Tag Archives: Parliament

Tanya Park

You can’t cite Cass and cancel the trial

By Tanya Park | Wed 25th March 2026 - 10:55 am

Somewhere in England right now, a teenager and their family are waiting. They have been waiting, in many cases, for more than five years just to see a specialist. Not for a diagnosis of cancer or a referral for surgery. For someone to talk to about their gender. While they wait, puberty continues. For some of them, that process is a cause of profound, daily distress.

That is what this debate is actually about. Earlier this week, Westminster Hall debated a petition calling for the cancellation of the PATHWAYS clinical trial into puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria. The trial had already been paused in February after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency raised concerns about the trial design. Many MPs, drawn from Labour, the Conservatives, Reform and the DUP, used the debate not to call for those concerns to be resolved, but to demand the trial be scrapped altogether.

Their arguments were passionate, often sincere, and in some cases carefully researched. They also contained a contradiction so fundamental it deserves to be named plainly.

Many of those MPs, when the Cass review was published in 2024, demanded it be implemented in full. Several cited Hilary Cass’s authority in the debate itself to justify their opposition to the trial. What they appear not to have noticed, or to have chosen to overlook, is that the Cass review explicitly recommended a clinical trial. That trial was meant to be the mechanism for building the evidence base they say is lacking.

A point of precision matters here. Cass did not personally endorse the PATHWAYS design in every detail. But she did recommend a trial, and when the MHRA paused recruitment she said publicly that no new research findings justified the change, and that the decision felt like a response to political pressure rather than science. The scientist those MPs invoke to close down the research is concerned it is being closed down for the wrong reasons. That is not a minor irony. It is the entire argument.

Puberty blockers are not new drugs. They have been used for decades to treat precocious puberty, where children as young as six or seven begin puberty far too early. In those cases, the same drugs, in the same doses, are prescribed to comparable or even younger children, frequently for longer periods of time. Nobody in Westminster Hall called for that use to be reviewed. Nobody described those children as being experimented on.

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Caron Lindsay

Government bows to Lib Dem pressure on Andrew files

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 25th February 2026 - 9:49 am

The Government agreed to a Lib Dem motion to release the files relating to the appointment of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as a trade envoy back in 2001.

The commitment came during a Lib Dem opposition debate yesterday. The debate obviously couldn’t focus on any of the legal issues surrounding anyone at the moment, but MPs from most parties took the opportunity to raise their concerns. It’s good that the victims and the disgusting misogynist culture came in for criticism, but will this lead to meaningful change?

Here are some of the highlights of the debate.

It is highly unusual to hear the Royal Family spoken about in less than deferential terms in Parliament, and Ed referenced this in his speech and apologised for his own previous glowing appraisal of Andrew:

I encountered this at first hand back in 2011, when I was asked to respond to an Adjournment debate on behalf of Lord Green, who was then the Minister for Trade and Investment. The debate was led by the late Paul Flynn, but even he—an ardent and outspoken republican, as I am sure many of us remember, was not allowed to raise any actual concerns about Andrew himself. Paul called it “negative privilege”, and that is what it was. He said his mouth was “bandaged by archaic rules”, and that had very real and damaging consequences. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place, because I know he was also constrained by those rules when he raised similar issues. In that debate, Epstein’s name was not mentioned once, and there was no chance to debate the substance. Standing in for the responsible Minister, I set out the Government’s position, as it had been for a decade, in support of the prince’s role as trade envoy. Looking back and knowing what we all know now, I am horrified by it. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for the survivors and their families to hear Andrew praised like that, as they did so often all around the world, so I apologise to them, and I am determined to change things.

Minister Chris Bryant, never a fan of the Lib Dems, had a go at him later in the debate despite him being upfront about it.

Let me say gently to the right hon. Gentleman that if he had followed the debates in the public domain at the time he would, I think, have known better than to make those comments.

Ed replied:

The Minister knows that I apologised for making that comment, having taken a brief from someone else. I really wish that I had not uttered those words, because I am thinking about the victims, and I have praised the Minister for the role that he took. I hope he will acknowledge that two months after that debate Andrew left the role, and it was right that he did. I was not privy to those discussions, but the Government did get rid of him.

Monica Harding described an encounter with Andrew where he’d had a go at Dolly the Sheep:

Andrew came to an exhibition I had put on about Dolly the sheep. At the time, it was the pinnacle of British innovation, and we were rightly proud of it as an example of UK scientific excellence. One of my team was a young Japanese woman who worked for the British Government as a member of British Council staff. Her job—we paid her—was to promote the UK. She showed the then prince around with some Japanese dignitaries. “Dolly the sheep,” he sneered, “It’s rubbish. Frankenstein sheep”. My team member was deflated and did not understand why this representative of the British state diminished what she was rightly proud of.

Wendy Chamberlain made a vary pertinent point on the use of language:

Does he agree that we still have a degree of that problem now, because often in the media we talk about “under-age girls” when actually we are talking about children, and we should ensure that when we talk about Epstein’s crimes, we talk about the children who were involved?

Tessa Munt pushed the Government to increase transparency measures:

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems to lead debate on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Opposition Day

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 24th February 2026 - 11:30 am

It’s a Liberal Democrat Opposition Day in Parliament today and we have chosen to devote half of it to asking for an investigation on how Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was ever appointed a Trade Envoy and for the Government to publish all the papers relating to his appointment at the time. The motion says:

That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions to require the Government to lay before this House all papers relating to the creation of the role of Special Representative for Trade and Investment and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment to that

…

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Tanya Park

Parliament is falling down. Liberals should seize the moment.

