Category Archives: News

+++Plans for Lib Dem autumn conference on hold – online options to be explored instead

By The Voice | Tue 31st March 2020 - 9:00 am

The chair of the Federal Conference committee, Geoff Payne, has posted the following text in the Lib Democrat Federal Conference Facebook group:

In the light of the coronavirus epidemic, the Federal Board has decided to put on hold plans for the preparation of a traditional party conference in the autumn and will make a final decision on whether to cancel the event in May.

In the meantime, the Federal Conference Committee will consider the feasibility of an online event, which might include some elements of a formal conference. Part of that will be the way in which the key elements of party accountability might operate online if a traditional party conference did not go ahead.

Caring for our elderly – poor dears!

By Gordon Lishman | Sun 29th March 2020 - 2:53 pm

I am hearing increasing talk about “our elderly” in the current crisis.

As ever, language and clarity of expression are amongst the first victims of emergency.

I want to say a word or three about the indiscriminate use of “elderly” and particularly its emergence as a noun – as in “the elderly” or, even worse, Boris’s description of “our elderly” – poor, incompetents that we are, ready to be patronised by any passing do-gooder. Bah!

There are several different definitions of “elderly” underlying the current widespread use of the word. Regrettably, I fall into most of them. In the current, coronavirus, case, I’m also to some extent in the category of “vulnerable”. These words do not define who or what I am to a greater extent than any other characteristic – indeed, they say a lot less about me than some.

Nor am I owned by Boris Johnson, or the community in general or, indeed, by my “loved ones”. I am, unequivocally, only owned by me.

I have campaigned against the use of “the elderly” for at least 45 years. As with “the disabled” or “the mentally ill”, it reduces a person to one simple fact about them. And, of course, that fact isn’t usually very simple anyway. There are lots of types of disability or mental illness or, indeed, politics. That’s why organisations concerned with disability or ageing and older people have insisted that we always talk about older people, disabled people and so on. We are all people first; each an individual person. Shared facets of personality or experience come a long way after our individuality.

Tagged coronavirus and equalities | 15 Comments

Put your questions to Lib Dem CEO and Party President

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 29th March 2020 - 11:55 am

Mike Dixon took over as Lib Dem CEO just before the General Election. He’s had to deal with an unexpected election, a change of leader and president and the impact of a global pandemic on our operations.

Mark Pack took over as Party President in January.

It’s been an emotional, tumultuous, frenetic few months for the party. From the crushing disappointment of the General Election to the recent cancellation of our York conference and the postponement of the leadership election.

Mike and Mark will be taking questions from party members in an online Q & A on Tuesday night. If you are a member, you should have received an invitation to register in your email March newsletter.

Had the York conference gone ahead, they would have done this at some ridiculously early hour and very few people would have turned up.

Tagged party accountability and party organisation | 2 Comments

Why postponing the leadership is a good decision setting a new challenge to those who wish to lead us.

By Tim Murray | Sun 29th March 2020 - 8:55 am

Why postponing the leadership is a good decision setting a new challenge to those who wish to lead us.

Not only do I agree with the difficult decision to postpone the leadership election, I believe also that it is an opportunity to set a challenge to those wishing to lead us.

Declare your intention this year, pull together a team around you and set out your vision for Britain, our party and our philosophy in a book or manifesto. Tell us about it at Spring Conference and hustings so that we can elect you and give us time to debate and fine tune the vision by Autumn Conference. Build on the vision and build the party by leading for as long as Charles or Paddy.

Since December I have been concerned that we were rushing to select our next leader too soon. Before Covid-19 many of us were in a state of shock with the populist Johnson’s election victory, his majority, and his Cabinet of Brexiteers. A subsequent leadership election was always going to be defined by Brexit and the failure of our Remain or People’s Vote strategy, and the perceived failures of the Stop Brexit era. An era that has now gone, Corbyn has gone, conservatism is dead and replaced by populism.

