Liberal Democrat Voice

Clegg: Brexiteers are shameless pedlars of fake news and fake hope

By The Voice | Fri 17th March 2017 - 4:55 pm

At the Conference rally tonight, Nick Clegg will take apart the arguments of the Brexiteers, calling them shameless.

He will say:

I’ve had enough of the continued, blatant attempt by Brexiteers to pull the wool over the public’s eyes. They spread fake news as indiscriminately as Trump’s Twitter rants. It started on the campaign trail with a promise of £350 million for the NHS – rejected by its authors the day after the result. Since then we’ve had patently false claims that Brexit will lead to more not less trade – a logical impossibility if we leave the EU’s single market and customs union – and the Utopian commitment to have all the details of our new relationship with the EU signed and sealed within 24 months.

Posted in News | 27 Comments

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How Liberal Democrat Lords stood up for the British people – Jonny Oates

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th March 2017 - 3:25 pm

In a few years’ time, when people may well be wondering why Parliament didn’t stop the Government in its reckless pursuit of the most damaging brexit possible, it will be clear who stood up for their rights. As Labour crumbled in farce, Liberal Democrat peers stood firm for the rights of the EU nationals who are are parents, neighbours, partners, co-workers and against the Government. The Lib Dem lords did all they could to prevent the disaster.

Here is Jonny Oates’ speech when pressing the issue to a vote.

My Lords, I move this Motion for the following reasons. First, despite the large majority that voted for the amendment to the Bill in this House, the Government have failed to make any concessions and not even attempted to address the many issues raised by noble Lords in Committee. Secondly, the profound nature of the issue at stake should make us think very carefully before we concede. This debate is not over some arcane technicality or some petty, partisan disagreement; it is about people’s lives. It is about whether people will be allowed to live in the country that they have made their home with the people for whom they care, whether they can stay in a job or plan a career, and whether their children can remain in the school they know and study with the friends they have made. It is about their futures, their homes and their families, and it is about the fear and misery being caused by every further day of uncertainty.

Thirdly, we should weigh our decision very carefully, because this debate is also about the integrity of our country. It is about whether we will honour the unequivocal commitment made by the official Vote Leave campaign that, if the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, the rights of all EU citizens in the UK would be guaranteed. Unlike most other issues arising from the referendum, there is absolutely no dispute about what was promised to EU citizens. The Vote Leave campaign, which was supported by a number of noble Lords, made the following categorical statement:

Posted in News | Tagged jonny oates and liberal democrat lords | 6 Comments

Today at Spring Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th March 2017 - 1:55 pm

As you read this, Liberal Democrats will be arriving in York. I’ll be just about to head to lunch with some friends in a place called Sutlers. Never been there before, but anywhere that boasts of having 100 gins is good by me.

Conference kicks off at 3 with various consultation sessions. These are an important part of our policy making process. The Federal Policy Committee sets up working groups to look at various subjects. They take evidence from experts and consult members. Once they have done that, they draw their conclusions into a final paper which is debated by the full conference. This Spring’s consultations are:

15.00–17.30 21st Century Economy
Education
Rural Communities

16.30–18.15 Britain in the World

Then there’s a civic drinks reception at 5:15 and the Conference rally at 6:30.

Posted in News | Tagged spring conference 2017 | Leave a comment

John Pugh MP writes: Campaigning for your local school

By John Pugh | Fri 17th March 2017 - 12:30 pm

Its Spring and much is stirring as people look cheerfully ahead at prospects new. Every well informed individual in the schools sector though looks ahead with scarcely disguised pessimism.

There is one very obvious reason for this. School funding is scheduled to nose dive. Heads know it,teachers know it and gradually parents are getting to hear about it. Today we have seen a new report published by the Education Policy Institute underlining the same grim statistics that troubled everyone from the National Union of Teachersto the National Audit Office. https://www.nao.org.uk/report/financial-sustainability-in-schools

The message is stark. Rejigging pupil funding on a national formula within a budget falling in real terms by £3 billion spells gloom for all. Nearly every school they suggest will lose and on average that will cost two teachers to primary schools and six to secondary schools. In many places the impacts will be worse.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged education, john pugh mp and schools | 3 Comments

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Good vote share gains for the Liberal Democrats in last night’s by-elections

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th March 2017 - 10:39 am

No seats changed hands in last night’s by-elections but there were some solid rises in vote share for the Liberal Democrat candidates.

