Liberal Democrat Voice | Page 145

Our place to talk – an independent website for supporters of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK.

The most-read independent website by and for Lib Dem supporters. Not paid for by trade unions or millionaires.

Advert

Reflections on my first year as Drugs Policy spokesperson

By Ben Lawrie | Tue 6th September 2022 - 10:55 am

It’s been a year since Alex Cole-Hamilton appointed me Scottish Lib Dem spokesperson for Drugs Policy. This is a new portfolio shadowing the Minister for Drugs Policy Angela Constance in response to an increasing trend of drug-related deaths in Scotland that has made us the Overdose Capital of Europe.

Since my appointment I have sought to learn, make connections and speak to people most affected by substance misuse while putting forward common sense proposals such as accelerating the rollout of Naloxone (overdose prevention kits), introducing supervised consumption centres, and calling for widespread drug law reform at the UK level. Here’s one TV interview with GB News where I put forward such proposals:

My primary focus is reducing overdoses and drug-related deaths. My first job involved travelling to Holyrood to attend a vigil for Overdose Awareness Day.

I spoke to people who have lived with addictions and families who have lost loved ones to overdose. I even had the honour of meeting Peter Krykant, a former addict who took action into his own hands to start up Scotland’s first ever mobile overdose prevention centre in the back of a van. After being shown around the back of Peter’s old ambulance which he’s modified into a mobile safe consumption centre, and upon hearing about all the lives he had saved, I was struck by the power of direct action, and how often it’s ordinary people taking matters in to their own hands who achieve far more than Government Ministers ever can.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged ben lawrie, drugs policy, featured and Scotland | 4 Comments

Advert

Another day, another new Conservative Prime Minister to muck up our lives

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 6th September 2022 - 9:15 am

Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are in for an absolute treat today. It’s more of a faff to get to Balmoral than a quick spin up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, but the journey from Aberdeen through Royal Deeside is absolutely gorgeous. The heather in the hills round about Aboyne is particularly stunning, even if it is, as forecast, tipping it down.

I am so glad that they are going north to see the Queen. The 96 year old monarch has earned the right to say that they should come to her.

I wonder what arrangements have been made for Boris and Carrie to get back from Balmoral. Normally the outgoing PM gets a taxi from Buckingham Palace. Will the estate manager drop them in Ballater so they can get the bus back to Aberdeen to catch the Easyjet back down south? Probably not, but it’s an amusing thought.

Much has been said about the new Prime Minister’s bulging in tray. Competing economic, energy, international and health crises require urgent action. I don’t think we are emphasising enough, though, the extent to which all these issues have been made worse by the foolish actions of the Conservative Party in Government since 2015. From David Cameron’s ill-advised pledge to hold a referendum on our EU membership, to Theresa May’s and Boris Johnson’s choice to pursue the most extreme form of Brexit, they have helped create much tougher economic circumstances than in similar economies.

Sectors like social care are falling apart because of their anti-immigrant ethos. As care workers went back to the EU, our disabled and elderly friends and family found that the help that they relied on disappeared.

Boris Johnson’s boasterish farewell speech this morning didn’t mention this. He didn’t get Brexit done. He left a predictably impossible situation in Northern Ireland and the new PM intends to take the nuclear option of breaking international law rather than find a more pragmatic solution. Deaths from Covid in the UK are the highest in Europe and the long term consequences of their pretence that the pandemic is over are being felt by too many people.

It takes some brass neck to deliver such a bullish speech when you have been forced from office in disgrace after the resignation of half of your government. Tim Farron summed it up this morning:

That Mr Johnson leaves office without any sign of contrition over the dishonesty that led to him being ousted, is seriously corrosive to trust in politics and sets the worst example.

— Tim Farron (@timfarron) September 6, 2022

Jo Swinson said back in 2019 that the worst thing about Boris Johnson was that he just didn’t care. He simply couldn’t be bothered to understand how his Government’s actions affected people. Liz Truss, similarly, shows no sign of giving a damn and she doesn’t have anything like the charisma of her predecessor.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged boris johnson, cost of living, economy, energy, equalities, human rights, liz truss and prime minister | 1 Comment

5 September 2022 – today’s other press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 5th September 2022 - 10:30 pm

Truss must block Chris Chope from joining partygate inquiry
Action needed now to address cladding concerns

Truss must block Chris Chope from joining Partygate inquiry

The Liberal Democrats have called on Liz Truss to block Conservative MP Christopher Chope from being appointed to the privileges committee leading the Partygate inquiry, after reports he is being nominated by Boris Johnson’s government.

