Tag Archives: general election 2017

The Voice

Clegg: Poor, insecure and vulnerable already paying price of Theresa May’s hard brexit

By The Voice | Tue 2nd May 2017 - 12:01 am

Nick Clegg is to make his first major intervention of the election campaign this afternoon in a speech at the National Liberal Club.
The former Deputy Prime Minister will criticise Theresa May for her pursuit of a hard Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn for his inept opposition.

He will point to analysis showing the average UK household is set to be £500 worse off this year than it was in 2016, and stress that only the Liberal Democrats are capable of providing this Conservative government with the opposition the country desperately needs.

He  is expected to say:

My argument today is simple: Our country cannot thrive without a strong economy. We can’t have a strong economy and a hard Brexit.

Theresa May alone is responsible for pursuing this course. It is already hurting the very people who need most help in society. So the question in this election is this: who will hold Theresa May accountable for the economic harm she will inflict on Britain?

Judging by the reports of last week’s lunch between Jean-Claude Junker and the Prime Minister, the Conservatives are once again proving to be as incompetent in doing the right thing for the country as they are ruthless in chasing votes.

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Caron Lindsay

Wera Hobhouse to fight Bath for the Lib Dems

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 1st May 2017 - 9:19 pm

Wera Hobhouse has been selected to fight Bath for the Liberal Democrats.

The candidate selected last year, Jay Risbridger, stepped down last week.

The BBC has the story:

Wera Hobhouse was selected by members during a lunchtime meeting at Bath City Football Club,

The seat is currently held by the Conservative MP Ben Howlett but was previously a Lib Dem stronghold, held by Don Foster for 23 years.

The original prospective parliamentary candidate, Jay Risbridger, picked last autumn, stood down last week due to family and work commitments.

Paul Strasburger, from the Lib Dems’s campaign in Bath, said: “It’s important to the party nationally because it’s a very winnable seat, and therefore it’s a central part of our desire to stop a Tory landslide.”

The Bath Chronicle quotes former Bristol West MP Stephen Williams:

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NewsHound

Fun on the Campaign Trail #2: “Smell my spaniel”

By NewsHound | Sun 30th April 2017 - 6:27 pm

Paul has already shown us the pictures of Bonnie, the gorgeous cockapoo who delighted everyone on Tim Farron’s visit to Cambridge the other day.

But Bonnie had a starring role in one of the funniest events of the week:

From ITV

Video footage showed Mr Farron approaching the dog, which was wearing a yellow Liberal Democrat rosette, before saying: “Smell my spaniel”.

Mr Farron owns a black and white springer spaniel called Jasper, and often posts pictures on social media of the two of them together.

It appears Mr Farron may have been suggesting that the campaigner’s dog could smell Jasper’s scent on

…

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News Meerkat

Fun on the campaign trail #1: Willie Rennie and Jo Swinson as Di Caprio and Winslet – or Sergei and Aleksandr

By News Meerkat | Sun 30th April 2017 - 3:25 pm

Back in 2005, there was a very dignified photo-op during the election campaign that had then Scottish Lib Dem Leader and Jo Swinson during her first election on a canal barge. It was played time and time again on the news.

Yesterday, Willie Rennie and Jo Swinson launched her campaign to win back East Dunbartonshire on a boat in Kirkintilloch.

The image from that is a bit more fun and perhaps not quite as classy as the 2005 event.

That made it into the Times Red Box briefing.

And there are signs that the Scottish Lib Dem press office are rivalling their London counterparts in the sass department.

Here’s that Meerkat Moment.

And here’s the video that Willie and Jo made to launch her campaign:

At the same time, Theresa May was in Scotland at on of her tightly controlled events where she’s allegedly meeting ordinary people so that she doesn’t need to subject herself to the scrutiny of millions on a tv debate. Willie’s had this to say about her visit:

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The Voice

Farron to Blair’s 1997 voters: Things can only get better with the Lib Dems

By The Voice | Sun 30th April 2017 - 12:30 pm

On the eve of the 20th anniversary (how on earth did that happen?) of Tony Blair’s first election victory in 1997, Tim Farron has made an appeal to those who voted for Blair to choose the Liberal Democrats this time, saying that the Blair anthem of old now applies to the Lib Dems:

1997 shows what can happen when a party is prepared to make a broad appeal to change Britain’s future for the better.  My message on the eve of that anniversary is this: ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ – but this time with the Liberal Democrats. Back us and change Britain’s future.

