Category Archives: News

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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Caron Lindsay

Declare a mental health crisis say Scottish Lib Dem MSPs

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th February 2021 - 10:19 am

Even if your circumstances have not been too adversely affected by the pandemic, chances are you have gone through some mental health challenges. Even people who were coping pretty well have found the dark and cold Winter lockdown pretty grim.

And if you have had to suffer bereavement, loss or financial struggles along the way, it’s been so much harder.

A study tracking Scotland’s mental health during the pandemic found that there was a significant rise in those contemplating suicide or suffering from Depression and Anxiety. The Herald reports:

The second wave of the Scottish Covid-19 Mental Health Tracker survey, which was carried out between mid July and mid August, a time when Covid-19 restrictions had been eased, showed 13.3 per cent had thought about taking their life in the last week.

That is up from the 9.6% recorded in the first wave of the research, which took place between May 28 and June 21.

That was in the Summer when restrictions were at their lowest point and the weather was at its finest

Last month the same paper reported a Federation of Small Businesses survey which found that half of the small business owners who responded said that they were struggling with mental health.

And another report suggested that almost half of young people had said that their mental health had deteriorated due to not being able to see their friends and worrying about their future prospects because of the state of the economy.

Even before the pandemic struck, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services struggled to meet demand. It was not unusual for young people to wait more than a year even to be seen.  You don’t have to be that good at maths to work out that even if you recover within another year, your life has still been blighted for more than a third of your secondary education. That has got to have an impact on life chances.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have been badgering the Government for years to improve mental health services. Now that these under-resourced services are going to feel any more pressure, the party will call for a mental health crisis to be declared in a parliamentary debate this afternoon.

In their opposition day slot, they will ask the Parliament for the second time to declare the situation a crisis. When the issue was last debated back in November 2019 (we are consistent, after all), the Greens and SNP ganged up to remove all reference to a crisis from our motion.

Our Mental Health Spokesperson Rebecca Bell explained why it was so important for the Government to act to help those who are struggling with mental ill health:

“People are struggling. When they turn for help, it is often not there. Problems that can start small, become crises as help is either lacking or arrives too late. Waiting times for mental health services are long and the targets for treating people have never been met.

“That was true before the pandemic, but the situation is now even graver. Sadly with resources vastly outstripped by the demands on services from those who need mental health treatment, departments are forced to focus solely on the acute end of the scale. that means more people are left sick for longer, and just getting worse. We need to aim for prevention as well so fewer people suffer mental ill health in the first place

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The Voice

Ed Davey: Scrap the new Cumbrian coal mine

By The Voice | Tue 16th February 2021 - 12:45 pm

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Ed Davey has welcomed the decision to review the planning permission of a new coal mine in Cumbria:

The Liberal Democrats have long called for a rethink on plans on for a new coal mine in Cumbria and I am delighted that’s exactly what has happened.

If Boris Johnson is serious about climate action he will call on Cumbria county council to scrap the mine

Cumbria County Council now need to do the right thing and throw these plans out, or the Prime Minister must

…

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The Voice

Rabina Khan on BBC Newsnight on tackling vaccine disinformation in Tower Hamlets

By The Voice | Tue 16th February 2021 - 8:04 am

Here’s a clip of Councillor Rabina Khan on BBC’s Newsnight discussing the steps we need to take to tackle vaccine disinformation. You can see Rabina and her husband going into their community, in a socially distanced way, to support local residents – addressing their concerns directly.

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Claire Halliwell

Welsh Lib Dems launch Volunteer Awards

By Claire Halliwell | Thu 11th February 2021 - 5:21 pm

The Welsh Liberal Democrats, like all local parties across the UK, are dependent on its volunteers.

The Volunteer Awards aim to recognise those “super-volunteers” who are pillars of liberalism in their local communities and have contributed to the successes of the Welsh Party.

All members are invited to nominate volunteers who they think deserve recognition in the following categories:

  • Outstanding Leadership, Dedication or Success in Local Government
  • Unsung Hero
  • Best Contribution to Advancing Diversity
  • Outstanding contribution to Welsh Party success by a member of the Welsh Young Liberals
  • Local Team of the Year
  • Lifetime Achievement Award
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Tahir Maher

Todays Announcements – 10th February, 2021

By Tahir Maher | Wed 10th February 2021 - 4:30 pm

New Liberator Issue is out

Liberator 405, our third online only issue, is out and available for free download here.

Which Lib Dems have signed up Compass’ ‘progressive alliance’, which former MP has made a comic video about the disciplinary process, is someone out to get Jane Dodds and why did Ed Davey argue for cutting grant to Scotland and Wales?

All this and more is in Radical Bulletin in this issue.

Among what’s inside we have:

Lord Bonkers visits to Nick Clegg in California; how to sell UBI to voters; the pandemic’s consequences for mental health; how an opportunity may be thrown away in Scotland, why Vice Cable’s book on China disturbed its reviewer; how Brexit is failing industries from farming to finance, and there’s much more.

 Back issues to 2001 are also all free to read: www.liberatormagazine.org.uk

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Sarah Olney

Climate and Ecology Bill Event

By Sarah Olney | Wed 10th February 2021 - 2:00 pm

The Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (CEE Bill) would “set an emergency path for the UK to follow” and allow it to play a “fair and proper role in limiting global temperatures to 1.5°C and restoring the natural world”. Yesterday, I took part in Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas’s debate on the Climate and Ecological Emergency in the UK, and you can listen to my contribution here and read the Hansard record here.

