Caron Lindsay

The highlights of Scottish Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 22nd April 2018 - 8:34 pm

Scottish members left Conference at Aviemore in upbeat mood, motivated to get out there and make sure that we secure a vote on the final Brexit deal.

We had some lovely weather in a beautiful location and an agenda full of interesting fringe meetings, a bit of controversy in the Conference hall and some highly informative training. We were also really thrilled to welcome a fair few members of federal party staff who met with key seats and provided training in campaigning, the new data protection legislation and fund-raising.

Staffing and office bearer changes meant that this Conference was put together on a much shorter timescale than usual. Huge thanks are due to new party manager Jenny Wilson for her excellent work in organising everything and to Conference Committee Chair Paul McGarry. Conference Committee members Callum Leslie, Rebecca Bell, Vita Zapooroczenko and Ross Stalker never seemed to stop working. Laura Thomas seemed to spend her entire conference helping out at the registration desk as did Oliver Mountjoy – and the Young Liberals also stepped in first thing on Sunday morning when there was a gap in cover.

You can watch BBC Scotland’s Conference programme here. Towards the end, three of the brightest and most talented young people in our party are interviewed – former youth president and campaigning genius Jenny Marr, environment spokesperson Mariam Mahmood and Cllr Ben Lawrie who won a Council seat last year in an area where we’ve never had a Councillor and who has made an excellent short film about his experience of Depression and Anxiety.

Here are some of the key decisions.

Syria

Am emergency motion talked about the need for parliamentary approval of military action. Christine Jardine explains why this is so important, to ensure that constituents’ views are repreaetned and that we have consulted as widely as possible as we attempt to do the right thing:

Those are just some of the decisions taken this weekend. I’ll write more about the fringe later.

Protecting puppies and kittens

Some may have mocked a little

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Caron Lindsay

Scottish Liberal Democrats back abortion clinic exclusion zones and decriminalisation

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 22nd April 2018 - 1:55 pm

When I first saw that a motion on decriminalising abortion had been put on the agenda for Scottish Conference, I was delighted, but unsure that it would pass. We’ve tended to shy away from what many people feel are issues of conscience, although the Scottish Party has form for leading the way on equal marriage before the 2010 election. The issue of abortion is an emotive one, though and was bound to provoke more controversy.

The motion was written and presented by Jess Insall, the 15 year old activist who persuaded us to adopt policy calling for gender neutral school uniforms 

Jess’s motion called for the Scottish Government to do five things

  • remove all criminal sanctions for receiving an abortion.
  • remove all criminal sanctions for appropriately registered and regulated medical professionals providing a safe abortion.
  • provide funding so that users of reproductive healthcare services are provided with enough specialist advice to make fully informed decisions.
  • enforce safe zones around abortion service providers so that those visiting can travel to them free of any harassment or pressure on their decision, and to make intimidation or harassment of abortion service users outside clinics, or on common transport routes to these services, illegal.
  • provide funding to enable abortion clinics to provide their services free of charge to service users regardless of country of nationality or residency.

It’s worth reading her entire proposing speech which was sensitive, authoritative and persuasive:

Conference, our world is changing. The 21st century has brought great new ideas, innovations, and inspirations. But now, more than ever, we know of the threats that new technology can create. The anonymous trolls of Twitter and Facebook spout misogyny, racism, and transphobia from every orifice. The corrupt practices of Cambridge Analytica are a real threat to our democracy, and the online purchase of illegal abortion pills is on a very worrying rise.

In 2013, just 5 doses of illegal abortifacients were seized being delivered to UK addresses, but this sharply increased to 180 doses in 2014. The rise continued, with 270 doses seized in 2015, and in 2016, the government seized 375 doses of unregulated, unreliable, illegal abortion medication. Despite the fact that self-induced abortion is punishable by life imprisonment, many women are driven to take this dangerous decision because current abortion legislation is outdated and ineffective. These women are not criminals worthy of life sentences, they are vulnerable individuals who have been let down by the system. This is only one of the many reasons we need to make abortion fair, legal, and free from judgement. We need to establish a real freedom of choice.