I am urging those voters, those people who backed Labour in 1997, to come and vote for the Liberal Democrats.

Labour have comprehensively failed to stand up for our schools, hospitals and our place in the world.

They have become too weak, and too divided, to stand up for those who need it most.

Power without principle is barren, but principle without power is futile.

This election is a chance to change the direction of our country, those people who crossed the Labour box twenty years ago should vote for the Liberal Democrats.

It’s interesting that he didn’t even explicitly mention Brexit once – one of the few press releases where it is omitted. The people who gave Blair power would have voted overwhelmingly to Remain.

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Caron Lindsay

Farron on Marr: Lib Dems will be the strong opposition that Britain so desperately needs

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 30th April 2017 - 11:37 am

Tim Farron has been on the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Theresa May was on as well, although not at the same time. It was like Durham in 1992 all over again.

He set out his pitch to be the strong opposition to Theresa May’s Government:

And he explained why people should spoil May’s coronation by turning to the Liberal Democrats

He appealed to young people to vote for the Lib Dems to avoid a hard Brexit that could damage us for generations to come.

He came across very well and got in our campaign messages along the theme of the only way to avoid a hard Brexit is to vote for the Liberal Democrats.

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The Voice

Elizabeth Riches selected to fight North East Fife

By The Voice | Fri 28th April 2017 - 8:54 pm

Former Fife Councillor and Depute Council Leader Elizabeth Riches has been selected to fight North East Fife. The interesting fact that I didn’t know about her from her biography is that she lived in the Arctic Circle for 2 years.

She has been a biology teacher, ran her own horticulture business and was a Councillor at Region and District level for 27 years.

She visited a dairy farm with Willie this morning but, a little disappointingly, there were no animal shenanigans to brighten up our Friday.

However, they did make a video to celebrate Elizabeth’s selection:

Elizabeth Riches said

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Callum Robertson

Lib Dem members must all do their bit in this election

By Callum Robertson | Fri 28th April 2017 - 2:02 pm

As I write this I am filled with pride as the party of rational thinking, the party of evidence based policy not knee-jerk reactions reaps the rewards of our stance on Brexit. Our membership is soaring, our poll ratings are creeping up and our results in by-elections both council and parliamentary are truly a sight to behold. However just beholding the wonders of our achievements since the General Election in 2015 isn’t enough. We have a General Election on the horizon!

While some may have the “Brenda “reaction of “not another one” we cannot be complacent. We must win as many seats as we can in order to show Mrs May we mean business! This means we have a number of Richmond Park campaigns to run.  We’ve got to win big in South London and return Sir Vince Cable and Sir Ed Davey to parliament. In Cambridge we’ve got to get the phenomenal campaigning machine who is Dr Julian Huppert back. But, we can only achieve this if we pull together and enthuse our newfound membership base.

To paraphrase Nelson, Tim expects every activist to do their duty! I am what we would call a “newbie” to the party. I joined during the local elections last year from Labour.They had a membership surge too  they they  haven’t motivated their new people. They obsess about internal matters and  not about who really matters, the public. We have so far engaged the membership, now we must motivate all of them into action.  Remember every vote counts. What this means is that we have target seats where we really must win. If you’re unsure where your nearest target seat is then bug your local party chair and they’ll let you know. We can only be an opposition truly worthy of the title if we take seats. Votes in all constituencies are needed but we won’t win them all (this time). Therefore targeting is key.

So remember:

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Ben Westwood

Campaign contrasts: land of hope and fears

By Ben Westwood | Fri 28th April 2017 - 12:36 pm

“Be afraid, be very afraid”. Hardly an inspiring rallying call in progressive politics, but scaremongering is a strategy that often wins elections, and we cannot ignore that.

The Labour party used that very slogan in the 2001 general election, depicting William Hague on a campaign billboard resplendent with a Margaret Thatcher hairdo, It worked and Hague’s Conservatives took a humiliating beating at the ballot box.

Fast forward to 2017 and the party that wins the battle of hopes and fears is still likely to come out on top. Fear of the liberal elite, used so effectively by Trump in last year’s US election, is going to be a big factor in the coming weeks. The Conservatives and UKIP would have us believe that the liberal elite is trying to defy democracy through the courts and in Parliament. This Conservative narrative is helped hugely by the massive machinery of big money donors and media moguls are backing this message. The Tories outspent all the other political parties put together in 2015, and with the daily artillery fire on whingeing liberals and dangerously deluded Corbynites from Paul Dacre’s Daily Mail and Rupert Murdoch’s Sun, the odds are stacked heavily in their favour.

