Mark Valladares

12 May 2025 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 13th May 2025 - 7:30 am
  • Lib Dems table humble address to force Government to publish impact assessment of UK-US deal
  • Care Workers: Change is urgently needed to fix the mess the Conservatives made
  • Liberal Democrats call on Government to “futureproof” infrastructure following reports of Underground failures
  • Rennie to push amendments to housing bill

Lib Dems table humble address to force Government to publish impact assessment of UK-US deal

The Liberal Democrats will table a humble address in Parliament this week to force the Government to publish its impact assessments of the agreement with the US announced last week.

The Government has so far not published documents such as impact assessments on key British industries following the deal, leaving many in the dark as to what ministers have given up in exchange for Trump’s lowering of tariffs.

The deal allows more American beef into the UK market, as well as setting a limit on the number of British cars that can be exported to the US before being hit with 25% tariffs. It is not yet clear what impact this will have on these sectors as the Government has not published the relevant analysis.

The Liberal Democrat motion aims to force the Government to publish these details. Humble Address motions have been successfully used in the past, including in 2017 when the Government was forced to publish an impact assessment of Brexit on the economy.

The Liberal Democrats are also calling on the government to prepare plans in case Trump reneges on the deal or imposes further tariffs in the future, given his record of doing so to other countries he has signed trade deals with, including Canada.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

The Government needs to publish the details behind this agreement so those impacted aren’t left in the dark, from Britain’s world-class farmers to all those working in businesses still being hit by Trump’s tariffs.

People are deeply worried about Donald Trump’s attempts to bully the UK and his record of breaking his own deals.

We’ve seen how Trump has trampled over deals he signed with our allies like Canada. We cannot allow him to do the same to Britain. The Prime Minister needs to recognise this and prepare a plan B if Trump tears up this agreement or imposes new tariffs in future.

The Liberal Democrats will keep standing up for Britain and holding this Government to account over their dealings with Trump.

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Mark Valladares

10-11 May 2025 – the weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 12th May 2025 - 11:50 pm
  • Davey creates ‘Reform Watch’ team to keep Trumpian councils honest
  • Lib Dems call on Government to ‘step up’ and pay care workers properly
  • Cole-Hamilton comments on Edinburgh cyberattack

Davey creates ‘Reform Watch’ team to keep Trumpian councils honest

Ed Davey has established a new national “Reform Watch’ scrutiny board, bringing together local Liberal Democrat leaders in areas where Reform has taken control to take a coordinated approach to opposition and holding them to account.

The Liberal Democrats came second to Reform at last week’s local elections, winning more councillors than both Labour and the Conservatives for the first time ever.

The Board will be chaired …

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Fraser Graham

“Are you kidding me?” – A Response to the Lib Dem Home Affairs Spokesperson’s Response to the Labour Government

By Fraser Graham | Mon 12th May 2025 - 4:12 pm

I joined the Liberal Democrats in 2016, when then party leader Tim Farron made clear that the Liberal Democrats would continue to fight for the UK’s place in the EU. A place in the EU that would have preserved freedom of movement and allowed for us to remain a vibrant and multicultural society which recognises that foreign workers strengthen our economy and industries, not weaken them.

I have since stayed in the party, a party which I believe reflects my feeling that immigration is not a bad thing. I have supported and spoken up for calls such as Christine Jardine’s to …

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The Voice

Immigration: Clear plan needed to make it easier to recruit British workers for vacancies instead

By The Voice | Mon 12th May 2025 - 3:05 pm

Normally, this would be published later in the day but, as it has already drawn a response from one of our readers, it seems appropriate to publish it now…

Responding to the Government’s new immigration policy, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Lisa Smart MP:

After the previous Conservative Government’s dire mismanagement, our immigration system has been left in tatters and public trust has been shattered. It’s right that the government is taking steps to fix our broken immigration system to ensure it works for our country.

However, this must be coupled with a clear plan to make it easier to recruit

…

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Caron Lindsay

Dear Keir, there are other options than pandering to prejudice

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 12th May 2025 - 10:59 am

I feel absolutely sick to my stomach this morning.

I really need to get out of the habit of thinking that Labour Ministers will somehow have more sense, or that their values will align more closely with mine even if they get stuff wrong sometimes. That mindset only leads to crushing disappointment.

We have had decades of the right wing press drip-feeding prejudice against immigrants. All political parties, including ours to a certain extent, have failed to stand up against this and unashamedly make the positive case for immigration. This has been remarkably stupid given that we are living in a world that has been getting smaller. People fall in love with people from other countries. If every country pulls up the drawbridge on immigration, that has a huge impact on their freedom to live their lives as they please.

It’s been incredibly depressing to see, particularly over the last decade, politicians in parties who should know better taking on board the talking points of the far right. Rather than, you know, invest in public services so that everyone can have a decent standard of living, they blame immigration for all the country’s ills, poisoning the minds of the public.

We reached a new low this morning.  I’ve heard Labour referred to as the Red Tories before. Today they are basically Red Reform. Starmer is no better than Farage. A couple of weeks ago, Farage had a go,  out loud in our Parliament, about “cultures alien to ours.” This was a comment that Christine Jardine said made her blood run cold in her Scotsman column last week. 

This week I heard the leader of Reform proclaim confidently in the Commons that the problem with immigration was that it was bringing people here with cultures not compatible with our own. I felt my blood run cold.