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who brought in the Private Members’ Bill to ban upskirting which Chris Chope initially blocked, said:

Chris Chope’s lack of respect for MPs trying to protect women from upskirting shows the contempt he has for Parliament. There is

…

Continue reading »

Posted in News and Press releases | Tagged cllr rhys taylor, fire safety, partygate, Wales and wera hobhouse | 1 Comment

It’s Truss, but without as much support as she might have expected…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 5th September 2022 - 2:27 pm

So, the former Liberal Democrat beats the former Chancellor to be the new Leader of the Conservative Party and, thus, Prime Minister. But it was rather closer than had been previously suggested, with only 57% of those Conservative Party members who voted backing her. And, given the polling data which suggests that members would rather have kept her predecessor than either of the choices put before them, she might have hoped for a better mandate.

Ed Davey had an immediate demand for Liz Truss;

Under Liz Truss, we’re set to see more of the same as under Boris Johnson. From the cost of living emergency to the NHS crisis, the Conservatives have shown they don’t care, have no plan and have failed our country.

The Government needs to scrap October’s energy price rise to avoid a social catastrophe for families and pensioners this winter.

Then we need a General Election, to get the Conservatives out of power and deliver the real change the country needs.

Jane Dodds and the Welsh Liberal Democrats were quick to respond too;

Under Liz Truss we are set to see more of the chaos that we saw under Boris Johnson. From failing to deal with the cost-of-living emergency, to letting small and medium businesses face the winter alone, to failing to deal with the climate crisis, the Conservatives have shown they don’t care, have no plan and have failed our country.

The Conservatives may have changed leader, but after twelve years in power at Westminster the Conservatives have shown they are out of ideas, out of energy and out of touch.

First the government needs to urgently scrap October’s energy price rise to avoid a social catastrophe for families and pensioners this winter. Then we need a general election, to get the Conservatives out of power and deliver the real change Wales needs.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged conservative party leadership election, ed davey and jane dodds | 21 Comments

ALDC by-election report – 1 September 2022

By Charles Quinn | Mon 5th September 2022 - 1:26 pm

We have one Liberal Democrat victory to report this week – on Brackley Town Council – as Lib Dem Jeremy Gladwin gain the ward of Brackley South that was previously held by an Independent. Congratulations to Cllr Gladwin and the team in Brackley!

If you have any Town or Parish council elections coming up in your area please let ALDC know by emailing [email protected] so we can report on them.

Brackley Town Council, Brackley South ward

Liberal Democrat (Jeremy Gladwin): 357
Independent: 126
Independent: 49

There were two principal authority by-elections on Thursday. Both of which had Lib Dem candidates standing. Thank you to both …

Continue reading »

Posted in Council by-elections and News | Leave a comment

Advert

Welcome to my day: 5 September 2022 – catching up with the paperwork…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 5th September 2022 - 7:30 am

For those of you amongst our readers who don’t know, I’m a Parish councillor in my small, but perfectly formed, village in Suffolk’s Gipping Valley. For a variety of reasons, we’ve recently laboured without either a Chair or a Parish Clerk, and I am reminded how fragile our democracy is. You see, democracy requires not only politicians but administrators and these are increasingly in short supply.

Politicians, as a species, are seldom popular, but the hostility shown to the more high profile ones puts off potential candidates at our tier too, and we need 100,000 councillors at the first tier in England alone. Many Town and Parish Councils are, effectively, democracy-free zones, without contested elections and with vacancies often filled by poorly publicised co-options. That lack of competition risks poor, unchallenged governance and thus poor representation at a level of government that spends over £1 billion per annum.

So, if you live in an area with a Town or Parish Council, do think about putting your name forward in next May’s elections.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged bus services and conservative party leadership election | 7 Comments

Your last chance to put in a question for Party Leaders at Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 4th September 2022 - 7:44 pm

Do you fancy putting Party President Mark Pack on the spot? Or any other party committee chair?

Or asking Ed Davey something important to you in his leader’s question and answer session?

Maybe you want to ask Federal Conference Committee about making Conference more accessible, or affordable.. Maybe you want more information about the party’s diversity strategy from the Federal People Development Committee. Or perhaps you want to ask Chief Whip Wendy Chamberlain about what MPs are doing on a particular issue.

You only have until 1pm tomorrow to submit your question. Do so here.

One of the advantages of asking a question is that you get the chance to do a follow-up actually in the Conference hall. This can be a really good way of getting the feel of speaking at Conference.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2022 Autumn conference and featured | 2 Comments

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 4th September 2022 - 10:01 am

USA

Who are the MAGA Republicans that Biden claims are threatening American democracy?

For a start they support the cult of Donald Trump and cults are antithetical to democratic values. Next they propagate the lie that Trump won the 2020 presidential elections. And unless an estimated 40 million voters drank a hallucinogenic Kool-aid they know that Trump is lying. Or alternatively, America is facing a major mental health problem. Finally, they feel so threatened by the values and policies of the Democratic Party that they are prepared to jettison truth, the rule of law and a much-revered constitution in the pursuit of power.

