Category Archives: Op-eds

Bernard Aris

Put a Dutchman in the Environment Agency

By Bernard Aris | Tue 12th January 2016 - 4:57 pm

 

The Dutch people has been commiserating with the British people being flooded, yet again, this past year.

Apart from the many times the North Sea inundated the Netherlands (the last time, 1953, inspired the Delta Works – a massive reconstruction and improvement program of our coastal defences, completed in the 1980s), we suffered massive river floodings in the 1990s from the Rhine (and its branch the Waal past the big city of Nijmegen) and Meuse rivers after heavy rainfall in the Ardennes, Alps and other highlands. In 1995 these forced a big evacuation in the heart of the Netherlands. These floodings were the reason for another massive, nationwide programme of restructuring and improving works, including taking account of Climate Change, under the Second Delta Plan commission and a national Delta Commissioner, who is an influential government advisor.

But being a Dutchman who pays attention to floodings elsewhere, I was struck in the past ten years by the frequency that people in Britain involved in, and victims of, those floods complained about two things:

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Caron Lindsay

Want to go to Spring conference and can’t afford it? Apply to Conference Access Fund by Friday

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 12th January 2016 - 2:40 pm

2015 policy pitch autumn conference by Paul WalterOur Spring Conference in York between 11-13 March is the first to be held under the new One Member One Vote rules. That means that every single party member could have a say as we make our policies.

I say COULD, because not every member can afford to go. Travel, accommodation and childcare costs put going to conference beyond the reach of many members.

This time, however, people can apply for a grant from the Conference Access Fund:

We have established a Conference Access Fund to improve accessibility for members attending conference. The fund consists of a contribution from the core Conference budget as well as donations from party members. Any contributions made by party members are ring-fenced for this purpose only and where applicable, any unused donations will be carried over to the next conference.

All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If there is high demand, priority will be given to members who are attending Conference for the first time and members from underrepresented sections of society.

To do so for this Conference, you have to apply by this Friday. The online form is here.

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Claire Eadington

#GetInvolved2016 with Caroline Pidgeon

By Claire Eadington | Mon 11th January 2016 - 4:08 pm

Arriving at Lib Dem HQ for the Patchwork Foundation’s #GetInvolved2016 campaigning session for Caroline Pidgeon, it was difficult to say who was bravest. Was it the young people who had signed up for a Wednesday of practical campaign training, many of whom would be heading out, leaflet in hand, to face the doorstep for the first time; or was it Caroline and Lauren Pemberton-Nelson, the Lib Dem candidate for the Faraday ward by-election on 21 January? For us Patchworkers one of the biggest boosts at #GetInvolved2016 events is the trust placed in us by the people we are campaigning …

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Adrian Sanders

Adrian Sanders writes… the South West is missing a voice

By Adrian Sanders | Mon 11th January 2016 - 1:10 pm

Where is the South West’s voice at Westminster? In fact, where is there any opposition voice speaking up for the region, scrutinising and where necessary opposing policies not in our best interests.

In the South West region at the last election the Conservatives gained every seat held by the Liberal Democrats. Fourteen gains that gifted the Conservative Party its overall majority of twelve in the House of Commons.

There was no great swing to the Conservatives in May to give them this position of absolute power. Instead, a number of people who had previously voted Liberal Democrat to prevent a majority Tory Government cast their votes for the Greens, Labour and Ukip, or not at all.

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Phil Aisthorpe

Words I can’t mention

By Phil Aisthorpe | Mon 11th January 2016 - 11:49 am

 

I learned a valuable lesson on LDV last week and that is that there are some words so emotionally charged that their mere mention provokes a pre-programmed response more incendiary than the sight of a cat to a Staffy. So while I wanted to talk about the Lib Dem take on populist green causes I naively opened my piece with a discussion of the F-word and at that point lost my audience. I won’t make the mistake of stepping on that particular land mine again, you know the one I mean, the issue of vulpine persecution, Basil Brush meets the Hound of the Baskervilles?

Another topical tantrum trigger, one that is splitting Corbyn’s Labour party this week is the T-word – Neptune’s toasting fork (7 letters). No, I can’t say it for fear of unleashing a figurative Armageddon on the terrors of the real thing and blowing any chance of getting to the punch line.