By Tanya Park | Wed 11th February 2026 - 12:12 pm

Last week, the Restoration and Renewal Client Board published its costed proposals for saving the Palace of Westminster. The options have been narrowed to two: a full decant costing up to £15.6 billion over 20 to 25 years, or a semi-decant that could take 60 years and cost approaching £40 billion. A £3 billion first phase of works would begin this year.

The debate that follows will focus, as it always does, on where to put MPs while the building is fixed. Richmond House? The QEII Conference Centre? How big should the temporary chamber be?

But there is a more interesting question, and it is one that liberals should be leading on: why do we still assume that 650 MPs need to be in the same building at all?

We already know this works

During the pandemic, the Commons went hybrid. MPs participated remotely in questions, statements, and debates. Select committees took evidence from witnesses across the country and the world. Electronic voting functioned securely. The Hansard Society found that remote committee work was one of the most valuable innovations of the period, and Liberal Democrat MPs were among the highest users of hybrid participation.

Then Jacob Rees-Mogg ended it, forcing a return to physical-only proceedings without even allowing a debate on extending the arrangements. The Hansard Society called the decision “over-hasty, poorly thought-through, unwise and unnecessary.” MPs with disabilities, caring responsibilities, and constituencies hundreds of miles from London were simply shut out.

That decision was wrong then. Revisiting it now, when Parliament faces its biggest logistical crisis in a generation, is not just sensible. It is a democratic opportunity.

This is a liberal argument

The case for hybrid working is not really about technology or convenience. It is about who gets to participate in democracy and on what terms.

Westminster’s culture of presenteeism is a filter. It selects for people who can spend four days a week in London, maintain two homes, endure late-night votes, and have no caring responsibilities that conflict with an unpredictable schedule. It penalises MPs with disabilities, new parents, and anyone whose constituency is not a short train ride from SW1. It concentrates political power in London and weakens the connection between MPs and the communities they represent.

Liberals have always understood that institutions are not neutral. They shape who participates, whose voice is heard, and how power is distributed. A Parliament that requires permanent physical presence in central London is not a level playing field. It is a system designed by and for a particular kind of person, and it excludes others by default.

Hybrid working would not eliminate the demands of the job, but it would make those demands compatible with a wider range of lives. That is not a perk. It is a basic condition for a more representative democracy.

The building becomes something better

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The Voice

Danny Chambers’ Animal Welfare Bill becomes law

By The Voice | Wed 3rd December 2025 - 10:25 am

Dogs, cats and ferrets across the world have cause to be grateful to Lib Dem MP Danny Chambers. His Bill preventing puppy smuggling and trafficking of heavily pregnant animals received Royal Assent from the King yesterday and is now the law of the land.

“Britain will no longer be a market for animal cruelty” said Danny to Lib Dem Conference in September. Here’s his whole speech where he was completely upstaged by Vikki Slade’s gorgeous dog Todd.

Speaking as his Bill received Royal Assent, Danny said:

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Caron Lindsay

What does Ed Davey’s reshuffle tell us?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 1st October 2025 - 3:00 pm

Yesterday Ed Davey reshuffled his top team ahead of the new parliamentary term and added 5 new roles meaning that 38 out of our 72 MPs now have spokesperson roles.

There aren’t very many huge surprises. Probably the biggest is the replacement of former Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council leader Vikki Slade as housing, communities and local government spokesperson. She was a champion for local government and had experience of handling massive budgets and delivering services and it is hard to understand why she has found herself as a backbench MP. She is replaced at local government by Zoe Franklin, also a former Councillor and ALDC staff member. Gideon Amos, who was housing and planning spokesperson takes the Housing and Communities brief.

Lisa Smart leaves her Home Office brief for something a lot more strategic and wide-ranging. She’ll be shadowing Darren Jones as First Secretary of State. She is a key part of Ed Davey’s inner circle.

She’s replaced at Home Affairs by old friend of this site Max Wilkinson, the MP for Cheltenham. It will be interesting to see how he handles the digital ID debate. While the party has come out unequivocally against Keir Starmer’s expensive and ineffective proposals, there are some who feel that it is possible to introduce a system like Estonia’s – and many others who see the inherent dangers in terms of impact on marginalised groups and civil liberties. And that’s before you get to the safety and competence of Government databases.

We also have Will Forster in a newly created immigration and asylum role and I am confident that he will be very good at articulating a solid, liberal position.

Lisa’s other role of Women and Equalities spokesperson, which she had held since Christine Jardine’s shock sacking in July, goes, surprisingly, to Marie Goldman. While the equality AOs are looking forward to working with her, many people had expected this role to go to NE Hampshire MP Alex Brewer, who is one of our representatives on the Women and Equalities Committee.

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Caron Lindsay

What I really want from our MPs this Summer

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 30th July 2025 - 9:25 am

MPs are now in their parliamentary recess. I know that for Lib Dem MPs, recess does not equal rest. They spend the time they aren’t in Parliament knocking doors, visiting every community in their constituency and generally working incredibly hard, as usual.  Yes, they might get home at a respectable hour more of the time and their inboxes get a bit more manageable – just a bit – but they are still on duty for well more than the average working week.

In the first year of the new Parliament, they have done wonders. Alistair, Jamie and Layla have all highlighted important issues as Select Committee chairs, Danny’s Bill has curtailed puppy smuggling, Roz has persuaded the Government to take climate and nature seriously, Max has been fighting for his sunshine bill, Christine has the promise of Government action to help bereaved children, David’s been standing up for coalfield communities,, Angus has been fighting for communities to reap the benefits of renewable energy. I could go on at length but you get the drift.

