Former Liberal Democrat MP for Wells Tessa Munt hopes to make a political comeback in May as she is standing for Somerset County Council against the current Tory leader.
From Somerset Live:
A spokesman for the Lib Dems said the party has identified mid Somerset as a key battleground.
Speaking as Wells Lib Dems introduced their local candidates, Ms Munt said: “I simply cannot stand by for the next three years and watch as the Conservatives run our county into the ground.”
Nick Clegg has been writing for the Independent in the wake of the Dutch elections in which the racist populist Geert Wilders didn’t do as well as expected. He recounted a family gathering in the Netherlands at Christmas time.
What was striking when we were talking about the Dutch elections, however, was almost everyone around the table wanted to cast a vote that provided the best guarantee of keeping Wilders out of power. For most, that seemed to point towards supporting Mark Rutte, the affable and skilled Dutch PM, even if they’d never voted for him before.
It worked and the lesson, he finds, from D66’s success is not to pander to populism. Be yourself.
The polarisation of politics along new lines – no longer left vs right, but now open vs closed – is mobilising voters against right-wing populism. We are witnessing the beginnings of a liberal backlash against the backlash against liberalism. Of course, it wasn’t just Mark Rutte’s VVD which benefited, but other parties too.
D66, the second Liberal party in the Netherlands (lucky Dutch to have two liberal options) did well, surging to almost level pegging in the polls with Geert Wilders and adding seven seats to their tally in the Dutch Parliament. D66 are, ideologically, most similar to the Liberal Democrats in Britain. Alexander Pechtold, their experienced leader, told me when we met how he was going to run an unapologetically pro-European campaign. He was not going to bend to the populist times. His decision paid off handsomely.
And he sees the chance of reforms that would make British voters want to stay in the EU.
I am currently in my first year at the University of Leeds, studying Politics and Parliamentary Studies. I officially became a party member in November 2016, but I have always been a Liberal Democrat at heart!
Last weekend was my first time at a party conference and I can honestly say it was one of the best weekends of my life. I did not really know what to expect, but I certainly did not expect to get to meet Nick Clegg on the first day! This was a pretty momentous occasion for me as you could call Nick my ‘Lib Dem hero’ given that he was the main reason I first became interested in the party.
My experience of conference undoubtedly proves that I joined the right party. What other party would have the unique event that is Glee Club? Slightly bizarre at first, but after a couple of G&T’s my (not so) secret love for karaoke shone through. Anyone who witnessed my attempted parody of “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse can vouch for this (along with the fact that I am a terrible singer).
Have you ever thought that what Parliament really needs is a few more Alice in Wonderland references?
This afternoon the Scottish Parliament started a two day debate on whether to call for a Section 30 order, the device that would enable them to hold a second independence referendum. Theresa May has said that “now is not the time” in much the same tone of voice as she said “brexit means brexit.”
It’s funny, because, as Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles pointed out today, they’ve managed to clear 2 days of parliamentary time for this (although the length of the debate was something we agreed with) at a week’s notice and put so much effort into setting it all up, yet we’ve gone 445 days without a mental health strategy. Priorities, and all that.
I started watching the debate as Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale started speaking. Of all poisoned chalices, hers is the biggest. She’s one of the most caring, articulate, engaging politicians I’ve come across, yet she’s lumbered and with and constantly undermined by Corbyn. During the last referendum, I watched her speak particularly to women’s groups and she was fantastic at putting across a positive case for the UK. She and Willie Rennie are both very good at that but they were both sorely under-used on the national stage.
We reported on the Conference rally the other night. Now you can watch the whole thing here. See Sarah Olney thank her helpers and talk about why she joined the party and is fighting Brexit. See Nick Clegg take apart the Brexiteers’ case and warn of the populists undermining the checks on their power. See Jackie Pearcey tell us why we should go to Manchester Gorton to help her. See Hina Malik talk about her passion for dives it and how Simon Hughes and Nick Clegg persuaded her to join the party.