Leaving abortion in the criminal justice system is not fair. Unnecessary appointments are needed just to jump through legal hoops such as the requirement that two doctors authorise an abortion. These are mere inconveniences for women on higher incomes who have the time, money, and resources to attend them, and for women who have supportive partners or families. But for women on low incomes who can’t afford to miss work, can’t afford care costs for existing children or ill relatives, and can’t afford travel to and from clinics, it can realistically seem easier to seek dangerous illegal alternatives. This is also true for women trying to hide an abortion from unsupportive family, or victims of domestic violence who may well be carrying an unwanted pregnancy as a result of rape.

These vulnerable groups of women are even harder hit by the outrageous postcode lottery that Scottish abortion provision currently is. Although the legal late term limit on abortion is 24 weeks, providers in Scotland will normally only authorise abortion before 18-20 weeks, and some providers won’t authorise abortions as early as 16 weeks. This means approximately 200 Scottish women every single year have to travel to England just to access a legal abortion.

Scotland, that is unacceptable.

Our wonderful NHS is already stretched to breaking point, and the unnecessary criminalisation of abortion is wasting time, money, and resources that could be used to save lives. Doctors are apprehensive to specialise in abortion out of fear of prosecution simply for doing their job. Contrary to some beliefs,decriminalisation does not mean deregulation. Abortions will still be regulated to the exceptionally high standards that other medical procedures are, and we can trust our incredible NHS staff to maintain these standards.

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Caron Lindsay

Don’t be fooled by Labour’s posturing on #peoplesvote

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 22nd April 2018 - 12:46 pm

In the last few days we’ve had some tantalising hints that Labour may be willing to support a public vote on the Brexit deal. John McDonnell said on Friday that Labour weren’t ruling it out. Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said on Marr that if there were sufficient public demand, Labour might think again.

So should we all breathe a sigh of relief and think that this might happen any time soon?

Not a chance.

For a start, Emily Thornberry’s threshold to determine what might be a suitable level of public demand to get them to change their minds was 80-90%. You don’t get 80-90% of people backing anything. Even the Monarchy at the height of the much loved Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations  was only getting 75% support.

So let’s not hold our breath waiting for the Labour leadership to back a vote on the deal. But why are they doing this? It’s all part of their deliberate tactic of making their policy as ambiguous as possible. This is exactly what the Leave campaign did, too. Nobody understood what Brexit would mean because they tried to make sure that the details were as non-existent as possible.

The reason they’re drip-feeding it all now is because there are some important local elections coming up. A lot of them are in Remain voting metropolitan areas in places like London and Manchester. They must be getting some indication that their stance on Brexit is costing them so they are trying to make it sound like they might just go for the vote on the deal.

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The Voice

WATCH: Vince Cable’s speech to Scottish Conference

By The Voice | Sun 22nd April 2018 - 10:50 am

Here is Vince Cable’s speech to Scottish Conference yesterday. He challenged the SNP to back a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal, saying that their silence on the issue was embarrassing. He said he had been working with them perfectly well on issues like the customs union and he single market and called on them to put the national interest above their party interest.

He also made it clear that the Scottish Conservatives, without whom Theresa May would not be able to form a Government, are wholly signed up to the hard right Tory-UKIP agenda.

He said that he was optimistic about our party’s future, saying that we are on the right side of history. We can stop Brexit, which he said would be a nightmare for EU nationals and said that there was no solution for the Irish Border that didn’t involve staying n the customs union.

Enjoy:

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Rachel Palma-Randle

My first year as Director for People

By Rachel Palma-Randle | Sun 22nd April 2018 - 9:23 am

It’s been just over one year since the Snap General Election was called on my first day e as Director for People. It was one heck of a start and it’s been a heck of a year. Out of the window immediately went my careful plan for membership development, training for volunteers, online fundraising and candidates. The roadmap to 2020 was suddenly obsolete. It was terrifying, but fast paced and fun.

This job is not dull. Working for the party is challenging and can be frustrating but ultimately rewarding.

