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It’s time for a Constitutional Convention

By Tim Miller | Wed 29th June 2016 - 1:15 pm

We are now facing the reality of life outside the EU and with it the prospect of a new United Kingdom. With the result of the referendum so close it is essential that the path we move forward on as a country is determined by a wide range of views: those who voted in and those who voted out; the young and the old; people from the left, the right and centre; voices from all parts of the United Kingdom.

We have a chance to take this huge, albeit unwanted, change in our relationship with the world and turn it into …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged constitution, democracy and eu referendum | 6 Comments

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Winning people around and winning here

By Daniel Russell | Wed 29th June 2016 - 12:10 pm

Amongst the post-apocalyptic Brexit debris, I have somehow managed to steel myself and pore over the depressing map of blue England in an attempt to seek out some positive signs of life and hope. The immediate signals are clear and well-documented, pretty much yellow ‘Remain’ for the large metropolitan areas and swathes of blue for the rural ‘Leave’ (although the blue is practically purple on the East Anglian fringes!).

Amongst all this there are some exceptions, some yellow remain anomalies that stand out amongst the sea of blue. On closer inspection, these areas are identified as Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, South Hams in Devon, and South Lakeland in Cumbria. By anyone’s standards that’s a pretty eclectic mix, so I sought to understand what might be the reason these particular areas bucked their regional trends. When I examined who was the MP for these areas, a possible explanation emerged.

The main town in South Hams is Totnes. The MP for Totnes is the independently-minded Tory GP Dr Sarah Wollaston. She was famous during the campaign for switching from ‘Leave’ to ‘Remain’ and helping to bust the £350m a week NHS myth that the Vote Leave side were peddling. The MP for Rushcliffe is Tory grandee and respected pro-European Ken Clarke. South Lakeland, of course, is the stamping ground of our leader, Tim Farron.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 14 Comments

We cannot turn a blind eye to the Brexit anger

By Chris Bowers | Wed 29th June 2016 - 9:55 am

The unravelling of the Brexit vote – and parallel calls for a second referendum – is gathering pace. There may be hope for us in this, but there is also a massive warning which is crucial to the viability of liberalism in our country.

The referendum result was a triumph for illogicality. Many of those who voted Leave stand to lose most, through everything from endangered employment rights gained through the EU to the security of jobs reliant on trade with Europe. So we need to look deeper behind the reasons for the Leave vote, and when we do, we see a pattern that was evident at the 2015 general election.

The old certainties of politics no longer fit those who voted Leave. Many people support the NHS but harbour deep hostility towards immigrants, especially migrant workers. People who have seen their safety nets taken away through cuts to public services – all originating from the credit crunch of 2007-07 which was caused mainly by reckless financial instutions overreaching themselves – are understandably angry with those who appear to have kept their affluence while they themselves are fearful for their livelihood and can’t make sense of changes to their high street wrought by globalisation.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 55 Comments

Sal Brinton writes…Nominations for Party Awards are open

By Sal Brinton | Wed 29th June 2016 - 9:04 am

It’s that time of year again – the Party Awards season, and the nominations pack is now up on the website. The awards recognise the exceptional and dedicated work our members do in our communities and this is your chance to tell us who we should be recognising.
The following awards are open for nomination:

President’s Award – open to any Party Member elected to public office and who has demonstrated excellence and commitment.
Harriet Smith Liberal Democrat Distinguished Service Award – open to any Party Member never elected to public office and who has demonstrated excellence and commitment.

Belinda Eyre-Brook Award – to recognise the efforts of people working for our elected representatives in their local areas – from local party employees, to political assistants to council groups, to people working in MPs’ constituency offices.

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Posted in News | Tagged party awards | Leave a comment

We must speak for our EU Citizens in the UK

By Simon McGrath | Tue 28th June 2016 - 3:20 pm

Canvassing during the referendum in the London borough of Merton one point came up on a surprising number of households – what was going to happen to people from the EU living here if we voted to Leave. We were only canvassing people entitled to voted in the referendum but in many cases the person who opened the door was from the EU and their partner was British. It was often said slightly jokingly with people saying they could tell us how their British partner would be voting ‘or else’ but with an undertone of concern. As the polls got worse the concerns got greater and at out street stall in Morden the Saturday before the vote several people spoke of real concern – as one women put it to me ‘my son loves his school, my husband has a good job and we have a nice flat. I don’t want to leave and go back to Italy – this is now our home’.

