Category Archives: Op-eds

Vince Cable

What Rachel is Doing Right

By Vince Cable | Mon 9th June 2025 - 1:00 pm

This coming week will see the Public Spending Review: probably the most difficult test of this Labour government since it was elected a year ago.

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will be attacked from all sides. Friday’s newspapers write themselves: hostility from the ‘over-taxed’ tribunes of the Right, much of it wrapped in misogynist language about bird-brain ‘Rachel from Accounts’; frustration from the Left that the Magic Money Tree is not producing the expected crop of seasonal fruit; and disappointment from everyone else that she isn’t, after all, the Growth Fairy promised in the Labour manifesto.

In fact, the Chancellor is a competent and decent, economically literate individual, tied hand and foot by political and economic bondage. She inherited an almost stagnant economy burdened by barely sustainable public debt, the legacy of a series of damaging economic shocks: the financial crisis; Brexit; the Covid lockdown; the Ukraine War and ‘cost of living crisis’. She also inherits a nonsensical set of commitments on tax from the Labour Manifesto. And to add to all that, the madness and badness of Trump are creating chronic uncertainty in global markets.

Nevertheless, and acknowledging some silly mistakes, she has done three good big things. The first is to promote public investment. Gordon Brown, for all his formidable qualities and that he operated in easier economic conditions, was never able to persuade the Treasury to borrow to invest. Public investment took place through the expensive and over-complicated PFI scheme. Infrastructure was starved of investment capital.

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Rebecca Jones

For a lot of trans people, it’s hard to feel pride right now

By Rebecca Jones | Sun 8th June 2025 - 9:08 am

Just a few years ago it looked like our country was moving in the right direction. There was a broad consensus for trans rights, things were moving forward. Yet now, not only have trans rights not progressed,  they have actually regressed. Even for the few thousand of us that have gone through the burdensome procedure of getting a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), we still almost no legal recognition of our true gender.

In the aftermath of the UK Supreme Court ruling, trans people are experiencing a roll back of our rights at a pace not seen since Section 28.  With many companies even instituting ‘bathroom bans’ for trans people – akin to far-right Republican states in America. It’s an incredibly scary time to be trans in the UK right now, and for many of us it seems like it will only get worse. Just recently we saw Conservative politicians proposing amendments to forcibly change all trans people’s identity documents to reflect their birth sex instead of the gender they live as now.  This barely scratches the surface of the tide against us. It’s incredibly difficult to be positive about it all.

And to be honest, we’re scared. I’m scared.

As a community, we have no faith in the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to uphold our rights, with their leadership repeatedly speaking out about trans exclusionary policies. Many of us hoped things would get better after Kishwer Falkner leaves office, but the Labour Government seems determined to install someone who looks like they could be equally opposed to our rights, freedoms and equalities. For many of us, we feel little hope of the situation getting that much better as Labour continues to chase the far right at the expense of vulnerable groups in society. I speak to a lot of trans people, who really cannot see much hope right now, and I don’t have much I can tell them. 

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Merlene Emerson

Wherefore the Indo Pacific?  A brief thought piece

By Merlene Emerson | Fri 6th June 2025 - 3:47 pm

The past week has been an eventful one vis a vis discourses relating to the Indo Pacific.  It started for me at a round table held at RUSI’s HQ in Whitehall on Thursday 29th June on the topic of “UK & Europe’s Relations with the Indo-Pacific”.  Then to keeping a watching brief on the Shangri-la Dialogues organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore (30th May – 1st June), and ending with the Government’s Strategic Defence Review 2025 which was unveiled on Monday 2nd June.

So what is the significance of the “Indo-Pacific” region?  A German academic Karl Hauschofer is often credited with coining the term in the 1920s, referring to the countries connected via the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  However often we see its use as coded expression to exclude any mention of China, by far the most influential power in the region.  The Indo-Pacific has become more commonly used in the context of defence and security issues whereas “Asia Pacific” would for example be a more neutral term, whilst ASEAN+5, or signatories to CPTPP or RCEP (both excluding the US) more specific references where discussions revolved around trade matters.

The round table at RUSI organized by the Centre for Geopolitics, Cambridge was focused on the study of the Indo-Pacific to cover security, economic and other dimensions.  However inevitably discussions would lead back to the US and China rivalry – the elephant and dragon in the room!  This was of course unavoidable given that we are in the era of Trump 2.0 with rapidly shifting geo-political sands, not to mention and a full-blown trade war between the US and the rest of the world!

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Hina Bokhari

Disability inclusion can’t wait – Why won’t Sadiq Khan act?

By Hina Bokhari | Fri 6th June 2025 - 12:59 pm

As the Labour Party prepares to make devastating cuts to disability support, the Mayor of London has remained conspicuously silent. While Labour leaders in other parts of the country have spoken out, Sadiq Khan has so far proved content to more or less toe the party line.

Yet with hundreds of thousands of disabled Londoners set to be hit by sweeping cuts to Personal Independence Payment, whatever his political calculations may be, there is still no excuse for Sadiq Khan failing to step up now as Mayor and use every lever at his disposal to engage and support disabled Londoners in response.

Disabled people are already feeling abandoned and scapegoated by Westminster. Now, more than ever, London’s Mayor should be charting a different course — not with vague pledges or sympathetic soundbites, but with meaningful, decisive action and engagement.

One demand has come up again and again from disability rights groups: appoint a dedicated Disability Champion in City Hall. Someone with lived experience, real authority, and the mandate to ensure disabled voices are not just heard occasionally but embedded in every stage of policymaking.

Over 1.2 million disabled Londoners face daily, systemic barriers in accessing their own city. They deserve leadership with focus and accountability. This isn’t a matter of symbolism. London has a Commissioner for Walking and Cycling. Why not one for disability equality?

That’s why, working with Inclusion London, I introduced a motion last September calling for exactly that. It passed unanimously – backed by every party in the London Assembly. Yet nine months later, the Mayor has done nothing whatsoever to implement it. He insists his Deputy Mayor for Social Justice is “good enough,” despite repeated feedback from campaigners that it isn’t.

