Category Archives: Op-eds

Kamran Hussain

Kamran Hussain writes: Confronting Misogyny: My commitment as Vice President Candidate

By Kamran Hussain | Sun 5th October 2025 - 8:30 am

Editor’s Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

Misogyny is not just a political issue — it is a deeply personal one. As I stand to be elected Vice President of the Liberal Democrats, I so carry with me the voices of countless women who have been ignored, dismissed, or silenced for too long. I have listened to friends, colleagues, and campaigners tell me stories of harassment, exclusion, and the barriers that still hold women back in modern Britain. Those experiences demand leadership, and they demand action.

The reality for women today is stark. Too many shape their daily lives around the threat of harassment, changing their routines and restricting their freedoms to feel safe. In universities, workplaces, and public spaces, women continue to face discrimination that chips away at their confidence and limits their opportunities. And despite progress, women still face inequality at work, both in terms of pay and recognition.

But misogyny is not only about the most shocking headlines. It is about the culture that normalises women being talked over in meetings, dismissed in politics, and underestimated in leadership. It is about women doing two jobs — one at work and another at home — without acknowledgement. It is about the fact that representation in politics and public life remains far from equal. Progress has been made, but it is nowhere near enough.

This commitment is not abstract for me; it is personal. I have seen the strength of women in my own family and community who carried households, raised children, and led businesses in the face of prejudice. I have seen women candidates in our Party work twice as hard to be taken seriously. And I have seen how resilience is demanded of women in politics in ways men are rarely tested. Too often, the system shrugs its shoulders, leaving women to fight alone.

That is why, as Vice President, I want to make it clear that tackling misogyny is not optional — it is central to who we are as Liberal Democrats.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an ex Pat: Gaza

By Tom Arms | Sat 4th October 2025 - 8:30 am

Trump’s “Eternal Peace Plan” for Gaza is an ill-conceived hodge-podge. Despite that, it may succeed because it is the only show in town. It is also Donald Trump’s best shot at the elusive Nobel Peace Prize.

To truly succeed it needs buy-in from Hamas. But why should they accept it? The plan calls for their disbandment, surrender of all weapons and exile from Gaza.

The Plan makes no mention of the West Bank where Israeli settlers are daily forcing Palestinians out of their home. As for the role of the Palestinian Authority, it is allowed a role “after reform.” But how is it to be reformed?

The two-state solution which Palestinians and most of the international community, support, is referred to as an “aspiration of the Palestinian people” not a justifiable goal or a goal supported by the US. Palestinian statehood is held out as a vague carrot, but only after a hazy list of conditions are met.

Anyway, that point (number 19) has been knocked on the head by the repeated assertion of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there will “never” be a Palestinian state.

Then there is the fate of hostages and Palestinians held in Israeli jail. According to the plan, once all the hostages are released, the Israelis will release nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Why can’t the exchange be done simultaneously?

Point 3 of the plan says that as soon as the fighting stops the Israelis will conduct a staged withdrawal. From where to where? Over what period of time?

Point 7: “Upon implementation / acceptance, full humanitarian aid immediately flows into Gaza.” Haven’t the Israelis claimed that “full humanitarian aid” is already reaching the Gazans?

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Sophie Layton

The Stunts don’t work. And they never have.

By Sophie Layton | Fri 3rd October 2025 - 9:55 am

I have a massive amount of respect for Sir Ed Davey and the entire Liberal Democrat campaign teams. Last year, they took the party from the political wilderness in Westminster to a decisive victory, reclaiming Britain’s third party status. Unseating Conservative minister after Cabinet Member after party veteran, the party was seemingly unstoppable, with millions putting their faith in Davey and his pitch for grown-up politics to return once again. From 10pm on July 4th and over the following two days, it became clear: the Liberal Democrats were back.

Since then, much debate has arisen, particularly in recent months, as to whether these stunts should continue. Many were underwhelmed by Davey’s hobby horse offering at the Local Elections, and debate has continued in the intervening months. I thoroughly enjoy Davey’s stunts. I think they’re incredibly funny, personable and a great joy to watch. They were something different and special, and now everyone knows about Daredevil Davey. But they don’t work. And they never have.

Writing my postgraduate dissertation, I analysed hours of television coverage of the Liberal Democrat election campaign, from a variety of different mainstream media sources, as well as distributing a questionnaire showcasing some of the most memorable offerings and asking for direct feedback. Both methods showed broadly similar results.

It was clear that stunts are effective in helping to generate coverage, but only when a stunt is seen as exciting or entertaining. Whilst each of the stunts surveyed got over 70% coverage, the bungee jump for example was covered to a greater extent than the waterslide. However, once the stunts reached television, the results were less positive. Responses from figures in the media, and their guests, was mixed, with their proximity to the campaign and prominence as individuals being key; those on the ground with the campaign and with a lower individual profile reported more favourably than those detached from it or brought on in a commentator or opinion-providing capacity.

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Josh Matthews

Transition planning is back on the table. It could be the UK’s biggest positive impact on sustainability

By Josh Matthews | Thu 2nd October 2025 - 7:31 pm

During the 2024 General Election, someone asked me for the best thing the Conservative government had done. I said transition planning. Or at least putting the wheels for transition planning in motion. It’s also one of the reasons I knew I’d joined the right party in the Liberal Democrats soon after becoming a member in early 2019. It was in our 2019 manifesto. It’s firmly in the 2025 climate paper passed at Autumn Conference just passed.

