Suzanne Fletcher

Stopping the boats but what about the people?

By Suzanne Fletcher | Mon 8th July 2024 - 1:12 pm

We are, of course, delighted to have a Home Secretary that has humanity and is a decent human being, unlike her predecessors who “shall not be named”.

We are, of course, delighted that the wicked Rwanda Bill is going to be scrapped, and the remaining detainees threatened with being sent to Rwanda released and on bail for now.
However it is all very well to concentrate on Stop the Boats, but what about those who then are stuck in Northern France?

“New border security command” sounds good, securing our borders. But exactly who from?

There are thousands of people (yes people, not statistics or …

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Caron Lindsay

How did the Lib Dems do for gender balance this election?

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th July 2024 - 11:15 am

For the first time, the number of women elected to Parliament has topped 40%. As Lyanne Nicholl, the Chief of 50:50 Parliament wrote on the Huffington Post,

This truly is a historic day – a 50:50 Parliament is now no longer a dot on the horizon, it is beaming into view and – with a fair wind – we can even dare to hope to reach equal representation in the next election.

We are not there yet, 40% is not 50%, but to potentially have a government with more women MPs than ever before and the potential of a gender balanced cabinet; that is exciting and cause for celebration. This is a great day for women’s representation.

Gender balance has not always been a positive story for the Liberal Democrats. It’s only in the last Parliament that we have ever had a majority of women MPs. At the start of the Parliament, we had 4 men and 7 women. By the end, this had risen to 5 men and 10 women. How are we doing now that we have an extra 57 people in our Parliamentary party? After all, the last time we had 57 MPs, our number of women was in single figures.

The answer is not too bad. We have 32 women in the 2024 Parliament, which makes up 44% of the total. This is not too far off Labour, who have 46% women and it’s great Keir Starmer has appointed a record number of women to his Cabinet. I have to admit a small tear in my eye as Angela Rayner walked up Downing Street. Whatever political differences I have with her, I am so happy to see someone with experience of social housing and of being a care worker in charge of housing and employment rights.

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Nicholas Belfitt

Lib Dem fightback completed! But what next….?

By Nicholas Belfitt | Mon 8th July 2024 - 9:47 am

Ten years ago, in 2014, I joined the Liberal Democrats. Shortly after, I witnessed the political collapse of the party. It was a sobering time, and I recall a few weeks later when Tim Farron took over and revitalized the party with the message of a Liberal Democrat fightback. The directive was clear: our party must survive, and we must fight to become a competent force once again. Thus, the Liberal Democrat fightback began.

Unfortunately, these were dark years. Despite our best efforts, we lost several key battles, including Brexit, and suffered significant setbacks in 2017 and 2019. By 2019, I even began to doubt whether our party would ever return to prominence or remain on the fringes forever. However, after ten years of relentless struggle from the sidelines, we are back. Under Ed Davey’s leadership and the hard work of our party members, we have not only secured a record number of seats but also rebuilt our liberal movement. The Liberal Democrat fightback is complete. But what now?

Now is the time to celebrate, to enjoy the moment of this election, and to recognize the success of our party’s machinery, the individuals, the volunteers, the workers, and everyone who is part of the party. However, with success also comes the responsibility to identify areas for improvement. While this victory, marked by our impressive seat numbers, demonstrates that target seating works, it also reveals a concerning issue that must be addressed in the next five years.

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Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 8 July 2024 – have you not been entertained?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 8th July 2024 - 7:30 am

Good heavens, wasn’t Thursday night fun? It’s been nearly twenty years since I enjoyed an election night that much, given that even 2010 was bittersweet as a series of seats slipped out of our grasp just when we thought that a massive surge was on.

Watching Conservative MP after Conservative MP lose their seats was reassurance that the British public can’t be fooled all of the time, taking the opportunity to find imaginative ways to defeat a discredited and disgraced administration. And to see so many new faces, many of whom will be new even to our own membership, can only inspire a new generation of activists to push on in next year’s local elections, both to shore up our support in the gained seats, but to create a new set of potential targets for 2029.

Because times are about to get interesting. Labour are going to have to do something similar in those seats that they gained on 4 July, especially those in rural areas such as Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket or Suffolk Coastal in my neighbourhood, where they won despite the almost total absence of a local government base. We know that their activist base is predominantly urban, but does success breed a new activist base for them beyond the old heartlands?

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The Voice

Simon Foster’s campaign photos

By The Voice | Sun 7th July 2024 - 6:45 pm

The ever energetic and creative Simon Foster has been putting up amazing displays of stakeboards across the South Central region. He has sent us six of his best. Enjoy:

Local residents give their thanks in Winchester


Newly elected Cllr Richard Murphy (left) who won a district council election with a majority of over 1,000 on the night
with Danny Chambers MP (right)

A shrine to Liberalism which appeared in Eve of poll next to the strongest green display, right in the heart of Winchester.

The Shield Wall at an Eastleigh committee room. The people of Wessex were “invited to rise up in revolt at their evil Tory overlords. It worked!

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The Voice

Our new MPs: Martin Wrigley, Ben Maguire, Ian Roome, Roz Savage and Caroline Voaden

By The Voice | Sun 7th July 2024 - 4:42 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Martin Wrigley MP: Newton Abbot

Martin worked in high tech industry for over 30 years and has lived in Teignbridge for over 25 years.

He is a former Mayor of Dawlish and has been involved in local community politics since 2013.

Martin grew up in a Navy family and lived all over the world. Twenty five years ago he brought his young family to live in Dawlish and fell in love with the area.