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Paul Walter

Newbury by-pass – memories 20 years on

By Paul Walter | Mon 11th January 2016 - 9:54 am

In January 1996, protestors took to trees and tunnels just outside my home town of Newbury, trying to stop the building of the by-pass.

It was a bit of surprise to be at the centre of such national furore over our by-pass.

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Caron Lindsay

Tim Farron calls on universities to provide better support for victims of rape and sexual assault

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 10th January 2016 - 1:53 pm

If you suffer some severe personal trauma which affects your academic performance, you can ask the university to take those “extenuating circumstances” into account. This publication from the Univesrity of Bristol explains more about what that means:

Generally, extenuating circumstances are circumstances which are unforeseen, unpreventable, and have a serious impact on a students’ academic performance. It is not possible to compile a complete list of circumstances, as each case will be considered on its own merit, but two common examples that can be regarded as extenuating circumstances are:

• Serious personal illness: For example, an illness requiring hospitalisation, such as appendicitis.

• Bereavement: For example, the death of a close family member.

According to the Sunday Mirror, Tim Farron has written to all university vice -chancellors to ask them to ensure that victims of rape and sexual assault are able to ask for these extenuating circumstances to be taken into account.

Mr Farron said: “The trauma of sexual violence is immeasurable and I worry that universities are not being clear in the extenuating circumstances for students.

“There should not be any shade or loopholes in this. Universities should have a consistent approach.

“I have written to all vice-chancellors to ask them to be ensure that their university offers clear guidance and extenuating circumstances to any student who is a victim in such horrific cases, and to the National Union of Students who have done much to raise awareness in this area to ask for their support in pushing for these changes.”

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Paul Walter

Is David Cameron mixing up cause and effect?

By Paul Walter | Sun 10th January 2016 - 10:30 am

David Cameron“Parents should take lessons in how to control children – PM” – runs the main headline in the Observer this morning.

Expansion of parenting classes is certainly something to be welcomed. When I was first a parent, I thought it was very strange that parents were offered classes on breathing techniques during pregnancy and pelvic floor exercises, plus inspection of changing areas and bottle procedures after birth, but not a word of guidance after that, until primary school “parent/school agreements”.

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Caron Lindsay

So why exactly did Alex Salmond miss Any Questions?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 9th January 2016 - 3:44 pm

A bit of intrigue never goes amiss on a Saturday afternoon.

Last night, Alex Salmond missed Any Questions because, according to Jonathan Dimbleby at 1 minute 50 in: “apparently been held up in Scotland by the floods.” Certainly his Gordon constituency has been badly affected by some awful flooding in the north east of Scotland. In fact, Lib Dem MSP for North East Scotland Alison McInnes has been scathing about the SNP Government’s slow response, saying:

Here in the north-east local agencies have faced a prolonged battle against the rising water and staff and residents are exhausted. I do worry we haven’t seen the last of the bad weather but everyone has rallied together to support one another and the examples of community spirit have been heartening to see at such a difficult time.

Lessons need to be learnt on what’s happened in Scotland since the start of 2016 because I still think this response took place at a snail’s pace. The Scottish Government cannot keep forgetting that its responsibility is to the whole of Scotland, not just the central belt.

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The Voice

Lessons from history: What Bush and Reagan could teach some UK politicians about their attitude towards economic migration

By The Voice | Sat 9th January 2016 - 11:55 am

Way back in 1980, as Ronald Reagan and George Bush were battling it out for the Republican nomination, they were asked whether the children of Mexicans working illegally in the US should be able to get educated. Their answer, posted on the Houston Chronicle’s Facebook page, might surprise you. Today’s politicians and tabloid editors might learn something.

Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush debate Mexican border security…

What would Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush say about immigration and securing the Mexican border today?Well, here's what they said about it in 1980 during a GOP debate in Houston.(Archival video from Getty Images)

Posted by Houston Chronicle on Tuesday, 5 January 2016

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Caron Lindsay

Saturday humour: Who is best at reading mean tweets about themselves?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 9th January 2016 - 10:25 am
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Caron Lindsay

Welsh Liberal Democrats slam Cardiff Central Labour MP’s hypocrisy over new front bench role

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 7th January 2016 - 6:00 pm

The farce surrounding Jeremy Corbyn’s reshuffle continues. It’s not just that it took him 34 hours to shift 3 ministers, or that there have been as many resignations in protest as there were front bench displacements, or that even after four days (after two weeks of press briefings) it’s still not over, or that the people who were sacked have led the story. Truly, it is the reshuffle that ate itself.