Finally, Tim Farron, after the obligatory pops at George Osborne and Dr Paul Nuttall, talk of Liberal Democrat values of internationalism and of giving EU nationals the right to stay and about why the people having the final say on the Brexit deal was so important.
Enjoy!
Senior Liberal Democrats have been commenting on the inflation rise today. I have to say that although 0.5% in a month is a lot, it feels like so much more. The prices of so much of my supermarket shop seems to have gone up by a lot more.
In Scorland, our Economy spokesperson Carolyn Caddick said:
Rising inflation shows that the British public are paying the price for Theresa May’s decision to take Britain out of the Single Market. With the pound falling in value by 18% since the referendum, the price of imports have shot up and broken the official target. Every Scot going on holiday abroad is seeing that their pounds do not buy what they used to.
Worst of all, the dramatic leap in food prices is hitting the poorest the most.
The fragile UK economy has been kept on life support by consumer spending, but with prices rising, that is now threatened. If Theresa May should change course immediately, and recognise that you can’t have a hard Brexit and affordable prices.
Our Shadow Chancellor Susan Kramer also blamed Brexit, saying that “You can’t have a hard brexit and affordable prices.”
Like a dog that has been let off the lead after five years under Lib Dem restraint, this Conservative government is all over the place with its legislative programme and that’s before we even start on Brexit. To add to the list of obnoxious new laws such as the new offence of ‘driving while being a suspected illegal immigrant’ and giving the police unfettered access to innocent people’s web histories, the Tories have waded into the swamp of online pornography and they are completely out of their depth.
The Digital Economy Bill, another universal answer to everything they couldn’t get through when we had one hand on the reins of power, professes to protect children from online pornography. Even those like me whose access to porn when I was younger was the top shelf magazines in the newsagent, know that, as with other forms of prohibition, those determined to get their hands on it will succeed. It is far better to educate children how to deal with online pornography when they come across it rather than, Canute-like, trying to keep it away from them.
Nonetheless, if we are to prohibit access to online adult material unless there is an age-verification solution in place, the privacy of those who are being forced to part with their sensitive personal information in order to verify their age, must be protected. We have already seen user databases for a couple of major porn sites, containing sensitive personal information, being hacked and the details traded on the dark web. When details of users of the Ashley Madison site were leaked, it reportedly led to two suicides.
So the hard left maverick George Galloway chose the ultra right Westmonster website set up by UKIP donor Arron Banks to tell anyone who would listen that he’s be standing in the Manchester Gorton by-election.
Tim Farron reckons that makes a Lib Dem win more likely.
While George Galloway won’t pick up enough votes to win, he clearly will take a number of votes from Labour. That increases our chances of winning as the only party that can beat Labour in Manchester Gorton.
George Galloway is a divisive, hard left campaigner of the old school and an ardent supporter of Brexit.
There will be little support for his brand of politics in Manchester Gorton, which is a diverse and tolerant place and voted 62% to remain in the EU.
His decision to enter the race is yet another consequence of the chronic splits and weak leadership in the Labour party. People in Manchester want change, they deserve better than a failed politician and a failing Labour party.
Our candidate Jackie Pearcey said on Twitter:
George Galloway's language of dividing communities shows that he really does not understand Manchester at all.
— Jackie Pearcey (@jackiepearcey) March 21, 2017
We woke this morning to the news that the former Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness had died.
There is no doubt that he was a significant figure in the peace process. It was quite incredible for me to see him as part of the power-sharing executive after my childhood had been punctuated with disturbing news reports from Northern Ireland. I can’t underestimate how unachievable the current peace seemed to be at that time. It was a remarkable achievement which took a great deal of international effort. It’s one of the things that we can be rightly proud of both John Major and Tony Blair for.
Martin McGuinness was pivotal in bringing about that peace and persuading others on his side of the divide to do so and for that he deserves respect.
Tim Farron had this to say on his death.
Martin McGuinness, for all his past, became a statesman. One moment sticks with me, the remarkable – and unlikely – images of McGuinness when he shook the hand of the Queen on her visit to Belfast in 2012. This single picture epitomised the changes in Northern Ireland.
