Wow!
Ross North (Herefordshire) result:
LDEM: 75.1% (+28.0)
CON: 18.7% (-34.1)
LAB: 6.2% (+6.2)Liberal Democrat GAIN from Conservative.
— Britain Elects (@BritainElects) June 6, 2019
Well, it’s technically a postponed election.
Congratulations to Cllr Chris Bartrum and team.
Dan Schmeising is always around with an inspiring graphic.
75 years from D Day, Jo remembered those who took part in the invasion:
On the 75th anniversary of D-Day we honour the courage of all those who fought & sacrificed to liberate Europe. #DDay75 https://t.co/lgzS8Xa5Er
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) June 6, 2019
Jo appeared on Question Time with Rory Stewart last week. Today she questioned him at his first International Development Questions as Secretary of state:
I welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box in his new Cabinet role, and I warmly welcome his clear and genuine commitment to tackling the climate emergency. Does he accept, however, that there is a contradiction between the excellent work that his Department does in helping to mitigate and adapt to the climate emergency in developing countries and the way in which, through UK Export Finance, we continueto subsidise fossil fuels to the tune of billions of pounds? Will he use his leadership in Government, in whatever form, to ensure that he pushes to stop those fossil fuel subsidies?
She had a message of good luck for Beki Sellick:
Ed’s day started with a good luck message to Beki Sellick, Lib Dem candidate in Peterborough:
Best of luck today Beki! @LibDems -get down to the campaign office or make calls from home, it will make all the difference.
We can deliver a brilliant result and stand up to the Brexit Party machine but @BoroLibDems need you! https://t.co/dVXxGDhWYN
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 6, 2019
Phillip Hammond has been complaining about the costs of fighting climate change. Ed says that we can’t afford not to:
Hammond might be trying to reclaim his crown as a fiscal hawk in the dying embers of May’s premiership, but this intervention is wrong headed and threatens our children’s future.
The cost of tackling the climate emergency is massively outweighed by the long term cost of not acting. The Chancellor has got his sums wrong.
The time to act is now. Just this week a new report concluded that 30,000 premature deaths could be avoided by stopping the burning of fossil fuels, proving a clean future is a healthier future.
With ambitious, stable, policies, Britain can have a competitive green economy, benefitting from the lower cost of hi-tech renewable energy.
Ed also welcomed comments form the Speaker that there would be no chance of Parliament being prorogued to force through a no-deal Brexit:
“Churchill?” “Nothing but an old war monger!” Thus spake Lil my great-grandma. Lil was the sort of woman who doesn’t get into history books but the words “doughty” and “feisty” were fashioned just for her.
Even as a six-year old I remember her tutting through all the sentimentality of her 90th birthday and making it perfectly clear that she wasn’t going to bother getting to 91 (she didn’t). When her day came the grim reaper must have been vastly more daunted to meet her than she was to meet him.
Amid all the militarism of the D-Day commemorations it would also be good to remember the wartime mums. Because some of Lil’s bluster and displays of character were surely a result of the awful blow she endured in 1943 when her adored elder son was killed in the war. He was 33.
There were so many like Lil. Jessie Bowles for instance. I live in what was once Jessie’s house. Her son Bert was in the RAF during the war and was killed over Berlin in January 1944. He was 21.
And Mrs Mackenzie, Barbara Mackenzie was my Dad’s landlady when he was stationed in the Highlands during the war. She treated him like a son. Her own son Archie was killed in the aftermath of the Normandy landings. It will be 75 years on June 28th. Archie was just 20.
It’s going to be even more confusing in the next few weeks and months. Last Sunday Philip Hammond stated clearly that it’s no longer practical for the UK to leave the EU on October 31st, given the further delays caused by the pause for a Conservative leadership election. A majority has then to be recreated for some sort of agreement, a bill has to pass through the Commons and the Lords, and preparations for implementation by an over-stretched civil service have to be completed.