One year in and …

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Caron Lindsay

Vince Cable as you have never seen him before

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 22nd April 2018 - 8:50 am

We’re used to seeing Vince outlining his Liberal Democrat vision in typically thoughtful style. Action shots are more likely to be gliding effortlessly across the dance floor in a graceful and flawless foxtrot.

We’re used to seeing Willie Rennie dialling the fun in any photo opportunity up to the maximum level.

When Vince came to Aviemore yesterday to speak at Scottish Conference, he got a taste of photo-ops, Rennie style – and he loved it. He threw himself, quite literally, into the spirit of the occasion when he found himself next to a sign saying “Jump and Smile Adventure Park”

…

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Paul Walter

Brexit: No cake, but let’s welcome the prospect of a nice big bit of fudge!

By Paul Walter | Sat 21st April 2018 - 1:45 pm

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Along, I’m sure, with many LDV readers, I’ve read hundreds of articles on the subject of Brexit over the last couple of years.

But one piece of writing has finally encapsulated a precise sensible solution to the whole sordid, messy business.

David Shariatmadari is a writer and editor for the Guardian in London. In a post yesterday entitled “On Brexit, the views of the 48% must be respected too. That’s democracy”, he argued that:

Given that the UK is split, it’s only fair if the government delivers ‘Brexit in name only’, as is looking increasingly likely.

After explaining that the Irish impasse will probably lead to the UK “both in a customs union and closely, if not entirely, aligned with the single market”, he concludes:

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Caron Lindsay

WATCH: Willie Rennie’s speech to Scottish Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 21st April 2018 - 11:45 am

Here is Willie Rennie’s leaders’s speech to Scottish Conference. In it he talks about how the Liberal Democrats have influenced Scottish politics and policy in education, mental health and justice, calls on the Health Secretary to resign, tells us we can stop Brexit and has a huge challenge to Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader.

The text is below:

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Natalie Chindipha

Future Women MPs Weekend – DEADLINE EXTENDED

By Natalie Chindipha | Sat 21st April 2018 - 9:45 am

DEADLINE EXTENDED: The location for the Future Women MP’s Weekend has now been confirmed as Milton Keynes. Apologies for the delay! Given this we are extending the deadline by 48 HOURS so applications will now close on Tuesday 24th at 23:59 https://bit.ly/2GD3w0F

Female? An aspiring MP? This is the event for you!

Normally an annual event, the Campaign for Gender Balance and the Candidates and Diversity Team will be running a second Future Women MPs Weekend to support and develop female talent within the party.

Empowering and thought-provoking, this intensive training weekend for aspiring female MPs will provide you with the knowledge and skills required to run as a successful candidate.

Many current and former female Lib Dem MPs started their journeys at an FWMP event and you could be next!

The invaluable opportunities, skills and advice you will gain include:

  • How to plan and win your seat
  • How to strategically plan a career in politics
  • Personalised guidance from experts in the field
  • Building a network of useful contacts and engaging with other aspiring women.
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Caron Lindsay

What’s happening at Scottish Conference today

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 21st April 2018 - 8:24 am

Here’s what happened yesterday at Scottish Conference:

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Stephen Tall

LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League: manager of the month for March

By Stephen Tall | Fri 20th April 2018 - 4:29 pm

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Our prepenultimate update from the LDV Fantasy Football League. Congratulations to Paul Noblet, our Manager of the Month for March.

His Fisher FC scored an impressive 295 points, just edging out Alan Worthington’s Iheanacho Cheese (288) and James Ludley’s Mercedes-Baines (286).

Here’s the full league table:

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Ian Sanderson

Let this be the last first past the post election in London Boroughs

By Ian Sanderson | Fri 20th April 2018 - 12:00 pm

On 3rd May all the Borough Council seats in Greater London are up for election, which happens every four years. The Borough I live in is typical and has 18 3-member wards. Each voter votes by putting up to 3 Xs on the ballot paper. In each of these wards the top three candidates in terms of Xs on the ballot win. Hence F3PTP rather than FPTP (First Past The Post).