The Conservatives may have held on to Walton-le-Dale East ward in South Ribbble but it was Liberal Democrat candidate Alison Hesketh-Holt who was the real winner, gaining 14.6% of the vote. We didn’t stand last time the seat was fought.

Walton le Dale East (South Ribble) result:
CON: 49.4% (-5.1)
LAB: 36.0% (-9.4)
LDEM: 14.6% (+14.6)

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) 16 March 2017

An even bigger vote, 15.1% was similarly won by Andrew Thorpe in the Saham Toney ward of Breckland Council.

Saham Toney (Breckland):
CON: 48.1% (-2.7)
LDEM: 15.1% (+15.1)
IND: 14.9% (+14.9)
UKIP: 11.5% (-20.1)
LAB: 10.3% (+10.3)
No Grn as prev.

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) 16 March 2017

And Chris Boyle got us an 11.5% rise in the South Heaton ward in Newcastle – another strong performance in that area.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged aldc, britain elects and local government by-elections | 5 Comments

Observations of an ex pat: Trump lost on Wednesday

By Tom Arms | Fri 17th March 2017 - 9:15 am

I am not talking about the court ruling on version two of his travel ban. Neither am I talking about the mounting incredulity over his wiretapping claims and tax returns.

I am talking about an event that took place 3,843 miles away from the White House on the other side of the Atlantic– the Dutch general election.

Trump’s man was Geert Wilders. The anti-EU, anti-immigration, racist leader of the Netherlands’ Freedom Party who has bounced in and out of the Dutch courts on hate crime charges.

There was never any question of Wilders winning a majority in parliament and forming the next Dutch government. Their proportional representation system makes that a virtual impossibility for any political party.

However, Wilders’ Freedom Party was tipped to win more seats than any other Dutch party. He failed, miserably. And he failed with 80 percent voter turnout—up 5.5 percent from the 2012 elections.

Posted in News | Tagged donald trump, observations of an ex pat and the netherlands | 10 Comments

Farron: Now is the time to stand and fight

By The Voice | Fri 17th March 2017 - 5:58 am

The first big showcase event of Spring conference takes place this evening. At the rally, Tim Farron will call on pro Europeans to stand and fight.

First of all, though, he may gloat a bit about being named Remoaner in Chief by Arron Banks’s outfit:

If remoaning means standing up for EU citizens who have made their lives here in the UK.

If remoaning means demanding that the British people have the final say in this process

If remoaning means standing up for a family of nations that has healed the wounds of two world wars and a terrifying cold war

Then I am proud to be your remoaner in chief!

He will go on to talk about how we need to continue the fight against the destructive Brexit course chosen by the Conservatives and Labour:

I am not an enemy of the people, but I am the enemy of those people who seek to divide our country, to pervert the referendum result for their narrow ideology and trash our values by turning our backs on our neighbours.

And the more they come after us, the louder I will shout.

Despite what this government and their fanatical Brexit supporters in the press would like us all to believe, democracy did not end on the 24th of June.

It might be a political risk for us to speak out against the direction our country is going.

But it is the right thing to do.

Because what Britain does in the next two years will define us for the next one hundred.

So now is not the time to sit down and shut up.

Now is the time to stand up and fight.

Posted in News | Tagged brexit, spring conference 2017 and tim farron | 8 Comments

Despite fight by Lib Dems, government changes today deny up to 160,000 people suffering from mental health disabilities access to Personal Independence Mobility Component

By Paul Walter | Thu 16th March 2017 - 9:00 pm

As we reported less than a month ago, Liberal Democtrats in the Parliament have been fighting the government’s decision to deny disability benefits to 160,000 vulnerable people. The government have refused to listen and the new regulations came into force today.