That sort of language used to be, and should be still, unthinkable. We cannot accept it, we cannot run from fighting for the rights of minorities. It’s time for us to stand up to be counted. Like our grandparents did.

Why does it take an opposition MP to make this point? Why did our Prime Minister not make mincemeat of Farage and his horrible agenda right there, right then?

It’s the least we could expect.

But, no, this morning, he apes it, saying we are:

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Caron Lindsay

Ed Davey’s “Why I care and why care matters” out on 22 May

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 11th May 2025 - 5:00 pm

Ed Davey has written a book about his own varied and lifelong caring experience and it’s coming out on 22 May, just in time for me to tae my copy with me on my Highland holiday.

He sent an email to party members telling us about the book and letting us know that we can get 30% if we pre-order by 21 May.

He said:

As you know, caring is, and has been, much of my life. And yet, it is only since becoming Leader that I have felt comfortable and compelled to speak about it. In my first speech, I talked about being a voice for carers, and you will remember how the message grew into the story I shared in our election broadcast.

Opening up like that was a big decision for both Emily and me. But since then, we have received a fairly constant stream of support and kindness. My inbox has become almost like a meeting place for carers from all over the country to share their support, advice and kind words, and talk about their problems.

It truly solidified for me that telling our stories – the realities of caring, the joys and the struggles – is the most powerful way to change things. It cuts through the noise and reminds everyone of the human beings at the heart of this issue.

The thought that care might slip down the priority list scares me. It too often feels like governments see care as something that’s just… too complicated, too difficult to really tackle. And that’s a shame, because I believe it’s the very foundation of a healthy society.

And so, I have written a book.

I will be honest, it’s deeply personal for me, and for the four other carers whose stories I tell. At times, I found it difficult to write.

But with these personal stories, and my reflections on what it’s going to take to really fix care, I hope we can put care at the forefront of people’s minds, make it so real that it can’t be ignored.

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Caron Lindsay

A big week for both bills on Assisted Dying

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 11th May 2025 - 3:00 pm

This week, MPs and MSPs could take big steps towards passing legislation to pass assisted dying.

In Westminster, the first of three days discussing amendments to Kim Leadbetter’s Private Members Bill takes place on Friday.

In Holyrood, Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur presents his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. This is the next step in a process which has been going on for nearly 4 years. You can see all the various stages here.  Prior to that, there was extensive consultation from the end of 2021. 

Personally, I have long supported assisted dying. I think it is so important to give people the choice, when they have a terminal diagnosis, of choosing when they end their life to spare themselves and loved ones from trauma. Not everyone will choose it. I’m not sure I would. I think it should be on offer.

I know that others in the Lib Dem Voice team and beyond have a different view and I completely understand where they are coming from. Disabled people already feel incredibly undervalued and  disrespected in our society and many of them see any assisted dying legislation, even though it only applies to people who do not have a diagnosis of death in the near future, as a cultural change that could, at some point in the future, threaten them. While I hope that the legislation passes, I feel horrified that our society sucks to the extent that any group of people feel like that. We need to do so much more to make sure that disabled people are included in every aspect of our life and that we give serious attention to ensuring that they feel supported to live their lives to the full. In my view, these are two different issues.

Speaking on today’s Sunday Show, Liam said that he felt that there had been a shift in MSPs’ opinions on this in the years since this was last debated and that they are more in line with the public, who support this measure very strongly.

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Caron Lindsay

Reprise (with an addition): Lib Dem Councils shortlisted for top award

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 11th May 2025 - 1:00 pm

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared last month. We’ve just heard from Cllr Ben Rigby, the Group Chair of the Lib Dem Group on Brentwood Council, a Lib Dem led council in coalition, that they too have been listed for an award so we have added them in and are re-running the article.

The Local Authority publication the Municipal Journal has shortlisted a number of Lib Dem-led Councils for their ‘Local Authority of the Year Award’.

The Award recognises “councils who, through a collective effort, drive innovation and are delivering the best outcomes for their communities”. What is really striking is that, of the seven finalists, all but one are either Lib Dem-run or with Lib Dems involved in running the councils.

One finalist is the Lib Dem-run Council of Watford. Peter Taylor, the elected Mayor of Watford said :

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An alternative VE Day message – Standing with Ukraine

By Richard Kilpatrick and Michael Anderson | Sun 11th May 2025 - 10:56 am

An alternative VE day message – Standing with Ukraine. 

In 2025, the world marks 80 years since Victory in Europe (VE) Day. But the war in Ukraine rages on – a stark reminder that peace and freedom can never be taken for granted.

While we celebrate the end of an old conflict, millions of Ukrainians are still living through the devastation of an ongoing war.

On behalf of the European Movement UK we went to Ukraine, to put Ukrainian voices in front of a British audience and to ensure their voices are not forgotten.

We are presenting these stories in a new film: Flags in the Wind.

In Flags in the Wind, we hear from the voices of everyday Ukrainians forced to flee their homes in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kyiv, relocating to the humanitarian hubs around Lviv.

By hearing their experiences, we discover the resilience of a people, the horrors of war, and the determination to set an example to the people of Europe in the face of tyranny. 

With contributions from Ukrainian citizens, veterans, senior politicians, and rehabilitation centre clinicians, Flags in the Wind delivers a sober message at a time when Europe is remembering the end of World War II.

Since we were founded in 1949,our mission at the European Movement has always been to promote peace, democracy, and unity across Europe.

