Caron Lindsay

Council by-elections – 21 November

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 22nd November 2019 - 8:25 am

Three results in so far from last night’s by-elections.

It was disappointing to lose a seat in Chichester. It was a seat that we had held only briefly in a new ward, when we won narrowly in May. Our councillor promptly left us, joined the Greens and resigned from the Council, so the chances are that we were being punished.

Our candidate Alexander Jeffrey and his team had an almost impossible task.

In Aberdeen, the Labour vote dropped like a stone while we advanced slightly and the SNP held on to their seat.

And another rise in vote share in Cardiff.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged | 3 Comments
Advert
Mark Valladares

21 November 2019 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 21st November 2019 - 11:30 pm
  • Davey: Labour maths do not add up
  • Labour’s police pledge an “empty promise” without extra funding
  • Lib Dems: Widdecombe fuels election pact scandal

Davey: Labour maths do not add up

Responding to the Labour Party Manifesto launched today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Ed Davey said:

As long as Jeremy Corbyn continues pursuing his Brexit policy, the maths in his manifesto simply do not add up.

The Liberal Democrats will stop Brexit and use the £50 billion Remain Bonus to invest in public services and build a brighter future. We’ll prioritise tackling the climate emergency and investing in housing, education and welfare, while Corbyn would embark on

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , and | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Chuka on Question Time – open thread

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 21st November 2019 - 10:25 pm

Chuka Umunna is about to be on Question Time.

I should be going to bed, but I can’t resist staying up and watching.

Who’s with me?

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Caron Lindsay

WATCH: Liberal Democrats Party Election Broadcast – She’s running again

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 21st November 2019 - 12:46 pm

Here is the Lib Dem election broadcast for the General Election.

I will admit to a wee tear at the start where Jo is talking about her Dad, who died last year. He would have been so proud to see her leading an election campaign as leader of the biggest and strongest Remain party.

It’s personal, hopeful, bright and clear about our aims about stopping Brexit and transforming the economy to make it work for people and planet.

And we have added Chuka Umunna, Sarah Wollaston and Siobhan Benita, too.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
The Voice

Broadcaster John Tusa backs the Lib Dems

By The Voice | Thu 21st November 2019 - 10:48 am

The broadcaster and former Newsnight presenter John Tusa has declared his support for the Lib Dems…

I am British by citizenship, Czech by birth, European by culture, history and identity. The Lib Dems are the only party to believe in our continuing membership of the European Union. They are the only party not taken over by the extreme factions in national politics. They are the only non-sectarian party. They are the only party that puts the sovereignty of parliament at the heart of our representative democracy.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 32 Comments
Advert
Mark Valladares

21 November 2019 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Thu 21st November 2019 - 7:09 am

Lib Dems: Labour can’t keep their housing promises without EU workers

Responding to Labour’s council and social housing programme, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government Tim Farron said:

It won’t be councils denying planning permission for new council homes under Labour, it will be Labour denying entry to the EU workers travelling here to build them.

10% of our construction industry workforce is made up of EU citizens, but – just like the Tories – Corbyn’s Labour has failed to back free movement from the EU. Under Labour, the workforce we rely on will no longer be available

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 12 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrats join in Transgender Day of Remembrance

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 20th November 2019 - 11:16 pm

One of the saddest days of he year for me is today, the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we remember those transgender people who have lost their lives over the past year just for being who they are, who died as a result of anti-transgender violence.

You can read all their names, and the mostly brutal circumstances of their passing here. 

Jo Swinson marked the day by writing an article on the Lib Dem website:

Trans people can’t wait until it’s politically convenient for them to exist.

We need to sort this

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment
Mark Valladares

20 November 2019 – today’s other press release

By Mark Valladares | Wed 20th November 2019 - 11:12 pm

Today’s big story has been, of course, the manifesto. But there was another story today…

Lib Dems will freeze rail fares and fix broken ticketing system

The Liberal Democrats have announced bold plans to freeze rail fares for commuters and season ticket holders for the next five years, while fixing the broken fares and ticketing system.

A Liberal Democrat government would cancel the 2.8% rail fare increase planned for December 2018 and freeze commuter fares and season tickets for the entirety of the next five years.