Because all too often we still see a total failure across GLA bodies to include Disabled Londoners. Take the “Towards a New London Plan” consultation, a flagship planning strategy launched without accessible formats like Easy Read or British Sign Language versions, excluding both people with learning disabilities and deaf Londoners.

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Jack Meredith

How should the Welsh Liberal Democrats fight the Senedd elections?

By Jack Meredith | Fri 6th June 2025 - 10:19 am

A few days ago, I authored an opinion piece examining the measures the Welsh Liberal Democrats must undertake to avert total defeat in the 2026 Senedd elections. This piece advocates for a renewed emphasis on federalism, and as one commentator articulated, “Devo-Maxing” (a term I have come to employ quite frequently).  

In this article, I intend to investigate an alternate approach that embraces the principles of social democracy.  

It is widely acknowledged that Wales embodies a social-democratic ethos. Since 1999, it has consistently elected Labour into government, routinely repudiating free-market rhetoric in favour of left-of-centre ideals, regardless of whether a Conservative or Labour administration presents the rhetoric. From David Lloyd George’s People’s Budget, the establishment of the welfare state and pension schemes, to Nye Bevan’s implementation of Beveridge’s concepts to realise the National Health Service, to Rhodri Morgan’s notion of “clear red water” distinguishing Welsh Labour from Tony Blair’s New Labour, social democracy intricately permeates the fabric of Welsh identity.  

It is, therefore, quite remarkable that only one Liberal Democrat leader has ever addressed the Trade Union Congress: the late, esteemed Charles Kennedy.  

Mr. Kennedy delivered a speech at the conference on Wednesday, September 11, 2002, following the address by former TUC general secretary John Monks at the Liberal Democrat conference held on Wednesday, September 20, 2000.  

During his address, Mr. Kennedy articulated how some of the earliest trade union members in Britain were affiliated with the Liberal Party and emphasized that Beveridge posited that liberty transcended mere freedom from governmental control; it included liberation from “economic servitude to want and squalor and other social evils.” He highlighted that the Liberal Democrats champion dialogue and cooperation with both sectors of industry, acknowledging that, while disagreements with union perspectives may arise, we remain committed to listening and addressing their concerns.  

As we transition to contemporary Wales, we observe that Welsh Labour have significantly diminished from their former stature. Current First Minister Eluned Morgan was compelled by her party to condemn the UK government’s decision to reduce support for the most vulnerable, lamentably stating that voters were “taking Welsh Labour for granted,” and employed fear tactics regarding the potential termination of free prescriptions should another party assume power.  

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Jack Meredith

NHS forerunner – Conversations with my grandparents

By Jack Meredith | Tue 3rd June 2025 - 10:48 am

Throughout my life, I have had the privilege of living in a household with both my parents and grandparents.

During this period, I have been fortunate to hear my grandparents recount stories from their childhoods. Both my grandmother and grandfather, whom I affectionately refer to as my nan and bampa, grew up both before and after the establishment of the National Health Service (NHS). I wish to share some of these anecdotes with you today.

My nan was born on November 5th, 1935, in Briton Ferry, South Wales. As one of four daughters, she had a father who dedicated his entire career to engineering, while her mother remained at home to care for the children. She was attended to hand and foot by an adoring mother, and her father ensured that there was always food on the table and a gift for each daughter at Christmas.

At the age of four, she began to develop a back issue that necessitated her mother taking her to “the clinic.” This clinic was a group of physicians who provided free, on-demand medical care to the local community, often operating from their own residences and offering walk-in appointments throughout the day.

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Neil Casey

Ideology over Industry: the SNP’s Defence blind spot

By Neil Casey | Tue 3rd June 2025 - 8:30 am

Over the weekend, the SNP Government’s decision to withhold a £2.5 million Scottish Enterprise grant for a Clyde-based submarine welding centre laid bare its flawed approach to defence and industrial policy. Rolls-Royce had already pledged £11 million in specialist equipment for the facility, intended to deliver advanced welding techniques, reduce carbon emissions, and create hundreds of high-value jobs. Yet Holyrood classified the project as “munitions”-related, despite Rolls-Royce clarifying that its nuclear propulsion systems are not used for delivering warheads. UK Defence Secretary John Healey condemned the move as “student-politics” that will undermine vital skills development and cost generations of Scottish workers hundreds of decent jobs. In effect, by grouping any submarine-adjacent work under a blanket anti-munitions policy, the SNP has chosen ideological purity over Scotland’s economic and security interests.

The question for Scotland is whether our engineers, welders, and high-tech firms will benefit from the surge in UK defence spending, or be shut out by Holyrood’s self-indulgent obstruction.

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Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday – When will the Lib Dem leadership defend immigration?

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 2nd June 2025 - 4:30 pm

A quote from a speech given this past week:

But let us say this clearly.
This country could not survive without immigrants. It requires immigration. This continent requires immigration if we are to prosper. I ask you. In the 1960s who drove the buses that kept this city moving.

Immigrants.

Who kept the factories running when there was labour shortages like my grandfather who worked in the Singer sowing machine factory in Clydebank?

It was immigrants.

Today when our loved ones need care be that in the NHS or our social care system who is there propping up our vital public services?

Immigrants.

When the crops need picking, the parcels need delivering, and the children need teaching who’s ready and willing to put in the hard graft?

Immigrants.

The truth is this country doesn’t just benefit from immigration, though it does.
It needs immigrants.

I’d love to be able to say that this powerful, full-throated defence of immigration and immigrants was made by a Lib Dem leader/MP/MSP etc. But it wasn’t. It was made by SNP MSP and former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf.

And three cheers for him for what was an important, timely, and, in the current political climate, really rather brave contribution to a national conversation which often sees political leaders (current or former) on a race to the bottom of the barrel and grasping for increasingly insulting and dehumanising rhetoric which shames our nation.

When I saw the clip of Yousaf’s speech it got me thinking. When was the last time any prominent Liberal Democrat made a similarly clear, strong willed, and heartfelt defence of immigration? Anyone remember?