This film is a direct expression of that purpose – reminding us that standing together in the face of aggression is essential to protecting our shared, European future.

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 11th May 2025 - 8:59 am

The Vatican

What’s in a name? If you’re the Pope, quite a lot.

With 2,000-years of history, the incoming Bishop of Rome is able to choose a name from among his 266 predecessors whose career best reflects his values.

American-born Robert Prevost has chosen to be known as Pope Leo XIV. This is an important nod to Pope Leo XIII, who led the church from 1878 to 1903 and is generally regarded as the father of modern Catholic social teaching. He called for the church to address social and economic issues, and emphasized the dignity of individuals, the common good, community, and taking care of marginalized individuals.

In the midst of the Gilded Age, Leo XIII defended the rights of workers and said that the church had not just the duty to speak about justice and fairness, but also the responsibility to make sure that such equities were accomplished.

Prevost’s choice of the name Leo invokes the principles of both Leo XIII and his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis. In his own lifetime he has aligned himself with many of Francis’s social reforms, and his election appears to be a rejection of hard-line right-wing Catholics in the U.S. and elsewhere who have used their religion to support far-right politics.

Leading the American pack as a self-appointed moral arbiter of the Catholic community is Vice-President JD Vance. Shortly after taking office in January, Vance began to talk of the concept of ordo amoris, or “order of love.” He claimed it justified the MAGA emphasis on family and tribalism and the mass expulsion of migrants.

Vance told Sean Hannity of the Fox News Channel, “You love your family, and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then, after all that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world. A lot of the far left has completely inverted that.”

The Pope’s job is to be a moral arbiter and interpreter of Christian doctrine. Much more so than that of any politician, all of whose morals are generally regarded as suspect. On February 10, Pope Francis responded to Vance in a letter to American bishops. He said the vice president was wrong.  “Christians,” wrote the Pope, “know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity,” he wrote. “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups…. The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by…meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

“Worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations, easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth,” Pope Francis wrote.

He acknowledged “the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival,” but he defended the fundamental dignity of every human being and the fundamental rights of migrants, noting that the “rightly formed conscience” would disagree with any program that “identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.” He continued: “I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”

The next day, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who described himself as “a lifelong Catholic,” told reporters at the White House, “I’ve got harsh words for the Pope…. He ought to fix the Catholic Church, concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us.”

As an American-born pope in the model of Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV has the power to present himself as a moral alternative to MAGA in the same way as Polish-born Pope John Paul II countered the Soviet empire. He has already re-tweeted Pope Francis’s criticisms of Vance. This would explain the furious response to the new pope by the MAGA crowd. Laura Loomer, the far-right influencer close to the ear of Donald Trump, Pope Leo, wrote “another Marxist puppet in the Vatican.” Influencer Charlie Kirk suggested he was an “open borders globalist installed to counter Trump.” Kirk is probably right. Is that such a bad thing?

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Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: Kashmir in a changed world

By Tom Arms | Sat 10th May 2025 - 9:54 am

Fifteen years ago there were probably three major hotspots in the world: The Korean Peninsula, the Middle East and Kashmir. All three of them involved nuclear weapons.

Ranked in terms of potential flare-ups, the Middle East was at the top followed by Korea because the United States was heavily involved in both those disputes. Kashmir was well down the list because it was mainly a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, although China also had a foothold in the picture postcard mountain region. Kashmir, however, seemed more manageable than the other two hotspots.

This month, however, Kashmir moved up the troublesome leader board after Muslim terrorists murdered a group of Indian tourists. The links between the Pakistan government and the terrorists is uncertain. What is known is that Pakistan is controlled by the army and the army is control by General Asim Munir, an Islamic scholar who recently referred to Kashmir as “the jugular vein of Pakistan.”

The Hindu nationalist government of Narendra Modi does not need much to encourage it to go after Pakistan. It did so this week by threatening to cut Pakistan off from vital water supplies and by launching a surgical strike 70 miles inside Pakistan in the important Punjab region.

Pakistan responded by shooting down Indian war planes and by firing the opening shots in South Asia’s first drone war.

Then, both sides appear to have taken a step back to catch their breath and review the situation. Pakistan has said it will respond to the latest fighting “at a time and place of its choosing,” which is usually interpreted a step towards a ceasefire.

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Mark Valladares

9 May 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 9th May 2025 - 10:30 pm
  • Andrew Bailey right that the UK must urgently rebuild trade with Europe
  • UK-US trade deal: Starmer must rule out “massive tax breaks” for Musk
  • Rennie visits Children’s hospice helped by Scot Lib Dem budget deal

Andrew Bailey right that the UK must urgently rebuild trade with Europe

Responding to the Governor of the Bank of England’s comments that the UK now needs to “rebuild” Britain’s trade relationship with the EU, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said:

Andrew Bailey has today added his voice to what Liberal Democrats have been saying for years: that we urgently need to rebuild our trading relationship with our closest and most significant economic partners in Europe.

This isn’t about revisiting the past, it’s about boosting our economy and deepening cooperation for the future. Despite the Government’s US deal, Trump’s trade tariffs are still hitting key British industries and threatening the livelihoods of people across the UK.

The Government must embrace a pragmatic and ambitious approach to our relationship with the EU – cutting red tape and providing a vital boost for our businesses.