An election during these challenging times as the country pulls together to resist the Coronavirus risks alienating or even angering the public if we are seen as too self-indulgent and too political. Even fellow Lib Dems have questioned campaigning or online meetings at this time and have gone silent. The media holds our party and our politicians to a much higher standard than the Tories and Labour. I think a leadership election now would be turned against us.

Tagged leadership election 2020 | 16 Comments

Leadership election postponed

By The Voice | Fri 27th March 2020 - 8:03 am

The Federal Board met remotely yesterday and agreed to postpone the election for the Leader of the party until next year. The party’s President, Mark Pack, issued this statement:

Not only are we going through what could become the country’s biggest crisis since 1945, but we’re also entering a very new world that will persist once the immediate crisis is over.

I’m proud of what we have achieved so far by championing NHS workers and pressing the Government on issues such as offering a better deal to the self-employed.

Throughout our history, we have always put the national interest first.

Our Federal Board has

…

Tagged ed davey, featured, leadership election and Mark Pack | 36 Comments

Press Briefing – 25th March 2020

By Tahir Maher | Wed 25th March 2020 - 12:30 pm

Davey: We must urgently put in place remote working for Parliament

Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has called on political parties and parliamentary authorities to work together to urgently put in place remote working for Parliament in response to the Covid-19 crisis. He said:

“It is right that Parliament physically closes to keep people safe, including parliamentary staff, but this cannot mean an end to scrutiny of the Government.

“The political parties and parliamentary authorities must now work together to urgently put in place remote working for parliament – so MPs can continue to represent our constituents, raise urgent issues with Ministers and hold the Government to account for its response to this crisis.

“Businesses of all sizes have found ways to keep going through video conferencing and other technology, so it cannot be beyond the wit of Parliament to do the same.

“Parliamentary scrutiny is more important than ever during a national emergency, especially given the emergency powers needed to keep people safe. Liberal Democrats will be carefully scrutinising the Government’s use of these powers to make sure they do not curtail individuals’ rights and freedoms any further than necessary.”

ENDS.

Tagged press briefing | 3 Comments

Ed Davey asks for more help for self-employed people during Coronavirus pandemic

By The Voice | Tue 24th March 2020 - 3:38 pm

The Chancellor has announced unprecedented levels of support for British business in the last few days. However, one group of people are not getting what they need to survive.

Self-employed people have been told that they can claim for Universal Credit at the rate of SSP, which would give them a derisory £94 per week.

Today Ed Davey called on Rishi Sunak to do much more to give our self-employed friends and neighbours, the people who clean our homes, cut our hair, walk our dogs and do so much to make our lives easier.

“The 5 million self-employed people across the country are in real stress & deeply worried. In many cases, they are simply running out of money.”-@EdwardJDavey

With so many set to be dependent on this support for a period of time, it’s vital we ensure they receive enough money. pic.twitter.com/96W3ysQmf5

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) March 24, 2020

An article on the Lib Dem website sets out the practical help we want to see:

Tagged coronavirus, economy, ed davey, featured and self-employed | 15 Comments

Lib Dem reaction to Boris Johnson’s speech

By The Voice | Mon 23rd March 2020 - 10:12 pm

Lib Dems have been reacting to the Boris Johnson speech earlier this evening, in which he imposed a strict lockdown.

Ed Davey,our acting co-leader said:

We must do all we can to stop the spread, and I urge people to play their part by following these measures, and not risk their own or others health by ignoring them.

Many people will be anxious about the steps the govt has taken, but it is the right decision to restrict our normal way of life to tackle this crisis.

Tagged Covid-19 and featured | 58 Comments

+++Boris Johnson announces strict lockdown

By The Voice | Mon 23rd March 2020 - 8:55 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Here is the text of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to the nation tonight:

Good evening,

The coronavirus is the biggest threat this country has faced for decades – and this country is not alone.

All over the world we are seeing the devastating impact of this invisible killer

And so tonight I want to update you on the latest steps we are taking to fight the disease and what you can do to help.

And I want to begin by reminding you why the UK has been taking the approach that we have.