Stephen Fry tweeted:

Changes to benefits specifically exclude some with mental health problems. Join @mindcharity & fight these changes https://t.co/l8YwYwoGCE

— Stephen Fry (@stephenfry) March 16, 2017

He links to this message from Mind, the mental health charity:

Posted in News | Tagged mental health and personal independence payment | 19 Comments

Manchester Gorton: We need YOU!

By Elspeth McCobb | Thu 16th March 2017 - 7:44 pm

The Manchester Gorton by-election can change things for the whole party – and we need you to come and help to make that happen.

Look at what we achieved in Witney. We sent a message loud and clear that the Lib Dem fightback was on. We proved we could take a serious number of votes from the Conservatives, angry at their former party’s backing for a hard Brexit.

If we can do to Labour in Manchester what we did to the Tories in Witney or Richmond Park we will send shock waves through British politics.

We have an amazing story to tell in Manchester Gorton. From our great candidate Jackie Pearcey who has a proud 20 year record as a local councillor, to our party’s positive message of hope for an open and tolerant Britain.

And that’s not to mention the failure of Labour in Manchester and nationally. Labour have sided – and voted – with UKIP on Brexit – letting down the 62% of people in Manchester Gorton constituency who voted Remain. And at a local level they take Manchester and its voters for granted.

But we need your help to get that message across.

Only last Wednesday we walked into an empty shop on Stockport Road in Levenshulme for the first time to set up our new Lib Dem HQ. Within hours of getting the office keys, it was bustling with activity as we unloaded the party’s by-election kit – fresh from its triumphs in Witney and Richmond Park.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged by-elections, featured, jackie pearcey and manchester gorton | Leave a comment

A liberal case for faith schools

By Peter Taylor | Thu 16th March 2017 - 1:50 pm

At the age of 11 I had a choice. I could either attend a Catholic secondary school or a secondary school without a religious character. I chose the Catholic secondary school. This school, Notre Dame, had a catchment area covering half the city of Sheffield. This meant that there were pupils from affluent and less-affluent areas, from the inner city and the suburbs and from the families of many nationalities. I had classmates who were Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Muslim and of no-faith at all. Had I chosen the non-Catholic school, all of my fellow pupils would have lived in the same neighbourhood and would been almost uniformly white-British.

My experience was not an exceptional one because Catholic schools are diverse. They have more pupils from deprived neighbourhoods, one third of the pupils attending Catholic schools are not Catholic and the percentage of black and minority ethnic pupils in Catholic schools is significantly higher than in non-faith schools. They are also more likely to have an Ofsted grade of good or outstanding. Not only that, Church schools provide a rounded education with a strong emphasis on the social and moral development of everyone, helping each person to recognise the importance of being active in their communities.

Critics of faith school frequently argue that allowing faith to be used as an admissions criterion is discriminatory and that everyone should be able to study at faith schools. An obvious response is that many pupils in Church schools do not share the faith of the school they attend. For example, there are over 26,000 Muslim pupils attending Catholic schools in England and Wales. It is important to remember that the Church provided the land, buildings and ongoing financial support for Church schools. Is it liberal to argue that central government should insist on one set of admissions rules for every school, of whatever type, in every circumstance without faith communities having a say?

Posted in News | Tagged faith schools, featured and spring conference 2017 | 29 Comments

An end to religious discrimination in our schools

By Toby Keynes | Thu 16th March 2017 - 12:37 pm

This Sunday, Conference will decide our party’s policy on state-funded faith schools – and in particular on whether schools should be able to select children on the basis of their religion or belief.

I would like to think this would be an uncontentious issue.

Surely we are defined as a party by our rejection of discrimination, and by our determination to oppose entrenched privilege and inequality.

And yet there are some within this party who believe that our children should be segregated by their religion – so that Catholic children only play and learn with other Catholic children, Jewish children only play and learn with other Jewish children, and so on. And that the Jewish child whose local state school is in the same road but happens to be a Catholic school should be barred from that school because they are Jewish.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged faith schools, featured and spring conference 2017 | 20 Comments

Irish Liberal Democrats and LDV St Patrick’s Day fringe at York

By Joe Bourke | Thu 16th March 2017 - 10:18 am

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Theresa May dealt a blow to Ireland in her Brexit white paper when she said she wanted in effect to leave the EU customs union, confirming Brexit poses a huge threat to frictionless cross-border trade on the island of Ireland, the mainstay of the Irish economy.