UK-US trade deal: Starmer must rule out “massive tax breaks” for Musk

Responding to reporting that the UK has not ruled out a tech deal as part of future trading negotiations with the US, Daisy Cooper MP, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader and Treasury Spokesperson, said:

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Chris Ward

ALDC By-Election Report, 8th May

By Chris Ward | Fri 9th May 2025 - 7:43 pm

Following the 95 local by-elections we saw on the undercard for the 1st May elections, we returned this week to a rather more sedentary two. On Thursday 8th May, there was a Labour defence in Calderdale, and a Liberal Democrat defence in Eastleigh.

Congratulations to Cllr Mark Harding and the team in Eastleigh, for not only successfully defending the Eastleigh Central seat, but increasing the Lib Dem vote share.

Eastleigh District Council, Eastleigh Central
Liberal Democrats (Mark Harding): 1020 (46.6%, +9.2)
Reform UK: 611 (27.9%, +20.0)
Labour: 319 (14.6%, -18.8)
Conservative: 149 (6.8%, -7.0)
Independent: 90 (4.1%, new)
Liberal Democrat HOLD

Elsewhere, Alexander Gow flew the Lib Dem flag in Skircoat, whilst Labour lost to Reform. Well done to the team in Calderdale for adding to the share of the vote here, and overtaking the Conservatives in the process!

Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council, Skircoat
Reform UK: 1392 (36.8%, new)
Labour: 1059 (28%, -23.1)
Green Party: 566 (14.96%, +0.2)
Liberal Democrats (Alexander Gow): 411 (10.9%, +2.7)
Conservative: 355 (9.4%, -15.7)
Reform UK GAIN from Labour

Thank you to all of our candidates, agents, and campaign teams.

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Michal Siewniak

What next for the Catholic Church?

By Michal Siewniak | Fri 9th May 2025 - 5:53 pm

Although I am neither a theologian nor an expert on the teaching of the Church, I found the moment of choosing the next Pope deeply important. I would never shy away from the fact that faith plays an important part in my life. No, I am not better than anyone else because I believe. However, I find it extremely helpful to know that I have, to put it simply in lay terms, someone I can spiritually lean on or rely on.

I am also aware that, as we live in a more secularised society, religion to some is becoming less relevant. However, I am personally convinced that the faith communities continue to make such a positive and meaningful impact on our communities.

Now, back to the Vatican! Cardinal Robert Prevost becomes 267th Pontiff, as the first American Pope! He has chosen to be known as Leo XIV. Born in Chicago, he spent many years in South America, in particular in Peru. He actually holds dual citizenship. Some argue that he is young (69) and inexperienced as he was nominated by Pope Francis as a Cardinal only 2 years ago. He comes from the Augustinian order. Some say that he has a joyful, outgoing character and a very good sense of humour.

The Catholic Church is at a big crossroad. The tensions between the liberal and more traditional wings of the Church have deepened. I am delighted that he already emphasised the importance of building bridges and creating opportunities for dialogue. I am pleased that, although he is described as a moderate, he might continue and enhance the work that has been undertaken by his predecessor, Pope Francis.

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Andy Daer

When will we impose sanctions on Israel ?

By Andy Daer | Fri 9th May 2025 - 10:03 am

For years, many of us have been asking what it would take for the British government to officially recognise Palestine – in order to delegitimise the Israeli annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, and usher in the end of the territorial ambitions of Israel’s far-right.  Well, now we know it’s not Israel bombing Gaza flat in a lethal campaign involving deliberately targeting schools, universities and hospitals, killing tens of thousands of civilians including humanitarian workers, ignoring and disrespecting the UN and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and adding starvation as a war tactic.  The current British government has responded to the Gaza war with the usual evasions and denials.

And yet it was Great Britain which told the League of Nations when we took responsibility for Palestine after World War I that delivering a fair outcome for all the peoples of Mandate Palestine was “a sacred duty for Civilisation”.  Although the passage of time has dimmed that memory for us, it understandably hasn’t dimmed it for the generations of Palestinians who have lived under what Amnesty International calls a system of “oppression” and “apartheid”.  Israeli historian Ilan Pappe long ago called the West Bank an open prison, and Gaza a closed prison.

The key sticking point now is whether or not the destruction of Gaza and its people constitutes genocide.  If the UK government admits that Israel’s actions in Gaza seem like genocide it will be obliged, under the Genocide Convention, to act to stop it, and because of that, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has stood up in the House of Commons and said categorically that he does not recognise what is happening as genocide.

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Mark Valladares

8 May 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 9th May 2025 - 12:10 am
  • US and UK trade deal: Parliament must be given a vote
  • Interest rates: Trump tariffs, spiralling bills and jobs tax still ‘hammering’ millions of households
  • UK-US deal: would show “complete disrespect” to public if waved through with no vote
  • Greene responds to direct award of ferries to CalMac
  • Cole-Hamilton marks VE Day
  • McArthur responds to FM’s comments on assisted dying

US and UK trade deal: Parliament must be given a vote

Commenting on reports that a US/UK trade deal will be announced later today, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Parliament must be given a vote on this US trade deal so it can be properly scrutinised.

A good trade deal with the US could bring huge benefits, but Liberal Democrats are deeply concerned that it may include measures that threaten our NHS, undermine our farmers or give tax cuts to US tech billionaires.

If the government is confident the agreement it has negotiated with Trump is in Britain’s national interest, it should not be afraid to bring it before MPs.

