Category Archives: News

The Voice

Slow progress in women’s access to politics in Europe, ALDE Party study finds

By The Voice | Sun 14th March 2021 - 6:23 pm

Following the launch of The Alliance Of Her on 8 March, a new research report published by the ALDE Party in collaboration with the European Liberal Forum and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation highlights the experiences of European liberal women in politics.

In Europe, women’s political representation has increased significantly in the last decade. Currently, the region accounts for the highest number of women in elected office worldwide. However, while some progress has been made, achieving gender equality seems to be going forward at a snail’s pace. Men continue to outnumber women in elected positions and those measures which perhaps have made a difference when it comes to parity, have done little to improve how women are valued as political leaders and actors.

In other words, while we celebrate the increase in number of women elected to political office in Europe, women are still more likely to be undermined in every stage of their political journey as compared to their male counterparts.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems tell Cressida Dick to resign

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 13th March 2021 - 11:02 pm

I have been a bit worried of late that the Lib Dems, at least in England, have been a bit bland and have been pulling the punches they should have landed.

Well, credit where it’s due. After the utterly disgraceful scenes on Clapham Common tonight, Alistair Carmichael, Luisa Porritt and Ed Davey have written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to tell her she should resign.

Here is their letter:

Dear Commissioner,

The scenes this evening of the policing of the Clapham Common vigil in memory of Sarah Everard are utterly disgraceful and shame the Metropolitan Police.

The vigil this evening was a peaceful one brought together in the most horrific of circumstances.

Across the country, countless women have told their own painful stories of harassment and abuse. Your officers should have been standing in solidarity with those on Clapham Common tonight not being ordered to disrupt this display of grief and peaceful protest.

This was a complete abject tactical and moral failure on the part of the Police.

We therefore call on you to consider your leadership of the service and whether you can continue to have the confidence of the millions of women in London that you have a duty to safeguard and protect.

Yours sincerely ,

Ed Davey MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Luisa Porritt, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London

Alistair Carmichael MP, Spokesperson for Home Affairs

​

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Caron Lindsay

Munira Wilson: Government has duty to facilitate safe protest

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 13th March 2021 - 10:51 am

I’m feeling frustrated, to be honest, that Reclaim these Streets vigils over the country have been cancelled after Police made clear to organisers that they could be hit with heavy fines. The events have now mostly been moved online and I’ll be taking part at 6pm tonight, on my doorstep with a candle to remember Sarah Everard and the other women killed by men and to assert the right of women and girls to go about their business in safety – and, crucially, without the fear that it is clear we all experience.

Now I’m about as Covid-cautious as you could possibly get. I’ve barely been out in a year. But I’m also a liberal and my instinctive reaction is that our right to protest is a fundamental civil liberties. In these times, you need to be responsible and protest in a Covid secure way, but the right to stand up and be counted for a cause you believe in is vital.

In recent days, several Liberal Democrats have been talking more about civil liberties.

I’m glad to see that Munira Wilson, our MP for Twickenham and health spokesperson, has made some robust comments on the vigil bans:

Women and girls should be able to walk down our streets safely and without fear. I completely understand why people feel moved to attend vigils or protest about this. It is deeply disappointing that the Metropolitan Police have refused to help make it happen.
“No one wants to see crowds of people at a time when social distancing is so important to save lives. But Reclaim These Streets is committed to organising Covid-safe vigils and the High Court made it clear that such an event can be lawful.
“The Government has a duty to facilitate safe protests. The way the Government has curtailed protest rights and is trying to do so even after we emerge from the pandemic is deeply concerning. Liberal Democrats will always defend the right to protest.”
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NewsHound

Lib Dems challenge ministers on local government funding

By NewsHound | Fri 12th March 2021 - 11:09 am

With local council elections less than eight weeks away in England, Lib Dems are getting the message out local government funding.

John Marriott, a former Liberal Democrat councillor in Lincolnshire, writes on the Guardian’s letter page:

“Local government funding has been… the victim of the totally inadequate council tax for decades, and an ever-reducing central grant…

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The Voice

Welsh Lib Dem Minister announces £30 million boost to Welsh-medium education

By The Voice | Fri 12th March 2021 - 8:48 am

Kirsty Williams the Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Minister yesterday announced an additional £30 million to develop new Welsh-medium education.

