense in the first place.

Layla Moran, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, joined in on the BBC News:

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Mark Valladares

Roman Protasevich abduction – time for Britain to act?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 24th May 2021 - 4:29 pm

The criminal hijacking of a Ryanair flight from Athens to Vilnius, with a Belarussian anti-government activist on board has led to calls from across Europe and beyond for firm action to be taken against the Belarus Government led by Alexander Lukashenko, whose agents advised the flight crew that there was a bomb onboard, and then seized Protasevich and his partner, Sofia Sapega, whilst the plane was on the ground in Minsk.

Layla Moran was quick to call upon Dominic Raab to respond;

https://twitter.com/LaylaMoran/status/1396532079995797510?s=20

Meanwhile, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, in advance of today’s European Council meeting, demanded;

  • The immediate release

…

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Paul Noblet

Help shape our new Universal Basic Income policy

By Paul Noblet | Mon 24th May 2021 - 2:03 pm

At our 2020 Autumn Federal Conference members voted to commit the party to campaign for a universal basic income and called on the Federal Policy Committee to work on the details of the implementation.

For the past three months a working group, including members from England, Scotland and Wales, has heard from external experts and campaigners on how a UBI could be implemented and paid for in a socially just and equitable manner.

In our discussions the working group has tried to discern what members may have had in mind in voting for UBI as a broad policy whilst balancing the impact of a basic income on the party’s ability to fund other policy priorities in a future general election manifesto.

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The Voice

Interested in attending the Congress of European Liberals in two weeks time? Then read on…

By The Voice | Mon 24th May 2021 - 9:25 am

The 41st ALDE Party Congress, will take place from 11-12 June 2021 online.

Preliminary information about the programme, political deadlines, venues and logistics is available on the ALDE Party website.

The UK Liberal Democrats are currently the second largest voting bloc in the ALDE Party. The Congress is the largest event of the year for ALDE and it is a policy-making event, with policy motions submitted by member parties for debate and voted on during the Congress. The ALDE Party Congress is the biggest annual event gathering Liberals across Europe with;

  • Over 650 members of Liberal parties from around the continent,
  • Top politicians including Prime Ministers, European Commissioners, Ministers, Members of the European and national Parliaments, Members of the Committee of the Regions, and many other delegates,
  • European visibility, acknowledging the role of the supporting party within a European and not only a national political context,
  • Topical debates, high level speeches and policy discussions,
  • Plenty of Networking opportunities.
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Caron Lindsay

Join the Sarahphone today!

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 22nd May 2021 - 10:02 am

Having spent most of my Saturdays this year hosting maraphones and making a lot of calls to voters, I might have reasonably expected a few weeks off.

However, the Chesham and Amersham by-election is well and truly upon us. The writ was only moved a week ago on Wednesday but already the postal votes are about to go out.

Every election these days has two polling days – when the postal votes land and on the actual day when people go to the polling station.  And with more people choosing to vote by post in these Covid times, postal vote polling day is more important than ever.  That is why Lib Dem MPs have been heading there this week:

Christine Jardine and Daisy Cooper have also been there in the past few days.

So it stands to reason that we need to speak to as many of these postal voters as possible before they pick up that envelope from their doormats.

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Mary Reid

Great British Railways?

By Mary Reid | Thu 20th May 2021 - 8:05 am

Embed from Getty Images

Late last night the news broke about the wide-reaching Government reform of the railways. In a couple of years time we will see the establishment of Great British Railways – which sounds more like a reality show, or a travelogue that features Michael Portillo’s yellow trousers.

According to the BBC, Great British Railways “will set timetables and prices, sell tickets in England and manage rail infrastructure”, that is, have control over both the physical network as well as the train operators.

I think we can all agree that the privatisation of the railways has not been a success. Quality has been inconsistent across the franchised rail networks, the fare structure has been a mystery to most travellers and there seems to be little central accountability for failures.

Are we really to believe that a right-leaning Conservative Government is planning to re-nationalise the railways? Undoubtedly the devil will be in the detail, so if you have had a chance to dissect the White Paper, known as by the Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail, do please offer your comments or write us a post.

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Caron Lindsay

Jane Dodds campaigns for Sarah Green in Chesham and Amersham

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th May 2021 - 11:57 am

Jane Dodds knows what it’s like to fight – and win – a parliamentary by-election. The entire party got behind her campaign to win Brecon and Radnorshire in 2019 so she’s returning the favour by heading to Chesham and Amersham to help Sarah Green. Sarah is a fantastic candidate who would make a brilliant addition to our Westminster Parliamentary Party

Activists are following Jane’s example and heading to the constituency in significant numbers. There are just 4 weeks till the by-election and the more help we get early on, the better our chances.

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  • Nonconformistradical
    " In fact, most rich people employed clever tax avoidance experts to create and find loopholes, and thereby dodge their tax bills." Isn't this justification ...
  • Chloe
    Mick; Debate and discussion lead to a majority of just 23. There's very strong opinions on either side. And parliamentarians should not be giving out emotive ex...
  • David Allen
    Simon McGrath, "@Mick Taylor “in my youth some people could pay up to 98% on their income above a threshold. People talked about leaving, but few ever did....
  • Jana
    Many years ago, prior to wearing seatbelts became law, my mother was in a multiple car crash that she only survived due to not wearing a seatbelt - she was thro...