A few of us were joking on Twitter this morning about when we were going to get offered jobs. There are still several hundred thousand Labour members to get through, of course.

The whole thing has created as many problems as it’s solved. Corbyn’s team look like they couldn’t run a bath let alone a country. Hilary Benn’s resignation at a time of his choosing, on principle, seems like a headline waiting to happen. Even Armando Iannucci probably couldn’t make it up.

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Caron Lindsay

Moving exams in Ramadan “sensible and inclusive” says Farron

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 7th January 2016 - 5:10 pm

Tim Farron has reacted to the needless controversy surrounding the decision by exam boards to move certain popular exams so that they take place before Ramadan with a perfectly sensible, liberal statement:

The idea that this is an attack on British values is ridiculous and depressing. Rather than seeking to divide people by their faith, we should see this sensible move as an opportunity for inclusion and understanding.

 This is a simple rescheduling of some school exams, recognising that a number of students will be observing Ramadan. As a person of faith myself I think it is entirely reasonable and decent to consider such things when planning exam dates.

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Caron Lindsay

Two Liberal Democrat interventions on Freedom of Information (and what Tim said about Alex Carlile)

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 7th January 2016 - 3:55 pm

Leading Liberal Democrats have made two recent interventions on freedom of information legislation.

Today, Alistair Carmichael called for all private contractors doing public work to also be subject to FOI requests and promised strong opposition to any attempts from the Conservatives to water down the FOI system.

The call comes amidst reports that ministers may extend FOI requests to charities. From the Press Gazette:

The Government is considering strengthening the ministerial veto on Freedom of Information disclosures but dropping other proposed changes to the act, according to a report in The Times.

It is also considering extending the act to cover charities and private sector companies which work on public sector projects, the paper reports.

The Goverment’s Independent Commission on Freedom of Information was set up to review the act last year in the wake a Supreme Court decision which over-rode a ministerial veto and ordered the disclosure of letters sent by Prince Charles to ministers.

The commission has faced a huge backlash from media groups, charities, trade unions and  civil society bodies because its consultation document suggested it was only looking at ways to reduce the “burden” which FoI places on the public sector.

Alistair Carmichael said:

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Celia Thomas

Baroness Celia Thomas writes…Derek Ezra 1919-2015

By Celia Thomas | Thu 7th January 2016 - 11:55 am

Liberal Democrat peer Derek Ezra died on 22 December 2015 at the age of 96. Celia Thomas remembers him.

Liberal Peers were absolutely delighted when Derek Ezra took the Liberal whip on becoming a Peer in 1983. He was one of the best known men in public life at the time, having been a well-respected Chairman of the Coal Board from 1972 to 1982. He had been a Liberal since university days, he told us, where he joined the Cambridge University Liberal Club in 1936. There he was a friend of Richard Wainwright, who was later to become the Liberal MP for Colne Valley.

A few years later, when war broke out, Derek became a gunner, rising eventually to the rank of Lt. Colonel; he later joined British Intelligence, where he was secretary of the Combined Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee. After the war, he spent four years in Luxembourg as a member of the UK delegation to the European Coal and Steel Community where he worked with Jean Monnet, largely regarded as the founding father of the European Community. From that time on, Derek was a passionate, but not uncritical, supporter of the European Union.

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Iain Gill

The EU referendum: a great opportunity for the Lib Dems

By Iain Gill | Thu 7th January 2016 - 10:10 am

International Office_with textI am thrilled to announce that I have been appointed to manage our Party’s EU Referendum campaign!

With Britain’s future in Europe hanging in the balance, 2016 is a watershed year for this country. For Britain to remain an outward-looking, progressive and prosperous nation at the heart of the international community, we need to secure our future in Europe.

The Liberal Democrats are unique in being the only national party in the UK who are unequivocally in favour of remaining in Europe and have a long history of committed internationalism. This referendum is a challenge but also an opportunity for us to prove that liberalism and international are more important than ever before for Britain.