With the result – and what seem to be increasing attacks on immigrants those concerns have only got worse Last Saturday we held a street stall in Wimbledon asking people to sign our petition that people from the EU who are here should be able to carry on living and working here without any concern about any worries – and that the same thing should apply to British citizens in the rest of the EU. We had a quite extraordinary response – I have never seen anything like it. People were queuing up to sign , shaking our hands and thanking us for taking up the issue. There is a real concerns about the uncertainty which makes it impossible for people to plan for the future.

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Posted in Op-eds | 30 Comments

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Sorting Out the Political Mess

By Helen Flynn | Tue 28th June 2016 - 1:39 pm

I am concerned about many of the issues that people have been discussing on Lib Dem Voice and the media over the past few days. The big issues being:

The referendum was actually about issues other than the EU and indeed immigration–in particular: gross inequality in our country; how austerity has created winners and losers when it comes to many cities and regions; and the opportunity this represented for people to punish the political elites.
The Leave campaign seem to have pedaled out a lot of untruths—especially the inability to be able to stem immigration in the post-Brexit world and our

…

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Posted in Op-eds | 21 Comments

Uncrossing the wires in the IP Bill

By Brian Paddick | Tue 28th June 2016 - 11:36 am

Embed from Getty Images

The average age of the House of Lords is about 70 years old. Yet it has been left up to us to scrutinise, amend and improve the highly technical and technological Investigatory Powers Bill after its easy ride through the House of Commons.

Today, in the Bill’s Second Reading, I urged peers from all sides to not shy away from the technical nature of the Bill and to tackle the issues it raises head on and with gusto. Fundamentally this Bill will govern what powers our security services and law enforcement agencies have, under what circumstances they will be allowed to use them and how the use of these powers will be overseen. In all of this there is a balancing act to be done – it is the responsibility of the police and the security services to ask Government for the powers they believe they need in order to be effective and it is the responsibility of Parliament to balance those requests against the tests of necessity and proportionality.

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Posted in Op-eds | 11 Comments

A reminder about the memorial event for David Rendel on 4th July

By The Voice | Tue 28th June 2016 - 9:20 am

David Rendel at Anti-Iraq war demo 15th Feb 2003 Some rights reserved by Paul Walter The life and legacy of David Rendel, Liberal Democrat MP for Newbury 1993-2005, will be remembered by his family, friends and colleagues at Newbury’s Corn Exchange on Monday 4th July 2016. All are welcome at the event which will begin at 1.00pm.

Donations in David’s memory may be made to Voluntary Service Overseas or Médecins Sans Frontières (UK); there is a Just Giving page for this.

Posted in Obituaries | Tagged david rendel | Leave a comment

Our values and the Brexit crisis

By Spencer Hagard | Mon 27th June 2016 - 7:33 pm

We must quickly learn to cope with the new reality, and respond imaginatively, rationally and practically. I applaud Tim Farron for doing so, and doing it well.

With a trickle of enquiries about whether Tim is acting ultra vires, party members will need reassurance that approved constitutional arrangements for policy making in emergency situations are being scrupulously observed. Federal Policy Committee should quickly provide reassurance, and should also circulate its plans to organise and channel the party membership’s central role in policy making during the crisis.

Meanwhile, back at the inferno, many established aspects of UK governance are under challenge, with new challenges arising constantly. Liberal Democrats need to seize the hour, to strongly re-emphasise the party’s radical political and constitutional reform agenda, developed over many decades, but corroded by the 2010 coalition agreement, and then undermined by the frustrating processes and unsatisfactory outcomes of the 2012-13 policy working group (of which I was a member).

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 22 Comments

How do we make liberalism relevant to the disenfranchised leave voters?

By Jayne McCoy | Mon 27th June 2016 - 6:28 pm

I think we are agreed now that the EU referendum result was not a vote to leave the EU at all, but a howl of protest from the people of Britain that feel left out of the prosperity that predominately benefits the south east, and fearful of the changes affecting their communities.

It feels that we are not a liberal country after all. It makes me extremely sad to realise this, and will lead others to question the relevance of our Party.

But if we dig deep into the basic principles and aims of our Party we will see that we are more relevant than we have ever been. It is poverty and lack of opportunity that harnesses swathes of our society to a yoke of resentment and fear ploughing a furrow for lies and misinformation that grow into a forest cutting them off from truth and the liberal world. It is this very poverty and ignorance that our Party seeks to address: no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We are a divided, unequal Britain and the Party aims to deliver equality for all. It is therefore incumbent upon us not just to represent the liberal-thinking 48%, but to take up the fight on behalf of the disenfranchised before UKIP step in to represent them.