Interest rates: Trump tariffs, spiralling bills and jobs tax still ‘hammering’ millions of households

Responding to the Bank of England cutting interest rates to 4.25%, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

Today’s rate cut is of course welcome news, but it cannot distract from the fact that millions of households are still being hammered by Trump’s tariffs, spiralling bills and a growth-crushing jobs tax that is already eating into pay packets.

To break the cycle of stagnation left by the Conservatives, the government must scrap its jobs tax, fix the broken business rates system and stand up to Trump’s tariffs.

We urge the government to build an economic coalition of the willing with European and Commonwealth allies and set its sights higher by pursuing a bespoke UK-EU customs union. This is the way to reboot our economy, rebuild public services and protect family finances.

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Mark Valladares

Maiden speech – Lord (Shaffaq) Mohammed

By Mark Valladares | Thu 8th May 2025 - 2:07 pm

Last week saw the second maiden speech from our recent small, but evidently perfectly-formed, Lords intake. Shaffaq made his debut during the Second Reading of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill last Thursday.

My Lords, it is with profound humility and sincere gratitude that I rise to make my maiden speech in your Lordships’ House. Never did I imagine, as a child born in Kashmir to parents from a humble farming background, that I would stand here among your Lordships, not as an observer but as an equal, entrusted with responsibilities to speak

…

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Mark Corner

Electoral Reform must be a priority now

By Mark Corner | Thu 8th May 2025 - 11:55 am

When the Labour Party won its ‘loveless landslide’ in 2024, its interest in electoral reform became conveniently weaker. By the time that Labour had won a huge majority at the last election, The Guardian’s Peter Walker was reporting that ‘the leadership could barely be less interested’ in electoral reform, even though there was and still is significant support for it within the Labour Party. 

What about one year on, as the dust settles on the recent local elections? The results show that five parties are now competing and winning significant support. Will this lead to a different attitude towards electoral reform on the part of the Labour leadership? 

Probably not. There are already three arguments being used to suggest that nothing much has changed. The first is that Reform will have responsibility now. They’ll have to run some councils. People will then see how useless they are. I have no truck with Reform’s policies, but this is not a case of the lunatics taking over the asylum. The idea that Reform are no more than a bunch of nutters and bigots, often with a dodgy criminal past, will not do. It is more likely that as with other extreme right-wing parties, for instance in France and Germany, their influence will linger, and they will continue to have a base of support. The right approach is to take them seriously while being firmly opposed to their policies. And that means not having an electoral system where they might be able to take complete control with no more than one-third of the vote.

The second argument (perhaps unsurprisingly) looks away from our European neighbours to go further afield. See what’s happened in Canada and Australia, it says. Centre-left parties were written off there, but look at Mark Carney and Anthony Albanese, who both won recent elections. Yet these elections took place in very different circumstances. Carney’s victory, for instance, involved challenging Trump and being prepared to retaliate where appropriate. Not exactly the way Starmer deals with Trump.

 The third argument used to suggest that it will all soon be ‘business as usual’ again is that these five parties, like globules in a 1970s lava lamp, will end up recombining, Reform joining up with the Tories, perhaps the Greens with Labour or the Lib Dems. I think this is very unlikely. The five parties are now well-organised throughout the country and will not hesitate to put up their own candidates in future elections. I would also argue that there are still significant differences of policy between them.

 For these three reasons, I fear that the Labour leadership will not take electoral reform as seriously as it should. Might it change its mind as we get closer to 2029 (as it has before on this issue)? It might, but even if it does change its mind, will it legislate to reform the voting system? Or will it end up promising to have another Commission looking yet again into all the alternatives and making recommendations to be implemented after the next election – which may become a classic case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted?

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David Vigar

How do we deal with Reform?

By David Vigar | Thu 8th May 2025 - 9:30 am

Canvassing last month in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, we came across a middle-aged woman in her garden. “I’ve had enough of all of you. I’m voting Reform”, she said.

Our candidate, Julie, calmly explained that it was a local election and a chance to vote for someone who would work hard for residents on planning, potholes, housing and other issues. Reform didn’t have much to say about those things. And Julie also observed that while she was out meeting people, the Reform candidate was nowhere to be seen.       

A week or so later, when we were visiting postal voters, I knocked on the same woman’s door, inevitably with some trepidation. But it was good news. She’d thought about what we had said. She hadn’t been canvassed by Reform. And she voted for Julie because she’d met her and liked her.

So that’s one way to win over a potential Reform voter. And there are others. For some, a reminder that the Lib Dems are the party of carers, with a leader who is himself a carer, provides a positive alternative. For others, pointing out that Farage thinks Putin is the most admirable world leader prompts a rethink. 

So the rise of Reform creates both an opportunity and a challenge. As Ed Davey has pointed out, we’re seeing a surge in people joining the party because they are worried by Reform and believe we stand for true British values – compassion, tolerance, environmentalism and internationalism. That’s the opportunity.

But it should not stop there. We need to step up to the challenge of stemming the rise of Reform. As we found on the doorsteps, not all Reform voters are nasty people. There are some outright racists out there, and some very angry characters, but also a lot of decent folk who feel left behind, don’t know much about politics and are attracted by simple but misleading messages. I’m sure others met voters who were choosing between Reform and us. The risk is that more of this group will fall for the Farage narrative. Our task is to figure out what will appeal just as powerfully to the positive side of their nature. As the examples above show, it can be done. It works. Julie is now a County Councillor.