So between a heartless right wing machine and a clueless left wing opposition led so ineptly by Jeremy Corbyn, where does this leave the Liberal Democrats? With our yellow ‘liberty bird’ emblem, we have never been an angry party, but now is the time to harness fear and righteous indignation because our principles are under attack.

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Teena Lashmore

Election diversity – as if by magic

By Teena Lashmore | Fri 28th April 2017 - 9:55 am

The Conservative Government has called a General Election for 8 June 2017 after its leader Ms May repeatedly said she would not do so.

We have responded with the truncated General Election process to ensure a full slate of candidates are in place by June 2017.  This has seen candidates up and down the country engaged with internal applications and shortlisting processes in a bid to become the PPC candidates for this election.

As if by magic, we may well see our biggest ever selection of visible ethnic minority candidates making it to PPC status – fulfilling a personal pledge of our Leader Tim Farron, who openly seeks diversity for both internal and external political positions.

Mr Farron has frequently articulated the importance of diversity and our party’s credibility.  No doubt he will be pleased with the current wave of candidates being announced as PPC  candidates who are also known as ethnic minorities.

So far we have in first name alphabetical order: Alexander Cunliffe for Ruislip Northwood and Pinner, London; Anita Day for Grantham and Stamford; Anita Prabhakar for Mansfield;  Amna Ahmad for Sutton and Cheam, London; Brian Haley for Tottenham, London; Dave Ravel for Hackney South, London; Dawud Islam for Middlesbrough; Gitanjali Gordon for South Shields; Glanville Williams for East Ham, London; Hina Malik for Feltham and Heston;  Humaira Sanders for Ealing North, London; Irfan Ahmed for Blackburn, Manchester; Joe Naitta for Derby South; Joyce Onstad for Hammersmith, Marisha Ray for Chipping Barnet, London; London; Michael Bukola for Camberwell and Peckham, London; Nigel Bakhai for Southhall; Rabi Martins for Luton North; Sarah Cheung Johnson for South Cambs; Suzanna Austin for Kettering; Tahir Maher for Milton Keynes South; Ukonu Obasi for Walthamstow, London; Zuffar Haq for Harborough Oadby and Wigston; and Zulfiqar Ali for Huddersfield.

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Robert Coster

A proposal for tv leaders’ debates

By Robert Coster | Fri 28th April 2017 - 8:55 am
I’ve been racking my brains about getting Theresa May to debate the other party leaders. With recent polls causing undisguised glee amongst Conservative MP’s and right-wing commentators, the perceived wisdom is that she really has nothing to gain from debating Tim, Nicola or even Jeremy and no pressure from a press led by the likes of The Daily Mail and Express to force her to do so. We need to change this.
The TV debates provide an opportunity for the PM to explain herself. If she is so sure of her approach to Brexit and the economy why won’t she take part? The answer, quoting Margaret Thatcher, is she’s “frit”. Anyone, having watched her lacklustre performances at PMQ’s, can see she is weak in debate. Forced into a corner she evades, quotes soundbites, launches personal attacks or relies on bluster from the MP’s behind her.
Given the likelihood that debates would damage her chances in the election the PM is unlikely to give in to a clamour to debate from fellow politicians. But could she resist a demand from the public?
For the first time and in order to overcome the current impasse I think that the general public should be asked to sponsor a series of prime time TV debates with pledges donated to charities such as Great Ormond Street or Help for Heroes.
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The Voice

Vince Cable predicts second economic storm

By The Voice | Fri 28th April 2017 - 12:01 am

Remember back in 2003, when Vince Cable was saying that at some point the economy would collapse because of the amount of consumer credit?

Well, he was right then and he’s now saying that we could be up for another Brexit fuelled crash.

The former Business Secretary, who hopes to win back his former seat of Twickenham, says that a combination of declining consumer confidence, job losses and inflation has the potential to outstrip the economic storm of the previous decade. That, if you remember, was the direst economic crash since the Depression in the 30s.

Vince said:

For Britain, the economic weather is arguably worse than it was before the credit crunch. The pound has plummeted, which is driving up prices and trapping consumers in a vicious Brexit squeeze.