The difficult question is how do we do that? I do not claim to have the answers, but some thoughts based on local experience (in a strong liberal borough that voted to leave!?) have started to form as I work through the shock of the referendum result.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 38 Comments

We need to seize this moment

By Laurence Mann | Mon 27th June 2016 - 5:20 pm

It’s been a bruising and disappointing few days for all of us, but two nights’ sleep, a lot of conversations and some thought have left me impelled to express an opinion in the Voice. I am setting out my contentions, for which I am grateful to the many people I have discussed them with, below.

The first point is that the proposal to leave the EU is a major constitutional change and that it is just not apposite to make such changes on the basis of a simple majority in a referendum.

That point is reinforced by the fact that this referendum was agreed on the basis that it was an advisory referendum, not a mandatory one. I suspect that had anyone asked the question. “Why was there no threshold for the decision to be acted upon?”, the answer would have been to reiterate that the referendum was advisory and it was for Parliament to consider it.

The second point follows from that. Parliament should consider it. As such the fatalistic acceptance of the result as if it were a final judgement from an all-powerful deity is not an appropriate course of action for our legislative representatives. So this means that people should insist that such consideration takes place. There is a case for the proposition that the invocation of Article 50 without such consideration is illegal.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 29 Comments

When people realise they have been lied to…

By Mark Argent | Mon 27th June 2016 - 3:53 pm

Vote Leave seem to have ridden a tide of resentment to a narrow referendum majority, and immediately had to start admitting to lying in their campaign. The lies were impressive and, combined with the idea that experts are not to be trusted, were irrefutable. They played on the fears and anxieties of people who already felt left behind. They spoke to people struggling from years of austerity and feeling ignored by “elites”.

What happens to these people as they realise they were taken for a ride by a faction of that “elite” that played on their vulnerability? What is happening to people who voted Leave because they wanted change, and are increasingly horrified to find out what that change looks like, or voted out of protest and discover that their vote has consequences?

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 17 Comments

Not waving, nearly drowned dead

By Katharine Pindar | Mon 27th June 2016 - 2:37 pm

So there we are. The deep splits in the Conservative Party and the Labour Party have foreshadowed the division of the British voting public now into two nearly equal halves. There will be plenty of analysis of who the Brexiters are and why they won, but one thing seems clear. The Leave voters rejected the supposed authority figures, the elites of politics and business and finance, all the leaders to whom our forebears looked up. It seemed to be in that respect a genuine revolt of the masses.

An almighty wave, worthy of a Japanese painter, has crashed our own tiny ship on a stony shore, called Britain outside the EU. But mighty galleons have crashed with us, some never to float again. We should have more buoyancy than them, and Tim has certainly showed it since the result.

Still, as we painfully pick our way over the pebbles, we need to think about why there is this apparent rebellion of the masses against the elites. It seems that people felt powerless and wanted a sense of control. One way we could respond to that is by fighting again for proportional representation, which will make all elections in England and Wales meaningful, restoring democracy without having referendums.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 5 Comments

6000 and rising

By The Voice | Mon 27th June 2016 - 1:33 pm

HQ tells us that by last night 6000 new members had joined the Liberal Democrats, echoing the big increase in membership after the General Election last year.

We love having new members so we hope you will all get involved and help push the party forward. Encourage your friends to join; if they think like you then they probably won’t need much persuading.

Caron Lindsay has written a post full of useful information for new members. Also, search us out on Facebook and Twitter (@LibDems, @timfarron, @libdemvoice) if you haven’t found us already. Lots of local parties and activists are active on both.

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Posted in News | Tagged featured | 16 Comments

We must not prove the conspiracy theorists right

By Catherine Crosland | Mon 27th June 2016 - 12:30 pm

While campaigning for Remain outside a local train station, I spoke to a woman who seemed to be a conspiracy theorist. She told me that she expected that the majority of people would vote Leave, but that she was nevertheless convinced that Britain would remain in the EU anyway.

“They’ll fix it somehow.” She said.

I tried to assure her that it was more or less impossible for the count to be rigged (which I assumed to be the sort of scenario she was envisaging).

She was clearly unconvinced, and walked away, with a smile which seemed to say “You’ll see…”

After the result, I thought of this woman, and reflected that at least now she would realise that she had unfairly maligned our democratic processes.