These proposals would save season ticket holders across the UK thousands of pounds. Projected savings for …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 6 Comments
The Voice

WATCH: Jo Swinson launching the manifesto

By The Voice | Wed 20th November 2019 - 10:16 pm

Jo Swinson launched the Lib Dem manifesto today.

Here’s her speech:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 18 Comments

US trade deal will mean higher drugs bills for NHS

By Duncan Curley | Wed 20th November 2019 - 10:25 am

President Trump is apparently to be told by Boris Johnson that the NHS is “off the table” in any negotiations with the UK Government over trade, but there are other ways in which a trade deal can be exploited by the USA, which will inevitably result in a higher drugs bill for the NHS.  

In February 2019, the USA published its specific negotiating objectives for a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK.  They include the following: “Seek provisions governing intellectual property rights that reflect a standard of protection similar to that found in U.S. law”.  Intellectual property rights were then the subject of the US-UK trade discussions on 25th July 2019 (which are the subject of redacted documents produced after a freedom of information request to the DTI).  In the context of medicines, the USA will therefore no doubt be asking the UK to implement a link (in law) between pharmaceutical patents and the drug regulatory approval process (“patent linkage”), such as the Americans have.  

The US experience shows that patent linkage can seriously delay the time at which cheaper generic drugs enter the market, whilst any patent disputes are resolved.  It is not supported in the European Union and we currently have no such system in the UK.  Bear in mind that a generic drug may be priced at a small fraction of the price of the same drug before generic entry and one gets an approximate flavour of the millions currently saved by the NHS through its use of generic pharmaceuticals.  

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 7 Comments
Chris Howden

A defence of liberalism

By Chris Howden | Wed 20th November 2019 - 8:55 am

“Socialism is the only ideology fit for the working class”

These were the words I was told the day after the 2017 General Election- and to an extent, they were true. For as far as the eye could see across South and West Yorkshire, the only real option voters had was to vote for Labour. ‘My patch’ was nothing more than a patchwork quilt of safe red seats, Trotskyist CLPs, and statist, unambitious, complacent Labour-run councils. As you may have imagined, I rejected this dogma. I saw nothing optimistic about Corbyn’s left-populism and his commitment to the growth of the state, whilst the arrogance of which my local Labour Party machinery had governed these one-party states had instilled in me a great suspicion of their supposed attachment to progressive politics.

Instead, I turned to liberalism. Ambitious, confident liberalism- an ideology that can enrich and empower the lives of all citizens. I’d be lying if I said I could remember the single event that tipped me into this decision, but the quiet dignity and humility of Nick Clegg’s concession speech ensured that days later, I was a signed-up member of the Liberal Democrats. By rejecting Labour’s state-socialism, I was committing myself to the fundamental values of freedom, liberty and democracy which can only ever be found in the Liberal Democrats. I was supporting a party that would stand up for individual rights and freedoms; that would radically transform our unfair, broken politics; that believed in free markets and free trade as a force for good; and that recognised the state can be used as a tool to ensure opportunity for all. Instinctively internationalist and green to its roots, the Liberal Democrats remain the true radicals of British politics, and the only credible alternative to the statism and small ‘c’ conservatism of Labour and the Tories.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 16 Comments
The Voice

£10 billion for schools and 20,000 more teachers is an investment in our children’s future

By The Voice | Wed 20th November 2019 - 8:04 am

Today, the Liberal Democrats will announce plans to spend £10 billion more a year on schools and hire 20,000 more teachers by the end of the next Parliament. This comes ahead of the Liberal Democrat manifesto launch later today.

A Liberal Democrat government will reverse frontline school cuts since 2015 with an emergency cash injection of £4.6 billion next year.

By 2024/25, the party will spend £10.6 billion more on schools than in 2019/20. This is more than the Conservatives have offered in every year of the Parliament.

Liberal Democrats will use this money to boost teaching numbers by 20,000 …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 10 Comments
Mark Valladares

19 November 2019 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 19th November 2019 - 11:35 pm
  • Johnson offers failed knife crime policies
  • Lib Dems respond to Farage comments on local Tory and Brexit Party deals
  • Swinson: ITV debate proves people at home deserve so much better
  • CCHQ’s Twitter factchecking ploy is straight of Putin’s playbook

Johnson offers failed knife crime policies

Responding to Boris Johnson’s announcement on knife crime, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Ed Davey said:

The UK is in the grip of an epidemic of serious violence, and we urgently need real solutions. Instead, all the Tories can offer are the same old failed policies.