Martin said “I want to make sure that that people locally have a good home they can afford and a good future.

We must look after the environment and the beautiful area in which we live as well as build a flourishing economy and a caring society.”

Twitter: @martinwrigley

Ben Maguire MP: North Cornwall

Born in Treliske, 32 year old Ben grew up in Withiel near Wadebridge and went to school in Bodmin where his mother was a teacher and his father a GP.
After graduating, Ben worked as a Parliamentary aide and constituency caseworker to former Lib Dem MPs Dan Rogerson and later Ian Swales. He also took research placements in the Hong Kong Legislative Council and the United States Senate.

More recently, Ben has worked as a solicitor in top international law firms and in the microchip industry.

Twitter: @benmaguirenc

 

Ian Roome MP: North Devon

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The Voice

Our new MPs Max Wilkinson, Sarah Gibson, Anna Sabine, Brian Mathew, Vikki Slade

By The Voice | Sun 7th July 2024 - 3:34 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Max Wilkinson MP: Cheltenham

Max Wilkinson is a well-known face around Cheltenham. He’s served the town for more than ten years and lives in Fairview with his wife and daughter.

During his decade of service to our town as a local councillor, Max has helped Cheltenham make progress on issues ranging from affordable housing to the environment and cost of living. He is already deeply embedded in the community and he knows how this town works. He’s ready to hit the ground running as our new MP.

Max was a local councillor until May 2024, when he stepped aside to focus on his campaign to become the MP. In his early years of campaigning, he led the fight for more affordable housing, leading to Cheltenham’s £180million investment plan for homes.

He spent two years fighting for our planet as Cabinet Member for Climate Change, leading on the introduction of a climate action plan and tough new rules on planning so we can get a better deal from developers.

He moved on to a role focused on the economy and wellbeing. There, he worked closely with our arts and culture sectors on a new plan to enhance the prosperity of our High Street. Max also worked on the cost of living, securing more money for food banks and support for food bank users.

He has also written a fair few articles for us.

Twitter: @mpmwilko

Sarah Gibson MP: Chippenham

Sarah was brought up here in Wiltshire, She studied architecture in London, joining the Liberal party at freshers week! She returned home to Wiltshire after working in Spain for some years to set up an architectural practice.

As a Wiltshire Councillor she realised that the issues she and her peers were fighting at Local Government level need a strong champion at Westminster.

As your Member of Parliament, she pledges to work tirelessly for the betterment of the whole constituency, addressing critical issues and advocating for positive change. Supporting our excellent local councillors here and across the constituency.

Twitter: @sarahgibsonld

Anna Sabine MP: Frome and East Somerset

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Caron Lindsay

Pink News highlights trans and non binary candidates – and makes some notable omissions

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th July 2024 - 2:15 pm

While it was great to see Pink News highlight the trans and non binary candidates across various parties who stood on Thursday, it was disappointing that they left some high profile trans and non binary candidates out.

Our Chris Northwood is a councillor in Manchester. She stood in Manchester Central. She has written several articles for us, on issues like the importance of storytelling, the Cass Review and how we could fund a Universal Basic Income. She is also a member of the Party’s Federal Council.

From the Manchester Lib Dems website:

Chris is standing in Manchester Central. Working in Manchester’s tech sector for over a decade, Chris was elected to Manchester City Council as the city’s first openly trans councillor in May 2023, and is the deputy leader of the Manchester Liberal Democrats.

In addition to her council role and local campaigning activity, she also works for a national charity as a software engineer, building websites that provide support to those in need.

Fellow candidate Amanda Clark commended Chris’s help and support on Twitter:

Absolutely and an excellent ALDC mentor…learnt loads from her and was very proud to stand up for trans rights at all my hustings.

The article also missed out prominent non binary Lib Dem candidate Adrian Hyyryylainen Trett. They stood in Old Bexley and Sidcup and are a former Chair of LGBT+ Lib Dems, an international campaigner for LGBT+ rights.

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The Voice

Our new MPs: Mike Martin, Danny Chambers, Charlie Maynard, Will Forster, Clive Jones

By The Voice | Sun 7th July 2024 - 1:15 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Mike Martin MP: Tunbridge Wells

Mike Martin is standing as the candidate for Tunbridge Wells. He is a former British army officer who served multiple tours in Helmand, Afghanistan. Since leaving the army, he has also had other leadership roles, including as a senior executive in a global charity working to bring different people and organisations together to solve problems.

Mike is a Senior Fellow at King’s College London – an expert in geopolitics and conflict – and the author of several books on psychology, conflict and travel.

His background has taught him a lot about how to understand and work with different perspectives, how to bring people together to solve problems and how to get difficult things done.

Mike is campaigning on making the town centre of Tunbridge Wells a town centre that is fit for the 21st century—greener, less traffic, and with more things for youngsters to do. He would also like to lead a drive towards building more affordable housing in the area and, crucially, to make sure there is sufficient infrastructure for the houses that we already have. This means enough GP surgeries, and school places, and public transport.

At a national and international level, Mike has significant expertise in geopolitics and conflict. If elected, his focus at a national level will be on helping guide the UK through the turbulent years that we face.

Twitter: @threshedthought

Danny Chambers MP: Winchester

Danny works as a vet in Winchester, is the trustee of two charities and was elected by his peers to the body that governs the veterinary profession. He’s been involved in charitable projects all over the world.

He is committed to campaigning for better healthcare services for Winchester. He has also used his platform as a vet to campaign nationally on wider issues ranging from mental health to animal welfare.

