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Farron: Victims of Post Office scandal need compensation, not being weaponised by the Tories

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th January 2024 - 10:38 am

The ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office has highlighted the dreadful injustice suffered by so many sub postmasters, as John Barrett outlined yesterday.

I haven’t seen it yet, but I know it will be very uncomfortable to watch. Yet again in my lifetime, something has gone very wrong with a public service and it takes too long for the victims to be taken seriously. Windrush, Hillsborough, numerous health scandals are just a handful of others. Government needs to find a way of being much quicker to react when things go wrong and not just dismiss concerns until they are forced to deal with them, usually with the involvement of the judicial system.

We’ve seen several instances in the past few days of right wing commentators (former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie, not known for his listening to people complaining of injustice) among them have decided that this is a good opportunity to have a go at the Lib Dem ministers responsible for the postal service who were in office rather than talk about a way forward.

A letter from Ed Davey saying that he didn’t see what a meeting with the sub postmasters would achieve is being circulated. It’s dated 21st May 2010, which is a few days after he became a Minister. He actually did meet them in October of that year.

In the Guardian this week, Ed was reported as saying that he regretted not doing more when he was a Minister, honesty which is perhaps refreshing in an environment where people try to deflect blame on to others.

Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “I feel that I was deeply misled by Post Office executives … they didn’t come clean. There were definitely attempts to stop me meeting .

“We were clearly misled. I think ministers from all political parties were misled.”

In terms of what happens next he said:

Davey said Post Office executives were now “dragging their feet” and “not bringing evidence to the inquiry”.

He added: “Government ministers need to do more – I hope they watch this series and realise they’ve got to come forward with a proper compensation package.”

In an interview on BBC Breakfast on Thursday morning Alan Bates was given many opportunities to stick the boot in to Ed specifically by the interviewer and didn’t take the chance to single him out.

Tim Farron took to Twitter last night to make some observations about the scandal, the current Tory blame game and what should happen next.

He said:

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged alan bates, ed davey, horizon and post office | 30 Comments

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Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 7th January 2024 - 8:32 am

Israel

“The Day After Gaza” – as the discussion about what to do after the fighting is called in Israel, is the number one topic in the Israeli cabinet.

Not surprisingly, the coalition government is hopelessly divided.

On the far-right side are the representatives of the Ultra-Orthodox parties led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. They want to “encourage” the Palestinians to leave the Gaza and replace them with Jewish settlers.

A shade more reasonable is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who wants Israel to retain overall security control while working with a multi-national force in Gaza. Palestinians would be free to manage day-to-day affairs as long as they did not “commit any hostile actions against Israel.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to officially unveil his ideas in cabinet, but he has written an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. In it he said he had three goals – destroy Hamas everywhere; demilitarise the Gaza Strip and “deradicalise” Palestinians.

The first goal, presumably involves assassinating Hamas leaders in foreign countries. This has the potential of being construed by the host country as an act of war. It certainly would not help Israel’s image.

As for demilitarisation, Gaza is already officially demilitarised. Everyone can see how well that has worked.

The third is new and startling Netanyahu claims that at the root of current problems is a Hamas-controlled education system which has radicalised the Palestinians against Israel. He wants to re-educate or “de-radicalise” Palestinians through a revised educational system. This smacks of the re-education camps of China, the Soviet Union, Vietnam, Cambodia….

Taiwan and China

2024 will be a big election year. Four billion people in more than 70 countries will be trooping to the polls.

Some of the elections will be a sham. Russia is a prime example. I can predict now that Vladimir Putin will win.

Others are real and important. They include the US, UK, EU, India, South Korea and Mexico. One of the most important and potentially consequential elections occurs next Saturday in Taiwan. The result will determine if the 24million Taiwanese move away from or towards Mainland China.

The voters’ decision will have a major impact on the actions of Xi Jinping’s China, and this turn has the potential of dramatic consequences for the rest of the world.

The Taiwanese elections are both presidential and legislative. At the moment both the legislature and the presidency are controlled by the Democratic People’s Party (DPP). The President, Tsai Ing-wen has served two terms and is barred from standing for a third.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged china, donald trump, gaza, israel, taiwan and United states of America | 6 Comments

Lib Dem PPC Caroline Voaden calls for “Rape” t-shirt to be withdrawn from sale

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th January 2024 - 7:51 pm

Lib Dem PPC Caroline Voaden noticed something horrible online today. One of those design your own t-shirt/hoodie/vest companies had allowed a t-shirt to appear on its website, selling for £18.18, which said, shockingly, Eat, Sleep, Rape, Repeat.

Caroline is a former CEO of Devon Rape Crisis and has called for this t-shirt to be withdrawn from sale.

If you are not on Twitter, you can email the company at [email protected]. I’ve done so, asking them to withdraw this vile product, apologise and put processes in place that stop such designs getting on to their website. Surely this must have been seen by a human at some stage. Why on earth did they not stop it. And if it wasn’t seen by a human, they need some quality control.

