Rob Blackie

Liberal Democrats should campaign to fix Brexit

By Rob Blackie | Tue 4th February 2020 - 9:35 am

What should Lib Dems do now?

Should we just be campaign to rejoin the EU? Or something else?

I suggest that we fix Brexit first.

Last year people voted Conservative because they thought Brexit was a distraction from Britain’s real problems. Over 70% of the public thought this. Most people who voted Remain thought this. They thought that the only way to get Brexit out of the way, was to push it through.

Of course this isn’t true. Brexit isn’t over. And we’ll be stuck with the problems it creates for decades.

But if we campaign to rejoin straight away, it will be counter-productive. People won’t see the problems caused by Brexit, because most of them won’t be obvious until the transition period ends.

And, just as everybody sighs in relief that Brexit is over, we’ll look like obsessives wanting to restart the argument. A bit like John Redwood in the 1990s.

The British people have given the government a chance to get Brexit right.

Lib Dems should therefore work to fix Brexit. Fixing Brexit means accepting it’s happening. For now.

That means minimising the damage. Damage done to the economy. And damage done to our friends and neighbours.

Today there are three things we can campaign on.

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Mark Valladares

Who’s going to be the Democratic nominee to take on Donald Trump?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 3rd February 2020 - 4:02 pm

So, as already noted, today sees the first stage in the race to be the Democratic nominee in November’s US Presidential election.

And, because we know how many of our readers take an interest in these things, two questions for our readers to answer in the comments below;

  • Who do you think will win the Democratic nomination, and why?, and, because the answer isn’t necessarily the same;
  • Who do you think is most likely to beat Donald Trump, and why?
Posted in Europe / International | Tagged | 21 Comments
Mark Valladares

3-7 February – this week in the Lords

By Mark Valladares | Mon 3rd February 2020 - 1:47 pm

Consecutive weeks with a preview… I must be getting a little more reliable. It’s a full five day week in the Lords this week, with one of those occasional sitting Fridays, and there’s a fair bit of Liberal Democrat action, so without further ado…

The Second Reading of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill is the main item of business on Monday, and I have to admit that I hadn’t noticed, or more likely forgotten, that the Games is coming to the West Midlands in 2022. the Bill allows the Government to give …

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Mark Valladares

The 2020 US Presidential Election – a short statistical preview…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 3rd February 2020 - 11:38 am

Today sees the beginning of the formal process to select the Presidential nominees for the Democratic and Republican Parties, and here at Liberal Democrat Voice, I thought that I might start with a little context setting and a look back at what happened last time. So, strap yourselves in, and let’s look at some of the numbers from 2016.

We know that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly three million votes, and you might wonder how you can lose under those circumstances, but she did. However, whilst the result was a 304 votes to 227 win for Donald Trump …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged | 2 Comments
Alisha Lewis

Lib Dem councillors – the thin orange line between Britain and the harsh effects of Brexit

By Alisha Lewis | Mon 3rd February 2020 - 9:40 am

We fought hard, we won where we could, but lost where it mattered. Brexit is on the doorstep.

And that’s where we should be too.

A wise man once addressed the European Parliament in the wake of our most successful European elections ever and told us that Brexit is not inevitable. And while that may not be as true as it once was, the most devastating consequences of Brexit for our communities are not as inevitable as they may feel sitting here in the crushing aftermath of a truly momentous step back for Britain.

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Web Magpie

How a Liberal pamphlet from 1980 led to the collapse of the British political system

By Web Magpie | Sun 2nd February 2020 - 2:05 pm

Original cover artwork from “The Theory and Practice of Community Politics”

Over on Medium.com, Councillor Nick Barlow has written a remarkably astute retrospective on the 1980 pamphlet “The Theory And Practice of Community Politics” written by Bernard Greaves and Gordon Lishman and published by the Association of Liberal Councillors (now the ALDC).

Nick’s narrative takes us from the ideologically based idea of Community Politics in the 1970s and how it morphed into the quite different concept of Customer Service Politics, which dominates our civic arena today:

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Posted in Liberal History and Online politics | Tagged , , , , and | 18 Comments
John Barrett

Is it time to ditch referendums?

By John Barrett | Sun 2nd February 2020 - 10:40 am

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Is it now time to accept that referendums are no way to decide anything? Or is it time to say that they should only be used, if the result produces a clear majority, of say two thirds of the voters, or 50% of the entire electorate?

The decision to use a referendum to decide major constitutional issues has always appeared, in the past, to be the sensible way to tackle those issues, as people vote at General Elections on a wide range of issues and it was thought that a referendum would give a clear answer on a single issue.

