The Voice

Ed Davey’s statement on second anniversary of October 7 attacks

By The Voice | Tue 7th October 2025 - 7:46 pm

Ed Davey issued a statement today to mark the second anniversary of the 7th October attacks in Israel:

Two years ago, we watched in horror those appalling scenes of Hamas’s evil terrorist attack on Israel. 1,200 innocent people brutally slain, including hundreds of young people at a music festival. Others raped, sexually assaulted and mutilated. 251 people taken hostage, ripped away from their families.

Those terror attacks also triggered a shocking rise in antisemitism here in the UK – a terrible scourge that took the lives of Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz at their synagogue last week.

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David AL-Basha

Caring for those with addictions

By David AL-Basha | Tue 7th October 2025 - 4:00 pm

When we think about caregivers, we often envision family and friends assisting elderly or less mobile loved ones with various health conditions, perhaps taking them to hospital appointments or enjoying an occasional afternoon tea. However, the reality can be somewhat difficult. These most valuable members of our community & society seek no recognition, and the only reward they seek is the knowledge that their loved one is as safe and as well as possible, with every day serving as a testament to love and dedication for all too many in our community, these caregivers are the best of our society and my heroes

I would like to bring to the forefront that society frequently overlooks another crucial aspect of caregiving: caring for those struggling with addiction or mental health issues. This often leads to a significant lack of additional support and options for these caregivers, who find themselves navigating the complex and overwhelming revolving door of a stretched NHS, addiction services (often unconnected to the NHS), and, increasingly, the overloaded & daunting Criminal Justice System. Each day brings with it the uncertainty of what challenges they will face, as well as the associated health issues that burden all caregivers and, in some cases, forced to find a fix for the addiction, out of fear or worry of some sort of withdrawal.

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Iain Donaldson

We need courage and independence – it’s got to be Prue!

By Iain Donaldson | Tue 7th October 2025 - 12:00 pm

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

The coming year marks the 38th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Democrats. As a founding member, and one who had never before pledged loyalty to any political party, the Liberal Democrats have become, and remain, my steadfast political home. Over these years, I have seen many Presidents come and go; the most impactful were those who wholly embraced the party’s fundamental values and principles, dedicating themselves with unwavering focus and without distraction. Their resolute commitment has been crucial in guiding our party through both trials and triumphs.

The role of President transcends mere ceremony; it is the indispensable voice of our members amidst MPs and Lords who occupy constitutionally guaranteed seats on key federal committees. This responsibility demands courage and independence, particularly when championing members’ views that may stand in opposition to those of parliamentary colleagues seated beside them. The President’s autonomy in such matters is vital to safeguarding the party’s integrity and democratic vitality.

To serve as President of the Liberal Democrats is to accept a role of profound responsibility and relentless demands on the time available to the postholder. One day may call for advising a local party through a complex dispute; the next, defending our party’s principles in court against a litigious member. The President is engaged in every aspect of our work from developing policy to devising campaign strategies.

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Paul Reynolds

‘The future’s bright’ – be wary of futurology

By Paul Reynolds | Tue 7th October 2025 - 11:54 am
Embed from Getty Images
The Soviet politburo member stands on a high pedestal above the vast crowd. ‘In the future’ he says ’there will be no hunger. In the future you will be able to eat as much as you wish’; adding  ‘Vast state farms will provide for your needs, and science will bring us new foods’. He waved at the sea of flags.

In Post-War USSR there were continuing food shortages, mostly due to the abolition of ‘politically threatening’ collective farms, in favour of larger state mega-farms. Those new state farms were catastrophically unproductive. ‘Artificial food’ factories stayed experimental.

I heard similar messianic speeches when I worked in an unreformed Belarus in the 1990s for President Lukashenka and Piotr Kapitula. They had a strangely familiar ring… Why tackle the nitty-gritty problems of the agriculture sector when you can paint a picture of a coming nirvana and plenty, subduing the ‘impatient’ masses.