But now, I’m beginning to wonder if she is thinking “I told you so…”

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 77 Comments

Support the 100%

By Dean Crofts | Mon 27th June 2016 - 11:22 am

Do not support the 48% who voted remain; support the 100% who have the same values as we do.

Liberal – Willing to respect, accept behaviour or opinions different from your own; open to new ideas

Democrat – The belief in freedom and equality between people

Not my words but dictionary definitions of what Liberal Democrats should stand for.

So what does this mean post-Brexit? Let us get rid of the rhetoric and angst among individuals that voted remain or leave. Let us find the good in all individuals whichever way they voted. Those who already agree with our ideals and those who did …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 15 Comments

So many posts!

By Mary Reid | Mon 27th June 2016 - 11:00 am

Since Thursday we have been overwhelmed at LDV with posts from very many readers, and they are still arriving. Thank you to all of you!

I was in the editor’s chair yesterday and again today, and have been working my way through the submissions. It is clear that we simply can’t publish all of them because of the sheer volume.

So I thought I would explain how I am choosing the ones that will appear. First I am looking for posts that bring something new to the debate. And second, I am giving priority to members who have not contributed to Lib Dem Voice before. I hope you think that is fair, and are not too disappointed if your post is not used.

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Posted in News | 3 Comments

I am English. I am British. I am European.

By Clare Kane | Mon 27th June 2016 - 9:55 am

I am English. I am British. I am European.

When I woke up at 6am on Friday 24th June, I wept. I wept for the country I have called home for my entire life no longer feels my own. I wept because my voice had not been heard, had been drowned out. I tried to make the arguments for unity, and against intolerance, but they simply were not strong enough.

I am part of the 48%.

I am a Yorkshire lass. I am a Northerner. I am Human.

I am deeply concerned about the future of England, of the United Kingdom, and of the European Union. I also worry about our transatlantic friends, but I can’t do anything about that right now.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 11 Comments

Only time will tell …

By Graham Watson | Mon 27th June 2016 - 8:48 am

The UK has followed Ireland, France and the Netherlands in rejecting the EU in a referendum. As in those countries, the result was unexpected, the government unprepared and the situation unresolved by the outcome.

Overall, 51.9% voted to leave the EU and 48.1% voted to remain. But in hardly a single community was that the actual result. In most communities two thirds voted one way and one third the other in a ballot which ripped Britain limb from limb. As was said with grim humour when Wales defeated Northern Ireland 1-0 in the European football championship on Saturday, ‘this is the second time in three days that Wales has knocked Northern Ireland out of Europe’.

The reasons for the vote were many and varied and the result cannot be said to represent the settled will of the UK’s citizens. The vote was highest in the areas where income is lowest, and lowest among people whose educational achievement is high. The old and tired sought to restore a more glorious past, the young and energetic to help build a European future. Gibraltar voted by over 95% to stay; Scotland, Northern Ireland and London also declared decisively their desire to remain. Rather than a reasoned rejection of EU membership it was a cry of anguish against inequality, against the ravages of the globalisation of markets, against the all-too-apparently uncaring nature of the governing elite. The people were asked ‘Ça va?’. A majority replied – à la révolution française – ‘Ça ira!’

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 9 Comments

The legacy of Roy Jenkins: History Group discussion meeting Monday 27th June

By Duncan Brack | Sun 26th June 2016 - 7:25 pm

Embed from Getty Images

One of the very slight crumbs of comfort to be found in the referendum campaign was the way in which, in some parts of the country, members of the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Green parties were able to campaign together positively for a ‘remain’ vote. The 1975 referendum on membership of the European Community saw a very similar experience – with profound results for British politics thereafter.

In the happier of the UK’s two referendums on Europe, Roy Jenkins, then Home Secretary in Harold Wilson’s Labour government, led the ‘in’ campaign alongside the Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe and the new Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher. Jenkins and his pro-European Labour colleagues enjoyed the good relations he developed with the Liberals, and this helped to lay the foundations for the formation of the Social Democratic Party, and its alliance with the Liberals, six years later – and, in 1988, to the merger of the two to form our own party, the Liberal Democrats.

With bitter-sweet timing, the next Liberal Democrat History Group speaker meeting, on Monday 27 June at 7.00pm, will discuss the legacy of Roy Jenkins for liberalism in Britain. These extend beyond Europe and the formation of the SDP and the Alliance.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged liberal democrat history group and roy jenkins | 2 Comments

If you thought we were having a #libdemfightback – you’ve seen nothing yet!