My hope for all of them this Summer is simple – please, please take a proper break.

A break where you go off-grid, mute everything and relax. Where you do whatever you need to do to switch off. I don’t care whether it’s hiking in the mountains, lying on a beach reading proper trash with no informational value whatsoever (see the Guardian’s advice for a perfect beach read),  participating in the family beach tennis tournament, playing Mario Kart in your pants, cycling around France, sailing in the Med, going to Disneyland or simply sleeping. And do this for at the very least two weeks at once.

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Andrew Chandler

Labour’s social security fiasco and “ERG” moment

By Andrew Chandler | Wed 2nd July 2025 - 1:36 pm

In the slow unravelling of Labour’s Welfare Reform Bill, something revealing happened — not just about policy, but about power. For all the promises of “stability” and “competence” that Keir Starmer had promised a year ago, we instead saw a government conducting itself like an actor who forgets their lines but insists on taking centre stage anyway. 

The Bill, in its first draft, was a monument to both arrogance and clownish stupidity. The Government insisted for weeks that its plan would still go ahead for economic and social necessity, despite the mounting rebellion that they faced. 

Under pressure — moral, political, and parliamentary — the government stumbled backwards in a desperate attempt to save face. Concessions were made. Even more new commitments and concessions emerged as the Bill was being debated. They conceded in the last hurdle that the Stephen Timms Review will now be conducted before the changes to Personal Independence Payments are implemented, although, there is not yet a timetable for this, nor is it actually written into the Bill.

What manner of government operates like this, by surprise and stumble? What arrogance thinks it can turn the lives of carers, disabled people, and the chronically ill into footnotes in a budget sheet? This is no way for a Government to conduct policy,  making changes as the clock was ticking towards the time for them to huddle around the voting chambers. It is something you would expect from a “Thick of it” or “Yes, Minister” episode – not pantomime played in the real world of politics. 

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The Voice

Christine Jardine: At the centre of the culture wars are people who just want to live their lives

By The Voice | Sat 15th February 2025 - 10:30 am

Official portrait of Christine Jardine @HouseofCommons/Roger HarrisChristine Jardine was described by Labour MP Nadia Whittome as having “long been ahead of many in this House when it comes to equalities issues, including being outspoken in support of the rights of sex workers”  a debate on LGBT History Month in Parliament on Thursday afternoon. Earlier, Christine had made a heartfelt speech which you can watch here. She looked back to the deeply homophobic and toxic atmosphere in the 1980s towards gay people and highlighted some of the injustices they had to deal with and how we are seeing the same tropes played out today.

Here is her speech in full:

It is a pleasure and an honour to follow the hon. Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen). I concur with everything she said about the work being done by the Women and Equalities Committee.

It is important to recognise where we stand in history, because when we talk about LGBTQ rights, women’s rights or racial equality in this place, we often talk about the journey that we have been on and what we have achieved. Yes, we have achieved a lot, but we face enormous challenges at this moment in our history. Our country’s LGBTQ community need to look at us today and know that we will stand up for them and that we will fight for their rights, including their right simply to be who they are.

But we have faced challenges before, and we have overcome them. I think of Scotland, particularly my home city of Glasgow, where I was brought up. In the 1970s, and when I was a student in the 1980s, it had unfortunately garnered for itself the unenviable reputation of being one of the worst places in Europe to grow up gay. Attitudes were somehow more polarised in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK. In 1957, a poll showed that more than 80% of Scots did not want homosexuality to be decriminalised; the figure was 51% in England.

In preparing for this debate, I found an article in a 1982 student newspaper from the University of Liverpool, whose student union disaffiliated with the University of Glasgow because it refused to allow a gay society to form. According to the union president, that refusal was on the ground that the age of consent for homosexual sex was 21 and, given that most students were younger than 21, the union did not want to “give the impression that the Union in some way bestows an unofficial blessing on their activities… many members of the Gay Society are not interested in a constructive approach to changing the membership’s attitude…but using this as a ploy to gain momentum to destroy the character of the Union as we know it.”

We hear an echo of that language today, but imagine how young LGBT people must have felt hearing and reading it. That was the kind of attitude they faced on a daily basis.

And imagine if we had been able to tell them that, 40 years later, Glasgow would be in the top five places in Europe for LGBT people to visit and enjoy and that, despite those attitudes, a long, rich history has developed of the community across Scotland coming together to support each other. We have improved so much, as those figures show.

Edinburgh Befrienders, later known as the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard, opened in 1974 and was the UK’s first bespoke helpline for gay and lesbian people—beating Switchboard, which still exists, by just one day. Edinburgh was also home to Scotland’s first LGBT bookshop, Lavender Menace, and in 1995 welcomed 3,000 people to Scotland’s first Pride march. It is now huge, the event of the year, and I have been privileged to speak at it twice.

Of course, much of this change has been possible only because of public figures, including: former MPs such as Robin Cook, who equalised Scots law and English law on homosexuality; Val McDermid, whose 1987 novel “Report for Murder” featured Lindsay Gordon, Britain’s first fictional lesbian detective; and award-winning author Jackie Kay, the second woman and first lesbian to hold the post of Makar, Scotland’s national poet, and whose work has dealt with race, gender, transgender identities and her own sexuality. Thanks to such people and places, so many attitudes, laws and the understanding of LGBT+ people have changed for the better.

