Scottish Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton this week praised our public service broadcasters for their reporting of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He described how the BBC was keeping Ukrainian people informed through short wave broadcasts while Russian forces attacked other methods of communications. He pointed out that we don’t get that level of service from Netflix subscription.
His whole speech is below:
The Lib Dems continued their strong start to 2022 with 3 great by-election wins on Thursday night – and some excellent second place performances too.
We start off on South Somerset DC where newly elected Lib Dem councillor Ray Buckler gained the seat of Neroche from the Conservative with over half the vote – increasing the Lib Dem vote share by over 26%. Congratulations to Ray and the Lib Dem team
South Somerset DC, Neroche ward
Liberal Democrat (Ray Buckler): 390
Conservative: 315
Green: 19
Labour: 15
Next to Rochford DC where the Lib Dems recorded their most resounding win of the evening in Downhall and Rawreth ward – achieving 71.5% of the vote. Congratulations to Cllr Jim Cripps and the team for such a solid Lib Dem hold.
Rochford DC, Downhall and Rawreth ward
Liberal Democrat (Jim Cripps) – 791
Conservative – 265
Labour – 51
Conservative: 929
Independent: 164
Labour: 137
Many say Putin’s vision is to rebuild an empire for Russia, a policy he has been pursuing incrementally since his invasion of Georgia in 2008.
After all the suffering unleashed in Ukraine, it is imperative that Putin must be stopped in his tracks at the juncture, despite the danger this may entail.
If Putin is not dissuaded by the heavy economic cost he is suffering now, we must up the game, especially if Kyiv is subjected to a full-scale attack coupled with an attempt to decapitate the Zelensky leadership. What to do?
Firstly, increase substantially the risk for Putin. Biden was very wrong to declare from the start that NATO would not get involved in Ukraine and more recently that there would be no no-fly-zone. Putin feels he has a carte blanche from Biden to do what he wants. The rhetoric from the West must now change to: “all options are on the table” because of the Russian atrocities being committed.
Secondly, intensify cyber warfare covertly to disrupt all command and control as well as logistics to the Russian military forces.
The Samson Option is a not widely known Armageddon-type Israeli nuclear strategy. The world is worried that Vladimir Putin will adopt it and adapt it to the current crisis.
The strategy is based on the dramatic suicide story of the Biblical strongman Samson.
Shorn of his locks, blinded and a prisoner of the Philistines, the once powerful Samson was brought in chains to the temple of his enemies. He appeared weak, but he retained enough of his strength to throw his chains around the temple pillars and pulled with all his might so that the walls and roof came crashing down, killing the Philistines – and Samson.
Translated into the 21st century military terms, the Samson Option says that if the State of Israel is being overrun and about to cease to exist, the Israelis will use their nuclear arsenal of several hundred missiles and warheads to destroy the invading enemy – and themselves.
Israel’s Arab neighbours believe the threat and it has successfully deterred a serious attack ever since it became known that the Jewish state possessed nuclear weapons.
For Israel, the Samson Option is a last ditch deterrent defensive strategy. They do not intend to use nuclear weapons offensively.
Vladimir Putin’s adaptation is a different case. It has elements of defensiveness but it is linked to his military offensive in Ukraine (and possibly elsewhere in Eastern Europe). This strategy is made more dangerous by tough opposition in Ukraine and the world’s reaction to his invasion and by Putin’s terrifying statement: “if the world does not include Russia why should it exist.”
Additional anxiety is created by the fact that Putin, like so many dictators, has conflated his country’s national interests with his own survival. Furthermore, he sincerely believes in “Russia’s historic mission” to dominate Europe. Conversely, he is convinced that NATO and the EU are thwarting that “historic mission” and in doing so threatening the Russian state which must expand and dominate to survive.
The terrifying conundrum that the world faces is that Putin has placed himself and his country in a position where he must not fail. The West, however, must ensure that he does fail and, is seen to fail.
The news this morning that the Russians had seized control of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine has send shock waves across the world.
Ed Davey has said the the UK must take the lead and call for the UN Security Council to place military exclusion zones around nuclear power plants.
He says:
People all across Europe – including in Russia – will have woken up today with fear in their hearts, following the reckless shelling of Zaporizhzhia power plant. While thankfully it looks like disaster has been averted, it is vital that we now use every diplomatic lever available to prevent any further strikes on nuclear facilities.
We simply cannot allow what is already a dire humanitarian tragedy to deteriorate in this manner.
The UK has a seat at the UN Security Council – we must use it today, to try and declare a military exclusion zone around nuclear power plants.