Consumer confidence was all that kept the storm clouds away. But with job losses at everywhere from Deutsche Bank to Nestlé, that confidence is going to drain away further.

The Chancellor clearly has no confidence in the economic strategy of the government, because he knows that leaving the single market and customs union has the potential to devastate the UK economy.

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Caron Lindsay

Could Rachel Johnson stand as a Lib Dem candidate?

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 27th April 2017 - 7:55 pm

First of all, Rachel Johnson, writer and journalist, welcome to the Liberal Democrats. Every media outlet is telling us that she has joined and some are even suggesting that she will be a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in this coming general election. The Guardian is feverishly speculating:

Johnson’s decision to join the Lib Dems is expected to infuriate her brother Boris, who has had a relatively marginal role in the post-Brexit negotiations so far.

She could not be reached for comment, while a spokesman for the Lib Dems declined to confirm her membership, citing data protection rules.

With just nine MPs,

…

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Caron Lindsay

Save the date: 24 May for TV Leaders’ Debate

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 27th April 2017 - 6:55 pm

And it’ll be a good one, too.

No, Theresa and Jeremy haven’t overcome their fear of Tim Farron. This is the Scottish Leaders’ Debate where Willie Rennie will spend an hour and a half at 8:30 pm on STV debating Nicola Sturgeon, Kezia Dugdale and Ruth Davidson.

From the STV website:

The Scottish debates are usually of pretty decent quality and you should be able to watch on the live stream south of the border.

 

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NewsHound

LibLink: Vince Cable: We are heading towards a dangerous one party state and only a Liberal Democrat fightback can prevent it

By NewsHound | Thu 27th April 2017 - 2:55 pm

Vince Cable writes in today’s Independent of the dangers of the Tories being given carte blanche to do what they like as Labour disintegrates:

The Prime Minister wants an opposition-free parliament in which to pursue the extreme version of Brexit she has chosen. Her cruder – or more honest – supporters talk about “crushing the saboteurs”. Those of a more squeamish disposition talk about letting Theresa May (known by her activists as “mummy”) get on with her task without distraction.

In normal circumstances, the Labour Party would rally opposition to her plan. But they are compromised by the Brexit vote of many of their constituencies, and by the voting record of their MPs. And the leadership is a crippling liability, far worse than in 1983. Michael Foot was, at least, a fine orator and writer, a stalwart party loyalist. The latest episode in this tragic farce was the endorsement of Jeremy Corbyn by the more Stalinist of the two factions of the almost-defunct Communist Party of Great Britain.

But what difference could a strong contingent of Lib Dems make?

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The Voice

Liberal Democrats will not field a candidate against Caroline Lucas

By The Voice | Thu 27th April 2017 - 9:20 am

Liberal Democrats in Brighton Pavilion last night decided not to field a candidate in Brighton Pavilion against Greens co-leader Caroline Lucas.

From the Mirror:

Lib Dem President Sal Brinton said: “ Liberal Democrats across the country are challenging Theresa May’s Conservative Brexit government. As in previous elections, a limited number of local parties are considering how best to provide that challenge in their constituencies.

This comes after the Greens stepped aside in Richmond Park to give us a clear run.

What is also significant is that close to Brighton is the constituency of Lewes which we narrowly lost by less than the Greens …

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The Voice

Sue McGuire selected to fight Southport

By The Voice | Thu 27th April 2017 - 8:31 am

It’s just a week since John Pugh announced his decision to retire at the snap General Election. Last night, local Liberal Democrats selected Cllr Sue McGuire to fight the seat on 8th June.

From the Southport Visiter:

Sue McGuire represents Cambridge Ward in Southport, which covers parts of Churchtown and Marshside, and is a governor at Marshside Primary School.

She was first elected to Sefton Council in May 2010, and was chosen as leader of the party in June 2015.

Born and bred in Banks, Sue attended Tarleton High School.

She has worked extensively within the community to support and help residents on issues including local health services, council services and tenancy problems.

You can follow her on Twitter here.

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The Voice

David Ward removed as a candidate

By The Voice | Wed 26th April 2017 - 3:45 pm

Controversial former Bradford East MP David Ward has been removed as a candidate by Tim Farron. He had been re-selected as candidate for the seat and earlier in the day Tim Farron had said that he was not in a position to be able to remove him.