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Mark Valladares

6 October 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 6th October 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Reform DOGE unit in Kent a “spectacular failure” for which Yusuf must “personally apologise”
  • Lib Dems: Thames Water’s data protection “as leaky as its infrastructure” as party calls for company to be placed under special administration
  • Ed Davey statement marking Oct 7 anniversary: “We stand in solidarity”

Reform DOGE unit in Kent a “spectacular failure” for which Yusuf must “personally apologise”

Responding to reports that Reform’s DOGE unit in Kent has found no savings and is set to hike council tax, Daisy Cooper MP, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said:

Reform’s pledge to slash millions from Kent Council’s budget has turned out to be nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Just like his idol Elon Musk, Zia Yusuf has spectacularly failed to deliver what DOGE promised. It turns out cribbing the notes of dodgy American tech billionaires is no way to run a council.

Zia Yusuf should personally apologise to the people of Kent for misleading them.

Lib Dems: Thames Water’s data protection “as leaky as its infrastructure” as party calls for company to be placed under special administration

Responding to reporting by BBC Radio 4 that Thames Water have been giving out customer information over the phone without completing adequate identity checks, Liberal Democrat MP for Witney and Thames Water campaigner Charlie Maynard said:

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Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: is Ed putting some of his MPs ‘in the freezer’?

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 6th October 2025 - 5:45 pm

So you might not have noticed, because to say it was beneath the radar is very much an understatement, but our leader reshuffled his top team last week. I only saw one news outlet cover it, Sky News Online. Of course, it happened during Labour Conference so, as ever, the lobby journalists attention was very much elsewhere. But is it just me or does it appear that our whole strategy as a party can be summed up with the phrase ‘under the radar’?

It was suggested to me by someone senior at Conference that it’s the ‘don’t frighten the horses’ strategy, in other words that if we remain beige and inoffensive and don’t really say anything about, well, anything and the Tories continue to implode we’re bound to take scores more Tory seats… right? I don’t know where to start with how complacent, muddled, and wrong-headed such an alleged strategy is. Even assuming it works, if we get scores of MPs elected on the basis that they don’t really believe in anything, how do they then stick up for liberal principles, like being pro immigration and LGBT+ equality, in Parliament and so on? Am I the only person who would rather we elected say 30 MPs who are clear on their liberal principles and policy positions and then can be full-throated in defending liberal values and minority rights in the chamber and on the media? Is just getting more people elected really what we’re here for…or does it actually matter what they stand for/believe in?

Anyway, back to the reshuffle.

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Elizabeth Jewkes

Bucking the trend – the Strawberry byelection

By Elizabeth Jewkes | Mon 6th October 2025 - 2:40 pm

Last Thursday, there were seven by-elections but one result stood out from the rest – among six Reform successes, Labour held on in just one seat. I might be a bit biased, being the Lib Dem candidate in that seat, but I have more than a sneaking suspicion that the campaign run by my team, helped keep Reform at bay.

On the face of it, by running a campaign in Strawberry ward in Ellesmere Port, we were on a hiding to nothing. There isn’t a local Lib Dem party, there aren’t enough members. The Lib Dems have never won an election here. We never even field a full slate of candidates at the all out elections. Our best hope is usually to hope that the Greens don’t field a candidate. If they do, we’ll probably come fourth of four which somehow feels worse than third of three. People here are just not used to voting Lib Dem. We did field a candidate in Strawberry at the last election but didn’t run any kind of campaign. Labour won with 972 votes (69%). Our brave candidate got just 95 votes. The ward itself is on the very edge of the town, just as the fields between us and Chester start. It has no social housing, no obvious issues, just nice middle class owner occupiers.

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Chris Bowers

Time to highlight the community pillar

By Chris Bowers | Mon 6th October 2025 - 10:49 am

Of the six recognised pillars of Liberalism – liberty, equality, community, democracy, environment, and internationalism – each can wax and wane in prominence depending on the Zeitgeist. When human rights are under attack, liberty should be highlighted. When Britain’s role in the world is centre-stage, internationalism comes to the fore. All six are always important, but there are times when we need to lean into one pillar more than others.