Tagged boris johnson, Covid-19 and featured | 5 Comments

Corona Virus Emergency Powers Bill – what are your views?

By Isabelle Parasram | Mon 23rd March 2020 - 3:51 pm

I’m reviewing the Government’s plans for dealing with the Corona Virus.

Do you agree with the new emergency powers contained within the Corona Virus Bill? Do they alarm you? Are you from a minority group with observations on how this will impact you either positively or negatively?

Here’s an example of some of the proposals:

It will be easier to section people into mental health facilities, and to keep them detained there for longer periods.
There will be a temporary removal of the legal duty on councils to provide social care to vulnerable older people, disabled people etc.
The process for funerals will be

…

Tagged coronavirus and emergency legislation | 13 Comments

Ed Davey launches Coronavirus Community Taskforce

By The Voice | Fri 20th March 2020 - 9:37 am

Acting leader of the party,Ed Davey has sent the following communication to party members:

On Monday, I emailed asking members to pause their normal campaigning and prioritise community action to help those affected by coronavirus. Since then I’ve been overwhelmed by the response.

Day in, day out, Liberal Democrats all over the country do all they can for their communities. But now, when it counts more than ever, you’re stepping up to protect the most vulnerable in our society. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Liberal Democrat today.

Our team has put together a resource kit to help you help your community. We’ll be adding to this kit all the time – please share it widely.

But as this outbreak worsens, there’s more we need to do. This coming weekend should have been our huge National Action Weekend for the elections this spring. In light of the cancellation of those elections, we need to turn our people power and resources to the matter at hand.

Tagged coronavirus, ed davey and featured | 4 Comments

Bailing out the Airline Sector

By Joe Bourke | Fri 20th March 2020 - 8:00 am

Earlier this month, the UK regional airline Flybe became the first victim in the airline sector of the coronavirus outbreak, after failing to secure a £100 million government-guaranteed refinancing package.

This week UK airline bosses are calling for an immediate multibillion-pound emergency bailout to prevent the industry from potentially being wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.

Virgin Atlantic’s chairman Peter Norris has written to the Prime Minister y saying the airline industry needs emergency government support worth 7.5 billion pounds or risks the loss of tens of thousands of jobs,
British Airways has warned, …

10 Comments

The Windrush Learned Lessons Review

By Isabelle Parasram | Thu 19th March 2020 - 7:26 pm

The Windrush Learned Lessons Review has been published and the issues raised highlight the fact that The Windrush Scandal was and is a true scandal.

Wendy Williams – the Independent Adviser conducting the review – was tasked with providing an independent assessment of the events leading up to the Windrush Scandal and to identify the key lessons for the Home Office.

This is what she had to say:

Members of the Windrush generation and their children have been poorly served by this country. They had every right to be here and should never have been caught in the immigration net. The many stories of injustice and hardship are heartbreaking, with jobs lost, lives uprooted and untold damage done to so many individuals and families. However, despite the scandal taking the Home Office by surprise, my report sets out that what happened to those affected by the Windrush scandal was foreseeable and avoidable.

Over time those in power forgot about them and their circumstances, which meant that when successive governments wanted to demonstrate that they were being tough on immigration by tightening immigration control and passing laws creating, and then expanding the hostile environment, this was done with a complete disregard for the Windrush generation.

A range of warning signs from inside and outside the Home Office were simply not heeded by officials and ministers. Even when stories of members of the Windrush generation being affected by immigration control started to emerge in the media from 2017 onwards, the department was too slow to react.

Tagged featured, wendy williams and windrush | 2 Comments

We should argue for a temporary Universal Basic Income

By James MacCleary | Wed 18th March 2020 - 2:30 pm

It is a scary time. As Covid-19 spreads across the globe, it is causing severe disruption and panic. The shift in government policy away from gambling lives on the mass infection (so-called ‘herd immunity’) to instead falling in line with most of the rest of world in attempting to slow the spread of the virus means that the likely death toll from the outbreak has fallen dramatically.