These Conservative policies are all about seeming tough on crime, but they won’t actually do anything

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , and | 3 Comments
The Voice

Jo’s ITV interview – the highlights

By The Voice | Tue 19th November 2019 - 11:07 pm

Here are the higlights of Jo’s ITV interview:

On uniting the country by tacking the issues that made Leave voters feel so dissatisfied in the first place:

And on tackling the climate emergency and how the EU helps us:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 53 Comments
The Voice

Jo’s take on the #itvdebate

By The Voice | Tue 19th November 2019 - 9:23 pm

Jo Swinson has taken to Twitter to make her points in the Leaders’ debate from which she has been excluded. A shout out to the people who so quickly cut together excerpts from the debate and clips of Jo putting the alternative view for people to share on social media.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
Rajin Chowdhury

You need to eat lunch and make mistakes

By Rajin Chowdhury | Tue 19th November 2019 - 10:25 am

One of the lessons I try to convey to junior doctors (or in my case and after nearly a decade, more junior junior doctors) is the importance of getting lunch. If it’s 11am, the ward round has finished and you don’t have urgent jobs to do, I don’t care if it’s the morning – go and have your lunch. 

The nature of a hospital is that you never know what is round the corner. If you don’t eat now, you might not eat again until you leave and if it’s busy, that might not be until 7pm. That is bad for you and bad for your patients. It is a dereliction of your duty of care to them. 

It is just over 3 weeks until polling day. You need to ensure you, your candidate, your staff, your volunteers and everybody involved is healthy and not going hungry. It is bad for you and your campaign if you do not eat when you get the chance. It is a dereliction of your duty of care to it.

Imagine turning to current or former healthcare workers, paramedics, firefighters, police officers, members of the armed services, or members of the security services and saying “this is an emergency and lunch can’t wait”, about whatever it is you think can’t wait and imagine their reaction. I have told people their loved ones are not going to leave hospital, attended so many cardiac arrests that I have forgotten most of them, and have had adults and children literally die in my hands. Imagine telling me what you’re about to do is an emergency.

This doesn’t mean the committee room on polling day should turn into a place to have a conversation. It isn’t – go stand outside if you want to just have a chat and stop asking the people who are putting the data in “how’s it going?” (even if you’re the candidate). Let staff and volunteers do their work.

But if you’re a person with authority in the party, your volunteers and staff are going to make mistakes. Perhaps you think the best way to get things done is by shouting at people. Perhaps you don’t think people should be making mistakes. Perhaps you’re working full-time and nobody who works for you has admitted a mistake to you so far. If any of these are true, resign – you are incompetent and have no place in professional politics.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 5 Comments
The Voice

Lib Dems will invest £35 billion and stop Brexit to protect NHS

By The Voice | Tue 19th November 2019 - 7:45 am

The Liberal Democrats have today set out their plans to protect the NHS, by stopping Brexit and investing an extra £35 billion in the health service and social care over the next five years.

The Liberal Democrats would raise £7 billion a year in additional revenue, ring-fenced for the NHS and social care services, by adding a penny on income tax. On top of this, the party has announced a £10 billion capital fund to upgrade equipment, ambulances, hospitals and other NHS buildings to bring them into the 21st Century.

The Liberal Democrats have also set out plans to tackle the severe …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 15 Comments
Mark Valladares

18 November 2019 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 18th November 2019 - 10:45 pm
  • Arcuri interview suggests Johnson abused his position as Mayor
  • Umunna: Repressive scenes in Hong Kong are ‘totally unacceptable’
  • Lib Dems: Leadsom shows Tories have no answers to key questions facing businesses
  • Swinson: Liberal Democrats will scrap business rates

Arcuri interview suggests Johnson abused his position as Mayor

Responding to Jennifer Arcuri’s interview on ITV last night, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture Secretary Layla Moran said:

The evidence is mounting that the Prime Minister, the then mayor of London at the time, absolutely abused his position to forward the business interests of his friend Jennifer Arcuri. This flouts the very rules he was meant to uphold and is

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , and | 2 Comments
The Voice

WATCH: Jo Swinson’s speech to the CBI

By The Voice | Mon 18th November 2019 - 9:00 pm

Courtesy of the Guardian’s You Tube channel.