Transition planning is the single most important piece of regulation missing to tackle the climate and broader sustainability emergency. It’s now back up for debate in the UK, a consultation having recently closed, four years after the previous government set up the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) at COP26, the 2021 UN climate summit in Glasgow.

The Liberal Democrats have to be loud champions of transition planning

For our credibility on climate, our relationships with experts and activist groups, and our ability to attract and retain members as the most progressive party on climate and the whole sustainability spectrum.

The climate and sustainability emergency is a massive systems problem

It cuts deeply across the environment, society, and an economy that must move away from a sole focus on GDP and growth without any consideration of how those measures work for people and the planet. We need the biggest firms and financial organizations to publicly disclose their plans to help address that emergency.

From these disclosed transition plans, we need those large organizations to collaborate throughout their systems to bring everyone along. That collaboration must include their suppliers and companies they invest in, as well as customers, whether the public or other businesses, and policymaking.

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Gordon Lishman

Questions for would-be Presidents

By Gordon Lishman | Thu 2nd October 2025 - 5:20 pm

I have worked with all the Presidents of the Liberal Democrats since Ian Wrigglesworth took the job in 1988. The Job Description is broad and the Person Spec non-existent.

There are two explicit jobs for a President:

  • The “voice of Party members”, recently downgraded from “the principal public representative of the Party”
  • The Chair of the Federal Board with the clear implication of a “Chair of the Board” role for the Federal Party.

Very few Presidents have had the skill, experience and ability to fulfil both roles with anything like equal success. Ian Wrigglesworth and Bob Maclennan came the nearest. Ros Scott …

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Judy Abel

Are too many private health care providers ripping off the NHS?

By Judy Abel | Thu 2nd October 2025 - 1:13 pm

When working for a health charity recently, we were made aware of a new type of company offering private ‘triage’ services to the NHS. These companies are intermediary providers offering services such as blood tests and health assessments. However, if a patient needs hospital care, then they generally join the NHS queue, where the same tests are often repeated. What we were told by a few concerned doctors approaching the organisation was that some of these companies end up offering little additional value when it comes to actually treating patients – potentially diverting staff and money away from the NHS for little tangible return.

Another instance of private providers soaking up scarce NHS funding, includes the private companies offering cataract surgery. Recent reports in the media reveal that these companies are making a very handsome profit – at the same time as hollowing out in-house NHS ophthalmology services. Recent research by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) think tank, for example, found that the five key companies providing cataract removals and other eye treatments to the NHS in England made around £170m in profit in 2023-24 alone. There can also be conflicts of interest: there are over 100 NHS ophthalmic consultants who own shares or equipment in the private clinics which provide NHS-funded cataract care.

We see the same scenario in the acute mental health sector where private companies providing services to the NHS have become central to service provision. In 2023, the NHS spent more than £2bn on the treatment of patients in private psychiatric units (compared to £3.5bn spent on in-house NHS beds). This follows years of cuts to NHS bed numbers and represents over a 10% increase in private acute mental healthcare spending in one year alone. The two biggest private providers, Priory Group and Cygnet Health Care, made £509m and £560m revenue in that year (if not profit).

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Caron Lindsay

What does Ed Davey’s reshuffle tell us?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 1st October 2025 - 3:00 pm

Yesterday Ed Davey reshuffled his top team ahead of the new parliamentary term and added 5 new roles meaning that 38 out of our 72 MPs now have spokesperson roles.

There aren’t very many huge surprises. Probably the biggest is the replacement of former Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council leader Vikki Slade as housing, communities and local government spokesperson. She was a champion for local government and had experience of handling massive budgets and delivering services and it is hard to understand why she has found herself as a backbench MP. She is replaced at local government by Zoe Franklin, also a former Councillor and ALDC staff member. Gideon Amos, who was housing and planning spokesperson takes the Housing and Communities brief.

Lisa Smart leaves her Home Office brief for something a lot more strategic and wide-ranging. She’ll be shadowing Darren Jones as First Secretary of State. She is a key part of Ed Davey’s inner circle.

She’s replaced at Home Affairs by old friend of this site Max Wilkinson, the MP for Cheltenham. It will be interesting to see how he handles the digital ID debate. While the party has come out unequivocally against Keir Starmer’s expensive and ineffective proposals, there are some who feel that it is possible to introduce a system like Estonia’s – and many others who see the inherent dangers in terms of impact on marginalised groups and civil liberties. And that’s before you get to the safety and competence of Government databases.

We also have Will Forster in a newly created immigration and asylum role and I am confident that he will be very good at articulating a solid, liberal position.

Lisa’s other role of Women and Equalities spokesperson, which she had held since Christine Jardine’s shock sacking in July, goes, surprisingly, to Marie Goldman. While the equality AOs are looking forward to working with her, many people had expected this role to go to NE Hampshire MP Alex Brewer, who is one of our representatives on the Women and Equalities Committee.

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Prue Bray

Prue Bray: I’m standing for President to ensure we are a strong liberal voice

By Prue Bray | Wed 1st October 2025 - 1:00 pm

In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

In all the 30 years I have been a member of the Liberal Democrats, there has not been a time like this.  The rise of Reform, the resurgence of racism and hate, populism, nationalism and refusal to acknowledge facts are taking our country to a very dangerous place.  Never has it been more important for us to be a strong liberal voice, fighting for our values.   I am standing for President because I believe I have the skills and the experience to ensure we are and continue to be that strong liberal voice.

