Tag Archives: howard sykes

7 May 2025 – today’s press releases (part 2)

  • Cole-Hamilton: Only the Lib Dems can get Scotland back to its best
  • Scot Lib Dems comment on SNP candidate list
  • Legal Experts express support for Assisted dying bill
  • Scot Lib Dems respond to Swinney independence comments
  • Labour steal Deputy Mayor appointment as part of a “grubby deal” for control of Oldham Council

Cole-Hamilton: Only the Lib Dems can get Scotland back to its best

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that only his party can deliver a fairer vision for Scotland and get our communities back on track, as he marked one year to go until the Scottish Parliament election.

Mr Cole-Hamilton is visiting a local business in Edinburgh Northern today with Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, the party’s candidate for the constituency. Edinburgh Northern is a key target seat for the party at next year’s election. At the 2022 local elections, Scottish Liberal Democrats won the area covered by the new seat by 29.3% to the SNP’s 25.0%.

The party is highlighting their priorities for the next election. This includes faster access to local healthcare like GPs and dentists, recruiting more teachers to put Scotland at the forefront of key industries like renewables and precision medicine and speeding up the delivery of important infrastructure, particularly the dualling of the A9 and A96.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

The SNP have been in charge for eighteen years and our health service, economy and education are all on their knees. They have let Scotland down.

When people look around at some of the alternatives, they feel frustrated. Labour were elected promising change, but they have clobbered small businesses and care providers with a cruel jobs tax. The Conservatives are lurching to extremes and abandoning the centre ground.

Only the Scottish Liberal Democrats have a vision for getting Scotland back to its best.

We want a Scotland where people get the local healthcare they need, when they need it. We want to give our children a world-class education and a thriving economy where the government looks after your money and works with its neighbours. We want a Scotland where our rural communities are listened to, not talked down to.

If Scots back us, we can defeat the SNP’s Kate Forbes in the highlands, win constituency seats in areas like Edinburgh and East Dunbartonshire and elect more Liberal Democrat candidates on the regional lists in every corner of Scotland who will be strong local champions delivering on the issues that matter most.

Scot Lib Dems comment on SNP candidate list

Commenting on the SNP releasing their candidate list, Christine Jardine MP said:

If only the SNP government were always as good at recycling as they are with their candidate list. We’d have no difficulty hitting our climate change targets.

Stephen Flynn has obviously decided that he’s bored of staring at the back of Ed Davey’s head each week and decided to try his hand in the Scottish Parliament. Given some of the language his supporters have been throwing around, I’m not sure that is a prospect his female colleagues will relish.

Posted in Local government, News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment

17 August 2022 – today’s press releases

  • Inflation figures: People will never forgive this Government for abandoning them
  • Thames Water hosepipe ban: slap in the face for millions of people
  • “Nasty party”: Kwarteng must clarify Truss’s shameful ‘graft’ comments
  • 75,000 A-Level grades set to be deflated under Government’s exam plans
  • Councillor Sykes welcomes change in law barring sex offenders from standing for or holding elected office

Inflation figures: People will never forgive this Government for abandoning them

Responding to inflation reaching 10.1% this morning, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:

Britain is heading for the worst economic crisis in a generation, yet the Prime Minister has clocked off early whilst Sunak and Truss are too busy squabbling amongst themselves.

Families and pensioners will never forgive this Conservative Government for abandoning them in the middle of a cost of living catastrophe.

The answer is staring Conservative MPs in the face but they refuse to act. Energy bills must be frozen immediately or else millions of people will be plunged into financial devastation this winter.

Thames Water hosepipe ban: slap in the face for millions of people

Responding to the news that Thames Water will enforce a hosepipe ban, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

This is a slap in the face for millions of people when Thames Water is losing a quarter of all their water to leaks.

Their gross negligence to fix leaks is set to inflict hosepipe ban misery across the South. We wouldn’t be in this mess if Thames Water bothered to invest properly. Instead, water companies are choosing to pay themselves billions of pounds in profits and reward their CEOs with insulting bonuses. Thames Water is putting profit above the public and environment.

Ministers are to blame for letting profiteering water companies get away with it. Under this Government, our rivers have become polluted with sewage and water pipes rusting with leaks.

Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , , , , , , , and | 3 Comments

Howard Sykes condemns “appalling” arson attack on Oldham Council leader’s car

In the early hours of this morning, a car belonging to Cllr Arooj Shah was firebombed. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

From the Oldham Times:

A force spokesman said: “Police were called just before 1:30am on Tuesday, July 13 to reports of a vehicle on fire in the Glodwick area in Oldham.

“Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attended along with police, and it was established that the vehicle was deliberately ignited, also causing slight damage to a neighbouring property.

“The fire was extinguished, no-one was injured, and officers are investigating the circumstances.”

Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Howard Sykes condemned the attack and called on people to stand together in the face of such appalling acts:

Posted in News | Also tagged | Leave a comment

7 July 2020 – today’s press releases

  • Davey: we need a devolution revolution to drive the green revolution
  • Govt decision on arms sales to Saudi Arabia shows lack of humanity
  • Govt green recovery plans do not match ambition of other countries

Davey: we need a devolution revolution to drive the green revolution

Today Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has delivered a keynote speech to the Local Government Association outlining his plan for a devolution revolution to drive a green revolution.

Ed Davey called for the government to make £45bn new funding available to local authorities over three years alongside a range of new powers so that local government can …

Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged , , , , and | 1 Comment

Seven Lib Dems feature in Queen’s Birthday Honours List

Red Arrow Fly-Past 3Our congratulations to seven Lib Dems who feature in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

And please forgive us for starting with Mary Reid, one of this site’s volunteer editors. Mary was a Lib Dem councillor from 1997-2010 in Kingston upon Thames, serving on its executive board and as Mayor. She is named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “For political service, particularly in Kingston upon Thames (London)”.

Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 8 Comments

Local Government Association Lib Dems announce election results

ALDC reports:

The Liberal Democrat Group in the Local Government Association has announced the results of its elections to group positions and the various LGA commissioners, boards and panels. Those elected are listed below with the results available here and the full breakdown of the results by stage available here.

Group Executive

Group Leader – Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Portsmouth (Elected unopposed)
Deputy Leader (Policy) – Chris White, Hertfordshire (Elected unopposed)
Deputy Leader (Political) – Dorothy Thornhill, Watford
Group Chair – Jill Shortland, Somerset (Elected unopposed)
Group Whip – Howard Sykes, Oldham (Elected unopposed)

See the full list of those elected at the ALDC website

Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 1 Comment

Trevor Phillips describes Phil Woolas leaflets as ‘not helpful’

Last week, Lib Dem Voice commented on Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins’ election petition against Oldham East and Saddleworth’s Labour MP, Phil Woolas. Watkins, who lost to Woolas by just 103 votes, believes that false claims were made in the leaflets, including allegations that he was trying to woo Muslim extremists, and claims about the financing of his campaign by a wealthy Saudi businessman.

Now the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has entered the row about the literature published on behalf of Woolas during the general election campaign. Former Labour politician Trevor Phillips described some of the language used in the party’s leaflets here as ‘not helpful’.

Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 3 Comments

Lib Dems and Conservatives enter joint administration in Oldham

It seems coalitions are in the air.  The Lib Dem and Conservative groups on Oldham Council in Greater Manchester yesterday announced a framework agreement which will see current Lib Dem Council leader Howard Sykes retain the top job, the Conservatives support the Lib Dem budget for this coming year and a Conservative councillor coming onto the executive.

The local elections saw the Lib Dems lose overall control in Oldham, with the new numbers being  Labour 27, Liberal Democrat 27, Conservatives 5, Independent 1.

The Oldham Council press release reads:

The Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups on Oldham Council are pleased to announce

Posted in Local government | Also tagged | 13 Comments

Ask questions at conference – even if you’re not there!

Party members not going to the Bournemouth conference still have a chance to input to some of the discussions. The conference features three Q&A sessions:

Sunday 20th September (afternoon) – with Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats

Monday 21st September (morning) – Crime Policy: Panel including Chris Huhne MP (Shadow Home Secretary), Jan Berry (Independent Reducing Bureaucracy Advocate), Juliet Lyon (Director, Prison Reform Trust) and Professor Larry Sherman (Wolfson Professor of Criminology, University of Cambridge)

Tuesday 22nd September (afternoon)
– The Economy: Panel including Vince Cable MP (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer), Jeremy Purvis MSP …

Posted in Conference | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 1 Comment

Taking action on RIPA – what Oldham has done

From their press release:

STATEMENT RE: COUNCIL USE OF SURVEILLANCE LAWS

Councillor Howard Sykes, leader of Oldham Council said: “Following a recent review of the council’s use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, elected members are now consulted before the act is used in Oldham. This gives the council an additional level of oversight, something that most other council’s in the country do not do …

“During an inspection on 1 January 2009, by the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners, the government body appointed to oversee those allowed to commission surveillance, all of the council’s authorizations for surveillance were lawful.

“We will

Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Iain Donaldson
    Matt, I think my article actually agrees with parts of what you are saying. In particular, I accept that housing policy operates over long timescales and that l...
  • Mohamed BENALIA
    A thought-provoking article. The debate over greyhound racing raises important questions about animal welfare, public opinion, and how traditions should evolve...
  • Caracatus
    My theory is that the new divide in politics in not left vs right, not libertarian vs authoritarian but between people who see the value of collective action an...
  • Caracatus
    I am stunned by the hostility to the green party which indicate to me that Lib Dems just don't get it. Bristol is mentioned, a City where the Lib Dems had 38 c...
  • Matt Wardman
    I think Iain makes an interesting challenge, but we are not in a position to judge Labour nationally. 1 - We cannot expect to see "change" work through in le...