However, the impact on the economy will be enormous and will compound the significant damage already done by Brexit. Companies are already calling in the receivers, thousands of staff are being laid off or sent home unpaid, and millions of people are facing uncertainty and fear for their family’s financial future.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged basic income and corona virus | 33 Comments

A personal specification for a leader

By Simon Banks | Wed 18th March 2020 - 8:30 am

With another leadership election looming, what do we need in a leader? What’s essential and what’s merely desirable? If we don’t think clearly about these things, we’re likely to make bad choices.

We don’t have a Person Specification for the job, but maybe we should at least think that way. What would it look like?

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t stay the same. At some times, the ability to inspire the activists or to gain the attention of the media is vital. At others, the activists are already inspired, and the media are listening, but keen to find weaknesses. Then judgment is crucial. So I’ve not divided the points into Essential and Desirable, as would be normal with other Person Specs. I’ve also not mentioned specific issues such as the climate emergency, though I think not choosing a leader strong on that would be unwise.

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged Leadership contest | 13 Comments

Ed Davey converts party campaigning into community helping

By The Voice | Mon 16th March 2020 - 10:33 pm

Ed Davey, our Co-Leader, has written tonight to members asking them to convert their campaigning zeal towards helping their local community in this time of crisis:

We can all make a difference – each and every one of us.

One of the many things that unites Liberal Democrats is our campaigning zeal for our communities. Our drive to change things for the better. A way of working that engages local people in our campaigns.

Today, I’m asking you to turn your campaigning zeal wholeheartedly towards helping your community during this Coronavirus crisis.

Tagged coronavirus, ed davey and featured | 13 Comments

Ed Davey’s coronavirus update to members

By The Voice | Fri 13th March 2020 - 7:34 pm

Ed Davey has sent this email to party members:

Munira Wilson MP and I have just returned from a meeting at COBRA with senior officials in charge of managing the Coronavirus response.

As a party that believes in listening to experts and scientists, we continue to support the approach of the Chief Medical Officer and his team, whilst doing our job of asking reasonable questions.

Like many of you, we wanted to understand why the Government isn’t following our European neighbours – including Spain, Denmark and France – by implementing more stringent social distancing measures.

The Government must be more transparent about how they

…

Tagged coronavirus and ed davey | 83 Comments

++Breaking news++ Local elections postponed for a year

By Mary Reid | Fri 13th March 2020 - 4:02 pm

The Government has just announced that local and mayoral elections will be postponed from this May until the following year. See the BBC report here.

3 Comments

Advice for campaigners during coronavirus epidemic

By The Voice | Fri 13th March 2020 - 3:06 pm

ALDC (Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners) has updated its advice for canvassers and campaigners in the light of the Government’s announcement yesterday.

CAMPAIGNING ADVICE

A lot of members have asked us for advice about campaigning in the light of the COVID-19 virus. This is our current advice. This may change if Government, NHS and professional guidance changes at which point we will issue new guidance.

DO – KEEP CAMPAIGNING

Our current advice is that we should keep campaigning the normal ways that Liberal Democrats campaign, including delivering leaflets and knocking on doors.

DO – TAKE SENSIBLE PRECAUTIONS

When campaigning

…

Also posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged aldc | 9 Comments

Act quickly – you might be able to transfer your York hotel booking to next year

By Geoff Payne | Fri 13th March 2020 - 1:55 pm

No-one was more disappointed than we were that our Spring Conference was cancelled – although that it was undoubtedly the right thing to do. The reasons in full are here

The Conference Office has today sent a message out to everyone who registered setting out their options for their registration fee. The choices are:

1. Donate your fee to the Conference Fund for the Liberal Democrats. Please note that the event insurance that we had does not cover any of our costs for conference – contagious diseases are now a standard exemption from all event policies,
2. Obtain a complimentary four day (week pass) to Autumn Conference: 26-29 September 2020 in Brighton,
3. Obtain a full refund.