The Irish Ambassador to the UK, Daniel Mulhall said last month that comprehensive customs and border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland are not remotely possible

Northern Ireland polled more europhilic than other regions in the UK before the election. Its Remain vote of 55.7 per cent was the third strongest in the country. Nationalists wanted the UK to remain in the EU, but unionists generally wanted to leave. Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Ulster Unionists, Alliance and the Green Party wanted to stay. The Irish government also wanted a remain vote. The DUP, the TUV and the left-wing People before Profit party backed Brexit.

As Sinn Fein and the DUP jostle for position in a new power sharing agreement at Stormont the Brexit divide has come to the fore. If the parties are unable to agree an accommodation, we may yet see a return to direct rule of the province from Westminster.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged brexit, ireland, northern ireland and st patrick's day | 2 Comments

Updated for York 2017: Caron’s guide to the craziness of Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 16th March 2017 - 8:45 am

Federal Conference is probably the best fun that you will ever have in your life. You will thoroughly enjoy every exhausting moment. If you’re new, it can be a bit overwhelming until you get used to the sensory overload. I had a long break from going to them and when I returned, in 2011, I spent the first day wandering round in a state of wide-eyed amazement, like a child in a toy shop. Spring Conference is smaller than Autumn, but a look at the agenda tells me that there are at least two things going on that I want to go to at all times.

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d throw together a fairly random list of tips and hints for getting the best out of the annual cornucopia of Liberal Democracy. If you have any other Conference survival tips, let me know.

1. Plan your days

The Conference day has a huge variety of things to do. As well as the debates in the hall, there’s a comprehensive training programme. There are spokespeople Q & As. There are competing fringe choices to be made, even though the overall selection has reduced in recent years. You can guarantee that you will never be bored and that several things you want to see will be on at the same time.

Be aware as well that you can eat quite well for free by choosing the right fringe meetings – look for the refreshments symbol in the directory.

Believe me, it’s much easier if you sort out your diary in advance. The best laid plans will always be subject to a better offer or meeting someone you haven’t seen for years randomly in a corridor, but it’s best to at least try to get some order into the proceedings. The Conference App is a real help for this. You can download it from whichever App store you use on your phone (search for Lib Dem Conf). It allows you to add events to your schedule and is pretty flexible.

Posted in Op-eds | 1 Comment

Strong showing for liberals in The Netherlands

By Nick T | Thu 16th March 2017 - 7:38 am

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Nick Clegg with Mark Rutte in 2010

As the FT reports, VVD, the liberal party of Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, will once again be the largest party in the Dutch parliament:

Prime Minister Mark Rutte looks certain to form the next Netherlands government, with his party projected to secure a clear general election victory over rivals including populist challenger Geert Wilders.

The projected victory was welcomed by moderates and pro-EU politicians across Europe and has calmed their fears that the continent was poised to fall under the sway of nationalists following the UK’s Brexit vote and the election of President Donald Trump in the US.

Posted in News | 15 Comments

Another civil liberties victory for the Scottish Liberal Democrats

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th March 2017 - 7:24 pm

A couple of years ago, the SNP was planning to make this super ID database which made what Labour’s planned ID cards from 2008 look positively timid. They intended allowing 120 public bodies, including the Royal Botanic Gardens and Quality Meat Scotland, access to the NHS Central Register.

Alison McInnes, our then Justice spokesperson was on it straight away, as was Willie Rennie and made such a big fuss that the idea has now firmly been consigned to the dustbin.

Following parliamentary questions from Liam McArthur, our new Justice Spokesperson, the Scottish Government admitted that it had “decided it would not …

Posted in News | Tagged alison mcinnes, civil liberties, liam mcarthur, Scotland and snp | 1 Comment

Tim Farron writes: A nuclear weapons-free world?

By Tim Farron MP | Wed 15th March 2017 - 3:56 pm

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I recently revisited an article that I wrote ahead of Autumn Conference in 2015. My article opened with the line, “Another Lib Dem conference and we find ourselves talking about our nuclear deterrent once more.”