So what’s wrong with that? Five national parties are contesting the borough election, plus around four parties with Residents’ Association in their name, who are active in their own patches. Usually, a party sees its whole slate of three elected, but sometimes one candidate impacts more on the electorate, positively or negatively, and the result is a ‘split ward’. But I have seen nine candidates from three parties having each around 30% of the vote, but only one party gets the councillor seats. Natural justice suggests that they should have had one councillor each. With three councillors of one party, we KNOW that they were NOT the first choice of 70% of the electorate; at worst, the three victors could be the LEAST favoured candidates of 70% of the voters.

It gets worse. Some parties are so entrenched in certain seats that the others have given up. A friend of mine expressed it as ’If you put up a feather duster for XXXX party in YYYY ward, it would get elected.’ Two national parties contest all 54 seats, but the presence of the parents, spouses and children of local party worthies on the ballot papers gives a strong hint of what they think. The voters in such wards show what they think by not turning up to vote for the council, which, more than any other body, delivers government services to them.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an ex pat: The Commonwealth

By Tom Arms | Fri 20th April 2018 - 10:00 am

Ten years ago a Commonwealth-wide poll revealed that support for the political descendant of the British Empire was highest among the developing countries.

Not surprising, they had the most to gain from aid and trade. Support from the developed Commonwealth countries was half of that of the developing world. Britain was at the bottom.

That is changing. Brexiteers have conveniently rediscovered their imperial roots and are now pushing for a revival of the Commonwealth as a replacement for lost European markets. It is, after all, the home for a third of the world’s population and a total GDP of $17 trillion. This may seem like a lot until you compared it to the $60 trillion GDP of the EU.

Nevertheless, the British government gas rolled outLondon’s red carpet for this week’s biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting—usually referred to by the inelegant acronym CHOGM.

But the Brexiteers will find that the former colonies may be reluctant to jump back onto the British wagon.   They have long memories. Many still lodge bitter resentment  at being left in the lurch when Britain was lured away by the siren call of Brussels.

All of the countries have adjusted to a life without Commonwealth trade preferences. Canada has increased its business with the United States. Australia and New Zealand are now focused on China, Japan and other Asian countries. Singapore has become a Far Eastern entrepot. The developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific have gained access to EU aid and trade.

As one Commonwealth head of government told me: “When the British want us we are expected to jump. When we want them they are too busy to bother.”

Trade will not be the only issue on the table. Climate change, Syria, plastic pollution, cyber security and the election of a new titular head are all on the agenda.

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Caron Lindsay

What’s happening at Scottish Conference today?

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 20th April 2018 - 8:00 am

There will almost certainly be several sore heads this morning as Alistair Carmichael held one of his celebrated whisky tasting events last night.

Here’s what’s happening the rest of today.

Morning Session

Cervical Cancer Screening

Police Reform

Speech by Christine Jardine MP

Emergency Motion

Animal Welfare

Lunchtime Fringe

I am shamelessly abusing my position to put the meeting I’m chairing first – about addressing Scotland’s housing crisis with Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP and speakers from Shelter Scotland, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations and the Chartered Institute of Housing.

There’s also an NFU Scotland fringe meeting with Mike Rumbles discussing The Good Food Nation and Brexit – what will be needed …

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Paul Walter

+++Three Lib Dem by-election gains from the Tories tonight

By Paul Walter | Fri 20th April 2018 - 12:16 am


We’ve been live posting some of the results tonight but here are the headlines:

The Liberal Democrats have picked up three seats from the Tories in today’s by-election results:

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Paul Walter

Thatcham West by-election results – Live post to be updated as the results come in

By Paul Walter | Thu 19th April 2018 - 11:46 pm

There were two by-elections in Thatcham West, Berkshire today.One was for West Berkshire Council, caused by the disqualification due to non-attendance of a Conservative councillor. The councillor in question also resigned from Thatcham Town Council causing a second by-election on the same day.

Here’s the turnout numbers from West Berkshire Council:

This post will be updated as the results come in.