The most crucial pillar of Liberalism as we gear up for elections in 2026 (and every year up to the next general election) will be community. In saying this, I’m fighting hard not to let the agenda be dictated by the populists, but as Roz Savage beautifully put it in her LDV column on 30 September, we have to be tough on Farage but also tough on the causes of Farage. And the erosion of people’s sense of community is a big cause.

It’s easy to forget that, until about 300 years ago, most people in this country never went more than 50 miles from their place of birth in their entire lifetime. They identified with their locality, they sometimes had to defend it from hostile threats from without, and they may have had rituals that bound them together as a geographical community. Therein lay their sense of security.

The modern era of technology, travel and television has blown all that out of the water. We can go to the other side of the globe for a couple of days, we can ‘see’ life in the Antarctic, we can become ‘friends’ with people we’ve never met, and we can have our stag and hen parties in eastern European cities. That has brought social change, and shifting assumptions about what is acceptable to do and say. Which is fine if we’re all in it, but once you get large numbers of people who feel left behind, what security can they grab hold of? If that has been swept away by the forces of progress, resentment builds up.

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Jonathan Gale

A view from a Jewish Lib Dem activist and Zionist

By Jonathan Gale | Sun 5th October 2025 - 4:18 pm

We are reeling from the terrible attack on Jews in Manchester on Yom Kippur. Shocking, but sadly not surprising. Perhaps now politicians should dial down the hyperbole around the Middle East. Words such as “apartheid” and “genocide” shed more heat than light, obscuring rather than clarifying a conflict that demands honesty. The attack brought home the real meaning of “Globalise the Intifada”.

Israel’s government is distinct from Zionism, which is distinct from Jews. Yet most of Britain’s 300,000 Jews feel connected to the world’s only Jewish state, home to half of global Jewry. That is why events in Israel reverberate deeply.

Criticism of Israel’s actions is legitimate, but the Centre-Left’s blanket condemnations weaken us, ceding ground to the Right. We should reflect before using rhetoric that delegitimises the only democracy in the region

Israelis remain traumatised by the October 7th massacre, the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and the continued plight of 48 hostages/families. Acknowledgement of that trauma here often fades next to Gazan suffering, portrayed without context. The imbalance encourages anger which is too easily channelled into demonisation of Israel itself.

At the LDFI stand at Party Conference, we faced a difficult environment. We oppose Netanyahu’s coalition and condemn the toll of war on both Gazans and Israelis. But we reject the charge of “genocide” as inaccurate, inflammatory, and often antisemitic in intent. Engaging with it feels like the Brexit “£350m a week” trap: a slogan which shuts down debate.

Israel faces an information war. The use of the word “genocide” long predates October 7th 2023, and it is chosen to delegitimise Israel, not foster peace. Recognition of a Palestinian state without defined borders or democratic institutions does not advance a two-state solution; it seemed intended to punish Israel. Gaza after 2005 was already a de facto Palestinian state but its administration chose endless war, culminating in October 7th, rather than coexistence.

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Jack Meredith

Memes against Moscow: What NAFO taught me about fighting disinformation

By Jack Meredith | Sun 5th October 2025 - 12:30 pm

In 2022, shortly after Russia’s illegal expansionist invasion of Ukraine, I took to Twitter to keep up with any updates.

One post in particular caught my attention: a Russian ambassador pushing the Kremlin line of “saving persecuted Russians in the Donbas region”. I clicked on the comments, only to find a small group of people with cartoon dogs as their profile pictures, sharing memes mocking Putin and the Russian army. I first thought nothing of it until I saw a follow-up post from the ambassador, in which he said, “You pronounced this nonsense, not me.”

I remember commenting, over and over, until another post of his went up, demanding we stop. We carried on. And then, just like that, he blocked me. Nearly everyone who had commented shared screenshots, showing he had blocked all of us. A bond was created in those posts; a bond that would go on to become “NAFO”, or the North Atlantic Fella Organisation.

I’d like to explain what NAFO is. Simply put, it’s a grassroots network that exists to do two main things:

  1. Counteract disinformation spread by Russia and its allies
  2. Raise money to support Ukrainians

Despite the F in NAFO standing for Fella, it isn’t meant to denote male-only membership. A “Fella” in this case is the name of the small cartoon dog, often associated with the “bonk” meme (for those who don’t know, don’t worry about it.) 