By Lee Dargue | Sun 26th June 2016 - 6:34 pm

Like many people, both in our party and out of it, I felt a sense of numb devastation following the result on June 23, a date etched into our country’s storied history.

The resulting euphoria of the Leave campaign, pouring salt into the wound, has little consolation in that the Remain euphoria would have been as high. It doesn’t surprise many of us, however, that a Conservative election for a new leader has started (don’t be so sure that Boris is loved by everyone in that party).

What did come as a surprise to me, is how quickly the Leave team have started rowing back.

Controlled immigration at a lower level? No, they say no.

£350million a week to the EU? Oh, I never believed that, some say.

You’re now giving all that to the NHS? We aren’t the government; we can’t make spending commitments they now admit.

I’ve been keen to say the Leave team – implying the leaders of the Leave campaign. Please remember, there are liberals who did want to leave in our party. The ones I know personally, are not anti-LGBT, anti-NHS or any other badges we could give to the likes of Boris or Farage so please, be careful when directing your anger to the right places.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged #libdemfightback and eu referendum | 12 Comments

We are the 48 … but also the 52

By Kev Walsh | Sun 26th June 2016 - 5:16 pm

I don’t believe in a second referendum, but do believe we need to listen to the dissenting voices. What happened on Thursday was not a ‘landslide victory’ or even a mandate by any stretch of the imagination. But it WAS a big two fingers up at the established political system that we have here in the UK.

Many Leave people voted to get rid of David Cameron. Many voted to Leave because they were always going to vote against the government. Many people voted Leave because they were lied to about things like the NHS or that we would somehow stop immigration overnight. Some people voted because they really felt their lives would be better outside of the EU.

But people voted against the current form the EU has taken.

I do sincerely believe in Britain’s place in Europe – but a reformed Europe that allows more control for sovereign states on issues, less bureaucracy and more transparency.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum | 19 Comments

Congratulations Brexit, but Scotland holds the key

By Geoff Crocker | Sun 26th June 2016 - 4:20 pm

It would be churlish not to congratulate the Brexit campaign, especially its leaders Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, and Nigel Farage on their stunning success, which amongst other things has led to

The ousting of Boris and Michael’s friend Dave from the office of Prime Minister. Chimes of Perfidious Albion. ‘Et tu, Brute?’ With friend like this Cameron needs no enemies. The rest of us should watch Johnson and Gove, and beware.
The wiping of many £billions value from UK shares
The wiping of $trillions value from global shares
The fall of about 10% in the value of the £
The lowering of the UK’s credit rating to negative
The very possible introduction of tariffs against UK imports into the EU, specifically on cars made at UK Japanese implants, leading to loss of jobs and future investment – ouch!
The very likely secession of Scotland from the UK
The less likely but possible secession of Northern Ireland if Sinn Fein saw its chance and managed to call a referendum for re-unification of Ireland which were then to succeed based on the Catholic majority in the population and the general desire to stay in the EU

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum and Scotland | 17 Comments

For new members: The Lowdown: How the party works and what it has to offer

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 26th June 2016 - 3:15 pm

Welcome to the thousands of people who have joined the Liberal Democrats over the past few days. This is basically a repeat of a post that I did last year when many joined the party in the wake of the election result in the hope that it might be useful to tell you a little bit about how our party works and give you a bit of an idea of the opportunities open to you. If you are not yet a member, read it and think it sounds appealing, sign up here.

What do we believe?

Before we get into the nitty gritty of organisation, the best statement of who we are and what we’re about can be found in the Preamble to our Constitution which underlines how we believe in freedom, opportunity, diversity, decentralisation and internationalism. Here’s a snippet:

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives.

We look forward to a world in which all people share the same basic rights, in which they live together in peace and in which their different cultures will be able to develop freely. We believe that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet and, by safeguarding the balance of nature and the environment, for the long term continuity of life in all its forms. Upholding these values of individual and social justice, we reject allprejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation and oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality.

We have a fierce respect for individuality, with no expectation that fellow Liberal Democrats will agree with us on every issue. We expect our views to be challenged and feel free to challenge others without rancour. We can have a robust debate and head to the pub afterwards, the very best of friends.

Your rights as a member

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged new members | 14 Comments

And the winner of our referendum day quiz is…..

By Paul Walter | Sun 26th June 2016 - 2:15 pm

Yes, I know these have been the questions burning through your mind for the last 48 hours: “What were the answers (questions) to the LDV referendum day quiz?”…”and who on earth won?”.