And they say politics has changed in the last eighteen months!

In York this week, we will again debate the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent. At conference’s request, the FPC has commissioned a policy paper on nuclear weapons (pdf). The paper, written by party members after long consideration, advocates a step down the nuclear ladder by moving to a medium-readiness posture, and proposes an end to continuous at-sea deterrence. It also calls on the UK to become a leader in the disarmament and control of nuclear weapons. This position reflects the UK’s continued need for a minimum nuclear deterrent, suitable for the 21^st century, which sits alongside the Liberal Democrats’ commitment to working for a world free of nuclear weapons, working within international institutions, particularly the UN.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2017 spring conference, featured and nuclear weapons | 38 Comments

Make cheating employers pay, not lone entrepreneurs

By Jonathan Hunt | Wed 15th March 2017 - 2:39 pm

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Many politicians protesting, quite rightly, about the unfair hike in National Insurance contributions for the self-employed have missed the real solution.

The important contribution is the one paid by employers, at 13.8 per cent of wages for abroad middle range of employees. It is an expensive outlay on workers, and often claimed to be a deterrent to increasing the payroll.

More unscrupulous companies, mostly but not all US-owned multinationals, are evading this tax. They do not employ most of their workforce, but engage people labelled as self-employed.

As one who has been self-employed for many years, even while holding such executive positions as business editor on national newspapers, I recall that becoming self-employed was beset with hurdles. A principal test was to prove that you decided how the task was to be performed, not those paying you.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged national insurance | 17 Comments

The emotions of constitutional change

By Stephen Harte | Wed 15th March 2017 - 12:24 pm

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Here we go again – Scotland is (if Westminster grants a S30 Order) being treated to yet another bitter, divisive and emotional constitutional referendum where lies and spin will confuse one and all and we will likely end up with a narrow result that satisfies no one. What joy!

I voted No before. This time we are told that circumstances have changed (thus the SNP and the hyper-nationalist Scottish Green Party are demanding the re-vote that they would have demanded whatever happened) and some of my LibDem friends say that Brexit means they will now vote Yes.

Willie Rennie promises to make an “emotional case for the Union”. I find it hard to get any more emotional about staying with the Union then separating from it. Where can a liberal find that emotional call?

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged indyref2 and Scotland | 16 Comments

Some progress on party funding reform – comments please!

By Paul Tyler | Wed 15th March 2017 - 10:35 am

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The adage “if you want to keep something secret, say it in the House of Commons” certainly extends to the Lords on Fridays, when Private Members Bills are taken.

However, our team made significant progress last week in pushing the government to take seriously their own manifesto commitment “to continue to seek agreement on a comprehensive package of party funding reform”. We have been plugging away at this by whatever means possible, including by initiating a special Select Committee on party funding reform last year, and by introducing my Political Parties (Funding and Expenditure) Bill last week. I opened the debate, and Chris Rennard and Ian Wrigglesworth both spoke too. We received support also from Labour Peer Larry Whitty, and from the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Paul Bew.

For decades, Lib Dems have sought a cap on individual donations – to limit the auction of influence and access to government and senior political figures which now takes place. In return, a limited element of public funding – linked to support in the country – would be needed to ensure the parties could continue their campaigning.

Posted in News | Tagged house of lords and party funding | 9 Comments

This time we should be firmly pro-Independence

By Tony Lloyd | Wed 15th March 2017 - 9:00 am

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At the last conference Alex Cole-Hamilton explained his opposition to Scottish independence by noting that he was a UK citizen, an EU citizen and wanted to remain both.

It is a fine sentiment.

The time, though, is fast arising when he and others may have to decide which is more important. When no amount of campaigning against the decision will prevent the outcome, when the Tory backbenchers melt and when the Labour leadership get behind the Brexiteers, then then people of Scotland are faced with a choice. It is a stark choice, it is a difficult choice and it is a choice, no doubt, that people do not want to make. But it is a choice they will be forced to: “UK or EU”, “both” will not be on the ballot paper.

So which to choose?