The capital investment aims to help reach the longstanding target of 1 Million Welsh speakers by 2050, by supporting young learners to become Welsh speakers by the time they leave school.

This announcement follows hot on the heels of the new Welsh Curriculum approved by Senedd members this week which will be introduced after an extensive consultation and is the first complete reform of the curriculum in a generation.

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Mary Reid

Wendy Chamberlain speaks in the International Women’s Day debate

By Mary Reid | Thu 11th March 2021 - 7:44 pm

Wendy Chamberlain, Lib Dem MP for North East Fife, spoke today in Parliament’s International Women’s Day debate.  She called for action to address domestic abuse and misogyny and reflected on her own experiences as a police officer dealing with sexual offences. Here is an extract:

Here is her speech in full:

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The Voice

Welsh Liberal Democrats party broadcast

By The Voice | Thu 11th March 2021 - 3:12 pm

Yesterday the Welsh Liberal Democrats published a party broadcast featuring their Leader, Jane Dodds. Enjoy!

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Tahir Maher

Today’s Announcements – 10th March 2021

By Tahir Maher | Wed 10th March 2021 - 5:15 pm

MP calls on Govt to address maternal mental health

Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, has today held a Westminster Hall debate on the mental health of mothers during the perinatal period, with a specific focus on the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated systemic problems for vulnerable women.  

Sarah Olney MP commented:

“The sheer volume of responses we’ve had in just a matter of days signals just how significant an issue this is, and how critical it is we act quickly.

“Even before the pandemic took hold of public resources, this was a service that was chronically underfunded

…

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Keith Sharp

Wendy Chamberlain MP becomes LDER President

By Keith Sharp | Wed 10th March 2021 - 12:00 pm

Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform have a new President – Wendy Chamberlain, our MP for North East Fife.

Since entering Parliament in 2019, Wendy has made her mark as an articulate, vivid advocate of electoral reform. Through most of 2020, as our Political and Constitutional Reform front bench spokesperson, she led the campaign both inside and outside Parliament. Last June, she initiated an adjournment debate on the need for reform. In August, she urged party members to join a Make Votes Matter (MVM) nationwide ‘virtual’ Action Day, which saw hundreds of Liberal Democrats get involved.

A strong believer in linking reform to improving peoples’ everyday lives, also last June, Wendy spoke alongside Klina Jordan of MVM at a Green Liberal Democrats’ conference session on Electoral Reform and the Environment. In September, she led LDER’s virtual fringe meeting, along with the Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Matter and Unite to Reform.

Our Parliamentary Chief Whip and Work and Pensions spokesperson, Wendy, has maintained her commitment to electoral reform. In February, she became a Vice-Chair of the newly-formed All-Party Parliamentary Group on Electoral Reform. (Alistair Carmichael, Wera Hobhouse and Lord Paul Tyler are also APPG members). Wendy is also a member of the APPG on Deliberative Democracy.

Wendy said:

In an era of increasing identity politics, the place has increasing importance to many. With Covid-19, however, the straining of centralised decision making at Westminster, and better recognition of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, could mean electoral reform’s time has come. It’s increasingly clear that the fundamental change required to ensure the future of the UK and a representative democracy starts with electoral reform.

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Sarah Olney

Liberal Democrats join 100 MPs in backing the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill

By Sarah Olney | Wed 10th March 2021 - 10:30 am

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a great revealer. It has exposed the sections of our society that work well – the kindness in our communities, the brave and vital roles of our key workers, and the life-saving potential of scientific technologies – while also revealing the elements that need fixing. As the world begins a process of renewal and reform, climate change and ecological renewal must be at the centre of that positive change.

The climate and nature crisis is the most pressing problem facing the world. The question of how we can continue to sustain life on earth is existential. It would be easy to think that the pandemic has solved this quandary: as normal life ground to a halt, global emissions reduced by almost 8% in the first half of 2020 alone. But as the world begins to reopen, there is still much work to be done. 