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Caron Lindsay

It’s Pride month – protest has not been needed this much for a long time

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 1st June 2025 - 10:11 pm

In a week where Nigel Farage seems to have had the stage to himself to talk about his plans to do away with anything remotely woke and to get women, British women that is, (and we all know what he mean by that) to have lots of babies, to ruminate on curtailing access to abortion, we can see that the right are not going to stop curtailing people’s freedoms once they’ve dealt with trans people.

This year’s Pride month comes as the rights of trans people have already been rolled back as a result of over-zealous interpretation of April’s Supreme Court Judgement. The Scottish Parliament announced that trans people would have to use gender neutral toilets at Holyrood and that male and female facilities would be based on “biological sex.” That is hugely problematic as it could require staffers to out themselves. That is why if I were there, I would feel that I would need to use the gender neutral facilities in solidarity.

Alex Cole-Hamilton questioned the Parliament’s Corporate Body about this last week after he was a signatory to a cross-party open letter expressing concern about the changes:

Christine Grahame suggests that the decision was taken on the basis of the need to balance the legal responsibilities of the Parliament related to the Supreme Court judgment. However, as we heard from Patrick Harvie, the former Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption has made it clear that there are no legal responsibilities for the Parliament. He said that judges did not take a side and that the judgment does not provide an obligation to create single-sex spaces—it is a matter of choice for institutions. The EHRC has been challenged on how it will police that. We have heard about the use of birth certificates. I understand that the SPCB does not expect this to be policed, but others may. Can I ask that no parliamentary staff member will be put in the position of having to challenge a toilet user in the future?

Contrary to the view that this subject is simply a load of nonsense, many members are far more concerned about the wellbeing of those who choose to make the Parliament their workplace. We owe them dignity and respect. Given the answer to a previous question, I ask the corporate body simply to ensure that the aforementioned complaints procedure must not and will not be used as a means of prejudicing anyone in the Parliament, nor to force the disclosure of any details of their private life, including their status relative to their gender.
We have seen backlashes like this before. 21 years after Roy Jenkins as Home Secretary legalised homosexuality came Section 28 which made it impossible for LGBT young people to seek or receive support at school. The impact this had on many of my friends was profound and they have never forgotten how stigmatised they felt.
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Simon McGrath

LGA Group elections under way

By Simon McGrath | Sun 1st June 2025 - 12:55 pm

The elections for the Officers of  the Lib Dem Group at the Local Government Association and for Lib Dem members of various Boards have started.

When nominations closed on 23 May, three of the most senior officer roles were unopposed and saw the incumbents re-elected :

  • Cllr Joe Harris, who recently stepped down from his role as Leader of Cotswold District Council, will be starting his third term as Leader.
  • Cllr Bridget Smith, who is Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, continues as Deputy Leader.
  • Cllr Heather Kidd, who has just become Leader of Shropshire Council, will continue as the Group Whip.

Cllr  Harris said:

It’s an honour to be re-elected to lead the Lib Dem group at the LGA, especially at a time when local government is under more pressure than ever. Whether it was the chaos and neglect of the Conservative years or the centralising instincts of the new Labour government, local councils are too often ignored or undermined by Westminster. I’m determined to fight that head-on—demanding proper funding, real devolution, and genuine respect for the work our councillors do day in, day out. We’ve made big strides in amplifying our voice and improving our influence, from boosting communications to building alliances in Parliament—but we’re only just getting started. I’ll keep standing up for our communities, our councillors, and the liberal values that set us apart, and look forward to working with colleagues across the country to do this.

The only leadership position to be contested is that of Group Chair. Here, the incumbent Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, is opposed by Cllr Carl Cashman, Leader of the Lib Dem Group on Liverpool Council.

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Mo Waqas

Legalise Cannabis, save lives: it’s time to take power back from criminal gangs

By Mo Waqas | Sun 1st June 2025 - 10:55 am

Let’s be blunt: Britain’s war on drugs has failed. From cannabis to crack cocaine, we’ve chosen criminalisation over compassion, prohibition over prevention and the result has been more addiction, more crime, and more lives destroyed.

I’ve worked in prisons. I run care services. I’ve seen the human cost of our broken policies—kids groomed into gangs, people with addiction sent to jail rather than treatment, families torn apart. It doesn’t have to be this way.

We need to legalise and regulate cannabis and we need to start having serious conversations about the wider reform of drug laws, including decriminalising hard drugs and investing in public health instead of punishment.

Cannabis is Britain’s most-used illegal drug. According to the ONS, over 3 million adults in England and Wales used it last year. Yet every gram bought illegally is fuelling a black market worth an estimated £2.6 billion.

That money doesn’t go to schools, hospitals or addiction services—it goes to organised gangs, traffickers, and violent criminals. In 2023, the National Crime Agency confirmed over 2,000 active county lines networks exploiting children to move cannabis and other drugs.

Legalisation would cut off that funding at the source. It would allow for:

  • Regulated sales through licensed vendors
  • Age restrictions and health warnings
  • Controlled THC levels to reduce harm
  • Tax revenue to reinvest in communities

Canada has shown this works. Since legalising cannabis in 2018, they’ve raised over C$1.5 billion in tax revenue, reduced black market activity, and introduced strict advertising and packaging rules. Public support has increased, not fallen.

Critics always ask, “If you legalise cannabis, what next—heroin?” But in Portugal, they didn’t legalise heroin. They decriminalised it—and the results are staggering.

The impact:

  • Drug-related deaths dropped by over 80%
  • HIV infections from drug use fell by 94%
  • The prison population fell dramatically
  • Drug use did not spike—especially among young people

As of 2023, Portugal has one of the lowest overdose death rates in Europe at 6 per million, compared to over 80 per million in the UK.

Switzerland took a bold step with heroin. They introduced medically supervised heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) for people with severe opioid addiction. Patients receive pharmaceutical-grade heroin in clinics, under medical supervision.

This programme didn’t create more drug users—it did the opposite:

  • Crime among participants dropped by 60%
  • HIV transmission plummeted
  • Overdose deaths nearly disappeared
  • Participants regained stable housing and employment

Switzerland’s policy now enjoys over 70% public approval. It’s been replicated in Germany, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Oregon decriminalised possession of all drugs in 2020 through Ballot Measure 110. While the rollout faced issues, the principle remains sound.