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Jim Hardaker

Let us decide the fate of our open spaces

By Jim Hardaker | Wed 6th January 2016 - 2:58 pm

 

Across the UK, cash-hungry councils are selling off parks and open spaces to fill up their coffers.

We’re supposed to accept that in these times of diminishing government spending it’s necessary to sacrifice some niceties – but the loss of recreational green land that’s supposed to belong to us all is going too far.

To think that councils are using the funds from selling our parks to deliver services is optimistic at best. Land sale is capital. Services come out of the revenue budget.

Yet still it seems hard for the public to make a case that their parks should be saved. Councillors claiming to represent their constituents clearly feel that silent majorities outweigh the hundreds and even thousands who sign petitions, and perhaps they do. But something needs to change or we will never have a way to know for sure.

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David Warren

What hope for liberalism in the US presidential election?

By David Warren | Wed 6th January 2016 - 8:55 am

American history and politics are a passion of mine, so I always look forward to their primary season.

A year when the incumbent President is not seeking reelection is always especially interesting because it means both big parties engage fully in the lengthy process of selecting a candidate. 2016 is such a year.

American politics is unique and finding a viable candidate from what we would call the centre left is difficult. The Republicans have been an almost exclusively right wing conservative party for decades. Even those in the establishment who have resisted the insurgency of the so called tea party can be pretty scary.

Democrats too have shifted rightwards. Bill Clinton founded the ‘New Democrats’ before Blair’s New Labour and, inspite of all the talk of change, the Obama Presidency has turned out to be pretty much business as usual in most areas.On human rights and civil liberties in particular the administration varies little from its predecessors. The prison at Guantanamo Bay remains open and the draconian Patriot Act firmly in place.

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Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie on the four key Liberal Democrat values and the Lib Dem record of achievement

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 5th January 2016 - 9:45 pm

Willie Rennie put in a strong first day at work and set out the ideas on which the Scottish Liberal Democrats will fight the election in just 4 months’  time.

 

Willie Rennie values

He firstly intervened on the First Minister whose government promised to give 27% of 2 year olds nursery education. They’ve managed barely half that.

Before the First Minister moves on from education, new official Government figures show that only 7 per cent of two-year-olds are receiving nursery education. The First Minister’s promise was that 27 per cent would. How can she talk about a revolution in education and in childcare when she cannot even meet her timid plans?

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James Baillie

Nature conservation: a liberal legacy

By James Baillie | Tue 5th January 2016 - 4:55 pm

2015 was a strange year for me, as it was a strange year for the party; an odd, jarring mixture of losses and new hopes. In my case, one especially sad loss was that of my grandfather, Ted Smith, a pioneer of nature conservation across the UK, and especially in his native Lincolnshire – and also a Liberal and Liberal Democrat since the 1930s (one of the last few times I saw him, I helped him fill out his ballot for last year’s leadership election). He was a kind, quiet man, relentless in his pursuit of good causes; but others now have to lift that flag, and as such I thought this might be a time to reflect on how we think about conservation as a party.

We know that the natural world is under threat, perhaps more so than ever given the threat of climate change, and we have been the party most committed to strong science-led efforts to tackle that threat. The green agenda, however, must not be simply reduced to a question of climate alone. We owe it to future generations to conserve and protect Britain’s biodiversity, green spaces and habitats.
Liberal Democrats have to take the lead on the politics of nature conservation. Firstly, we must because nobody else will do so effectively. The Tory agenda for rural areas is one for corporations and landowners, protecting vast mismanaged estates and failing to provide effective solutions to rural issues. Labour’s agenda for rural areas is all too frequently non-existent. We can do better, and we must.

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Caron Lindsay

Five New Year’s resolutions for Liberal Democrats #5

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 5th January 2016 - 2:10 pm

Over the past few days, I’ve been suggesting some New Year’s Resolutions for Liberal Democrats to see us through 2016. Here’s number 5.

Pay attention to the Governance Review

There has been a group putting together proposals about the way our party is run. The last few years has given us many examples of where our disciplinary and other processes simply aren’t fit for purpose and it is difficult to see where  accountability lies. The Federal Executive will be drawing up a set of proposals for change. As an FE member, I do not want to see the power of members diminished or to see key decisions being exclusively taken by a small group of people, remote from members. We are a grassroots movement that believes in power being held at the lowest practical level and we need to live those values.