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Posted in News | Tagged caroline voaden, sexism, sexual assault and violence against women and girls | 3 Comments

Justice and Truth for the Sub-Postmasters

By John Barrett | Sat 6th January 2024 - 3:38 pm

For many years Liberal Democrats, like me, campaigned against the closure of Post Office branches, as we believed that every community which loses its local Post Office is poorer in a number of ways. They provided not only essential postal and banking services, but also a social hub and a lifeline for many, who did not have a bank account or access to the internet.

Ironically, those Sub-Postmasters whose Post Offices did close escaped the risk of being caught up in what has been described as the greatest ever miscarriage of justice in Britain, with several hundred innocent people losing their life savings, being made bankrupt and homeless, and in some cases losing their lives, because of the lies told and outdated powers that the Post Office used to prosecute – without the involvement of the Police. Many were falsely accused of fraud because of the determination by the Post Office to cover up an IT problem, which was known about for years.

This long running saga has once again come to the public’s attention with the broadcast of the television series, Mr Bates v The Post Office, which has retold the story as a drama which has left people shocked and outraged at the action of the Post Office, the Government and the legal system. With a number of heroes and leading the villains, the Post Office’s CEO at the time, Paula Vennells.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged horizon and post office | 12 Comments

Observations of an Expat: Who are the Houthis?

By Tom Arms | Sat 6th January 2024 - 9:25 am

Since the start of November the Houthis of Yemen have launched more than 20 attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Nearly 15 percent of the world’s trade passes through the Red Sea. Already 20 percent of the ships have been diverted around South Africa, adding to transport costs and inflation. Those ship owners who continue to sail through the Red Sea are faced with rocketing insurance bills.

NATO ships have rushed to the region and the Houthis have been warned of terrible consequences if they continue their strikes.

So, who are the Houthis and why are they attacking the world’s shipping?

The answer to why is easy – Gaza. The Houthis hate Israel, Saudi Arabia and the US and they are rabid supporters of the Palestinian cause. The Houthi motto is: “God is the Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. A Curse Upon the Jews. Victory to Islam.”

The who is slightly more complicated. For a start they are Shia Muslims which gives them a link to Iran’s mullahs. But, just to complicate matters, they are a different Shia sect known as the Zaydis. But shades of religious difference have not prevented an alliance between the Houthis and Tehran.

Next, the Houthis make up about 40 percent of the population of Yemen. Until about 1967 they were Yemen’s ruling elite for close to a 1,000 years.

It was about 1967 that the Saudis started using their oil money to interfere in Yemeni politics. The Saudi ruling family are Sunni and they have a problem with dissatisfied Shias in their Eastern Province along the border with Yemen.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged houthis and yemen | 7 Comments

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Loving your limitations

By Michal Siewniak | Fri 5th January 2024 - 4:27 pm

How was it? Have you survived? There was quite a bit to do to prepare and organise a “memorable Christmas”. I wonder how many of us genuinely tried to have a little break, stay away from the news and use the Festive Season as an opportunity to “inhale some positivity”, recharge our batteries and reconnect with friends and nature.

January is often a tough month. The weather is still pretty miserable, many of us have to go back to work and the joyful Christmas spirit evaporates. The New Year resolution often kicks in. Society encourages us to exercise more, to stop drinking and/ or smoking. Our intentions are often there, however due to a number of external factors e.g. pace of life or work, our commitment doesn’t last too long.

Like many of us, over Christmas, I also was contemplating ways in which 2024 could be not only better but also a bit different than 2023. What if, rather than only looking after my physical appearance, I try to take care of my mental and spiritual wellbeing? What would happen if I was to start there? But how can this be achieved? Yes, of course; we should spend time outdoors as much as possible, read, meditate and socialise. I am certain that we all, to some degree, try to do it to our best ability.

However, what if we did instead, something different and quite revolutionary? I believe that none of the above is possible if we don’t start with ourselves. I will never forget a conversation a few years ago with a friend of mine who said to me: “I am grateful for my limitations”. I must say that it was quite a discovery for me. But I do think that my friend was right; in order to succeed in life, even in small things, we need to be able to embrace our weakness, and not only our strengths.

Today, the society and the world around us often promotes the image of perfectionism. Life is not perfect, if it was, it would be boring. Would we agree? Life teaches us often rush lessons. On many occasions, we need to be brave enough to stand up, carry on after many failures. I believe that each of these experiences, painful and joyful, help us to grow and become better people. Ability to accept and love who we are is crucial in enabling us to grow as humble but also confident individuals.

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Posted in Op-eds | 1 Comment

Pack’s podcast shows striking parallels between Kennedy’s leadership and now

By Chris Bowers | Fri 5th January 2024 - 1:13 pm

In the 36 years the Liberal Democrats have existed as a political party, we have had eight leaders, and Mark Pack’s latest Never Mind the Bar Charts podcast offers an evaluation of one of those eight, Charles Kennedy (1999-2006). The podcast, featuring Mark chatting with the Liberal historian Duncan Brack, has just come out, and the timing is interesting.

