Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 4th August 2024 - 9:35 am

Donald Trump is the “Great Obfuscator.”

When asked to clarify his outrageous claims he muddies the political waters even more in an attempt to be all things to all people.

Last Friday he told the Christian political pressure group Turning Point Action that if they voted for him in November they wouldn’t have to vote again. He would “fix it.”

Liberals immediately raised the anti-democracy hue and cry. Donald Trump, they said, planned to either abolish elections or rig the system so that conservative Republicans would stay in power forever.

No, no, no, say the MAGA people. That is not what he meant at all. He meant that they won’t have to vote for Donald Trump again because he is prohibited by the constitution from running for a third term.

It was left to Fox News—Trump’s chosen television medium—to clarify the muddle. Interviewer Laura Ingraham pressed him to explain. Trump said the statement was made to encourage Christians to vote in November because American conservatives don’t often vote. He added that the same could be said for gun owners.

This was patently false. As a group, America’s Christians and gun owners are among the largest proportion of voters in the US. His clarification made no sense. So what did the Great Obfuscator mean?

Just as confusing…

…is Trump’s position on the much-discussed Project 2025.

For the benefit of those who have been trapped in a sealed cave for the past six months, Project 2025, is a 900-page report compiled by the right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation. It sets out in great detail a programme for Donald Trump if he is inaugurated president in 2025.

Among its provisions are proposals to gut the FBI and Department of Justice and replace tens of thousands of federal civil servants with loyal MAGA Republicans. It wants a national ban on abortion and restrictions on contraception and IVF treatments. Project 2025 proposes a strong “unitary executive branch;” an “end to civil rights protections” and no more “safeguards on drinking water.” All efforts to combat climate change would end” and America would focus more on drilling for fossil fuels. The Department of Education would be scrapped along with all economic ties to China.

Democrats immediately denounced Project 2025 as anti-constitutional, anti-Democratic, anti-American and verging on the illegal. And they added that all those antis pretty well summed up Trump himself.

A fair amount of the mud stuck and Trump quickly started to distance himself from Project 2025. This proved difficult because one of the main contributors to the report was his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. The Director of the Heritage Foundation, and the main impetus behind the report, Paul Dans, was Trump’s Chief of Staff for the Office of Personnel Management.

This week Mr Dans resigned as Director of the Heritage Foundation and claimed that Project 2025 was not meant to be an action plan for Donald Trump. Instead, he said, it was merely some thoughts for any future conservative administration.

The Trump campaign immediately put out an “I told you so” release. But then we need to look at what Trump has personally promised to do: Gut the Department of Justice and the FBI and put on trial for treason the “Biden Crime family” and political opponents such as Liz Cheney. “Drill, drill, drill for oil.” Raise tariffs on Chinese exports for between 65-100 percent. Pardon most of the Capitol Hill rioters. Round-up and deport up to 15 million illegal immigrants and “fix it so you won’t have to vote for me again.”

What next in the Middle East?

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Tom Arms

Observations of an ex pat: Great green box ticker

By Tom Arms | Sat 3rd August 2024 - 9:55 am

As a box ticking exercise it is difficult to beat the Great Green Wall of Africa.

For those not familiar with this incredibly important and ambitious project, the Great Green Wall (aka GGW) is an international undertaking to prevent creeping desertification in Africa. It proposes to plant and maintain on the southern border of the Sahara Desert a nine-mile wide forest stretching 4,831 miles from Dakar on the Atlantic to Djibouti on the Red Sea.

It is estimated that the GGW will create 10 million jobs in one of the most poverty-stricken regions of the world. That means 10 million people less likely to seek survival in Europe and America.

More jobs means more income for governments which means increased political stability and improved governance in one of the most of the world’s most politically unstable and corrupt regions.

From a climate change perspective the GGW is potential wonderful news. The proposed grass and tree coverage is projected to restore 250 million acres of degraded land and capture 250 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Trees also play a major role in reducing global temperatures.

So far about $30 billion has been pledged from a variety of sources to complete the project by 2030. There has already been extensive planting in Senegal, Chad and Ethiopia.

But according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, one of the GGW’s major sponsors—the Great Green Wall is in danger of collapse. The number one threat is violence. Nine of the countries through which the GGW crosses are in the top 20 of the 2024 Global Terrorism Index.

They are the victims of civil war; Jihadist terrorist attacks; the withdrawal of French troops from the Sahel region and their replacement by Russian forces. The Jihadists in particular—and the Russians to a lesser degree—feed on political instability. The GGW encourages stability, so the Jihadists do whatever they can to disrupt the planting regime.

Violence is not the only problem. Critics also claim that the environmental initiative lacks political leadership. That is not surprising. Its roots stretch back to 1952-53 when one of the early climate change activists, British explorer and botanist Richard St Barbe Baker, first proposed the Great Green Wall. He went on to found the International Free Foundation which has since planted an estimated 26 trillion trees.