The current battle ground for what Biden has dubbed the “soul of America” is the mid-term elections to the Senate in House in two months’ time. His threat to democracy speech this week at Independence Hall in Philadelphia was Biden’s opening salvo in the campaign. Only a few months ago the received political wisdom was that the Democrats faced a drubbing at the polls and the likely loss of both houses of Congress. But that was then.

In the intervening period Biden has proved himself a legislative mastermind by pushing through his economy and climate change package. Missing top secret papers have been found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago hideaway. Support for the Ukraine war has grown. Abortion has become an election campaign with polls indicating most voters favouring controlled termination. Inflation has stalled and gasoline prices tumbled.

Sleepy Joe has woken up, come out fighting and rapidly climbed five percentage points in the opinion polls. Trump backers are, however, standing firm. In fact, every attack on the ex-president and every legal investigation is greeted with cries of “witch hunt” and “conspiracy.” The MAGA squad have invested too much in the cult of Trump. They cannot afford to fail and are likely to resort to increasingly desperate claims and acts. This should be one of the most interesting US mid-term elections ever.

Pakistan

Two thousand-plus dead so far. More rain. More death. More destruction to come. Baked mud homes returned to mud and washed away. A bill which so far is expected to easily surpass $10 billion. Pakistan’s monsoon floods are a humanitarian disaster and another climate change warning.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged pakistan, taiwan and United states of America | 5 Comments

Tributes to paid to former Brentwood Councillor Karen Chilvers

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 3rd September 2022 - 10:54 am

The world has lost another brilliant liberal. Former Brentwood Lib Dem Councillor and Parliamentary candidate Karen Chilvers died on Wednesday at just 51 years old. She had a stroke at the end of July and subsequent complications were just too much for her body to deal with.

We never met in real life, but for over a decade she has been a cheerful, supportive, friendly presence on Facebook and I loved reading about her adventures with her dogs Louis, Bailey and Tiffany.

Karen had had many health issues over the years and she would often talk about her frustrations about trying to get round an inaccessible world.

Karen was a much-loved Councillor in Brentwood between 2007 and 2021. I remember how devastated she was when she lost her seat in 2011, but she won it back the following year.

Her colleague David Kendall paid tribute to her in The Echo

Karen was a driving force of energy in the Brentwood Liberal Democrats over many years and encouraged a number of people to stand for the Council and helped to get them elected.

She was a champion for many vulnerable people in our community particularly on disability and equality issues.

She also helped many people on planning, housing and environmental matters.

“She led the campaign with residents to stop the housing development in Honeypot Lane and was a key figure in the campaign to stop “Go Ape” from changing the face of Thorndon Country Park.

Back in 2012, she appeared on ITV quiz show The Chase, as I wrote here:

Karen, pictured here with her dog Louis, was incredibly calm and cool as she answered the quick-fire questions. I was very impressed with her performance. She has written about her experience here.

She wrote for us back in 2013 when the BBC discovered her dog Bailey’s Twitter account. For Karen, her beloved dogs helped her become closer to her constituents. Being an approachable councillor was incredibly important to her.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged cllr karen chilvers and karen chilvers | 4 Comments

Observations of an expat: Gorby’s object lesson

By Tom Arms | Sat 3rd September 2022 - 8:57 am

Mikhail Gorbachev is an object lesson in the dangers inherent in moving a corrupt, highly-centralised autocratic government in which the individual is a servant of the party and state to a fairer and more open society in which the state is the servant of the people.

That is not to detract from Gorbachev’s greatness. His policies of perestroika and glasnost helped to bring an end to the Cold War. But it also opened the door to the rise of dangerous Russian nationalism and Vladimir Putin.

Gorbachev did not set out to topple the Soviet empire. He was a true believer who was convinced that communism was the path to political nirvana. His mentor was Mikhail Suslov whose primary role was to keep the Politburo on the ideological straight and narrow.

The problem was that the Soviet Union of the 1980s was not communist. It was a planned economy with the financial levers in the hands of the Party. But even more so, it was a corrupt, oppressive geriatric oligarchy with a rapidly failing economy that was unable to support its military establishment and political control of Eastern Europe.

The “Era of Stagnation” – As Gorbachev dubbed it – started in the mid-1970s under Leonid Brezhnev with a clampdown on human rights and emphasis on heavy industry and the military establishment. Soviet consumers were ignored. Between 1975-1985 the Soviet economy grew at a miserly average rate of 1.8 percent a year. The income of Soviet man dropped. Bribery, long queues and shortages were endemic. The state-controlled media and statistical bureau reported the exact opposite. Everyone knew they lied.