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The Voice

Layla Moran asks Urgent Question on Northern Gaza

By The Voice | Wed 8th January 2025 - 3:43 pm

Yesterday, Layla Moran was granted an urgent question in the House of Commons on the humanitarian crisis in Northern Gaza.

She said:

Over 450 days on, we all know the statistics—45,000 Palestinians killed, 100 hostages missing, 2.3 million people desperate—but I want to tell a single human story. I have previously spoken about my friend, consultant surgeon Mohamed, who operated on me when I had sepsis. His family are trapped in the Jabalia refugee camp. They are elderly and sick. One is a three-year-old girl. He has described how there are bodies strewn in the street.

I am sorry to report that death did not come knocking this weekend. Rather, it was dropped by a precision drone as Mohamed’s brother and his son walked 10 metres to get aid. The son died of a brain injury, two 13-year-old girls and their mother have shrapnel wounds, and Mohamed’s elderly father, who was already ill, is in hospital. A three-year-old, her mother and Mohamed’s mother are alone in a house with no one to help them get food.

These were obviously not militants—they were sick. They are not legitimate targets of war. There is no excuse for this. Mohamed told me it feels like they are living in “The Hunger Games,” dodging drones and scavenging for the basics. Even if they wanted to leave, how can they?

What part of international law makes any of this okay? Where is the accountability? Where is the justice? What does the Minister have to say to Mohamed, who spends his days saving lives here in the UK while his family are slaughtered overnight?

And it is not just Mohamed. People in Gaza are trapped in a doom loop of hell—hospitals decimated, and ceasefires promised and never delivered. So I press the Government again: is this really everything the UK has got? Have we deployed everything to make this stop? When will we recognise Palestine? Why have we not stopped the arms trade to Israel? And when will the Government ban trading with illegal settlements?

The frustration is palpable. Our grief is fathomless. People across the UK are looking on in horror, and the horror in Gaza must stop now.

There were nine other Lib Dem contributors:

Our foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller:

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The Voice

Who are the Lib Dem MPs on Select Committees?

By The Voice | Sun 27th October 2024 - 1:29 pm

It always takes a while to set up a new Parliament’s infrastructure and with this week’s publication of Select Committee memberships, some of the 72 Liberal Democrat MPs now have another avenue to exert influence.

Select Committees are an important avenue for scrutiny of the Government by questioning and by holiding enquiries into specific areas of policy or performance.

Our status as third party gives us three Select Committee Chairs who have already been announced: Layla Moran at Health and Social Care, Alistair Carmichael at Environment and Rural Affairs and Jamie Stone on the Petitions Committee.

So which Committees will have Liberal Democrat representation? Here are the ones announced so far and we’ll update as more news comes out.

Welsh Affairs Committee: David Chadwick MP

Defence Committee: Ian Roome MP

Women and Equalities Committee: Alex Brewer MP

Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee: Lee Dillon MP

Business and Trade Committee: Joshua Reynolds MP

Home Affairs Committee: Ben Maguire MP, Paul Kohler MP

Public Accounts Committee: Rachel Gilmour MP

Culture, Media and Sport Committee: Liz Jarvis MP

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Andrew Emmerson

In praise of our MPs’ office managers

By Andrew Emmerson | Wed 16th October 2024 - 2:21 pm

Within politics, there are lots of under-appreciated groups. People who work tirelessly to ensure that the roadshow goes on, so that those front and centre can walk, run and sprint to victory. Be it the campaign organisers and their hoardes of volunteers pushing paper through letterboxes, or the tech people running important communication methods, or the spouses, partners and confidantes who prop up tired candidates ready to fall. 

Yet I want to throw my own special shout-out to another group, the MPs’ staff. I’m very privileged to have worked in one capacity or another for a number of our party’s  illustrious MPs in  both campaigns and as parliamentary staff. This is not a shout-out to me, or a self-congratulating pat on the back though. I want to pay tribute to the new Office Managers, Caseworkers, Personal Assistants and Media Officers who are now filling the offices of our newly-elected MPs. 

I am lucky that when I started in this job, there was already a set way of working that I could adapt to, and could adapt to me. Yet since the election, 57 new office managers have been hired to get MPs on their feet. Bravely taking over single-handedly where campaigns left off. They’ve been the ones wrestling with the leviathan of MPs’ inboxes, hiring staff, finding new office spaces, helping their bosses find new London accommodation, wandering lonely through the IPSA labyrinth of expenses. 

I am fortunate to help to co-ordinate (yet another) WhatsApp community bringing together caseworkers and office managers, and the battles they’ve faced to establish new MPs in their communities quickly, quietly and efficiently should be very strongly applauded. 

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Caron Lindsay

It’s a Liberal Democrat Opposition Day in Parliament

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 16th October 2024 - 8:39 am

Today is the first Liberal Democrat Opposition Day of this Parliament. This means that we need to set the agenda. Does anyone want to take a guess about the topics we have chosen to debate?

You get no brownie points if you correctly answered Carers and Health – though you could, I guess have chosen sewage. We are highlighting the issues that we ran on during not just the election but in the four years leading up to it.

Our Carer’s Allowance motion says:

That this House recognises the remarkable contributions that the UK’s 5.7 million unpaid carers make to society and the huge financial challenges many face; notes with deep concern that tens of thousands of carers are unfairly punished for overpayments of Carer’s Allowance due to the £151-a-week earnings limit; believes that carers should not be forced to face the stress, humiliation and fear caused by demands for repayments of Carer’s Allowance; condemns the previous Government for failing to address this scandal; calls on the Government to write-off existing overpayments immediately, raise the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit and introduce a taper to end the unfair cliff edge; and further calls on the Government to conduct a comprehensive review of support for carers to help people juggle care and work.

