ALDC

ALDC by-election report – 25 October 2018

By ALDC | Fri 26th October 2018 - 2:37 pm

11 by-elections took place last night with 10 Lib Dem candidates standing. A great night saw 3 Lib Dem gains in marginal seats, and some very closely run battles in others.

Mendip DC, Wells St. Thomas – LD Gain from Con
LD Tom Ronan 594
Con 493
Lab 131
]

Wells City Council, Wells St. Thomas – LD Gain from Con
LD Caroline McKinnell 605
Con 489
Lab 128
]
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A great night in Wells saw 2 fabulous gains for the Lib Dems from the Conservatives. In the Mendip District Council election, Tom Ronan and the …

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John Pugh

Tribal politics and liberalism – the fight to the death

By John Pugh | Fri 26th October 2018 - 12:30 pm

I have a slightly irrational aversion to holding up diamonds, wearing rosettes and beginning sentences with the phrase “Only the Liberal Democrats”. In fact I canvass now with a badge I had made which says on it against a yellow background “Bloody Politicians”. 

I really,really do get the importance of branding etc but I do think that the future of Liberalism depends on the death of tribal politics.

We are living in strange times where political discourse is often reduced to the exchange of insults, declaration of tribal belief and parodying of alternative perspectives. As Nick Robinson tweeted<

Much but not all of this is done through social media. Political debate ,as opposed to the political exchange of fire, is harder now to engage in. Voters are increasingly endorsing populist-right and left- politicians who offer simple solutions, ignore complexity and play successfully on emotions and fears.

Polarised politics though has certain key definable features we need to understand and as importantly worry about emulating.

It characterises political opposition in terms of a moral gulf. Those who back a different position are knaves, fools or both. They are not just people who have arrived at a different opinion. There can be no dalliance with the enemy not just because they are wrong but because they are necessarily evil. So we have the coarsening of political discourse, mindless abuse of opponents etc 

A second key characteristic is to deny or minimise the possibility of shared truths between political opponents. One side has to have got all the facts right and the other side all the facts wrong.Intelligence is only ever used by opponents to mislead and confound. 

These two key characteristics act to reinforce each other. It cannot possibly be the case that one’s political opponents have looked at the same facts one sees and arrived at different conclusions, possibly sharing some similar core values to oneself. That’s a liberal mirage.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an ex pat: Enemies of the people

By Tom Arms | Fri 26th October 2018 - 8:45 am

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is not an isolated incident. It is part of a worldwide concerted effort by criminals threatened by exposure; power-hungry politicians frightened of truth and criticism and ideologues seeking to manipulate public opinion.

Khashoggi hit the headlines because he was murdered by agents of one of the world’s most oppressive regimes which is also supported by countries who claim freedom of speech as a bedrock of their system of government.

A total of 46 journalists around the world were killed in 2017. Two thirds were murder victims. More than 2,500 have been killed since 1990. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 262 journalists languished in the world’s prisons at the end of 2017. Turkey—whose president is taking the lead in condemning Saudi Arabia—leads the pack with 73 journalists behind bars.

We tend to think of freedom of speech as a product of the Age of Enlightenment. Yes and no.  It was a key element in The Golden Age of Athens and was enshrined in Roman law. In common with most laws and freedoms, freedom of speech dwindled to the point of extinction in the Middle Ages. It was revived in the 17th century. Leading the way was English poet, philosopher and statesman John Milton who passionately argued for the right to seek information and ideas, receive information and ideas and impart information and ideas.

By 1689 Freedom of Speech was enshrined in the English Bill of Rights. It was the First Amendment in the US constitution along with freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly and the freedom to petition the government. Freedom of Speech was declared an inalienable right in the French Revolution’s Rights of Man. The protection of free speech can be found in almost every written constitution as well as in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and EU Law.

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Mark Valladares

Joint statement from Lib Dems, Green Party, SNP and Plaid Cymru on Barnier meeting

By Mark Valladares | Thu 25th October 2018 - 10:00 pm

Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable and leading figures from opposition parties met Michel Barnier at the European Commission’s Berlaymont building headquarters in Brussels today.

The Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Greens are working together, alongside rebels from Labour and the Conservatives, to fight Brexit. Vince Cable pressed Barnier on the need for the EU to make contingency plans for a People’s Vote and to protect EU and UK citizens rights in the event of a no deal Brexit.