Already, arrest rates have dropped by over 90% for drug possession, and millions of dollars in cannabis revenue are being invested into addiction recovery services.

The UK approach is stuck in the 1980s – just say no, lock them up, and hope the problem goes away. But we know better now.

We know that addiction is a health issue, not a criminal one. We know that prohibition fuels crime, not safety. And we know that public opinion is shifting.

A 2023 YouGov poll showed 55% of Brits support cannabis legalisation, rising to 63% among young adults.

The British Medical Journal, Royal Society of Public Health, and Transform Drug Policy Foundation all support moving towards a health-based model.

What the UK could do right now

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Caron Lindsay

Remembering Charles Kennedy 10 years on

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 1st June 2025 - 8:50 am

I can’t believe that it is a decade today since we lost Charles Kennedy.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment I first heard the news and how upset I and so many others felt.

His sudden death at the age of 55, from a haemorrhage linked to the effects of alcoholism, came just three weeks after he lost his Ross, Skye and Lochaber seat. He had been in Parliament 32 years, virtually all his adult life.

Ed Davey said today:

Ten years on, we still feel the loss of Charles Kennedy. Charles was principled, kind and possessed an unmatched talent for connecting with people – he was a great friend and an outstanding leader. I know he would have been so proud to see his old seat back in Lib Dem hands.

He was a politician who had the gift of really being able to connect with people and to meet them where they were.  He was one of he few politicians to be praised by both sides during the Independence Referendum in 2014. I’m writing this from my favourite part of his former seat where people remember his compassion and courage.

Just after his defeat, he wrote an article for us, which is reproduced in full below.

I am very fond of political history. If nothing else, we can all reflect on and perhaps tell our grandchildren that we were there on “The night of long sgian dubhs!”

I would very much like to thank my home team. They have been so energetic, dedicated and selfless to the task. Indeed, with them, I would like to thank the very many over the years who have made possible the previous seven successful general election campaigns locally.

I spare a thought for, and this is true of so many constituencies, for members of staff. It is one thing for elected representatives to find themselves at the mercy of the electorate; it is quite something else for the other loyal and skilled people who, sadly, will in due course be searching for employment. I wish them well and stand ready to help. I am sure that their professionalism will stand them in good stead.

It has been the greatest privilege of my adult and public life to have served, for 32 years, as the Member of Parliament for our local Highlands and Islands communities. I would particularly like to thank the generation of voters, and then some, who have put their trust in me to carry out that role and its responsibilities.

Locally, I wish my successor the very best. The next House of Commons will have to finalise the Smith Commission package, giving effect to the referendum “Vow” over further powers. I am saddened not to be involved in that process.

However, from the perspective of the Highlands & Islands, the case for more powers being returned to us which have been lost to the Central Belt over the past five years, has to be heard as well.

On the national picture, I am indeed sorry to learn of Nick’s decision but respect entirely his characteristic sense of personal, political and party principle.

The eligible candidates must reflect with care and collectively before we rush into the best way forward – out of this political debris we must build with thought and care.

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Richard Dickson

Why Aynuk and Ayli should be bothered

By Richard Dickson | Sat 31st May 2025 - 9:38 am

This month’s publication of research into how Britons feel about the region in which they live makes fascinating reading. It also contains a warning for champions of local government reorganisation and planning reform in England.

Only in one English region, the North-East, does the research show that people have a strong attachment (48%) to their region. Midlanders show the least feeling for where they live.

Just 13% of West Midlanders and 11% of East Midlanders hold a very strong attachment to their respective region. Only 7% of people in the West Midlands believe our region is a better place to live in …

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Mark Valladares

So much for the changes to candidate selection?

By Mark Valladares | Fri 30th May 2025 - 12:45 pm

Those of you who have read the Party President’s latest missive will have discovered that, last Thursday evening, English Council was invited to ratify the changes needed to enact motion F10 “Constitutional Amendment: Implementing the Lessons of the General Election Review”, as required by the last four lines of the motion:

Conference further notes that implementing these changes will require agreement by the State Parties under Article 2.10(c) and encourages them to give their assent as soon as practical this year.

It didn’t exactly go to plan though as, whilst English Council delegates voted in favour of granting assent, the two-thirds majority required was not reached. Accordingly, assent has not come from the English Party, and the formal work of the proposed new Joint Candidates Sub-Committee is thus in abeyance of sorts.

The Chair of the English Party, Caroline Pidgeon, is quoted as follows:

Since last night’s meeting I have been contacted by many members, wanting clarity about the next steps. Given the clearly expressed desire for change, this issue is not going to disappear. I want to reassure you that as the Chair of the Liberal Democrats in England, I will be speaking with others about an appropriate way forward to find a suitable and acceptable solution that allows for the clear views of the wider membership and English Council to be respected, but that also addresses the outstanding concerns raised at English Council. This will take a few weeks to consider and reflect.

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Jack Meredith

Labour benefit cuts: a burden for the poor, a boon for Farage

By Jack Meredith | Fri 30th May 2025 - 9:57 am

After 14 years of misgovernance, turmoil, and ongoing reductions to public services, the Conservatives have lost power, allowing the Labour Party to reclaim Number 10. Nevertheless, recent actions suggest that the Tories’ influence lingers.

The decision to eliminate the Winter Fuel Allowance and reduce benefits aligns with Conservative policies that prioritise a “balanced budget” over the welfare of the most vulnerable in society. Conversely, Labour has historically prided itself on advocating against poverty and social injustice, exemplified by its efforts to legalise abortion, decriminalise homosexuality, repeal Section 28, and lift millions from poverty.

However, this has shifted. During the 2024 election campaign, Labour spoke of “tight fiscal rules” concerning government spending. Many assumed this was a tactic to placate the right-wing media and prevent a repeat of the 2019 election loss. This view seemed reinforced by initiatives such as renationalising the railways, boosting local community investments, and increasing the defence budget.

The first significant blow came in October 2024 when Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced cuts to that year’s Winter Fuel Allowance. Just 16 years prior, Gordon Brown celebrated this policy as a significant Labour achievement against the Tories.