The health one is about access to GPs and dentists:

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NewsHound

LibLink Steffan Aquarone Westminster, an organisation ripe for transformation

By NewsHound | Sat 28th September 2024 - 11:55 am

Our 57 new MPs have spent the Summer representing their constituents, writing to ministers and getting used to Westminster traditions and rituals.

North Norfolk MP Steffan Aquarone has written for Radix about his first impressions of Westminster and he’s identified a whole stack of things that need to change.

The Houses of Parliament are sinking into the Thames. Many dozens of offices were condemned upon their vacation by outgoing MPs. There are electrical and water hazards only a few metres underfoot, and the whole thing will cost billions to fix – not least because MPs are insistent they stay in the building while it happens.

But there is an even greater urgency to transform the way the organisation operates if we’re to bring about the change this country badly needs.

The layout needs updating for a start:

Rather than being designed around main thoroughfares, the grand corridors are built around the ritual ceremony that opens Parliament. The layout was set in a pre-digital age when runners carried messages between chambers, meaning the fastest way from the new bit to the old is via sets of narrow stairs.

Instead, a modern internal design is needed, where the main thoroughfares join together areas most frequently used by MPs and staff going about their business, with plenty of space to step aside and benefit from chance conversations and exchanges, privately but safely.  MPs stuck in small individual offices is a less ominous, but no less outdated, example of pre-digital working practices.  Opposite Westminster, the York Road offers a striking range of modern, collegiate working environment that could serve as nearby inspiration.

He has some thoughts on how the structure of Government inhibits it:

Modern organisations are customer centric; their bosses oversee key functions that are aligned to their customers’ or users’ journeys.  They are no longer siloed by functions that mirror operational processes (and are more convenient for the organisation than its customers).  Government needs Secretaries of State for Prosperity and Wellbeing, for the Citizen Experience, and for Data and Privacy, if it’s going to respond to the needs of the modern world, not catch-all Secretaries of State for Agriculture, Health, or Local Government.

Government needs innovation and the capacity to defy convention:

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Caron Lindsay

Alistair Carmichael to stand to be Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Chair

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 8th September 2024 - 8:30 pm

As we have previously reported, the Lib Dems have been allocated three Select Committees to chair in the new Parliament. Alistair Carmichael has announced that he is standing to chair the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. He set out his priorities for role:

As the son of Islay hill farmers and having represented a rural constituency for 23 years, the issues on which the EFRA Select Committee works have always been close to my heart. For the Northern Isles and indeed for the entire country, the next few years are going to be critical in determining the future of our rural economy and rural communities, which is why I am standing for election as committee chair.

Being chair of a select committee does not give you the decision-making powers of a minister. Done properly, however, it can give you some influence in scrutinising the work of government and raising the profile of issues that matter to communities such as our own. In that way you can be a vehicle for change.

In a department where most of the incoming Labour ministerial team come from urban backgrounds, there is a danger that the needs and wishes of rural communities will not be properly understood. That is where a strong voice in Parliament with experience in these issues can make a noticeable difference.”

If elected as chair of the EFRA Select Committee, my priorities will be to:

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NewsHound

When Jennie met Larry

By NewsHound | Wed 24th July 2024 - 9:00 pm

Many of us have fallen completely in love with the gorgeous Jennie, Steve Darling MP’s guide dog.

Many of us, but maybe not Larry the No 10 cat. The two caught sight of each other as some of our Lib Dem MPs went to deliver a petition on climate change.

Vet Danny Chambers, our new MP for Winchester captured the moment on camera.

The start of a beautiful friendship?

Steve has been talking to Politics Home about what Westminster needs to do to make Parliament more accessible.

He told PoliticsHome that comprehending signage above head height is among the things that he has found difficult on the estate so far.

When asked about accessibility in Parliament, he pointed first to ““signage for committee rooms,” saying: “The numbering of the committee rooms is at the top of the door, so I just have to remember where Committee Room 10 is and things like that.”

He said the same is true for some of the toilets.

He was full of praise for the staff:

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Caron Lindsay

Ed on tonight’s drama in Parliament: We need an urgent end to the humanitarian catastrophe

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 21st February 2024 - 9:17 pm

So I managed to sleep thoughout tonight’s drama.

Waking up to a phone glowing with WhatsApp messages, I realised there had been a bit of a rammy in the Commons. I checked out the BBC summary and my immediate and instinctive reaction is that the Speaker had been right to allow votes on three distinctive positions on such a huge issue. The SNP’s motion called for an immediate ceasefire, the Government’s called for a humanitarian pause and Labour’s had a bit more meat on its bones about how you actually get to a lasting peace. Normally on an opposition day, you’d get the motion and a Government amendment. It is unusual to have a third option, but in this instance, it made sense to reflect as broad a consensus as possible. He could have done better by including a fourth option, ours.

Ours said:

Expresses its devastation at the mounting humanitarian disaster in Gaza with tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians killed, millions displaced and thousands of homes destroyed; calls on the Prime Minister to oppose publicly and at the UN Security Council the proposed IDF offensive in Rafah; further urges Hamas to unconditionally and immediately release the over 100 hostages taken following the deplorable attacks on 7 October 2023; notes the unprecedented levels of illegal settler violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories left unchecked by the Israeli Government; welcomes the recent sanctions by the UK Government against four extremist Israeli settlers who have committed human rights abuses against Palestinian communities in the West Bank; urges the UK Government to sanction all violent settlers and their connected entities; calls on the UK Government to uphold international law and the judgments of international courts under all circumstances; further notes that the only path to regional security is a two-state solution based on 1967 borders with Hamas not in power; condemns Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s repeated assertions that there is no future for a Palestinian state; and further urges the UK Government to call for an immediate bilateral ceasefire in Gaza, which will allow an end to the humanitarian devastation, get the hostages out and provide an opportunity for a political process leading to a two-state solution, providing security and dignity for all peoples in Palestine and Israel.”