The other attendees were SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford, Plaid Cymru Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts, and Molly Scott Cato, the …

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Mark Valladares

25 October 2018 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 25th October 2018 - 9:46 pm

Yesterday, we received a lot of press releases with an embargo upon them until after midnight, so it’s a bumper bunch today…

Leading figures from opposition parties will meet Michel Barnier in Brussels today to say the UK must remain within the Single Market and the Customs Union.

The campaign to resolve Brexit through a People’s Vote will also be discussed. The Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens have all said they would support the public to have the final say on any Brexit deal in a vote in the House of Commons.

Last weekend saw …

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Paul Walter

House of Lords questions: Young mental health, the post-Brexit Promised Land and the interloper in the dining room

By Paul Walter | Thu 25th October 2018 - 4:25 pm

Embed from Getty Images

House of Lords “Oral questions” don’t get a lot of publicity. However, they happen every weekday when the House is in session. All the seats tend to be full – most of the peers are “on parade”. Some pithy debates do take place.

It is very easy to dismiss the House of Lords but it is one half of our bicameral parliamentary system and has a lot of influence. There is a form of civility in the Lords which does not come over in the Commons during its more active sessions (e.g. PMQs). There is reasonably intelligent debate and some passion. There is also collegiate teamwork. There is very little intervention from the Lord Speaker.

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John King

The changing will of the people

By John King | Thu 25th October 2018 - 2:55 pm

Nothing could be simpler than changing your Will. You simply alter it to take account of a new situation, including your new grandchildren perhaps, and it’s done. Nobody objects that you have betrayed your first Will by making another, and if they did, you would think it mighty strange.

Not so with the will of the people. The decision of 2016, corrupted and flawed though it certainly was, must stand forever, or for at least 20 years in Nigel Farage’s opinion. Why should that be? After all, it was only supposed to be an advisory result to be considered by parliament. Primarily because David Cameron promised that whatever the people decided, the government would carry out. And that promise rapidly attained the force of a biblical commandment, to be implemented come hell or high water. 

A second Brexit referendum will not be sanctioned “under any circumstances” insists Theresa May, because the 2016 decision was sacrosanct: any deviance is betrayal. 

Underlying this apparently high minded devotion to democracy one senses a certain punitive element, like the strict parent who says “I told you once, and I’m not telling you again”. Across the channel, the translation is more like “The Brits have made their bed, and now they must lie on it”.

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Caron Lindsay

In full: Vince Cable’s speech on universal credit – how the Lib Dems would tackle poverty

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 25th October 2018 - 1:30 pm

Yesterday Vince Cable gave a speech on tackling poverty to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. He addressed the growing poverty faced by working families and called for changes to Universal Credit – including putting back the £3 billion a year that George Osborne took out with indecent haste the minute we Lib Dems were out of the picture.

He said that the principles behind UC were right, but the implementation was wrong and called for its rollout to be halted until the problems were fixed.

Universal Credit hits Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen at the end of November. This means that thousands of people face a miserable Christmas as the first payments will be made (or not) the week before the holidays.To put people in the position where they can’t afford to pay their rent, heat their homes or put food on the table at the coldest time of the year is cruel.

Vince addressed the issue of a Universal Basic Income. He is sceptical although he can see the attractions. This is something I really want to believe in as so many people that I normally agree with are big fans of the idea. My worry is that it might entrench other forms of inequality as it doesn’t take into account needs of sick and disabled people and couldn’t be set at a high enough level to properly get everyone out of poverty. If someone can show me how that can be done, then I’d be really open to it.

Anyway, here is Vince’s speech in full:

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Catherine Bearder

Catherine Bearder MEP writes…Government misses opportunities on wildlife

By Catherine Bearder | Thu 25th October 2018 - 11:55 am

Last week I attend the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference (IWT) in London. The optics were every bit as impressive as you would imagine for such an occasion. In attendance, there was a star-studded line-up of celebrities such as Ben Fogle and Nicky Campbell, UK cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove, African presidents and even the Duke of Cambridge himself. It felt like the grand opening for the international fight back against wildlife crime and was a great marker for real action on this criminal activity.