Many of the foundation’s trees were planted in the Sahel Region. But the foundation is a charity. Governmental coordination and vast amounts of aid were needed to ensure success. In 2002 the project was revived at a special African summit in Chad to launch World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. In 2012 the African Union took it on as a flagship project and in 2014 they were joined by the EU and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). At the One Planet Summit in 2021 various partners pledged $14.3 billion.

But the widespread interest also created problems. At the beginning of 2024 the project involved 21 countries and the same number of international organisations as well as a plethora of charities at international, national and local level. The wall needs directed political leadership and instead is plagued by a confusing babel of competing interests.

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Michael Taylor

The importance of the presumption of innocence

By Michael Taylor | Sat 3rd August 2024 - 7:55 am

Innocent

There is a tradition dating back well over 1000 years that any person accused of a crime  is presumed innocent until proved guilty. In other words, an accusation doesn’t make someone guilty, it a court that hears the evidence and decides, either magistrates or, for serious offences a jury.

There is a worrying tendency today to pronounce someone guilty merely on the basis of an accusation and to demand that that person be treated as a criminal, losing their job and being shunned by society.

Take Huw Edwards. He was accused of dreadful crimes involving children and has, after a trial in which he pleaded guilty, been convicted. This is the point at which he should have lost his job, not back in 2023 when the accusations surfaced. Many years ago, I attended a CHE bonfire party held at the independent Labour Party tearooms somewhere outside Burnley. An older man recalled that prior to the sexual offences act he was charged and convicted for homosexual acts. His employers, the local council, waited till he had been convicted and then, and only then, handed him his dismissal papers. Of course, today he wouldn’t even have been in court, but the council did not assume he was guilty and continued to employ him until after the conviction.

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Mark Valladares

2 August 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 2nd August 2024 - 11:05 pm
  • Jenrick: A terrible record tainted by failure
  • Calls for increased security after violent thuggery spreads to London

Jenrick: A terrible record tainted by failure

Responding to Robert Jenrick’s Conservative Leadership campaign event, Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader, Daisy Cooper MP said:

As a Minister, Robert Jenrick oversaw a housing crisis and failed to address immigration, he has a terrible record tainted by failure.

Only in today’s Conservative Party could someone with such a terrible record of failure think they could lead it.

Jenrick is now a symbol of the way the Conservative Party has moved further and further away from lifelong Conservative voters in the Blue Wall. People right across the country are instead putting their faith in the Liberal Democrats to get a fair deal for them.

Calls for increased security after violent thuggery spreads to London

A London Assembly Member has called for increased security around mosques in London following the spread of violent and racist riots to London.

Violent riots have erupted in several British cities following misinformation spread by the far-right in the wake of the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar in Southport.

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Simon Banks

A SWOT analysis for the Liberal Democrats?

By Simon Banks | Fri 2nd August 2024 - 7:22 pm

Long ago, working in primary care management, I was struck by how the partners of an excellent GP practice, replacing a retiring partner, had not even asked themselves how their area might change over 20 years or so and whether this might influence their choice. In my Liberal Democrat local party and region, it was clear to me many local parties were stumbling on, doing what they knew, grumbling about too much work and not enough people, knowing their activists were ageing, but doing little to find new ones: plenty of hard work, but no vision, no strategy.

So I became an advocate for local party Development Plans before the English Party pushed the issue and made a development plan a constitutional requirement for local parties (that’s fixed, then).  As Chair of my Region’s Development Committee, I’ve been encouraging and advising on the things ever since.

If you’re in a hole, discover how deep the hole is and how to get out of it. If you’ve made progress but reached a plateau, identify the pinch points and what can be done. A basic tool for this is a SWOT analysis (not to be confused with heavily armed police: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.).

If this is a good idea for local parties, as I’m convinced it is, what about higher levels?

Regional Parties will have strategies, but they may well not include a hard look at existing strengths and weaknesses. The English Party and the Federal Party have various plans, often quickly forgotten, but apparently nothing like a Development Plan; strategy means the next election (as in Ed Davey’s “Guardian” interview) and SWOT analysis could be embarrassing.

What would a SWOT analysis for the whole party right now look like?

Of course, strengths would include 72 MPs, with the credibility the election result brings us. Another would be an HQ election operation, unlike 2015 and 2019, that listens to local feedback, looks at Connect input and opinion polls and reacts accordingly. Then, a comparatively open and democratic party, compared to Labour’s obsessive top-down control; and many hardworking councillors.

Weaknesses? Are there any? There are. For a start, after the surge in 2019, by all accounts party membership went into deep and spectacular decline, though figures have not been published for some time. Our campaigns need activists; activists are drawn from the membership; so a deep decline in membership is serious, possibly fatal. Increases at general election time are normal; we hear this has happened, but how much? Without openness about the figures, no judgment can be made. But will new members fall away as most of the 2018-9 recruits did? Local parties should prioritise not just recruiting members, but engaging them, and not just in leafleting. Yet the pressure from the centre is for an almost Soviet programme of getting them working and harder, harder, harder! Fine, but can they also have fun?