Danny enjoys cycling, running and hiking. One of his favourite routes is the Itchen Navigation along the route of the old canal.

Twitter: @dannyvet

Charlie Maynard MP: Witney

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Andrew Chandler

How I spent Polling Day

By Andrew Chandler | Sun 7th July 2024 - 12:15 pm

During a very long and miserable campaign by both Labour and the Tories, we Liberal Democrats had to resort to some pretty inventive campaign stunts to grab national attention. These efforts  aimed to inject some much-needed positivity into the campaign.

Finally, Election Day arrived, A momentous occasion where the collective voices of millions shape our nation’s future. Where employees (the politicians) meet their managers for their performance review and interviews (the voters). This is my election diary.

Morning:

I was jolted awake by my dad’s cat, whom I am currently looking after.  Begrudgingly, I got out of bed and fed her her second meal of the morning. To unwind, I turned on the news, played some music, and tidied up my dad’s house. The day felt sluggish, and the anticipation of the election results only made time crawl slower. I couldn’t wait for the government to change.

Afternoon:

Feeling restless, I ventured out for a long walk to my local polling station. On my way back, I chatted with various people.  I noticed a concerning trend: many in Stoke-on-Trent Central were planning to vote for Reform UK. Discussions often centred on Farage’s rhetoric about the NHS, immigration, and “woke culture.”

Stoke has a troubling history with far-right politics, having seen the BNP hold council seats and UKIP’s Paul Nuttall come second in the 2016 by-election. Despite its low immigrant population, people feel threatened by immigration.  Stoke’s managed decline since the 1980s of poverty, drug addiction, inadequate housing, and council mismanagement is evident. Unlike Liverpool or Manchester, it hasn’t seen significant regeneration. I remember a local headline from my teenage years promising EU-funded regeneration that never materialised. It worries me that Reform UK’s divisive politics are gaining traction here.

Back home, I recorded a few videos and decided what to wear for the count.

Evening: Voting

I arrived at the polling station, where a clerk reminded me to have my ID ready. I confidently reached into my pocket, only to realise I’d left it at home. Embarrassed, I raced back to fetch it.

10 pm: Exit Poll

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 7th July 2024 - 10:45 am

United States

It’s official: The United States judicial system is no longer independent.

And by destroying its independence the Supreme Court has knocked away one of the main pillars of American democracy and left the constitution’s carefully structured and revered system of checks and balances heavily politicised and largely controlled by the executive.

Of course, the US judicial system was already heavily politicised. But the Supreme Court took its role as the top court seriously enough to avoid political judgements. No longer.

America’s legal system is based on English Common Law. Many of the structures were determined by the great 18th-century British jurist William …

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Caron Lindsay

Ed Davey on Kuenssberg – what next for the Liberal Democrats?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th July 2024 - 10:03 am

There was a lovely shot at the top of this morning’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg of a very happy looking Ed Davey standing in his garden. Some might say he even looked a wee bit smug, but he is entirely entitled to do so after our amazing result on Thursday.

Lib Dem MPs will make up the third largest group in Parliament. That means that Ed will get two questions to the Prime Minister every week. We’ll get more speaking time. We’ll get more media time. I mean, we’re on Kuenssberg for the second  Sunday in a row.  We will still need to make the absolute most of every opportunity we get, but it’s a massive step forward. It’s strange to think that there will be only 49 more Tories than there are of us. While they will be ripping themselves apart trying to decide whether they are going to go full throttle ultra right or to try to regain some semblance of one nation conservatism, we will be united, dynamic and brimming with ideas.

It will be a change in dynamics, too. Our returning MPs have had to juggle several portfolios each and they have done so admirably.  We will now have the capacity to share the workload and have backbenchers for the first time in a decade. Maybe we might get a Select Committee chair or two.

Anyway, back to Ed’s interview.

Congratulations, I suppose, said Laura. A bit grudging, I have to say.

Her first question: What do you plan to do with all these new MPs?

It was an amazing result for us. We are excited by this opportunity. We fought the campaign putting health and care at the top of our list and we will fight in Parliament on health and care. I have already called for an emergency budget for health and care this month so we can start to rescue our NHS which has been brought to its knees by the Conservatives.

Will we be as tough on Labour as the Conservatives? Ed said that we would be putting forward our ideas on care, on the environment in the hope that Labour would take some of them on board.

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The Voice

Our new MPs: Chris Coghlan, Olly Glover, Josh Babarinde, Liz Jarvis, Helen Maguire

By The Voice | Sun 7th July 2024 - 8:00 am

Chris Coghlan MP:  Dorking and Horley

Chris stood to be Dorking and Horley’s Lib Dem MP because this is where he lives with his wife and three little girls, and where he grew up.

Chris spent a decade working in finance, in New York for Deloitte and a hedge fund in London, before pursuing a career in public service. He joined the Foreign Office’s counter-terrorism department, founded the international development charity Grow Movement, and served as an officer in the army reserve. In 2020 Chris was called up by the army and embedded as a military advisor with Iraqi forces fighting ISIS.

Chris’s top priorities for Dorking and Horley are urgent action to cut the cost of living, more NHS dentists and stopping sewage dumping in our rivers.

Chris says “I love this area, but I realise how very different things are from when I was young. Our NHS is on its knees. It’s a disgrace that the top reason for children being admitted to hospitals is tooth decay because they can’t make an appointment with a dentist.

