Tag Archives: ed davey

Ed and Jo on Chuka joining the Lib Dems

Both the leadership candidates have warmly welcomed Chuka Umunna to the Lib Dems:

Ed said:

Stopping Brexit is my number one priority and I welcome Chuka to our benches as a key player in this fight. He has shown huge courage, and will make a major contribution to the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrats are back in the game, and the only viable force for pro-Europeans across the UK. Join us.

Jo said:

I have said all along that growing a liberal movement means reaching out to bring more people into our party, and I am delighted that Chuka has decided to join the Liberal Democrats.

I have worked with Chuka on the People’s Vote campaign, and I know the passion, intellect, and energy he will bring to our party, and our campaign to stop Brexit.

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13 June 2019 – today’s press releases

For obvious reasons, I’m leaving out today’s big story, but otherwise…

Failed Tory policies lead to nine-year knife crime high

Responding to the Ministry of Justice’s latest knife and offensive weapon sentencing statistics, published today, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey said:

The UK is facing an epidemic of knife crime, but the Conservative’s cack-handed response is to repeat policies that have completely failed in the past.

Branding young people as criminals – whether by locking them up on destructive short prison sentences or giving them one of Sajid Javid’s gimmicky new knife ASBOs – traps them in a cycle

…

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Ed’s Day – 12 June 2019

Ed’s first email to party members was published.

Climate change’s devastation won’t respect borders – you have to work internationally, with other countries, if you want to save our planet.

That’s what I did, as Energy and Climate Change Minister. At the European table and at the UN, I fought for tougher targets to cut carbon emissions.

And I won.

Now – just as we are leading the campaign to Stop Brexit – I want us to lead the fight to solve the Climate Change Emergency. With my radical economic plan, for carbon-free capitalism.

Then he took the Business Secretary to task over the Government’s record on the environment, dismantling a lot of what he did as Energy and Climate Change Secretary:

In wholeheartedly welcoming this statement, may I ask the Secretary of State to do two things? First, will he reverse the Government’s decisions to abolish the zero-carbon homes regulations, to ban onshore wind, and to proceed with a third runway at Heathrow? Secondly, will he agree to meet me to discuss how we can decarbonise capitalism, particularly in the City of London? Given that the City funds 15% of global fossil fuel investment, if we can decarbonise the City, that can have a massive impact on the whole world.

And in an article for the Times (£), he said he’d take Lib Dems into a Government of National Unity to stop Brexit.

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11 June 2019 – today’s press releases

Regular readers may wonder where this feature disappeared to over the past week or so. The answer, North Macedonia and Georgia, and fascinating both countries were too. But there’s always a point where you have to come home…

Davey: MI5 revelations “a shocking breach of civil liberties”

Responding to today’s High Court hearing over MI5’s collection and storage of bulk data, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

These revelations represent a shocking breach of civil liberties by one of the agencies tasked with safeguarding them.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed giving MI5 powers to collect bulk communications data,

…

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Ed’s Day – 11 June 2019

Today, Ed has expressed his concern over MI5’s inappropriate handling of data:

These revelations represent a shocking breach of civil liberties by one of the agencies tasked with safeguarding them.

The Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed giving MI5 powers to collect bulk communications data, and the serious issues raised by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner show that we were right to do so.

“Parliament needs to look again at the surveillance powers we give MI5 and other agencies, and roll back laws that unnecessarily erode privacy and liberty.

In an interview with i, he suggested that Conservative and Labour MPs were thinking about joining us.

Sir Ed, who is battling Jo Swinson to become leader of the party, told iconversations were taking place with opposition MPs to join the Lib Dems as the UK’s exit from the European Union had redrawn the political divide.

“There are some Conservative MPs who are thinking the unthinkable and there are some liberal Labour people who are thinking the unthinkable,” Sir Ed said.

But, as he said to the Huffington Post, they would have to win over party members.

In an interview with HuffPost UK, the Lib Dem leadership candidate said Chuka Umunna, Heidi Allen and others would be “welcome” to join his party.