Most of the information in it has long been in the public domain, and anyone who has read Greg Hurst’s biography of Kennedy – or, for that matter, mine of Nick Clegg – will find it a refresher rather than a revelation. What was a revelation, however, was just how similar the party’s situation is now compared with the 2001-05 parliament when Kennedy was at his peak.

There are of course some differences, notably that Kennedy’s 52 Lib Dem MPs elected in 2001 were in opposition to Labour, while the 11 Lib Dems elected in 2019 have been opposing the Conservatives. But there are some striking similarities, with some equally striking conclusions to be drawn.

Brack is a firm adherent to the conclusion Hurst drew: that alcoholism was not the cause of Kennedy’s downfall, rather he had no agenda for his leadership, and as he became more aware of this, his drinking got worse. Kennedy was a great communicator who had cut-through with the public because of his appearances on popular TV shows, but he had no clear idea of what he wanted to do with the party leadership, and never seemed to give any policy direction.

Pack takes this as read, and describes Kennedy’s approach to the 2005 general election as “muddled”. Numerically, it was the party’s most successful election, peaking at 62 MPs (up to 63 following a by-election in early 2006), but Pack says, “under those very favourable circumstances (notably the principled Lib Dem stance on the Iraq war), perhaps that was more of a missed opportunity.”

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Posted in Op-eds and Podcasts | Tagged charles kennedy, duncan brack and Mark Pack | 26 Comments

The Gaza war continues…

By John Kelly | Fri 5th January 2024 - 9:29 am

Baroness Morris of Bolton begins her New Year message as President of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) as follows:

In 1984, a group of doctors and humanitarians, horrified by the massacre of Palestinian civilians they had witnessed in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Lebanon, grouped together to form Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). For them, medical relief wasn’t just about saving lives, but was a tangible act of solidarity with a people who had suffered so much for so long.

Forty years later, amid the heartbreaking scenes we are witnessing in Gaza, the future for Palestinians appears bleaker and more uncertain than ever before. Families have been torn apart, homes destroyed, and countless lives shattered. The healthcare system is on its knees. Two million people are now hungry.

We can’t turn on our TVs or radios without a daily report of more civilians being killed – :children, journalists, healthcare workers, staff of UN agencies and NGOs. The Liberal Democrats are the only national party in the UK to have unequivocally called for a ceasefire. The majority of Tory MPs seem intent on egging on the Israeli war machine. Labour is more divided, but its leadership has lost its moral compass – as so often happens with that party on international issues. This interview with Keir Starmer illustrates the point.

What can we do as a small party in Parliament to influence the direction of travel? The situation looks dire. Israeli PM Netanyahu seems determined to carry on destroying Gaza and indiscriminately killing Palestinian civilians so he can declare victory over Hamas and complete his revenge for the frightful horrors perpetrated on October 7th. Members of his cabinet – led by Ben Gvir – are calling for Gaza to be cleansed of Palestinians and settled by Israelis.

In addition, in the West Bank, Israeli settlers have escalated attacks, murders and rampant destruction of Palestinian land and property, unchecked by the IDF and supported by powerful Israeli government ministers, Itamir Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

What is just as disturbing is the attitude of many Israelis towards Palestinians. My must read/listen item of the Christmas period was an interview by Owen Jones with Gideon Levy. Levy is the son of Holocaust survivors. He served in the Israeli army and has become one of Israel’s leading journalists. He has spent much of his time in the West Bank covering and criticising the practices of settlers, the Israeli army and successive Israeli governments. It is well worth listening to this interview which sadly demonstrates how the dehumanisation of Palestinians has become accepted by the majority of Israeli citizens. Levy argues that only external pressure from abroad is likely to change Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and end its illegal occupation (something quite explicitly recognised by our party when it passed resolution F39 in 2021).

Two of my least favourite listens of recent weeks have been an interview (in French)with Belgian TV and a speech in Germany, both by Yair Lapid the Leader of Yesh Atid, our supposed sister party in Israel. Uncompromising in his support of the present military assault, he showed absolutely no remorse or sympathy for the suffering of Palestinians at the hands of Israel and in the TV interview was also questioning the idea of a separate state for Palestinians.

In 2003 our Party was the only one to take a strong and moral position on the Iraq war. The Party was almost totally united on this – only Paddy Ashdown and a few others thought differently. After some initial hesitation Charles Kennedy played a leading role in the biggest anti-war demonstration; and, as a matter of fact, 2005 was our best election year since the 1920s. Many people who are still active in the party joined because of our stand.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged gaza, israel and palestine | 8 Comments

London’s democracy isn’t perfect: City Hall needs electoral reform

By Richard Wood | Thu 4th January 2024 - 6:19 pm

There’s a massive gulf between where our democracy is and where it should be. Time and time again, First Past the Post distorts the link between seats and votes in the House of Commons while the House of Lords makes a mockery of the notion that we have a representative democracy. Not to mention the stark reality that our political system is far too centralised – despite almost 25 years of devolution.