The UK remaining in the EU, or Scotland leaving the UK have both been put to a referendum where the side getting 50% of the vote could claim victory, but it was clear in both cases that people would vote each way for a variety of reasons on both issues, leaving the question, “What is the point of a referendum if it doesn’t clearly answer the question put?”

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 56 Comments
Paul Walter

The detail behind the YouGov poll showing Ed Davey ahead in the leadership stakes – thanks to @ProfTimBale

By Paul Walter | Sat 1st February 2020 - 11:55 am

Last Tuesday, I referred to a New Statesman article about a YouGov poll showing Ed Davey well ahead in the future Liberal Democrat leadership contest.

I mentioned in the piece that I was unable to find the data behind the poll.

Julian Heather (@JulianHeather1) kindly messaged Professor Tim Bale at Queen Mary, University of London.

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The Voice

Our President writes: I’m immensely proud of how we’ve stood up for our values over Brexit

By The Voice | Sat 1st February 2020 - 9:40 am

Our Party President, MarkPack, sent this email to members yesterday evening:

For the last four years, the Liberal Democrats have proudly fought to stop Brexit.

I am immensely proud of everything we did. We stood up for our values. We campaigned so hard. But I also accept that at 11pm tonight, we will no longer be members of the European Union.

Our European story is not over. Tomorrow our fight continues, to make sure Britain has the closest possible relationship with our allies in Europe.

Today, I want to take stock of everything we did achieve in our fight to stop Brexit.

When the results of the European referendum were announced on that sad day in June 2016, we knew that something must be done. Our leader at the time, Tim Farron, did not wait to say that we deserved a vote on the final Brexit deal.

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 50 Comments
The Voice

And, as we say au revoir to the European Union…

By The Voice | Fri 31st January 2020 - 10:54 pm

It’s an emotional moment for those of us who campaigned to remain in the European Union, the last moments during which we are part of something more than the sum of its constituent parts, a pooling of some national sovereignty in return for freedoms to live, love and work across twenty-eight nations. It is not a time to celebrate.

It isn’t a time to mourn either. If the United Kingdom is to go its own way, we need to be there, campaigning for a more liberal society, because if we don’t, nobody else is going to do it for us.

So, to …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged and | 53 Comments
Mark Valladares

31 January 2020 – today’s press release

By Mark Valladares | Fri 31st January 2020 - 9:52 pm

Jane Dodds: Conservatives are backtracking on their commitment to end austerity

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the UK Government to apologise for backtracking on a key election commitment to end austerity just two months after the General Election.

Prior to the election, the Conservatives had proclaimed on a number of occasions that “Austerity is over”.

Their 2019 manifesto, upon which this Government was elected, promised the same as well as pledged numerous increases in public spending.

However, over the past two days, there have been numerous reports that the Government is, in fact, preparing to cut spending by up to 5% per …

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Giles Goodall

A day of ignominy

By Giles Goodall | Fri 31st January 2020 - 6:02 pm

Today will go down in history. Not as a day of progress, joy, or unity, but as a day of ignominy.

It is the culmination of state failure on a massive scale, exposing the gaping holes and inadequacies in Britain’s shoddy political system and constitution, our dishonourable media, and our flawed political class.

Put together, the combined errors of decades have culminated in three full years of tragedy and farce. They have also seen the birth of the EU’s largest pro-European movement, with great passion, courage, and vigour – but it all came too late.

The world looks on, scratching its head in bemusement, at how such an apparently accomplished nation can conduct such an evident act of self-harm, simultaneously undermining the world order it helped establish and subverting its own foreign policy goals of centuries.

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Candidate update

By Richard Kember | Fri 31st January 2020 - 3:15 pm

2020 sees us in a new electoral cycle with a more stable Government than we’ve seen for many years. With it comes a new set of challenges for the Lib Dems leading up to the next General Election in or before May 2024.

As part of these preparations, the English Candidates’ Committee (ECC) will very shortly be launching it’s Post-Election Candidate Review. The purpose of the Review, which is conducted after every General Election, is to understand how candidates performed in the face of the various challenges of the campaign trail. This process will cover England only, with separate arrangements being made for Scotland and Wales.

The Review will consist of questionnaires sent by email to candidates, their election agents and senior local party officers. Each group will receive a tailored set of questions to help determine strengths, weaknesses and future opportunities for each candidate.