Michael Gove has now followed Hammond, suggesting that October 31st may not be a hard and fast deadline. The passion with which other candidates for the Conservative leadership are now pledging that they will produce a rabbit out of the hat and have everything ready in time, come what may, also suggests their anxiety that this is becoming more and more difficult to manage.
You will have noticed wilder suggestions (from Esther McVey, Dominic Raab and others) that Parliament might somehow be bypassed, that a new Prime Minister would use prerogative powers to prorogue Parliament and let the UK leave without an agreement or a legal framework: executive sovereignty overriding parliamentary sovereignty, flatly contradicting the rhetoric of the Leave campaign.
George Monbiot has published an article this week on a report he has co-authored Want to tackle inequality? Then first change our land ownership laws
His opens with a question “ What is the most neglected issue in British politics? I would say land. Literally and metaphorically, land underlies our lives, but its ownership and control have been captured by a tiny number of people. The results include soaring inequality and exclusion; the massive cost of renting or buying a decent home; the collapse of wildlife and ecosystems; repeated financial crises; and the loss of public space. Yet for 70 years this crucial issue has scarcely featured in political discussions.”
He recounts “Since 1995, land values in this country have risen by 412%. Land now accounts for an astonishing 51% of the UK’s net worth. Why? In large part because successive governments have used tax exemptions and other advantages to turn the ground beneath our feet into a speculative money machine.”
“We pay for these distortions every day. Homes have become so expensive not because the price of bricks and mortar has risen, but because the land that underlies them now accounts for 70% of their price. Twenty years ago, the average working family needed to save for three years to afford a deposit. Today, it must save for 19 years. Life is even worse for renters. ”
Monbiot writes “A Labour government should replace council tax with a progressive property tax, payable by owners, not tenants. Empty homes should automatically be taxed at a higher rate. Inheritance tax should be replaced with a lifetime gifts tax levied on the recipient. Capital gains tax on second homes and investment properties should match or exceed the rates of income tax. Business rates should be replaced with a land value tax, based on rental value.”
Peterborough makes history today. It’s the first parliamentary constituency to hold a by-election following the successful recall of an MP.
Lib Dem candidate Beki Sellick has been working hard. People who have been to Peterborough have said what a brilliant candidate she is and how you can’t walk down the street without loads of people stopping her because she has such a high profile there.
She talked about her plan for Peterborough in an interview with the Parliamentary Review:
Sellick’s plan is based around three key areas: the economy, the environment and public services. As a business owner herself, working as a sustainable transport engineer, she sees these three issues to be linked.
Identifying Peterborough’s economic growth, she warned of the low skilled nature of many new jobs and their risk of being automated. To combat this, she stated that “a priority will be building up Peterborough’s economy and skills, supported by the independent university.”
The second key priority is the environment, particularly focusing on congestion and air quality. By reducing congestion, she hopes to improve transport, health and sustainability in one.
The City of Portsmouth hosted world leaders for today’s D-Day commemoration.
Its Lib Dem Council Leader, Gerald Vernon-Jackson, captured the solemnity of the occasion.
.@geraldvjuk on #DDay75 at #SouthseaCommon. He says it's all about the courage of the veterans still with us, and the sacrifice of those fallen: pic.twitter.com/Mi3AS5hHhf
— The News, Portsmouth (@portsmouthnews) June 5, 2019
But he found time to invoke the jealousy of 100,000 Lib Dem members by grabbing a selfie with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Ed’s day started in Surbiton, at a business breakfast with London Mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita.
Stimulating business breakfast in Surbiton with @SiobhanBenita & 30 local firms
Great ideas for vision for Kingston’s economy: creative industries, flexible workspaces & better transport
Strong voices to #StopBrexit, to support the Rose Theatre & for more affordable housing pic.twitter.com/wLBXGWbbur
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 5, 2019
He commented on the D-Day anniversary:
I cannot imagine how those young soldiers felt disembarking onto those beaches, often under fire. Their courage and sacrifice is our freedom.
We must remember them and never take peace and liberty for granted. And never allow national populism and fascism to win. #DDay75 pic.twitter.com/izrbVVixdO
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 5, 2019
Then he, too, was off to Peterborough to see by-election candidate Beki Sellick ahead of tomorrow’s poll.