We have a Conservative government that’s allowed our rivers to be polluted with record levels of raw sewage. A government that has condemned local taxpayers to pay spiralling mortgages and rent in a cost-of-living crisis.”

Twitter: @_chris_coghlan

Olly Glover MP: Didcot and Wantage

Olly Glover lives in Milton. He has spent all his working life on the railways, having held a range of senior operational management positions in Network Rail and train operating companies. These have involved leading large teams of train drivers, responsibility for major control centres, working in partnership with trade unions, and hands-on roles managing disruption, on the tracks and on station concourses. Olly now works as a consultant, using his knowledge to help railway companies in the UK and abroad to improve their operations.

Olly is a parish councillor in his village, a town councillor in Didcot, and volunteers as a visitor to people living with motor neurone disease.

Through his work and volunteering, Olly has a long record of serving the public and understanding people’s needs and frustrations.

Olly’s priorities for the constituency are campaigning for the NHS facilities that the area’s growing population need, continuing his work pressing for a new railway station in Grove, and supporting the Lib Dem plan to end sewage dumping and reform the water industry.

Twitter: @ollygloerld

Josh Babarinde MP: Eastbourne

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The Voice

Our new MPs: Joshua Reynolds, Alison Bennett, Lee Dillon, Alex Brewer, Alasdair Pinkerton

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 9:48 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Joshua Reynolds MP: Maidenhead

Joshua Reynolds is a familiar face across Maidenhead. Elected to the council in 2019, and now a cabinet member, Josh grew up in Courthouse Road and went to Alwyn, Courthouse and Furze Platt Senior Schools, only leaving to study in Cardiff where he graduated with a first-class degree in Business and Management Studies. On his return, he successfully managed a chain of supermarkets before taking the decision to devote himself full time to public service.

Joshua’s time in retail gave him a valuable insight into the cost-of-living crisis. He saw first hand how the crisis impacted his shoppers, and how the increase in shoplifting has hit local businesses.

He is also campaigning to see the walk-in centre re-opened at St Mark’s Hospital and the improvement and expansion of health services there and around the constituency to support the fast-growing population.

Joshua sees river pollution as another key issue and is calling for the water companies to be held to account for polluting our waterways. He fully supports the Lib Dem pledge to transform water companies into public benefit companies, ban bonuses for water bosses until the pollution ends, and replace Ofwat with a tough new regulator with much greater powers.

Twitter: @joshreynoldsSL6

Alison Bennett MP: Mid Sussex

Alison is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mid Sussex where she has lived for the last 12 years.

When Alison graduated from Cambridge in 1999 a career in politics was not anticipated. But as a young executive at British Airways, Alison proved an able problem solver in marketing, strategy, and business planning.

Later, at E.on, Alison confronted social challenges, working on products aimed at supporting people in fuel poverty. “I learnt much that has been valuable as a local politician in understanding what matters to people and the pinch points in their lives.”

Her commitment to public service was sparked when she became a parent. “I wanted my children to grow up knowing that regardless of who your parents are, everyone should have a fair chance of achieving their potential, and that when we see things aren’t right, we can step up and find a better way.”

Over the last nine years Alison has turned around the Mid Sussex Lib Dems’ fortunes. Having had no councillors in 2015, by 2019, she became leader of 13 Lib Dems on the district council. Then in May 2023, the party succeeded in leapfrogging the Conservatives to becoming the largest on the council.

Her pragmatic and collaborative approach emphasises building relationships across party lines. Alison underscores the importance of teamwork, stating, “One person alone can’t achieve things in politics. You have to motivate people, build a team, and pull in the same direction.” Her journey stands as a testament to the transformative power of tenacity and optimism in leadership.

Twitter: @alisonebennett

Lee Dillon MP: Newbury

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The Voice

Our new MPs: Monica Harding, Zoe Franklin, Freddie van Mierlo, John Milne, James Maccleary

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 8:44 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Monica Harding MP: Esher and Walton

Monica is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Esher and Walton. Monica is a local mum of four who has lived in Thames Ditton for 17 years with her elderly mother living close by in Hinchley Wood.

Monica has worked as a Director and CEO in the private, public and charity sectors. She was a Director of Communications with the British Council in London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai. She was President and CEO of Refugees International Japan and sat on the Board of Refugees International USA. She was CEO of the Industry and Parliament Trust and an Associate Consultant with PA Consulting and now works as a management consultant. She has been Vice Chair of Governors at a local school and a Trustee at Princess Alice Hospice. She founded The Britain Project in 2020, a convening space for progressives – a non-partisan, political movement seeking to build a broad liberal and progressive coalition built on the politics of hope, decency, integrity, fairness and the common-good. She hopes it can contribute to tackling the solutions to the big challenges we face – rather than lurching from election to election with no clear plan on the future of Britain.

Monica came into politics in 2019 with no political experience. She said she got ‘fed up with shouting at the TV and decided to do something about it’. She wanted her children to inherit the country she was given by her parents – the ability to make a good life from little, in a country that was full of opportunities, outward looking, tolerant, and ambitious for the future.

Monica’s priorities for Esher and Walton are the priorities she hears on the doorstep. She wants to ease the cost of living, improve our access to local health services and protect the NHS, and look after our environment including cleaning up our local rivers – the Thames and the Mole – which have been blighted by sewage. She has a keen interest in education, wants to better support our schools, refashion the curriculum for the future and improve access to mental health and SEN support for young people.