This is something I, and millions of others, are thankful for. Peace in Northern Ireland is down, in part, to his leadership of the Republican community.
The Leader of our sister party, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Naomi Long, expressed her sadness:
Theresa May was in Wales this week, talking of “our precious union.” I imagine she is genuine in her wish to maintain the United Kingdom, if for no other reason than avoiding her place in history as its last prime minister. Enough of my cynicism. Better we assume history’s verdict is not her prime motivating factor. That it is indeed “our precious union.”
We all know about the announcement from Nicola Sturgeon. Some have written here in support of Liberal Democrat leadership figures maintaining a staunch unionist position, to the extent of wishing to block an independence referendum in the first place. Others have written in support of the Liberal Democrats crossing the divide and actively backing Scottish independence this time around.
I have made no secret of the fact that in 2014 I was a reluctant Yes voter. I am also open about the fact that in the next referendum, the only thing that will have changed for me is my increased certainty that independence is the least worst option on the ballot, in the wake of Brexit. However, many others within the party will be similarly convinced of their position behind a No vote.
In the wake of the recent Northern Irish election, I remember reading a Mark Pack article asking what lessons Liberal Democrats could learn from our Northern Irish sister party, which had enjoyed a strong result. The Alliance Party exists as a cross-community endeavour to defend and advance liberalism, tolerance and understanding across sectarian and nationalistic divides. Crucially, it does so without declaring either the British union or a future reunion of Ireland as the correct context to achieve those goals in.
As I distract myself from the horrors of Brexit by listening to Eurovision songs from the 1980s and writing blue envelopes for the two people I hope will be the next councillors for Almond ward in Edinburgh, Kevin Lang and Louise Young, It thought you might want the chance to watch Tim Farron’s speech from yesterday.
Most, if not all economic and political decisions have two prime factors – price and quality. And this includes national healthcare. Decision making involves information. Most, if not all information can be placed on a continuum between the verifiable and the fake. (Ditto “News”!) Here are some verifiable items of information relevant to our NHS.
PRICE: Some national average healthcare costs/prices per person per year:
Source: OECD Health data 2013
QUALITY: Some healthcare rankings:
Source: The Patient Factor
I’ve been meaning to write about this subject for the last week, but somehow Conference got in the way.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee wrote an important article in The Guardian about a week ago, which should be taken seriously by anyone involved in politics who a) cares about democracy and b) understands the significance of online campaigning – which I guess means most LDV readers.
As the inventor of the worldwide web, Berners-Lee has ardently campaigned for web universality and net neutrality, and he has put structures in place to try to ensure its independence from political and commercial interference. I wrote something about his concerns in 2010 when he marked the 20th anniversary of his invention with a warning article in Scientific American.
He repeats some of those worries in his latest article, demonstrating that the threats have not gone away, and indeed have been joined by new ones.
Last week we heard that 12 English police forces have sent papers to the CPS, in response to concerns about electoral expenses matters in up to 20 seats won by the Conservatives at the 2015 General Election. Four other forces, including Kent Police, which is investigating what happened during the election in the Thanet constituency, have yet to say where their investigations have led them.
Thanet was won by the Conservative’s Craig McKinley, much to the disappointment of UKIP’s candidate, Nigel Farage.
So, and allow me to indulge in pure wishful thinking, what would happen if the courts said that some or all of these contests must be re-run? Would that not go straight to the heart of the legitimacy of the Conservative government and any legislation passed since that administration was formed?
York, March 2017
heartfelt
the tragedy of
Brexit
ray of hope
EU Associate Citizenship
a lifeline
deep sadness
unaccompanied refugee children
unsupported
This was the song that played as Tim Farron left the hall today.
An inspired choice.
The performer is referenced in his speech here:
Patriots love their country, nationalists hate their neighbours.
I am a patriot.
