Tag Archives: victoria collins

Lib Dem Women: Amplifying women’s voices at Conference

By Donna Harris | Sun 27th September 2026 - 8:55 am

I’ve just about emerged from the mayhem of Brighton — and I’m most definitely ready for a break!

But now I’ve had a chance to catch my breath, it has really struck me just how much Lib Dem Women, the official organisation representing women in the Lib Dems, achieved over the course of conference.

From motions and amendments to our childcare campaign, new bursaries, fringes, campaigning and celebrating the achievements of women in our party, the voice and representation of women was truly amplified throughout conference.

And I’m incredibly proud of what our LDW team achieved.

Standing up for mothers and babies

We started the weekend with our amendment to F4: Mortality of Children in Temporary Accommodation, highlighting the particular impact of poor and temporary housing on mothers and babies and the importance of ensuring families receive the care and support they need.

LDW Executive member Cllr Hina Bokhari spoke powerfully on the issue, helping to ensure that the experiences of women and children were firmly part of the debate.

Launching our campaign for childcare at conference

Saturday afternoon gave us our first opportunity to hear reactions to our new LDW Campaign for Childcare at Conference.

LDW has pledged £1,000 to get the initiative started, and we asked members to sign our petition so that we can take it to those with the power to make the scheme happen.

It was a huge pleasure to have Jo Swinson kick off the petition by backing the scheme.

We’re determined that parents and carers should not be prevented from participating fully in our party because they have childcare responsibilities.

Investing in women’s progression

We also announced a new LDW bursary and support programme at conference, designed to help women participate, develop and progress at all levels of our party.

The scheme includes:

Conference Fund: £500 each for two women

Online Conference Tickets: up to 10 tickets each conference

Conference Childcare Fund: £1,000

Future MPs’ Weekend: £500 each for two women

ALDC Kickstart: £320 each for two women

For me, this is a really important part of what LDW wants to achieve.

It is not enough simply to say we want more women involved. We need to help remove some of the financial and practical barriers that can prevent women from participating and progressing.

Whether that means being able to attend conference, develop campaigning and leadership skills, explore standing for Parliament or take the next step in their political journey, we want to invest in women and give them the opportunity to progress.

We don’t want our money sitting in the bank. We want to use it to support women.

Celebrating the women who built liberalism

Saturday afternoon also saw our long-awaited joint fringe with the History Group: Women for Liberty: Women Who Built Liberalism.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged ben maguire, donna harris, featured, hina bokhari, Jo Swinson, josh babarinde, lib dem women, marie goldman and ruth dombey | 1 Comment

Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything

By Victoria Collins MP | Fri 18th September 2026 - 4:45 pm

There’s a moment every candidate remembers. Not the selection meeting, not the count on election night but the moment before when someone else believed in you, when someone asked you to stand. For most of us, we’d never have got there on our own. Someone else saw it first.

That’s the thread I kept coming back to recently, when the Joint Candidates Sub Committee brought together our Diversity Affiliated Organisations and Campaign Groups to talk about candidates. We heard a lot of honest, thoughtful feedback about our approvals and selection process – what’s working well, and where we must keep improving.

For me, this isn’t an abstract policy discussion on how we get more diverse candidates approved, selected and elected. It’s personal.

The new Candidates team have done a fantastic job of improving candidate onboarding and setting up a referral programme, we well as working on candidate support. Now, we need you.

Standing for Parliament didn’t feel like something for people like me. I only made it through because people in organisations like Chinese East and South East Asian (CESEA), the Campaign for Gender Balance and the Stellar Programme backed me with time, with mentoring, and with the money I didn’t have. Take any one of those away and I’m not writing this as an MP. I went from delivering leaflets to becoming the 656th woman ever elected to this Parliament, and our party’s first MP of East and South East Asian origin. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people and programmes chose to invest in me.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged candidates and featured | Leave a comment

Growing our Movement: A vision for Liberal Democrat renewal

By Victoria Collins MP | Thu 23rd October 2025 - 11:55 am

Editor’s Note: In November party members will be voting to elect our next Party President. At Lib Dem Voice we welcome posts from each of the candidates – one to launch their candidature plus a maximum of one per week during the actual campaign.