Fab to be in Peterborough on eve of poll with our brilliant candidate @LibdemBeki – celebrating #WorldEnvironmentDay2019
@LibDems #StopBrexit message switching the remain vote to Beki – she would be a fantastic MP! pic.twitter.com/idEr4Ljh5m
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 5, 2019
And, on World Environment Day, he commented on a Treasury Select Committee report about decarbonisation.
Today is World Environment Day and Jo welcomed the Waitrose plan to reduce packaging, something she has long campaigned for.
I've been advocating for reducing plastic packaging in our supermarkets for over a decade.
This is an exciting move by @waitrose, showing business can be part of the solution for our biggest challenges.#WorldEnvironmentDay https://t.co/bvggi3ky1F
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) June 5, 2019
Then it was on to Peterborough to help by-election candidate Beki Sellick.
Fantastic to chat to @LibdemBeki about her campaign in Peterborough. She’s a fantastic community activist who is standing to help the @LibDems #StopBrexit. So if you can get along tomorrow, go and help! pic.twitter.com/3HUDIm9tJu
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) June 5, 2019
And in a video recorded at the Trump protest yesterday, she described Boris Johnson as what would have happened if Donald Trump had went to Eton.
We are running three separate training events – for campaigners, councillors and Connect-users – across the weekend of 28-30 June in Staffordshire. We close our bookings in a week’s time (Tuesday 11 June), so please book now if you intend to come.
Summer Kickstart Weekend
Come along and bring a team if you’re serious about winning in 2020 – or you’re planning future election success in 2021 or beyond. The weekend caters for everyone; whatever your role in a campaign, and regardless of your experience. You’ll get tailored, professional advice; training and bespoke mentoring for your team from experienced campaigners and councillors. You’ll improve your campaigning skills and leave with a well-developed campaign plan ready for your next set of elections.
Councillors’ Weekend
The weekend is organised in partnership with the LGA Lib Dem Group and is packed full of sessions to improve your skills in your important roles as a councillor and campaigner. It’s for councillors new and old alike; council groups and individuals.
This year is the 75th anniversary of the D Day landings and we are seeing a lot of media coverage of this important historical event.
When I think of D Day I think of my Grandfather Denis Warwick who was 25 years old at the outbreak of WW2 and underwent surgery in order to be fit for military service. He was a private in the 6th Airborne Division of the Parachute Regiment, took part in the D Day landings, went on to fight in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge and ended his war in Germany. Returning from service with a war wound in his left knee (an injury that troubled him for the rest of his life) he supported his family as a coal delivery driver and then as a building labourer; he died from a heart attack aged 62.
If you had still had any illusions that our NHS would survive Brexit, these will have been dispelled by the statement of Trump’s ambassador that, “The US will want business access to the NHS in any trade deal”. Indeed, some have speculated that access to the NHS, along with the rest of the economy, is the real reason behind Trump’s visit.
This should come as no surprise, for the “Stronger In” campaign always warned that the country could have Brexit or the NHS, but not both.
The NHS has long been admired by many Americans for its efficiency compared to their own expensive system, at the same time as our own politicians paradoxically sought to emulate the US model by introducing market forces and business practices.
The problem posed by copying Trump’s way of doing things is that we risk losing the close cooperation with Europe that has brought us so much success. A huge threat to both the staffing of the health service and Britain’s leading role in research, is the abolition of free movement. Free movement has been the catalyst for medical advance, enabling the sharing of experience and knowledge as researchers move seamlessly between countries. And on hospital wards all over the country, skilled nurses from many European countries have played a vital role.
Air pollution is a big deal in Braunton, North Devon, where a traffic bottleneck (the only way to get to one of the country’s most beautiful beaches) causes terrible air quality problems. So I was pleased to see that today we are tabling legislation to tackle one aspect of air pollution.