Jo talked about the Lib Dems being the party of business and set out our strategy:

The speech went down reasonably well. Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI head said afterwards:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 12 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Sal Brinton: Our democracy should not be in the hands of invisible corporate structures

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 18th November 2019 - 7:40 pm

Tonight the Liberal Democrats and SNP lost their court bid for inclusion in the ITV Leaders’ debate tomorrow night.

Sal Brinton was at the Royal Courts of Justice and had this to say afterwards:

The Liberal Democrats’ position in this election and that of our leader is unique: Jo Swinson is the only leader of a national party fighting to stop brexit.

“Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn should not be allowed to sidestep debating the issue of Brexit with someone who wants to remain, and ITV should not give them the opportunity to do so.

“That is why this is an incredibly disappointing verdict. Not just for the Liberal Democrats but also for democracy in this country, and for every remainer who deserves to have a voice in this debate.

“It is worrying that the Ofcom guidance allows TV Executives, not the voters, to decide whether the biggest issues of the day are debated openly in the ITV Debate.

“This campaign is undeniably dominated by Brexit, the single biggest issue for our country, perhaps in the last 75 years.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 22 Comments
Newsmoggie

Election fun: Campaign Trail companions

By Newsmoggie | Mon 18th November 2019 - 1:30 pm

Meet Tigger. He is helping Edinburgh North and Leith’s Elaine Ford write blue envelopes.

A cold, dark Winter election has its bright spots and many of them involve animals.

Alex Cole-Hamilton made a friend while out canvassing too..

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | Leave a comment
The Voice

WATCH: Jo Swinson’s LBC interview with Iain Dale

By The Voice | Mon 18th November 2019 - 11:55 am

Yesterday, Jo Swinson spoke to Iain Dale about the brighter future that the Liberal Democrats are offering to the British people on December 12th.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Jwamer Bakhtiar Mustafa

Many British Kurds will be voting for the Liberal Democrats on 12th December.

By Jwamer Bakhtiar Mustafa | Mon 18th November 2019 - 10:25 am

In recent years British Kurds have been increasingly interested in and attracted to the Liberal Democrat vision for a liberal, tolerant and open society. This trend continues to grow with many reaching out with questions on party policy and how they can help elect a liberal government.

The UK 2011 national census revealed that approximately 48,000 British people had identified themselves as Kurdish under the ethnicity self designation question, although the number of British Kurds is thought to be considerably higher today. Kurds constitute a significant diaspora in the United Kingdom and across the rest of Europe, Kurdish homelands are located in south eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, eastern Iran and northern Syria.

British Kurds have historically been politically active but often through necessity rather than choice, periodically taking to the streets of Europe’s capitals whenever Kurdish lives or rights  were perceived to be under threat in the Middle East. Recent examples include rallies in London, Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris in opposition to the Turkish military offensive against Kurdish administered area Rojava in Syria.

A pivotal factor in garnering support is our clear Lib Dem stance on foreign policy issues, formulated in part by members of Federal International Relations Committee, and the active support of legitimate Kurdish rights by prominent party leaders including the late Lord Ashdown who in 2014 called the UK to “Support the Kurds by all means we can”, and Liberal Democrat MEP Irina Von Wiese who worked on getting a strong EU response to Turkey’s incursion in 2019. This record has been and will continue to be key in winning votes, especially in London where the 2011 census informs us that over 20,000 Kurds reside.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Leave a comment
The Voice

Swinson: The Liberal Democrats are the party of business

By The Voice | Mon 18th November 2019 - 8:22 am

Today (18/11/19), Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson will be making a speech to business leaders at the CBI annual conference. She will be making the case that the Liberal Democrats are the natural party of business.

Jo Swinson is expected to say:

In an interview last week, Carolyn asked who the party of business is today.

The answer is clear. The Liberal Democrats are the natural party of business.

With the Conservatives in the pocket of Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only ones standing up for you.