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Victoria Charleston

The Value of PCCs

By Victoria Charleston | Thu 19th April 2018 - 7:15 pm

On Monday, 16th April, Suzy Lamplugh Trust launched a report looking at the police response to stalking in England and Wales.

Stalking is a devastating crime, affecting 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men across their lifetime.  Victims can develop anxiety, depression and agoraphobia; 50 per cent of victims experience post-traumatic stress disorder.  Many victims feel so concerned or fearful about what is happening that they feel the need to change their behaviour to feel safer, including not going out in public, reducing social outings, and moving home.

The report released on Monday is a repeat of research completed two years ago looking at recorded crime figures, and Police and Crime Commissioner funding for specialist services for the 1.1 million people who experience stalking every year in England and Wales.  Indeed, Police and Crime Commissioners have access to a £68 million funding pot from the Ministry of Justice specifically to fund practical and emotional support services for victims in their area.  Just 0.25% of that funding is spent on supporting victims of this nuanced and complex crime.

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Kirsten Johnson

New Committee report out saying tenants needed more protection

By Kirsten Johnson | Thu 19th April 2018 - 2:58 pm

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has released a report today saying that the “most vulnerable tenants need greater legal protections from retaliatory evictions, rent increases and harassment so they are fully empowered to pursue complaints about repairs and maintenance in their homes.”

This report on the private rented sector found that many properties were sub-standard, calling on the Government to address the ‘clear power imbalance’, with

tenants often unwilling to complain to landlords about conditions in their homes such as excess cold, mould or faulty wiring.

I am appalled that this …

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Ryan Priest

Airstrikes Alone Will Not Solve the Syrian Crisis

By Ryan Priest | Thu 19th April 2018 - 1:06 pm

Given the last two decades of failed interventions it is easy to understand why the majority of Britain is opposed to the recent intervention in Syria.

As liberals we must do all we can, as internationalists, to maintain peace around the globe. But also as liberals we cannot allow such abhorrent crimes to continue to be committed by the Assad regime. The silence of our inaction would have been deafening; five years of ignoring the conflict has led us to where we are today.

The scars of the Libyan intervention are still in the recent memories of the West, and conflict still plagues the nation, but our failures there cannot deter us from upholding our moral commitment to prevent war crimes and holding those who commit them to account. The Pro-Assad propaganda, backed by Russia and elements of the Labour party, are toxic: they stand in the way of any meaningful resolution in Syria, and more civilians will die if their interpretation of the war enters the mainstream of political thought.

We must look to our past if we are to make sure that we leave Syria a better place than it is now. The airstrikes are a short term solution, but they are only limiting Assad’s ability to launch another chemical attack, a noble cause but not a path to peace.

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News Meerkat

Vince Cable speech: break-up the big tech monopolies

By News Meerkat | Thu 19th April 2018 - 12:30 pm

In a speech in London this morning entitled ‘Taming the Tech Titans’, Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable has called for stronger international and domestic regulation of big tech companies. You can watch the speech here.

He has criticised the effective monopolies enjoyed by the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon, comparing their market dominance to that of big oil companies in the past, and suggests ways they can be broken up.

The speech also focussed on how start-ups and innovative small and medium-sized tech firms can thrive in a more competitive market.

The text released in advance of the speech has Vince arguing that

Data is the new oil. Data is the raw material which drives these firms and it is control of data which gives them an advantage over competitors. These companies have acquired their pivotal position by providing a service or platform through which data can be extracted, collected and used.

Just as Standard Oil once cornered 85% of the refined oil market, today Google drives 89% of internet search, 95% of young adults on the internet use a Facebook product, Amazon accounts for 75% of E-book sales, while Google and Apple combined provide 99% of mobile operating systems. “

National government and, even more so, supranational bodies like the EU can and should look to break up enterprises where size is detrimental to the economic wellbeing of the country, its citizens and its capacity for innovation.

There is a case for splitting Amazon into three separate businesses – one offering cloud computing, one acting as a general retailer and one offering a third-party marketplace. Other examples would be Facebook being forced to divest itself of Instagram and WhatsApp as a condition for operating in the EU, creating two new social media networks. Divesting Google of YouTube would be another.