So, all I’m saying is keep an eye on what’s being proposed. If you are going to Spring Conference in York, come to the consultation session and if you aren’t, respond to the proposals with your comments. Above all, make sure your voice is heard. Constitutions may bore the hell out of you, but they set out where power is held. It’s important that we get that balance right.

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Paul Walter

Flood protection or overseas aid? A false choice

By Paul Walter | Tue 5th January 2016 - 11:30 am

Help UK
Over the festive period, I saw the image on the right on a social media site, stating, against a backdrop of flooded housing:

It’s time to STOP sending money abroad and help people in the UK now. LIKE, COMMENT or SHARE if you agree?

A comment under the image mentioned:

…the 250 million we are giving to India to fund their Space Programme.

Oh dear. Where to start? Call me an old pedant, but I’m naturally suspicious of any entreaty which feels the need to include block capitals. But that’s just one of my little foibles.

My mind boggled at the idea that we are giving “250 million” to India to fund their Space Programme. It took just a quick Google to see where that came from. Our old friend the Daily Mail had a remarkably thoroughly, if one-sidedly, researched article on 15th February 2015 which was headlined as follows:

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The liberal case for the need to champion social services

By Ian Thomas | Mon 4th January 2016 - 4:00 pm

As has become obvious to anyone who has read a newspaper or watched a news channel over the past 5 years, the NHS is straining under the weight of demand. With accident and emergency departments swamped, critical staffing levels and insufficient number of beds the national health provider is struggling to provide the excellent level of care that it is famed for. Alongside this, within the social services sector a perfect storm of an aging population, increased numbers of people living with long-term conditions, squeezed local authority budgets, discrepancies between the fees paid by private clients and local councils, high staff turnover and increased overhead costs has meant that for both systems the current situation is completely unsustainable.

While the government has already committed to increased spending on the NHS by £10bn per year in real terms by 2020/21 social care falls under the budget of local services and so they will continue to wither on the vine. As mentioned in a previous article, ‘Why we should care about Care’ both services work hand-in-hand, and a true integration could see money saved, lives improved and pressure reduced on both the NHS and local councils and their social services. 

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Peter Black

Peter Black AM writes…A Welsh budget cast in partnership

By Peter Black | Mon 4th January 2016 - 1:12 pm

The summer of 2014 was a particularly busy one. In addition to the usual constituency and regional based activities I was also engaged in a series of meetings with the Finance Minister and her officials in an effort to get a budget deal for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

The history of these deals has been chequered during this fourth Assembly. Labour do not have a majority so they need the support of at least one other party to get their budget through. They will not deal with the Conservatives so that just leaves two other possible partners.

At first, the Labour Government had it made. They negotiated with both the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, and played one off against the other. In their first budget, they struck a deal with the Welsh Lib Dems and as a result, the pupil deprivation grant was born. In the second they did a deal with Plaid Cymru, who secured a two year investment in apprenticeships.

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Caron Lindsay

Paddy: Tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia “a far greater danger” than ISIL

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 4th January 2016 - 12:40 pm

Paddy Ashdown has told the Independent that the growing tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the wake of the Saudi executions carried out over the weekend is “a far greater danger” than ISIL. He said that the UK Government should be robust about calling the Saudis out for their actions:

Lord Ashdown said Saudi Arabia’s sudden mass execution of prisoners – including the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and a number of young political protesters – may have been intended to derail the ongoing Syrian peace talks in Vienna.

These executions are deeply, deeply destabilising to the very delicate situation that exists in the Middle East and the danger of a wider Sunni and Shia conflict. The West, including the UK government, is only just realising the danger of this and its implications for long term peace in the region. It poses a far greater danger in the long term than, for example, Isil,” the former Lib Dem leader added.

The UK Government should be making it explicitly clear that it regards this act as extremely destabilising. These executions are shocking in human rights terms and reveal the real nature of the people with whom we are dealing. The UK’s stance underlines its deeply illogical position of ignoring the funding of jihadist groups, including Isil, which is coming from within Saudi Arabia.

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Caron Lindsay

Five New Year’s Resolutions for 2016 #4

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 4th January 2016 - 8:55 am

I’m suggesting five New Year’s resolutions for Liberal Democrats. Here, in very short and sweet from, is number 4.