I am fully aware of the comments David Ward has made in the past and I find them deeply offensive, wrong and anti-Semitic. I think his decision to stand again, and the local party’s decision to select him, is wrong and I disagree with it completely.

I don’t select our individual candidates and nor should I. But let me be clear, I won’t tolerate anti-Semitism in my party.

A few hours later, some constitutional geekery had clearly been done because Tim released the following statement about an hour ago:

I believe in a politics that is open, tolerant and united. David Ward is unfit to represent the party and I have sacked him.

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ALDC

ALDC’s General Election campaign kit – an essential part of your local campaign

By ALDC | Wed 26th April 2017 - 3:10 pm

We’ve produced a campaign kit for the 2017 General Election for activists new and old alike.

Included in the pack are more than 15 briefings, info sheets, ‘how to’ guides, a plan, an election timetable and a range of sources for more help, advice and guidance.

To receive your free copy in the post, register on ALDC’s website.

We hope you’ll put the campaign kit to good use getting your candidate elected on the 8th June. The kit’s contents have been developed by community campaigners during our 50-year lifetime and used to great success by activists over the past year, resulting in a net gain of 33 in local by-elections – our most successful year ever.

Help us get the pack to as many activists who could benefit from it by sharing the campaign kit registration link (www.aldc.org/ge2017-campaign-kit) with them. At ALDC, we want to make sure as many activists as possible have access to the information to help them campaign to win.

We’ll be mailing the campaign kit, as soon as we get it back from the printers. 

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Judy Abel

In this campaign let’s not focus too hard on Brexit: other things matter to people too

By Judy Abel | Wed 26th April 2017 - 9:55 am

As well as appealing to the 48% of voters who are deeply disenchanted with Brexit, I think there are many other policy areas we need to focus on, if we are to make an electoral breakthrough.

In this week alone, there have been three fatal stabbings in London, innocent people (all men) aged 17, 40 and 60, robbed of their lives because of mindless violence. We have to show that we care about violence and people having the right to live in peaceful streets and neighbourhoods.

Let’s also tackle the inequitable housing situation, whereby overseas buyers are buying up London’s properties at prices that are completely unaffordable for locals – who often aren’t even given a chance to buy them before they are marketed overseas, as apparently happened with the new Heygate development in South East London. Switzerland has placed restrictions on foreign buyers, why can’t we?

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Caron Lindsay

There, he’s said it. You can leave him alone now

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 25th April 2017 - 9:45 pm

So, we’re teetering on the edge of a massive Tory hard Brexit cliff. The UK is in danger of breaking up because of the Tory preoccupation with finding the bumpiest, riskiest way out of the European Union. Donald Trump has his finger on the nuclear button and North Korea is deliberately winding him up.

Yet our media gets all obsessed about whether a man with a good track record on LGBT rights thinks gay sex is a sin. Today, Tim put the matter finally beyond doubt in an interview with the BBC.  

He said:

“I don’t believe that gay sex is a sin,” he said.

“I take the view though that as a political leader, my job is not to pontificate on theological matters.”

Mr Farron said that with a general election campaign under way, it was important to be talking about “big issues” like health and social care and Brexit.

“I am quite careful about how I talk about my faith. I do not bang on about it, I do not make a secret out of it,” he said.

“On reflection, it makes sense to actually answer this direct question since it’s become an issue.”

He also said the Lib Dems had “undoubtedly the best record” on gay rights out of all political parties.

Personally, I’d rather politicians kept their traps shut about what was sinful and what is not. So, clearly, does Tim, yet this whole thing was clearly not going to go away until he made a definitive statement. I feel more than a little bit livid that someone with a fantastic record on LGBT equality has been pushed like this. Nobody has asked Theresa May the same question, nor any of the other Christian MPs with much worse voting records.

Writing sensible stuff about Lib Dems in right wing publications once is quite incredible, twice in two days seems almost reckless, but  journalist Stephen Daisley has done exactly that. There was yesterday’s Scottish Daily Mail article saying that the Lib Dems must be taken seriously and now he’s written about what he calls the cruel hounding of Tim Farron for the Spectator.

Journalists feel no misgivings about doing just that to Tim Farron because they suspect him of holding a view they deem bigoted and because although he is a Lib Dem he is not a member of a favoured minority. Their transgression is not political correctness but hypocrisy and the impotent obsessions of identity politics. If we are to bring a theological critique to the campaign trail, a man who seldom talks publicly about his faith seems an odd target when the Prime Minister speaks so openly about hers. How does Tory policy on refugees square with Isaiah 1:17? Or their welfare reforms with Proverbs 22:16 and 22:22?