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Mary Reid

Liberal Democrats to chair three Select Committees

By Mary Reid | Fri 2nd August 2024 - 4:48 pm

This is excellent news. Lib Dems in Westminster have been allocated the Chairs of three Select Committees – and two of them are on policy areas that are very close to our hearts. They are Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Health & Social Care (yay!) and Petitions. The final one may not sound exciting but it gives a direct view of the issues that concern voters.

The catch is that the party does not choose the Chairs for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs or for Health & Social Care – they are subject to a secret ballot of all MPs. That may sound a bit odd, but it ensures that each Chair gets a measure of cross-party support, which is so important for these committees to function effectively. Interestingly, the elections are by STV.

The Speaker has announced the timetable for these elections, which are extended this time because of the recess. Nominations will close on 9th September and the ballot will take place on 11th September.

Each nominee must collect signatures from at least 15 members of their own party, or 10% if lower, so that means at least 7 signatures for ours. They can also add signatures from members of other parties.

The Petitions Committee is a bit different, as it is dealing with procedure rather than policy. The Chair will be appointed rather than elected.

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Carl Cashman

The two child cap is just the beginning

By Carl Cashman | Fri 2nd August 2024 - 2:09 pm

Without fail at every council meeting, well, at every opportunity they can, my local Labour Party will bring up the Coalition.

They wheel out the same line, each and every time. For them it’s entirely the Lib Dems fault that austerity happened, even more than that each of our members bear a personal burden for cuts made. But they will gladly sidestep the impact of Labour Mayor Joe Anderson – whose legacy is alleged corruption, poor governance, wasted millions and Tory commissioners we’ve just gotten shot off.

Now let me get this out of the way – I’m not an apologist for the coalition, it got some things right, but it got a lot of things wrong. The most lasting damage is that the coalition broke the trust that voters had in the Liberal Democrats, and we’ve lost our status as the non-establishment party, the Greens are mopping up that vote in many of the urban cities in England. We must work on that as a priority.

At my last council meeting, we moved my group’s motion on scrapping the two-child benefit cap.  I was on the end of a condescending lecture from the Deputy Leader about “political choice”, she was referencing the coalition. But I fired back on this because, let’s be honest, now that the Labour Party are in Government they are going to learn a lot about “political choices”.

What was their first political choice? To keep the two-child benefit cap, a decision that Newham Labour Councillor Joshua Garfield celebrated as “Country before Party”. The most bizarre thing is that the King’s speech isn’t a binding commitment anyway – the Conservatives have demonstrated that multiple times – it’s simply an indication of a government’s aims for that coming parliament.

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Robert Jones

In defence of EHCPs

By Robert Jones | Fri 2nd August 2024 - 12:04 pm

Local authorities across England have a duty to assess children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and produce ‘Education, Health and Care Plans’. EHCPs are vital for identifying the needs of children and ensuring that those needs are communicated to and met by the local authority, schools, nurseries or other services and settings. Key parts of an EHCP are legally enforceable and provide a guarantee for children and their families.

EHCPs were introduced with the Children and Families Act 2014 by the coalition government. Much of the initial work on EHCPs was carried out under Lib Dem minister Sarah Teather, with the draft legislation published in her name in 2012. Today EHCPs have a mixed reputation. They have played a significant role in the rise of local government expenditure on social care. Across England spending on SEND provision by councils is predicted by some to reach £12 billion by 2026. It is unsurprising then that there is ever more pressure to reduce those costs and we can see numerous examples of councils formulating strategies to push down the ‘demand’ for EHC assessments.

My local authority, Shropshire Council, is no exception. In response to a question to cabinet on July 17 on the worsening rate of assessments being completed within the statutory 20-week window, it was explained how the council is working to “address the increase in demand” with a proposed framework for ‘Ordinarily Available Provision’. The view apparently taken is that too many children who could have their needs met without an EHC Plan are requesting them anyway. Now, there is little doubt that a much more inclusive approach to education across mainstream schools which could offer provision that meets a broad range of needs as a matter of course needs to be a central priority for education policy nationally. This will involve reform of our approach to education, schooling and the curriculum at all levels of the system. Councils like Shropshire and others which claim to pursue such goals at only a local level are at best optimistic and, it would appear, are more concerned about their own financial sustainability than meeting the educational, health and social needs of children.

A report produced by researchers at ISOS Partnership for the County Councils Network and the LGA was published on July 25. It has drawn a lot of comment from across the SEND community, including charities and independent campaigners, much of it critical. The report focuses its attention on the rising pressures the current system for SEND provision in England creates on local authorities’ budgets, suggesting that up to one in four councils could face an existential threat. The report calls for a number of measures, not least the need for reform that looks at the education and schooling system as a whole, promoting inclusivity and addressing children’s needs as early as possible within existing settings, reducing the need for children and young people to require additional SEND provision, particularly in special schools, except in the cases of the highest need.