Twitter: @monicabeharding

Zoe Franklin MP: Guildford

Zöe Franklin is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Guildford. A former Guildford borough councillor for Bellfields & Slyfield, Zöe is a local and hardworking campaigner who has over 15 years of experience and will deliver the change we need.

Zöe became politically involved because she was sick of seeing her community being let down by the Conservative council and government. After 14 years of Conservative government, she is more angry today than ever and determined to ensure Guildford has the strong, active voice it needs in Westminster.

For Zöe, tackling the cost of living crisis is a priority. She has spoken to many people who have shared their struggles to pay their bills, put food on their table or buy clothing essentials for themselves or their children. Why do we still have people forced to rely on food banks in 21st-century Guildford? She wants fair taxes for all and benefits that really support people who are struggling.

She has also led campaigning, locally, on sewage dumping in the River Wey and the problems Guildford residents have experienced with Thames Water’s water supply, rising bills and hosepipe bans.

“Guildford has been my home for 25 years. Our town and villages are special places and deserve a strong independent-minded MP who will put local people first, be their voice in Westminster and fight tirelessly on the issues that matter to them.”

Twitter: @zoefranklinLD

Freddie Van Mierlo MP: Henley and Thame

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The Voice

Our new MPs – Lisa Smart, Susan Murray, Angus MacDonald, Calum Miller, Jess Brown-Fuller

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 7:30 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Lisa Smart MP – Hazel Grove

Born and brought up in the North West, Lisa lives in Romiley with her partner Ed, who grew up in High Lane, and their rescue dog Bonnie.

Lisa cares deeply about Hazel Grove constituency and its people, working as an active volunteer locally. Roles include serving as a trustee for the New Horizons Canal Boat for disabled people and their carers in Marple, as a volunteer for the Woodley & Romiley Towpath Team, and a trustee of the Barrack Hill Education Trust.

As an active and successful campaigner, she has been at the heart of include securing Specialist Status for Stepping Hill Hospital, saving the Rose Hill to Manchester rail service, and improving road safety across the borough.

Other areas Lisa is campaigning hard on are the climate emergency and the need for us to protect green space, tackle air pollution and protect wildlife.

The former Chief Executive of an international education development charity, Lisa is committed to making sure young people get the best start in life and their voices are heard. The first of her family to go to university, Lisa graduated from Durham University with a degree in Mathematics followed by an MBA from the London Business School.

Lisa is known for being gutsy and getting things done, whether it is through her voluntary roles, by working as a Director of the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust or though convincing Council bosses to give Asset of Community Value status to protect local green space.

Never afraid to stand up for what is right and fair, Lisa also knows how to demand better use of government money, with 12 years of experience looking after pension funds and charity investments for UK, US and Canadian clients.

Twitter: @lisa_smart

Susan Murray MP – Mid Dunbartonshire

Susan Murray is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mid Dunbartonshire. A current local councillor for Kirkintilloch East and North and Twechar, Susan is a strong, local and hardworking campaigner and has the experience that will deliver the change we need.

Too many MPs are career politicians with no understanding of life in the real world. She is a successful businesswoman who lives locally and will use here experience getting things done as an East Dunbartonshire councillor to deliver on the issues that matter most to residents.

For Susan, improving local healthcare is a personal priority. When her husband suffered a stroke, she became a carer. Her experience means Susan knows just how important it is to have good quality NHS facilities in our community, like the new Milngavie health and care centre she is campaigning for.

Twitter: @susan4_ED

Angus MacDonald MP – Inverness, Skye and West Ross-Shire

Brought up in the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe, he served three years as a lieutenant in the Queens Own Highlanders with three years as an Investment Manager at Martin Currie in Edinburgh before founding Edinburgh Financial Publishing in 1990. He sold EFP in 1997 and bought a majority stake in Financial News. This business grew rapidly before being sold in two parts to The Wall Street Journal and two private equity firms in 2006/7. ICS was sold to private equity in May 2018 and SWR was sold to Biffa in March 2019. He chairs Renewable Parts which supplies spare parts for wind turbines.

Angus was awarded The Spears Entrepreneur of the Year and Entrepreneurial Scotlands ‘Scale up Entrepreneur’ in 2017 for a combination of his serial and social entrepreneurship endeavours.

He was Vice President of The National Trust for Scotland. He founded the Moidart Trust to help small companies grow and flourish. He founded the Caledonian Challenge which raised approximately £15m for charity over 20 years. He was awarded an OBE for services to the Highlands.

He has had published a successful series of historical novels about the highlands and is the owner of the Highland Bookshop in Fort William. His recent big project has been the construction of the Highland Cinema in the town centre (his gift to the town), voted UK cinema of the year in 2023, and is Chairman of The Highland Soap Co.

He lives near Arisaig with his wife of 37 years, Michie and has 4 sons, Archie, Jack, Jamie and Donald.

Twitter: @angusmacdlibem

Calum Miller MP – Bicester and Woodstock

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Caron Lindsay

Finally – We have 72 MPs

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th July 2024 - 6:15 pm

Finally, after a combined total of about 18 hours of counting over 2 days, we have our 72nd MP. Angus MacDonald was confirmed as MP for Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire a while ago.

Alex Cole-Hamilton was very happy indeed:

My heart is in the highlands today. The Liberal Democrats were all but wiped out in 2015, but that wasn’t the worst thing to happen to us that year. Weeks later we lost Charles Kennedy.

That the final act of this general election should see his old seat returned to Lib Dem hands and the care of Angus MacDonald is simply wonderful.

I’m overjoyed that Angus has become the sensational sixth Scottish Liberal Democrat MP.