Shortly after, in March 2025, the government revealed another cut: benefits would be reduced.

Looking back to 2010, Labour and others condemned the Coalition Government’s decision to slash benefits as “inhumane.” Now, fifteen years later, Labour finds itself following the same path.

Some argue that the current state of the country and the world is significantly different from 2010 or even 2020. Many within Labour say that, although they do not favour these changes, they are essential for immediate stability, which will ultimately lead to long-term solutions. Yet, this doesn’t change the fact that millions will face poverty in the name of achieving a “balanced budget.”

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Andy Daer

Top lawyers challenge the government on Gaza

By Andy Daer | Thu 29th May 2025 - 2:54 pm

Today, a letter signed by 828 lawyers was sent to the British government. UK Judges’ and Lawyers’ Open Letter Concerning the Occupied Palestinian Territory – May 2025 – UK lawyers’ open letter concerning Gaza

As has been noted previously in Lib Dem Voice, and as the lawyers who signed the letter have now stated, the British government needs to take action, not merely voice concern, or issue threats of “concrete” action which so far have come to nothing.  Keir Starmer and David Lammy both suddenly sounded statesman-like when they unveiled those threats, prompted, it appears, not by the nearly 20 months of disproportionate reaction to the October 7 attack by Hamas, but more likely by the televised images of starving babies which might be prompting the British electorate to ask why we are still supplying arms to Israel, and why we haven’t imposed sanctions.

The call from such a huge number of top lawyers and legal experts for positive action is something the government can’t ignore, and indeed it’s hard to see why the Attorney General, Lord Richard Hermer, hasn’t either demanded a change of course, or resigned.  Not long ago David Lammy refused to comment on whether Genocide was taking place in Gaza, saying that wasn’t for a matter for the Foreign Secretary, and was for lawyers to decide.  Lammy graduated from Harvard Law School in 1997, and may have forgotten that he is a lawyer himself, but it seems astonishing that he didn’t seek guidance from the Attorney General, or that if he did, Lord Hermer’s opinion has been kept secret from Parliament and the British public.  No doubt the Labour government, exactly like the Conservatives who preceded them, regards embarrassing legal advice as best kept secret.

The Israeli/American plan to distribute food in Gaza, by-passing normal aid agencies

This has failed to achieve its own very limited objectives, to no-one’s surprise.  Meanwhile the UN’s Office for the  Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tells us there are 171,000 tons of food embargoed by the Israelis, which could be safely delivered by humanitarian agencies, and which would feed the entire population of Gaza for three to four months.  Instead there is a botched attempt by distrusted private security firms, amid fear that the plan is to kettle Palestinians in the south of Gaza using food as bait, or worse, to lure people known or thought to be associated with Hamas into the arms of the IDF.

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Jamie Greene

The economic performance gap in Scotland

By Jamie Greene | Thu 29th May 2025 - 11:50 am

To paraphrase a famous election campaign, what do the Scottish Liberal Democrats do for a working-class boy from Greenock?

Well, in my case they make him their Economy and Finance spokesperson in the Scottish Parliament.

I’m delighted to be able to speak for us on this portfolio at Holyrood and honoured by the trust I’ve been shown as our newest Lib Dem MSP. I’m also aware there is a lot of hard work to do.

In nearly two decades in power, the SNP have failed to deliver. They have preferred bureaucracy and constitutional bickering over supporting Scottish businesses, particularly Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

As deputy convenor of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit committee, I see what has gone wrong on a weekly basis.

Figures from the Auditor General lay bare the SNP’s economic mismanagement.

While the tax powers of the Scottish Government have brought in an extra £3,367 billion, a startling £2,738 billion has effectively been lost due to policy decisions taken in Scotland, leaving just £629 million available to use. In layman’s terms, just 20p in the pound of additional tax paid due to divergent policies is available to spend.

This has been labelled the “economic performance gap” by the independent Scottish Fiscal Commission and it should worry us all.

The gap is a direct result of Scottish Government decisions and is a creation of the SNP in government. “Pay More, Get Less”, should feature on every SNP leaflet at next year’s election.

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Adam Robertson

In Defence of Nick

By Adam Robertson | Wed 28th May 2025 - 2:01 pm

Nick Clegg, is arguably the best modern Liberal Democrat British Politician by virtue through taking the party into power in 2010. You may be thinking why does he need defending within our own party? That is a good question considering if he was in the Conservative and Labour Parties, he would be feted (apart from Tony Blair due to Iraq) for taking the party into Government for the first time since the Second World War. Yet  Mathew Hulbert suggests it would be wise for him to make fewer public interventions as possible, despite being a former Deputy Prime Minister.

Why do some members of our party feel this way about Nick Clegg, considering the Coalition was ten years ago? The British public seem to have reluctantly accepted that the Coalition cuts were necessary compared to the current Labour Government ones. As Mathew says in his article, Nick did help to bring in Equal Marriage with Lynne Featherstone, but Nick also helped to bring in the Pupil Premium, lifted three million people out of Income Tax, and restored the link between pensions and earnings. I can go on, but the main achievements can be found here. 

Admittedly, I accept that the Party lost 49 seats at the 2015 General Election. It is clear that the negotiating team could have got a better deal from the Conservatives, particularly on constitutional and political reform, and on the issue of Europe. Let us not get started on the issue of tuition fees, which should have been handled better especially the politics of it, although I think Nick is not completely to blame here. 

However, it is only fair to assess the legacy of the Coalition, when both constituent parts are out of Government completely. The Financial Times has pointed out that we could benefit from the coalition legacy, as Labour faces the reality of governing. 

Nick may not have  broken the mould’ in challenging the Conservative and Labour dominance within our electoral system during his time as Leader, although I argue even more important was that he could see that the political axis was changing from the traditional economic axis of redistribution v tax cuts, to a cultural axis of liberalism v authoritarianism. 

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Lord William Wallace

William Wallace writes: How should we play five party politics?

By Lord William Wallace | Wed 28th May 2025 - 12:00 pm

May’s local elections confirmed what opinion polls had been indicating for several months: that England now has five political parties attracting between 10% and 30% of voters.  Nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales make six serious parties: an even more crowded field.  