Lib Dems are calling for an emergency session of Parliament this weekend to pass legislation to sanction oligarchs who are in the process of selling off their assets in the UK.
Layla Moran is our Foreign Affairs spokesperson and here she is explaining why it is necessary.
MPs across the House are willing to work weekends to strengthen any legislation that is needed for further sanctions. Yet, the UK is still lagging when it comes to sanctioning individuals that have already been named by other jurisdictions. I have one simple question – why? pic.twitter.com/VjT0Q6LBAX
— Layla Moran 🔶 (@LaylaMoran) March 3, 2022
The i picks up the story:
European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans claimed Britain was trailing behind the EU and suggested that Russian funding of the Conservative party was responsible.
It also quotes Layla:
New legislation must be brought forward immediately – with an emergency session of Parliament over the weekend if necessary.
This ties in with Alistair Carmichael’s call to seize mansions held by oligarchs in the UK and use them to house Ukrainian refugees.
On 26th February, I tweeted “who would help me set up a Liberal Democrats Friends of Ukraine?” thinking I might get one or two people to help me set up a small Associated Organisation. What I got was multiple volunteers, a larger than expected interest and, very quickly, an organisation with nearly 100 members.
Myself, Jake Stevenson, Leo Dempster and Euan Davidson became the founding members, and first executive, of Liberal Democrats Friends of Ukraine (or LDFU). We launched a basic website, Twitter account and a sign-up sheet on Google Forms, and within 14 hours we had 70 members and over 100 followers. What we were most surprised at is the amount of members that said they would like to volunteer: as it stands, about 70% of members said they want to volunteer for LDFU.
The Liberal Democrats have demanded that the Government seize mansions and houses belonging to oligarchs linked to Putin’s regime and use them to help house Ukrainian refugees.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said UK properties owned by Putin’s cronies should be used to house Ukrainian refugees temporarily while they await permanent resettlement.
He added this could prevent the situation faced by Afghan refugees last year, many of whom were left languishing for months in hotel rooms or military barracks while they awaited permanent accommodation.
The Conservatives disappearing into infighting and cheap populism has left the Liberal Democrats with our biggest opportunity in generations. As our stunning by-election wins in Chesham & Amersham and North Shropshire proved last year, we can provide a political home for thousands of former Tory voters who are decent people dismayed by the party’s incompetence, scandals and sleaze under Boris Johnson.
And the stakes have never been higher. Around the world, populism and nationalism – liberalism’s enemies – are on the rise. There is a battle for Liberal Britain and to win it, Liberal Democrats must offer a clear vision for the future of our country.
But people constantly ask me: “what do the Liberal Democrats actually believe?” I don’t think we as a party have answered that question – or in recent years, even asked it of ourselves.
Today’s FT headline reads “China offers role as peacemaker”. The article says more carefully “China signalled it was ready to play a role in finding a ceasefire in Ukraine…” But would it be a trusted impartial negotiator?
At the Olympic Games last month, Presidents Putin and Xi said that friendship between their countries had “no limits” and no “forbidden” areas of cooperation. Beijing has joined Moscow in opposing further NATO expansion.
Since then, even if Beijing has refused to term President Putin’s assault on Ukraine as an “invasion”, it has been profoundly uneasy about Russian recklessness.
Clearly this is because of China’s unequivocal stance on sovereignty and territorial integrity concerning Taiwan, used as an excuse as well to justify its claims in the South and East China Seas which they are asserting militarily.
Hence China’s abstentions at the UN Security Council twice on the invasion of Ukraine. And comments by China’s Foreign Policy Chief Wang Yi just before the invasion at the Munich Security Conference about the importance of maintaining territorial integrity “including Ukraine’s”.
China’s fence-sitting so far allows it to take advantage of the current situation where it can: the famous win-win situation quoted often by Chinese leaders which many interpret as China wanting to have it both or all ways.
Jackie Weaver has said that she wants online Council meetings to continue. Although I am sure she knows the difference, this article from the BBC does rather muddy the waters by not distinguishing between streaming Council meetings and remote participation in them (although it does give us another chance to watch the meeting that introduced us to Jackie Weaver’s authority).
Nearly 20 years ago I was asked to chair the National Project for Local e-Democracy, with the remit to explore digital means to improve democratic participation in Council decision-making. At that time some Councils did not even have a website, and where they existed they were non-transactional. The Project pioneered online consultation and petitions at Council level, amongst other things, and encouraged councillors to use online methods of communication with residents, including blogs, which were the only social media available at the time.