Of course, we’ve made some great steps forward. The devolved parliaments and assemblies, as well as the introduction of Proportional Representation for Scottish councils, are great achievements of modern politics – all positive, progressive Liberal Democrat wins alongside Labour.

Yet there’s much more to be done to build a better democracy. Instead of championing further democratic upgrades, the Conservatives are taking this country backwards. The introduction of voter ID checks for all the wrong reasons and the abolition of the Supplementary Vote for mayoral elections are two huge missteps.

We need big and radical overhauls like PR, a democratic upper chamber and a written codified constitution. But we also need reforms in less urgent but still important areas.

London faces another election this May. Our party has a real opportunity to grow in the capital, both by winning more assembly seats and beating the Greens back into fourth place.

Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon last year rightly championed the case for further devolution in London and across the UK. Devolving powers away from Westminster is the right move to empower citizens and ultimately strengthen our democracy.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged greater london assembly and London | 4 Comments

Make it known – we are a party of CAN-DO and Care

By Katharine Pindar | Thu 4th January 2024 - 1:57 pm

Liberal Democrats care about our country’s problems. We have solutions for them. And we know how to pay for them.

A new Labour Government coming this year? They are going to need our help. And what they failed to address in their manifesto; we will need to persuade them to fix.

Some of our country’s worst problems were brought home to me in a Guardian front-page story last Friday. It was reporting on a survey from MDDUS, a medical defence organisation, of 1671 doctors from the four home nations. The survey found that 65% of doctors overall, including nearly four in five GPs, had been experiencing ‘moral distress’ because of the situations they had encountered in their NHS work. The leader of the BMA, Professor Philip Banfield said, “There’s barely a doctor at work in the NHS today who doesn’t see or experience this distress on a daily basis.” It is because the NHS is “impossibly overstretched”, with its thousands of vacancies for doctors and has a quarter fewer doctors per head of population than Germany. “In practice”, he continues, “that means we can almost never give the standard of care we would want, only ever the care we can manage.” This causes doctors the ‘moral distress’ described, and affects their own mental health.

The research shows that doctors are aware of how the cost of living crisis is damaging many patients’ health, with the long waits for treatment, and the facts of poverty or bad housing making people ill.

Backing this analysis up – as covered in the same Guardian edition – Citizens Advice has reported record numbers of people needing homeless services, food banks and energy bill support this past year. They referred more people to food banks and other charities between January and November this year – 208,000, more than in the whole of 2022 – and helped record numbers of people unable to top up their energy prepayment meters, together with record numbers of homeless people – 41,554 of them in 2023, up by 17% from the number in 2022.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged labour, NHS and poverty | 22 Comments

William Wallace writes: Why we should be wary of Lib-Labbery

By Lord William Wallace | Thu 4th January 2024 - 10:30 am

Labour strategists are warning their party not to take it for granted that they will sweep into power in the coming general election with a large majority. They point to earlier campaigns, in the UK and elsewhere, during which substantial initial poll leads have evaporated, to leave either no overall majority or even a surprise victory for the incumbent government. It looks extremely unlikely that the Conservatives can recover that far; but it may be wise to reflect on the possible implications of Labour failing to win a comfortable majority.

Many of us, while desperately anxious to see the back of this dying and faction-ridden Tory government, will nevertheless lack confidence that a majority Labour government would offer sufficient political and economic change. But we also need to be cautious and suspicious about how Labour would behave if it were to emerge without a clear Commons majority.

Those of us with long memories recall how difficult and frustrating cooperation with Labour has proved on previous occasions when they have needed third-party support. When Harold Wilson won a bare majority in 1964, Jo Grimond – committed to ‘the realignment of the Left’ and to reasoned cooperation between politicians of goodwill – offered support. Wilson responded warmly when opinion polls looked bad for Labour in the Spring of 1965. When they turned back in Labour’s favour that summer, he ridiculed the Liberals in his speech to Labour’s conference, and went on to secure a clear majority of MPs in the 1966 election.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged conservative, featured and labour | 13 Comments

Free to good home – a Liberal treasure from 1969

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd January 2024 - 2:42 pm

From a correspondent:

I have been having a clear-out of my shelves, and among the material which I am not going to keep is three issues of New Outlook – A Liberal Magazine from 1969. They may be of interest to some readers of LibDem Voice (not least, perhaps, for the nostalgic pleasure of reading thoughtful and respectful pieces from Conservative MPs John Biffen and John Hunt).

Free to a good home.

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Posted in News | Tagged free to good home | 3 Comments

Coming to a seat near you…Ed Davey’s Tory Removal Service

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd January 2024 - 12:36 pm

There is nothing like a good hi-viz jacket to show that an election is on the way, but it can’t come soon enough for our Ed Davey.

He’s just been on BBC News, surrounded by a pretty massive crowd in Guildford launching his Tory Removal Service.