But he made clear they would have to work hard to win over of local party activists who had spent years fighting them.

“Every election we have to get my local party members to reselect me,” Davey said.

“Anyone coming over would go through that process. They would need to win the trust of the local party members.”

 

He also outlined his plan to stop Brexit:

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Ed’s Day – 10 June 2019

Ed reacted to the worrying economic statistics this morning:

This is a really worrying indicator of the fragile state of our economy and should shame any Tory leadership candidate continuing to push for a no-deal Brexit. If just uncertainty can cause this shrink in manufacturing and our GDP, then it doesn’t bear thinking about what crashing out of Europe with no-deal could do.

These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet, this is having an impact on the lives of people up and down the country employed in industries like car manufacturing who are already losing their jobs. Enough is enough. Things have changed since June 2016 – we have got to give the people the final say on Brexit with the option to stay.

He also supported a campaign to introduce same sex marriage in Northern Ireland:

And in an article in the Independent, he ripped into Boris and other Brexiteers.

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Ed’s weekend – 7-9 June 2019

On Friday, Ed made the long journey to Aberdeen – 7.5 hours on a train from London.

The first hustings took place there but, first, a look back to an op ed he did last week for the New Statesman on LGBT rights:

Over the last 50 years, the hard work by campaigners and rights groups has seen the UK take hugely progressive steps in the right direction. In my lifetime alone our country has overcome so many barriers in the fight for equality. I am proud to have been a part of this fight and particularly proud to have introduced the amendment to repeal the abhorrent Section 28 in 2003 and to have been a part of legislating for equal marriage when Liberal Democrats were in government. It is shocking to recall how recently the UK banned the “promotion” of homosexuality in Britain’s schools (under Section 28) and denied people the right to marry the person they love because of their gender.

https://twitter.com/wilsjen/status/1137075694347964416

And then on to more hustings at a a beautiful venue in Edinburgh:

https://twitter.com/VGibbs30/status/1137353014568726529

The final hustings of the weekend was in Newcastle

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Ed’s Day – 6th June 2019

Ed’s day started with a good luck message to Beki Sellick, Lib Dem candidate in Peterborough:

Phillip Hammond has been complaining about the costs of fighting climate change. Ed says that we can’t afford not to:

Hammond might be trying to reclaim his crown as a fiscal hawk in the dying embers of May’s premiership, but this intervention is wrong headed and threatens our children’s future.

The cost of tackling the climate emergency is massively outweighed by the long term cost of not acting. The Chancellor has got his sums wrong.

The time to act is now. Just this week a new report concluded that 30,000 premature deaths could be avoided by stopping the burning of fossil fuels, proving a clean future is a healthier future.

With ambitious, stable, policies, Britain can have a competitive green economy, benefitting from the lower cost of hi-tech renewable energy.

Ed also welcomed comments form the Speaker that there would be no chance of Parliament being prorogued to force through a no-deal Brexit:

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Ed’s Day – 5th June 2019

Ed’s day started in Surbiton, at a business breakfast with London Mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita.

He commented on the D-Day anniversary:

Then he, too, was off to Peterborough to see by-election candidate Beki Sellick ahead of tomorrow’s poll.

And, on World Environment Day, he commented on a Treasury Select Committee report about decarbonisation.

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Ed’s Day – 4th June 2019

After a relative lull yesterday, Ed had a bit of a whirlwind of a day.

He joined other Lib Dems in protesting Trump and wrote an op-ed for the Huffington Post explaining why.

Trump has insulted the mayor of the capital hosting him, insulted the Duchess of Sussex just days before being hosted by the Queen, and insulted thousands of people working in the NHS by telling his ambassador to demand that American companies must be able to win contracts to run our hospitals. There is much I admire about America, but its health system isn’t one of them.

I marched against Brexit and now I will march against the same politics of division that President Trump personifies.