Of course it’s possible that over the next four years UK politics might return to its traditional two-party model.  But that doesn’t look likely.  Neither Labour nor the Conservatives any longer command the automatic support of a large proportion of voters, nor the mass membership that used to provide local organisations throughout the country. Other divides apart from class and wealth cut across old loyalties: young versus old, graduates versus school leavers, libertarians versus socially-engaged.  The old dream that a ‘realignment of the left’ might enable us to replace Labour, and the more recent hope that we might push the Conservatives out of contention as one of the two main parties both look illusory.  The result of the 2029 election may largely depend on how effectively different parties target specific constituencies, and whether the Conservatives and Reform can construct a formal or informal electoral pact. And it might then require more than two parties to form a majoritarian government.

After our experience between 2010 and 2015, many Liberal Democrats will groan at the prospect of any form of participation in a government in which we were not the largest party.  But we can’t dictate what election outcome we would prefer, and we need to be prepared to make the best of a different pattern of politics as it emerges.  Established party systems have withered in most other democratic states, as similar social and economic changes have transformed their electorates.  Say that we double our number of MPs in 2029, to become a major player in any post-election scenario, perhaps with more MPs than one of the two ‘established’ parties: what would we do then?  We’ve just seen an opinion poll put us ahead of the Tories.  We HAVE to think ahead.

I suggest some themes that ought to feed into our thinking and campaigning if the current pattern of disillusion with Labour and the Tories persists.

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Jack Meredith

How should the Welsh Liberal Democrats approach the Senedd elections?

By Jack Meredith | Wed 28th May 2025 - 8:55 am

In just under a year, Wales will go to the polls to vote in the Senedd elections.

These elections will determine the composition of the new 96-member Senedd, with polls currently indicating either a Labour minority government (Survation and Nation Cymru) or a Plaid Cymru minority government (YouGov). Regardless of which party becomes the senior partner in government, every poll positions Reform just single digits away from forming a minority government themselves. Survation and Nation Cymru place them joint-second with Plaid, while YouGov ranks them outright second, only 5% behind Plaid; the party’s prospects appear promising.

Each poll also suggests that the Welsh Liberal Democrats will secure only 4-7% of the overall vote, indicating a significantly weakened position.

With the rise of Reform, it would be easy to argue that the Welsh Lib Dems should “play the Reform game,” as some within the Labour Party have advocated for their own party’s future. While this position might seem alluring to some, the notion of embracing xenophobic populism turns my stomach. I regard myself as a liberal internationalist, a progressive who supports the spread of human rights globally, and holds the belief that if you seek a better life for yourself and your family, and you’re willing to work hard and contribute to society, then you’re more than welcome in the UK; THAT is why I am a member of the Liberal Democrats.

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David Murray

The need for intermediate housing

By David Murray | Tue 27th May 2025 - 5:00 pm

The Lib Dems recognise the need for more council/social housing for families, but little is done about the many young people who are forced to live with their parents until well into their 30s. There is inadequate provision of suitable affordable accommodation, either to rent or buy, for young people with limited resources, particularly when they have first left care, school, college, university or the armed forces.

Single people do not get priority for social housing, and can remain on councils’ Band 5 waiting lists for years, limiting their opportunities and social mobility to move where the jobs might be. Young …

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Mark Paine

The Liberal Moment

By Mark Paine | Tue 27th May 2025 - 9:00 am

Recently, I joined the Liberal Democrats; or rather rejoined as I was briefly a member a few years ago. I have been politically active since I was a teenager, for the majority of that time as a member of the Labour Party. My return came after a long period of reading and reflection. For some time, I had been aware of my growing unease at the culture within the Labour Party (which is exceptionalist, toxic and tribalistic), and the Party’s underlying philosophical basis (which is authoritarian).  Eventually the cognitive dissonance required to be a Labour Party member was too tiring, so I left. Now at the age of 55, I have found (hopefully) my political home.

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Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday – Will we nail the final nail into the Tory coffin?

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 26th May 2025 - 4:32 pm

Here lies the deceased. The Conservative Party, 1834-2025.

Or, to borrow from a certain former Prime Minister who encouraged the use of a handbag in less than diplomatic negotiations,

This is an ex-parrot. It is not merely stunned. It has ceased to be, expired, and gone to meet its maker. It is a parrot no more. It has run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is a late parrot.

That of course was Margaret Thatcher speaking to the Tory Party conference, about the Lib Dems and our then new party symbol, “a bird of some kind” as she described it, in 1990.

Of course ironically it would in fact be herself who was (politically) defenestrated just a few weeks later when her own Cabinet turned on her and she stood down as Conservative leader and Prime Minister. Be careful what you wish for, some might say.

If any party knows about coming very close to its own political death it is the Lib Dems and our predecessor parties, sometimes reduced to just a handful of MPs. But, as our former leader Tim Farron likes to say, we Lib Dems are like cockroaches… almost impossible to kill us off.

It’s taken a decade since we were given a right royal kick in 2015 after our first time in UK-wide government since Liberal leader Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair served as the Secretary of State for Air in Churchill’s war time national Cabinet, but under Ed Davey’s steady leadership, punctuated by the occasional cringeworthy stunt to garner attention from a Westminster press pack who seem to have permanently forgotten that we even exist, we are back in a strong position on which we can and must build.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome (belatedly) to my day: 26 May 2025 – what if, like Bielefeld, I don’t actually exist?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 26th May 2025 - 1:32 pm

One of the increasingly troubling trends in modern life is the use of AI as a tool to gather and utilise information. Now, this might merely be the concern of a late middle-aged bureaucrat whose caution is inevitable. On the other hand, it may reflect an entirely reasonable fear that people are too trusting of the information presented to them by unaccountable algorithms. But what if those algorithms are being used to surreptitiously influence what we think and how we perceive the world around us?

We’ve already seen X turn from an entertaining, and occasionally useful, social media platform into a hot mess as Elon Musk openly manipulates its working algorithm to promote those views he supports and punish those who puncture his fragile ego. And now the legal system is facing a challenge from plaintiffs using AI-generated false case precedents to support their arguments in court.