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The Voice

Scottish Liberal Democrats secure hundreds of millions for mental health and education in budget deal

By The Voice | Tue 9th March 2021 - 8:55 pm

The Scottish Liberal Democrats backed the SNP Government’s budget today. The minority administration needs the support of opposition parties to get its budget through.

Leader Willie Rennie negotiated with SNP Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and, as you would expect, asked for more money for mental health, education, local government, environment, training and business support. He also asked for assurances that specialist eye treatments would be available in Lothian.

The full list of the Lib Dem gains in the budget are:

 

  • An extra £120million for mental health services to pay for new services in communities.
  • An extra £60million to help education bounce back with smaller class sizes.
  • Additional support for businesses and the release of money for local authorities.
  • Fair funding for the internal ferries in Orkney and Shetland.
  • An extra £20million to provide more in-class support to children who need it by topping up the Pupil Equity Fund. This is money paid directly to headteachers to provide additional support to pupils from less well-off backgrounds. This represents a rough 16% increase on the current year.
  • £15million in special allocations to the North East to pay for skills training, upskilling and business support in a region particularly under pressure given its reliance on fossil fuel industries.
  • The addition of compensation for the council tax freeze into the baseline of local government funding, worth around £90million, which will remove the risk that councils would face a cliff edge on funding next year.
  • £5million more for agriculture transition funding, which rewards farmers for environmental stewardship and helps our climate change priorities.
  • A clear commitment that specialised eye services in Lothian will be protected.

Willie said:

Scottish Liberal Democrats have been engaged with SNP ministers since the draft budget was published in January. We think that people expect parties to work together in the middle of a pandemic. Our focus has been to put recovery first.

“We have highlighted the need for business support, an education bounce back plan, and better mental health services, given the pressure we know that the virus crisis has put on people.

“As a result of those constructive discussions, the Budget Bill was substantially amended. Those changes were announced by the Finance Secretary in the stage one debate ten days ago and put onto the face of the Budget Bill at the parliamentary committee this morning.

“As a result of discussions since then, further changes have been agreed which allow Scottish Liberal Democrat MSPs to support the budget at its final stage tomorrow. This includes additional money for supporting pupils, training fund for the North East to support the just transition, a further £90m for local authorities and money to support farmers engaged in environmental stewardship.

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Caron Lindsay

International Women’s Day: Chloe Hutchinson on the difference of having more young women in politics

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th March 2021 - 6:50 pm

Chloe Hutchinson is one of the brightest talents in our party. She heads up the South Wales West list for the Senedd elections this year. She gave a keynote speech to Welsh Conference yesterday about the difference Welsh Lib Dems can make in May. Let’s hope Chloe is elected because she would be a powerful voice for liberty and equality.

We have just 8 weeks left in what is one of the most important, and probably strangest, elections that many of us have fought. COVID 19 has had a devastating impact on our communities and it is essential that the next Welsh Government puts recovery first. From calling people across your communities to check in, to supporting local foodbanks and leading volunteer groups – thank you for everything you have done.

Thank you too for everything you have done so far and are continuing to do to help us get our message out to voters and rebuild a liberal base, offering real choice to our communities ahead of this election.

It is a privilege to be standing for this party and to be supported by so many of you here. That support means even more to me as a young woman engaging in politics when the average politician does not look like me. Now things have been getting better, slowly. Following the 2019 election 34% of the MPs elected to parliament were women, the highest ever. In Wales, we were ahead of the curve – in 2003 50% of Senedd members were women. However only 28% of councillors in Wales are women, and a woman of colour has never been elected to the Welsh Parliament, and we are at real risk of electing even less women this May.

Whether you want to run for a parliamentary seat or local council, campaign to get others elected or on an issue you are passionate about – get involved. 

This May, we will also see 16 and 17 year olds in Wales being able to vote for the first time, something we have long campaigned for. Now, I first got involved in politics during the 2014 European election, researching the issues and debating with my friends. I decided that I liked what the Liberal Democrats stood for. It just made sense. Unfortunately, I was just 6 days too young to vote. 