Be very radical on diversity

We simply cannot go on with the embarrassment of our parliamentarians being as white and male as they are. It’s time to follow the example of Justin Trudeau and Nicola Sturgeon and Just Do It. It’s not just about processes, it’s about an unshakeable commitment to delivering diversity at every single level of the party from local party committees right up there that has to be driven by everyone in leadership positions. I think that measures like quotas, zipping and all women shortlists are an essential part of this. Others disagree, but if we don’t, we’ll still be having these discussions in 30 years time. At least now we know that the “but it has to be about merit” argument by opponents has been comprehensively debunked by the evidence. 

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Caron Lindsay

Time to think about Spring Conferences

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd January 2016 - 1:25 pm

In the next 8 weeks, Liberal Democrat Spring conferences will be held. First up is the Welsh Conference on the weekend of 5-7 February in Cardiff. I suspect the motions deadline has already passed, but we will keep you up to date when the agenda is published. Lynne Featherstone will be a keynote speaker and the event will be an opportunity to showcase Welsh Lib Dems’ achievements and plans ahead of the Assembly elections in May.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats meet in Edinburgh from 26-27 February, half a day shorter than usual. There is still plenty time to submit a motion. If you have an idea for a change in policy, here are the timescales:

Deadlines for motions to conference are as follows:

Policy motions – 15 January at midday
Amendments – 24 February at midday
Topical issues – 25 February at 17.00
Emergency motions – 25 February and 26 February at 17.00

You need to get 25 members to agree your motion, or you can ask a local party or organisation like EMLD, LGBT+ Lib Dems, Scottish Lib Dem Women or Liberal Youth Scotland to submit it for you.

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Caron Lindsay

Tim Farron says UK Government should challenge Saudis over executions and human rights

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd January 2016 - 10:28 am

Tim Farron went on Sky News yesterday to describe the execution of 47 people in Saudi Arabia as both “morally wrong and politically foolish” and to criticise the UK Government for being too soft on the Saudis and not calling them out for their appalling human rights record.

I remember being very proud when one of the first big things Vince Cable did as acting leader back in 2007 was to boycott the state visit of the Saudi King. I was not so chuffed last year when there was a chorus of silence from Liberal Democrats when flags were flown at half mast following the death of the Saudi King.

So, it’s good to see Tim Farron slamming the Saudis for their actions and the UK Government for being too soft on them. I’m also interested that he made the point that the relationships between the two governments benefit the most powerful people in both countries but don’t do much for those who aren’t well off. Watch the whole thing here.

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A look back at 2015 and hopes for 2016

By A Liberal in Leeds | Sat 2nd January 2016 - 2:58 pm

Wow! What a year 2015 was! It is staggering to think that just 12 short months ago we were in coalition. Now we have eight MPs. Despite that Jeremy Corbyn has been elected leader of the Labour party, leaving us with a centre-left vacuum to move into.

Coalition was by no means perfect. The vast majority of members and voters can agree on that.  I believe tuition fees was a big mistake. It was wrong to go back on a key commitment in the manifesto. We most a lot of trust after that and we paid a heavy price in May. We lost 49 liberal democrat representatives in the Commons.

Another failure of coalition was communication. We were so busy showing that coalition worked we did not announce where we disagreed with the Tories. I think this was a key factor in the public feeling that we were “in bed with the Tories”. Progress was made on this but far too late. For the Chancellor’s final budget ministers produced an alternative Liberal Democrat budget. We should have been doing that for the whole government.

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John Kelly

UN tells Israel to stop taking Palestinian resources

By John Kelly | Sat 2nd January 2016 - 1:25 pm

In a little reported step on Tuesday 22 December, the United Nations General Assembly, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention, adopted a resolution demanding Palestinian sovereignty over natural resources under Israeli occupation and the UK actually voted in favour!

The Fourth Geneva Convention was adopted in 1949 following the Second World War and the forced migrations of many peoples that occurred during and immediately after it.    Article 49 of that 4th Geneva Convention clearly states: ““The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.”   Israel ratified this Convention in 1951. In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted a report from the Secretary-General and a Commission of Experts which concluded that the Geneva Conventions had passed into the body of customary international law, thus making them binding even on non-signatories to the Conventions whenever they engage in armed conflicts. 

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