Because we believe

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 21 Comments
Mark Valladares

18 November 2019 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Mon 18th November 2019 - 7:19 am

Lib Dems respond to campaign groups’ call to ban fracking

Responding to campaign calls from Friends of the Earth and others for the next government to ban fracking, Liberal Democrat Climate Emergency spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said:

Boris Johnson’s Conservatives sold a lie when they announced a ban on fracking. A moratorium is not a ban. The Tories cannot shake off their shocking record on the climate emergency on the eve of an election.

Liberal Democrats are clear that embarking on a whole new front of carbon-based fuels and energy production would do nothing to help meet our climate commitments.

This election gives the

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 3 Comments
Mark Valladares

17 November 2019 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sun 17th November 2019 - 9:00 pm
  • Lib Dems commit £6 billion per year to strengthen welfare system
  • Lib Dems: Unholy alliance signs up to Johnson’s disastrous deal
  • Lib Dems: Tory migration policy panders to Farage
  • Swinson: Clueless Corbyn cannot answer the most basic questions on Brexit
  • Labour pursuing Brexit makes their dentist policy ‘undeliverable’
  • Lib Dems: Tory nurse tax ballooning due to immigration health surcharge rise

Lib Dems commit £6 billion per year to strengthen welfare system

The Liberal Democrats will today (Sunday 17 November) announce bold proposals to invest £6 billion per year to strengthen the welfare system over the next Parliament. This forms part of the party’s ambitious plans to build …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 17 Comments
NewsHound

Jo Swinson says her constituents are proud she’s taking on Boris Johnson

By NewsHound | Sun 17th November 2019 - 1:42 pm

Jo Swinson has given two major press interviews in the past two days – one to Scotland on Sunday talking about her fight to retain her East Dunbartonshire seat and one to The Times (£) which is more about what she and the Liberal Democrats offer nationally – an open hearted, open minded outward-looking liberal country.

In the Times piece, she talks about the unique Lib Dem offer:

The 39-year-old leader of the Liberal Democrats is from a different generation to Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn (16 years younger than the prime minister and 31 years younger than the Labour leader) with a baby and a five-year-old to juggle on the campaign trail while her husband is away on business. She brought a bubble machine and popcorn maker to the Lib Dems’ election launch. “I think I am quite different to the other leaders,” she says. “They’ve all got an outlook which is very much harking back to the past, whether that’s the 1870s or the 1970s, and I’m very focused on the future we build, one that is open-hearted, open-minded, outward-looking, internationalist and liberal.”

And she tackles the issue of this week, which has been attacks from Labour for not standing down in their favour:

For those still in the Labour Party, many are conflicted but ultimately they are standing on a platform to get the hard left and Jeremy Corbyn into No 10 . . . Labour is not a party of Remain.” As for the Brexit Party standing down candidates in Tory-held seats, she says: “It sends a very clear message to moderate One Nation Conservatives about where Boris Johnson is — he is at one with Nigel Farage and there are a lot of Conservative voters who are very unhappy at that.”

She also describes the challenges of returning to work as a minister after maternity leave.

In the Scotland on Sunday piece, she talked about how she was on the side of most people in her East Dunbartonshire seat:

“Both are live issues – and that’s different to 2017 when it was much more about the prospect of an indyref. Now, with where the Brexit process has got to, people are much more concerned about that.

“This is a constituency where around two-thirds of people voted to stay in the UK, and are around three-quarters voted to stay in the EU. It’s very clear that people in East Dunbartonshire want Scotland to stay in the UK and the UK to be in the EU. It’s only the Liberal Democrats that are standing up for that position.”

And when she’s going round the doors, her constituents like her new role as leader:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , and | 8 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Meet your new Federal committee members – internal election results declared

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 17th November 2019 - 10:58 am

Last night, after a long day of hard work by brilliant LDHQ staff, the Federal Committee results were declared.

Party members had been voting for 3 weeks to choose members of the Federal Board, Federal Policy Committee, Federal Conference Committee, Federal International Relations Committee and ALDE Council delegations. Principal councillor reps to Federal Board and Federal Policy Committee, the English rep to the Federal Board and Scottish reps to both Committees were also chosen.

You can see the full results including all the STV tables here.