We have negotiated with LNER to secure refunds on train bookings for those who booked direct.

Importantly, we have also accelerated our contractual negotiations with regard to Spring 2021. That means that we can now announce that we will be in York again next March. The dates are 19th-21st March. We hope that announcing that now will allow people to transfer hotel bookings with minimal or no cost.

Tagged featured and federal spring conference 2020 | 1 Comment

How to reduce the costs of cancellation of Spring Conference

By Mary Reid | Fri 13th March 2020 - 12:55 pm

An email has just been sent to everyone who had booked for Spring Conference.

As you will know, the Federal Board took a decision to cancel Spring Conference earlier this week. You can find its statement setting out the reasons here: https://www.libdems.org.uk/spring-conference

We appreciate that you were looking forward to conference, as were we. Under the circumstances, we would like to offer you the following options with regards to your conference registration fee:

1. Donate your fee to the Conference Fund for the Liberal Democrats. Please note that our event insurance will not cover any of our costs for conference as it

…

Tagged 2020 York spring conference | 2 Comments

Yesterday’s by-elections

By Mary Reid | Fri 13th March 2020 - 11:58 am

Huge congratulations to Ollie Patrick who held on to Parrett in South Somerset with 52% of the vote and to Manuela Perteghella who gained Welford-on-Avon with 43%!

Parrett (South Somerset) result:

LDEM: 52.0% (-12.5)
CON: 21.8% (-13.7)
IND: 21.5% (+21.5)
GRN: 4.7% (+4.7)

Liberal Democrat HOLD.https://t.co/OlkOrfIH3K

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 12, 2020

Welford-on-Avon (Stratford-on-Avon) result:

LDEM: 43.6% (+43.6)
CON: 29.9% (+8.7)
IND: 21.3% (+21.3)
LAB: 3.8% (-1.5)
GRN: 1.4% (-7.1)

Liberal Democrat GAIN from Independent.

No Ind (-65.1) as prev.https://t.co/OlkOrfIH3K

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 12, 2020

Tagged by-elections | 6 Comments

Coronavirus and elections

By Mary Reid | Thu 12th March 2020 - 6:57 pm

The Electoral Commission has recommended that the May local elections be postponed until the Autumn.

The Government has not yet responded but we will bring you the news when we hear.

Tomorrow ALDC will also be updating their advice to campaigners and canvassers in the light of today’s announcements from the Government. Again we will share as soon as we know.

20 Comments

Breaking: Spring Conference cancelled

By The Voice | Wed 11th March 2020 - 9:47 pm

The Party’s Federal Board has tonight decided to cancel the Spring Conference due to take place this weekend.

In a joint statement, Party President Mark Pack, Chief Executive Mike Dixon and Federal Conference Committee Chair Geoff Payne said:

Following careful consideration of the latest health advice and risks, the Federal Board has tonight decided to cancel our federal conference this weekend.

It’s not a decision that was taken lightly as conference plays a key role in our democratic party as well as being an important training and information exchange event. However, the health of our members and supporters, the staff who work on conference and the wider public is far more important.

We have noted today’s announcement from the WHO, treating this as a pandemic and calling for “urgent and aggressive action”, and also how other organisations have started cancelling events, such as the Royal College of Psychiatrists stopping all meetings with over 100 people. We have also paid close attention to the public health advice from the NHS, and note that some of the advice, such as around keeping distant from people who are ill, is in practice very hard to follow given the format of our conference involves large numbers of strangers sitting close to each other for extended periods of time.

We are aware that many people, particularly those in high-risk groups, have said in the last few days that they are not coming to conference. Conference operates on the principle of ‘one member, one vote’. We very much want to avoid a situation where people feel unable to particulate in our democratic decision-making because of fears over their health.

It’s a matter of regret that for many people coming to the conference it will not be possible to cancel travel and accommodation arrangements and recover the costs. The party itself will also have to incur significant costs and refunds. We hope though people will understand the priority being given to people’s health.