But NAFO’s membership consists of cis men and cis women, trans men and trans women, non-binary and gender non-conforming people. There is no set political allegiance, either. I made many good friends through NAFO, some of which are anarchists, conservatives, Trotskyists, social democrats, and many more who believe in very different ideologies. There was one universal truth that united us all: Ukraine is a sovereign nation who has been invaded, and they need our support.

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 5th October 2025 - 10:30 am

Drone wall

The EU heads of government—and the British Prime Minister—have given their go-ahead to establish a “drone wall” on the border with Russia.

The move follows Russian invasions by jet fighters of Estonian, Polish and Romanian air space; a cyber attack which closed Berlin Airport and drone activity which closed Copenhagen and Oslo Airports.

The plan is to deploy a multi-layered “drone wall” to quickly detect, track and destroy Russian drones. A nirvana for anyone who has grown to adulthood with hand attached to a joystick.

Ten allies are providing anti-drone and surveillance support. They include: Poland, the UK, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and the US. Sweden has loaned “powerful radar systems” and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was sending a mission to Denmark for joint exercises to provide “Ukrainian experience in drone defence”.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of the summit that airspace incursions were getting worse and that it was “reasonable to assume the drones are coming from Russia”.

“We are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either. We must do much more for our own security.” .
.
Another flagship project, called Eastern Flank Watch, is aimed at fortifying the EU’s eastern borders by sea, air and land to protect against so-called hybrid warfare, as well as from Russia’s shadow fleet .Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said the EU would have to collaborate on this with both Nato and Ukraine.

EU leaders will be shown plans for a “road map” aimed at bolstering defences and developing Europe’s defence industries by the end of the decade to produce state-of-the-art military equipment. The plans will then be worked on with Nato before EU leaders meet again later this month.

According to the plans for being “2030-ready”, Europe needs to move now so its capabilities are prepared for “the battlefields of tomorrow”.

One of the core ideas is to increasingly focus on joint procurement. The EU has already backed proposals to raise up to $150 billion on capital markets to help fund defence investment. The UK and Canada are likely to take part in the fund.

Democrats’ shutdown gamble

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Kamran Hussain

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The Voice

Lib Dem Friends of Palestine statement on Trump plan for Gaza

By The Voice | Sat 4th October 2025 - 1:27 pm

Lib Dem Friends of Palestine have put out a statement on the Trump “peace plan” for Gaza.

They say that the “flawed Trump ‘peace plan’ offers only a temporary pause in the genocide and denies Palestinians sovereignty and self-determination.”

President Trump’s ‘20-point plan’ for Gaza presents itself as a pathway towards peace but in reality promises only a temporary reprieve from the violence while denying Palestinians sovereignty, political unity and the right to self-determination, which are essential for achieving permanent peace.

Negotiated between the United States and Israel without input from Palestinian representatives, it offers a ceasefire without guarantees and fails to establish any roadmap towards a genuine two-state solution.

Limited short-term relief – no long-term guarantees

There are short-term elements that are to be welcomed. An immediate end to the killing, the release of hostages and detainees on both sides, and greater humanitarian access are urgent priorities that must be achieved without delay. (And should all proceed even in the absence of a longer-term proposal.)

Yet while Trump’s proposed plan would see Hamas disarmed and evicted from Gaza, it contains no enforcement mechanisms and no safeguards to prevent Israel from resuming the genocide once the hostages have been released. Despite promising a “complete staged withdrawal” of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, it fails to set out a timeline or milestones for achieving this. Netanyahu has already made clear his intention that Israeli troops will remain in “most” of Gaza – there are no proposals for tackling this intransigence. Given his long record of obstructing and derailing peace processes, including his recent attack targeting Hamas negotiators in Qatar and consistent denial of Palestian nationhood throughout his career, there is little reason to believe this plan will deliver more than a brief pause before Israeli’s bombardment and expansion resume.