The fact that in 1990 I kissed the TV when David Platt scored against Belgium in the last minute of injury time doesn’t mean I hate Guy Verhofstadt…or Tin Tin…or Plastic Bertrand, or any of the other large number of very, very famous Belgians.
Of course, looking at this list of Top Ten Famous Belgians, it would have been equally appropriate to have something from the musical My Fair Lady, as its star, Audrey Hepburn, was born in Brussels.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 473rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the five most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (12 – 18 March 2017), together with a hand-picked seven you might otherwise have missed.
Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.
As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:
I am just quickly putting up Tim’s speech before I rush off for a quick pint before catching my train home. More analysis and some thoughts about the weekend will appear later. In the meantime, enjoy the barnstormer that was Tim’s fourth leader’s speech to Conference. He explicitly said he wanted to replace Labour as opposition and the Tories in Government.
In a powerful section he told moderate Tory MPs who don’t like hard brexit to defect, resign or “we will do to you what we did to Zac Goldsmith.”
The Tories and Labour had gone to the extremes, he said. We were the only opposition. He told people not to bother waiting around for a new party but to join us.
A few weeks ago I was in Doncaster, filming for a Laura Kuenssberg documentary. They took me to a pub to meet a group of people who had voted Leave, and I got talking to one of the guys there – a Scottish businessman who’d lived in Yorkshire for many years, a bit older than me, pro-union, anti-Europe.
We bonded initially over football – he’s a Glasgow Rangers fan and I’m a Blackburn Rovers fan, so we have Graeme Souness in common; and Barry Ferguson;… and colossal disappointment!
We eventually got on to Europe – we had to, really, that was the point of the documentary – and he had a bit of a go at me for letting the side down. He said I should be backing Theresa May. We’d get a better deal if we were all on the same side.
So I asked him. How good are Celtic in Europe? Now, for the non-football fans among you, the answer is ‘not very’, but him being a Rangers fan, the answer I got back was a little more ‘post-watershed’.
I said to him: ‘You’re right, they’re absolutely dreadful. And why is that? It’s because they have got an absolutely dreadful opposition at home.’
There was a pause.
Now, given Celtic’s opposition at home includes, principally, Rangers, I thought he might be about to lamp me for insulting his team. But he looked me in the eye and said: ‘Yeah, I see your point’.
Because whether you support Brexit or not, Britain needs a decent opposition.
In January, Theresa May gave her big speech at Lancaster House where she set out her priorities for the Brexit negotiations.
After months of saying Brexit means Brexit, she finally came clean.
Brexit means Hard Brexit.
Brexit means Brexit at any cost.
Brexit means jumping out of the Single Market, the world’s biggest marketplace, with all the consequences that will have for people’s jobs and our economy.
That wasn’t what people voted for in June last year. Narrowly the British people chose Brexit. But it is this Conservative Government that has chosen this Brexit.
A Conservative Party that has presented itself, for as long as it has existed, as being a party for business is now prepared to walk away from our biggest market even though it means crippling tariffs on British companies.
Theresa May – the inheritor of the Government that sought to fix our economy after the financial crisis, wilfully choosing to do something she knows will wreck it.
The politician who rose to prominence in her own party for accusing it of being ‘the nasty party’ deliberately leaving millions of people insecure and uncertain about whether they can even stay in the country they call home.
But that speech told us more than Theresa May wanted us to know.
It showed us who Theresa May is worried about – and guess what, it’s not Her Majesty’s Opposition.
This was a speech designed to box off the right wing media and the right of her party. This was a speech that Nigel Farage could have given.
She didn’t even attempt to address the case from anyone on the centre or the left. She feels no threat from there.
One of the most pointed attacks on it was made by George Osborne, who accused Theresa May of putting concerns about immigration ahead of the economy.
George Osborne. That’s where the left starts now. So I suppose that makes the Evening Standard a lefty rag!
That’s how far Theresa May has moved the Conservative Party.
The Conservative Party has been taken over by its own version of Momentum. May’s Momentum.
The Hard Brexiteers. The anti-free trade protectionists. The shrink-the-state extremists. The anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-international aid zealots.