This is not just a fight for seats at Westminster, important though it is that we build on our amazing 2024 election result.  The rise of Reform goes beyond Westminster and we are already seeing their impact on people’s lives in the areas of the councils they control.  We must ensure we maximise a liberal presence in the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd next year.  In England, the Labour government is reshaping local government to concentrate power in the hands of strategic mayors, and we need to campaign effectively in those contests, as well as in local elections generally.  We saw earlier this year at the local elections that the collapse of the traditional Labour and Tory vote has led to Reform taking control of councils.  But we also saw that where the Lib Dems are active and campaigning we can beat Reform.   

The job of the President is to make sure the party is in the very best shape it can be to fight that fight, and that all members of the party are able to contribute to it.  Our party’s strength lies in its members, your skills, your enthusiasm, and your dedication.  It is not always straightforward to navigate the party’s systems and processes, to find out what’s going on or how you can help.  Some improvements have been made in recent years but we need to make it much easier for people to engage.  That would be one of my priorities.

I believe that we stand the best chance of success if we are true to our liberal values, not just in our policies and campaigns but also in the way we run the party.  As long ago as the party’s 1997 manifesto, our aim was to build a nation of self-reliant individuals, living in strong communities, backed by an enabling government.  That is also the vision I have for our party internally.

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Alan Grant

We must keep up the fight against digital ID

By Alan Grant | Wed 1st October 2025 - 10:57 am

I left our recent federal conference in Bournemouth, the first I’ve attended, with my head abuzz. Only a small part of this was due to the cumulative hangover that happens when a man in his late thirties boozes as he did in his late twenties. The overwhelming majority of the remaining buzz is a result of the optimism, confidence, and positivity of everyone I met and the warm welcome that was shown to us repentant sinners, formerly of other political parishes. 

Key points like Tim Farron’s barnstorming speech, making the defiant and full-throated case for patriotism and liberalism, and Jamie Greene’s warm, clever, and energising remarks about how Liberal Democrats have welcomed him into the party as our newest MSP were highlights for me. As were the other fringes, receptions, and engaging conversations I had over the weekend. Thank you all.

Our conference was buzzing, and a good thing too – other parties will envy us our good mood, and they are right to. 

However, with so many important causes and issues jostling in the scrum for attention, it’s important that crucial ones do not slip through the cracks. 

And what could be more important than the UK Labour Government planning to force British people to carry mandatory digital ID to access work and services?

One of the fringe events I attended at conference was held by privacy and civil liberties campaigners, Big Brother Watch in the Bournemouth Library (next year, we must get them back in the main venue). Joining their staff on the panel was our brilliant MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael. It was excellent discussion and the report that Big Brother Watch have published on the topic, Checkpoint Britain, is well worth your time. 

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Christian de Vartavan

To foster AI and technology innovation, words alone are not enough

By Christian de Vartavan | Tue 30th September 2025 - 2:00 pm

Dr. Karsten Wildberger, Germany’s new Federal Minister for Digital Transformation and Government Modernisation, has raised important concerns about the EU AI Act. He argues that its regulatory framework is being introduced prematurely—before a strong European AI market has emerged—and stiffles innovation. “Sometimes it’s wiser to pause and reassess when circumstances evolve,” he told the Financial Times (link below), underscoring how the Act creates barriers that deter companies from experimenting and scaling AI within Europe.

His remarks highlight a broader tension: Europe aspires to lead in AI, yet risks undermining its own ambitions by prioritizing control over cultivation. Regulations must ensure safety and ethics, but they must also be proportionate, flexible, and designed to nurture domestic innovation rather than handicap it before it can properly grow.

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Jack Meredith

From Chișinău to London: why Moldova’s European choice must spark Britain’s EU re-engagement

By Jack Meredith | Tue 30th September 2025 - 10:38 am

Embed from Getty Images

Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest nations, plagued by unresolved territorial disputes over Transnistria, entrenched corruption challenges, and persistent Russian interference. It’s also the most recent country to have chosen a future as part of the European project over domination from Moscow.

By contrast, Britain chose to voluntarily step away from the project, opting to go it alone in the name of “taking back control”, encouraged by individuals who view Moscow’s intimidation tactics and imperialist …

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Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday – nasty party, progressive alliances and a new book

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 29th September 2025 - 7:21 pm

Labour…the real nasty party!

Famously, at the 2002 Conservative Party Conference, the then Tory Chairman and future Prime Minister Theresa May called her own party ‘the nasty party.’

Or, to be fair, it’s what she said many people called the Tories.

And she was right, we did and we do.

I should point out, this isn’t about individual Conservatives a number of whom I count as friends (indeed, I co-host a podcast with one) but rather about their policies-in government and opposition-over many decades.

Kicking the poor whilst they’re down, being less than friendly (to say the least) in regards to LGBT+ communities, leaving whole …

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Lewis Page

Under 18s can vote: will it be for Farage?

By Lewis Page | Mon 29th September 2025 - 2:11 pm

There has been a lot of discourse around the new voting age brought in by Labour, and as a 17-year-old I was worried this would boost Reform.

While polling data from Yougov suggests Farage is typically less and less popular the younger the age group, I haven’t seen anyone consider that the under 18s voting next election – assuming one isn’t called early – are currently 12 and 13. I know from personal experience Mr Farage has extremely high exposure among these children, making a fool of himself on TikTok, and occasionally through clips on the website Cameo (few would forget …

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Zachary Barker

Reclaiming Space

By Zachary Barker | Mon 29th September 2025 - 11:05 am

Through the Adversity, the Stars

Royal Air Force Motto

The history of the politics of Space has always been colourful. I was reminded of this when I recently stood in the Imperial War Museum in London looking up at a V2 rocket that stands prominently in the lower hall. It remains a disquieting fact that the first man-made vehicle to breach the Karman Line (the widely though not universally agreed line between Earth’s atmosphere and Space) was a V2 rocket, designed by the SS Colonel and Nazi scientist Dr Werner Von Braun. Years later, Dr Braun met his public downfall when his past caught up with him, after he helped design the Saturn V rocket that made the Apollo Moon missions possible. In many ways this prelude to Space Travel’s journey puts Elon Musk’s politics in context. Future centric minds have sadly not always been liberal ones.