Those elected were:

Federal Board

Alice Thomas
April Preston
Candy Piercy
Caron Lindsay
Elaine Bagshaw
Gerald Vernon-Jackson
James Gurling
Jo Hayes
Joyce Onstad
Kishan Devani*
Luke Cawley-Harrison
Neil Fawcett
Roisin Miller
Ruby Chow
Simon McGrath

* Note: This candidate was promoted into the list of elected candidates due to gender diversity requirements.

English Rep to Federal Board

Lisa-Maria Bornemann

Scottish Rep to Federal Board

Cllr Kevin Lang

Principal Councillor rep to Federal Board

Cllr Chris White

Federal Policy Committee

Alisdair Calder-McGregor
Alyssa Gilbert
Aria Babu
Belinda Brooks-Gordon
Catherine Royce
Christine Cheng
Duncan Brack
Elizabeth Jewkes
Helen Cross
Jeremy Hargreaves
Mohsin Khan
Richard Cole
Robert Harrison*
Sally Burnell
Tara Copeland
* Note: This candidate was promoted into the list of elected candidates due to gender diversity requirements.

Scottish Rep to Federal Policy Committee

Elinor Anderson

Principal Councillor reps to Federal Policy Committee

Cllr Peter Thornton
Cllr Susan Juned

Federal Conference Committee

Bex Scott
Cara Jenkinson
Chris Adams
Chris Maines
Geoff Payne
Liz Lynne
Joe Otten
John Bridges
Jon Ball
Joe Toovey*
Nick da Costa
Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey
* Note: This candidate was promoted into the list of elected candidates due to ability diversity requirements.

Federal International Relations Committee

Doreen Huddart
Hannah Bettsworth
Jonathan Fryer
Phillipa Leslie-Jones
Phil Bennion
Ruth Coleman Taylor

ALDE Council

Belinda Brooks-Gordon
Hannah Bettsworth
Jonathan Fryer
Joyce Onstad
Merlene Emmerson
Phillip Bennion

Congratulations to everyone who was elected and commiserations to those who missed out this time.

Some quick observations on the results.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged | 24 Comments
Mark Valladares

17 November 2019 – the overnight press release

By Mark Valladares | Sun 17th November 2019 - 7:54 am

Lib Dems begin legal challenge against BBC for Swinson exclusion

The Liberal Democrats have instructed a legal team to write to the BBC in response to the public service broadcaster excluding Jo Swinson from their election ‘leaders’ debate’.

In the letter, the party’s lawyers warn that the exclusion of one of the leaders of the three main UK-wide national parties is “clearly unlawful”.

President of the Liberal Democrats, Sal Brinton, has said “voters of this country deserve to hear from a Remainer on the debate stage, not just from the two men who want to deliver Brexit.”

The Liberal Democrats have …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 17 Comments
Mark Valladares

16 November 2019 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Sat 16th November 2019 - 10:00 pm
  • Lib Dems announce proposals to fix broken immigration system
  • Lib Dems demand internal Tory enquiry amidst electoral fraud allegations
  • Bolton fire shows further action must be taken to ensure building safety

Lib Dems announce proposals to fix broken immigration system

The Liberal Democrats today unveiled their Plan for Immigration and Asylum. The plan sets out the party’s ambitious proposals for a fair, effective immigration system – part of the Liberal Democrats’ broader plan to build a brighter future.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto will outline plans to reform and strengthen our immigration system by:

  • Saving EU free movement and safeguarding the rights of UK and EU

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , and | 3 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Tim
    Hywel - the source of the "Norwegian gas is cleaner than UK gas" is here - https://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/sp-global/two-thirds-of-uk-and-...
  • Jason Connor
    No that was Nick Clegg in full flow on tuition fees....
  • Jason Connor
    I couldn't agree more with the first 3 posts. I heard a figure of 75% of households still use gas. The council stopped installing heat pumps on my estate as the...
  • Hywel
    "According to the regulator’s own figures, pipeline gas from Norway is produced with less than a third of the emissions of Britain’s North Sea output." W...
  • Chloe
    Well said David. There are 20 million gas boilers in the UK & not everyone has a spare few grand to change to heat pumps or have a suitable system that enab...