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The Voice

Lords wins are essential to democratic process

By The Voice | Thu 19th April 2018 - 9:30 am

Two key amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill passed yesterday in the House of Lords.

An amendment on the customs union supported by the Liberal Democrats, Crossbenchers, Labour, and Conservative peers passed by 348 votes to 225.

The defeat forces the government to lay a report before Parliament outlining the steps taken to negotiate a customs union as part of the framework for a future UK-EU relationship, and prevents the repeal of the European Communities Act 1972 until these steps have been taken.

Commenting on the victory, Liberal Democrat Leader in the House of …

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Antony Hook

Lib Dem Lawyers’ Open Memo calls for more vocal party support for legal aid

By Antony Hook | Thu 19th April 2018 - 8:30 am

Imagine you are charged with a criminal offence. It has the potential to result in loss of your freedom, reputation, job, family, custody of your children and so on.  You will want a trained professional to help you.  Someone to explain to you the law that applies to the offence, what the state needs to prove against you and what defences may be available.  Someone to scrutinise the evidence against you objectively and assist you in presenting your defence. Someone to protect you from any abuses of power by the state’s police …

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Caron Lindsay

Let’s not forget that the Gender Pay Gap reporting requirement is Jo’s Law

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th April 2018 - 10:02 pm

There was an urgent question in the House of Commons today about the Gender Pay Gap. Harriet Harman asked the Government what it was doing to close the gender pay gap after companies with more than 250 employees were required to report for the first time.

The minister Victoria Atkins was very supportive of the legislation. If you didn’t know better, you might be inclined to think that the Tories had introduced it:

It is unacceptable that in 2018 there are still differences in how men and women are paid in business and in industries. That is why this Government introduced new regulations, which came into force in 2017, requiring all employers with 250 or more employees to report their gender pay gap. I am delighted that as of yesterday 10,055 employers, covering all sectors of the economy, have reported their gender pay gap. These new regulations have shone a light on the injustice that has existed for too long and created a new conversation on the need for a step change in gender equality.

This is all very well, except the truth of the matter is that in the dying days of the Coalition Government, the Tories had to be dragged kicking and screaming to agree to the Liberal Democrats’ plan. Jo Swinson was the Liberal Democrat Minister who introduced the legislation and she reminded the Commons of that today:

The reason why I fought so hard as a Minister in the coalition Government to win the battle to introduce gender pay gap reporting—despite the Minister’s obvious commitment to this today, my goodness it was a battle with No.10 at the time—is that the visibility and transparency of hard numbers help to pierce the bubble of complacency in boardrooms, in newsrooms and in our living rooms where some people still think that we live in a world of gender equality. What concrete action are the Government taking to help employers understand that the gender pay gap is about unequal pay and so much more? It is about the fact that jobs in care and other roles are undervalued and low paid because they are predominantly done by women. It is about the 54,000 women a year who lose their job because they have a baby. It is about the toxic workplace cultures where the boys’ clubs make the decisions and sexual harassment is endemic. Time is up on pathetic excuses. It is time that organisations got serious about action.

Ms Atkins was forced to admit Jo’s role:

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The Voice

Isabelle Parasram’s report into sexual impropriety complaints handling published

By The Voice | Wed 18th April 2018 - 8:37 pm

Last year, the Federal Board asked barrister Isabelle Parasram to produce a report on how companies involving sexual sexual impropriety in the party should be handled. Should the party inform the Police? What about anonymity of complainants?

This happened because concern had been expressed about how some such complaints had been handled.

The report has now been published. In a post on the members’ section of the party website, Isabelle Parasram said:

As the Head of Greycoat Law (a barristers’ chambers) I have over two decades of legal and policy experience covering the various strands of law impacting this subject.  I am also a Party member, holding roles within the Party as Vice Chair of Liberal Democrat Women, Vice Chair of the London Region, Regional Spokesperson on Brexit, Prospective Parlimentary Candidate and other similar positions.  I understand that these were some of the reasons why I was approached.