Webcasting was another of our initiatives, and many councils adopted the streaming, and subsequent playback, of Council meetings. The systems usually allowed for some interaction through chat. The intention was to allow residents to observe and follow the people they had elected.
At the time the technology for online meetings did not exist, and, as we all know, Zoom and other platforms were only adopted widely during the pandemic. They meant that both Parliament and local councils were able to continue to run meetings and debates without breaking the Covid restrictions. However, remote participation at both levels did require a change in the Government regulations.
Those regulations for Local Government ended on 7th May 2021. However Covid restrictions were still in place at that time, which meant that social distancing would have to be observed by anyone attending an in-person meeting. In practice this made it impossible for Full Council meetings to be held in many Council chambers, as there was not enough room to space people out. Pleading for hybrid solutions (a mix of in-person and online attendance) was rejected by the Government, even though they still continued in Parliament.
Legislation is in the pipeline to restore voting rights to around a million British nationals who have been disenfranchised by living overseas for over 15 years. See James Churchill’s article of 9th February in LDV for more aspects on the subject.
Reaction to previous articles has brought to light a number of misconceptions about this significant group, many of whom are potential Lib Dem voters and even members.
As representatives of Lib Dems Overseas we would like to allay any concerns or disinformation by addressing some of the most frequent points that have been raised in the past.
Why should Brits abroad get to vote when they don’t pay tax?
Most in fact pay tax in their host countries but Brits overseas are also liable to a range of taxes in the UK, such as income from UK rentals, pensions and Inheritance Tax which applies wherever they live in the world if they are deemed (as the vast majority are) UK domiciled.
Why don’t they just vote in their host countries?
Most Brits are transient in their host countries and in any event would not be allowed to vote unless they adopted citizenship, which in turn would normally entail cutting ties with the UK and potentially losing their passports.
Why would they be interested in voting if they no longer live in the UK?
The Liberal Democrats and Labour have entered into an informal electoral agreement to prevent anti-Conservative opposition being split at the next election. Giving Labour a free hand to rebuilding their Red Wall, they will give us equal freedom to dismantle the Blue Wall. With major trade union opposition to Proportional Representation having been removed, it might be possible that the replacement of First Past The Post with PR will be adopted by Labour as party policy and enacted by the next government.
Change to the electoral system will inevitably result in behavioural changes amongst those operating within the political system. With PR, voters can vote as they wish and expect to get their desired representatives rather than having to vote tactically for the lesser of two evils. And, politicians would be required to be more conciliatory and cooperative in order to win votes and form governments, the negative campaigning typical of FPTP likely being a liability. PR will also change the party system.
A Conservative- and Labour-dominated two-party plus system has naturally resulted from FPTP, the British electorate’s desire for a true multiparty system being long frustrated with the seat shares of third parties being unfairly suppressed. With Single Transferable Voting being our party’s preference, and hopefully that of Labour in the future, the British party system under PR is likely retain two major parties but would grant greater (proportional) influence to smaller parties. STV would allow the Liberal Democrats to reclaim our rightful position as Britain’s third party, with a fair and considerable seat share (fifty-nine if STV had been used at the last election, based on votes cast under FPTP). Within such a system, we should consider the role our party should play.
Ed Davey has penned a piece for the Yorkshire Post: End to free Covid tests is like a tax on carers.
Boris Johnson’s determination to remove all Covid precautions and his insistence that the public will have to take personal responsibility whilst removing their ability to assess the level of risk around them is absurd.
How on earth are people supposed to take responsibility for themselves when they may be forced to pay up to £600 a year for lateral flow tests at a time when the cost of living is skyrocketing?
Although Covid is not the threat it once was, thanks to heroic work of our NHS staff and care workers, as well as the scientists that invented vaccines in record time, it is still dangerous to the elderly and to those who are vulnerable.
Many of these people rely on carers, often family and friends, to support them, and if not shielding, are taking extra precautions.
What use is a free test for these vulnerable people if the carer they rely on daily cannot visit them for lack of affordable testing?
This week, I calculated that a carer doing just two tests a week would lead to costs of £622.96 a year. That’s nearly 20 per cent of their annual carer’s allowance of £3,500.
For the unpaid carers to endure so much throughout the pandemic and its aftermath, to then be slapped with this huge Covid test bill is disgraceful.
He summarises it thus:
We have all found a new hero over the last week: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.