Today is World Environment Day, a UN sponsored day where communities around the world are encouraged to #BeatAirPollution. The campaign is drawing attention to all types of air pollution, including household and industrial forms of pollution, air pollution as a result of agriculture practices and waste disposal, and transport pollution.
Wera Hobhouse MP, our Liberal Democrat Climate Change, is tabling a bill to give local authorities more powers to issue fines to idling vehicles. The Vehicle Emissions (Idling Penalties) Bill is a bill
to increase penalties for stationary vehicle idling offences; to grant local authorities increased powers to issue such penalties; and for connected purposes.
It was obvious before the election that there was trouble in the Change UK camp. The extraordinary interview Heidi Allen gave to Channel 4 News on tactical voting where she admitted she had offered to resign showed the tensions.
Last week, I was hearing rumours of an impending major split, with six leaving and five staying.
This is what happened today. We learned that Anna Soubry will lead the remaining five while Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston, Luciana Berger, Angela Smith, Gavin Shuker and Chuka Umunna are going to sit as independents.
There’s been some discussion on whether some or all of the breakaway will eventually come to the Lib Dems, and do we want them?
My view is that we need to work with others to achieve our liberal goals, but we need to be wise to the idea that some might be trying to undermine us and protect ourselves accordingly.
At Conference in York, I spoke against the proposals that would have given registered supporters a vote for leader. I think I was right to. It was a process rabbit hole and, actually, in the European elections, we saw what a pithy message could do for our performance.
Choose vision, not process, I said. That’s how you build a movement. And I think I’ve been proved right since.
But I’m very aware that we need to check ourselves if we get too tribal.
Let’s be welcoming to others who might want to join us. People like Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston are not a million miles away from us. I know that the pitch battles in Liverpool between us and Labour have been pretty bitter, but Luciana Berger is a decent MP we could work with. And we could happily vote down Chuka’s proposals for national service at Conference while agreeing with him on a whole lot of other stuff. These are good people.
One of the best things I saw today was a twitter thread by the ever-wise Alex Wilcock, who suggested that being in a liberal party might free people up to be more liberal. I smiled when he mentioned Bob Maclennan as someone who surprised him with his liberalism. Bob had been a Labour MP who had joined the SDP, yet he was a passionate liberal. Bob was the first MP I ever really knew and his crucial first election as a member of the SDP in 1983 was the first I ever worked on.
Go and read this whole thread.
ICYMI: Why & how Liberal Democrats should welcome defectors (even with some crappy views) but also be bolder.
Featuring ugly ducklings, children raised by wolves and my favourite ex-SDP MP.I’m not wholly sure I’m right, but I’m thinking out loud… https://t.co/ioUEow58RZ
— Alex Wilcock 🔶 🏳️🌈 (@alexwilcock) June 4, 2019
Alex remembered the times in the 90s when people joined us because we were where they were at on Europe.
It was a busy day for Jo too.
She was on the anti-Trump front line.
Trump’s state visit is an embarrassment. He's a danger to peace and a danger to our planet. He is the antithesis of everything we believe as @LibDems. Today we protest to stand up for all the people he's demeaned, and to show there is a positive, liberal alternative #TrumpProtest pic.twitter.com/b4oVFrnZQo
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) June 4, 2019
As business minister, Jo introduced the scheme which saw employers who didn’t pay the minimum wage named and shamed. No surprise, then, that the Government is now trying to water it down.
She tackled the Minister during an Urgent Question on the matter in the Commons:
Naming and shaming employers who fail to pay even the basic minimum is one of the strongest ways that society can send a message that such behaviour is unacceptable. The Minister talks about the impact on employers of being named, but I am more concerned about the impact on workers who are underpaid—some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Whether it is deliberate or otherwise, they feel that impact. I recall the opposition that I had to face from the Minister’s Conservative colleagues when I was in her role and introduced this scheme. Will she give the House an assurance today that the review will include no watering down of the scheme to let employers off the hook, and will she name the date when the next round of naming will happen?
Then this evening a keynote speech on the future of Liberal Democracy at The Convention, an event highlighting the threat of social media and dark money to our democracy.
Jo’s speech is at 31:45 in.