A few months later, angry at the number of UKIP MEPs I was now represented by and inspired by a campaign run by fantastic young woman, I decided to go to a youth conference and quickly got involved in Young Liberals, or more specifically IR Cymru.

From campaigns for cheaper bus travel, a youth parliament, more inclusive and cheaper school uniforms, and a new relationship and sexuality education that is inclusive to LGBT+ people, includes consent, and empowers young people to have healthy relationships, it has been fantastic to see young Liberal Democrats bring these to conference and even better to see them put into practice by Welsh Liberal Democrats in the Senedd. 

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Caron Lindsay

International Women’s Day: Beatrice Wishart on gender balance going backwards at Holyrood

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th March 2021 - 11:00 am

Today is International Women’s Day. And if you are one of those people who find it necessary to ask if there’s an International Men’s Day, it’s 19th November.

So today, I’ll be making the occasional intervention on Mark’s day to report on what senior Liberal Democrats are saying about International Women’s Day.

Beatrice Wishart, Lib Dem MSP for Shetland got in early with her speech in the Holyrood International Women’s Day event last Thursday. She highlighted the problems women were facing juggling work and caring responsibilities during the pandemic. She also spoke about the exodus of young women MSPs who  have found it too difficult to combine raising a family with their parliamentary duties. One of the women stepping down is Gail Ross, the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. If the Parliament had got its act together on hybrid proceedings before the pandemic, maybe she and others might have felt able to stay. Happy International Women’s Day, everyone!

Equality is one of the four founding principles of the Scottish Parliament.

It should be at the core of everything we do here.

And yet, 20 years into this Parliament, so many challenges remain. We undoubtedly still have work to do.

In November we spoke about problems around violence against women. The life ruining crimes. The hideous harassment. Problems that just have to be addressed, globally and closer to home.

Of course, those are not the only challenges women face.

Many have said that the pandemic “turned back the clock” on gender equality.

It is certainly true that negative impacts have fallen disproportionately on women.

Job losses and income reductions have been widespread. An International Monetary Fund report highlighted how women are more likely than men to work in social sectors including retail, tourism, and hospitality where lockdown has been most widely felt.

The true value of care has come into the limelight, both professionally and domestically. 

And the responsibility to manage home schooling all hit women harder, without question.

Many people found themselves between a rock and a hard place, juggling impossible burdens and expectations. 

These problems are not new. There is nothing unfamiliar in what I’ve just described.

The relationship between women and work has always been fragile.

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Caron Lindsay

Your last chance to apply for the Ethnic Minority Future MPs Weekend

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th March 2021 - 5:57 pm

One of the great successes of the Campaign for Gender Balance has been its (still ongoing) series of Future Women MPs weekends. I know that Layla, Christine, Daisy and Wendy at least – and I think others – all went on one. Some even went to the same one.

The Racial Diversity Campaign is adopting the same model and is having an Ethnic Minority Future MPs Weekend next Saturday and Sunday and there are still places available. From an email sent round today:

The Lib Dem Racial Diversity Campaign would like to invite you to apply to the Ethnic Minority Future MPs’ Weekend to be held Zoom on 13th – 14th March 2021.

With sessions delivered by our MPs and more, the event is a free intensive training weekend for aspiring ethnic minority candidates, designed to equip you with the knowledge you succeed as a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate.

Daisy Cooper (MP for St Albans and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats)
Munira Wilson (MP for Twickenham)
Baroness Lynne Featherstone (former minister and MP for Hornsey and Wood Green)
Margaret Joachim (Chair of the English Candidates Committee)

As well as expert advice on your political career, the weekend will give you:
Information and advice on all aspects of the process from how to apply for approval, through to planning and winning your selection on your way to standing for Parliament
An opportunity to formulate your Personal Development Plan
Key skills on strategically planning your career in politics
A fantastic opportunity to network and make useful contacts with other aspiring ethnic minority candidates within the party

You can apply here – but hurry because the applications close tomorrow.