You would hope that when discussing one of the biggest humanitarian disasters and most dangerous conflicts we have seen in a long time, the Mother of Parliaments would model generous, collaborative behaviour. It was not beyond the wit of the SNP to work with the other opposition parties to bring together something that truly reflected the will of the House.

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The Voice

Christine Jardine introduces Bill to give British citizens right to Consular assistance

By The Voice | Mon 19th February 2024 - 10:05 am

Back in November, there was not a dry eye in the house when Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her husband Richard Ratcliffe spoke to Scottish Lib Dem Conference.

From our piece at the time:

One of the most moving sessions was an interview, hosted by Christine Jardine, with Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe and Richard Ratcliffe. Christine said she still has the blue flower Richard gave her when she went to visit him outside the Iranian Embassy when he was on hunger strike during Nazanin’s six year imprisonment in Iran.

Nazanin and Richard want British citizens to have a right to consular protection after the Foreign Office was so slow to help her. At the moment, the commitment is dependent on ministerial whim, and, if ministers are reshuffled, you have to build the relationship up all over again.

Next week, Parliament will debate a Bill tabled by Lib Dem MP Christine designed to give British citizens abroad a right to consular assistance when their human rights are under threat.

Yesterday’s Sunday Post had a feature on the Bill. Christine told the paper:

We assume that if something happens, someone will speak to the Foreign Office and you’re guaranteed assistance – but you’re not.

I think it’s something most of us would take for granted that we already have.

After Richard and I spoke about it, I thought about the number of cases where people have found themselves in that situation over the years.

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The Voice

Carmichael warns about increases in helicopter response times

By The Voice | Wed 22nd November 2023 - 9:09 am

If you regularly face danger at sea, the last thing you will want to hear is that the Government plans to quadruple helicopter response times.

Alistair Carmichael seeks answers from the Government as he holds a parliamentary debate on the future of coastguard services in Parliament.

The debate follows revelations about the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s plans to quadruple the emergency response time for the helicopter service based at Sumburgh in Alistair’s Shetland constituency from 15 minutes to 60 minutes.

The MCA previously “clarified” that the current “readiness” state of 15 minutes is due to remain in place until at least October 2026 — but “discussions relating to readiness states beyond this date are ongoing.” Following further meetings, however, it has emerged that the MCA has already signed a new contract for the future of the Sumburgh service.

Other concerns have been raised that the new service will only run one type of helicopter, raising issues with resilience should a model be grounded. Mr Carmichael has called on the MCA and the Department for Transport to release the full documents relating to the proposals.

Ahead of the debate, Alistair said:

Reports that there were discussions under way in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to cut back on the helicopter provision from Sumburgh were bad enough. It has now emerged, however, that the “discussions” are effectively already over – as a contract was signed months ago.

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The Voice

Lib Dems react to King’s Speech

By The Voice | Wed 8th November 2023 - 8:40 am

Ed Davey has been on Sky News talking about the King’s Speech.  He called for a General Election to put a Government that has run out of ideas out of its misery.

In the debate in the Commons yesterday, Ed said:

May I, like others, start by paying tribute to His Majesty for delivering his first King’s Speech? It was clearly an historic moment, but for our King it must have been an emotional one. He made reference to his late mother, our late, amazing Queen, and many of us listening to him felt that he delivered that speech with grace and aplomb, and we are very grateful to him.

May I also pay tribute to the right hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Sir Robert Goodwill) and the hon. Member for Stroud (Siobhan Baillie) for their speeches? I have always rather admired the right hon. Gentleman, for many reasons. His speech today was extremely entertaining, but I have always liked the fact that he, like many on our Benches, opposed the third runway at Heathrow and that he was a constructive, if unfashionable, Conservative in his views on a constructive relationship with our European partners. But perhaps what makes him more at home with the current Government is his romantic enthusiasm for the steam engine, as we have heard: more noise than substance and going nowhere in the modern world.

My mother-in-law, an expert beekeeper and honey producer—and the swarm officer for North Dorset, no less—would join the seconder of today’s motion in congratulating Stroud on being the world’s first bee guardian town. I am sure that Stroud has a real buzz about it, but the House will be pleased to hear that I do not intend to drone on and on. Given your strictures at the beginning of this debate, Mr Speaker, I should like to clarify that I was not referring to any other Members in talking about droning on.

Today’s Gracious Speech is overshadowed by horrifying events around the world, with the monstrous terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel one month ago—more than 1,400 Israelis were slaughtered and hundreds were taken hostage, and they are in our thoughts today—and now the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Innocent Palestinians have been cut off from food, water and medicine. Their homes have been destroyed, and more than 10,000 have been killed.

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Can Parliament take back control?

By Nick Harvey and Paul Tyler | Thu 21st September 2023 - 3:07 pm

In a futile attempt to prevent Boris Johnson’s defenestration last year Jacob Rees Mogg tried to browbeat his ministerial colleagues by demanding that a change of Prime Minister required a General Election.  Johnson himself seemed equally deluded that he had achieved a personal mandate in 2019 to which no successor could lay claim.