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged | 6 Comments
Caron Lindsay

This is a shameful day in our country’s history

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 31st January 2020 - 1:45 pm

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Today is a horrible day and I feel overwhelmingly sad about the opportunities we are losing. We won’t notice an immediate difference because of the transition period but there is no longer anything we can do if we don’t like the changes that happen at the end of this year. We will no longer have the EU to protect our workers’ rights from the worst excesses of our government. We won’t have as easy access to the single market, so our prices will go up. The next generation’s chances to live, work and study in the EU will be severely limited and those EU citizens already here – our friends, family and neighbours face the Home Office hostile environment. Settled status doesn’t offer that much protection.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an ex pat: Blame Newt

By Tom Arms | Fri 31st January 2020 - 12:15 pm

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The blame for today’s polarised world is most often laid at the door of President Trump. He is credited with climbing to power on the back of colourfully-worded hate politics and of providing the inspiration for Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummins, Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland.

But who inspired Trump? The answer is the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich was—still is—a staunchly conservative Republican from the deep south state of Georgia who entered the political arena in the 1970s when southern Democrats were shifting to the liberal left in a vain effort to retain power in the South in the aftermath of the civil rights campaign. Gingrich believed that the answer to the loss to the conservatives was to replace it with a radicalised and more conservative Republican Party.

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Mark Valladares

A ray of hope in West Suffolk

By Mark Valladares | Fri 31st January 2020 - 11:23 am

It would be fair to say that Suffolk has not been a bright spot for Liberal Democracy for some years, and West Suffolk has been weak even in that context, with no representation on the District Council or its predecessors since 2015.

However, with a recent membership surge, the resignation of the newly elected MP for Aberconwy from both the District and County Councils offered an opportunity to get local members engaged. Our candidate, Jonny Edge, is a local school governor, and with support from some experienced old hands – many thanks to …

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Posted in Council by-elections and News | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Paul Walter

Getting back on the horse – and saying thank you

By Paul Walter | Fri 31st January 2020 - 10:45 am

Laura Gordon shows her fighting spirit with this tweet and begs the question – have you delivered your “thank you” Focus yet?

https://twitter.com/LibDemLaura/status/1222916748372062208

PS. As of this morning, 85.8% say Laura has got back on the horse!

Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Leaving the EU – some last day tweets

By Paul Walter | Fri 31st January 2020 - 9:13 am

Here are some EU last day thoughts from the Twittersphere:


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Ed Davey

Ed Davey: We fought the good fight – now what next?

By Ed Davey | Thu 30th January 2020 - 8:26 pm

This is the text of the speech given by Ed Davey today in Manchester.

Good morning.

For the last four years, the Liberal Democrats fought to stop Brexit.

We held street stalls, town hall meetings and we marched in our millions.

Today we stand strong in the knowledge that we did everything we could.

Tens of thousands of people got involved with our campaign. People who had never campaigned before. And old hands, campaigning harder than they ever had before.

We fought with good humour and great energy. We fought because we love our country.

Our pro-Europeanism is built on our patriotism.

So I will always be proud of the

…

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Posted in Speeches | Tagged and | 11 Comments
John McHugo

The response to Trump’s peace plan should be – recognise Palestine now

By John McHugo | Thu 30th January 2020 - 7:36 pm

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As we leave the EU, we need to show that we are not Trump’s poodle. Britain must therefore publicly be seen to reject the wholesale attack on the rule of international law that is unfortunately an important element in Trump’s so-called “deal of the century”, his plan for peace between Israel and Palestine.

Although the “deal” contains positive elements, such as aspects of its vision for cooperation in economic development, nothing can hide the fact that it contains a diktat to be imposed on the Palestinians that deprives them of their right of self-determination (whilst brazenly maintaining that the contrary is true), as well as the territorial integrity of the Palestinian land that Israel occupied in 1967.

The “deal” has understandably already been described as creating “disconnected Bantustans” rather than a Palestinian State. If it is successfully implemented in the form in which it is published, it is likely to mean the end of the two State solution and become the focal point for a struggle for equal rights for Arab and Jew between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. It also has the regrettable appearance of trying “to buy” the Palestinians so as to induce them not to insist on their rights. That is creating anger far beyond Palestine.

The plan claims to recognise the realities on the ground. This assertion must be called out.

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Shas Sheehan

A private member’s bill to keep fossil fuels in the ground – where they belong

By Shas Sheehan | Thu 30th January 2020 - 4:19 pm

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Last year Theresa May’s government declared a climate emergency and put into law the aim to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

But here’s the rub. The UK government’s current primary objective for offshore oil and gas is to enable as much as possible to be extracted. This is written into the Petroleum Act 1998.

