Tag Archives: roz savage

Mathew Hulbert

Mathew on Monday: Pluralism Means More Than a Slogan

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 1st June 2026 - 6:16 pm

On Saturday I travelled down to London to attend the Compass and Progressive Economy Forum’s Change: NOW! Conference, which brought together around 700 people from across the progressive spectrum for what felt like a serious and timely conversation about the future of politics in Britain.

In an age of deep political fragmentation, rising populism and the growing threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform UK there was something very refreshing about spending a day at an event where people were prepared to engage with those beyond their own political tribe.

Speakers included Caroline Lucas, Vince Cable, Zack Polanski, Clive Lewis MP, Stella Creasy MP, the economist Gary Stevenson, Author and Observer columnist Will Hutton, and many more, representing a broad range of traditions, perspectives, and experiences.

One contribution in particular stayed with me.

Lib Dem MP for the South Cotswolds Roz Savage argued powerfully that “no one political party has a monopoly on good ideas.” It is an observation that sounds obvious when stated aloud, yet too much of modern politics is conducted ax though the opposite were true. Too often parties, including our own, retreat into their own comfort zones, convinced that wisdom begins and ends with those wearing the same colour rosette.

Savage went further. It is not enough, she suggested, to simply describe themselves as pluralists. We have to demonstrate pluralism in practice. We have to show voters that we are capable of working with those with whom we do not agree on everything in pursuit of outcomes that improve people’s lives.

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Tanya Park

Power shared, not hoarded: finishing the argument

By Tanya Park | Wed 4th March 2026 - 9:50 am

Roz Savage’s piece earlier this week, and Jack Meredith’s response to it, have done something worth building on. This is an attempt to follow the logic a few steps further, because I think it leads somewhere important.

The strongest thing in Savage’s piece is the power axis. “Power hoarded versus power shared” is not just better messaging than left versus right. It’s a more honest description of what’s actually happening in Britain. Decisions that shape people’s lives are made in places they can’t reach, by institutions they didn’t choose, in processes they can’t scrutinise. That’s a liberal problem, not just a left-wing one.

Meredith picks this up thoughtfully. He’s right that different liberal traditions notice different concentrations of power. Social liberals see material inequality. Market liberals see monopoly and cartel behaviour. Civil libertarians see the state. Bring them into the same room, and they converge, even if they arrive from different directions.

But there’s a step still to take.

If dispersing power is the organising principle, it can’t stop at constitutional reform. Democratic reform is necessary, but formal political power gets hollowed out when economic power remains sufficiently concentrated. In theory, everyone gets one vote. In practice, sufficient accumulation of wealth means your money votes for you in ways the ballot box never could: through political donations, through media ownership, through the ability to fund strategic litigation, through the simple fact that governments worry about the confidence of capital in ways they never worry about the confidence of people on a zero-hours contract. The dispersal of political power and the dispersal of economic power are the same argument. You can’t complete one without the other.

Concentrated wealth isn’t simply an inequality problem, though it is that too. It’s a power problem. When wealth compounds across generations, when returns to capital consistently outpace returns to labour, when a small number of individuals accumulate resources sufficient to shape political culture and purchase influence over public debate, that is a liberal emergency. Not a socialist one. A liberal one.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems call on Starmer to back landmark climate bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th January 2025 - 11:01 am

A group of Liberal Democrats have called on Keir Starmer to back Lib Dem MP Roz Savage’s Climate and Nature Bill when it comes up in Parliament on 24 January. In a letter signed by 58 MPs and Peers they say:

We, Liberal Democrats, commend your and the Government’s determination to elevate the UK’s global climate and nature leadership. However, without legislation that unites our climate and nature plans, they will continue to be developed in isolation. This means your clean energy and nature restoration ambitions may fail—and, equally worryingly—may make both crises worse.

There is, however, a golden opportunity for you and the Government to showcase cross-party consensus on the need for an integrated approach to the climate-nature crisis. The CAN Bill would deliver a joined-up framework, ensuring that Britain meets its international commitments for climate and nature, as part of expediting your plans to build a nature positive, net zero economy.

Roz’s Bill should have a five hour debating slot on 24th January.

The Climate and Nature Bill is guaranteed a five-hour Parliamentary debate during its second reading on 24 January 2025.  It already has the backing of some 250 Parliamentarians, including Sir Ed Davey, Carla Denyer, and Zac Goldsmith. It enjoys the support of 10,000s of members of the public, more than 1,100 businesses and organisations, as well as 1,000 climate and health experts

High-profile endorsers include Co-Operative Bank, The Body Shop, Oxfam, Save British Farming, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Ecotricity, The Wildlife Trusts and Triodos Bank.

Unless this Bill gets Government time, it is unlikely to become law. This would be a very easy win for Starmer and Labour so let’s hope they see sense.

The letter in full is published below:

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Pippa Heylings MP

Pippa Heylings MP writes… We can, and we will, make Roz Savage’s Climate and Nature Bill a reality

By Pippa Heylings MP | Wed 4th December 2024 - 4:55 pm

Last month, I had the privilege of attending COP29 in Baku and COP16 in Cali, where I took part in global negotiations on climate and nature. It’s clear to see that the global response to climate change is, at best, underwhelming. Climate change is the greatest threat we face—not only to world economies—but also to nature, which is our greatest ally in limiting its impact. And yet, we are still not acting swiftly enough to reduce carbon emissions.

For many, especially younger people, the process of COPs and their lack of concrete action gives a sense of anxiety. As it’s their futures that face the greatest risk, it’s more than understandable. Yet, I am, and continue to be, filled with hope. 

When I look back to when the UK passed the monumental Climate Change Act in 2008, I feel proud of the example it set all around the world. A lot has changed since 2008, and the impacts of our changing climate are no longer a distant story that we see on the news. They’re at home, in the UK, and are already having devastating impacts on our livelihoods—from more frequent and intense heat waves, storms, floods, droughts, coastal erosion, food supply disruption and expensive energy bills.

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The Voice

Four Lib Dem MPs try to change the law

By The Voice | Wed 16th October 2024 - 8:50 pm

Four Liberal Democrat MPs submitted Bills to the House of Commons today:

Max Wilkinson wants to change the law to make installation of solar panels on new homes compulsory.

Roz Savage has revived the Climate and Nature Bill

Danny Chambers wants to tackle puppy smuggling

Wendy Chamberlain wants to remove the limits for lotteries on for charity fundraising.

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Posted in Parliament | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
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