It was a fantastic opportunity to raise some of the themes that had emerged from a CEE Bill Alliance panel I had participated in previously, where I spoke about why the Liberal Democrats are supporting this vital piece of legislation. Alongside Lord Jonny Oates, our Spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change in the Lords, Cllr Jackie Hook, Executive Member for Climate Change on Teignbridge District Council and Sarah Lunnon, CEE Bill Alliance Coordinator, I discussed why the CEE Bill is such a key part of our future.
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Dorothy Thornhill

Dorothy Thornhill review update

By Dorothy Thornhill | Wed 10th February 2021 - 12:00 pm

We published the 2019 Election Review as the pandemic swept the UK and, sadly, I write this update during an even harder third wave. We are reminded every day of the failures of this government and the pressing need for convincing alternatives.

I am encouraged by the steps that have already been taken within the party and the plans ahead for reform. In terrible circumstances, activists, volunteers and staff have stepped up to the challenge my review posed.

We identified three overarching themes in the review, all of which needed profound improvement: re-building campaigning excellence, clarity of leadership and decision making, and …

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NewsHound

Liberal Democrat Council Leaders across England call for Universal Credit boost

By NewsHound | Tue 9th February 2021 - 12:44 pm

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Over 30 Liberal Democrat Council Leaders in England have written to the government calling for the £20 increase in Universal Credit, introduced in March 2020, to be made permanent.

The letter follows a vote in Parliament held on Monday 18th January 2021 and in which the government abstained, with all Liberal Democrat MPs attending and voting in favour. The motion to increase Universal Credit was carried by 278 votes to nil.

Cllr Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at the Local Government Association, said:

Millions of people are suffering in this country as a result of the pandemic and the uplift in Universal Credit has been a lifeline to them. We should be increasing support to unemployed people and their families at this time, not reducing it, so the government should listen to what Parliament overwhelmingly told them on 18th January and make this £20 a week uplift permanent.

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NewsHound

Kirsty Williams on long term planning for schools during pandemic

By NewsHound | Fri 5th February 2021 - 4:47 pm

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Kirsty Williams, the Liberal Democrat Education Minister for Wales, has today been explaining the plans for the re-opening of schools in Wales. The youngest children will return after the half term break this month, joining the children of key workers and a few other groups of pupils who have continued to attend during lockdowns.

She is also quoted in the Guardian:

I think it’s important we try to take a longer term view that allows us to plan more effectively. We know if we can take those decisions in advance it gives more time for professionals and families to plan. We do need to have those discussions. There is a seasonality element to Covid-19. Therefore, we have to think about what the autumn and winter will look like.

It is refreshing to see some longer term vision, rather than short term reactions. As part of her thinking Kirsty is exploring shorter breaks during the summer months in Welsh schools to balance possible restrictions next winter.

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Mary Reid

Local elections to go ahead in May in England

By Mary Reid | Fri 5th February 2021 - 12:52 pm

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The Government has confirmed today that local Council and PCC elections will go ahead as planned on 6th May in England, in spite of some lobbying to postpone them.

The option of an all-postal ballot has been ruled out, and Councils are being given an extra £31million to install plastic screens and hand sanitiser. Voters will have to bring their own pens and wear masks.

People who are shielding will be encouraged to vote by post. We have already learnt that the rules on proxy voting will be relaxed allowing anyone who has to self-isolate the opportunity to ask for a proxy vote right up until 5pm on polling day.

Schools will not be used as polling stations this time.

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Keith Aspden

We must keep pushing for action on the country’s cladding scandal

By Keith Aspden | Wed 3rd February 2021 - 4:30 pm

Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, and the Liberal Democrat Deputy Chair of the LGA Fire Services Management Committee Cllr Keith Aspden Deputy Chair of the LGA Fire Services Management Committee

Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in June 2017, Lib Dems across the country have been campaigning for greater protections for leaseholders and tenants who are currently living in blocks with Grenfell style cladding or blocks that were previously certified as compliant and safe but which now fail new standards after Grenfell. Our councillors, Lords, MPs and community campaigners have been leading calls to End Our Cladding Scandal. As one of our lead members at the Local Government Association, I have ensured that the LGA continues to represent the real extent of this crisis.

The current phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is exploring and revealing the shortcomings of the regulatory system, confusion within the industry, and the deliberate acts to exploit that confusion that may have contributed to the current crisis. Throughout this, it has been made clear that the current system in place to identify and remediate cladding and fire safety issues, including dangerous cladding, is perilously slow, presenting significant safety risks and leaving thousands of leaseholders facing financial ruin.

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John Knox

Let’s all agree on a federal plan

By John Knox | Wed 3rd February 2021 - 3:15 pm

The Liberal Democrats may favour a federal Britain, but it would be so much more persuasive if all the Unionist parties could come together to agree on a specific proposal to put before the Scottish electorate in any independence referendum. There are moves afoot to achieve this, with Conservative and Labour heavyweights Michael Gove and Gordon Brown cautiously circling around the issue like two Sumo wrestlers.

They might come up with a plan for more devolution to stem the tide of support for independence in Scotland. Or, if Gordon Brown gets his way, they might go further and consider some sort of federal arrangement. Moreover, if all this seems to be just a “Scottish problem” to people living in England or Wales or Northern Ireland, think what we are missing: the chance to reform our centralised British state and build a modern democracy.

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