To many people it is a matter of common sense that opening up new oil and gas fields – and building new fossil fuel infrastructure – is incompatible with acting to tackle the climate emergency and meeting the net-zero target by 2050. It is also incompatible with our commitments to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The bald truth is that even if current developed reserves of fossil fuels are realised, we will easily pass the aspirant 1.5 degrees centigrade rise in temperature agreed in Paris; in fact we will hit the 2 degree rise in global temperatures that the IPCC have said will be catastrophic for the planet. To put things into perspective, currently global temperatures have risen to 1 degree centigrade (compared to 1880). According to NASA, the last five years are, collectively, the hottest on record.

Attitudes are changing. The World Bank announced in 2017 that it will phase out finance for oil and gas extraction. Mark Carney, when he leaves the BoE at the end of January, will take up a new role as UN envoy for Climate and Finance. He has already penned articles warning that divesting in fossil fuels by large institutions is happening too slowly and has warned that up to $20 trillion of “stranded assets” could be wiped out by climate change. There is growing acceptance that an economic transition is already underway, and we ignore it at our peril.

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Lord William Wallace

A party of ideas

By Lord William Wallace | Thu 30th January 2020 - 1:00 pm

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The Liberal Democrats, a recent LibDem Voice posting declared, ‘are the party of ideas.’

Except that we’re not very good at spelling them out, or at getting them across in the political debate, at present.  And that leaves us at a major disadvantage in national politics, since few voters and not enough journalists know what we stand for.  ‘Stop Brexit’ has now run out of steam.  Polls show us as credited with a positive approach to climate change, but little more.

When I joined the Liberal Party as a student, 60 years ago, a popular but cruel description was that we were an intellectual think tank, generating ideas that other parties then took over.  It had been true of Beveridge, Keynes, even Lloyd George.

Tudor Jones’s new and excellent intellectual history, The uneven path of British Liberalism, underlines our huge debt to Jo Grimond and those around him, in setting out domestic and international agendas that gave the party a new credibility after a long and incoherent decline.  His articulation of our internationalist approach, and its foundation in cooperation with our neighbours instead of nostalgia for empire and global status, still stands against the ‘global Britain’ illusions of Brexiters.  His domestic priorities – local democracy, mutuals and cooperatives as providers of public services, local enterprise and active citizenship – are less well remembered.

We have a great many new members who buzz with ideas about policy, from harnessing technology to rebuilding public trust in democracy.  But we lack the resources at the centre to bring them together.  In the gentle and amateurish politics of the 1960s party leaders had time to sit down with intellectuals and discuss ideas.  (Grimond was wonderful at that, with students as much as professors and expert journalists.)  In the 24-hour news round today our small band of MPs are fighting for coverage on passing issues, with limited time to step back and reflect.  And our small policy staff necessarily focus on parliamentary priorities, and on the slow collective processes of policy development managed by the Federal Policy Committee.

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Posted in Op-eds | 15 Comments
Jane Dodds

Where we go from here

By Jane Dodds | Thu 30th January 2020 - 11:01 am

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On Tuesday I visited the European Parliament building for the first time.

I was awed by the beautiful modern glass buildings in the Place de Luxembourg, which merge together to form an impressive (and somewhat confusing) web of corridors and doorways.

The Parliament is the epicentre of the European Union and is where over 7,500 staff and 751 MEPs work. Sadly, from Friday, this will be reduced as our UK contingent leave Brussels – just 8 months into what should’ve been a 5-year term.

But my visit to the Parliament wasn’t just to marvel at the impressive architecture. I came to meet with our MEPs, and to represent Wales at an event entitled “Brexit: What next for the Nation States”. I was joined by the indominable Sheila Ritchie MEP, representing Scotland, and newly elected Alliance MP Stephen Farry, representing Northern Ireland.

I spoke of how there are so many people who feel behind in Wales, with little sense of being connected with the centres of power that made decisions.

Even though Wales received £680million per year from the EU, making it a nation that benefitted far more than it contributed, there is a huge disconnected between areas of high poverty and the actual financial advantages membership of the EU brought for their communities.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 30 Comments
Sophie Bridger

A tribute to Robbie Simpson

By Sophie Bridger | Thu 30th January 2020 - 9:06 am

Robbie Simpson, long-standing Lib Dem activist, died suddenly in Geneva at the beginning of January. He was 30 years old. To lose such a talent, and such a friend as Robbie, is a tragedy beyond comprehension. To try and summarise his impact is nearly impossible, but I hope this goes some way to remind us all of the wonderful friend we have lost.