Angus has shown that the Liberal Democrats are the strongest voice for the Highlands. He will focus on what really matters, such as getting you NHS care close to home, improving dangerous roads and fighting for a fair deal for the Highlands.

Millions of people have voted for change and put their trust in us, so our job now is to repay it in full and be their local champions.

Join the Liberal Democrats today and you can be part of the change in both Scotland and the UK.

Here is the result

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The Voice

Our new MPs – Ian Sollom, Bobby Dean, Luke Taylor, Paul Kohler, Tom Morrison

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 5:58 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Ian Sollom MP- St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire

Ian has lived in Cambridgeshire with his wife Bec since 2005 when they both came to Cambridge for postgraduate studies. Completing his PhD in Astrophysics in 2010, Ian has since worked as a strategy consultant, helping businesses improve their decision making. Their son Erik arrived in 2012 and they now live in St Neots.

Ian grew up in rural Shropshire, attending the local comprehensive school. He studied Physics at Oxford before coming to Cambridge.

A District Councillor in South Cambridgeshire from 2018-2022, Ian was widely respected for his hard work and diligence. His time as a councillor has given Ian a deep understanding of local issues affecting residents and the challenges they face every day.

Twitter: @iansollom

Bobby Dean MP – Carshalton and Wallington

Bobby lives in Carshalton with his wife Gemma and dog Chester.

He was raised on a council estate, the son of a cleaner and a scaffolder, and now runs his own small business advising charities tackling global poverty.

It’s his family’s work ethic that inspires Bobby to roll up his sleeves and get things done for the community. He is passionate about making a difference, serving as a local Councillor and leading the fight to protect St Helier Hospital.

Bobby is hoping to follow in Tom Brake’s footsteps, working hard right across the constituency and always being on hand to help.

Luke Taylor MP – Sutton and Cheam

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The Voice

Our new MPs – Marie Goldman, Charlotte Cane, Victoria Collins, Steffan Aquarone, Pippa Heyling

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 4:21 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster. 

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here. 

Marie Goldman MP – Chelmsford

Marie has lived in Chelmsford for over twenty years. Her children were born in Chelmsford and she runs a small business here with her husband.

Marie got involved in politics to make here home city an even better place to live, leading projects such as refurbishing the theatre and Council support for small local businesses.

Marie has fought for improved GP services – Marie knows how important GP services are to Chelmsford residents. She made sure that Lib Dem-led Chelmsford City Council is investing to improve much-needed facilities, such as Sutherland Lodge surgery and allocating a site for a new surgery in the west of Chelmsford development.

Marie has championed the need for affordable local housing – Marie understands how difficult it is for everyone to buy or rent the home they need and can afford. This has been made even worse by the cost of living crisis. Marie has worked to get more affordable housing for our city, including new social-rent housing in places like Woodhall Road.

Marie has fought for better health services for our children – Marie shares the concern of many parents about the effects of the pandemic on children’s mental health. She is fighting to extend free school meals and better health services. She backs the Lib Dem plan to put a mental health professional in every school and ensure children never go hungry.

Twitter – @mariecgoldman

Charlotte Cane MP – Ely and East Cambridgeshire

Charlotte has lived in East Cambridgeshire for thirty years. As a child, she moved home often with her Army father. Her mother, a teacher, worked wherever he was posted. She read Ancient History & Archaeology at Birmingham, where she and her husband worked as field archaeologists. When interest rates hit 15% in 1990 they had to sell their home and Charlotte retrained with KPMG as a Chartered Accountant.

In 1994 a job with an arts charity brought Charlotte to Reach. Her two children were born in the Rosie and attended Swaffham Prior Primary, Bottisham Village College, and sixth forms in Cambridge.

As a teenager Charlotte wanted to end apartheid and protect the environment. She’s still campaigning for equality and fairness, while deaths from floods, droughts and heatwaves show why we must tackle climate change.

“East Cambridgeshire is a place which I love, and for whose residents I want the best. I want to help rebuild our NHS, with GPs, dentists, district nurses, prompt hospital treatment, and high-quality care at home. Protect our rivers, fens and chalk grasslands and give people a fair chance in life.”

Twitter: @charlottecane8

Victoria Collins MP – Harpenden and Berkhamsted

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Richard Kemp

We need to move from the shires and suburbs into the deprived areas of the UK

By Richard Kemp | Sat 6th July 2024 - 2:30 pm

No matter how successful we have been in the many General Elections that I have been involved in since my first in 1970 there has always been someone who, after the elections, says, ….”but!” So, it might as well be me! In fact, let me correct my own first sentence. For the first time since 1970 I have not been involved in the General Election at all. Convention in Liverpool is that for the year that you are in office the Lord Mayor plays no part in politics so that they can act as the only member of the council able to speak in Purdah periods but also, as with the Speaker, can be neutral throughout the year.

For most of my political life I have been involved in the school of hard politics, which is Liverpool, but it could be any other rough, tough, urban core city or borough. Although I represent a reasonably affluent area now, the fabulous Penny Lane Ward, for much of my time on the council I represented difficult inner-city areas. My lament through the whole of this period has been that the Liberals and then Liberal Democrats have been a party of the suburbs and shires. A quick look at the map of where Lib Dems took seats on Thursday will see that this has not changed at all.

I do understand the need for targeting and believe that this policy was absolutely necessary to ensure that we came back from the political wilderness to enable the Party as a whole to be relevant to the law-making processes of the nation as a whole. But we have now achieved that and my plea to Ed Davey and our other leaders is that now is the time to be bold and push for real representation in our major cities.