Failure to recognise Palestinian agency

Equally troubling is the absence of any provisions for ensuring Palestinian input and self governance. Oversight and supervision of Gaza would lie with a supposed international ‘Board of Peace’, chaired by Trump and including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. This would oversee a non-political Palestinian technocratic body tasked with the day to day running of the Gaza Strip. Palestinians would be relegated to mid-level administrative roles, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) would be excluded from any meaningful involvement at least until it has completed an undefined and externally-imposed ‘reform’ programme.

Palestinians recognise that the PA needs reform and support, not least capacity building to be able to administer and rebuild the whole of its sovereign territory. It needs to hold elections (and Israel needs to be compelled to allow Palestinians to hold and participate in those elections). But the PA is the Palestinian government, one that the UK government has recognised. Its exclusion entrenches divisions between Gaza and the West Bank, a key aim of the Israeli government, and denies Palestinians the right to determine their own political future. Western governments cannot recognise a Palestinian state only to deny its current government any role in the rebuilding process.

Liberal Democrats must challenge the PA’s exclusion and make clear that their participation cannot be made contingent on conditions dictated by outsiders. Particularly concerning is the proposed requirement that it abandons cases against Israel in the international courts, a move that would constitute an illegitimate interference and a denial of Palestine’s sovereignty and the basic right to pursue justice through the rule of law. It would also undermine the future use of the international courts system to prevent and punish major breaches of international humanitarian law.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems react to shocking Police revelations

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 4th October 2025 - 11:22 am

You want to trust the Police. You want to feel like they have your back if you need them. You want to know that if you or anyone you love found themselves on the wrong side of the law, they would be treated fairly and humanely.

You would hope that in a relatively liberal democracy a quarter away through the 21st century all of the above would be a given.

And then Wednesday’s Panorama comes along highlighting yet another utterly toxic culture in a Police station. And of course racism and misogyny features highly.

Some horrific examples of behaviour from the BBC:

  • Sgt Joe McIlvenny, an officer with nearly 20 years’ service in the Met, who was dismissive about a pregnant woman’s allegations of rape and domestic violence, after a colleague raised concerns about the decision to release the accused man on bail. He replied: “That’s what she says.”

  • PC Martin Borg, who enthusiastically described how he saw another officer, Sgt Steve Stamp, stomp on a suspect’s leg. PC Borg laughed when he described how he had offered to make a statement saying the suspect had tried to kick the sergeant first. It was unclear from CCTV footage if the claim was true.

  • PC Phil Neilson, who told our reporter in the pub that a detainee who had overstayed his visa should have “a bullet through his head” and “ones that shag, rape women, you’d do the cock and let them bleed out”.

Senior Lib Dems have reacted to the shocking footage.

London AM Hina Bokhari gave her thoughts on Instagram:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Hina Bokhari OBE AM (@hinabokharild)

She and fellow AM Gareth Roberts called on the Mayor to show some leadership in dealing with these revelations, saying:

The Met Police is broken and the culture of prejudice and abuse within its ranks continues to put vulnerable Londoners at risk.

They called on Sadiq to take concrete action to lead real reform.

Lib Dem Women Chair and Lambeth Councillor Donna Harris said:

The suspension of Met officers over alleged abuse and extremist sympathies shows why our ⁦@LibDemWomen amendment at conference was so vital — policing must be transparent, accountable, and free from prejudice if it is to earn public trust.

That amendment called for three things:

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Tom Arms

Observations of an ex Pat: Gaza

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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ALDC By-election report 2 October 2025

By Chris Ward | Fri 3rd October 2025 - 5:15 pm

This week there were five by-elections for seven seats, with a rare triple by-election in Maidstone. It was a strong week for Reform UK, winning six of the available seats, with Labour narrowly holding off their challenge in Ellesmere Port.

On the Isle of Wight, Bob Blezzard’s vote share increase wasn’t enough to prevent a Reform UK hold. Thank you to the team for their efforts.