The answers (questions) were:

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Posted in News | 2 Comments

Is there a petition for a second referendum?

By Mary Reid | Sun 26th June 2016 - 1:07 pm

It seems a lot of people think that there is such a petition, have signed it and have asked me to support it. They refer me to a petition on the Government site with the headline “EU Referendum Rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum“.

When you read the text of the petition, you will see that it is not asking for another referendum at all. What it was asking – ahead of the vote – was for a change in the rules that governed the European Referendum, to bring it in line with (I believe) the protocol in Ireland. It says:

We the undersigned call upon HM Government to implement a rule that if the remain or leave vote is less than 60% based a turnout less than 75% there should be another referendum.

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Posted in Op-eds | 66 Comments

Brexit – it could be the Lib Dems’ finest hour if we act now

By Andy Boddington | Sun 26th June 2016 - 12:21 pm

So much has been said. So much more will be said about last week’s referendum result. But what concerns me greatly is hearing Lib Dems speak in anger. If we allow anger to dominate our agenda and the way we react, we will let the people of Britain down.

We Lib Dems are the true Europeans. We think as internationalists. We now have an opportunity to become the steadying, wise voice on Britain in a post-EU age.

The grim reality is that voters did not back our arguments. But this is not a time for licking our wounds. It is an opportunity for us to grab the agenda.

Tim Farron has struck a bold tone with his commitment to battle the next election on a remain in EU ticket. That election could be as early as November, depending on what happens within Labour during the next 48 hours. (Elections are now triggered by a 75% parliamentary majority, or a simple majority in a vote of no confidence and a failure to form a new government within 14 days.)

But that election might not happen and we need to prepare to champion our principles of freedom and fairness within an Article 50 context.

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Posted in Op-eds | 26 Comments

Seeking an antidote to poisonous politics

By Jim Williams | Sun 26th June 2016 - 8:40 am

Why does poisonous politics keep winning in Britain? A glance down your newsfeed will tell you that, for many, it’s because people are stupid. Let me put this plainly: it’s not.

We all vote with our hearts, however much we may protest otherwise. Brains too rarely come into it, clever or otherwise.

The voters who take solace in the myth of us vs them are just people who feel afraid. People who feel disenfranchised, powerless, ignored. And until we can offer them anything that speaks to their concerns, nothing is going to change.

I believe liberalism is the answer. But saying liberal things in our little liberal bubble will only serve to unite us against them in disbelief. Instead we have to engage: we have to try to understand.

Liberalism is about trusting people. So if you trust people, what are you forced to conclude? That politics has failed us. That society has failed us.

Don’t hate the people that Vote Leave manipulated: find a way of bringing them back into the fold.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum and politics | 15 Comments

A message from Tim Farron

By The Voice | Sat 25th June 2016 - 10:29 pm

Tim Farron has sent this message to members this evening:

Liberal Democrats have always believed that Britain should be outward facing, collaborating with other countries to tackle global challenges. Our membership of the European Union allows us to do that.

Britain has now voted to leave. The margin of victory was small and risks dividing our country. We must respect the outcome of the referendum in how we talk about moving forward.

We also have to understand that for many people this was not just a vote about Europe. It was also a howl of anger at politicians and institutions who they feel are out of

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu referendum and tim farron | 90 Comments

EU Referendum: What do we do now?

By Mark Goodrich | Sat 25th June 2016 - 4:45 pm

I can’t be the only person who is asking that question and I see that Alisdair Calder McGregor was posing it yesterday.

However, a lot of the responses seem to miss the point. We have not left the EU. What a small majority of the country has voted for is for us to withdraw. That can only be done by triggering Article 50 and beginning discussions on the terms of exit (as even Leave recognises).

Only one country has ever left the EU – Greenland. Their Article 50 negotiations took 3 years and they only really had to discuss fish. Nobody seriously expects we can do it in less time than them and most experts think it could take 4 or 5 years. Even if Gove et al continue to ignore experts, they will need to come back to the Houses of Parliament with their deal and get it passed.

And what will that deal look like? It is hard to see how they could ever come back with a deal which allows EU citizens free movement. It is equally hard to see that the EU would ever allow access to the single market without such free movement. So, the deal presented would likely be a full exit which they would have to get through a parliament where the overwhelming majority of parliamentarians voted for Remain.

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Posted in News | Tagged eu referendum | 63 Comments