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The Voice

Maiden speech: Jess Brown-Fuller MP for Chichester

By The Voice | Fri 2nd August 2024 - 10:07 am

Jess gave her maiden speech in the debate on the Budget Responsibility Bill on Tuesday.

Here is the text of her speech in full:

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Mark Valladares

1 August 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Thu 1st August 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Rural crime report: Communities suffering after years of neglect
  • Davey on PM Statement: “Riots and disorder are never the answer”
  • Rennie responds to bin strikes news

Rural crime report: Communities suffering after years of neglect

Responding to NFU Mutual’s new Rural Crime Report, which shows that the cost of rural crime rose to £52.8m in 2023, Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

Rural communities are suffering badly after years of neglect by the last Conservative Government. Far too many criminals are getting away with stealing millions of pounds worth of equipment from our farmers.

This needs to change. Rural communities deserve much more focus within government, including a proper strategy to combat rural crime that costs our economy so much.

Davey on PM Statement: “Riots and disorder are never the answer”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s press conference on the unrest since the attack in Southport on Monday, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

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Janey Little

The Party of young people: The critical contribution of young members

By Janey Little | Thu 1st August 2024 - 6:01 pm

Young people are the life and the soul of the Liberal Democrats.

Having long forgiven the party over tuition fees, young people played a pivotal role in the party’s successes in the General Election. We in the Young Liberals have built a reputation over time for being committed campaigners and enthusiastic door-knockers, but even we were amazed at quite how much young people across the party poured their hearts and souls into this election. We have come leaps and bounds from where we were in 2019. Since then, the Young Liberals have professionalised, built capacity and communities across states and regions, and worked together more effectively to ensure that we could maximise our impact in the General Election.  As members, volunteers, party staff, candidates, federal committee members, state executive members, and across all levels of the party, Young Liberals led the way during the General Election.

We had the pleasure of being at the forefront of the campaign. The YL Development Officer fed back to HQ where the Young Liberals were campaigning at different points in the election, helping to inform decisions about where best to organise action days and divert resources throughout the rest of the party. Young people’s commitment to the party strategy and campaigning efforts helped to lock down seats earlier in the campaign, meaning that resources could then be diverted elsewhere, ultimately helping the party to achieve the phenomenal result of 72 MPs.

Each one of us contributes to what we can achieve and what we can become as a party, and we should be nothing but proud as young people in the party for what we collectively accomplished in the General Election.

But more than our efforts on the ground, Young Liberals helped to shape the narrative and the policy offer of the Liberal Democrats in this election. Firstly, it was the Young Liberals who championed carers a few years ago, before it became a key piece of the party’s identity under Ed Davey’s leadership.

Moreover, at autumn conference, Young Liberals worked with the Lambeth local party to pass a policy on ending period poverty. The result is that we were the only major political party to even mention periods in our manifesto. We as a party are leading the way on this issue.

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Mo Waqas

Standing against hatred: A call for unity in the face of tragedy

By Mo Waqas | Thu 1st August 2024 - 3:41 pm

The horrific deaths of the three young girls at a dance class have sent shockwaves through our country. This senseless attack, which rightfully should be condemned, has left families and the wider Southport community in mourning. My heart aches for those affected by this tragedy.

In the wake of this incident, we have seen a troubling rise in Islamophobia. This is an issue I have spoken about extensively. It began with the Leeds Riots, where many, including right-wing figures like Nigel Farage, incorrectly assumed the unrest was linked to the South Asian community. In reality, the Muslim community in Leeds was actively working to calm the situation. However, individuals like Tommy Robinson and Lawrence Fox have fanned the flames of sectarianism and populism, perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

The far-right narrative that blames immigrants and Muslims for societal issues is damaging and untrue. They portray my community as terrorists, rapists, and benefit scroungers. This scapegoating has reached a point where many third and fourth-generation Muslims, like myself, feel fed up. We are British—we embrace the quirks of British life, from its famously unpredictable weather to enjoying a vegan sausage roll and chips with gravy. We are proud of our nation, and our grandparents fought against fascism for this country. My great-grandfather served in Burma, and our families have contributed blood, sweat, and tears to be part of this society.

Our contributions are undeniable. My grandfather started working in a mill in Bolton in the 1960s, and now his descendants have become barristers, nurses, investment bankers, care assistants, and bus drivers. They play integral roles in the fabric of Britain. I am the first in my family to stand as an MP and the first to chair my local party. We break glass ceilings every day.

To the far-right, I have a clear message: you will not win. This Britain is for the tolerant and welcoming. We have friends from diverse backgrounds—atheists, theists, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those who think Wigan have a better football team than Bolton (obviously incorrect) . We focus on what unites us rather than what divides us. We care about the Lionesses and whether it’s called a bread roll, barm, or cob. We debate whether to put cream or jam first on a scone. These are the things that make us British.