I must admit that I knew very little about him, or indeed the history of Ukraine, until this week, but his story is a fascinating one. Zelenskyy worked as an actor and comedian, and he voiced Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian-dubbed version of the film.
Until today I had no idea who provided the voice of @paddingtonbear in Ukraine. Speaking for myself, thank you, President Zelenskiy. #PaddingtonBear https://t.co/5VaMi201Fs
— Hugh Bonneville 🇺🇦 (@hughbon) February 27, 2022
He formed a production company Kvartal 95 which launched a popular comedy TV series called “Servant of the People”. In the series he plays a teacher who is unexpectedly elected as the President of Ukraine. Watch a prescient subtitled episode here. (You couldn’t make it up …)
Ukraine has dozens of active political parties, so its Governments are always multi-party coalitions. In 2018 a new political party was registered; it grew from the Party of Decisive Change and was named Servant of the People (sometimes romanized as Sluha Narodu), after the show. Indeed, its first leader was the CEO of Zelenskyy’s production company Kvartal 95.
Then came the Presidential election in 2019. In the final run-off Zelenskyy, standing for Servant of the People, beat the incumbent with over 70% of the vote. He immediately called a general election and the party was successful in winning a substantial number – 254 – parliamentary seats. This was followed by the 2020 local elections when Servant of the People won more seats than any other party.
Yesterday, Conservative MPs voted against a law that would have made misogyny a hate crime. The House of Lords approved adding misogyny in the list of hate crimes last month. The vote comes days after a man pleaded guilty to the murder of Sabina Nessa and just days before the anniversary of the murder of Sarah Everard.
Cross-party peers had added a clause to the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to make crimes motivated by hatred of women aggravated offences, so they are treated as seriously as crimes motivated by racial or religious hatred. Liberal Democrat MPs voted to keep the amendment, which now returns to the House of Lords.
By voting against making misogyny a hate crime, the Conservatives are turning a blind eye to the hatred that fuels violence against women.
We must make clear in law that these toxic attitudes are unacceptable in our society, to help stamp out the abuse women face. pic.twitter.com/XnBFac6XHU
— Wera Hobhouse MP 🔶 🇺🇦 (@Wera_Hobhouse) February 28, 2022
This St David’s Day, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have reiterated their calls for the day to become a public holiday in Wales.
St David’s Day is currently only a patron saint day and does not have any legal standing. Meanwhile, in Scotland and Ireland St Andrew’s Day and St Patrick’s Day respectively are already public holidays.
Almost every country on earth has a national holiday, why not Wales? We already know the UK only has one of the lowest numbers of public holidays in the developed world at eight, compared to 13 in Germany and Spain, 15 in Sweden and 16 in Japan.
The ALDE Party and Liberal International both hold their next Congresses in June and their committees will face re-election. Accordingly, Federal International Relations Committee (FIRC) is seeking potential candidates to serve on these committees.
Closing date: 15 March
The following opportunities are available to Liberal Democrat members;
ALDE Party Bureau
This is the political leadership of the ALDE Party, and most, but not all, current Bureau members have parliamentary experience. A high level of political experience, preferably with a European dimension, is an advantage. If nominated, the candidate will take part in an election where the electorate will consist of the delegates to the …
The parallels are difficult to avoid.
A continent divided by petty political rivalries attempts to appease a mighty foe. A small state whose leader faces internal opposition stands alone. The world’s largest military force threatens at the gates. A charismatic hero and a small body of hopelessly outgunned warriors resolve to fight to the death.
Most schoolchildren are familiar with the story of Leonidas’s 300 Spartans at Thermopylae taking a last stand against a tyrannous Eastern Empire. Even if they didn’t learn about it in school, they are familiar with the Zack Snyder and Fran Miller film of 2006.
Tragically, today the story seems to be playing out anew in Ukraine.
The Battle of Thermopylae demonstrated that tyranny could be challenged. But the real significance was that it created a belief that freedom was something that could only be defended if free people and free states united and were prepared to make sacrifices. The actions of the 300 at the ‘Hot Gates’ inspired the Greek world to unite and eventually defeat the Persians at the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC the following year.
The heroism and example of the Spartans inspired others – just like the Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island did a few days ago. Indeed, the response of the Ukrainians to the Russian request for surrender in the face of death was like something out of the pages of Herodotus – “Russian military ship – Go Fuck Yourself”
I am sure we have all been appalled by the scenes in Ukraine and share a feeling of helplessness.
Over the weekend the Home Office have said that Ukrainian nationals, without close relatives in the UK, fleeing the war in Ukraine must apply for a visa to come to the UK “in the normal way” and one Minister went as far as to say people could come here – on the condition they agreed to be seasonal workers picking cabbage and kale.