Our so-called government might be prepared to roll out the red carpet in a desperate attempt to curry favour with a president who’s willing to rip up international progress on the climate crisis, roll back women’s rights and demonise migrants. But for a Tory Party that prided itself on its royalism, it clearly doesn’t care that it has forced the Queen to host one of her most awkward visitors since Nicolae Ceausescu.

Then he challenged the Government on failure to make good its promise on the Dubs Amendment to take unaccompanied refugee children.

And he wished everyone Eid Mubarak

And chaired the board of an environmental organisation

And when the ChUK’s fell apart he said:

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Ed’s Day – 3 June 2019

After a frenetic weekend, it’s been a quieter day for our two leadership candidates.

Like Jo, Ed had something to say about our unwelcome house guest.

And he visited a local children’s cancer charity.

Check out Ed’s website for updates.

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Ed’s Weekend – 1st and 2nd June 2019

It’s been a hectic weekend for the leadership candidates. Numerous media interviews, travelling across the country for three sets of hustings. It’s a gruelling pace and there’s two months to go.

We’re going to try and keep up with them every day during the leadership campaign, once at the weekend.

The weekend kicked off on Friday night when the first hustings took pace in London.

Watch here:

And there was a joint interview on Channel 4 News. 

Yesterday it was on to Winchester

And Bath

Today, Ed was interviewed on Pienaar’s Politics on Radio 5 Live talking about the differences between him and Jo, climate change and Donald Trump.. Listen here.

Then he went to Wales to do some recall campaigning in Brecon and Radnor.

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Ed and Jo round 1 – the London leadership hustings

It’s going to be a gruelling month for our Lib Dem leadership candidates. They’ve both had a fair bit of media exposure the last couple of days and tonight they are in Jeremy Corbyn’s backyard having their first hustings.

If anyone who is actually there wants to write up a report of the event, it would be very gratefully received. There were a lot of you there – which is fantastic on a Friday night on not that much notice.

In the meantime, here’s the pick of the tweets from the event. London Lib Dems did a fairly comprehsensive blow by blow account. Here are some other voices.

New members are impressed:

https://twitter.com/WestminsterJane/status/1134523130150563842

Opening statements

 

Questions

First, Brexit

https://twitter.com/RoryFitzESS/status/1134527271568650241

https://twitter.com/kangavallo/status/1134528282882428928

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Alistair Carmichael MP writes…How Lib Dem MPs will approach the leadership election

Next month will mark eighteen years since I was first elected as a Member of Parliament. To say it has been something of a rollercoaster would be an understatement – so it feels good to be on the way back up again!

One of the things that has made the process of rebuilding so much easier over the last couple of years has been the really good team dynamic that we have within the parliamentary party. Most of the time agreement on positioning and priorities is simple and intuitive. When it is not then I think we manage our discussions and differences well. Even when Stephen Lloyd felt it necessary to resign the whip because of undertakings he had given to his constituents before he was elected, the process was amicable and we all remain on good terms with Stephen.

It is against that background that we now embark on a leadership contest between two of our own colleagues – Jo Swinson and Ed Davey. The choice for the party will be between two different styles and sometimes maybe priorities. Our greatest strength is that as a party we are united. We simply do not have the ideological splits that will probably split either or both of the Conservative or Labour Parties in the next twelve months. Whichever of the two candidates is chosen by the members will lead a united group in the House of Commons. I would be as happy to work with either Jo or Ed as leader as I have been to work with Vince for the last two years.

Our constitution gives a special role to MPs in the process of electing a party leader – it requires any candidate to have the support of at least ten percent of the rest of the parliamentary party. In a parliamentary party of over fifty that made sense. In a parliamentary party of eleven things are different. That is why Liberal Democrat MPs have decided to treat their role in this election as a different, essentially neutral one. As all MPs are happy to work with either Jo or Ed as leader our role should be to facilitate a vote amongst the members. We will do this by agreeing that two MPs will nominate Jo (Tom Brake and Christine Jardine) and that two of us will nominate Ed (Wera Hobhouse and Jamie Stone).