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged brexit and indyref2 | 66 Comments

WATCH: Lynne Featherstone on 5000 same sex marriages

By The Voice | Tue 14th March 2017 - 8:27 pm

The Liberal Democrats have discover that there are 10,000 happy people thanks to Lynne Featherstone’s persistence in getting same sex marriage through.

Watch her video on the subject;

Posted in News | 1 Comment

Royal indiscretion

By John Kelly | Tue 14th March 2017 - 6:55 pm

This week it was reported in the Times that President Reuven Rivlin of Israel had invited the Royal Family to send a representative to the country this year to celebrate a hundred years since the Balfour Declaration. There is intense speculation in the Israeli press now that the Royal Family might break its longstanding reluctance to visit Israel officially. It would clearly invite controversy to visit a country in such flagrant breach of international law – defying the United Nations with its illegal settlements, child detention, blockade of Gaza and marginalisation of its ethnic minorities. The Balfour Declaration, as well as promising a home for the Jewish peoples, also promised that the rights of the Palestinians must be protected. This was ‘a sacred trust of civilisation’ under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations which Britain took on when it accepted the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine. We betrayed that sacred trust and, until that trust is redeemed, the Balfour Declaration should not be celebrated. A petition to the Queen’s Private Secretary to discourage such a visit is circulating.

The idea that the Royal Family would give any sort of endorsement or honour to the State of Israel this year sadly fits with a pattern of inadvisable steps that have been taken in the last couple of years. The weekend before her infamous visit to the White House, Theresa May told Andrew Marr that it was up to the Queen whether President Trump was invited to Buckingham Palace this year. Within days she had extended an invitation on the Queen’s behalf, which was of course accepted, to great public outcry in the UK. American presidents crave the publicity that goes with a State Visit to the UK – remember Ronald Reagan on horseback with HM at Windsor. Normally US Presidents must wait until their third year in office – if indeed they get one at all. That gives them a chance to show that they are a good friend to the UK and frankly deserve it. George H Bush never had one at all. Donald Trump hasn’t done anything for the UK yet, and is a major potential threat to the world order. His visit, if it happens anytime soon, will be highly controversial and will embroil the Royal Family in politics. It was unwise of the Palace to go along with Theresa May in approving Trump’s visit in his first year.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged israel, palestine and royal family | 13 Comments

Lorely Burt calls for help for girls in “period poverty”

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th March 2017 - 5:30 pm

Every time I remember when I’m in the supermarket, I try to buy a packet of sanitary towels to stick in the food bank donations trolley because I know how difficult it is for women facing poverty to deal with the additional cost that periods bring. The BBC reports this week that girls are missing school because they can’t afford sanitary protection.

Girls in the UK are missing school because they cannot afford sanitary protection, a charity has said.

Freedom4Girls was contacted by a school in Leeds after it became concerned about teenage girls’ attendance.

The group provides sanitary products to women in Kenya – but is now doing the same in West Yorkshire.

One teenager told the BBC she taped toilet roll to her underwear and missed school “every month” because of her period.

Two teenage girls spoke to BBC Radio Leeds about how they tried to cope without tampons, sanitary towels or pain relief.

A discussion on Women’s Hour this morning also highlighted the problem.

It’s good to see that our Equalities spokesperson, Lorely Burt, is bringing this up in her speech in the Budget debate in the House of Lords.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged food banks, freedom4girls, lorely burt and period poverty | 7 Comments

Preparing for 2020 Parliamentary Selections: Returning Officers

By Arfan Bhatti | Tue 14th March 2017 - 4:24 pm

With snap election candidacy expiring at the end of May, the selections for 2020 are drawing ever closer.

Returning Officers are the little known but crucial role to enable this. They’re the link that makes open selections possible and the more we have now the faster we’ll be able to get a full slate of candidates in place for 2020.