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Rob Parsons

MPs and other jobs

By Rob Parsons | Thu 1st August 2024 - 2:12 pm

I have a proposal for dealing with MPs who have other interests. It’s a solution I have proposed a number of times in different places, and in every case it has been very difficult to get reactions from others. This puzzles me. If there is something fatally wrong with my proposal, would somebody here please tell me, so I need not bother myself with it any more. If it is not fatally flawed, then I think it deserves a hearing.

I believe my suggestion is more liberal than the current free for all, and also more liberal than banning second jobs. My suggestion is not to ban MPs from having other jobs or other interests, but simply to ban them from voting on anything in which they have a financial interest (and maybe other kinds of interests as well). This is in line with practice in local authorities where representatives routinely recuse themselves from issues where they have declared an interest.

This might cause notable changes in the selection process. How eager would local parties be to appoint someone who had a directorship of a medical company and hence could not vote on any health issue? It might give rise to different, and more ethical, internal conversations among candidates. They would have to calculate their net worth as a candidate with and without their interests, and might thereby arrive at a more realistic assessment of what they can offer to the political process. It won’t in many cases; of course; people will continue to calculate purely in terms of political advantage, but it might change some conversations. Imagine all those Tory landlords who would not be able to vote on anything to do with housing.

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The Voice

Maiden speech: Josh Reynolds MP for Maidenhead

By The Voice | Thu 1st August 2024 - 12:00 pm

Josh Reynolds made his maiden speech in Tuesday in the debate on the Budget Responsibility Bill.

Here is the full text:

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Mark Valladares

31 July 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 31st July 2024 - 11:50 pm
  • Pensioner waits more than 9 hours for ambulance after suffering heat stroke as UK hits heatwave
  • CalMac maintenance soars 55% in a year to over £41m

Pensioner waits more than 9 hours for ambulance after suffering heat stroke as UK hits heatwave

  • Freedom of Information Act (FOI) on heat strokes reveals a pensioner in the East Midlands waited close to nine-and-a-half-hours for an ambulance last year.
  • FOI shows an almost doubling of ambulance response times when going on call outs involving heat stroke since 2018/19, rising from 32 minutes to 59 minutes in 2023/24.
  • Lib Dem Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper calls for urgent cross-party talks on social care and a review of the UK’s preparedness for heat waves saying: “We’ve heard too many harrowing heatstroke stories from people waiting hours in a state of confusion for an ambulance to arrive.”

A pensioner in the East Midlands waited close to nine-and-a-half-hours for an ambulance last year a Liberal Democrat FOI has revealed as the UK is in the midst of a heatwave following high temperatures this week.

The data also revealed that there has been a staggering 84% increase in ambulance response times when going on call outs involving heat stroke since 2018/19, rising from 32 minutes to 59 minutes in 2023/24.

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The Liberator Collective

Liberator 424 post election special is out

By The Liberator Collective | Wed 31st July 2024 - 5:55 pm

You can download Liberator 424 for free here.

This issue is a bit different from usual as since the last Liberator came out the Liberal Democrats have won an unprecedented 72 MPs and moved into some remarkable new territory.

But what happens now, and what can they do? There’s a huge Labour majority, second places are scarce and there is concern that the gains were made at the expense of the party in the rest of the country.

Contributors analyse the results and where to look for success next, explain how the Lib Dems moved into (or didn’t) some new places and some old ones and what happened to overseas voters.

We also have a former insider’s view of how the Tory party became such a self-inflicted disaster zone, and let’s not forget there were important elections for the European and French parliaments too.

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The Voice

Vacancy: Party Representative on the Executive Committee of Liberal International

By The Voice | Wed 31st July 2024 - 4:25 pm

A vacancy has arisen for the Liberal Democrats representative to the Executive Committee of Liberal International. This Committee meets annually in person and is hosted by a Liberal International member party, so can take place almost anywhere worldwide. The next event will take place on 29th November 2024 in Santiago, Chile. The position is elected by the Federal International Relations Committee and the term will run until the end of 2025.

The post entails engaging fully with the work of Liberal International and working as a member of a team with the FIRC Chair and Liberal Democrat members of the Liberal International Bureau and other Liberal International Committees. This will require a commitment to fund your travel to the relevant meetings, noting that currently the party does not offer any travel expenses for this purpose. Between these meetings much of the work is undertaken online, but ad hoc meetings and events are possible.

The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate:

  • A good basic knowledge of international relations and current global tensions.
  • Familiarity with Liberal International and some knowledge of its member parties around the world.
  • An understanding of the differing priorities of liberal sister parties in the varied social and economic climates of developed and developing countries.
  • Experience of building consensus in an international framework.
  • Alignment with the Liberal Democrat position on key international issues.

Please note that applicants must be members of the Liberal Democrats.