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The Voice

WATCH: Jane Dodds’ speech to Welsh Lib Dem Conference

By The Voice | Sun 7th March 2021 - 2:15 pm

Welsh Liberal Democrats have been holding their Conference this weekend, also online.

In her leader’s speech, Jane Dodds talked about making Wales the green economic power house of a reformed UK, of the need for greater mental health support and investment in housing and tackling poverty with a Universal Basic Income trial. She talked of the importance of both people and planet to Wales’ recovery.

Watch it here:

The text is below:

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The Voice

Ed Davey’s speech to Scottish Lib Dem Conference – Independence is Brexit 2.0

By The Voice | Sun 7th March 2021 - 10:45 am

Ed Davey spoke to Scottish Lib Dem Conference on Friday. Here is his speech in full:

One of the things that gives me great hope for our Party is seeing so many brilliant rising stars like Joe.

In the year of COP26, Glasgow will be in the global spotlight, and I hope that talented young activists like Joe can be at the forefront of making liberal voices heard. In the crucial debate of our generation – the climate.

I had hoped that by now the Government would be on top of this pandemic. That I would be speaking in person and with you able to knock on doors to get as many Liberal Democrat MSPs elected as possible.

Instead, I was delighted to join some of you for the recent Maraphone event that took place on Six Nations weekend.

You may not have beaten Wales on the pitch, but on the phones Scotland reigns supreme. And please don’t mention the Calcutta Cup.

But seriously, if you haven’t yet had a chance to join one of those Maraphone events, I would highly recommend it. It feels pretty good to connect with voters again.

When I spoke to you last, I was in the middle of my listening tour, travelling up and down the UK.

I talked of our internationalist values and our unwavering pro-European commitment.

And Brexit is already the disaster we said it would be – with huge costs for business.

From the record increase in red tape hitting our exporters to the loss of the Erasmus scheme, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Government’s response to the worst economic downturn in 300 years is – to make it more difficult to trade. More difficult to do business. More difficult to keep your job. The Tories seem determined to make us smaller, poorer and more isolated.

They didn’t write that on the side of their bus.

To take just one example: Scottish seafood exporters are losing £1m every day – when the Government could have followed Christine Jardine’s advice and secured a grace period for their trading arrangements.

The UK deserves better than this. I have never been more convinced that being part of the European Union must be part of our country’s destiny.

Sadly Brexit is not the only challenge facing the Scottish economy.

The UK Government has been no more successful at selling the best of Scotland across the Atlantic than it has at keeping the free flow of goods to the continent.

Scotch Whisky exports are now at their lowest levels for 10 years — a product in which Scotland is the utterly undisputed world leader. The Conservatives spent years cosying up to Donald Trump and now we are paying the price.

As we come out of the pandemic, I want to see a green recovery with high skilled, high wage jobs for people in every corner of the UK. I want to see our world leading industries flourishing with hundreds of thousands of good jobs.

That will never happen under Boris Johnson’s cruel and incompetent Conservative Government, whose budget this week threatens to cut off the recovery before it has even got started, letting down small businesses and allowing far too many people to fall through the cracks.

Nor will it happen under a hapless SNP government who would impose independence – Brexit 2.0.

Liberal Democrats want to put recovery first. The SNP want to break-up first.

Liberal Democrats have plans to recover the health and jobs of the Scottish people, SNP plans would harm the NHS and hit jobs across Scotland.

We Liberal Democrats want to see a society richer in more than just material terms. I want to see a society that is fairer, greener and more caring.

That’s why last year I pledged to be the voice of the 9 million carers in our country.

If you’ve heard my story before you will know that this is a deeply personal subject to me. I’ve been a carer throughout my life – for my mum during my teens, then for my wonderful Nanna, and now for my disabled son.

Our Stand up for Carers campaign aims to make sure that carers are no longer forgotten or left behind by those in power.

I have been inspired by Willie Rennie, who has pressed the Scottish Government for months over carers and the situation in care homes.

From exposing the lack of tests and PPE, to pushing for safe visiting to be allowed once more. The people in these homes have spent months apart from their families.