The exception to this economic plunge was the Party faithful. They were allowed to buy Western consumer goods in special hard currency shops and the Politburo were chauffeured from office luxurious dacha in Zil limousines.

When Brezhnev died in November 1982 there was a power struggle between the reformist wing led by Yuri Andropov and the old guard led by Konstantin Chernenko. Andropov won and then died 15 months later. Chernenko succeeded him only to die after just 13 months in the top job. The hierarchy swung back to the reformist wing and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Gorbachev immediately announced that he wanted to improve living standards and political freedoms and was prepared to cut non-productive military expenditure to achieve those aims. His policies were summed up by the terms perestroika (economic restructuring) and glasnost (political and social openness). The economy was decentralised, incentive schemes were introduced for workers and managers and state subsidies reduced along with Soviet aid to satellite countries. Nuclear arsenals were reduced and Soviet troops were pulled out of Afghanistan.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured, gorbachev, observations of an ex pat and russia | 6 Comments

William Wallace writes: The chaos of single-party government

By Lord William Wallace | Fri 2nd September 2022 - 6:50 pm

Conservative HQ has briefed the media that it plans to attack other parties in the next election campaign for offering ‘a coalition of chaos’ instead of the ‘strong and stable’ single-party government the UK has benefitted from since 2015. Liberal Democrats should be rubbishing this fantasy.

In the past seven years we have suffered two early elections and three prime ministers – with a fourth now coming into office. We have had four Chancellors of the Exchequer, five foreign and business secretaries, and six cabinet ministers for education – seven if we include Michele Donovan’s two-day term. Junior ministers have turned over at an even faster rate, many moving on after less than a year without time to learn their jobs. Rapid shifts of policy, inconsistent announcements on priorities, officials having to start again briefing new ministers often arriving without any relevant expertise about their responsibilities: chaotic government by any definition.

We can expect another round of ministerial churn in the coming week. In 2019, what’s more, 21 MPs were suspended from the Parliamentary Party. Only 10 had the whip restored; two former chancellors and two other former cabinet ministers were among those expelled from the party. Ken Clarke remarked that the party that expelled him was no longer Conservative; ‘it’s the Brexit Party, rebadged.’

At a Liberal Democrat Business Network gathering last week people were telling me how they longed for the stability that a coalition government might offer after the twists and turns, factional plotting, and inconsistent ministerial directives they have suffered since 2015. We are likely to face more infighting after the embittered leadership contest we have seen this summer, which will make it even harder for the Conservatives to present themselves as a model of stability at the next election, and easier for us to make the case for institutional change to give Britain better government.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged conservatives and liz truss | 31 Comments

The perils of nostalgia and boosterism

By Geoff Reid | Fri 2nd September 2022 - 4:09 pm

I think most political activists outside the Conservative party will have worked out that Liz Truss tries to combine the style of Thatcher with the boosterism of Johnson. The Iron Lady will always be “that bloody woman” for many of us. She can be accused of promoting profoundly destructive policies but I don’t think she went down the road of cheap optimism as far as Johnson/Truss have gone. Most politicians will use the word “hope” in their speeches and leaflets but it is important to distinguish between the hope that flows from a vision of a better world and a more civilised society and the promise of a golden future which simply ignores reality. The latter is, of course, the stock-in-trade of populist authoritarians. Few nations wish to dominate the world but Hitler and Goebbels managed to sell the plan for doing so to the German people even when the Nazis started to lose World War 2.

I would be hard pressed to say which is the most dangerous between nostalgia and boosterism. Both refuse to face and communicate reality, or perhaps an interpretation of reality, and in different ways both can have cruel consequences.

In England nostalgia played a powerful part in the EU referendum and in the Conservative so-called Red Wall gains in the 2019 General Election. Looking back to imperial glory has contributed to the UK’s steady decline over the post-war decades. Other European countries managed to get over the loss of colonies, with the exception of Putin’s Russia! English nostalgia for the past is a grim drag on our politics. At a time when generations have never hitherto been so polarised both in political outlook and political participation, it is perhaps a cliché to suggest that hope for the future lies with younger generations. The best political legacy that my generation could offer (apart from continuing to die off!) may be discussing politics with grandchildren and persuading them to vote.

While recession looks inevitable in the midst of so many other crises, we must hope that people will realise the hollowness of the promises of sunlit uplands emanating from Truss and her ilk. My parents lived through the 1930s in one of the poorest parts of the North-East but they claimed that never being without shoes helped to get them through tough times. Between the wars some working class communities were lured into voting Conservative, expanding the minority ongoing working class Tory vote. They insisted that the harsh realities of the thirties resulted in the “never again” approach, reflected in the 1945 election result.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged liz truss | 8 Comments

The curious case of a major capital city whose people are disenfranchised (but there could be a bright side)

By Paul Walter | Fri 2nd September 2022 - 9:03 am

One of the privileges of bucket-list-retirement has been to spend a little time in Washington DC.