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The Voice

VE Day: “British leadership” a “force for good” – 80 years ago and today

By The Voice | Thu 8th May 2025 - 7:30 am

Marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, said:

80 years ago today, huge crowds of people across the country came together to celebrate the news that Britain and our allies had secured victory in Europe. What it must’ve felt like for the people in those crowds.

Today and always we should be proud of everything they achieved, and remember with gratitude all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of our country and our freedoms – who gave their tomorrows for our todays.

British leadership offered real hope for the world, and has continued to,

…

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Mark Valladares

7 May 2025 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Wed 7th May 2025 - 11:55 pm
  • Cole-Hamilton: Only the Lib Dems can get Scotland back to its best
  • Scot Lib Dems comment on SNP candidate list
  • Legal Experts express support for Assisted dying bill
  • Scot Lib Dems respond to Swinney independence comments
  • Labour steal Deputy Mayor appointment as part of a “grubby deal” for control of Oldham Council

Cole-Hamilton: Only the Lib Dems can get Scotland back to its best

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that only his party can deliver a fairer vision for Scotland and get our communities back on track, as he marked one year to go until the Scottish Parliament election.

Mr Cole-Hamilton is visiting a local business in Edinburgh Northern today with Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, the party’s candidate for the constituency. Edinburgh Northern is a key target seat for the party at next year’s election. At the 2022 local elections, Scottish Liberal Democrats won the area covered by the new seat by 29.3% to the SNP’s 25.0%.

The party is highlighting their priorities for the next election. This includes faster access to local healthcare like GPs and dentists, recruiting more teachers to put Scotland at the forefront of key industries like renewables and precision medicine and speeding up the delivery of important infrastructure, particularly the dualling of the A9 and A96.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

The SNP have been in charge for eighteen years and our health service, economy and education are all on their knees. They have let Scotland down.

When people look around at some of the alternatives, they feel frustrated. Labour were elected promising change, but they have clobbered small businesses and care providers with a cruel jobs tax. The Conservatives are lurching to extremes and abandoning the centre ground.

Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have a vision for getting Scotland back to its best.

We want a Scotland where people get the local healthcare they need, when they need it. We want to give our children a world-class education and a thriving economy where the government looks after your money and works with its neighbours. We want a Scotland where our rural communities are listened to, not talked down to.

If Scots back us, we can defeat the SNP’s Kate Forbes in the highlands, win constituency seats in areas like Edinburgh and East Dunbartonshire and elect more Liberal Democrat candidates on the regional lists in every corner of Scotland who will be strong local champions delivering on the issues that matter most.

Scot Lib Dems comment on SNP candidate list

Commenting on the SNP releasing their candidate list, Christine Jardine MP said:

If only the SNP government were always as good at recycling as they are with their candidate list. We’d have no difficulty hitting our climate change targets.

Stephen Flynn has obviously decided that he’s bored of staring at the back of Ed Davey’s head each week and decided to try his hand in the Scottish Parliament. Given some of the language his supporters have been throwing around, I’m not sure that is a prospect his female colleagues will relish.

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Mark Valladares

7 May 2025 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Wed 7th May 2025 - 11:40 pm

Let’s see if we can restore this feature…

  • Lib Dems tell Government to stop “flip-flopping” and introduce EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay
  • Lib Dems slam Govt as “asleep at the wheel” on tech as Labour rejects common-sense reforms to Data Bill
  • The ghost of Liz Truss: Lib Dems attack Welsh Conservatives unfunded tax cuts
  • Shoplifting rises by a third across Scotland

Lib Dems tell Government to stop “flip-flopping” and introduce EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay

Responding to the Government’s comments that they may finally be implementing a Youth Mobility Scheme with the EU, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Europe James MacCleary has said:

Labour now needs to stop flip-flopping and introduce an EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay. Our young people won’t forgive them if they don’t.

For months now, the Government has totally dismissed the idea of extending a scheme we already have in place with countries like Australia and Japan to our European allies.

Securing a youth mobility scheme with the EU would be a common sense win-win – creating new opportunities for our young people and delivering a much-needed boost to our economy.

Lib Dems slam Govt as “asleep at the wheel” on tech as Labour rejects common-sense reforms to Data Bill

The Lib Dems have hit out at the Government’s ‘sell-out’ approach to tech policy as Labour MPs vote against “common-sense reforms” in the Data Bill this evening.

Labour MPs rejected plans proposed by the Lib Dems to restrict companies’ access to the personal data of under-16s and to protect British creatives from having their work scraped by AI models in the Commons this evening.

The online safety legislation would have protected children between 13 and 16 from having their data harvested by social media giants. Tech companies can use the data of under-16s to drive hyper-targeted advertising and content pushed by addictive algorithms, driving children’s engagement with digital content.

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Pia Corbishley

The success of Reform in recent elections should be a wake-up call

By Pia Corbishley | Wed 7th May 2025 - 2:00 pm

How many times do we have to read the headline: “Migrants killed”, to realise that there is a tragedy in the world, a problem far greater than immigrants entering England. From the safety of our own homes it may feel difficult to empathise with people in such desperate situations. However, it is essential for the sake of humanity that we learn to understand and educate ourselves on the lives of immigrants before voting for a party branded as being anti-immigration.

Unfortunately, due to the current geopolitical climate, there are millions of people who have been displaced as a result of the violence and threat to their own lives. These innocent people have to make treacherous journeys, risking their own lives during it. Once they arrive in a safer country they often face racism, xenophobia and discrimination. Having just won the by-election and 677 council seats out of around 1600 up for election, there is now a huge risk of a growing support for Reform.