Nothing shows what a seasoned political nerd I am like my first reaction to the poster. Not the message, but the font. That’s a new one.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2024 general election, ed davey, featured, guildford and zoe franklin | 34 Comments

Remembering Michael Anderson

By Margaret Joachim | Wed 3rd January 2024 - 9:58 am

Older members of the Liberal Democrats and its predecessor Liberal Party will be sorry to hear that Michael Anderson died just before Christmas.

Michael fought the 1978 Epsom by-election for the Liberals, and then the same seat in the general elections of 1979 and 1983, followed by standing in East Surrey in 1987. He then became a district councillor in Mole Valley from 1991 to 2004, chairing the council in 1995-6. He and his wife Anne had lived in Great Bookham since 1975, and Michael took a very active interest in local affairs, in particular the health service, education (as a governor of a local school), crime prevention, as a church sidesman, with U3A and the local football club, whose matches he regularly attended. He was also interested in local history, and ‘starred’ as the narrator in a film made about World War II in Bookham.

However, Michael was probably much better known to most of us as a member of the Liberal Assembly Committee and then the Federal Conference Committee. His concern was always to ensure that Conference was as good as it could be. Others could work on policy; he focused first on people. He was a robust and reliable chair of debates, employing a deft sense of humour – he was the person who told us that a typo in one particular submission had resulted in the assertion that ‘Education is a lifeless process’. He was also an excellent speaker, and was exactly the person you would want to make the summation speech for your side in a complex debate.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged michael anderson and obituaries | 5 Comments

Will we learn the lessons of 2014 in 2024?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd January 2024 - 6:54 am

It hit me yesterday that 2024 marks 10 years since the Scottish referendum on independence. How on earth did that happen? Given the failure of the SNP to manage Scotland’s public services using the extensive powers they already have, you could argue that we had a very lucky escape.

For me, that referendum set in motion the events that led to where we are now. David Cameron learned that a broadly negative status quo campaign could win the day and transferred that experience to the campaign to remain in the EU. He should have realised that the pro-UK side was lucky to get away with such a poor campaign and should have done so much better. If we had managed to get over 60%, we could have perhaps avoided all the arguments about a second referendum that have paralysed Scottish politics since.

The campaigns to stay in both unions failed to inspire, or offer any sort of positive vision. The Scottish independence campaign cunningly hid the negativity at its core with a frothy, engaging message that touched people’s hearts. The campaign to leave the EU just flat out lied to people and wasn’t effectively challenged either by the media or the opposition.

The Yes campaign and the campaign to leave the EU touched a nerve with people because they felt powerless to change their own destiny. It is also 10 years since our Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper, half a decade before she became an MP, suggested “Take Back Control” as a slogan for us. It would be a slogan with meaning, too, because so many of our policies are about exercising power as close to the people as possible. Liberal Democrats could deliver so much more than the non-existent control promised by the Brexiteers.

Liberal Democrats have so much substance in our policies to help deliver a much more equal, happier, sustainable society. From our guaranteed basic income, to strengthening our democracy by cleaning up our politics and making sure people get the parliament they ask for, to restoring our international reputation, to tackling the housing crisis and slowing our rush to climate catastrophe, we have some solid ideas that will make a huge difference to people.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2024 general election, featured and party strategy | 20 Comments

Jamie Stone and Sarah Dyke share New Year’s Resolutions

By NewsHound | Tue 2nd January 2024 - 4:00 pm

Politics Home has been asking MPs to share their New Year’s Resolutions. Two Lib Dems responded.

Jamie Stone has pledged to offer a second constituency office in the town of Wick:

“After the boundary changes my constituency will be the biggest ever in the UK,” he said.

“Constituents deserve proper representation and support from their MPs and their teams, and that is why in the future there will be not one but two constituency offices in the northernmost mainland constituency in the UK.”

Sarah Dyke wants to “work even harder” on behalf of her constituents. She only officially entered Parliament in September and in just 3 months, she’s already spoken 36 times. That is an impressive start.

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Posted in News | Tagged jamie stone and Sarah Dyke | Leave a comment

New Year, New Message?

By Rob Parsons | Tue 2nd January 2024 - 1:51 pm

So often the principles of liberalism are – rightly and reasonably – tempered in Liberal Democrat campaigns by the need to couch our message in forms appealing to voters. I believe that the next election is one of those rare moments of confluence where the core messages of liberalism are exactly what voters want and need to hear. The unapologetic promotion of liberal principles will give the country the hope, the promise and the solace which the large majority of voters and citizens now seek.

Whatever the complexion of the new government, it will inherit a wrecked economy and a shattered society. This reality should not deter us from offering a sweeping and hopeful vision of what Britain can be like if the right steps are taken now. The right steps are completely in tune with the vision of liberalism for empowered citizens living in equitable and vibrant communities within a competent state.

The preamble to our constitution reads “no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity”. Our leaders are plagued by poverty of vision, by ignorance of the array of solutions available and by conformity to desiccated doctrines like the necessity to “honour” Brexit.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged party messaging and party strategy | 26 Comments

In memoriam Dr Yeow Poon 17 Jan 1956 – 17 Dec 2023

By Chinese Liberal Democrats | Tue 2nd January 2024 - 11:44 am

I believe that when countries and people with different histories, philosophies, religions and cultures collaborate there can be mutual learning to enrich ourselves and develop innovative paradigms for meeting 21st Century challenges as humanity evolves.