Now I know that we are not entirely unrepresented in urban areas at local level. We control Hull and have significant and growing numbers of councillors in places like Sheffield, Newcastle and a growing re-energised presence in my own city of Liverpool. But over the whole of my 50 years in Liverpool we have had to do everything ourselves and fight a poorly funded urban guerilla warfare against Labour’s well-funded mighty machines.

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Lord William Wallace

Didn’t we have a good national campaign!

By Lord William Wallace | Sat 6th July 2024 - 12:17 pm

Few of us dreamed that we could come out of this election campaign with over 70 seats.  The willingness of Liberal Democrats across the country to travel to target seats, the high quality of the local campaign organisation when we got there, determined efforts to raise more money than most local campaigns have ever thought of before, all helped to maximise our gains.  But we must also give full credit to the high quality and sustained consistency of the national campaign.

I expect that many Liberal Democrats – naturally argumentative, with strong opinions of our own – have had their doubts about aspects of our national strategy over the past year or more: a focus on sewage and water pollution rather than Europe or Liberal values, a ruthless approach to target seat selection and to the demands placed upon them, stunts and photo-opportunities that attracted attention but didn’t seem sufficiently serious. 

Well, the results have justified the hard discipline our central organisation imposed.  Concentrated campaigning harvested tactical votes and used our limited funds effectively.  Ed Davey’s standing in the polls rose as Sunak’s fell; he was seen to be the most human and approachable of the three main party leaders.  And as to sewage: the issue of water pollution ‘cut through’, as the phrase goes, to a point where much of the Thames Valley has turned orange.

Liberal Democrats outside London may grasp only with difficulty how much smaller our professional staff is than those who have thronged Conservative and Labour headquarters in their hundreds: extensive media and digital teams, multiple fundraisers, ranks of policy advisers, organisers for national and local campaigns.  Our headquarters has unavoidably remained small, within our limited budget – with its staff probably paid a good deal less than elsewhere, and helped by volunteers.  I think I have had half our media team in my Lords office once or twice – and it’s not a large office!  

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NewsHound

Inverness recount: WATCH LIVE

By NewsHound | Sat 6th July 2024 - 12:02 pm

Are you excited for the Inverness result which could give us our 72nd (yes, that’s SEVENTY TWO) MP?

Highland Council are streaming it on  You Tube. Watch, live from Dingwall.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: How Did We Get Here?

By Tom Arms | Sat 6th July 2024 - 10:06 am

It has been a bad week for democracy. In fact it has been a bad year for democracy. The only exception is the UK. But don’t worry Britain’s time will come.

Now, however, the rise of the populist far-right just about everywhere else is dominating the world’s headlines. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally is knocking on France’s gates to power. A conservative-dominated US Supreme Court has granted serial law breaker and liar Donald Trump immunity from prosecution. A cognitively-impaired Joe Biden is endangering democracy by clinging to power. A far-right anti-immigrant government has been formed in the Netherlands.

And those are only the most recent examples. In Israel, Hungary, India, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Austria, and Germany the far-right is either in government or growing in power and influence.

So how did we get here and where are we going?

Back in the naughty nineties everything looked so different. The collapse of the Soviet Empire appeared to be a great victory for liberal democracy, globalism, free markets and capitalism. We won, and countries around the world flocked to democracy’s banner.

First in the queue were the members of the old Soviet system, with Russia right at the front. That was the first problem. The transition from a Soviet-style command economy and from dictatorship to democracy was more difficult than envisaged.

A broken system was replaced not with capitalist prosperity but with hyper-inflation, economic breakdown and mass unemployment. Life expectancy in Russia fell with up to five million excess adult deaths between 1991 and 2001. Birth rates collapsed and organized crime grabbed the levers of power.

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The Voice

Christine Jardine: “We have a job to do, a country to repair and liberalism to defend”

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 8:27 am

At about 4am on Friday, 26,645 residents of Edinburgh West voted for Christine Jardine to continue as MP. This gave her a stonking majority of almost 16,500 over the SNP. To put this in perspective, in 2017, when she won the seat for the first time, she got 18,108 votes and a majority of just under 3000. It is the best  performance in the seat since 1955.

She is pictured here with her daughter Mhairi. Here is her victory speech.

 

Returning officer, counting staff, police, everyone who has worked to distribute polling cards, postal voting packs, staff polling stations and count the votes.Thank You.

What you have done has allowed us to demonstrate just how well we do democracy, and just how much we should value it.

To the people of Edinburgh West thank you. Thank you, for the faith you have shown in me, and my party, at a time when people are crying out for better governments you have put your trust in us to fight for the change that you want to see.

At a time when democracy across the world is under threat and there are those in this country who would undermine it, I promise you I will do everything in my power to protect those rights we hold dear for all of us.

This is also a hugely significant night for representation in Scotland and for the Liberal Democrats.

Nine years ago, we suffered a very difficult, different evening which Charles Kennedy described as the night of the long Sgian dubhs.

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The Voice

There may be more good news to come….

By The Voice | Fri 5th July 2024 - 9:17 pm

This post comes with heavy caveats. Nothing is ever official until it is properly declared.

However, the BBC is reporting this about that the SNP have conceded defeat ahead of tomorrow’s recount in the Inverness, Skye and Ross West seat where Angus Macdonald is our candidate. This is the latest incarnation of the seat held between 1983 and 2015 by Charles Kennedy and has enormous emotional resonance for the party.