Today in the House of Lords we vote on the Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill.
In recent times, only 6% of immigrants to the UK have been refugees and yet 94% of the Bill is aimed at making it more difficult for those fleeing situations like Ukraine to come to the UK.
I am frustrated. I want to be on the Kyiv front line reporting the heroic defense of the city. I can’t. I am old and decrepit. But I – and whomever is reading this — can help in other ways. We can send money. We collect money. We can send clothes and supplies to refugees. We can support agencies helping to defend Ukraine and OUR democratic values. We can write to our MPs, Congressmen, Senators, community leaders and social media influencers expressing our opinions and calling on them to both prepare and act.
So to start with here is a selection of organisations helping Ukraine. There are others which you may already be aware of or have yet to be created. Please tell me of any by emailing me at [email protected]. I will endeavour to dispatch regular updates.
Is there anything tangible that I can do to help those in need, I often ask myself? Being well informed, being on top of the news agenda is not nearly enough.
Sometimes, the most spontaneous ideas can make a real a difference. A simple gathering, organised “overnight” can simply bring together a few people to show that even if we live far away, we care, we are sad, angry, devastated and that we want to show our solidarity with our Ukrainian friends. This is how …
It is slightly hard to believe that, a week ago, the idea of war between two nations on the European continent was hard to credit, despite Russian provocation. And here we are, with an almost entirely united Europe doing everything it can short of actually fighting. That might not be so far away, given all the evidence that we are confronted by someone who thinks that, if he keeps pushing, we’ll crack. So far, it seems as though Vladimir Putin is wrong about that.
We’ve also learned that, in an age of instant reportage where anyone with a smartphone can be their own journalist, it’s hard to control the narrative in the way that authoritarians always need to do, especially in a developed country with widespread mobile phone coverage. And cyber-war can be fought by both sides and, more difficult to counter, by anonymous individuals from bedrooms in the suburbs of distant cities.
For the first time in a few weeks. Westminster, Holyrood and the Senedd are sitting. The rapidly changing situation in Ukraine is bound to dominate things. We can expect Lib Dems to call for the UK to take in more people fleeing the fighting and for stronger sanctions on Russia.
The Commons week kicks off with questions to the Home Office ministerial team. If Kevin Foster is still a minister, he can expect a torrid time over his disgraceful suggestion that Ukrainians, while fleeing Russian troops can jump on Google, find themselves a job fruit picking here and come over for six months, leaving their family behind.
Later in the day, Lib Dem MPs will put up a robust opposition to the final stages of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
This week, there will be an opposition day on Wednesday and a general debate on Welsh affairs on Thursday, fitting in the week of St David’s Day.
In the Lords, our Kate Parminter has a question on ensuring that eating disorders are taught in medical schools on Tuesday as Eating Disorders Awareness Week gets under way and Shas Sheehan has one on the implications of global warning for the UK on Thursday.
Don Foster has a debate on Tuesday on the link between gambling related advertising and gambling related harm.
You can see the full timetable here.
The Russian Consulate in Edinburgh, like many places around the UK, has seen peaceful demonstrations every day since the Russians invaded Ukraine.
Today was the biggest so far, with Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Christine Jardine MP.
The #Russian consulate in Edinburgh at noon where hundreds turned out on the 4th day in a row to show solidarity with our twin city #Kyiv and the people of #Ukraine in this darkest of hours: pic.twitter.com/gDd42KupSy
— Christine Jardine 🔶 (@cajardineMP) February 27, 2022
Back at the Russian Consulate. Even bigger crowd, loads of children (including ours.) honoured to speak again. Слава Україні! Героям слава!#SupportUkraine #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/OLrpd6BWJ0
— Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP🔶🇺🇦 (@agcolehamilton) February 27, 2022
Yesterday, Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper attended a similar event in St Albans
A steady stream of media releases is emerging from the Lib Dems as the Ukraine crisis deepens. As Newshound reports two of the most recent statements, Reuters reports that Vladimir Putin has ordered his military command “to put nuclear deterrence forces on high alert after aggressive statements by NATO countries”. While we nervously wait for confirmation of that, Alistair Carmichael has written to Boris Johnson urging him to deny Russian-owned vessels access to UK ports and attacked Kevin Foster’s comments on Ukrainian refugees saying: “We should stand with all Ukrainians, not only those prepared to pick kale and cabbage.”