Except that would look priggish and doesn’t have social media ‘shareability’. Forgive them, Tim Farron, they know exactly what they do.

This was some of the reaction on Twitter:

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Caron Lindsay

Eluned Parrott selected to fight Cardiff Central

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 24th April 2017 - 9:15 pm

Former Welsh Assembly member Eluned Parrott has been selected to fight the constituency of Cardiff Central which, until 2015 was held by Jenny Willott.

Eluned fought the seat for the Welsh Assembly last year and came within 1000 votes of victory.

From the Cardiff Lib Dem website:

The Lib Dems are odds-on favourite to win Cardiff Central (at 4/6 with Betfair on Monday morning), and have been endorsed by pro-EU newspaper The New European as the clear choice in the fight against a hard Brexit.

Eluned Parrott said:
“I hadn’t intended to come back into politics, but Brexit changed everything. I can’t simply stand by and let our country be ripped apart by hatred and division.

“I want to represent Cardiff Central in Parliament to fight Theresa May’s divisive Hard Brexit, both for the majority here who voted Remain and the many who voted Leave but want to stay in the Single Market.

“Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party isn’t providing Britain with a real opposition to this Conservative Brexit Government. That’s why people are turning to the Liberal Democrats in droves – as you can see by the dozens of by-election wins we have had across Britain, including one right here in Cardiff.

“The choice in Cardiff Central is clear: Corbyn’s Labour party who rolled over to back the Tories’ Hard Brexit, or the Liberal Democrats who will fight for an open, tolerant and united country.”

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NewsHound

Daisy Benson stands aside as Yeovil candidate

By NewsHound | Mon 24th April 2017 - 6:56 pm

Lib Dem Newbies co-founder Daisy Benson has stood down as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Yeovil for personal reasons.

From ITV:

Daisy Benson has withdrawn herself as Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesperson for Yeovil citing personal reasons.

She appeared on The West Country debate less than a week ago but will not appear on ballot papers in June’s snap election because she’s “in the process of completing purchasing a house within the constituency.”

Her full statement reads:

With regret I’ve decided not to put myself forward to stand for the Liberal Democrats in Yeovil in the upcoming snap General Election.

Although I’ve been preparing for the past year, this election unfortunately comes at precisely the wrong time for me. I’m just in the process of completing purchasing a house within the constituency.

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The Voice

Rennie: Liberal Democrats have the momentum

By The Voice | Sun 23rd April 2017 - 8:55 am

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has  declared that momentum has given the Liberal Democrats the upper hand in the snap general election.

Since the announcement on Tuesday of a snap election 8,000 people have joined the party with membership more than double than what it was before the election in 2015.  The party also raised £500,000 in just 48 hours.

In an email to members, Willie wrote:

Nobody was expecting the announcement on Tuesday but the calling of the general election has given the Liberal Democrats real momentum. A staggering  8000 new members joined the party in the 48 hours after the election was called as people have flocked to us in a bid to change the direction of this country. No other party has seen such a surge.

The upcoming election comes on top of the 30 council by-elections that the Liberal Democrats have gained since last year, including in Scotland. And who could forget that historic by-election victory in Richmond, overturning a Tory majority of 23,000 to be the voice against the Conservative hard Brexit.

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Caron Lindsay

Encouraging poll news for the Liberal Democrats

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 23rd April 2017 - 8:01 am

The first Scottish opinion polls since the General Election was announced have been published and there’s mixed news for the Liberal Democrats.

Panelbase has us on just 5% (but that’s still up since January) and Survation has us up 1 from the 2015 election at 9%. If we go up at the rate that we have done in every election other than 2015, we could be on for a fair few gains up here. Edinburgh West and North East Fife, both gained from the SNP at Holyrood last year are the top targets but seats like Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and Charles Kennedy’s old seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber are definitely in play. Winning back those highland heartlands from the SNP would be a marvellous thing and it is eminently doable.

On a UK level, we’ve gone up 4 points to 12% in a YouGov poll.

And there has been another important development:

UKIP are on the way down, and they certainly don’t seem to have learned any lessons about candidate approval, if one of their Glasgow council candidates is anything to go by. It’s quite something when being in favour of the guillotine and flogging are the mildest of your bizarre views. From the Herald:

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems will not go into coalition – Farron

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 22nd April 2017 - 10:31 pm

Tim Farron has done what I’d been hoping and ruled out the Liberal Democrats going into coalition with either Tories or Labour.