In nominating in this way they act on behalf of us all in saying that we will work with whoever the membership should choose and that they should make the choice. Of course some parliamentary colleagues will want to make their preference known in the course of the campaign (Vince, as outgoing leader will not, nor will I as chief whip) but that is quite apart from the nomination process.

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Ed Davey MP writes…My leadership would be about liberalism, climate change and stopping Brexit

Climate change. Liberalism. Winning. That’s been my political story – and I want it to be the Liberal Democrats’ story.  And with the magnificent victories in this month’s local and European elections, the Liberal Democrats are getting back in the game. I want to thank Vince, a giant of liberalism, for his role in getting us here and his contribution to fighting Brexit.

Under my leadership, the Liberal Democrats would continue to lead the fight to Stop Brexit. I am writing to Speaker Bercow to ensure a No Deal Brexit cannot happen without a vote in Parliament. But I also want to make the positive case for Britain’s membership of the European Union. I’m an economist by training, and for me the economic case to stop Brexit is overwhelming. But for too long the British argument over Europe has only been made by reference to economics. Europe has also been a hugely successful vehicle for peace, and Britain must stay in the front seat.

I also want us to reach out to Leave communities and Leave voters –they are our neighbours, our friends, our work colleagues, our brothers and sisters. These divisions in our country have distressed me more than anything I’ve seen in my political career. I want to build a future politics where people – particularly outside of London – don’t feel frozen out or ignored and feel included in our great British family.

As Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, I worked for three years to get renewable power investment. We nearly quadrupled Britain’s green energy, making Britain a world leader in offshore wind power. By pushing hard for manufacturing investment, we created jobs and revived places like Hull, Grimsby and Lowestoft.  This is the sort of hope and investment in coastal towns and cities that can prove to Leave communities that Liberal Democrats care.

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Ed Davey launches campaign to lead Lib Dems

Ed Davey has launched his campaign to be Lib Dem Leader in a video posted on Twitter.

He has a new website, Ed for Leader.

Ed’s plan has three main themes:

Winning campaigns

Fighting for Liberal values

Tackling the climate emergency

And for those of you who have just joined the party, here’s a bit more about him:

Ed first got active in politics after reading Seeing Green by Jonathan Porritt as a teenager – and green issues have remained close to his heart ever since. After serving as the Economics Adviser to Paddy Ashdown, Ed won his seat of Kingston and Surbiton in 1997, when it was 106th on the target list.

From there, Ed has helped Liberal Democrats across the country, at all levels, get elected, including a diverse and majority female group in his home borough.

Ed lost both his parents as a child – and was a young carer for his mum before she passed away when he was 15, So Ed knows how challenging life can be – and how important the NHS is. Caring for the less fortunate has been the hallmark of his political career – for constituents and his campaigns for the bereaved, the disabled and the homeless.

In Coalition Ed began as a Business Minister, laying the groundwork for Shared Parental Leave under Vince Cable. In 2012 Ed became the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change where he quadrupled renewable power and made the UK the world leader in offshore wind. In Europe, Ed led climate change negotiations and won ambitious news targets people never thought would be agreed – so directly helping to get the Paris Climate Treaty.

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30 May 2019 – the overnight press releases

Davey: Stopping Brexit only solution on citizens’ rights

Responding to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report on the EU Settled Status scheme, published today , Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

The Liberal Democrats have long been warning that Brexit will create a new Windrush Scandal.

No one really believes that the Home Office will successfully grant Settled Status to all 3.6 million EU citizens before the arbitrary 2021 deadline. And no one should be reliant on a Home Office IT system to prove their right to live and work in the UK.

We support any efforts to improve the scheme, but

…

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Were you denied the right to vote on Thursday? Let us know

Two Lib Dem MPs expected to stand for the leadership of the party have called for action after EU citizens were denied the right to vote on Thursday because local authorities hadn’t properly processed their applications. The Guardian reports that the Government may face action:

The government is facing calls to launch an urgent investigation into the treatment of EU citizens in the European elections after many people reported being denied their democratic right to vote.