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Mo Waqas

National Insurance exemption in UK-India deal is a gift to populism

By Mo Waqas | Wed 7th May 2025 - 9:30 am

The recently finalised UK-India Free Trade Agreement is being sold as a triumph —promising billions in new trade and a “win-win” for both economies. But beneath the headlines lies a provision that risks inflaming division, undermining fairness, and feeding the very populism we as Liberal Democrats stand against.

Under this agreement, Indian workers on temporary assignment in the UK will be exempt from paying National Insurance contributions for up to three years. Crucially, their employers will also be exempt. In practical terms, this means a British worker earning £15 an hour, and their employer, will both be paying into our social safety net—the NHS, pensions, sick pay—while an Indian worker earning the same wage and their employer will not. That is not just a loophole; it’s a loaded gun in the hands of populists.

Unfairness that will not go unnoticed

Let’s be frank: this arrangement is grossly unfair. It creates a two-tier workforce, and British workers will feel it acutely. We already ask our citizens to contribute through National Insurance so we can collectively fund services like the NHS and social care. If they see others working here, earning the same wage, using the same roads, hospitals, and infrastructure—yet contributing nothing to the pot—they will rightly question why.

And it won’t take long for populist voices to weaponise this. “Foreign workers don’t pay into the system.” “British jobs undercut.” This isn’t dog-whistle politics—it’s a klaxon, and the government is ringing it. The Liberal Democrats have long championed internationalism, but we cannot let that blind us to how policies land on the ground in working-class communities.

This isn’t about being anti-India. It’s about ensuring that when you live and work her, whether for three months or three year, you contribute like everyone else. Anything less breaks the basic contract of fairness that holds our society together.

A direct undercut to British workers

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Caron Lindsay

Congratulations to Layla and Rosy on the birth of their baby

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 7th May 2025 - 8:55 am

Gorgeous news to wake up to this morning. Layla Moran is starting 5 months of parental leave after she and her partner Rosy welcomed their first baby.

The BBC reports:

Layla Moran has said she is “delighted” to announce the birth of her first child with her partner and will be taking parental leave for about five months.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said the baby had been born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and was “doing very well”.

Ms Moran added: “In this moment of joy for our family I want to thank the NHS staff who are taking such good care of us.

“I also want to thank in advance my amazing parliamentary and campaigns staff, the clerks of the select committee and my fellow MPs for supporting me in taking parental leave.

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Victor Chamberlain

Planning reform must empower communities – not sideline them

By Victor Chamberlain | Wed 7th May 2025 - 7:30 am

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill could have been an opportunity to empower communities, speed up sustainable development, and unlock infrastructure delivery. Instead, the government has chosen a path that centralises power in Whitehall, undermines local decision-making, and erodes trust in the planning system.

Nowhere is this clearer than in Clause 46, which would allow ministers to impose a national scheme of delegation, stripping elected councillors of their role in deciding planning applications. In doing so, it introduces a sweeping ministerial power that amounts to a dangerous democratic deficit.

Liberal Democrats stand firmly against this kind of centralising power grab. We believe planning decisions should be made by local people, with local knowledge, for the benefit of local communities. Clause 46 does the opposite – delegating decisions away from elected councillors and allowing the Secretary of State to override local planning committees, rewrite council constitutions, and reduce the size of planning committees by ministerial decree. This is yet another “Henry VIII clause” – giving central government the power to silence local voices at the stroke of a pen.

As Deputy Chair of the Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board, I’ve written a detailed briefing for our parliamentarians to ensure that the voice of Liberal Democrat councillors and councils is heard loud and clear during this Bill’s passage. I’m proud that Gideon Amos MP, the Liberal Democrats’ Spokesperson for Housing and Planning, and Olly Glover MP are leading the charge in the Bill Committee with clarity and purpose.

As Gideon said:

We want to see a Bill about communities leading in planning and development. Instead, the Bill is part of a growing trend that is taking powers away from local communities… Taking decisions out of councillors’ hands is taking decisions out of the hands of local people… removing people and their councillors from the system does not mean faster planning, but less democratic planning.

He’s absolutely right. The evidence is clear: councils approve more than 85% of planning applications – some studies say it’s closer to 90%. Councillors are not blocking development; they’re facilitating it. And they’re doing so with community consent and local insight – the very things that make planning sustainable and defensible.

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Samuel Jackson

Reform UK: Setting up themselves and their constituents for failure

By Samuel Jackson | Tue 6th May 2025 - 10:00 am

Embed from Getty Images

In this year’s local elections, we had a great showing. The Liberal Democrats gained 163 councillors, majority control of three county councils and now lead in five hung councils. The Conservatives and Labour were both clearly rebuked for their track records. Is it any wonder that a running theme of the election coverage has been the ‘death of two-party politics’?

However, we cannot deny that was a great night for Reform UK. They have won the concurrent Runcorn and Helsby by-election, and gained 677 new councillors, control of ten councils, and the newly created mayoralties of Hull and East Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire. And they are now the leading party in three hung councils.

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Tom Reeve

Beating Reform will require a new economic settlement for the working class 

By Tom Reeve | Sun 4th May 2025 - 12:30 pm

Reform is on the rise. Led by the garrulous Farage, it is hoovering up votes across the country by doing one simple thing: articulating the grievances of the working classes. 