After a relative lull yesterday, Ed had a bit of a whirlwind of a day.
He joined other Lib Dems in protesting Trump and wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post explaining why.
Trump has insulted the mayor of the capital hosting him, insulted the Duchess of Sussex just days before being hosted by the Queen, and insulted thousands of people working in the NHS by telling his ambassador to demand that American companies must be able to win contracts to run our hospitals. There is much I admire about America, but its health system isn’t one of them.
I marched against Brexit and now I will march against the same politics of division that President Trump personifies.
Our so-called government might be prepared to roll out the red carpet in a desperate attempt to curry favour with a president who’s willing to rip up international progress on the climate crisis, roll back women’s rights and demonise migrants. But for a Tory Party that prided itself on its royalism, it clearly doesn’t care that it has forced the Queen to host one of her most awkward visitors since Nicolae Ceausescu.
Then he challenged the Government on failure to make good its promise on the Dubs Amendment to take unaccompanied refugee children.
It is good to hear the Minister accept that the best way to prevent refugees from taking these dangerous crossings is to provide safe, legal routes to sanctuary for those fleeing persecution. Going back to the Dubs amendment, the Government promised two years ago to provide a scheme for 480 unaccompanied refugee children. When will that promise be delivered?
And he wished everyone Eid Mubarak
#EidMubarak! I hope it brings hopefulness, well-being and happiness to everyone celebrating
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 4, 2019
And chaired the board of an environmental organisation
Chairing Board @F4F_Network now.
Fit for the Future is an environmental sustainability network with over 100 charities, heritage organisations & public sector organisations that I’ve chaired for 3 years
Action on climate change is our mission – see https://t.co/XbU80nTAxF pic.twitter.com/lEB2MOm2lp
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 4, 2019
And when the ChUK’s fell apart he said:
As always, my admiration knows no bounds for those who manage to cope with the Ramadan fast during the long northern days of Summer.
I hope that everyone celebrating Eid today has happiness and peace.
Vince Cable gave his last Eid message:
#EidMubarak to Muslims across Britain today celebrating the end of Ramadan. pic.twitter.com/qaFiiEtG4B
— Vince Cable (@vincecable) June 4, 2019
And over on the Lib Dem website, Humaira Ali wrote about Islam as a liberal religion:
From The Guardian:
Six of Change UK’s 11 MPs, including its spokesman, Chuka Umunna, and interim leader Heidi Allen, have abandoned the fledgling party after its dire performance at the European elections.
Change UK issued a press release saying it now had just five MPs, who will be led by the former Conservative business minister and anti-Brexit campaigner Anna Soubry.
Going to a Lib Dem event and wondering what to wear?
Want to show which leadership candidate you are supporting?
Well, the people who brought you the Bollocks to Brexit t-shirts have brought out a new range for the leadership campaigns.
You can buy your Team Jo and/or Team Ed t-shirts in a range of colours and sizes here. I should probably point out that these are unofficial and not merchandise of either campaign.
Jennie Rigg, who designs most of the t-shirts on behalf of the Awkward Squad writes here about how any profits go to LGBT+ Lib Dems to fund Pride packages.
This will help to build our presence at the growing number of Pride events across the country. I absolutely love Pride. And I am kind of thrilled that the all day meeting in London I had on the day of Pride in Edinburgh has been cancelled. Nor do I have to work, like I had to last year, so I can immerse myself in the colourful, joyful events. Liberal Democrats have been at the forefront of LGBT+ rights for so long and it’s fantastic that both leadership candidates are enthusiastic supporters.
Kishan Devani joined the Liberal Democrats from the Conservatives 18 month sago and has since become a Vice President of the LIb Dem Campaign for Racial Equality. He wrote for Asian Lite International about the fantastic results in the recent local and European elections.
Remain voters have surged to overtake anti-Brexit parties in the European elections in the UK last week, with us the Liberal Democrats achieving our best results ever! This is clearly an endorsement of our ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ & ‘Stop Brexit’ message. It is now evident that the British people want to end this madness & shambles of a process – putting an end to this entire undeliverable fantasy.