There is much to admire in the US constitution and some elements of its democracy. The democratic status of its capital city is not admirable. It’s a “special federal district” – the District of Columbia – not a state. So, it does not have voting representation in Congress. That’s an estimated 536,768 people (Stacker.com) eligible to vote, without someone to vote on their behalf in Congress.

Compare that to the state of Wyoming’s voting-eligible population of 434,852, who elect a voting US House representative and two – count them – two US Senators (out of a total of only 100).

It is an egregious case of disenfranchisement. It is an downright ungrateful way to treat hard working staff (bearing in mind that much of the DC population is employed by, connected to employees of, the federal US government.)

It should also be noted that “DC” is heavily Democrat, as any casual walk along its residential streets will tell you – just going by the posters up in house windows.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged donald trump and washington dc | 7 Comments

Saying hello at a mosque breaks down barriers

By Hina Bokhari | Thu 1st September 2022 - 5:07 pm

Opening doors and saying hello is incredibly powerful. The gesture of being welcoming and having a chat can breakdown barriers, increase understanding and create opportunities. This is why I am so pleased that this weekend is #VisitMyMosque, a chance for anyone to visit their local mosque, ask questions and even make friends.

Since the pandemic, the event has been conducted online. Now that we can meet in person again, this is a fantastic opportunity for everyone to make the most of this great initiative. I was proud of a day I arranged for the London LibDems candidates to visit several mosques back to back, finishing at Regents Park Mosque.

This is the iconic Central London Mosque which was officially opened by King George VI in 1944. Ed Davey was the first LibDem leader to make an official visit there last year. He told the Iman ‘this was his chance to listen and learn’. This surely is the main message for all such visits.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged mosqes | Leave a comment

Should parliament sit through the conference recess?

By Andy Boddington | Thu 1st September 2022 - 11:03 am

Parliament returns from the summer recess on Monday with a new Conservative Party leader and, shortly afterwards, a new prime minister when the Queen gives her approval at Balmoral.

The details and consequences of those events will be discussed here on Lib Dem Voice. And just about everywhere else. But the Commons will only sit for 14 days from the end of the summer recess before it takes a month’s break for the party conferences. Some of the conferences. MPs will sit for two days during the Lib Dem conference.

The summer recess lasted for 53 days. Nearly two months at a time of growing national crisis, around 30 sitting days. The Lib Dems called for a recall of parliament during the summer recess, including to act on the energy price hikes.

MPs need their holidays, as do their staff and civil servants that support them. But while the Conservatives have been distracted while they gaze at their political navels, the nation has not been distracted. The world is more unstable than before the war in Ukraine and the tensions in the Asia Pacific. The cost of living crisis is getting scary. Very scary. There are issues to be resolved that cannot wait until after the conference season

MPs could sit for 11 additional days in between the party conferences, three more if parliament sits on a Saturday. We should be calling for that.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged conservative leadership | 11 Comments

PR is not enough. We need to redistribute power!

By Iain Donaldson | Thu 1st September 2022 - 9:57 am

“Power corrupts”, and I am afraid that what we have seen in the past 2 years is no worse than what went before it. Throughout my adult life not a year has gone by without some political scandal or other being in the news.

The simple observation that our leaders are not using their power with our interests at heart is a part of the problem our country faces, for the powers they exert are not theirs they belong to us, the people. From the abuse of power stem all the other problems we face. At elections power switches from one unchallenged central government to another, with the regional and local of our society set aside for some mythical greater good.

We must stop focussing on the single issue of our voting system, it is the system that is the problem and needs to be changed. Our bicameral system of government (Commons and Lords) is supposed to offer scrutiny, but when most of the Lords are political appointees how can that be so?

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged federalism | 15 Comments

Ed Davey: £10bn energy bailout needed to save the high street

By Mary Reid | Wed 31st August 2022 - 10:30 pm

Earlier today we highlighted the impact of high energy costs on schools. And now Ed Davey has turned his attention to the commercial sector – retail and hospitality in particular.

He is calling on the new Prime Minister to set up an emergency support scheme for 1.4 million small businesses akin to those that appeared during lockdown. As we mentioned before, the energy price cap only applies to domestic households, so businesses could find their costs rising by 400%.

His proposal would offer grants of up to £50k to shops, pubs, restaurants and all small businesses to help them cope with huge energy bills. The grants would cover 80% of the increase in energy bills for one year, up to the maximum of £50k.