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the UK Conservative Government to axe the Nationality and Borders Bill amid the ongoing Russian Invasion of Ukraine. In a letter to Home Secretary Minister Priti Patel, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds has urged her to drop the “cruel” bill stating that the events over the last few days demonstrates its “cruel consequences”.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have also called on the Government to follow the lead of Ireland and waive visa requirements for all Ukrainians and open a resettlement scheme immediately.
Russia’s attack has started a worldwide rearrangement of the political order. Old alliances need to be reinforced. Some will be reconsidered. New Alliances, treaties and trade deals will be made as governments decide where their vital interests lie—with the autocratic but advancing Russia or the the democratic but defensive America and Europe or in the narrowing neutral land somewhere in between. Washington and Moscow will declare: You are with us or against us. We are not entering Cold War Two. We are entering a significantly new warmed up war.
One of the first causes of concern is the economy. Governments cannot fight cold or hot wars without cash. The world economy as a whole has already been severely weakened by the pandemic. World stock markets—the source of equity finance– dislike instability and uncertainty. Ukraine has created both, and the markets around the world have plummeted. Energy prices have also climbed as Russia is the world’s largest supplier of natural gas and second largest producer of oil. Nearly half of continental Europe’s energy originates in Russia. Germany—the EU’s economic engine—is especially dependent on Russian fossil fuels. But Russia is also a large exporter of gold, nickel, and the other rare but important mineral element palladium. The black earth of Ukraine is Europe’s bread basket. World bread prices will rise. Governments will need to borrow more money which will drive up interest rates and inflation. There will be more investment by Russia, NATO and others in troop numbers, missile deployments, cyber warfare, space, and intelligence gathering. This means there will be less money for social welfare, civilian infrastructure projects and any other vote-winning projects. More resources to defend Europe means less to protect other regions from Jihadism or to fund foreign aid programmes. These are the sacrifices of which politicians speak.
Proportional Representation is in the Liberal Democrats’ DNA.
It might not always, or indeed ever (the party’s historians will correct me if I am wrong) have featured on the front page of the Lib Dem manifesto. But it has always been a main plank of the party’s package of modernising democratic reforms.
If this were ever in doubt, Alistair Carmichael MP, the party’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs, Political & Constitutional Reform nailed the party’s colours to the PR mast by adding a new clause to the Elections Bill on the 17th January. He was supported by MPs from 3 other political parties.
Its purpose: to abolish First Past The Post for UK general elections and require the Government to take all reasonable steps to introduce proportional representation. In his speech, Alistair made the case for PR declaring, ‘we must have a system that gets rid of safe seats so that everybody’s vote, no matter where they live, is of equal value.’
Unfortunately, House of Commons’ support for PR wasn’t tested. The FPTP system guarantees that voters who support parties like the Lib Dems never secure fair representation in Parliament. This in turn deprives Lib Dem MPs of the parliamentary numbers that would require the Speaker to grant them frequent voting opportunities. So, no vote was granted or held on the PR amendment.
In contrast, at the last Labour conference, a vote was held on the subject of PR.
This followed a concerted and well-organised campaign by Labour for a New Democracy (L4ND) with around 150 constituency labour parties submitting PR motions.
The PR motion debated at their conference had the overwhelming support of local party delegates. 80% supported the call for reform. However, the motion was narrowly defeated after block votes cast by a number of the trade unions.
The campaign continues, with a renewed focus on the trade union movement. L4ND is confident of securing sufficient union support to win any future vote at the Labour conference on PR.
This week, I was pleased to join forces with our Lib Dem Peers at the second reading of the Elections Bill at the House of Lords.
For us at Lib Dems Abroad, the Elections Bill is a gamechanger that will bring us into the campaigning mainstream of the party.
A huge 8% of all Brits are living outside the UK. The likely abolition of the 15-year rule will allow all Brits abroad of voting age the right to register and vote at the next UK General Election.
Our members, led by the three “local” party chairs – Lib Dems in Europe (Tom McAdam), France (Jenny Shorten) and Overseas (Mark Iliffe) – and myself, will fly the flag for the party by organising an extensive voter registration campaign for British citizens across the world once the law is implemented and the government’s own campaign has started.
Brits living abroad will need to be included in the party’s manifesto for the first time (previous Lib Dem manifestos had already supported the abolition of the 15-year rule and overseas constituencies).
Then, of course, Lib Dems Abroad will work in partnership with UK local parties to coordinate the party’s campaign for the overseas vote at the next UK General Election in 2-3 years’ time, groundwork for which will start shortly.
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