The news that our membership has halved in five years, is not simply a statistic to be dismissed or explained away, it’s a call to action. As Liberal Democrats, we must confront this reality with both honesty and determination.

It’s been at the heart of my campaign as Vice President, because if we’re going to improve diverse representation we must fix engagement. We need to start at our grassroots.

Let me be clear: this is not about diminishing the extraordinary achievements of our parliamentary team or our incredible councillors. Our 72 MPs and thousands of councillors are delivering real change in communities across the UK, holding this government to account and winning on key campaigns from justice to the environment. But electoral success and organisational vitality don’t always go hand in hand. We can celebrate our electoral gains whilst acknowledging that our membership base requires urgent renewal.

The challenge before us is fundamental. As we’ve rebuilt our parliament party and council base, we’ve treated membership growth as an administrative afterthought rather than the lifeblood of our movement. We’ve assumed that electoral victories would automatically translate into organisational strength. The numbers tell us otherwise. Whilst we’ve been focused, rightly, on winning seats, we’ve inadvertently allowed our grassroots foundations to weaken.

A thriving membership base is our connection to communities, and our source of renewal. The drop speaks to a hunger for authentic political engagement, for movements that feel genuinely participatory rather than transactional. Many people are seeking parties that offer meaningful involvement, not just occasional requests for donations or signatures on petitions.

As Vice President, I would implement a comprehensive renewal strategy built on three interconnected pillars.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged 2025 vice presidential election and featured | 13 Comments

10 October 2025 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Fri 10th October 2025 - 10:30 pm

Ed Davey vows to defend Bank of England against Farage’s threats to its independence after meeting with Andrew Bailey
Mandatory Digital ID for 13 year olds: “sinister, unnecessary, and a clear step towards state overreach.”
McArthur sets out amendments to assisted dying bill
Wishart submits 3,500-word ferry consultation response

Ed Davey vows to defend Bank of England against Farage’s threats to its independence after meeting with Andrew Bailey

This morning Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey and Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper met with Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey to reaffirm support for the bank’s independence. Commenting after his meeting, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said:

A fortnight ago, Nigel Farage stood on the steps of the Bank of England and showed just what a danger to our economic interests he is.

Once again putting his obsession with mimicking Donald Trump ahead of what is in the best interests of the British people, Farage attacked the independence of our central bank. Trump’s threats to sack governors of the Fed if they don’t do what he wants are causing economic panic in the United States. That is the last thing we need here at home – we cannot let Trump’s America become Farage’s Britain.

Liberal Democrats will stand firmly behind Bank of England independence, just as we have stood against recent attacks on the independence of our judiciary. Those who seek to plunge our country into chaos are no patriots – they are putting their own narrow political interests first. Instead of undermining Britain’s economic foundations, we need a real plan for growth that includes rebuilding trade with our European neighbours.

Mandatory Digital ID for 13 year olds: “sinister, unnecessary, and a clear step towards state overreach.”

Responding to reports that the Government is considering rolling out mandatory digital ID for those aged 13 and up, Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat Science, Innovation & Technology spokesperson said:

This is proof that the Liberal Democrats were absolutely right to warn about mission creep.

The Government is already plotting to drag teenagers into a mandatory digital ID scheme before it’s even off the ground. It’s frankly sinister, unnecessary, and a clear step towards state overreach.

McArthur sets out amendments to assisted dying bill

Liam McArthur MSP has today lodged a number of amendments to his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill ahead of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee beginning their Stage 2 scrutiny of the Bill on 4th November.

Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged assisted dying bill, bank of england, beatrice wishart, Digital ID cards, ed davey, ferries and liam mcarthur | 1 Comment

We must keep up the fight against digital ID

By Alan Grant | Wed 1st October 2025 - 10:57 am

I left our recent federal conference in Bournemouth, the first I’ve attended, with my head abuzz. Only a small part of this was due to the cumulative hangover that happens when a man in his late thirties boozes as he did in his late twenties. The overwhelming majority of the remaining buzz is a result of the optimism, confidence, and positivity of everyone I met and the warm welcome that was shown to us repentant sinners, formerly of other political parishes.

Key points like Tim Farron’s barnstorming speech, making the defiant and full-throated case for patriotism and liberalism, and Jamie Greene’s warm, clever, and energising remarks about how Liberal Democrats have welcomed him into the party as our newest MSP were highlights for me. As were the other fringes, receptions, and engaging conversations I had over the weekend. Thank you all.

Our conference was buzzing, and a good thing too – other parties will envy us our good mood, and they are right to.

However, with so many important causes and issues jostling in the scrum for attention, it’s important that crucial ones do not slip through the cracks.

And what could be more important than the UK Labour Government planning to force British people to carry mandatory digital ID to access work and services?

One of the fringe events I attended at conference was held by privacy and civil liberties campaigners, Big Brother Watch in the Bournemouth Library (next year, we must get them back in the main venue). Joining their staff on the panel was our brilliant MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael. It was excellent discussion and the report that Big Brother Watch have published on the topic, Checkpoint Britain, is well worth your time.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged 2025 autumn conference, Alistair Carmichael, big brother watch, conference, digital ID, featured, jamie greene and tim farron | 12 Comments

WATCH: Victoria Collins’ speech to Conference

By The Voice | Wed 24th September 2025 - 2:44 pm

Watch our Science and Technology spokesperson Victoria Collins address conference with subtitles.

Posted in News | Also tagged conference and speeches | Leave a comment

7 May 2025 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Wed 7th May 2025 - 11:40 pm

Let’s see if we can restore this feature…

Lib Dems tell Government to stop “flip-flopping” and introduce EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay
Lib Dems slam Govt as “asleep at the wheel” on tech as Labour rejects common-sense reforms to Data Bill
The ghost of Liz Truss: Lib Dems attack Welsh Conservatives unfunded tax cuts
Shoplifting rises by a third across Scotland

Lib Dems tell Government to stop “flip-flopping” and introduce EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay

Responding to the Government’s comments that they may finally be implementing a Youth Mobility Scheme with the EU, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Europe James MacCleary has said:

Labour now needs to stop flip-flopping and introduce an EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay. Our young people won’t forgive them if they don’t.

For months now, the Government has totally dismissed the idea of extending a scheme we already have in place with countries like Australia and Japan to our European allies.

Securing a youth mobility scheme with the EU would be a common sense win-win – creating new opportunities for our young people and delivering a much-needed boost to our economy.

Lib Dems slam Govt as “asleep at the wheel” on tech as Labour rejects common-sense reforms to Data Bill

The Lib Dems have hit out at the Government’s ‘sell-out’ approach to tech policy as Labour MPs vote against “common-sense reforms” in the Data Bill this evening.

Labour MPs rejected plans proposed by the Lib Dems to restrict companies’ access to the personal data of under-16s and to protect British creatives from having their work scraped by AI models in the Commons this evening.

The online safety legislation would have protected children between 13 and 16 from having their data harvested by social media giants. Tech companies can use the data of under-16s to drive hyper-targeted advertising and content pushed by addictive algorithms, driving children’s engagement with digital content.

Posted in News, Press releases, Scotland and Wales | Also tagged algorithms, data bill, income tax, james maccleary, jane dodds, liam mcarthur, shoplifting and youth mobility | 6 Comments

7 March 2025 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 7th March 2025 - 10:30 pm

Safer Phones Bill: Government making “ponderous progress” as measures watered down

Commenting on news that the Safer Phones Bill was watered down to gain government support, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology Victoria Collins MP said:

So far, the Government has made ponderous progress on children’s online safety. I’m disappointed that they’ve seemingly succeeded in pushing for the Safer Phones Bill to be watered down – a bill that had such promise when it was first proposed.