It would seem today that the politics of our relationship with Space are in flux. Legendary NASA Astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s public endorsement of Donald Trump’s second run for the presidency last year raised speculation that his Administration would see an advantage in having a renewed US Government commitment to Space. This speculation was raised even more when in his second inauguration speech President Trump talked about putting “Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars”. Since then, drastic budget cuts to NASA proposed by the Trump Administration, including the decimation of its Earth Science’s division, has shown that Trump has little interest in Space as a long-term project. Even the long-awaited US Artemis Programme, heralded as the great return of Americans to the Moon, has its future in doubt. The People’s Republic of China is now widely seen as on a more certain path to get to the Moon before the US mission, reinforcing the image of the US and the West in decline.

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Callum Robertson

Reform are a threat to our national security: we have a moral duty to stop Farage becoming Prime Minister

By Callum Robertson | Mon 29th September 2025 - 8:15 am

Blink and you may have missed it, but one of Nigel Farage’s allies has plead guilty to taking bribes to ask questions on behalf of Russia in the European Parliament, a case according to the police that goes to the heart of our democracy.

Back in 2012, Nathan Gill, was a rising star in Nigel Farage’s former outfit, UKIP. He organised the party in Anglesey, North Wales and whilst they didn’t break through in the 2013 local elections, he clearly made a name for himself because later in the year he was selected as the UKIP candidate in the Ynys Môn …

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David Chalmers

Moldova election preview

By David Chalmers | Sun 28th September 2025 - 1:59 pm

View of Moldovan townThis weekend  voters go to the polls in Moldova – one of Europe’s least known countries sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine – in a parliamentary election that many observers are calling its most consequential ever, that will decide whether the country continues on a pro-European track or veers back towards Moscow’s sphere of influence.

The War in Ukraine looms ever large over this tiny country. Its capital Chisinău, in more peaceful times, is only a two hour drive from Odessa and the Black Sea. During my visit this summer I was told that, at the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, people in Chisinău could hear the sound of missiles, bombs and artillery fire coming from Ukraine.

Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, having been sliced off from Romania after the Second World War. Moldovans who make up 75% of the population are closely related to Romanians (7% of the population) and basically speak the same language, with a shared history and culture. As a result Romania maintains close ties with its little neighbour and there are some who would like to see the two countries reunited. Many Moldovans have a Romanian passport.

Other large ethnic groups are the Russian speaking Ukrainians (7% of the population) and Russians (4% of the population). During Soviet times Moldova with its idyllic climate, excellent wine and food was an attractive retirement destination for people from the other Soviet States. At the end of the Soviet Union, it was regarded as one of the wealthier soviet states with a population of 4.3 million. Following the economic collapse after 1991 and the subsequent political crisis resulting in low employment, low wages and  lack of opportunities – over a third of the country’s population left and 1.5 million now live abroad with only 2.5 million still resident in Moldova.  

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 28th September 2025 - 10:54 am

Trump and Russia

OMG! Trump has done another U-turn on Ukraine. This week he said that Ukraine should regain all the lands occupied by Russia and that any Russian plane encroaching on NATO airspace should be shot down.

He also referred to Russia as a “paper tiger.”

You would have thought that such talks would have infuriated.

No, they took it quite calmly on the chin. Russia is a bear, not a tiger, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, “and there is no such thing as a paper bear.”

He added: “Russia, in general, and President Putin in particular value highly President Trump’s political will to continue working towards a peace settlement.”

The fact, is that the Kremlin believe in the TACO theory when dealing with the American president (Trump Always Chickens Out). They just have to tough it out; keep putting their case and keep fighting.

The Russians will also have noted that Trump’s “Paper Tiger” comments were not followed by talks about increased sanctions or any ultimate on ceasefire deadlines.

They were also heartened by Trump’s answer to a reporter’s question about whether he still trusted Vladimir Putin. He replied: “I’ll let you know in about a month from now.” A month is a long time international diplomacy.

Brazil

Ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is out of office, convicted and under house arrest awaiting transfer to prison to serve his 27-year sentence.

He is still, however, a force in Brazilian politics and is busy planning his release.

It won’t be easy, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (the STF) is determined that Bolsonaro stays behind bars and its members have said that any pardon or general amnesty would be unconstitutional.

But that is not the end of the story. Whomever succeeds current president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will probably be able to appoint three new members to the Supreme Court. If they are Bolsonaro supporters than the ex-president could be sprung.

It is a long shot, but already ambitious Brazilian politicians believe that pandering to Bolsonaro could win them the presidency. Chief among them is Tarcisio de Freitas, current governor of Sao Paulo. De Freitas has already said that he would pardon Bolsonaro in the first hour of assuming office.

De Freitas and others are pursuing the Bolsonaro blessing because the ex-president still has a large base of supporters. They are mainly evangelical Christians which comprise about 30 percent of the Brazilian population.

Bolsonaro has won their unwavering support with his stands against wokeness, abortion, gender roles and LGBTQ+ rights. On top of that, Bolsonaro is a strict Catholic, he also advocates strong traditional families which aligns with evangelical values.