We came 1st in London and topped the poll in a number of councils where the Labour Party had won in the last European Parliament elections in 2014.
Our party which is unashamedly campaigning to cancel our exit from the European Union, came into the elections with just one representative in the European Parliament – we now have 16!
We also topped the polls in Remain-voting areas in the south east which we are targeting for the next general election, like Kingston upon Thames, Richmond Upon Thames, St Albans, Cambridge, Oxford, and Cheltenham.
Kishan says we are back in business
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I’m proud of Vince for not going to the State Banquet in honour of Donald Trump tonight. I am horrified that the biggest welcome our country has is being given to this racist misogynist who has the absolute nerve to slag off London’s mayor as he comes in to land. Trump is an utterly graceless individual.
Vince Cable set out why he opposes Trump’s visit in an interview with BBC News.
After a frenetic weekend, it’s been a quieter day for our two leadership candidates.
Like Jo, Ed had something to say about our unwelcome house guest.
.@realDonaldTrump‘s personal insults to the Mayor of London demonstrate his contempt for us.
I’ll proudly protest tomorrow alongside thousands of others who reject Trump’s politics of hate & division and want to keep his hands off our #NHS. #trumpukvisit https://t.co/swynHYLQRT
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 3, 2019
And he visited a local children’s cancer charity.
Great meeting with Momentum – no, not that lot – it’s a fabulous local charity helping children with cancer, and their families @MomentumCharity – check out https://t.co/PLz3hwenZM pic.twitter.com/Xv5lD3Ncgu
— Ed Davey (@EdwardJDavey) June 3, 2019
Check out Ed’s website for updates.
For both our leadership candidates, today has been relatively quiet after a frenetic weekend.
But there was a common theme in their tweets:
In one tweet, Donald Trump shows why he doesn’t deserve a state visit. Offensive, abusive and undiplomatic. Remind me why we’re rolling out the red carpet for him? https://t.co/eB8oXA7Wvm
— Jo Swinson (@joswinson) June 3, 2019
Big, radical messaging works and when we do it, we win.
That’s the message we should all be taking away from our stunning successes in recent weeks, where saying “bollocks to Brexit” and focusing on the result we want rather than on process and detail has won us MEPs in numbers we could never have dreamed of in January, including an amazing two wins in my own North West seat.
This didn’t happen by accident though. Many of us within the party have been campaigning for the clearest possible anti-Brexit line since 2016, and helped get policy and message in the place …
Like many Lib Dems I have been more than a little disappointed with Change UK. Their launch was poorly executed; their decision to fight the EU elections ill thought out; their battle bus so badly designed that even I could have done better.
Perhaps most wounding of all was their leaked memo which showed that their number one priority was to get rid of us by pinching our members; PPCs; councillors; donors and votes. That was so naïve. It was never likely to happen and certainly will never happen give our surge in members; MEPs and votes.
The response from most Lib …
The little known story of the Chagos Islanders is one of the worst crimes in recent British history.
The Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, were first settled by the French in the eighteenth century, originally with slave labour to work on coconut plantations. They were governed by France from Mauritius. Mauritius became a British colony at the end of the Napoleonic wars, along with its distant Chagos Islands dependency a thousand miles further east.
By the 1960s, when Mauritius was approaching independence, there were about 2000 Chagos …
There will be those of our readers who have made a decision in favour of #EdForLeader or #JoinJo, but for many, especially the newer ones, they may still be deciding. Here’s one member’s criteria for making his mind up, which may give you some more things to think about…
So we are to have a contested Leadership election this time. Given that both (at the time of writing) declared Candidates come from similar parts of the party and there is not much to choose between them on major policy issues (and that in our Party Policy is not the sole preserve …
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To paraphrase Shakespeare’ ‘something is rotten in the state of Britain’ (Judy Abel)
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Observations of an Expat An Iranian Who’s Who (Tom Arms)
The Independent View: Are mutuals the answer to the water crisis? (People's Commission on the Water Sector)
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