I met Robbie at my first meeting of Glasgow University Liberal Democrats in September 2009. He was a very tall, kind looking man, although it took me three weeks to understand his accent (which was not unique to his village but in fact entirely unique to him). After spending the first two years of his Computing Science degree commuting by bus from Ayrshire (two hours each way every day), he had finally moved to Glasgow and was able to get involved in student politics. Within the month we, with many others, were being swept away by waves of Cleggmania, pounding the streets of Glasgow North with the indefatigable Katy Gordon.

Robbie stayed involved in student activism, becoming a member of Glasgow University’s Student’s Representative Council. He became the Treasurer of Liberal Youth Scotland (after an internship at Deutsche Bank, he stood unopposed for the unenviable position with the slogan ‘Vote Robbie – he speaks bank’) where he had a profound impact on both the youth wing and those he met through it. He turned it from a small group of activists into a credible voice within the party, and helped build a coordinated network of young Lib Dem campaigners across Scotland. He supported younger members to become involved, and was a kind and friendly ear. Those he met through Glasgow University Lib Dems and Liberal Youth Scotland remained some of his closest friends.

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Mark Valladares

30 January 2020 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Thu 30th January 2020 - 7:35 am

Davey speech on Brexit – Progressives must fight on

Today, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey will make a keynote speech addressing party members and activists in Manchester ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU.

Ed Davey will make a rallying call to pro-Europeans ahead of our departure from the EU, calling on them to continue to campaign for close association with our allies in the EU and for the progressive values we share.

Ed will call for the end of the Remain/Leave division in our country and for progressives to unite to tackle other serious divisions.

Ed will declare that …

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Mark Valladares

29 January 2020 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 29th January 2020 - 10:45 pm
  • Liberal Democrats: PM must not ignore defence concerns about Huawei deal
  • Liberal Democrats: Sacking Northern is just the first step

Liberal Democrats: PM must not ignore defence concerns about Huawei deal

Responding to reports that Boris Johnson has defied his Defence Secretary by allowing Huawei to help to build Britain’s 5G network, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson Jamie Stone MP said:

Boris Johnson must not ignore the Defence Secretary’s concerns. There are legitimate human rights and security issues associated with this move.

Three of our Five Eyes allies, the US, Australia and New Zealand, have already blocked the Chinese firm in full or in part

…

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Suzanne Fletcher

Bells are set to toll in the UK on Friday but a silent flame can send a gentler message

By Suzanne Fletcher | Wed 29th January 2020 - 3:40 pm


Candle flame by Shan Sheehan
This is a message for all, including those who voted for Brexit.

I live in the hope that all can agree with the following sentiments.

We have greatly different views on how they can be achieved, but can we all join in, in lighting a candle ( a safe one!) on the evening of January 31st?

Bobby McDonagh is a former Irish ambassador to London, Rome and Brussels. In an article in Monday’s Irish Times, he suggests lighting a candle in homes, churches – anywhere.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 23 Comments
The Voice

LibLink: Bob Maclennan – An appreciation by Sam Ghibaldan

By The Voice | Wed 29th January 2020 - 2:10 pm

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On January 20th, we republished, with kind permission of the author, a moving personal tribute to Bob Maclennan (Lord Maclennan of Rogart) by Andrew Page.

The Herald newspaper has published an obituary of Bob by Sam Ghibaldan.

The tribute begins:

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Posted in LibLink and Obituaries | Tagged | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

Our party president and co-leader on the big challenges ahead

By Mark Pack | Wed 29th January 2020 - 12:40 pm

There are two versions of 2019 which future historians of the Liberal Democrats may write about. One is about a party that was on the road to recovery since 2015, took a big hit in December, but then continued upwards afterwards. It’s a story in which the successes of the first half of 2019 were the ones that pointed to the future. Or there is the version in which the Liberal Democrats were in continued decline after 2010, showed brief signs of life in early 2019 but where it was the disappointments of the general election that pointed to the future.

Either could yet turn out to be the one that’s written. Which one gets written is down to us here in the present.

That means getting our own house in order. It means learning the right lessons from last year – and acting on them, successfully electing a new leader and also making a success of the May elections.

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David Warren

Conference!

By David Warren | Wed 29th January 2020 - 11:10 am

Over a period of more than 30 years I have attended a lot of conferences including those of the Anti Apartheid Movement, Communication Workers Union, Trade Union Congress, Labour Party and most recently the Liberal Democrats. In my time as a CWU activist I sat for a term on its conference arrangements committee. My first Lib Dem conference was in 2012 and I really enjoyed the experience. I was particularly struck by the democratic nature of it. One delegate, one vote, no executive trying to sway us and no top table packed with party big wigs.

However, as we approach another …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 12 Comments
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