Dr Yeow Poon

Dr Yeow Poon

It is with deep sadness that we wish to announce the passing of our Hon President Dr Yeow Poon after a two year battle against pancreatic cancer. He was a giant of man and will be greatly missed by all, not least his colleagues and friends at Chinese Liberal Democrats.

Born in Malaysia, Dr Poon attended university in the UK and became naturalised as a British citizen. He was the Chair of the Chinese Community Centre – Birmingham, President of England China Business Forum, Chair of Arts in the Yard, Trustee of Chinese Welfare Trust and a core member of the Covid-19 Anti-Racism Group. He was the Business Desk Midlands Leadership Award Winner: Public and Third Sector Leader 2018.

As management consultant he worked primarily in the public and voluntary sectors, on public administration reform, capacity building, management and leadership development projects in the United Kingdom, Vietnam, China, LAO PDR, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, South Africa and Greece. He had particular interest in cross-culture-AI governance, leadership, management and organisation development issues.

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Posted in News | Tagged chinese liberal democrats, dr yeow poon and obituaries | 8 Comments

Four Lib Dems honoured in New Year Honours List

By The Voice | Fri 29th December 2023 - 11:00 pm

We interrupt our festive break to bring you the happy news that the Liberal Democrats have seen three people honoured in the New Years Honours list.

Jude Godden has been awarded an MBE for her services to local politics, Gavin Stollar has been awarded an OBE for his work within the Jewish Community and Andrew Dixon was awarded an OBE for his work in tackling inequality and for his support to British entrepreneurs.

Jude Godden

Jude Godden has been serving her community for the past 20 years, first running adult education for a large rural area and delivering over 200 courses a year as well as delivering cardiac rehabilitation courses and then more recently, as Head of Casework for Tim Farron MP. During the years she has worked for Tim Farron’s office she has made a massive difference. She has been instrumental in investigating and exposing two major national health scandals by supporting whistleblowers to have their voices heard, one of which was featured on the BBC. She single-handedly repatriated 57 people when the pandemic hit from around the world by working day and night till they were safely home. Recently she has helped refugees who were struggling to get visas to leave Ukraine and faced deportation back to a war zone. Jude has successfully returned over a million pounds to constituents and has acted as an advocate for countless people to ensure social justice is delivered.

Ed Davey congratulated Jude on her MBE

My warmest congratulations to Jude Godden, who’s charitable spirit is so importantly recognised in today’s honours.

Jude is a carer for a family member, as well as a caseworker for Tim Farron and has served her local area tirelessly for over 20 years.

Everyone in the Liberal Democrats is so proud of Jude’s work and this well-deserved accomplishment.

Gavin Stollar

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Posted in News | Tagged gavin stollar, honours and new year honours | 1 Comment

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s Christmas message

By The Voice | Sun 24th December 2023 - 7:30 pm

Alex Cole-Hamilton’s Christmas message is below:

Christmas is a time for reflection, and I think it’s important to look back on the long road travelled since last year.

Just twelve months ago Nicola Sturgeon was the most powerful figure in Scottish politics. Now her reputation lies in tatters.

The SNP in government are badly diminished by scandal, infighting and more than a decade of neglect of public services which has led to record NHS waiting lists and our schools slipping down the international rankings.

Twelve months ago the Conservatives were in utter chaos… so some things don’t change.

While the Conservatives and SNP flounder, Scottish Liberal Democrats have never shied away from making the case for action on the two biggest issues facing our country: the cost of living and the crisis in our NHS.

We have also led the way on other matters, offering considered and constructive solutions to the challenges facing our country.

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Posted in News | Tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton and christmas messages 2023 | 1 Comment

Ed Davey’s Christmas message

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 23rd December 2023 - 10:30 pm

I know we said we were disappearing until after the New Year, but we thought you would like to see Ed Davey’s Christmas Message.

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Posted in News | Tagged christmas message, ed davey and featured | 2 Comments

Season’s greetings

By The Voice | Sat 23rd December 2023 - 8:25 am

We will be back in the New Year.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged christmas and featured | 2 Comments

Observations of an Expat: Christmas around the World

By Tom Arms | Fri 22nd December 2023 - 9:00 pm

Tis the season. Egg nog, mulled wine, presents, Christmas trees, yule logs, Christmas cards, Midnight Mass, food, food and more food…. The list goes on and on. The Holiday Season is one tradition after another.

In fact, you could call it the Tradition Season just as easily as the Christmas or Holiday Season. But when and where did the traditions start? Well, they came from all over the Western world and some of the Eastern. Some have deeply religious roots. Others tell a political story. Some are strictly secular money making operations.

There was a time when Christmas was banned. And then there is the controversy about the actual birthday. The Bible does not actually give a date for the birth of Jesus, but Biblical historians believe that references to shepherds sitting outdoors at night on hills indicates that it was in the spring.