My investigation and eventual Report addressed the following key areas (amongst many others that arose out of what I discovered during the course of my investigation):

  1. support in the process for complainants;
  2. anonymity for complainants;
  3. reporting serious crimes to the police;
  4. suspension of members following serious allegations and
  1. how the Party can support members appropriately who are accused of serious allegations.

It is important to note that my focus was entirely on the applicable processes and were not and were never intended to be an additional investigation into the allegations themselves.

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Caron Lindsay

Three important aspects of Barbara Bush’s legacy

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th April 2018 - 6:55 pm

My fascination with the White House and all its incumbents has been a constant feature but was at its peak in the late 80s and 90s as the long Republican incumbency gave way to the optimism of the Clinton era. I hoovered up every book I could find on the subject.

I always had a huge amount of time for Barbara Bush. She had an authenticity and candour that both got her into and helped extricate herself from trouble at times.

The powerful images of her scooping up and kissing children with HIV were an important part in busting the myths of that time.

I bought her memoirs as soon as they came out in 1994. In it she wrote about her spell of Depression in the mid 70s. She talked of how she learned through that to be more sympathetic and understanding to others. I read that at a time when I was going through a particularly suffocating visit from the Black Dog. People didn’t really talk about that stuff back then and it really helped to read that she had got through such an experience. She also said that although she had hid it at the time, she wouldn’t think twice about seeking professional help if it happened again.

She also understood the importance of education and particularly literacy and made that a lifelong campaign.   She was motivated to make sure that people learned to read and write to give them the chance to get on in life and set up the Barbara Bush Literacy Foundation which is still going strong today.

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Tahir Maher

I Can Feel it in The Air

By Tahir Maher | Wed 18th April 2018 - 2:00 pm

Canvassing in Wokingham

Ever since the 2015 general elections, knocking on doors has been difficult; almost a chore. I can’t say that residents were abusive, but they were certainly challenging, very direct and uncompromising. I remember at the conference after the 2015 general election we had one of the largest attendances ever, and the general atmosphere was very positive. This was all the more unexpected because of the media’s scorn for the party (which was very unfair) and the loss of so many MPs.

The attitude of my friends who supported me and the party changed. We had many discussions where they were critical.  When I asked them why and then presented facts which in most cases proved their arguments were baseless, the poor attitude towards the party remained, although they conceded the point.

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Caron Lindsay

Jane Dodds on the Welsh Lib Dems vision of hope and optimism to tackle today’s giant evils

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th April 2018 - 10:25 am

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Jane Dodds set the party in Wales a mission at their Conference at the weekend. She wants them to find ideas to tackle the issues that provide the modern equivalent of Beveridge’s giant evils. Here’s her speech proposing the motion that kicks the process off.

Conference, I’m excited to begin the process today of shaping our vision for our party and for Wales. One thing I made clear during my campaign to become leader of our party was that I wanted to re-capture not only our radical, Liberal roots, but the idea that politics should offer hope.

That’s what I want us to do.

I want to rekindle the optimism and the hope that politics once offered by setting out an aspirational vision of the Wales we want to see.

I want us to start a conversation about what it is we want to achieve – a story and an ethos that will help us in shaping stand-out signature policies for the elections ahead of us.

In truth, much of my vision is informed by the vision of another Liberal a little over 75 years ago.

In 1942 William Beveridge published his report, a report that captured imaginations and transformed society. Dryly titled the ‘Social Insurance and Allied Services report,’ Beveridge’s work went on to transform British society and establish the welfare state as we know it.

It was a promise of a better, brighter future.

It was a promise that each and every one of us would have the opportunity to get on in life; to be healthy, to be well educated, to have a place to call home, and that there would be a safety net for when the going got tough.

Beveridge identified 5 giant evils: squalor, want, disease, ignorance and idleness.

Far from having disappeared, the challenges facing society in 1942 have only changed.

We no longer simply talk of a poverty  – or want – of “physical efficiency” – the minimum amount to simply feed ourselves; we talk about the number of households and children living in working poverty, turning to foodbanks, with opportunity out of reach.

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Paul Tyler

Paul Tyler writes…Was the Brexit poll compromised?