France

Another ex-president facing gaol time is France’s Nikolas Sarkozy.

On Thursday he was convicted of a criminal conspiracy involving millions of Euros supplied by Libyan dictator Muammar Gadaffi for Sarkozy’s 2007 election campaign. The money was meant to pay for Sarkozy’s influence to end Gadaffi’s long-term estrangement from western countries.

Convicted alongside the ex-president were two of his former interior ministers. Claude Geant was found guilty of corruption and Bruce Hortefeur of criminal conspiracy. Sarkozy’s wife, singer and former top model Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, also faces charges related to the Gadaffi case.

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Roz Savage MP

Roz Savage MP writes: Tough on Farage, tough on the causes of Farage

By Roz Savage MP | Sun 28th September 2025 - 8:55 am

Nigel Farage is not the disease but a symptom of a sick system. Here’s how we can fix it.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Britain’s party-political system has been hollowing out for years – declining membership, falling trust and a widening gap between politicians and the public. Into that gap stepped Nigel Farage. Yet if it hadn’t been him, it would almost certainly have been someone like him. Cometh the hour, cometh the Farage.

Much commentary has focused on the man himself. Ed Davey’s attacks on Farage draw applause from our Lib Dem faithful, but there is a deeper point that we also need to address. Farage is not an isolated phenomenon; he is a symptom of something larger. To focus solely on him is like blaming the thermometer for the fever it reveals.

A virus finds easy purchase when the body is weakened, out of balance, and unable to defend itself. The British body politic has, for some time, shown all the classic signs of chronic ill health: economic dislocation, regional inequality, stagnant wages, and cultural alienation. The traditional parties – once robust immune systems for democracy – have been weakened by a widening cultural and geographic divide between government and governed, the collapse of traditional media and rise of polarising social platforms, decades of globalisation, political scandal and sleaze, and policy convergence that has left little daylight between the main parties. They now struggle to generate genuine loyalty or enthusiasm. In such a weakened system, populist contagion spreads quickly.

The people responding to Farage’s message are not just caricatures of “Little Englanders” or one-dimensional xenophobes. Many are working-class voters in post-industrial towns who feel left behind by globalisation, austerity, and rapid social change. Others are small business owners, tradespeople, or retirees who see public institutions fraying and feel that no one in Westminster is listening to them. These groups share a sense of political invisibility and economic precarity – fertile ground for a figure promising to disrupt the system.

It is said that “we get the politicians we deserve.” But perhaps it’s more accurate to say that current social and political conditions generate the politicians we deserve. When mainstream parties retreat from certain debates, when their internal cultures become homogenous and their policies technocratic, they create the conditions for outsiders to rise.

The Liberal Democrats are uniquely placed to offer the antidote. Our longstanding commitment to devolving power from Westminster, introducing fairer voting, and strengthening local government would reconnect citizens with decision-making and rebuild trust. Investment in public services, green jobs and regional development would address the inequalities that fuel resentment, while our defence of civil liberties and international cooperation offers a positive alternative to isolationism and populism. We also need to prioritise rejuvenating the institutions that once kept the social contract strong, such as the NHS, council housing, and a social safety net that keeps families from falling into poverty. By tackling the root causes of alienation rather than its symptoms, we can help restore balance to Britain’s body politic and make our democracy resilient again.

We already have the strong policies. What we need now is an equally strong story, one that carries the punch of authenticity and credibility so people know not just what we stand against, but what we stand for. Here is what that story could sound like:

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Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: The UN

By Tom Arms | Sat 27th September 2025 - 8:53 am

Donald Trump doesn’t much like the United Nations. That was obvious from his General Assembly speech this week.

He is not alone. Most diplomats who have worked with the UN have found it overly political, bureaucratic and inefficient.

But at the same time they acknowledge that dissolution of the United Nations would be a catastrophe.

American withdrawal would be the same because Washington supplies 22 percent of the UN budget as well as its New York home. The latter, at the moment appears possible. Or, if not withdrawal, rendering the UN irrelevant and ineffectual by not paying its dues and pulling out of its agencies which do not align with Trumpian policy.

Trump’s budgetary request for 2026 “pauses” almost all payments to the UN. So far, the US is $3.72 billion in arrears due to the general fund and another $1.3 billion behind in its contribution to the 110,000-strong peacekeeping force. On top of that, half of America’s international aid was distributed through UN agencies.

The Secretariat is facing a serious liquidity crisis and is forced to deal with it with hiring freezes and staff cuts. UN agencies’ budgets have shrunk by about a third. Food, medicines and assistance for hundreds of millions is being eliminated.

Ironically, the Trump Administration’s attitude to the UN is out of step with the American public. A 2025 Pew Research Survey showed that 57 percent of Americans had a favourable view of the UN. 41 percent had an unfavourable view. More importantly, 69 percent support American paying its dues to the international body in full and time.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to wage war. He has pulled out of the UN-sponsored Paris Climate Change Agreement, the World Health Organisation, UNESCO, the Human Rights Council and the UNRWA which supplies aid to Palestinians.

If Trump continues to “pause” contributions then relations between Washington and the UN will likely come to a head in 2027 when the US will be more than two years in arrears with its dues. If that, happens then the US—under UN rules—will lose its vote in the General Assembly which could prompt US withdrawal in a fit of Trumpian pique.

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Samuel Jackson

Thoughts on our new Transport commitments

By Samuel Jackson | Fri 26th September 2025 - 1:49 pm

At Autumn Conference, our party endorsed two policy motions tied to transport. F22: Connecting Communities – Building a Transport Network for the 21st Century built upon our party’s commitment to making rail a genuinely affordable, accessible and environmentally-friendly mode of transport, while F30: This Land is Your Land – Restoring Public Paths Through Nature sought to restore our nation’s nature and improve the public’s access to it.