Isle of Wight Council, Lake North
Reform UK: 290 (36.8%, +0.7)
Conservative: 249 (31.6%, +2.8)
Liberal Democrats (Bob Blezzard): 118 (15.0%, +4.4)
Green Party: 88 (11.2%, -0.9)
Labour: 44 (5.6%, -0.2)

Reform UK HOLD

Turnout: 28.4%

In Wigan, Peter Burley and team gained a slight increase in the vote, when all other previous tickets went down. Thank you for standing.

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, Wigan Central
Reform UK: 1391 (47.2%, new)
Labour: 970 (32.9%, -15.3)
Independent: 196 (6.7%, new)
Conservative: 151 (5.1%, -9.4)
Green Party: 130 (4.4%, -2.1)
Liberal Democrats (Peter Burley): 109 (3.7%, +0.2)

Reform UK GAIN from Labour

Turnout: 30.9%

Ellesmere Port was the scene of Reform UK’s only miss of the week, as Labour held on. Thank you to Lizzie Jewkes and the team for adding to the Lib Dem vote in a more crowded fieldthan previous.

Cheshire West and Chester Council UA, Strawberry
Labour: 602 (35.8%, -32.9)
Reform UK: 539 (32.0%, new)
Independent: 231 (13.7%, new)
Conservative: 132 (7.8%, -16.8)
Liberal Democrats (Lizzie Jewkes): 121 (7.2%, +0.5)
Green Party: 58 (3.4%, new)

Labour HOLD

Turnout: 41.6%

Brentwood saw Reform gain from the Conservatives. Thank you to Brenner Munden and the team for flying the Lib Dem flag.

Brentwood Borough Council, Hutton South
Reform UK: 805 (45.8%, new)
Conservative: 544 (30.9%, -14.5)
Labour: 234 (13.3%, -14.5)
Liberal Democrats (Brenner Munden): 109 (6.2%, -9.6)
Green Party: 66 (3.8%, -7.2)

Reform UK GAIN from Conservative

Turnout: 34.1%

Finally, a bit of a collector’s item, with all three seats up for grabs in this Maidstone ward, and a free-for-all following the departure of three independents. Well done to the local Lib Dems for standing Jennifer Horwood, Sam Burrows and Andrew Cockersole, to compete for all three seats.

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Sophie Layton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Josh Matthews

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

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

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

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

The Liberal Democrats have to be loud champions of transition planning

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

The climate and sustainability emergency is a massive systems problem

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

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

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Gordon Lishman

Questions for would-be Presidents

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

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

There are two explicit jobs for a President:

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

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

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Judy Abel

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

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

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

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

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

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Caron Lindsay

What does Ed Davey’s reshuffle tell us?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Prue Bray

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Alan Grant

We must keep up the fight against digital ID

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Christian de Vartavan

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

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

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

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

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Tim Farron MP

Why I’m backing Josh Babarinde to be our next Party President

By Tim Farron MP | Tue 30th September 2025 - 12:00 pm

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

A million years ago – during the coalition years – when I had the honour of serving as President of our party, I saw first-hand just how vital that job is. The President doesn’t set policy or lead the party in Parliament, but they provide a different kind of leadership: to keep the party grounded in our values, connected to our members, and focused on our purpose. That’s why I’m backing Josh Babarinde to be our next Party President.

Josh is exactly what we need right now. At a time when our country is wrestling with the toxic pull of populism, and when too many voters feel let down by politics altogether, Josh offers hope, energy, and a plan.

He’s a doer. Always has been. His work to win back Eastbourne – a place Josh never tires of telling me is the sunniest place in the UK – reflects his effectiveness as a campaigner. His work before entering Parliament setting up a social enterprise focussed on supporting young people out of crime, for which he was awarded an OBE before he was 30 is remarkable. Lots of politicians talk the talk about helping young people, Josh took action and changed lives.  

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Jack Meredith

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

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

Embed from Getty Images

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

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

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Mathew Hulbert

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

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

Labour…the real nasty party!

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

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

And she was right, we did and we do.

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

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

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Lewis Page

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

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

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

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

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Zachary Barker

Reclaiming Space

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

Through the Adversity, the Stars

Royal Air Force Motto

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

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

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Callum Robertson

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

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

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

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

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