We will offer refunds on conference registration, though we hope that given the costs the party will have to pay anyway that members who can afford it will be willing to waive the refund and make it a donation to the party instead. Details of how to reclaim registration fees will follow in the next few days.

Tagged featured and federal spring conference 2020 | 21 Comments

Budget reveals weakness of the UK economy – the Lib Dem reaction to the budget

By NewsHound | Wed 11th March 2020 - 4:32 pm

Embed from Getty Images

Responding to the Budget, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said:

This Budget reveals the UK economy was alarmingly weak even before Coronavirus. The Government is desperate to blame anyone or anything but the reality is that it’s the Conservatives’ Brexit which is costing Britain’s economy dearly.

Tagged Budget 2020 and featured | 35 Comments

Government urged to take extra measures to help homeless people impacted by coronavirus

By NewsHound | Mon 9th March 2020 - 11:59 pm

The Liberal Democrats have urged the Government to make clear what additional measures it will take to help homeless people as the COVID-19 situation continues to escalate.

Writing to the Secretary of State for Housing and the Secretary of State for Health, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran warned the homeless are “some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

The Liberal Democrat MP has asked for “an action plan” from the Government, including clarity on whether health checks be administered, especially for rough sleepers, and if emergency accommodation can be provided so that people can self-isolate.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said:

“We …

Tagged coronavirus | 4 Comments

Government must announce public health grant amidst Coronavirus crisis

By NewsHound | Mon 9th March 2020 - 10:03 pm

Today the Liberal Democrats have called on the Health Secretary to announce the public health grant amidst the Coronavirus crisis.

Having failed to tell local councils how much the public health grant will be, the Tories have made it all but impossible for councils to ensure our communities have proper healthcare.

Even if it was business as usual this would be shameful, but with the Coronavirus it is nothing short of an abdication of duty. Public health information is vital to lowering the Coronavirus peak, but even more alarming is the inability for local councils to try and address the inevitable gaps …

Tagged coronavirus | 42 Comments

Ydych chi am helpu i redeg Democratiaid Cymru?

By The Voice | Sat 7th March 2020 - 10:42 am

Do you want to help run the Welsh Liberal Democrats? Nominations for some key committee posts have just opened and will close on 25th March.

Ordinary Member of the Membership Development Committee – 1 vacancy to be filled

Ordinary Member of the Board – 1 vacancy to be filled

Ordinary Member of the Finance & Resources Committee – 2 vacancies to be filled

If that appeals you can find full details on the party website.

Tagged welsh liberal democrats | 1 Comment

Lord Roger Roberts writes … employees from 26 countries work for the House of Lords

By Lord Roger Roberts | Thu 5th March 2020 - 3:26 pm

I didn’t have to wait too long for an answer to my question on how the House of Lords would function without the work of folk from other countries.

They are straight answers from the house authorities, very different from some departmental answers!

Employees come from 26 different countries – we can’t manage without each other!

Nearly 200 of House of Lords employees would not have reached the £25,000 proposed minimum income level for Immigration clearance.

Those who read will make up their own minds. The House of Commons will give us its own answer.

Tagged house of lords | Leave a comment

Liberal Democrats act to stop airport expansions

By NewsHound | Wed 4th March 2020 - 12:59 pm

Embed from Getty Images
The photo above was widely used in the media. It features two of our MPs, Munira Wilson and Sarah Olney, plus our London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, celebrating Royal Courts of Justice in London last Thursday, after a decision by the Court of Appeal on legal challenges to the UK government’s approval of plans to expand capacity at Heathrow airport.

The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of green campaigners who oppose a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest. The court said the UK government that had given the Heathrow extension the green light in 2018 had failed to take into account the Paris Agreement to limit climate warming.

A Lib Dem press release on that day said:

This ruling is a victory for common sense. At a time when we should be promoting greener transport, we cannot allow the expansion of the country’s single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Tagged airport expansion, bristol airport and heathrow expansion | 10 Comments

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Davey: We must urgently put in place remote working for Parliament

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