It’s their party now – and it’s hard to be sure whether Theresa May is their leader or their captive.
And it wasn’t only the centre and the left she ignored in that speech. She even hung out to dry her own backers in British business.
Theresa May is treating British businesses the way Labour has treated the working class for decades. Taking them for granted because she thinks they have nowhere else to go.
Theresa May has put at risk the very people who have bankrolled her party’s success for years. And she didn’t have to.
She could have fought to keep us in the Single Market if she wanted to. She has chosen not to. She is pulling us out before the negotiations have even begun.
And because of that choice, she is to blame for every job that is lost, every shop that closes, every company that downsizes, every factory relocated overseas.
There was nothing inevitable about leaving the Single Market. That’s her choice. The blame for the damage lies at her door.
If I was a businessperson who had given money to today’s Conservatives, I would demand my money back.
You were sold a free market, internationalist, pro-business party but what you’ve got is protectionism, nationalism, economic vandalism.
This week, the Scottish Parliament will vote on whether to seek a Section 30 order, the device in the UK Parliament’s power that would give it the right to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence. The SNP Government is expected to win with the support of the Greens. However, Lib Dem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton has made it clear that the Greens do not have a mandate to call for a referendum given that the three conditions in their manifesto have not been met. He has challenged Greens leader Patrick Harvie – who could easily merit being called “Pushover Patrick” for voting with the SNP on these critical issues, to explain his actions.
Alex has asked Mr Harvie why the party has turned its attention away from public service reform, back-tracked on its requirement that opinion polls should indicate support for a new referendum, and scrapped its requirement that a million-strong petition should be the trigger.
Alex said:
The Scottish Greens had three criteria to allow a referendum from their manifesto. None has been met.
The Greens have no mandate for a referendum. They should respect that and decline to vote for a referendum at Holyrood next Wednesday.
Scottish Liberal Democrats had a manifesto commitment against a referendum and we will stick to that.
With education performance slipping, the mental health strategy abandoned and the economy sluggish, Scotland needs its Parliament working on these issues instead of a referendum.
Alex has written to Patrick Harvie saying:
The emergency motion up for discussion first thing this morning will have been decided by ballot of Conference goers. It’s likely that most people will be pretty bleary-eyed by this stage – especially those who have been at the Glee Club until stupid o’clock.
The main potential flashpoint of today is the debate on faith schools. This is another of those issues where liberal principles can lead you to either strongly held viewpoint. Conference will be offered three options on the way forward. You can read the arguments on both sides here and here.
The highlight of course is Tim Farron’s speech. It will be his pitch not to Lib Dem members, but to everyone who believes that the Government is on the wrong course on Brexit, to join us in our fight.
Here’s the full timetable.
Here is Tim Farron’s question and answer session from Spring Conference in York Enjoy!
Here s Norman Lamb’s speech from this afternoon’s health debate:
First, we condemn Theresa May for her refusal to guarantee the rights of EU citizens working in our NHS and care services to stay in this country.
We value the vital contribution you make.
We demand that their right is guaranteed.
The Budget completely failed to address the dire financial situation facing the NHS and care.
Whatever your politics, it makes no sense to spend a reducing share of our national income on the NHS as demand rises at 4% every year
Whatever your politics, it makes no sense that in 2018/19 spending per head in real terms will actually fall as pressures grow
Whatever your politics, surely we can’t tolerate over a million older people with care needs left unmet.
Yet this is the reality today.
And it’s not just numbers or statistics – it’s the impact on people which is so disturbing. There are real consequences for families up and down our country.
This is what the brilliant charity, Young Minds, reports from its Parents’ Helpline:
‘The helpline receives calls every day from parents who are desperately trying to get support from Children’s Mental Health Services. We regularly hear from parents who can’t even get a referral or who have been waiting months for an initial assessment and whose children’s conditions have got worse during that time. Children who have started to self harm or become suicidal during the wait – or who’ve dropped out of school, which not only has a big impact on their own education but also means that one of the parents has to give up their job to look after them.