Our constitution – at the moment at least – doesn’t work like that.  We don’t elect a President.  We vote for individual MPs who collectively give authority to an executive team, and (in theory) hold them to account.

But is it working like that ?

In recent months a range of commentators from across the political spectrum have identified a series of faults and follies, which call in question our democratic norms.  With some 53 years of parliamentary service between us we attempt a more comprehensive analysis in our book “Can Parliament Take Back Control?”, published this week.

Amidst all the other challenges which politicians will face after the next election the damaged relationship between Parliament and the executive may seem relatively less urgent.  Yet the insidious shift of power from the former to the latter in recent years may prove to undermine the very foundations of Britain’s democratic constitution.

In so doing, it could make it increasingly difficult to secure public support for practical responses to those other challenges.

This book highlights the various ways in which governments have neutered, side-lined and ignored Parliament to an extent which now demands a deliberate restoration of the balance of power.  We suggest that events since 2015, in particular, have caused slippage towards the “elective dictatorship” about which Lord Hailsham warned in his Dimbleby Lecture in 1976. Hence our subtitle:  “Britain’s Elective Dictatorship in the Johnson Aftermath”.   The text of the Lecture is reprinted as an Annex with the encouragement of the present Lord Hailsham.

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Simon Hobson

Drop the oath to the Crown – put the people first

By Simon Hobson | Wed 13th September 2023 - 1:29 pm

At the beginning of September, Sarah Dyke, the recently elected Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Somerton and Frome, began her work as an MP. Before she could take to the green benches of the House of Commons, she was required to be sworn in. Lib Dem social media channels showed a video of Sarah taking this oath. The ceremony is bland and matter of fact, what was of greater interest were the comments expressing outrage at the proceedings. Party supporters, activists, and voyeurs of the event on Instagram showed particular distain for the words of the swearing in.

Every Member of Parliament must make one of the following declarations. The first is known as the oath and the other the affirmation. Which is chosen is a decision for the newly elected MP:

I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs, and successors, according to law. So help me God.

Or, 

I do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles, his heirs and successors, according to law.

The confusion and hostility on social media over these words of allegiance to a King and his family where clear. “Politics needs modernising, what does the King have to do with anything?” “Not one mention of the people” and, “Does that mean republicans can’t be MPs?” All reasonable statements and questions.

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The Voice

Jardine: People of Scotland want competent, effective Governments

By The Voice | Tue 16th May 2023 - 8:14 pm

It took less than the 14 minutes of Mhairi Black’s opening speech in the SNP Opposition Day debate on the cost of living crisis today for her to reveal what the debate was really about. Independence. I guess we should expect no better from a nationalist party, even one that has the power to do much more than it is doing to alleviate poverty and help those struggling at the moment.

Our Christine Jardine was there to keep them honest. In a blistering speech, she pointed out where both SNP and Conservatives were going wrong.

I have often stood here and criticised the Conservative Government, on their energy price hike; inflation; interest rates; and the situation that faces our young people throughout the UK, where too many of them live with the fear that they will never be able to own the house of their own that they would like or that the ever-increasing rent rates in this country, which in my city of Edinburgh are outrageous, put too many options beyond their reach. We must then consider the fact that the Chancellor did not listen when the Liberal Democrats asked him to cut energy bills by £500 per household, which would have made a significant difference to so many families; that the growth in the economy in the first three months of this year was only 0.1%; that, according to the Office for National Statistics, average pay, after taking inflation into account, fell by 3%; and that the take-home salary fell by more than £1,400.

I was delighted when I saw this motion, because our economy in the UK is on its knees and so are far too many families, and not just in Scotland. My disappointment is that SNP Members do not seem to appreciate that they in a unique position, of which I, like many other Members, are jealous, as their party can do something about it in Scotland. By that, I do not mean independence, which it turns out this debate is actually about after all.

She went on to highlight some of the SNP Govermment’s key shortcomings

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The Voice

A duo of Lib Dems at PMQs highlight GP shortage and medicine issue

By The Voice | Thu 30th March 2023 - 2:13 pm

Lib Dems are doing very well at Prime Minister’s Questions at the moment. Yesterday, we had two questions to Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab in Rishi Sunak’s absence.

First up, Sarah Olney carried through the theme of the day – GP shortages, highlighting the impact:

From Hansard:

In a shocking article in Surrey Live last year, it was reported that staff at a GP practice in Walton were left in tears and “crumbling under pressure” owing to the increased workload caused by staff shortages. Is that any wonder when there are 850 fewer GPs in the country than there were in 2019? What does the Deputy Prime Minister say to patients left in pain and staff left in tears—including some in his own constituency—as a result of the Government’s failed promise to recruit more GPs?

The Deputy Prime Minister

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Caron Lindsay

Wera Hobhouse calls for action to tackle eating disorders

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 5th March 2023 - 11:15 am

Anyone who has supported a loved one with an eating disorder will appreciate Wera Hobhouse’s tireless efforts to get better support and services for those living with these terrible and distressing conditions.

I know first hand how horrendous it is to watch someone suffering in this way. The agony that my loved one went through will stay with me forever, as will all the related anxiety. And I really appreciated that Wera drew attention to eating disorders in men for that reason.

What made things much worse is that there was so little in the way of practical support available. It is great to know that we have a champion in Parliament who gets this and who is fighting for more.

This Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Wera held a Westminster Hall Debate. She called for action to tackle an epidemic of eating disorders. She asked for a targeted strategy for eating disorders to tackle the waiting times for treatment for children and adults, provide training for health and education staff to recognise the signs that an eating disorder might be developing, earlier intervention and evidence based treatments.