Both policy motions featured the proposal that 5,000 miles of railway lines left disused since 1965 following the Beeching Cuts be redeveloped as footpaths, cycle paths or bridleways. I had hoped to speak at Conference during the debate on F30 to express my reservations about this proposal specifically. In truth, I had unsuccessfully attempted to submit amendments – one for each motion – addressing this issue. However, due to time constraints, I was not called to the rostrum. In lieu of such a speech, I would like to share with you my thoughts on this proposal in this article.

Before I do, I should say that I voted for both policy motions, including for the amendments that were successfully adopted. I believe in their proposals as well as improving and safeguarding women’s personal safety during travel, expanding Network Railcard applicability outside of London and the Southeast, and providing facilities for rest along pathways in the form of benches. I am an ardent supporter of expanded rail access and restoring nature. I am not someone to throw the baby out with the bathwater. My main fears are about potential friction between our policy commitments.

Our party is committed to expanding rail capacity including ‘implement(ing) light rail schemes for trams and tram–trains’. Our modern light rail systems are different from the tram systems that provided public transport before being supplanted by buses during the mid-twentieth century. With historic tram networks – barring Blackpool’s – having been torn out, modern systems such as Greater Manchester’s Metrolink and South Yorkshire’s Supertram utilise existing, previously disused railway infrastructure. This allows for separated routes that minimise conflict with road traffic (where thoroughfares have not been pedestrianised to accommodate trams), for integration between light rail and railways, and systems that serve communities beyond urban centres.

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Jack Meredith

Our flag too

By Jack Meredith | Fri 26th September 2025 - 9:42 am

A grave crime has been committed across Britain; an act of egregious theft. The culprits? Fascist thugs who intimidate those who don’t look or sound like them. The crime? Stealing the flag that unites four great nations and their people, the flag that belongs to everyone who calls Britain home.

From using the British flag as a weapon of intimidation to protesting outside hotels, vandalising roundabouts, attacking police officers, and marching through London to voice their opposition to basic decency, Britain’s far-right has become more emboldened by the rise of Reform UK and their normalisation of hatred. With extensive coverage by the BBC, Nigel Farage’s platform for hatred has pushed Britain’s political landscape further to the right, dominating issues such as asylum, immigration, climate scepticism, and opposing what they call “woke politics.”

The Liberal Democrats have long championed causes such as equality, social justice, combating climate change, and adopting a more compassionate and understanding approach to asylum and immigration. Yet, one area we must be more vocal about – an issue we began addressing at the 2025 Conference – is reclaiming the British flag from those who seek to divide our country, demonise those fleeing war, strife, and starvation, and turn Britain into a vassal state for figures like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

There’s a misconception that supporting the flag is merely performative, serving only to play into the far-right’s hands with symbolism alone. But I disagree. The British flag cannot be allowed to remain a symbol of hate.

It stood proudly in victory over the Nazis. It flew as part of a broader European effort to establish peace across the continent. It is a symbol of Britain’s long parliamentary history, from the Magna Carta to universal suffrage, the rule of law, liberal democracy, and NHS internationalism. Doctors and nurses from around the world have made Britain their home, saving lives and enriching our social fabric.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems on Starmer’s digital ID: Nope.

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 25th September 2025 - 8:07 pm

Keir Starmer is expected to announce a compulsory digital ID card for British citizens tomorrow. Thankfully, our Science and Technology spokesperson Victoria Collins has committed the party to opposing it. In a statement she said:

Liberal Democrats cannot support a mandatory digital ID where people are forced to turn over their private data just to go about their daily lives.

People shouldn’t be turned into criminals just because they can’t have a digital ID, or choose not to.

This will be especially worrying to millions of older people, people living in poverty and disabled people – who are more likely to be digitally

…

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Nick Baird

ID Cards? We must be barking …

By Nick Baird | Thu 25th September 2025 - 12:17 pm

Unlike many Lib Dems I came to politics relatively late in life, but opposition to ID cards, along with the Iraq war, were absolutely key to my “Tony Blair made me a Liberal Democrat” political origin story. So you can imagine my surprise to wake up on Sunday to a BBC website headline telling me “Lib Dems consider ditching opposition to ID cards” and quoting Ed Davey as stating “times have changed”. He’s right, but not in ways that make ID cards more appealing, and none of the fundamental liberal arguments against are changed by inserting the word ‘Digital’ in front of the letters ‘ID’.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised – after all we saw an article from Lisa Smart here on LDV only a few weeks ago telling us we need to “update our thinking” and then there was a consultation at 8.00 on Sunday morning at Conference that was so well attended it overflowed out into the corridor. A clear majority of the comments in response to Lisa’s article were against ID cards, and while the consultation session had a small number of members speaking in favour, the rest were split between those opposing them outright on principle and those with reservations as to whether they could be implemented in a way that respects our privacy or whether a UK Government could actually successfully deliver such a large IT project. Some would only support them if they weren’t compulsory. As LDV’s Caron reported on Sunday, opposition was expressed most robustly by Alistair Carmichael MP who declared “If I have to bark at the tide on this, I will bark at the f**king tide”. One thing was very clear – there is currently no mandate from the Party’s membership to change our long standing policy of opposing ID cards.