The flagship policy launched at the conference was the ‘Ivory Alliance 2024’, which will link the UK with international partners to introduce domestic ivory bans globally by the end of 2020.  Again, the list of partners is really quite impressive: The Prime Minister of New Zealand, MPs from Hong Kong and the Philippines, and a Tourism Minister from Uganda. The UK is absolutely right to work with a range of different international actors, but there was something lacking, something so obvious: the European Union. 

Where was the French Government who just introduced one of the toughest ivory bans on the planet? Where was Europol who have been providing cutting-edge police intelligence to help national police forces catch wildlife traffickers? Where was the European Commission to explain how Member States are progressing with the 2015 EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking?  This plan not only addresses the crimes in Europe, but also works with countries across the world to take real action in the fight to protect biodiversity. This deliberate sidelining of the EU’s work on wildlife trafficking is very counterproductive. Surely, if we are to win this fight, we need to work collaboratively with partners, a point that was made in numerous sessions at the conference.  

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Christian de Vartavan

Parliament must restore national unity

By Christian de Vartavan | Thu 25th October 2018 - 8:55 am

700,000+ marched Saturday in London to ask for a second vote concerning Brexit. They marched for many more who could not come. How many is a guess but probably several million. The nation is hence divided and it is the duty of the government, if not most likely Her Majesty’s wish, for the UK to recover national unity. Every learned politician knows of its importance and what history shows to happen sooner or later when there is a lack of it.

Independently of its prospects, positive or negative, a consensus for Brexit is required before proceeding, as the project now shows itself offering dangers greater than the economic arguments at its origin. A programme not only putting civic peace at risk but now even threatening the very unity of the Kingdom.

The problem is that Mrs May’s cabinet is more interested in implementing a divisive Brexit than preserving national unity. It hence falls logically to Parliament to walk in and seek it.

Parliament is sovereign and could declare that it is in the supreme interest of national sovereignty and unity that Brexit be abandoned. With the position of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to consider Scottish independence if the UK would leave the European Union or the statement of some Irish politicians that Ireland would unite under the same circumstances, I have asked myself if Brexit could now be anticonstitutional as threatening territorial integrity and hence national security.

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Layla Moran MP

Layla Moran MP writes…From Belfast with love

By Layla Moran MP | Thu 25th October 2018 - 6:58 am

I’m not an expert on Northern Irish politics. In fact, until a few weeks ago I’d never been to the province.

But when I was asked a few months ago if I would sponsor a cross-party Bill in Westminster that would introduce the right for same-sex couples in Northern Ireland to get married it was a no-brainer.

As debates rage over Brexit, the border and the backstop we hear that the Government’s confidence and supply the partners, the DUP, don’t want Northern Ireland to be treated differently to the rest of the UK.

But when it comes to LGBT+ rights Northern Ireland is years behind England, Scotland, Wales and, now, the Republic of Ireland too.

Of course, people originally from Northern Ireland who now live in my Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and across Great Britain can marry the person they love here – but if that person is someone of the same sex then when they step off the plane in Belfast their marriage isn’t recognised.

When I visited Belfast recently, I met with Amnesty International NI, representatives from the LGBT branch of the cross-community Alliance Party and with campaigners from Here NI and The Rainbow Project. We discussed the campaign for love equality for people in Northern Ireland and what MPs in Westminster could and should be doing.

For me, the biggest take-away from these meetings was the intense feeling of frustration. As they see friends and family members in the Republic of Ireland and across the water getting married and being treated as equals, progress in Northern Ireland is non-existent.

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Mark Valladares

24 October 2018 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 24th October 2018 - 8:00 pm

Back to something resembling normal today…

Cable: UC’s practical problems are being ignored, creating real hardship

In a pre-Budget speech to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation this morning, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable will call for a series of reforms to Universal Credit.

These include the reversal of cuts to the work allowance, worth around £3bn a year, and ending the benefits freeze a year early.

Vince Cable is expected to say:

The problems stem from conflicting objectives: providing minimum family income; providing incentives to work; simplification; and saving money. Simplification, saving money and work incentives have taken precedence over the first, crucial,

…

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Trevor Andrews

Woolly Hat Lib Dem or Not

By Trevor Andrews | Wed 24th October 2018 - 4:00 pm

I am what you might call an armchair Lib Dem. Rather like most football fans in this country. So far, I have not attended a local match let alone a national one. Although this year I did put the Brighton Conference in my diary, house selling, family and friends, the Boat Show and my other writing took precedence.