The cost of the scheme is estimated to be around £10 billion, and this could be covered by reversing the planned tax cuts for big banks. In detail, we are told that would include cancelling the Government’s cut to the Bank Surcharge that is due to take effect in April 2023 and restoring the Bank Levy to 2015 levels, raising £10.6 billion over the next four years.

Ed said:

Our treasured high streets risk being turned into ghost towns and small businesses across the country risk being devastated by sky-rocketing energy bills, but Conservative ministers don’t seem to get it or care.

Local shops, pubs and restaurants could all close their doors for the last time over the coming months unless the government steps up urgently.

We need an energy bailout now to save the high street, rescue small businesses and keep prices down for families. This could be funded by reversing the Conservatives’ tax cuts for the big banks, and focusing on saving our struggling small businesses instead.

There is no time to waste. The new Conservative Prime Minister must bring in legislation to protect families and businesses from soaring energy bills as soon as Parliament returns on Monday.

Makes sense. But will the new Prime Minister have the courage to do it?

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged ed davey, energy bills and featured | 7 Comments

Schools struggle to meet energy bills

By Mary Reid | Wed 31st August 2022 - 1:16 pm

The crisis in energy bills is not just a impending disaster for households, but it will also affect all kinds of public and private organisations. Local councils, retailers and leisure centres all face huge rises in their energy costs and are not going to be “protected” by the cap in prices.

There has been a lot of talk about warm hubs (like these in Wales)- public places like libraries, museums and churches which could provide a warm, safe place for cold people. But how will they afford to heat their own premises?

Schools too are affected. The BBC reports on one academy trust that runs 11 schools. One of their schools has been quoted a staggering 414% price rise. If that was replicated across all their schools then the total energy bill would rise from just under £1 million to £4.6 million next year. This is on top of the 5% pay rise for staff. Although the Government is increasing funding to schools it is clearly not going to be enough to meet these unprecedented financial challenges.

The CEO of the academy trust that is featured in the BBC article said:

Schools need to be places that are going to be warm and safe, especially as there are families whose homes won’t be warm.

The problem was echoed in a report in the Guardian. Sean Maher, the Head of one of the secondary schools near me, is quoted thus:

I’m really terrified about what’s going to happen to some of our parents. I’ve been a headteacher for nine years. I’ve dedicated my whole professional life to trying to give young people the very best opportunity to shine and grow and develop. I feel like I’m fighting against the government who are actively undermining what we are trying to do for young people.

How can it come to that in this country? Where we would be asking children to wear coats and gloves in the classroom because we can’t afford the heating? But it will happen. In schools up and down the country teachers will turn round and say: ‘Keep your coat on – we won’t put on the heating until the end of November’.

Now it was Labour who decided to take failing schools out of local authority control and hand them to the charitable sector as academies – and I have some sympathy where the local authorities were not doing a good job. But it was the Conservatives who had a vision for all schools, irrespective of the quality of the support they received, to become independent of local Councils, and to be taken out of democratic control and accountability. Initially academies were standalone institutions, but they quickly learned that they worked best when under an umbrella organisation – hence academy trusts, which are effectively privatised education authorities.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged academies, energy bills and schools | 6 Comments

Why Brighton conference should be in your diary

By The Voice | Wed 31st August 2022 - 10:30 am

Mark Pack writes on the party website:

It’s thirty years since my first autumn federal conference, appropriately also in Brighton. That 1992 conference was the start of the most successful electoral run in our party’s history – record-breaking Parliamentary by-election wins, sweeping local government gains and then a huge leap in the size of the Parliamentary Party as a tired, discredited, scandal-riven Conservative Party lost office.

As part of that run of success, two years later, we were back in Brighton again, as you may have seen from the recently rediscovered BBC footage of a younger version of me (more curls, larger

…

Continue reading »

Posted in LibLink | Tagged 2022 Autumn conference and Mark Pack | Leave a comment

Lib Dems react to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev

By NewsHound | Wed 31st August 2022 - 7:29 am

Lib Dems are giving their reactions to the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev was one of the 20th century’s great statesmen. He gave the world hope, hope that is now threatened by Putin’s ambitions and aggression. Ed Davey said:

Mikhail Gorbachev brought hope to millions as he helped bring the Cold War to an end. His legacy of peace and openness stands in stark contrast to Putin’s regime.

Mikhail Gorbachev brought hope to millions as he helped bring the Cold War to an end. His legacy of peace and openness stands in stark contrast to Putin's regime.

— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) August 30, 2022

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged cold war and russia | 8 Comments

Surrey Heath by-election speculation has Truss rattled

By NewsHound | Tue 30th August 2022 - 11:45 pm

There is speculation tonight that Michael Gove will stand down from his Surrey Heath seat if Liz Truss is elected leader of the Conservative Party next Monday. The Guardian and Independent report the Liberal Democrats are rushing through plans to confirm a candidate for the seat amid speculation that the former levelling up secretary is considering quitting parliament, triggering a byelection. The Lib Dems are reported as having set a deadline of this week for selection of a candidate for the constituency.

Tory sources are reported as denying that Gove will quit, accusing the Lib Dems of political dirty tricks. There is speculation nevertheless that he will return to journalism.

The Lib Dems in Surrey Heath are reported to have mailed members to explain nominations for the local selection process end on Wednesday evening.

“We always work hard to support seats where there might be a possible by-election,” a Lib Dem source said, adding the party was on “high alert” in the area. The source said:

Given current rumours about Michael Gove quitting his constituency to return to journalism, it would be natural to ensure that Surrey Heath is election ready… Unlike the Conservatives, we never neglect what people are saying locally. We take nothing for granted and know winning a seat like this would be very hard work.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged featured, michael gove and surrey heath | 3 Comments

Vince Cable: Labour and Liberal Democrat silence over Brexit will cost the country

By NewsHound | Tue 30th August 2022 - 8:48 pm

Vince Cable has challenged Labour and the Liberal Democrats to speak up more about the damage Brexit is doing to our country o stop even more damage being inflicted.

The former Lib Dem Leader recently became President of the European Movement and writes in the Independent (£) that support for Brexit is collapsing.

Outside that goldfish bowl, opinion is shifting. An Opinium survey showed that 60 per cent of voters (including 40 per cent of Leave voters) think Brexit has “gone badly”. Ipsos found, in June, that 45 per cent of those surveyed (including 22 per cent of Leave voters) felt that Brexit had “made life worse”. Support for Brexit is collapsing, but its core support remains.

He lists the damage that Brexit has already done:

The economy is measurably smaller than it otherwise would be. Investment, hit by Brexit uncertainty, still hasn’t recovered. Trade is down. Sectors badly hit by Brexit-induced labour shortages are still struggling. Alternative visa arrangements are not in place. And inflation is worse than it should be.

And if that isn’t bad enough:

Continue reading »

Posted in LibLink | Tagged brexit, the independent and vince cable | 28 Comments

Chamberlain’s Carer’s Leave Bill getting widespread support

By NewsHound | Tue 30th August 2022 - 1:14 pm

The Carer’s Leave Bill, a Private Members’ Bill brought forward by Wendy Chamberlain, Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader, aims to introduce a new right for employees with caring responsibilities of up to one week of unpaid carer’s leave annually. The bill will receive its second reading on 9 September.

As reported by the Independent and several other media outlets, the right to leave is getting widespread support from MPs, businesses and charities. The bill will give unpaid carers the flexibility to attend routine hospital appointments or help the person they care for recover from a planned operation. There is hope that such flexibility will allow carers to continue at work rather than being forced to give up their jobs.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged Carers Leave Bill, unpaid carers and wendy chamberlain mp | 3 Comments

Welsh Liberal Democrats pay tribute to former Assembly Member Mick Bates

By The Voice | Tue 30th August 2022 - 7:31 am

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have paid tribute to former Welsh Assembly Member Mick Bates following the news that he has passed away following a battle with cancer.

Mick Bates was elected as the Liberal Democrat member for Montgomeryshire constituency in the inaugural Welsh Assembly elections in 1999 and continued to serve as its member until 2011.

Prior to becoming the Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire Mick had worked as a teacher, as a farmer and as a Liberal Democrat County Councillor.

Mick was well known for being a tireless campaigner for rural communities, but also for being decades ahead of his time on the need to tackle climate change advocating for action to save the environment years before it entered the political mainstream.

Continue reading »

Posted in Obituaries | Tagged featured and welsh lib dems | 2 Comments

On Artemis and Pakistan

By Andy Boddington | Mon 29th August 2022 - 5:53 pm

Pakistan floods. A thousand, possibly thousands of lives ended. Homes and businesses destroyed. On the other side of the world, billions are being spent on trying to get back to the moon and onwards to Mars.

But does the world, even among the rich nations, have enough money to pay “to boldly go” while countries flood, suffer drought and people starve? Isn’t more important to give relief and tackle the real horror of our age, climate change?

But if we lose the lose our sense of adventure, the desire to explore, the need to imagine, will we ever solve the world’s problems?