Application Details: To apply for the role please send a CV and covering letter describing your suitability to Mark Valladares at [email protected]

Application deadline: 28th August 2024

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Richard Kemp

A flashback from Southport 2024 to Toxteth 1981

By Richard Kemp | Wed 31st July 2024 - 2:58 pm

Last night I had a flashback to when I was relatively young councillor representing Dingle which was part of Liverpool 8. The media had turned remorselessly to focus on the so-called Toxteth riots and the “disgraceful and illegal behaviour” of the people who lived in that area. Well, that was the description from the right-wing press about what was happening there although that did not accord to reality.

Yesterday I visited Southport on behalf of the people and council of Liverpool to show solidarity with the people of Southport and Sefton Council.

On Monday three children died after the stabbings and five more plus two adults are on the critical list. The children are in one of the best children’s hospitals in the world at Alder Hey and we can only hope for a successful outcome to all the medical procedures. 

Over the years to come the parents and families of the children killed will always be thinking, “what would my child have been doing and shaping up into as they grew older”. In 12 short, short years perhaps the oldest of the children killed would have been celebrating their own University graduation, or A Levels, or GCSEs. How they would have developed nobody will ever know because those opportunities will never be available to them

As I attended the vigil it was clear that I could see a massive coming together of the people of Southport and further afield. People came to show their support for ‘their’ children and ‘their’ community. Many were a bit dazed and numbed as indeed we all were. How could you not be taken aback by such an event? However, there was no anger there.

No one was there to point fingers, assign blame or cause trouble. A couple of attempts by individuals to heckle and make points out of the proceedings were quickly hushed by the those surrounding them. There was a respectful silence as the Mayor of Sefton spoke and when I accompanied her to lay flowers in the Atkins Park outside the Town Hall.

We went from Liverpool to express our concern for the council of Sefton and the people of Southport as we have ourselves faced up to tragedies involving the death of young people, albeit it not at this scale. We have never had to face up to a situation where so many young lives have been taken or put at huge and continuing risk. 

But shortly after I left for home another tragedy occurred to scar the life of the people of Liverpool. The rumour was circulated that the killer was a Muslim immigrant from Rwanda. The police quite rightly have not issued much detail other than to say that he had been born in the UK of parents of a Rwandan background. I know the Rwandan community within Merseyside well. They are a peaceful hard-working community who put back into the community more than they take out. 

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Hina Bokhari

The Nasty Side of Labour and the Two Child Benefit Cap

By Hina Bokhari | Wed 31st July 2024 - 1:25 pm

“You are the co-architects of austerity” grimaced the Mayor of London, pointing his finger at me, when he responded to a simple question of asking him to write to the new government to scrap the two-child benefit cap. 

For many, it was shocking that the Mayor was so aggressive and angry in his response, which can be viewed here.

But for Liberal Democrats active in Labour facing areas like London, we have too often seen this nasty side of Labour Party where councillors, members or activists are attacked for daring to question Labour and daring to question what Labour see as their monopoly on progressive politics and government.

The response is too often entirely predictable, start shouting about the coalition as way to avoid them answering for their own actions. Well, they are in the driving seat of National Government now and have nowhere to hide. Rachel Reeves’ speech this week already outlined what will likely be Labour’s very own version of austerity. 

I’m really proud that the London Assembly started to raise the issue of the two-child benefit cap very early on, before it really came to national attention. 11 per cent of children in London are impacted by the two-child cap and a staggering 33% of children in the capital live in poverty. 

Various London Assembly committees heard evidence from expert panels on the extremely damaging nature of the two-child benefit cap, particularly on ethnic minority communities in London. A later cross-party report for the Cost-of-Living Working Group on the Assembly also made clear recommendations that removing the cap was one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to reduce child poverty in London. 

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Wera Hobhouse MP and Daisy Cooper MP

Creating a fairer, greener future for all

By Wera Hobhouse MP and Daisy Cooper MP | Wed 31st July 2024 - 11:55 am

The climate-nature crisis remains an existential threat to the future prosperity, wellbeing and security of the UK. We can see its effects all around us—from last Monday being the hottest day ever recorded, to the deafening silence of birds and butterflies across our once wild isles. The recent Climate Change Committee report shows that the UK Government is off track to meet its 2030 target (to cut emissions by 68%) and that only a third of current plans are credible.

Our natural environment is being destroyed at pace. The last State of Nature report set out the drastic declines in our native biodiversity, stark reductions in our woodland cover, and the collapse of many of our precious species. Nature is deeply intertwined with our climate. They’re two sides of the same coin. When viewed holistically, it’s clear that we cannot solve the climate crisis without also solving the nature crisis, and vice versa. 

The science is crystal clear. We’re now operating on a knife edge of breaching our Paris Agreement obligations to do all we can to limit “global boiling”. With June marking the twelfth consecutive month of global temperatures of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, it’s clearer than ever that the (already small) window for action is rapidly closing. We must act as fast and as fairly as possible to get the world on track for a liveable future.