Another conference, another debate on nuclear weapons. The anti nuclear weapons side has won once, in 1986, so the odds weren’t good. What would happen today, though, given that it was the first ever vote under OMOV.
Well, the party was clearly bringing out its big hitter so both sides. Conference darling Alistair Carmichael for the party working group position and Conference darling Julian Huppert for the anemdnemnt.
The working group was set up in Bournemouth in 2015 to look at the issues around nuclear weapons and drew up a paper which recommended keeping a nuclear deterrent and working for multilateral disarmament. An amendment recommended getting rid of nuclear weapons and spending the money strengthening our conventional weapons which, its movers argued, were actually what was needed to counter the global threats we face.
After a generally good-natured debate, Conference voted by 244 to 429 to reject the amendment.
Here’s a flavour of the debate:
.@JudithJolly proposes motion on nuclear weapons. This is a key moment for the party. We've fudged for year. Time to decide #ldconf pic.twitter.com/3alU28pzrR
— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) March 18, 2017
Huppert: We can't say that nukes are a bad thing then say we are going to keep them. It isn't moral or logical #ldconf
— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) March 18, 2017
@CuriousCabbage speaking passionately in favour of trident and the UK continuing as a global super power. #ldconf pic.twitter.com/fvz8hoeTol
— Dan Evans (@Dan_Ev) March 18, 2017
There is space for two emergency motions in the Conference agenda. Five have been submitted.
As ever, conference reps have the chance to vote for their favourites.
A ballot paper is on the back of the Conference Daily. Complete and return it to the ballot box in the main auditorium before 12:40. Your badge will be punched so you can’t vote more than once.
The first policy debate of the Conference has taken place with Conference overwhelmingly backing a policy paper which decriminalises sex work and provides workers with support which will improve their health and make them safer. An amendment which would have undermined the motion by calling for kerb-crawling convictions to be maintained was defeated. Joe Otten was right in his summation to talk about sexual harassment but as Charlotte Cane reminded conference in her summation, the evidence was that criminalising clients made sex workers less safe.
First vote of #ldconf #spring17 in York is out of the way. We've voted overwhelmingly to decriminalise #sexwork. Well done! pic.twitter.com/eA63mzZbm6
— Rachael Clarke (@MrsCarrothead) March 18, 2017
Here’s a flavour of the debate:
Dr @BelindaBG introduces #ldconf motion to make #sexwork safe. pic.twitter.com/40P6hvUaYO
— LGBT+ Lib Dems (@LGBTLD) March 18, 2017
Opener states that this motion isn't out of pity, which sex workers don't want. It's about rights for workers. #ldconf
— Andy McKay (@andygmckay) March 18, 2017
Just voted for a rational harm reduction approach to sex work.
Proud of my party for taking on taboo topics that other parties wont #ldconf— Ben Lawrie (@VoteBigVoteBen) March 18, 2017
Here, in full, is Tim Farron’s speech to last night’s Conference rally. It went down very well in the hall with several bouts of spontaneous applause.
So, never let it be said that I don’t play fair.
My daughter Gracie went on Spanish exchange to Madrid last month to stay with her friend Alba, and her Parents took them to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium.
This week it’s our turn to host Alba, and where have we taken her in return?
That’s right, we’ve brought her here to Liberal Democrat party conference.
We’re telling her its Wembley.
We told her the truth really. She is incognito, but she is here tonight…
So welcome to the only party in Britain that is unashamed to say that we actually like foreigners.
It is great to be here in York again. A city that exemplifies our liberal values. That the folks of York can – not just once, but two years running now – welcome a party led by a Lancastrian, just shows what a tolerant place this truly is.
And we gather here at the end of a week that will go down in history.
The week that our government won the right to trigger article 50 and throw our country out of the plane without a parachute
The week that Nicola Sturgeon chose to exploit Brexit to seek to divide our country
The week that 3 million EU citizens who have made our country their home were told that they did not count
Let that sink in. This is a time when you need to trust your gut instincts.