This means that the Tory argument that Corbyn, Sturgeon and Farron will get together and do a deal with the Loch Ness Monster to crash the stock exchange (ok, maybe the last bit of that was an exaggeration) is shown to be nonsense. People can vote Liberal Democrat with confidence knowing that we will do everything we can to oppose the Tories and Labour on Brexit.

It also has the advantage of putting to bed at the earliest stage of the campaign the endless questions about who we would go into coalition with and what would we compromise on. This has dominated questions to Lib Dem leaders in past elections and it is good that we have eliminated it. There is no way that we could credibly do a deal with either. Providing serious issue by issue opposition is what we will be doing.

Here’s what Tim said in an email to party members:

I want to make this clear.

The Liberal Democrats will not enter into any coalition deal with either Theresa May’s Conservatives or Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.

On Thursday 8th June, every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to change the direction of our country and stop a hard Brexit.

The reasons for this decision are simple.

Under no conditions can we sign up to Theresa May’s Hard Brexit agenda; a hard Brexit will be a disaster for Britain. It risks crashing our economy and leaving us isolated on the global stage.

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The Voice

WATCH: Nick Clegg on Newsnight giving a clue about our election strategy

By The Voice | Sat 22nd April 2017 - 10:55 am

Nick Clegg appeared on Newsnight on Wednesday night at the end of a feature on Tory/Lib Dem marginals in the South West.

He said that Theresa May had called the election for cynical and opportunistic reasons, to try and “hoover up a huge majority” before the effects of Brexit hit and capitalising on the weakness of Corbyn.

He said that issues like the chronic underfunding of the NHS and schools were also important and were being overshadowed by Brexit.

In an interesting glimpse to our election strategy, he said that it was clear that Theresa May would still be PM and the Tories would still be the party of Government and the key test now was how to provide effective opposition to that Government. We are not going to sustain Theresa May in power to “implement a self-harming hard brexit” and we certainly aren’t going to help Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street.

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NewsHound

Theresa May doesn’t want to do debates because of Tim Farron – Paul Staines

By NewsHound | Sat 22nd April 2017 - 8:53 am

Every so often, the right wing talk shows come up with something a liberal wants to hear.

“Sharp, witty, self-deprecating, a pleasure to interview, a polished media performer.” Who said this about our Tim?

None other than Julia Hartley-Brewer on Talk Radio, chatting to Guido Fawkes’ owner Paul Staines about the lack of leaders’ debates in the forthcoming General Election. She even started to say that he was likeable but then apparently thought better of it.

Staines said that it wasn’t Corbyn May was bothered about, it was Tim Farron. Hartley-Brewer then came out with the compliments above.

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The Voice

Lib Dems raise almost £10,500 an hour since election called – more than double Labour’s effort

By The Voice | Fri 21st April 2017 - 6:55 pm

The Lib Dems have raised more than £500,000 in individual donations since Theresa May called for a General Election on Tuesday morning.

From the BBC:

All parties have made cash appeals to supporters after Theresa May’s surprise decision to hold an election on 8 June.

The Lib Dems say they raised £500,000 in 48 hours.

A similar Labour fund-raising drive is reported to have raised £200,000. Labour has yet to comment on the figure, reported by the FT.

The Conservatives have been contacted for details of their fundraising efforts.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron claimed activists and donors were “flocking” to his party on the back of its distinctive anti-Brexit message.

The party, who are arguing for another referendum on the final Brexit deal, say they have seen their membership jump to 95,000, attracting 8,000 new members since Tuesday alone.

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The Voice

Alex Cole-Hamilton to chair Scottish Lib Dem General Election Campaign

By The Voice | Fri 21st April 2017 - 10:27 am

One of the party’s best ever campaigners has been chosen to chair the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ General Election campaign. Alex knows a lot about winning seats from the SNP after sensationally grabbing Edinburgh Western from them last year.

Alex  said:

I’m honoured to take on this important role for my party. We have a great grassroots organisation that is hungry for victory.

We have the wind in our sails and a hugely motivated activist base, keen to bring the party back to strength.

I can’t wait to get my teeth into the campaign.

Willie Rennie explained why he had chosen Alex:

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