The kneejerk solution is to legislate to address these concerns but the pace of technological change and jurisdictional challenges make any attempts to do so complex and probably futile. Parliamentarians lack the tools, and often the skills, to design a set of principles which might be effective.

I am, clearly, not the only person wondering about this. Nick Clegg has been in the news this week, having made a speech suggesting that the Liberal Democrats should be willing to go into a coalition in future (good luck with that campaign, Nick!). He’s got a book out in the Autumn, “How to Save the Internet”, which should be intriguing.

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Janey Little and Eleanor Kelly

Stillbirth surveillance shows why we must decriminalise abortion

By Janey Little and Eleanor Kelly | Sun 25th May 2025 - 7:24 pm

 

Stillbirth surveillance is the next chapter of our dystopian and dangerous abortion laws. Our parliaments must legislate to decriminalise.

We were chilled to read about the new stillbirth surveillance guidance from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). This NPCC guidance on “child death investigations” includes the seizure of mobile phones and accessing data from menstrual tracking apps in order to understand people’s “intentions” with the pregnancy. You would think this was a news story in Trump’s America, not right on our doorstep.

This development is part of a wider picture: one of an incremental and dystopian attack on women’s rights, both at home and across the globe. Anti-abortion activism in the UK is on the rise, with the UK branch of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) receiving over £1.1 million in 2024 from the US parent body. Last year, Nigel Farage said that rolling back the 24-week abortion limit was “worthy of a debate in parliament”. Meanwhile, misogyny is increasingly becoming mainstream globally, while nearly a quarter of governments reported backlash on gender equality in 2024.

Reform to abortion law in England and Wales is long overdue. Currently, abortion is a criminal offence under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, unless it is carried out according to the requirements of the Abortion Act 1967. Over the last 10 years we’ve seen an increase in police suspicion with dozens of investigations and six women in England charged in the past two years alone. 

In 2021, a 15-year-old girl was investigated for a year for an unexplained stillbirth, which was dropped after they concluded that it was due to natural causes. In 2024, a case against Bethany Cox was dropped after a three-year investigation where she was charged with abortion as a teenager. A psychiatric examination found that this had a “profound” impact on Cox. Mothers have been prevented from caring for their children.

People who are already suffering from trauma relating to stillbirth, miscarriage, and the ending of a pregnancy have been subjected to lengthy invasive investigations and emotional turmoil, while stripped of their support network at a time of vulnerability. Women denied access to their premature babies, their devices seized by police, having to hand over breastmilk to hospital receptionists because they previously considered an abortion. This cannot go on.

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 25th May 2025 - 9:49 am

Romania, Poland, Portugal

On the surface, this week’s elections in Poland, Romania and Portugal were a victory for Europe’s political centre. But look an inch or two below and a different, darker story emerges.

Let’s start with Romania. A few week ago the country was looking into a political abyss after the first-round of presidential elections was won by Calin Georgescu. The far-right, ultra-nationalist, pro-Putin, anti-Ukraine, anti-NATO, agronomist was a political unknown before the December vote. Yet he managed to top the first round of a two-part elections. A quick investigation revealed Russia skulduggery. The election was annulled and Georgescu barred from running for office.

So, the Romanian far-right put up another candidate—George Simion—who adopted many of the same policies of the barred Georgescu. He lost this week’s election. The centrist Nicursor Dan can claim a solid victory with 53.6 percent of the vote but Simion was close enough—at 46.4 percent of the vote—to be a future threat.

A bit further to the north the first round of the Polish presidential elections were much, much closer. Centrist candidate Rafal Trzaskowski narrowly topped the poll with 30.8 percent of the vote while far-right candidate Karol Nawrocki’s slice was 29.1 percent. The two men will face-off in a final round on June 1st.

A far-right Polish president could easily undermine the country’s centrist Prime Minister Donald Tusk who has been in the forefront of world leaders supporting Ukraine. The president’s role is largely ceremonial except for the power to veto any legislation passed by the Polish parliament (Sejm) and to appoint the judiciary.

Further to the West, on the edge of the European continent, Portugal’s centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) won enough seats to form a government, although it fell short of a majority.

AD’s success, however, was not the big news of the night. The big news was the triumph of the far-right Chega Party which more or less tied with the established centre-left Social Democrats with 23 percent of the vote. Three years ago Chega polled only seven percent.

The Chega Party joins Vox in Spain, Reform in the UK, AfD in Germany, AU in Romania, Sweden Democrats in Sweden, Freedom Party in Austria, National Rally in France….All of these parties have risen on the backs of inflation, a housing crisis and general uncertainty about the future. They are waiting for the established political parties to mis-step, or, fail to deliver.

United States

Gold is Donald Trump’s favourite colour. It is also expensive. These two factors could explain why the American president is calling his proposed missile defense shield the “Golden Dome.”

The wished-for shield is loosely modelled on Israel’s highly successful “Iron Dome” which has successfully rebuffed missile attacks from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.

I say, loosely, because Israel’s Iron Dome is 15 mobile Patriot missile batteries which are moved around the country to the best sites for intercepting incoming missiles. The batteries are all land-based and cover an area of 8,550 square miles.

Trump’s Golden Dome would be based on sea, land and in space and would cover an area of 7,650,000 square miles. It would also be designed to detect and destroy missiles before they are launched as well as after they are launched.

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Michal Siewniak

“International Day of Democracy” for the Polish community in the UK

By Michal Siewniak | Sat 24th May 2025 - 11:53 am

 Tired, in actual fact exhausted. Almost no sleep for 24 hours, however it was worth it! There is no better way to enable people to vote in any elections so that they can actively shape the future of their communities, towns, cities and countries, especially when you live abroad.

It might have been a small event, however it was a significant and historic moment for the Polish community in Hertfordshire. For the very first time, a polling station for the Polish presidential elections was opened in Welwyn Garden City on Sunday, 18 May. It really felt like a wonderful “democratic celebration”.