The new Labour Government has inherited one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. A country where 75% of our rivers pose a serious risk to human health—a country where an ever changing climate is damaging our health, prosperity and security. But the mandate given by the British public on 4 July is clear. We need a new approach that puts climate-nature action at the heart of our decision-making. We Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for a fairer, greener future; a UK where everyone can benefit from—and help shape—the huge opportunities of the just transition to a zero carbon, nature positive future. 

Crucially, we recognise that our once world leading legislation no longer meets the challenges of today. The Climate Change Act was passed seven years before the 2015 Paris Agreement was agreed—and our biodiversity targets don’t align with the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in Montreal. As internationalists, we believe that the UK now needs to lock these global commitments into law. 

As MPs, we have a duty to send a strong message to the public, civil society and businesses that we’re serious about improving their lives and livelihoods. In the years ahead to 2030, we must reverse biodiversity loss and we must rapidly reduce our emissions via a new, joined-up approach. Small, incremental changes won’t cut it; especially given the last Government’s inaction, delays and U-turns.

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Callum Robertson

We are a major force in British politics again – let’s update elements of our support processes to reflect this

By Callum Robertson | Wed 31st July 2024 - 10:25 am

We have 72 Members of Parliament, it would be the easiest thing in the world to sit back and be a bit smug for six months. However, that would be a mistake – with the Conservatives hell bent on internal warfare and Labour in a honeymoon period, we are the de facto opposition. Consequently we have to start acting like it. To my mind we succeed where there is local leadership and being blunt, our selection process is unnecessarily slow in getting candidates in place.

Parliamentary Selections – including seats where we are third, should take place in the next 18 months.

The most effective way of electing MPs remains selecting early and embedding those candidates in as genuine local champions, ready to hold their local Member of Parliament to account.

We are second in 27 seats, selecting these seats early will allow us to bed in candidates ahead of time and give us a more realistic chance of building on the incredible gains next time.

However, there are also a large number of seats where we are a good third (15-25% of the vote) and should be challenging for second place in 2029. We know that in these seats, credibility can be a challenge – so equally building our vote in these seats is important too.

Understandably there needs to be some time for reflection – however post 2019 we were far too slow in selecting candidates. We can grow on our success if we have all our target seat candidates and most of our moving forward seat candidates, selected by December 2025.

Large Seat Selections – these should be treated as advanced seats are, or we will not be able to prove what we would do differently.

We have built clusters of victories in seats around Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Surrey. This concentration of parliamentary seats should help us win some larger seats such as Mayoralties and Police (Fire) and Crime Commissioners at the next election for those seats.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 3 Comments

Should Lib Dems rethink our new fiscal rules after our successful General Election campaign?

By Michael Berwick-Gooding and Katharine Pindar | Wed 31st July 2024 - 8:55 am

Following the announcement of the new (so-called) £22bn ‘Black Hole’ in the Government’s finances, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has announced over £3bn in departmental spending cuts, making the winter fuel allowance mean-tested, and scrapping the previous government’s social care reforms (which set a maximum of £86,000 on a person’s personal care costs) meant to be implemented eventually in October 2025.

During the General Election it was generally recognised that there would need to be cuts to the non-protected departmental budgets, which the Resolution Foundation said could be as much as £33bn and the IMF said could be about £30bn. During the General Election the Labour Party talked of less than £10bn in extra government spending.

In our Manifesto we suggested how £19bn more could be raised from increased and new taxes. These included  buy-backs, increased taxes on social media firms and tech giants and reforming capital gains tax, as well as including one copied by the Labour Party, higher taxes on the energy giants (but raising £900 million less than ours).

There is a way forward, which our pre-Manifesto passed in the Autumn Conference of 2023 proposed. We stated that we would  “safeguard the UK’s economic prosperity while making the investments our country needs. We will make sure that day-to-day spending does not exceed the amount of money raised in taxes over the medium term…”

However, in our Manifesto those words were replaced with, “Foster stability, certainty and confidence in managing the public finances responsibly to get the national debt falling as a share of the economy and ensure that day-to-day spending does not exceed the amount raised in taxes, while making the investments our country needs.”

Why make that change? It would leave us on the same horns of a dilemma as the new Chancellor has. You can’t simultaneously pledge to reduce the national debt AND pledge to make the investment the country needs, in one parliamentary term.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 130 Comments
Mark Valladares

30 July 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 30th July 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Cole-Hamilton: SNP must start fixing A&E before winter
  • Cole-Hamilton: SNP need to tackle alarming rise in deaths linked to synthetic opioids

Cole-Hamilton: SNP must start fixing A&E before winter

Responding to new figures showing only 63.7% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in week ending 21st July, while 3,345 people waited over 8 hours and 1,448 waited over 12 hours, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

People across Scotland sent a very clear message to this SNP Government last month. The NHS is teetering on the brink and it’s time they got their act together.

Normally in summer we would see an improving picture at A&E, but these waiting times are as long as some weeks in the winter. Unfortunately, under the SNP, staff are overwhelmed and thousands are waiting far too long to be seen.

We need to see action from this SNP government to fix the A&E crisis before winter arrives.