On a positive note, my left hand has signed many cheques, and my right hand has pressed the carriage return key on many Lib Dem pages and surveys. It also sent an email to my local Chair apologising for not being able to attend the one local meeting I had planned, due to a bad cold.

However, am I not the mass of people the recent consultancy paper is aimed at!

So why have I not managed to get out of my armchair?

Well, it’s for two key reasons. I have been busy sailing my boat to the Mediterranean and writing books and blogs, so I have not been around at the right time. However, I think my motivation has not been 100%, and I am still not sure the Lib Dems reflect my beliefs.

My schoolmate of 60 plus years says I have grown into a woolly hat liberal.

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ALDC

2019: The ALDC Year of MORE

By ALDC | Wed 24th October 2018 - 2:45 pm

There are over 8,000 wards to fight in the 2019 local elections and we have the potential to make a lot of gains.

To help us make Thursday 2 May 2019 a resounding success we have set up a campaign – 2019: The ALDC year of MORE. We have four aims:

  1. More campaigners
  2. More candidates
  3. More councillors
  4. More councils

To wake up on Friday 3 May to a great set of results, as a Party, we need to be actively campaigning now.

We have a section on our website where we’ve been listing things that campaigners should be doing throughout the autumn. These …

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Tahir Maher

Theresa May – Austerity is Over

By Tahir Maher | Wed 24th October 2018 - 12:30 pm

Austerity wasn’t because of economic necessity but a political choice. The economic argument was that if you save your money/reduce your spend, you can clear your debt otherwise we were told we would end up like Greece. This view was accepted by Osborne resulting in this long period of austerity. It should be noted that in 2012 a report by IMF said that austerity had been a mistake. A better approach would have been to reflate the economy which would have left it in a better place to pay off the deficit. The report also said that the UK couldn’t end up like Greece because the debt was in its currency. The UK could raise loans through UK bonds (the problem with Greece is that they are in the Eurozone and share their currency with a number of countries, but there isn’t a euro bond. Each of the Eurozone countries still uses their own market to raise loans from bonds. External institutions who want to buy eurozone currency bonds are attracted to countries like Germany (although the interest rates are very low) while Greece has to significantly increase their interest rates to attract investors to buy their bonds, although it’s for the same currency.  The consequence of this is that Greece has youth unemployment near 50 per cent and Germany has youth unemployment close to 3 per cent because the bonds have to be serviced and interest paid on them).

This has been the most prolonged period of austerity post-war. The UK’s deficit peaked at 10% of GDP and Osborne in 2010 unveiled cuts of  £110 billions of fiscal cuts – public service cuts and tax increases (VAT). It wasn’t wholly a success as growth stagnated and unemployment rose. The Bank of England couldn’t reduce interest rates any further to stimulate the economy. Austerity measures did what austerity does, it contracted the economy, and this was the choice accepted by Osborne.

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Flo Clucas

Women and Equalities Committee report on sexual harassment of women and girls

By Flo Clucas | Wed 24th October 2018 - 10:30 am

Three cheers for the Women and Equalities Committee report on sexual harassment of women and girls. Action must follow at least along the lines suggested by them.

In the 21st century, it cannot be right that as a society we fail to act to control behaviours that are unacceptable because of the fear, anxiety and restriction they place on others. Yobbish, bullying and intimidator behaviour, whether in the House of Commons or in the street should not be tolerated.

The report proposes a range of measures that the Committee believes will begin to address the problem, with seven key recommendations:

  • Force train and bus operators to take tougher action against sexual harassment and block the viewing of pornography on public transport;
  • Ban all non-consensual sharing of intimate images;
  • Publish a new “Violence Against Women and Girls” strategy;
  • Create a public campaign to change attitudes;
  • Take an evidence-based approach to address the harms of pornography, along the lines of road safety or anti-smoking campaigns;
  • Tougher laws to ensure pub landlords act on sexual harassment – and make local authorities consult women’s groups before licensing strip clubs;
  • Make it a legal obligation for universities to have policies outlawing sexual harassment;

It says something about our society that this type of action is seen to be necessary. The question is, does it go far enough?