Organising the station was a significant logistical challenge. It required cooperation with consular officials and the assembly of a trained and reliable election team. It is quite incredible, given that many more people expressed their willingness to vote, 108 polling stations have been set up across the UK. Moreover, more than 509,000 Poles living abroad had an opportunity to cast their vote and choose the next President.

In comparison with London or Manchester, Welwyn Garden City is a small town, however it was great to see that voters travelled not only from nearby towns such as Hatfield, Stevenage, St Albans, Barnet, Hitchin, Hoddesdon, Waltham Abbey, Ware, Cheshunt and Harlow, but also from further afield – including Portsmouth and Leyland. Many commented on how grateful they were not to have to travel far, and praised both the organisation and the charm of Welwyn Garden City itself. Their warm feedback confirmed to us that this initiative was truly worthwhile. The members of the commission (13 in total) created a welcoming and supportive environment, filled with a true sense of community.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: South African farmers

By Tom Arms | Sat 24th May 2025 - 9:44 am

South Africa’s White farmers—and, face it, most of South Africa’s farmers are White Afrikaners—are facing difficulties.

Are they being subjected to a government-orchestrated genocide? No, that is a Trumpist calumny of the first order.

Are they being buried in their thousands along the road as show in one of the videos that Trump showed in the Oval Office? No, that was a five year-old video showing a temporary memorial to two Boer farmers.

What about all the newspaper cuttings that Trump produced in his ambush of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa? Those were all about fighting in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.

How about Julius Malema singing “Kill the Boers.” He is leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters which won 9.5 percent of the vote in the last election. Describing him—as Trump did—as representative of South African politics is akin to saying that Nigel Farage and the Reform Party determine British government policy.

In short, Trump’s attempted trap was riddled with obvious lies. Except one, President Ramaphosa in February signed a bill allowing for the confiscation of farmland.

Mind you, it is more nuanced than that. The bill allows for expropriation in “circumstances where it is just and equitable and in the public interest to do so.” And defines the just and equitable circumstances as when the land is not being used and stipulates that there should be no intention to either develop the land, resell it at profit or to use it such a way to pose a risk to other people.

This may sound fair, but it is also vague enough to worry the banks who are expressing concern about loans to South African farmers. And Boer farmers, like farmers everywhere, live from bank loan to harvest to bank loan.

Actual implementation of the new law is being held up by a legal challenge from the Democratic Alliance Party which is actually a member of the ruling coalition. The DA claim that the law breaches the constitutional provision protecting private property and is preparing its case for South Africa’s Supreme Court.

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Jim Coupland

Technocracy vs populism

By Jim Coupland | Fri 23rd May 2025 - 1:51 pm

The Labour government have announced a U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts. Pondering over Sir Keir’s leadership of Labour and now his current premiership, I’ve noticed that he is fighting a battle which I feel is being overlooked. What I currently find is that there is a polarising divide for politicians where they seem to try and find a balance between technocracy and populism.

What do I mean by these terms? Well, for us political nerds, I think we all know what populist politics is. It can come in many forms, from the Corbyn era to the MAGA movement, it is there to serve as an alternative to the status quo of politics. More than just a technical opposition in parliament, populists aim to change the system altogether. What do I mean by technocracy? Well, that is what I would define as the ‘establishment’. Politicians and civil servants who create legislation and policy that makes minimal change to the institutions.

Looking at the government, the Prime Minister is a technocrat at heart. A pragmatist. What I have learned, being a former Labour member under his leadership, is that ideology is not what he is interested in. He cares about details and prides himself on preservation of institutions. That has been Labour’s weakness since their election victory in 2024; Labour campaigned on ‘change’ but have shown through their actions that there will be no meaningful change. For example, a key educational policy in their 2024 manifesto is to recruit 6,500 teachers. That sounds like a lot; however, figures have shown that in both 2021/22 and 2022/23, nearly 40,000 teachers left the profession. 6,500 new teachers will not solve the retention crisis of school staff.

Labour can point to raising wages, which I support, but that policy alone does not solve poverty or wealth inequality. In my personal position, the wage rise only amounted to me having roughly £6 extra onto my day rates in one of my jobs. I don’t live in poverty but as a working-class person, that policy hasn’t eased the financial pressures we all face.

Looking at the numbers, I understand why Labour made their decision of the winter fuel cuts. There are plenty of pensioners that, in my view, were going to suffer as a direct result of the policy and be pushed into poverty. However, there are pensioners that were receiving the payment when they were quite well off. Rory Stewart recently spoke of how his mother received the payment when she didn’t need to. With an ageing population, the winter fuel payment is extremely costly to the taxpayer. This is the technocratic argument.

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Hina Bokhari

Words have power: London must champion migration, not demonise it

By Hina Bokhari | Thu 22nd May 2025 - 4:12 pm

Migration is not a threat – it is the very foundation of London life. From the Romans and Anglo-Saxons to the Windrush generation and Ukrainians fleeing war today, migrants have always shaped this city into a dynamic, diverse capital. That should be a source of collective pride, not a target for political attack.

Yet when the Prime Minister dismisses immigration as a “squalid chapter” or warns of an “island of strangers” and “incalculable damage,” more than disappointing, it is downright dangerous.

Such rhetoric dehumanises communities and deepens division. In a climate of rising hate crime and attacks on asylum seekers – including the horrifying attempt last year to burn down a hotel with people still inside – the Prime Minister’s words are worse than insensitive: they are recklessly incendiary.

Words have power. They shape opinion, policy, and lives. In moments like this, we need leaders who speak with care, clarity, and courage – who choose unity over fear, and hope over hate.

Instead, the language from Number 10 echoes the darkest chapters of our political past, more suited to Enoch Powell than a modern leader. And while Sadiq Khan has said these are not words he would use, that’s not good enough from London’s Mayor.

When I pressed him directly today at Mayor’s Question Time about whether he considered the Prime Minister’s language dangerous, he refused to answer, instead deflecting repeatedly. Our diverse capital demands more than quiet disapproval and political evasion. London needs bold leadership willing to vocally reject divisive rhetoric – even when it comes from a Labour government – and to defend a simple truth: migration is not a crisis to contain, but a core part of who we are.

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