Early Christians didn’t bother with celebrating the birth of Jesus. Birthday celebrations were considered a pagan tradition. They concentrated on Easter. But fourth century Pope Julius I saw an opportunity to pull in pagan converts by setting a date for the birth of Jesus that coincided with the “birthday” of the Roman gods Mithras and Sol Invictus (25 December).

The chosen day also coincided with the feast of Saturnalia when Romans decorated their homes with wreaths (which symbolised eternal life) and greenery, including trees. They also indulged in a week of constant partying and exchanged gifts. Sound familiar?

But other Christmas traditions go back further. Archaeologists have uncovered proof that Druids made extensive use of the parasitic mistletoe during winter solstice celebrations. They believed it encouraged fertility which of course led to the association with kissing, and we all know what kissing leads to.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged christmas | 3 Comments

ALDC by-election review for 2023

By Charles Quinn | Fri 22nd December 2023 - 7:32 pm

The final council by-election results of 2023 have been declared. We can look back on a brilliant, and historic year, of Liberal Democrat performances!

In total there were 197 principal council by-elections contested in 2023. The Liberal Democrats won 51 of these elections. Of these 26 were Lib Dem gains from other parties or independents.

That means, of all principal council by-elections in 2023, over a quarter resulted in a Lib Dem win – and one in eight resulted in a Lib Dem gain!

In total we made a net gain of 26 council seats in by-elections and countermanded elections over the course of the year. This is our joint third best performance since the merger in 1988 and comfortably the best of any party this year.

By contrast the Green Party had a net gain of 8, Labour had a net gain of 7, the SNP and Plaid were down a combined 6 seats and the Conservatives were down a net 31 councillors!

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Posted in News | Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 5 Comments

ALDC by-election report, 21st December

By Charles Quinn | Fri 22nd December 2023 - 5:28 pm

We finished an outstanding year for Council by-elections on a high this week. We won 2 of the 3 contests and put in a great showing in the third – moving forwards in our vote share everywhere.

There were 2 by-elections in Leicestershire. Firstly on Leicestershire CC we held Blaby and Glen Parva ward (which had previously been won by a Liberal Democrat who became an independent before resigning). Congratulations to Councillor Sue Jordan and the team on holding the seat, and doing so by increasing our vote by 12.5% and increasing our majority to over 650!

Leicestershire CC, Blaby and Glen Parva
Liberal Democrats (Sue Jorden): 989 (61.2%, +12.5%)
Conservative: 320 (19.8%, -13.7%)
Labour: 190 (11.8%, +1.8%)
Green Party: 116 (7.2%, -0.5%)

In the corresponding vacancy on Blaby DC we also held the seat of Glen Parva ward with an increased vote share. Congratulations to Councillor Andrew Savage and the team on winning over 60% of the vote and increasing the Lib Dem vote by 5.4%.

Blaby DC, Glan Parva
Liberal Democrats (Andrew Savage): 438 (60.6%, +5.4%)
Conservative: 140 (19.4%, -3.7%)
Labour: 102 (14.1%, new)
Green Party: 43 (6.0%, new)

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Posted in News | Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 5 Comments

What is the true meaning of Christmas?

By Michal Siewniak | Thu 21st December 2023 - 2:22 pm

Are you ready for Christmas? Are you staying at home or are you planning to visit your loved ones? These are some of the questions that we will be hearing a lot these days. There is a rush to buy, cook and make sure that the “Christmas experience” is close to being “perfect”. Whether we like it or not, it is almost impossible to avoid all the madness around the Festive Season. I often wonder whether we have lost our ability to recognise that Christmas can give us all a lot more than only a new toy, phone or a fancy gift.

For me personally, Christmas has two important meanings. First of all, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the elapsing year. It has been challenging, hasn’t it? Here at home, we’ve had constant “political drama”, ongoing financial challenges and high inflation. The situation abroad isn’t unfortunately better. There is war, various global conflicts, climate or a refugee crisis. From the human perspective, it is not easy to remain positive and optimistic, isn’t it? We have all experienced a “poverty of trust” and it often feels like that the hope and belief for a better tomorrow is fading away.

Having said, maybe there are ways in which we can make the Festive Season truly “magical”. Is this a good moment to look around and notice people who are still less fortunate than us? Is this a perfect time to pick up the phone and ring a friend, member of the family, someone we have not spoken with for a while? Is it also a good moment to simply knock on our neighbour’s door to say hi, check if they are ok? What if we tried this Christmas to give our time and ourselves to people around us? What if we tried to switch off, simply be in the present moment and “park” for a day or two our phone and stop scrolling through our social media platforms? Watching a family movie, going for a walk might have a positive impact on building healthy relationships with people around us. Moreover, it will also help us to improve our wellbeing, so often neglected by our busy lifestyles.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged christmas | 6 Comments

Green Book Pod 3: the party’s messaging on Brexit

By Duncan Brack | Thu 21st December 2023 - 11:18 am

There’s a paradox about people’s position on Brexit. Much as a clear majority of voters would support Remain (or Rejoin) in a new referendum, knowing what they know now, many of them nevertheless have no desire to go back to the divisiveness of the pre- and post-referendum period. Many families, friendship groups, communities and social groupings have been riven by Brexit; some people are still not on speaking terms with those on the other side. It’s little wonder that the Remain/Leave division is still the most powerful in British politics.