It seems likely the constituency will go to the Liberal Democrats – although the result is not expected to be officially announced until after a second recount which will begin at 10:30 on Saturday.

SNP candidate Drew Hendry said he would be unable to attend the recount due to an “unmovable prior commitment”.

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The Voice

Ed Davey’s victory speech

By The Voice | Fri 5th July 2024 - 2:44 pm

This is what Ed said after his result was announced in Kingston & Surbiton:

Thank you. It’s been a great privilege to serve our Kingston and Surbiton communities over many years.

And I am humbled that you’ve put your faith in me – to do it again. So let me say a big “thank you”.

And thank you too, to Sarah our Returning Officer, and to all the staff and police who’ve worked here through the night.

You are the unsung heroes of our democracy. It simply wouldn’t work without you. And thank you to my fellow candidates. For making this, a campaign we

…

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Caron Lindsay

That went pretty well

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 5th July 2024 - 10:15 am

Anticappointment is a concept coined by Toby Hadoke, a prominent Doctor Who commentator, to describe how Doctor Who fans approach a new series. They worry that they are not going to like it, even though they probably will. As a Liberal Democrat it fits well with how we approach elections.

Over forty years of disappointing election results has made me very cautious about predicting how many MPs we will end up with. I eventually decided to predict 32 MPs, pretty much our main target list. By the time polling day arrived, I knew that even though I was trying to limit my expectations, I’d be devastated if that was all we won.

But it wasn’t. We have 71 MPs. 71. SEVENTY ONE.  By the time I’ve finished writing this, it could be 72. Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, in essence much of Charles Kennedy’s old seat, is recounting and I hear our folks our chipper.

Here’s Ed Davey exuberantly dad dancing and loads of Lib Dems singing Sweet Caroline. I always loved that song, but this has written it on my heart forever.

It’s a brilliant night for us. The best we have known in the history of our party by some margin.

Since Mary’s last update, we have added Chesham and Amersham to our list of technical gains. Sarah Green won it in a by-election in 2021, and few expected her to hang on to it. But she did. With a majority of around 5,500.  We also held on to our other three by-election gains. Helen Morgan’s vote in North Shropshire practically had to be weighed as she romped to a 15,300 majority. Incredible to think that in 2019 and forever before this was a rock solid Tory seat.  The one people were really worried about was Honiton and Sidmouth, the re-boundaried half of Tiverton and Honiton, won by Richard Foord in June 2o22. But Richard smashed it, beating Tory Simon Jupp by around 7000 votes. As an added bonus, the Tiverton part of the by-election seat was won by our Rachel Gilmour.  Sarah Dyke also held onto Glastonbury and Somerton by 6,500 votes. The icing on that cake was Anna Sabine winning the other half of that by-election seat for us.

We also held on to all the MPs we won in 2017.

There’s always one result that breaks your heart, though. Poor Paul Follows had been widely anticipated to beat Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in Godalming and Ash. He just fell short by 800 votes.

I am thrilled beyond measure to see Vikki Slade finally elected in Mid Dorset and North Poole. After four attempts to win the seat, she made it, with a majority of just under 1400.

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Paul Walter

Spare a thought for William Hague…

By Paul Walter | Fri 5th July 2024 - 9:04 am

From the University of Bath website:

On the coalition negotiations in May 2010, William Hague is reported to have told his wife, Ffion: ‘I think I’ve just killed the Liberal Democrats.’

Well, William, it seems we have come back to life.

Some personal reflections on the campaign, if I may:

Firstly, I never thought we’d win Newbury outside of a by-election again after dear David Rendel was our MP from 1993 to 2005. During the campaign it became clear that the Tories had, more or less, given up. Two Tory stakeboards were spotted. They didn’t have a stakeboard campaign – this from the party who used to put up hundreds of posters in fields full of sheep throughout the constituency. The Tory GOTV effort on polling day was virtually non-existent. But well done to Lee Dillon and the whole Newbury Lib Dem team for years and years of hard work to get Lee into the House of Commons! It gives me goose-bumps just to say that.

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Mary Reid

And finally .. or maybe not

By Mary Reid | Fri 5th July 2024 - 7:09 am

A roundup of results and those we are waiting for.

North East Fife – Wendy Chamberlain returns to Parliament, with a 13k majority.

Witney – Charlie Maynard is our winner here.

Esher & Walton – Monica Harding takes over from Dominic Raab, and with a 12k majority

Frome & East Somerset – Anna Sabine is our champion here over the Tories

South Devon – (was overlooked earlier, apologies) Caroline Voaden was our hero here.

Mid Dunbartonshire – This was a rare gain from the SNP, and with a 10k majority, thanks to Susan Murray.

Guildford – another previous Lib Dem constituency returning home. This time with Zoe Franklin and her team.

Woking – the blue wall is shattered again, to the tune of an 11k majority, putting Will Forster in the Commons.

Newbury – again one from earlier, and so good to see it back in contention. Lee Dillon is our guy here.

South Cotswolds – well done to Roz Savage.

Surrey Heath – Michael Gove’s old seat, although sadly he didn’t give us the opportunity to defeat him directly.  Al Pinkerton made a decent gain here.

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Mary Reid

An early morning apology

By Mary Reid | Fri 5th July 2024 - 6:10 am

I’m afraid that the speed of the results – plus increasing tiredness – has meant that we have got a bit behind in reporting Lib Dem successes.

I will be putting together a (almost) final summary of our wins shortly.

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