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured, overseas aid and space exploration | 8 Comments

One in four expect to never turn their heating on this winter due to rising energy bills

By NewsHound | Mon 29th August 2022 - 11:30 am

New polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats reveals the public are planning to make heartbreaking decisions to cope with spiralling energy prices this winter
Parents with children under 18 set to be hardest hit by energy rises according to new poll
Lib Dems warn of “the worst cost of living crisis in a century” if Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak do not scrap the energy price cap rise

New polling commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed almost one in four (23%) of UK adults plan to never turn their heating on this winter. This rises to over one in four (27%) amongst …

Continue reading »

Posted in News and Press releases | Tagged christine jardine, cost of living crisis and energy costs | 16 Comments

Welcome to my day: 29 August 2022 – aren’t politicians people too?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 29th August 2022 - 7:54 am

As my colleague noted yesterday, Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, has been in the news for having the audacity to be (relatively) young, and dance at parties. Alcohol may even have been partaken of!

And I find myself wondering, since when did we start insisting that rather dull people represent us and why? Whilst expecting relatively high moral and ethical standards does seem reasonable, politicians are human and should be able to express themselves and, heaven forbid, let their hair down from time to time.

I thought that Tim Farron who, despite his frankly bizarre fondness for Blackburn Rovers, is as real a person as you could hope to find, put it well when asked for comment by the Guardian;

Social media is a mixed bag. I think it does change things but we have to accept our politicians are human beings – we should expect high standards in terms of integrity, but that doesn’t preclude you from having a couple of beers with your mates and dancing like nobody’s watching. I‘m an Olympic-standard dad dancer and I’m glad there are no pictures of me.

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged sanna marin and tim farron | 34 Comments

Holiday Oddities

By Andy Boddington | Sun 28th August 2022 - 4:16 pm

Holiday Oddities

It is bank holiday weekend in the UK. Around the world conflict, droughts, floods and other crises continue unabated. UK government has ground to a halt while the Tories fight amongst themselves unwilling to recall parliament and unable to govern. To get away from that as much as we can, here at Lib Dem Voice Towers we have been looking at recent silly season stories. Some are funny, some stupid, some sad, some tending on the serious and some very scary.

In compiling this compendium, we have consulted with Larry, the No 10 cat. He says that if the prime minister had not been on a one jolly after another, he could have kept the country laughing for weeks. Larry is of the opinion that it is the job of a prime minister to keep us all amused, which is why Teresa May didn’t last long.

If you have your own silly season stories, whether political or not, please add them to comments.

Continue reading »

Posted in Humour and Op-eds | Tagged featured | 4 Comments

Ed Davey interview with Tory think tank, Bright Blue

By Simon McGrath | Sun 28th August 2022 - 3:56 pm

Ed Davey has been interviewed by ‘Centre Write ’ the magazine of Bright Blue – who describe themselves as “an independent think tank for liberal conservatism. We defend and improve liberal society.”

The interview is billed as talking to Ed about “about coalitions, what it means to be a liberal, and what the future, holds for the party he leads” and Ed provides some robust answers to their questions. When asked if he regrets entering the Coalition he talks about his fighting the Tories over renewable energy – but as a result of winning those fights we have cheaper energy and lead the world in offshore wind. He doesn’t answer the question about whether he regrets us joining the Coalition but could not be clearer when asked “ Would you ever enter into a coalition with the Conservatives again?:

“The answer is no. It’s quite simple.”

Continue reading »

Posted in Online politics and Op-eds | Tagged bright blue, ed davey and liberalism | 3 Comments

What next for our GCSE Students

By Michal Siewniak | Sun 28th August 2022 - 12:50 pm

I was actually quite surprised with myself. I thought that I would be nervous and stressed when I went with my eldest daughter to collect her GCSE results. Is it because, as a family of European migrants, we have never experienced before the actual exam period in the UK? Often, not knowing what to expect can actually be quite helpful! Having said that, 5-6 weeks of exams and revision were a true rollercoaster of emotions; tiredness, happiness when the exam went well, encouragement and motivation to continue learning even when the energy levels were low.

I decided to accompany my daughter to her school to collect her important envelope. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to open it in her library. I was worried a bit that she might be unhappy with her grades, however she wasn’t. In actual fact, she did very well, in particular in the key subjects; Maths and English.

As a History teacher by profession, I found the English educational system interesting and at times, confusing. It has, like any other, advantages and disadvantages. Students are asked, as early as in Y.8 or Y.9, to drop some of the subjects and encouraged to select their GCSE options. Too early? In my view, most definitely. The same scenario applies to young adults, who decide to continue A-Level Education. After completing a few Sixth Form documents, my daughter was asked whether she is planning to go to University. She said yes, however she is still unsure what exactly she wants to do next. For her, making this decision is actually becoming a problem. She enjoys learning at least 5-6 subjects, however she needs to choose 3 topics/ courses. She still hasn’t made up her mind.

Continue reading »

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged education and gcse | 3 Comments