That makes the route back into the EU one that has to be handled with great delicacy – a question that we explored in the third episode of the Green Book Pod series of discussions on key issues for the Liberal Democrats, now available on Lib Dem Podcast via the usual platforms and also here on YouTube.

Some of the evidence for the paradox was presented by Luke Tryl, UK Director of the think tank ‘More in Common’, that takes its name from the quote from the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox: we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us. He told the podcast that public opinion is increasingly swinging towards the belief that Brexit was a mistake and that the UK should rejoin the EU, but focus groups reveal little enthusiasm for another referendum campaign, thanks to the horrors of 2016–19.

Professor Anand Menon, director of the ‘UK in a Changing Europe’ programme, added that, while there is mounting evidence of the damage caused by Brexit, it would be dangerous to think that rejoining will be easy. The EU has suffered much less than the UK from Brexit, so its incentives to renegotiate the relationship are not strong (the episode was recorded two days before Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, claimed that the UK could rejoin the EU).

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged green book podcast | 47 Comments

What’s the future for Israel and Palestine?

By Andy Daer | Wed 20th December 2023 - 12:55 pm

It is now more than two months since the Hamas attack in southern Israel, and the bombing and shelling of Palestinians in Gaza continues. Many of us have marched in support of a cease-fire, but the marches have achieved nothing, so it must be time for a rethink.

The horrific, murderous the attack on October 7 had its roots in Palestinian resentment, and arguably the seeds were planted by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour’s decision during the First World War to donate part of a foreign country we didn’t own to a people who’d suffered abuse and discrimination in Europe for hundreds of years and wanted somewhere to go that wasn’t Europe.

Others say the current conflict in Gaza is simply the consequence of Hamas behaving “like animals” on October 7. There are proximal causes and more deep-seated ones, some of which go back a very long way – for some Jewish fundamentalists the claim to ownership of Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. Many other more recent factors are involved, like the funding of Hamas by Qatar (among other countries) and the funding of Israel by the US, which have made the Palestinians pawns in a game driven by the geopolitical ambitions of others.

What is being lost in the debate over which part of history is most important is the fate of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and increasingly in the West Bank, with bombs falling, bullets flying, and starvation and disease now gaining hold. Since October 7, more than 20,000 people have been killed, upward of 50,000 injured, and hostages are being held. Around two million people in Gaza are living in a devastated waste land, short of water, food, electricity, shelter, medical aid, and hope that the world will do anything to alleviate their suffering.

If the world community is going to move on from simply grandstanding, the obvious first requirement is an end to the fighting. Calling for Israel to stop hasn’t worked, but if we think that only Israel has the power to end the war we are missing an important point. Israel has said it won’t stop until Hamas is defeated or surrenders, so the sooner Hamas lays down its arms the better.

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged gaza, israel and palestine | 29 Comments

Why would you cut energy efficiency funding in a climate emergency – Alex Cole-Hamilton

By The Voice | Wed 20th December 2023 - 9:07 am

Yesterday’s Scottish Budget hit the headlines because of the introduction of a new top tax rate for higher earners, and a rise in tax for the richest. But there were some real devils in the detail.

The BBC’s report states that:

Plans to accelerate clean heating systems will receive £358m of funding.

This might be fine, but the figure last year was £367.5 million.

They have also cut the funding for fuel poverty and housing quality from £21.8 million to £1.7 million.

And that is before you even start to mention the effective cut to Council budgets because of the Council Tax freeze. A report last week suggested that a quarter of Scottish Councils fear bankruptcy.

Alex said in response to Finance Secretary Shona Robison’s statement:

The SNP has spent years ignoring expert warnings about the lack of a long-term economic strategy and the impact of its failure to grow the economy. Scotland needs predictability and a long-term plan for tax and the wider economy, not erratic changes that will undermine confidence.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged Alex Cole-Hamilton, Scotland and scottish budget | 10 Comments

Focus on migration Part 2 – asylum policies

By Michael Wang | Tue 19th December 2023 - 11:09 am

Last week, Liberal Democrat Voice shared Carmichael’s timely speech on UK’s asylum policy. I’d like to share my views on this critical issue.

First, the legal implications. In terms of domestic law, the Rwanda Safety Bill is setting the scene for a constitutional crisis. The Bill overturns a Supreme Court decision, but under the UK’s unwritten constitution, the separation of power between the legislature and the judiciary is not as sharply defined as compared to other jurisdictions, such as the US. To limit parliament’s legislative power (even when it is a case of limiting Doublespeak), is not without risk for the judiciary, as it will be viewed as a constitutional innovation.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged migration | 6 Comments