Scottish Liberal Democrats would overhaul the SNP’s failed NHS Recovery Plan, get you fast access to GPs and help people leave hospital on time through a new minimum wage for care workers that is £2 higher.

Cole-Hamilton: SNP need to tackle alarming rise in deaths linked to synthetic opioids

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today warned that “without more action we will only see more tragedy” as new statistics revealed that drug-related hospital admissions, suspected drug deaths and deaths linked to synthetic opioids known as nitazenes are all worryingly high.

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The Voice

Maiden speech: Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton & Wellington

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

Yesterday, Gideon Amos made his maiden speech in a debate on Passenger Railway Services.

Here is the full text:

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The Voice

Maiden speech: Claire Young MP for Thornbury & Yate

By The Voice | Tue 30th July 2024 - 5:59 pm

Yesterday, Claire Young made her maiden speech in a debate on Passenger Railway Services.

Here is the full text:

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Anorak’s corner – House of Commons Library research briefing on the 2024 general election

By Paul Walter | Tue 30th July 2024 - 11:31 am

Ever since I was in short trousers, I have spent a few weeks after each general election, poring over the results. Normally, I have managed to get a copy of the Telegraph printed pamphlet of the seat-by-seat results. This time, I’m going to need a lot longer to digest the tumultuous results (so far, winning Epsom and Ewell is taking a while to get my head round!) and I couldn’t find a Telegraph (or other newspaper) pamphlet. I just can’t do it online – I need to highlight and mark the text.

But never fear, the House of Commons library has come to the rescue with its “research briefing” on the 2024 general election results. This includes a colourful pdf (which I have had bound) and a range of spreadsheets.

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Posted in News | 2 Comments
The Voice

LIbLink: Ed Davey – Lib Dems plan to ‘finish the job’ in Tory heartlands

By The Voice | Tue 30th July 2024 - 9:30 am

Embed from Getty Images

Over on the Guardian website, there’s an interview with Ed Davey in a buoyant mood:

Confirming that he intends to lead the party into the next election, Davey said the party would again ruthlessly target so-called blue wall seats, traditionally Conservative areas where the Lib Dems have taken advantage of perceived Tory complacency and disaffection with the party’s ideological direction.

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Mark Valladares

29 July 2024 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 29th July 2024 - 10:30 pm
  • Public spending audit: We must focus on NHS
  • New Mid Dunbartonshire MP welcomes home Kirkintilloch Roy Roy

Public spending audit: We must focus on NHS

Commenting on the Treasury’s audit into the state of public finances, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

The shortfalls in public spending announced today are truly shocking, and the result of years of Conservative failure and mismanagement. We have been left with a stalling economy, leaving millions of families struggling to pay the bills and make ends meet.

To get our economy growing, we must focus on the NHS by cutting the waiting lists, giving the people the

…

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Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Tagged , , and | 7 Comments
Daniel Duggan

What next for the Liberal Democrats?

By Daniel Duggan | Mon 29th July 2024 - 5:55 pm

Recently, I have been reading ‘Jo Grimond: Towards the Sound of Gunfire” by Michael McManus and, although there is much to be learnt from Grimond’s leadership of the Liberal party, it is his later years that most interested me. On Margaret Thatcher’s arrival in Downing Street, Grimond, “at first hoped that a restatement of liberalism, might come from that unlikeliest sources, a Conservative government”. Despite soon expressing his disappointment, writing, “there has been no serious assault on . . . excessive government”, Thatcher’s Conservatives, nevertheless, did in some ways successfully cannibalise a theme once strongly identified with the liberal tradition, namely, the idea of spreading ownership. Whereas Richard Cobden argued for greater peasant proprietorship, J.S Mill advocated for workers’ cooperatives, and Lloyd Geoge championed ‘three acres and a cow’, Thatcher introduced ‘Right to Buy’ and wider share ownership. Within such a context, it is, perhaps, no wonder that Grimond possessed a (very) qualified admiration for (aspects of) Thatcherism.

Now, however, with the Conservatives indulging in nativist and nationalistic tub thumping, Liberal Democrats are well positioned to replace the Conservatives as the second largest party by reclaiming our reputation as the advocates of ‘ownership for all’. This should inform our thinking at various levels, including the home, the workplace, and public services.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 29 Comments
Simon McGrath

Merton Lib Dems seek action on £118m of unclaimed benefits

By Simon McGrath | Mon 29th July 2024 - 3:00 pm

The amount of unclaimed benefits in the UK is estimated by Policy in Practice to be £22bn – the largest unclaimed benefits being Universal Credit (£8.3bn), Council Tax support (£3.4bn) and Carers Allowance (£2.3bn).

Councils have an important role to play in helping people claim benefits to which they are entitled but do not claim and so Merton Liberal Democrats proposed a motion at a recent council meeting to ask the Council to take some simple and inexpensive actions to ensure Merton residents claimed what they are due.

Proposing the motion, Cllr John Oliver highlighted an estimate of …

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