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NewsHound

Win for women’s pensions after Steve Webb and media campaign

By NewsHound | Fri 5th March 2021 - 1:55 pm

After a campaign by the former Lib Dem pensions minister Steve Webb, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has agreed to investigate underpayments of state pensions over the last 20 years. That could lead to back-payments averaging about £13,500. The problem is thought to affect 200,000 women who retired before 6 April 2016 and received the old state pension.

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Mary Reid

Jane Dodds selected as candidate for Senedd

By Mary Reid | Thu 4th March 2021 - 5:43 pm

Jane Dodds, the Leader of the Welsh Lib Dems, has been selected as the top name on the Mid and West Wales list for the Welsh Parliament. At the last Senedd election in 2016 we came very close to winning a seat in this region.

Jane was briefly MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, winning a by-election in 2019, but sadly lost the seat in the bloodbath that was the General Election later that year.

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Tahir Maher

Todays Announcement: 3 March 2021

By Tahir Maher | Wed 3rd March 2021 - 6:20 pm

Budget betrays children, parents and teachers

Daisy Cooper MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, reacted to the Budget:

“It’s simply astonishing that the Budget has nothing to tackle child poverty, nothing for children or young people or their early years education or schools.

“Tens of thousands of childcare providers are at risk of closure, whilst school finances are at breaking point.

“The Chancellor’s Statement needed to give children and young people the opportunities to regain the learning time they have lost over the last year.

“He has failed to extend free school meals permanently to ensure no child living in poverty goes hungry, he’s failed to give nurseries and early years providers any certainty and he’s failed to deliver much-needed extra funding for schools to help meet the additional costs of being open safely during the pandemic.

“This is a huge betrayal of pupils, parents and teachers by a government whose handling of the pandemic has wreaked havoc on their lives for a year and is now failing to invest in their future.”

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The Voice

Jackie Charlton selected as Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate for Rhondda

By The Voice | Mon 1st March 2021 - 11:02 am

Rhondda Liberal Democrats have selected Jackie Charlton as their candidate to contest the Rhondda seat at this year’s Senedd Election.

Jackie Charlton is a county councillor and community activist who has campaigned on disability rights, health and social care and on preventing a climate emergency.

Jackie is registered deaf and easily recognised by Lucie, her Hearing Dog.

Commenting on her selection, Jackie Charlton said:

It is a real pleasure to have been selected to contest Rhondda on behalf of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. On so many issues Rhondda has been overlooked and this has never been

…

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Colin Bloodworth

Lib Dems Overseas takes action to end seventy years of injustice for 500,000 pensioners

By Colin Bloodworth | Mon 1st March 2021 - 9:15 am

Imagine you took out a retirement plan in your twenties with a private insurance company in order to qualify for an inflation-protected pension. You then discover in horror on retirement, after paying your contributions in full, that if you have moved overseas the pension provider refuses to uprate your pension each year unless you have moved to a ‘qualifying’ country.
Could that really happen?

Very unlikely in the private sector, but this is the reality for over half a million UK state pensioners, including some 100,000 war veterans. A recent survey showed that 50% of ‘frozen’ pensioners are receiving £65 a week or less, compared to the current basic pension of £134.25 a week.

What determines whether your pension will be uprated or not? It comes down to whether the country concerned has a ‘reciprocal agreement’ with the UK, an excuse which is illogical and unfair.
Qualifying countries include the USA, Europe (at the moment) and most British Overseas Territories. ‘Frozen’ countries include Australia, Canada, South Africa and most of Asia. To illustrate the absurdity of the policy, pensioners in the US Virgin Islands are uprated annually whilst those in the British Virgin Islands are ‘frozen’.

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Caron Lindsay

Sal Brinton: Make sure Ministerial maternity leave bill includes everyone

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 28th February 2021 - 1:55 pm

Earlier this week, we reported on Liz Barker’s speech on the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Bill, in which she compared the demonisation of transgender people today to the discrimination she and others faced during the 80s.

The Bill was a simple one – designed to give ministers leave when they have a baby, something that our Jo Swinson and Jenny Willott did not benefit from when they had their babies. There was a concerted effort by socially conservative peers to change the Bill’s gender neutral language. In the first of two speeches, Sal explained why it was important to be as inclusive as possible. It is good to see our peers arguing that extending rights to trans and non binary people does not diminish women’s rights.