So what problem are Digital ID cards intended to solve? While the Government is likely to pivot to say that they will make it easier to access public services, we should be very clear why they are really doing it – to help crack down on immigration and immigrants working illegally, and to perform that function it will need to be compulsory. Essentially they want to make it easier to identify and round-up ‘undesirable’ people in our country. That should ring alarm bells for every liberal-minded person, because a system that can identify one minority can be used to identify others.

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Michal Siewniak

Reform UK – scapegoating migrants? Not again!

By Michal Siewniak | Tue 23rd September 2025 - 8:28 am


I was absolutely delighted to be invited, by the Migrant Democracy Project, to attend as a speaker and panellist to my first Liberal Democrat Conference. Topic? Yes, one of my favourite ones; migrant voting rights in the Local Elections. The event went really well, we spoke about a number of issues in relation to voters’ legislation.

This afternoon, the Leader of Reform UK (Prime Minister in making?) presented his party latest policy idea,

…

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Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: to flag or not to flag… that is the question

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 22nd September 2025 - 7:00 pm

I write these words on Monday afternoon, back in Hinckley and Bosworth after a whirlwind (not even) 48 hours in Bournemouth for days one and two of Autumn Conference, reflecting on how different the feeling is being outside the conference bubble – dare I say it – back in the real world, compared with being inside of it when it can feel like the most important thing in the world and something which, surely, must see the media and the wider public glued to our every utterance from the platform in the main auditorium.

Well… not exactly.

To say we’ve not exactly reached maximum cut through is very polite way of putting it.
What was on all the news channels as I flicked through this morning? Yup, you guessed it, a certain Mr Nigel Farage droning on about, yup you guessed it, immigration. Another Monday Reform UK press conference live, taking over the airwaves.

Is it fair? No. Should we strongly protest the unequal coverage? Yes. But is it also our present reality? Yes. So I totally get that, in that context, we’re reduced to doing things like Ed walking into conference with a marching band (don’t get me started!).

And then we get to the flags.

Oh deary me, the flags.

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Jude Parker

The Overton Window – what Liberal Democrats can learn from Nigel Farage

By Jude Parker | Mon 22nd September 2025 - 4:30 pm

I expect many LDV readers will by now have seen the interview where Ed was asked the question “can women have penises?” 10 times. He dodges and dances around the point, trying to find the middle ground that will please both sides. He inevitably fails and erodes trust from everyone, who rightfully see a politician trying to avoid saying what he really thinks.

Imagine, if you will, an alternate timeline. The first time he’s asked, Ed answers Piers with “yes. Trans women are women, and some trans women have not had bottom surgery, therefore some women have penises”. The next day, that quote is splashed across the headlines. “Lib dem leader says some women have penises”.

Does that scare you, dear reader? And, more importantly, should it scare you?

In this article, I hope to convince you that it is both best for the party AND best for the country to revel in this sort of controversy. State our liberal values, especially the ones we’re afraid will put people off, and state them as loudly and unambiguously as possible.

And so, we come to Nigel Farage. What can we say about him?

  • He likes lager
  • His political views are abhorrent, but because he consistently and unambiguously says what he stands for, the electorate trust him
  • He has probably done more to change the political landscape of the UK in the 21st century than any other single person (despite failing to be elected to parliament multiple times, and still having a parliamentary party that could fit in a pedalo)

… but how has he done it? Well…

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Jack Meredith

Why Wales needs open-list PR, not closed-list PR

By Jack Meredith | Mon 22nd September 2025 - 2:42 pm

Next year, the Senedd will take an historic step forward.

For the first time, Wales will elect all of its Members of the Senedd (MSs) through a fully proportional system. For too long, Welsh elections have used a mixed-member voting system that has seen votes wasted, smaller parties squeezed, and many voices under-represented.

But while the destination is welcome, the route being taken is not the best one. Wales is moving to a closed-list proportional representation system, a model that improves fairness between parties but reduces fairness between voters and the individuals who represent them in the Senedd.

If we genuinely believe in liberal democracy, accountability and putting power in the hands of citizens, then Wales must go further. Open-list PR would give voters the voice they deserve.

Where we’re coming from: MMPR

Since the Senedd’s creation, Wales has elected its representatives through a form of Mixed-Member Proportional Representation (MMPR). This gave voters two choices: a local constituency MS (elected by First Past The Post (FPTP)), and a regional party list.

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Caron Lindsay

Caron’s Conference Diary: Lobsters and an MP barking “at the f***ing tide”

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st September 2025 - 12:01 pm

The sun rises over Bournemouth PierIt’s 10 am on Sunday morning as I write this. I’ve already been to an 8am consultation session, of which more later.  So far my Conference has been everything I’ve wanted it to be – a wonderful catch-up with friends, meeting lots of new people and playing shops at the stalls with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old in a room full of lollipops.

I arrived from drizzly Scotland to the warm, sunny and temperate climes of the south coast on Friday morning. I had planned an afternoon on the beach but then remembered that there is a hop-on, hop-bus tour that goes from West Cliff Road. My friend came with me. We “hopped off” in the very chic Sandbanks, home to Harry Redknapp and a Rick Stein restaurant.

Jazz Café, SandbanksWe had the most delicious smoked salmon sandwich I have ever had in my life at the Jazz Cafe. Perfect sunshine, right next to a golden beach and lovely wine. What more could you want? Though the inevitable happened – Scottish person steps into the sunshine for 5 minutes and turns into a lobster. My nose will be peeling by Tuesday no doubt.

The bus tour is really interesting if you fancy a break from Conference and you can also get to Sandbanks on the 50 bus.

Saturday started with Vikki Slade MP and Cllr Millie Earl, her successor as leader of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council opening Conference.