Voters across the country told of their devastation at finding their names crossed off the register due to clerical errors by local councils. Experts said the situation was a “scandal we knew was coming” and that the government may have a case to answer in court.

The affected voters said they felt they were being “silenced” as this was the only election they had a right to participate in, being ineligible to vote in the referendum or general elections.

Our two as yet undeclared expected leadership candidates have had strong words to say on the subject.

Ed Davey put out a call for evidence from those affected.

And Jo Swinson called for an investigation:

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23 May 2019 – today’s press release

Turning EU citizens away feels like a deliberate attempt to silence voices

Responding to reports that EU citizens are being turned away from polling stations and denied a vote, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

It is an utter disgrace that so many EU citizens have been unable to vote in these historic elections.

This feels like a deliberate attempt by the Conservatives to silence the voices of our fellow Europeans.

Liberal Democrats will hold the government to account for this bureaucratic shambles and ensure that the voices of EU citizens are heard.

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20 May 2019 – today’s press release

  • Prime Minister’s Deal is dead – Tom Brake
  • Further Gender Identity Clinic delays unacceptable
  • Davey: Govt is failing in its duty to protect the public
  • Welsh Liberal Democrats only chance for 2nd remain seat

Prime Minister’s Deal is dead – Tom Brake

Responding to comments made by Matthew Hancock, the Health Secretary, on the Today Programme, that the Government will bring forward its bill on exiting the EU, Tom Brake, Lib Dem Brexit Spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister’s deal is dead. They can bring forward votes on that deal and a speculative bill every week, for the rest of the year – it will still fail

…

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LibLink: Ed Davey: Sajid Javid’s knife ASBOs won’t work. Here’s a better solution

In the New Statesman, Ed Davey writes that knife crime must be treated as a public health and education issue and that Sajid Javid’s punitive approach will not work.

First he outlines the problems with Javid’s Knife Crime Protection Orders:

I can’t imagine what it is about the experience of ASBOs makes Javid think they’ll work for knife crime. In some communities, ASBOs were seen as a “badge of honour”. Many young people openly flouted them. The threat of prison simply doesn’t work as a deterrent for a lot of young people.

Even worse, ASBOs consumed a lot of police time and resources, whether applying to the courts to get one or enforcing its conditions afterwards. And that was at a time when we had far more police.

If Javid doesn’t remember what a failure ASBOs were, he should just ask his boss. Theresa May, as Home Secretary, described them as “bureaucratic” and “gimmick-laden”. “They were too time consuming and expensive,” she said. “And they too often criminalised young people unnecessarily, acting as a conveyor belt to serious crime and prison.” She was right, and that’s why as Home Secretary, she abolished them.

He suggests a different approach:

I’m proposing knife ABCs: Anti-Blade Contracts.

They could be imposed the first time a young person is caught with a knife, but could also be used proactively for children involved in gangs or who might be considering carrying a knife. The young person would sign a contract saying “I will not carry a knife.” In return, they could be guaranteed services to help them feel safer: a police officer or social worker to call whenever they need them, for example.

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14 May 2019 – today’s press release

Corbyn a friend to Tories, not to Remainers

The Liberal Democrats today unveiled an election poster slamming Jeremy Corbyn for spending time helping the Tories deliver Brexit rather than doing anything to Stop Brexit.

According to analysis of the parliamentary record by the Liberal Democrats, the Labour party whipped either to abstain or to vote with the Conservative Government on a total of 29 key Brexit votes.

The poster, launched by Liberal Democrat MPs Jo Swinson and Ed Davey, comes as the Labour party descended into another row over its Brexit position.

Liberal Democrat …

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Ed Davey slams Conservatives on climate change on Any Questions

Ed Davey was on Any Questions last Friday night.

The first question from the audience in Cambridge was about climate change.

Former Conservative Brexit Minister Suella Braverman hailed her party’s action on this.