My Lords, I too support this Bill, even though it does not go far enough in giving Ministers who are parents the same rights that other workers have now come to expect. As others have already said, these include adoption leave, sick leave and shared parental leave. The last is particularly important and affects any Minister who becomes a parent and who is still missing out on the rights to share in the care of their new baby with their partner. I hope the Minister will remedy this urgently.

There is one other parental benefit that has not yet been mentioned—statutory parental bereavement pay and leave. I worked with the noble Lord, Lord Knight of Weymouth, for a number of years to win this right for parents, but it is omitted from this legislation for Ministers. I urge the Minister to ensure that it is added to the other forms of parental allowance and leave for future discussion. One hopes that it is never needed but it is vital to have it in place to cover such awful circumstances.

My former colleagues, Jo Swinson and Jenny Willott, both had their first babies while they were Ministers. No arrangements were made for them. They had to cover for each other without maternity pay at exactly the time when they were working in government for better rights for women and parents in the workplace.

I agree with my noble friend Lady Hussein-Ece about the lack of equality impact assessments. We need to remedy this and to reflect on why, as a society, we have moved over the years to gender-neutral language. The gender-neutral language in this Bill is inclusive. Changing it, as many speakers have asked, would make it exclusive—perhaps not to many, but to some people for whom it matters a great deal. No one is trying to erase women but rather to accept that, over recent years, there have been advances in medicine. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, for referring to trans men in Brighton. We also have to remember that non-binary and intersex people who were born women would be excluded. Both equality law and clinical care have kept pace with them and their circumstances. Medical care, in particular, has adapted in order to provide the best possible care for them in rare and difficult circumstances. That is why I would gently correct the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, in her reporting of the Brighton hospital trust introducing “chestfeeding” and “pregnant people” and removing “breastfeeding” and “women” from its documentation. It is not. Snopes, that excellent debunker of myths, explains this carefully:

“A maternity department at a U.K. hospital announced in February 2021 that it was expanding terms it used in maternity care to include, for example, ‘chestfeeding’ and ‘pregnant people’, in order to be more inclusive of trans and nonbinary patients … To be clear, the NHS said that such language—like referencing ‘pregnant women’ and ‘breastfeed’—will not change for those who identify as such … Adding terms like ‘chestfeeding’ and ‘birthing parent’ was not intended to take away from women-oriented language already in use. Rather, the move was meant to be additional support that offers more inclusion for trans and nonbinary individuals.”

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The Voice

Government permits delivery and canvassing in England from 8th March

By The Voice | Sat 27th February 2021 - 8:03 am

Mike Tuffrey campaigning in PutneyWith the biggest set of local and national elections across the UK coming up on 6th May, the UK Government has finally issued guidance which will enable activists in England to deliver leaflets and canvass, subject to some restrictions, from a week on Monday, 8th March.

From 8 March, therefore, people who are campaigning in support of the electoral success (or against the electoral success) of candidates or political parties, or relating to a referendum outcome, will be allowed to deliver leaflets and canvass electors in relation to the elections and local referendums taking place on 6 May and for any further by-elections and local referendums being held for as long as COVID-19 related restrictions remain in place. The number of campaigners operating together should be kept to an absolute minimum and a minimum 2 metres distance should be maintained between them at all times.

Campaigners should not enter a private home. Campaigners may speak to electors on their doorsteps, maintaining at least 2 metres distance at all times.

Campaigners should only enter premises, such as a shared hallway in a block of flats, where absolutely necessary to reach individual homes served by communal areas. Unless it is unsafe to do so, canvassing from within shared internal areas should be carried out by a single campaigner.

At all times, campaigners should ensure that all necessary mitigations are applied including the wearing of face coverings, keeping socially distanced at 2 metres, and sanitising hands between visiting different households. All campaigners should follow the guidance on how to stop the spread of coronavirus at all times.