If those three events this week make you instinctively angry,
then the time for posting distressed statuses on facebook is over,
the time for crying into your coffee is over,
the time for throwing stuff at the TV is over.
The time has come for you to do something about it
You need to stand with the only party that stands for Britain in Europe;
that stands for Britain together,
that stands for a Britain that honours all who live and work here.
The Conference rally is always an opportunity to enthuse the Liberal Democrat conference goers and to set the tone for the whole weekend.
.@hinamalik85 tells #ldconf rally of how @nick_clegg convinced her to join @LibDems pic.twitter.com/hX396V7dvj
— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) March 17, 2017
Last night’s was a gritty show of defiance of a Government that refuses to listen to any sort of reason over Brexit, contempt for an opposition that helps them on their way and a strong statement that only the Liberal Democrats will stand up for the rights of the British people.
The Saturday of Spring Conference is very busy, with a packed training programme and fringe as well as debates in the hall. Don’t forget to grab your daily bulletin and make sure that you vote for the emergency motion you want to see debated by lunchtime.
The party will be talking about Brexit but because the situation was so fluid, the motion will only be published when we get to Conference as to do so before could have rendered it out of date.
The most controversial debate of the day will be on nuclear weapons. The policy paper produced by the Working Group recommends maintaining a nuclear deterrent while aiming for a global reduction in nuclear weapons. The arguments in favour of the motion and in favour of having no nuclear deterrent have been set out on this site here by Tim Farron and here by David Grace respectively.
There’s a huge variety of fringe meetings. Some highlights are below.
Here is the full timetable for the day:
09.00–09.10: Opening of conference by Baroness Brinton
09.10–09.30: Report of Federal Conference Committee
Report of Federal Policy Committee
09.30–10.30: Policy Motion: A rational approach to harm reduction (Sex work policy paper)
10.30–11.15: Policy Motion: Tackling overcrowding in the prison system
11.15–11.35: Speech by Lynne Featherstone
11.35–12.40: Emergency motion or topical issue: Britain and the EU
12:40-14:20: Lunchtime fringe
Federal Conference Committee (FCC) met this afternoon to go through the amendments, emergency motions and topic issues submitted for spring conference. Thank you to all those who submitted items for consideration – unfortunately, the deadlines for spring conference are very tight compared to autumn, so we do not have time to give everyone the individual feedback on amendments and motions we usually would. The full text of selected amendments and emergency motions will appear in Conference Daily.
Emergency motions are selected by ballot and papers should be returned to the ballot box in the auditorium on Saturday morning. Full details will appear in Saturday’s Conference Daily.
In all, 16 amendments, 13 emergency motions/topic issues and 5 questions to committees were considered by FCC. With the exception of the titles of emergency motions, the summaries are my own so apologies if any errors have crept in. The amount of time for debating each motion is listed, as this is a good indication to the number of amendments we can debate. A 45 minute motion can realistically only have one debated amendment, whereas a 90 minute motion might have up to three.
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Making the most of the Government’s belated action on illegal Israeli settlements (Jonathan Brown)
Somerset’s farmers are on the front line of climate change (Sarah Dyke)
Mathew on Monday: Local Government Reorganisation review welcome (Mathew Hulbert)
Reform is winning because liberal Britain is not listening to its own society (Michal Simon)
Tom Arms’ World Review (Tom Arms)
David Alton, Andy Burnham and telescopic radicalism
Will Burnham abandon neoliberalism by adopting a radical agenda?
Pennsylvania's Kids for Cash Scandal shows the danger of the profit motive in the juvenile justice system
Conservative councillor joins Lib Dems in Cannock Chase
The AI world and some fallacies about it
Yet another government makes a mess of local government reform
The Joy of Six 1574
Front Street looking great
Bryan Ferry: A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Should the Reform UK leadership take responsibility for violence at their conference?
Katharine Pindar Katharine Pindar Katharine Pindar 
Peter Martin 
Meg Thomas 