While it is generally recognised that populism rarely leads to stable government, there is a growing realisation that Reform has a point. It’s not easy, but if we look beyond their abhorrent views on race, religion and equality, they are articulating an economic critique. 

Okay, characterising it as a ‘critique’ is a bit of a stretch – it lacks intellectual rigour or depth – but Farage’s economic cri de coeur resonates with the working classes because it speaks to their lived experience. 

Reform can make the running on this because they are the only ones singing the song. 

Although GDP in Western countries has grown hugely since the 1990s, median wages have remained largely static. That’s the kind of dry economic statistic that is almost guaranteed to put half your audience to sleep while inciting the other half to argue vehemently over its causes. However, the reality of what that means is clear to see. The rich have got richer – much richer – while the poor squeak by. 

We shouldn’t be surprised to see that this leads to political unrest, but some people try to dismiss this as the politics of envy. After all, the reasoning goes, many people may be poor in relative terms, but in absolute terms, they are much richer than previous generations. So what are they complaining about? 

We also live in an unprecedented era of social mobility, in which numerous people have ascended the economic ladder, with some of them becoming fabulously wealthy. It’s self-evident, is it not, that people who don’t get ahead only have themselves to blame. 

Where the politics of envy narrative fails is in ignoring a fundamental facet of human nature, the sense of fairness. Fairness is intrinsic to human psychology – it even appears to be inherent to the psychology of other social animals such as wolves and other animals. We ignore this primal instinct at our peril. 

Is it fair that some people can afford to own several nice homes when many others cannot afford to own even one basic one? If the purpose of an economy is to allocate resources to the members of society, is it fair that some people spend lavishly on luxuries while many others watch every penny? Can we say that we live in a fair society when the poorest among us struggle to put food on the table for their families, or – that awful phrase – have to choose between eating and heating? 

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True Blue Shropshire is now an Orange County – but Reform is lurking 

By Andy Boddington | Sun 4th May 2025 - 11:00 am

Was it a portent? A few hours before the polls closed on Thursday, much of Shropshire was deluged as thunderstorms swept the county. As new shoots geared up for growth in our parched gardens, the skies glowed orange across much of Shropshire. 

The Conservatives have been routed from Shropshire. The Liberal Democrats now control Shropshire Council after sixteen years of Conservative mismanagement. We Lib Dems have taken 42 sests out of 74. The Tories held on to a miserable seven seats and not a single cabinet member survived the carnage. Some fled or retired before the battle. The others were dismissed by the electorate. 

It is worrying, but not greatly, that Reform UK is the second largest party with 16 seats. That gives it seats on committees but not enough influence to pursue its own agenda. 

National trends had an influence but local strengths and weaknesses were often the deciding factor. It is clear from the pattern of results that Reform won where the existing councillor (of whatever party) had little engagement with the community. They attended meetings but did not work day in day out the way most Lib Dems do. In most areas, Reform did little campaigning relying on the Farage effect. 

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Caron Lindsay

Ed: Lib Dems on track to overtake the Conservatives at the next General Election

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 4th May 2025 - 10:27 am

Ed Davey was on Laura Kuenssberg for the second Sunday in a row to talk about the local election results. It was a good interview but I have one rather large note for him at the end.

Kuenssberg challenged him on the fact that our vote share didn’t move? Shouldn’t you have been hoovering up in share of the vote, she asked. Here is how the interview unfolded:

We had a fantastic night, Laura, winning a majority in Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Shropshire, becoming the largest party in and almost winning in Gloucestershire, Devon, Hertfordshire and Wiltshire so we were very pleased with our results. We are now the second party in local government, overtaking the Conservatives and I think we are on track to overtake the Conservatives at the next General Election so whichever way you look at it, it was a great result for the Liberal Democrats.

LK You are in the leafiest place I have ever seen, you are very obviously targeting leafy Middle England but does that mean that you have given up on other parts of the country

Ed:

I think Middle England is the rest of the country. It is the whole country. It is the vast majority of people who want common sense, practical policies to fix the things that need fixing whether it’s potholes or social care.

We are now the official opposition in County Durham. It was the Conservatives and Labour who lost seats to Reform there. We actually gained seats and we are going to hold Reform to account. In Hull and East Riding we didn’t quite get over the line there but it was a brilliant team performance. In next year’s local elections in many of those northern cities I expect us to do well. Actually it was in the south where Reform got beaten, the Liberal Democrats holding back Reform in places like Buckinghamshire.

I am really proud. I think this is a massive step forward for the Liberal Democrats. I think that it’s our community politics, our focus on the issues that matter to people is coming through. I’m proud that the Liberal Democrats are taking on Reform and I think it could work if we can show that their support for people like Donald Trump and Elon Musk actually isn’t very popular. Look what Mark Carney did in Canada, defeating a hard right opponent by standing up for patriotism for Canada. Anthony Albanese in Australia defeating the hard right candidate who liked Trump.

If we can expose the fact that Nigel Farage is so keen on Donald Trump that will mean that Liberal Democrats will come through. I have been very disappointed in the fact that Labour and Conservatives have almost copied Reform and moved towards Reform. I think we should call them out for what they stand for.

LK Nigel Farage said he took his inspiration from the Liberal Democrats, would you take any inspiration from him.

Ed

He clearly doesn’t share our values and we don’t share his. I think what’s going to happen now that they have to run Councils, we will see what they do. In the election, Farage said they would cut finding for special educational needs and disabled children and young people. I think families across the country will be really worried by that.

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