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Tahir Maher

London Brexit March Voice of the People – Heard

By Tahir Maher | Wed 24th October 2018 - 7:30 am

Brexit March in LondonI remember before the Sunderland result on the night of 23rd June 2016 (Brexit referendum) Nigel Farage was being interviewed, and he thought Leavers had lost. During the interview, he stated that because the results were so close and even though his side had lost he would continue to call for another referendum to leave the EU.  Ever since our entry into the EU in 1973 there have been increasing calls from Tories (in the main) to leave the EU regardless of election manifesto’s and commitments from party leaders to stay in the EU. What gets me is the mantra of the Leavers who repeatedly say that they won the referendum, the people have spoken, and now we have no right to dispute the will of the people. They forget their hypnotical stand, when they stood against the will of the people, on the issue over the decades.

On Saturday the will of the people was on display (see photo above right). Leavers had a march, on Saturday, where at best about a 1000 people attended, on the same day Remainers had a demonstration in London where about 700,000 people participated from all parties and people from all walks of life.

So, what are the facts at the moment and why did so many people come out on a march. The simple answer is that Brexit negotiations are a shamble. After the failure of Theresa May to put a deal together for the EU to vote on by 24th October she hinted at an increase to the transition period; whether it’s 18 months or a year. However, before that, we need to get a withdrawal agreement. We need to get a technical separation of the UK from the EU which involves:

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Mark Valladares

23 October 2018 – today’s (absence of) press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 23rd October 2018 - 10:08 pm

There’s a turn-up for the book, no press releases at all today, so it seems.

And so, instead of just leaving a space, here’s a musical interlude for you which also acts as a pointer towards a famous Belgian…

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Sal Brinton

Sal Brinton writes…The next steps on the supporters’ scheme

By Sal Brinton | Tue 23rd October 2018 - 3:12 pm

Following the all member survey and consultation on setting up a registered supporter scheme the Federal Board met on 15 and 22 October. At the first meeting we saw the results of the survey, and at the second the rapporteur notes of the various consultation events around the country. We discussed these results and your comments and queries and considered the next steps.

The Board asked me to thank all those who responded to the online survey, and who came to ask questions and raise comments at the various events, including the two webinars. Many of the issues you have raised are similar to those that have been raised by members of the Board themselves. It’s never possible in the first consultation documents to cover all those issues, but the Board are clear as part of our next steps we will publish a document that responds to them – more details below.

Firstly, the overall headlines of the survey responses. Over 10,000 of you replied: this includes those who answered the Federal People Development Committee (FPDC) survey that went out in mid-August, before Vince Cable’s speech and his subsequent survey. Over 75% of all those who responded said that you supported the creation of a registered supporter group. Within that, more than half said that you supported the proposals that a registered supporter should have a vote in the election of a Leader of the party, and also for the broadening of the pool of those who can stand for Leader beyond the MPs.

There was overwhelming support for registered supporters campaigning and being asked what their priorities are for the party in policy terms, and finally, there was substantial support for the removal of the current rule that you have to be a member for twelve months before you can be selected as a candidate for election to Parliament in Westminster. The concerns were mainly around ensuring that there are clear benefits for members that supporters would not have (ie members being able to nominate candidates for Leader, and voting for policy motions at Conference).

In Vince’s proposals he had urged us to move forward swiftly, now that we had some momentum amongst those who are already supporters or who vote for us, which would include taking the elements of the proposals to a Conference so that members can debate and vote on it. Your Board discussed and decided that we should:-

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink: Sally Hamwee: The UK should never be complicit with the death penalty anywhere in the world

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 23rd October 2018 - 11:06 am

Yesterday Sally Hamwee wrote about why she and Labour were going to have a good go at amending the Government’s Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill to ensure that

In an article for Politics Home, she set the scene:

The UK has long opposed the use of the death penalty in other countries, and we have committed ourselves to the goal of abolishing it everywhere. We can do this by using our diplomatic influence, and also by refusing to help foreign governments with prosecutions that will result in someone being executed.

That has been longstanding government policy: the UK must get assurances that the death penalty will not be used before providing security and justice assistance to countries that still retain it. This clear policy is an important statement of Britain’s values. It is vital not only for preventing the use of the death penalty in the individual cases where we provide assistance, but also for strengthening our efforts to persuade all countries to abolish it.