The following report back session from Federal Conference Committee and Federal Policy Committee annoyed me slightly. There were many questions listed in Conference Extra but they only got to 2 of them. There could have been more time for answers if the Committee Chairs had spoken for less time. Something to think about for the future?

Then came the thing that I had been worrying most about. A constitutional amendment proposed by members of a fringe anti-trans group to limit the quota places in Federal Committee elections to what they refer to “biological” and women and erasing the provision for non binary people completely.

It’s worth mentioning that this motion only appeared on the agenda because it had to. Constitutional amendments have to be taken, even if they are dreadful. The Federal Conference Committee can simply reject policy motions that are inaccurate wrong, but they don’t have that power with constitutional amendments.

This fringe group  tried this once before, in York a couple of years ago. Conference voted overwhelmingly then to Move to Next Business, something that had happened only once before in living memory on a motion to give the leader a veto on policy voted for by Conference.

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 21st September 2025 - 10:17 am

United Kingdom

The world was focused on Britain this week. A state visit is a big symbolic event but usually the public interest is confined to the two countries involved.

Not this time, Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to the United Kingdom, was front page news in Sweden, Germany, Japan…. Would the president behave? If the US-UK special relationship faltered in the face of MAGA what chance was there for the rest of the world?

Well, the visit was a diplomatic triumph for both countries. The president and King Charles got on famously and their speeches were the epitome of diplomatic non-speak.

There were disagreements between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Gaza and recognition of a Palestinian state, but the two men agreed to disagree for the sake of the wider Anglo-American relationship. The issue of Ukraine saw some a slight movement by Trump towards the UK/Europe position and he hinted at a bigger shift if all Europeans stopped all imports of Russian oil (nudge, nudge, wink, wink Hungary and Slovakia).

At the Chequers press conference, the president was asked about attacks on British free speech by his vice president and others. He simply refused to answer. The Epstein files and the fate of Lord Mandelson who was sacked as ambassador on the eve of the state visit was raised. Trump replied: “I have never met the man.”

If Trump did put a foot wrong it was when he suggested that the British government should use the military to patrol its borders instead of trying to stop the small boats with diplomacy. The president was quickly—and politely—told to stay out of Britain’s immigration issue.

A state visit would not be a state visit without the big business deals. And this state visit saw the largest ever commercial package — £150 billion which should create 7,600 jobs. Most of the money went on nuclear energy, quantum computing and AI computing. The investment, however, has been criticised by Nick Clegg, former Liberal Democrat Leader and until recently Facebook’s vice president for Global Affairs, as “crumbs from the silicon valley table.”

United States

One flickering light emerged from the darkness of the assassination of Charlie Kirk—Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox.

In fact, one can say that the light emanated from Utah’s Republican Party.

It was of course, Utah, where Charlie Kirk was shot by Tyler Robinson. And because it was his state, Republican Governor Cox stepped in front of the television cameras to speak. He could have followed in the footsteps of President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Steve Bannon, Alec Jones, Laura Loomer and other leading Republicans and called for vengeance.

But he didn’t. Instead Governor Cox called “on every American—Republican, Democrat, liberal, progressive, conservative, MAGA, all of us—to please, please, follow what Charlie taught me: Always forgive your enemies—nothing annoys them more.”

This is not the first time that Cox has refused to take the Trumpian line. He refused to endorse him in 2016 because “Trump does not support goodness or kindness.” In 2020 Cox declined to back Trump’s claim of a stolen election. And he didn’t endorse Trump in 2024 until after the attempted assassination at Butler, Pennsylvania.

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Suzanne Fletcher

Our policy on asylum seekers

By Suzanne Fletcher | Sat 20th September 2025 - 10:28 pm

If I heard rightly there was a reference in a speech this morning to dealing with the unacceptable backlog of asylum decisions by having Nightingale Centres, just as there were special Nightingale centres for if needed during Covid.

But no mention of how they would be any different to the system there is now, which is clearly not working, with a growing backlog, and a high rate of successful appeals against wrong decisions.

I know of course that the problem of the backlog has escalated dramatically, leading to acute shortages of suitable accommodation for those seeking asylum, and the use of hotels.  As well, of course, of the human misery of being what can be years with a life in limbo.  But way back in 2012 it was recognised that the backlog needed to be sorted, and a Lib Dem Policy working group detailed ways forward, culminating in “Making Migration Work for Britain” policy document 116 accepted by Conference in 2015.  It said “A priority for Liberal Democrats is to create a border security system that makes well-informed and appropriate decisions taken as early as possible; with people treated with humanity and dignity; and where the rule of law is upheld. Any new system must do more to ensure Britain is open to the benefits of migration, while remaining secure from those who would abuse the system.”

This policy was developed in “A Fair Deal for Everyone: Prosperity and Dignity in Migration”  Policy Paper 131 in 2019, where we said “Liberal Democrats would establish a dedicated unit for dealing with asylum applications that will work with DfID, with the aim of improving the speed and quality of decision-making without the threat of any political interference.”

So we have Liberal Democrat alternatives, other than “I wouldn’t have started from here.”

We start from the premise that there needs to be radical reform, independent of central Government, to speed up decision making.  Such should be taken out of political control completely and move towards a caseworker-model of support for applicants, to seek just outcomes that are right first time.  It isn’t just a quicker decision that is needed but one that is right first time.  43% of decisions are appealed and 67% of those are allowed first time.  If the cost of appeals were to be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Home Office that would make a difference.  It is easy to refuse and then hope a person did not appeal.  They would think twice if they had to fund the appeal process.

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