I thought when I listened to it that Ed’s reply was going to be interesting.

Well, it was pretty forensic. He highlighted how the Conservatives had undone so much of the good work he had done as Climate Change Secretary and how important it was that we remain at the European table to have global influence.

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WATCH: Unleashed – the Lib Dem campaign to stop Brexit

This morning, my family’s postal votes arrived. I’ve had a postal vote ever since I didn’t vote in the 1997 election because I was too busy helping in a target seat. I suspect Mrs Pankhurst would have approved, but I was determined that I would never again fail to have my say.

Never has that vote felt more precious. I want this country to say very clearly on 23 May that we want to stop Brexit, that we want to stay part of the remarkable institution which champions peace, human rights and democracy.

Many other postal votes will have landed on doormats today. So it’s pretty convenient that the Lib Dems kicked off their European campaign with a staggering display of both passion and competence.

People woke up this morning to a bloody good write up in the Guardian.

Buoyed by strong results in last week’s local council elections, and unencumbered by the nuance of Labour’s position, Cable insisted the Lib Dems were the best-equipped party to challenge the message of Nigel Farage at the poll later this month.

“We are clearly the best organised, we have been leading the People’s Vote argument for three years and we’ve been the pro-Europe party for 50 years. We are credible and people recognise our unwavering clarity and commitment.

“We are taking it very seriously, we have a high-pressure social media campaign where we are doing more than Farage’s people,” he said, adding, “we are out of the traps early, and expect to do well.

And he outlined why we are the best place to deliver the maximum remain vote.

He has faced criticism for failing to make the media impact of his predecessor, or improve the Lib Dems’ poll ratings. But he hailed last week’s strong local election results as evidence that a steady approach of rebuilding the party from the bottom up is finally paying dividends.

“Infrastructure and organisation really does matter,” he said. “The lesson for other parties is you can’t function without that. There is no future sitting in London sending out messages.”

The manifesto launch tonight was brilliant. Four speeches. All passionate and delivered with heart. Sal Brinton talking about how the Lib Dems had stopped the Tories using Brexit legislation to undermine the NHS.

Ed Davey talking about the importance of stopping Brexit so that Britain can be a powerful force in the EU in the fight against climate change. I actually got a bit sad when he was speaking because he did so much to combat climate change in government and then the Conservatives, left to themselves, have unravelled so much of it.

He also spoke about the importance of co-operation across the EU to tackle crime. Why, he said, do Brexiteers like criminals so much.

Jo Swinson gave a totally heartfelt speech about a visit to Bucharest. Her wonderful dad, Peter, was there to help the Romanians prepare for EU membership. She told how he had taken her to the People’s House, an outrageous structure built as a vanity project by Romania’s dictator while so many of his people lived in destitution and absolute poverty.  She talked about the role of the EU in bringing peace across Europe, in Northern Ireland, bringing former enemies together.

The EU has been at the forefront of promoting human rights, liberal values and democracy, she said. The EU is the hope that made once warring countries work together and which is the cornerstone of the Good Friday Agreement. In a time of “strong men” leaders, now is not the time to be turning our back on European leaders who share our liberal values.

There are more relaxing ways to spend your 76th birthday. I thought Vince was actually going to cry when the audience sang Happy Birthday to him, but he went on to deliver a fantastic speech highlighting the clear Stop Brexit message that is driving the Lib Dem campaign. He said that nobody, not even the most ardent Brexiteers, were doubting that we would be worse off if we left the EU. The only thing is that these Brexiteers weren’t going to be the people who paid the price. It would be people much poorer and more vulnerable than they were.

The Lib Dems, he said, will be unapologetic about backing the four freedoms. The right we have to work and live across Europe was championed by Mrs Thatcher. The current Conservative Party has moved so far to the right that they are disowning the single market Thatcher created.

He said that while the Lib Dems will campaign to stop Brexit, this election is about returning a group of Liberal politicians from across Europe who will lead the fight against populism.

He highlighted the crucial EU role in making the likes of Google pay their taxes.