You should not meet with other campaigners indoors. It is safer to meet outdoors, where the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19 is much lower, but 2 metre social distancing should still be maintained. Operational collection and delivery of campaign literature should be handled on a click and drop or doorstep drop procedure as for other goods deliveries during the pandemic. Only rarely will two people be required indoors at the same location to manage bulk delivery handling. You should keep these interactions to a minimum to reduce contact and follow the guidance on how to stop the spread of coronavirus at all times.

All hustings, and campaign planning meetings must take place remotely.

As Lib Dem campaigners, we are bound by the party’s guidance. We would be very surprised if it was not updated accordingly within the next few days.

There are more changes from 29th March:

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NewsHound

Newshound: Lib Dem peer Baroness Barker challenges the Lords on transgender issues

By NewsHound | Fri 26th February 2021 - 11:50 am

Yesterday afternoon, Baroness Barker spoke on the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Bill.

It was a short and powerful statement on how minority groups have been discriminated against, ignored and marginalised in past decades. That was “what happened to migrant communities in the UK in the 1970s and, in the 1980s, it was lesbians and gay men.” Today, she said, it is the turn of trans people.

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The Voice

Ed Davey calls for Team GB to boycott the Chinese Winter Olympics over the genocide of the Uighurs

By The Voice | Thu 25th February 2021 - 3:45 pm

Ed Davey asked the Prime Minister this question yesterday.

Boris Johnson said he was appalled by the abuse of the Uighurs, but was not in favour of sporting boycotts.

What do our readers think?

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Newsmoggie

Lazy Sunday: The newsview from Newsmoggie’s cat basket

By Newsmoggie | Sun 21st February 2021 - 2:19 pm

“It’s getting better every day” as Cass Elliot once sang. There is certainly more cheer than fear as I gaze out from my nest on the radiators of LDV Towers this weekend. With the weekend’s papers spread before me for later use, Newsmoggie learns that there has been an outbreak of butt nipping. Maybe that’s Tories frustrated on not being able to comment on Conservative Home. The Chinese are too busy to solve anything as they are engaged in a dastardly communist plot to take over our schools. Or is that a fantasy like the Boris Roundabout under the isle of Man?

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NewsHound

Newshound: Local elections threatened by staff and polling station shortages

By NewsHound | Sat 20th February 2021 - 9:02 am

The Guardian reports today that staff shortages and a lack of available polling stations risk bringing chaos to May’s local elections in England. Schools have been all but ruled out and many established venues are in use for testing or vaccinating.

There are concerns that some counts could take so long they contravene the law which says the count must be conducted within four days.

Newshound is currently recruiting fellow hounds prepared to offer their kennel at the price of one biscuit a voter if polling officers get desperate.

Hounds For …

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Mary Reid

Layla Moran calls for compensation for key workers who have long Covid

By Mary Reid | Thu 18th February 2021 - 2:06 pm

Layla Moran has been talking to the media today about long Covid. She makes the case that it should be recognised as an occupational disease, and that compensation should be given to key workers who suffer from it.

She is appearing on Question Time this evening, so she may well take the opportunity to press her argument.

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The Voice

Welsh Liberal Democrat Spring Conference

By The Voice | Thu 18th February 2021 - 9:22 am

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Spring Conference will be taking place online this year on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th March.

Full details are on the Welsh Lib Dems website, with the agenda here.

Registration is free for Welsh members, for members from outside Wales (Saturday only) and for the media (Saturday only). You can register here.

Policy debates include the 2021 Manifesto Senedd manifesto: Put Recovery First, Go Green not Go Broke and The Next Steps for ‘Our National Mission’.

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Tahir Maher

Todays Announcements – 17th February, 2021

By Tahir Maher | Wed 17th February 2021 - 4:30 pm

Social Liberal Forum – Update

Anyone organising meetings with parliamentarians know that you always run the risk of events messing up your plans. The Social Liberal Forum being old hands at these things carefully chose a week when the House of Lords was meant to be in recess to hold their online meeting with William Wallace. We did not account for the government’s desire to get a particular piece of legislation passed.

William now has to lead for the Lib Dems in the Lords on the Ministerial Materity Allowance Bill. The week of …

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