The full text of her speech is below:

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NewsHound

Sarah Olney criticises “appalling” rush to pass anti Strike Bill

By NewsHound | Sat 14th January 2023 - 3:30 pm

Lib Dem Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney has criticised the “appalling” way the Government is trying to “sneak” through its new anti strike measures with the bare minimum of Parliamentary scrutiny. MPs will have two days to debate the measures.

Reported in the Standard, Sarah said:

It’s appalling for Conservative ministers to try and sneak this sweeping new law through with barely any scrutiny from MPs. It’s almost like they know their Bill would fall apart under even the lightest examination.

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The Voice

Wera Hobhouse’s bill to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace passes Committee stage

By The Voice | Sun 27th November 2022 - 11:14 am

We’re now into the annual 16 days of activism against gender based violence which runs from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November through to International Human Rights Day on 10th December.

We will be bringing you a series of articles to mark this important annual event, including a horrific story of the death of a young woman in Scotland after she was let own by all of the services who should have been there to protect her.

Today we report on the Committee Stage of Wera Hobhouse’s Bill to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, which took place on Wednesday. It would make employers liable for sexual harassment of their employers by third parties, eg contractors, as well as their co-workers.

Introducing the Bill, Wera said:

Workplace sexual harassment is a blight on our society. It remains widespread and vastly under-reported. Half of British women and a fifth of men have been sexually harassed at work or a place of study. Too many people have been left to suffer for too long. The question of whether employers have taken adequate steps to prevent sexual harassment arises only as a defence if an incident of sexual harassment has already occurred. Employers are therefore not required to take actions to prevent sexual harassment. That leaves individuals with the burden of challenging it.

The Bill, which passed its Second Reading last month, introduces two new measures to strengthen protections for employees against harassment. The first is the introduction of explicit protections for employees from workplace harassment by third parties, such as customers and clients. The second is the introduction of a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent their employees from experiencing sexual harassment.

Fellow Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine emphasised why the Bill was needed:

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Antony Hook

Change when we hold Autumn Conference

By Antony Hook | Tue 20th September 2022 - 2:55 pm

Like every member of the party, I was sorry that the party Conference had to be cancelled because of the Queen’s sad death.

But it was the right decision. Conference Chair Nick da Costa and the whole team, volunteers and staff, deserve our thanks for taking that decision and dealing with the massive practical consequences.

This has sparked ideas about next year. Should Spring Conference 2023 be earlier? Longer? An extra conference? These questions were discussed in an interesting special Lib Dem Podcast.

But this may be the right time to take a big step back and reconsider when we hold Autumn Conference every year.

The choice of date impacts on the success of the Conference, which is an important tool in achieving the party’s aims. 

Conference helps us elect more Liberal Democrats by networking members, building relationships and team spirit, sharing know-how through training, enriching our policy platform, interaction between Lib Dem parliamentarians and grassroots members, providing a media showcase for our Leader and key spokespeople and the forum for members to exercise democratic control of the party.

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Caron Lindsay

Life resumes…..

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 20th September 2022 - 6:57 am

It’s been an intense 11 days  since the Queen died.

For many people, a national bereavement takes a similar pattern to any other. The adrenaline gets you through to the funeral and it’s only afterwards that you have to adjust to the loss and its consequences. However we may feel about Queen Elizabeth’s legacy or, indeed, the institution of monarchy itself, it will take some time to get used to the new normal, not least because we have a brand new monarch and a brand new Government.

Anyone under the age of about 75 will not be able to remember having any other monarch than Queen Elizabeth. It’s  astonishing that we have had two Queens, covering 134 of the last 185 years. Both reigned during periods of intense social and economic change. I was thinking about this yesterday  as I woke up and looked up exactly how long they had been on the throne. Victoria had been on the throne for 63 years, 7 months and 2 days – and Elizabeth for 70 years, 7 months and 2 days. In all the wall to wall coverage I’ve absorbed since 8th September, I hadn’t heard that mentioned. Or maybe I’m the only one that finds it worthy of note.

We haven’t in any sort of memory had a new Head of State and Prime Minister in such quick succession. Elizabeth had wartime giant Winston Churchill as her first PM. When George V died, Stanley Baldwin was on his third prime ministerial stint. The last liberal Prime Minister, Asquith, had a couple of years under his belt before Edward VII died and Viscount Melbourne was extremely experienced when the 19 year old Victoria acceded.

The new King Charles has had decades to learn his trade and he has acknowledged that he can’t be as vocal on issues close to his heart as he was as Prince of Wales. A climate change denying Government is bound to be a test.

The cost of living emergency has not gone away. It is biting the most vulnerable every single day.  Inflation may have dipped a tiny bit down to 9.9% in August but households are still finding that the basics in life are a lot more expensive than they were last year before you even think about heating your house.

The last big political announcement was Liz Truss’s plan to deal with meteoric energy price rises. She intends to limit price rise so that the average household will pay no more than £2500. It’s likely you will pay more if you live in an energy inefficient, damp house. That includes many people on low incomes in private lets and social housing.

Ed Davey called Truss’s plan a “phony freeze” saying:

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NewsHound

Richard Foord is sworn in as the new MP for Tiverton and Honiton

By NewsHound | Mon 27th June 2022 - 3:13 pm

It’s official, Richard Foord has now formally taken his seat in Parliament, bringing the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons to fourteen strong.

We’ll cover his maiden speech in due course but, in the meantime, here is the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

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