The good news is you can help enable a swift timetable of selections by training to be an RO as early as April via a two day training session run over Easter weekend. There’s also a great introductory session happening this Saturday at Spring Conference (11.00am to 12.30pm) and you can also get a feel of the role by shadowing Returning Officers if you can’t make any of those dates.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Drive the wedge

By Martin Roche | Tue 14th March 2017 - 3:08 pm

The weekend’s media was full of reports of bitter disputes between No 10 Downing Street and The Treasury. Hitherto buried tensions have surfaced publicly, following the Chancellor’s NI debacle. Hard Brexiters, we learn, want to see Hammond off and have him replaced by one of their own. The Tory party is as split on Europe as ever it was. It is up to us to exploit those divisions. It is up to us to remind the public that the ruling party is a split party. Split on EU policy, economic policy, foreign policy and social policy.

In the very near future …

Posted in Op-eds | 8 Comments

Why I’m supporting Yes this time

By Keith Legg | Tue 14th March 2017 - 1:41 pm

In September 2014, you could well be expected to have thought that it was all over. The “no” vote to independence – including mine – was 55%, the SNP broadly accepted the result, and it looked like there was no way the Tories would win an overall majority in 2015, effectively ruling out an EU referendum.

How things have changed.

In 2014, I started the referendum relatively open-minded but leaning towards a “no”, but by the end (and having been firmly put off the idea by Alex Salmond) I was quite firmly in the “no” camp.

But in my head I was clear about one thing. My priority was to remain a European citizen. I would prefer to do that as part of the UK, but if that wasn’t possible then other ways had to be considered.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged indyref2 | 38 Comments

Nick Clegg struggles to be polite about the government’s self-deluded piffle

By Joe Otten | Tue 14th March 2017 - 12:01 pm

Nick Clegg, blistering in the Standard, warns that the government is condemned to break its Brexit promises.

Recalling promises of a stronger trading position, the continuation of the benefits of membership, no hard border with Ireland (never mind Scotland), less red tape, taking back control – never mind the £350 million; Nick warns of an impending reckoning.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged brexit, brexit negotiations and featured | 27 Comments

Reaching out to the ‘Left Behind’: what policies should we put first?

By Lord William Wallace | Tue 14th March 2017 - 11:08 am

The pitch which the Leave campaign successfully made to the poorest 10% of UK citizens in last June’s EU Referendum was that their problems of low pay, insecure jobs and waiting lists for affordable housing were all due to competition from immigrants, and would be eased by leaving the EU. The budget, with little on social housing and less on funds for schools or other public services in deprived areas, has made their situation worse, rather than better. Labour has been hesitating about how far to buy into their grievances about immigrants. How should Liberal Democrats respond …

Posted in Conference | 35 Comments

Going for four in a row in Scotland

Observations of an Expat: Canada

Happy Birthday to us!

Roz Savage MP writes: Liberalism is having a Moment. But does it have…

Clegg: Brexiteers are shameless pedlars of fake news and fake hope

How Liberal Democrat Lords stood up for the British people – Jonny Oates

Today at Spring Conference

John Pugh MP writes: Campaigning for your local school

Good vote share gains for the Liberal Democrats in last night’s by-elections

Observations of an ex pat: Trump lost on Wednesday

Farron: Now is the time to stand and fight

Despite fight by Lib Dems, government changes today deny up to 160,000 people suffering from mental health disabilities access to Personal Independence Mobility Component

Manchester Gorton: We need YOU!

A liberal case for faith schools

An end to religious discrimination in our schools

Irish Liberal Democrats and LDV St Patrick’s Day fringe at York

Updated for York 2017: Caron’s guide to the craziness of Conference

1. Plan your days

Strong showing for liberals in The Netherlands

Another civil liberties victory for the Scottish Liberal Democrats

Tim Farron writes: A nuclear weapons-free world?

Make cheating employers pay, not lone entrepreneurs

The emotions of constitutional change

Some progress on party funding reform – comments please!

This time we should be firmly pro-Independence

WATCH: Lynne Featherstone on 5000 same sex marriages

Royal indiscretion

Lorely Burt calls for help for girls in “period poverty”

Preparing for 2020 Parliamentary Selections: Returning Officers

Drive the wedge

Why I’m supporting Yes this time

Nick Clegg struggles to be polite about the government’s self-deluded piffle

Reaching out to the ‘Left Behind’: what policies should we put first?

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