Yet in July, we discovered that the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, had offered to assist the United States government in prosecuting two British citizens accused of carrying out executions for ISIL in Syria and Iraq, without seeking assurances that the death penalty will not be used. Even worse, he made that decision in secret. We only found out because his letter to US Attorney General Jeff Sessions was leaked to the Telegraph.

There is no doubt that terrorists should face justice, but that could be achieved in this case either by prosecuting them here, under British law, or by assisting the US authorities with their prosecutions – if they guarantee that they will not seek the death penalty.

So what can this Bill do about it?

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The Voice

Three things we can all do to help secure a People’s Vote

By The Voice | Tue 23rd October 2018 - 9:35 am

We can win this thing one conversation at a time, but that means every one of us has to pull a shift.

I suggest 3 simple things that everyone in here can do right now.

1. Write to your MP and tell them you want a Peoples Vote. It doesn’t matter who they are or what party or what they’ve said on this. Write to them as a voter. A short, polite email is fine.

2. Now go to the People’s Vote website and sign the petition. Also check out the briefings and other material there.

3. Think of 5 people in your …

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Caron Lindsay

95% done is not enough if you’re missing the stuff that keeps you alive

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 23rd October 2018 - 8:06 am

The party has put up this uplifting video of Saturday’s march. For those of us who were there it’s great to remember that time when you were in the same place as 700,000 like-minded people. For those who weren’t, and who either have always felt nervous or are starting to feel nervous about Brexit, it’s encouraging to see so many people out there winning the argument.

Since the march, we’ve seen Dominic Raab go on Marr and effectively say that the extremist wing of his party are more important than peace in Northern Ireland. I mean, how on earth can any minister abdicate his responsibility to the country quite so brazenly?

Then yesterday, Theresa May said we were 95% there as far as a deal was concerned. Well, your brain is only 3% or so of your bodyweight, your heart is less than half a percent and your eyes don’t weigh very much at all – but if you are missing all three, you’re pretty stuffed. What we do know about this deal so far is that it sells out our service based economy, it will kick a lot of stuff into the long grass, so we are effectively flying blind, and there is no agreement on the Northern Irish border which is pretty fundamental to the future of the UK.

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Mark Valladares

22 October 2018 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 22nd October 2018 - 8:21 pm

It’s been a busy day in HQ, and there’s news of a victory over the Government in the Lords…

Lib Dems: Research shows hard border for NI puts lives at risk

Research by the Liberal Democrats and PoliticsHome has shown how crucial a soft border is between Ireland and Northern Ireland, specifically in relation to emergency service call-outs.

A series of freedom of information requests has shown that 182 ambulances and 270 fire engines crossed into the Republic during 2016-17 in response to 999 calls, highlighting how a hard border could potentially leave people with far slower emergency responses if the UK …

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Dominic Buxton

The Importance of Liberal Values in Defeating Brexit

By Dominic Buxton | Mon 22nd October 2018 - 1:22 pm

On 20th October, there was the “People’s Vote” march in London. Whilst I support the march, it’s important to remember that 700,000 people showing up on Parliament Square and then going back to their keyboards just isn’t going to shift the political landscape or change anyone’s mind. The overwhelming majority of people who took part in the march will have voted or supported Remain in the referendum in 2016, including a huge number of young people and EU citizens who were denied a vote at the time.

Don’t get me wrong – if you went on the march, you have exercised …

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Paul Walter

No Vince, I don’t want a “Gina Miller-type figure” parachuted in to be our leader (and it’s not worth a special conference)

By Paul Walter | Mon 22nd October 2018 - 11:15 am

Norbreck Castle hotel (northern section), Blackpool - DSC06518
The Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool. It was here in 1988 that a special Liberal party conference was held to decide to merge the party with the SDP*

One of the frustrating things about the debate over Vince’s two constitutional proposals** is that I am yet to hear Vince come out and actually outline why they are needed. This is maddening. It is especially maddening because I greatly respect Vince and normally he is very good at articulating ideas and proposals.