By Paul Tyler | Wed 18th April 2018 - 8:55 am

That is the question the Conservative Chair of the investigating Commons Select Committee asked last weekend.  Hitherto, his Ministerial colleagues have seemed determined to turn a blind eye to all the recent revelations of possible illegality by Leave campaigners.

Will they be more forthcoming this afternoon ?     My Question to be discussed in the Lords reads as follows:

“Lord Tyler to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are satisfied that current electoral law adequately prevents the misuse of personal data in United Kingdom elections and referendum campaigns”

The HOUSE magazine has published some background for this mini debate:

The revelations come thick and fast.   Daily – sometimes it seems like hourly – we learn that our personal data may have been misused in ever more controversial ways.  In particular, ingenious development of Facebook material appears to have played a key role in targeting both positive messages and contrived attacks in the Trump election campaign AND to secure the Brexit result of our own 2016 EU Referendum.

So far Ministers have hidden behind a reassuring report from the Electoral Commission about the conduct of that referendum.  However, that was issued months ago, long before the detailed analysis from Carole Cadwalladr of The Observer began to gain traction, and the whistleblowers from Cambridge Analytica, AIQ and the Leave campaigns emerged to give their evidence.   Since the turn of the year the alleged network of illicit collaboration has caused the Electoral Commission, the Information Commissioner and the House of Commons Culture Media & Sport Select Committee to open new investigations.  The latter, led by Conservative MP Damian Collins, is being especially pro-active, and their witness list in the next few days is itself an indication of the vital role Parliamentary Select Committees can now play.

Despite apparent BBC attempts to minimise the significance of all this increasing weight of evidence (presumably because other media have provided the investigative journalism) there are signs of growing public unease.   Have we as nation been conned, just like so many in the US ?    Has our personal data been “scraped” for this purpose ?   Are our very strict laws, which seek to protect our elections and referendum campaigns from being bought by billionaires and foreign governments, up to the job?

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Caron Lindsay

Vince’s three questions on Syrian airstrikes

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 17th April 2018 - 9:32 pm

In today’s debate on the Syrian airstrikes, Vince raised three questions. Here is his speech in full, complete with interventions.

My approach to this question was well captured by some of the independent-minded Labour Back Benchers yesterday, and particularly by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) when she said “If only the Prime Minister had asked it of me, I would have been inclined to support her.” The Prime Minister did not ask, and as a result she missed a significant opportunity to build consensus in this place and support in the country. She has clearly received other advice.

I

…

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Caron Lindsay

The cruelty and insensitivity of the Home Office summed up in a single booklet

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 17th April 2018 - 7:17 pm

I had a bit of a sleepless night last night. The coughing started up again before I could take any more medicine so I had to try and distract myself with Twitter. I assumed that the screenshots of an alleged guide for deported people to help them settle in Jamaica had to be fake. Seriously, what human being could come up with this?

But I followed the link and, sure enough, it did actually lead to a gov.uk website. The advice on mental health was even more crass.

When you return, you may face a number of challenges, such as separation from family, friends, personal possessions and property; problems locating family members and friends; difficulties in finding suitable and safe housing; and general difficulties in adjusting to your new environment. Most people adjust fairly well but some people may experience mental health problems. Signs to watch out for are:  difficulty in sleeping, or sleeping too much  feeling sad  being irritable or short tempered  having no interest in the pleasures of life  loss of appetite  difficulty in concentrating or making decisions  feelings of hopelessness or helplessness  thoughts that life is not worth living  suicidal thoughts. If you experience mental health problems, you should:  develop supportive relationships where you can: contact family members and friends and establish supportive and healthy relationships;

If you are one of the Windrush Generation and have just been deported thousands of miles from your children to a place that you haven’t seen in half a century, the advice to contact family members could not be more hurtful and insensitive. This booklet isn’t new. It’s been around for about as long as Theresa May’s “hostile environment.” I really do feel ashamed of my Government sometimes. As Ed Davey writes on the Ad Lib blog, the Windrush scandal exposes the brutality of the Home Office:

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