We won’t solve the Trump problem, he said, by grovelling to him and throwing him lavish state visits, but by standing up to him as part of the EU.

He set out our unique pitch – as the biggest and best organised of the Remain parties who has been fighting for for EU values for 50 years.

Watch the whole thing here

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29 April 2019 – today’s press release

Govt must be more ambitious in greenhouse gases 2050 target

Responding to the expected announcement that the Climate Change Committee has recommended 2050 as the date the UK becomes a net-zero greenhouse gas emitter, Liberal Democrat Climate Change Spokesperson Wera Hobhouse said:

This report tells us the very minimum we need to do to cut our greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero, but this Tory Government must be more ambitious. We have a responsibility as a country in the face of a climate emergency facing the entire world.

We saw only last week that some in the cabinet are refusing to

…

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19 April 2019 – today’s press releases

Lib Dems: We must reject violence in Northern Ireland

Responding to reports that journalist Lyra McKee has been killed during violence in Londonderry, Liberal Democrat Northern Ireland spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

I never met Lyra McKee but by all accounts she was a young woman of great talent, courage and humanity. These are all talents that we need now more than ever so we should all mourn her passing.

My condolences go to all her family and friends who are having to come to terms with their loss today. Unlike Lyra, those who bring violence to the streets of Northern Ireland have nothing

…

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WATCH: Ed Davey talks about his life as a young carer and death of his parents

Yesterday Ed Davey gave a really open and moving interview to Radio 5 live about how he was a young carer to his mother for 3 years before she died when he was 15. His dad had died when he was 4. He talked about the key moment of his life, coming a few months after his Mum died, realising that he was doing things for himself and not her any more.

He said that it has affected his attitude to politics – caring for the most vulnerable is what politics should be about, he said.

He said it informed the way he thought about other people and about the health service and the importance of helping each other. Curries from the Indian family across the road gave him and his family practical help during that time. Watch here.

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18 April 2019 – the overnight press releases

Tories’ high-stakes testing culture pushing children out of school

Responding to the EPI report revealing that over 50,000 pupils who took their GCSEs in 2017 were removed from the school roll for unexplained reasons during their time at secondary school, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran said:

This is yet more worrying evidence that the Conservatives’ high-stakes testing culture is letting down our most vulnerable children.

The desperate drive to secure a better Ofsted grade or climb up the league tables has given schools a perverse incentive to push children they regard as difficult on to other schools, alternative providers, or let

…

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17 April 2019 – today’s press release

Govt forced to act on requirement to disclose minor childhood offences

Responding to reports that Sajid Javid is considering changing the rules on criminal record disclosure, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

It’s odd to hear Sajid Javid now suggesting changing the rules that require people to disclose minor childhood convictions throughout their lives, given that he and other Tory Ministers recently fought against a court judgement saying exactly that all the way to the Supreme Court.

Javid’s change of heart is welcome, but he should be honest about it. This is not some great brainchild of the Home

…

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15 April 2019 – yesterday’s press releases

My apologies for the delay in getting these to you – a combination of jet lag caused by a five hour time difference and family stuff is complicating things…

Tories must enact wholescale reform to fix rental market

Responding to the news that landlords will lose the right to evict renters without a reason at the end of their fixed-term tenancy, Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson Tim Farron said:

The housing crisis has left many renters at the mercy of their landlords in an unfair and distorted rental market. Section 21 notices have allowed landlords to turf out tenants without reason, leaving many too

…

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    @David Raw. "According to the Daily Telegraph……. “Lib Dem leadership rivals ‘building war chests to oust Davey’ …………. “Daisy Cooper and Josh...
  • Peter Davies
    @Steve "Who controls, if anyone, the “headline” policies issued by the L. D. Party?" It appears to be the Leader and Deputy. Neither appears to to take an...
  • cim
    @Katharine Pindar Are most people centrist? Centrism - whatever that ends up meaning in any particular time and place - is arguably at its core a belief that...