Instead, we have vague “smoke and mirrors” mutterings about somebody out there circling the political scene with a vast shedload of money which they want to chuck at a “centre movement”. We have got to pull up our socks and be part of this “movement”. And we only have two months to do it, because otherwise we’ll miss the boat and the shedload of cash will go to someone else. We’ve got to be like Justin Trudeau and the Canadian Liberals. We need to allow someone like Gina Miller to come in and lead the party so that people see us as a new centrist movement.

Well, this is all vague nonsense. Vince, or someone, should come out and be specific about all this. Who is this person (or people) with the money? What do they want? Name the people who could be our leader outside of the House of Commons – not just now – name anyone in the last fifty years outside the Commons who could have had a shot at being our leader.

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Mark Valladares

From our Lords Correspondent: 15-18 October – the phoney war continues…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 22nd October 2018 - 8:55 am

It increasingly appears as though the Government is a rudderles hulk, limping towards a harbour of dubious safety, and business in the Lords is reflecting that, as a series of Bills, related to Brexit, either are delayed in the Commons or await publication.

Monday‘s main business related to the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to “amend the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to procedures in accordance with which a person may be deprived of liberty where the person lacks capacity to consent, and for connected purposes”. In other words, it …

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 22 October 2018 – Xavier Bettel is younger than you thought…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 22nd October 2018 - 7:36 am

Firstly, I really should acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of people, some of our readers included, who gave up their Saturday to march in support of a People’s Vote. And, for the benefit of the BBC, it’s not a “so-called People’s Vote”. One does wonder if those who lead the BBC have given up on the idea of reporting altogether in favour of simply empowering the commentariat, i.e. the sort of people who have never had any problem in having their voices heard anyway.

But I digress. It was reassuring to see a mass demonstration of public support for a position, …

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Mark Valladares

21 October 2018 – today’s press releases…

By Mark Valladares | Sun 21st October 2018 - 8:02 pm

It’s a Sunday, and if you think that the Press Team go quiet, you’d be wrong. There’s always someone on duty…

Starmer must make People’s Vote Labour’s Brexit priority – Brake

On his programme this morning, Andrew Marr challenged Keir Starmer over the number of “hurdles” the Shadow Brexit Secretary was putting in the way of Labour fully backing a People’s Vote.

Responding, Liberal Democrat Brexit Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

The People’s Vote march was genuinely cross-party and one of the striking features was the number of Labour voters who attended. This backs up authoritative academic research showing that around four

…

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Caron Lindsay

Watch: Vince’s speech to Lib Dems before yesterday’s People’s Vote march

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st October 2018 - 4:51 pm

“We are a national movement and we’re here to stop Brexit.”

It couldn’t be clearer. Vince set out our mission for the next few months yesterday as Liberal Democrats gathered in Hyde Park ahead of the People’s Vote march. I’ve written about the day here.

Watch his full speech below:

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Richard Kemp

An open letter to the Lib Dem Federal Board ahead of tomorrow night’s meeting

By Richard Kemp | Sun 21st October 2018 - 10:55 am

Dear Board Members,

In a very friendly way I am writing to suggest that you should not at this stage agree to have a special Party Conference in early January to discuss amendments to the Party Constitution.

I am saying this not only after many discussions with Lib Dems in the North West and my own City of Liverpool but also in places as far apart as Taunton and Cambridge and with fellow Leaders from Local Government.

I have some key questions for you before you make the decision. I am expecting the answers to these questions to be publicised:

Firstly, do you not think that this will interfere in our work for the biggest round of local elections in England? The idea that early January is handy because it is before we start is risible. We started our campaign for next May, last May. We have been out every weekend and a lot during the week since August. This will take activists out of the front line at just the time we need them to be fighting for us and pushing our way into more power and more influence via more votes.

Secondly, do you not think that it sends all the wrong messages. Some people may think that the UK is going to hell in a hand cart and all we can do is talk about ourselves at this crucial time. That is how it will be portrayed.

Thirdly, do you really think that there is a great thirst in the Party for all the changes? 

I personally believe that there is much support for a Supporters organisation. It builds well on what we do locally. I’d love to involve more people in our policy discussions both locally and nationally; I’d love to have a larger pool of people advocating on our behalf; I think it great to have people giving us information about local and national issues. There are some things that need sorting out but these are details. The Federal Board can make these decisions and we can get on with them. In fact, we already are!

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