There’s a mounting crisis in children’s mental health, driven in large part by addictive algorithms. Parents and families across the country are crying out for change when it comes to support in the online world.

We’re picking up the baton where the Government have dropped it – starting with our amendments to the Data Bill on the digital age of consent. We’ll keep fighting to make sure young people are properly protected.

Lib Dems demand publication of legal advice on seizing frozen Russian assets

The Liberal Democrats have written to the UK Attorney General, calling on him to publish the legal advice provided to the Government regarding seizing the frozen Russian assets held in the UK.

The call comes as pressure mounts on the Government to seize the assets and use them to fund support for Ukraine – made all the more critical by President Trump’s reckless decision to suspend military aid and intelligence sharing with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Posted in News and Press releases | Also tagged ben maguire, how to help ukraine and online safety | 13 Comments

Lib Dems question Starmer at PMQs

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 8th January 2025 - 8:08 pm

Social care, political parties being funded by foreign oligarchs, pharmacies, the impact of the rise in National Insurance changes on health care providers, second homes in Cornwall, when will the Government do something for those people affected by the Budget changes, these were the issues raised by Lib Dem MPs at the first PMQs of 2025.

First up, Ed raised the issue of social care and the way that Labour has kicked it into the long grass. Then, he asked for action on foreign oligarchs funding UK political parties

Happy new year, Mr Speaker. I join others in offering my personal condolences to the Prime Minister on the loss of his brother. May I take this opportunity to express my sadness at the passing of a much-loved member of the Liberal Democrat family, Baroness Jenny Randerson?

Fixing the care crisis is urgent for the millions of elderly and disabled people who are not getting the care they need, for the millions of family carers who are making huge sacrifices to fill the gap, and for the NHS, when over 12,000 people are stuck in hospital beds and cannot get out of hospital because the care is not there for them. The Prime Minister is right to say that we need a cross-party approach, but as Sir Andrew Dilnot has said today, that need not take three years. Will the Prime Minister please speed up that work so that 2025 is the year we finally rise to the challenge of fixing care?

The Prime Minister
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising this important issue and thank him for his condolences. Yes, we do need to get this right. I want a cross-party consensus on the issue and I invite him to work with us, as I know he will. It is important and he is right to say that we need some action now. We have taken immediate action by providing £3.7 billion of additional funding in the Budget for social care and another £86 million to allow 7,800 more disabled and elderly people to live more independent lives, and we have increased the carer’s allowance. We have set this up in stages, so we can act and improve as we go along, while making sure we have consensus for the bigger changes that may be proposed in the review. I invite him and Members from across the House to work with us, so we can get this right and ensure what we put in place endures beyond just a few years.

Ed Davey
If the Government do not bring in long-term social care reforms this year, their NHS reforms in this Parliament will fail, so I hope the Prime Minister will revisit the timetable.

Moving on, while the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) may miss out on his big allowance from Elon Musk, the spectre of the richest man in the world trying to buy a British political party should give us all pause for thought. After years of the Conservatives taking millions of pounds of Russian money, will the Prime Minister now work with us to bring in long overdue reforms to party funding, so that power in this country lies with the voters, not wealthy overseas oligarchs?

The Prime Minister
I think we all had a smile on Sunday when the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) said how cool it was to have the support of Musk, only for Musk to say he should be removed just a few hours later—that is the rough and tough of politics. Of course, we are looking at the question of funding more generally.

Marie Goldman raised the case of a pharmacist in her constituency:

Posted in News | Also tagged andrew george, christine jardine, ed davey, marie goldman and PMQs | 1 Comment

Coming up: Four things to watch out for from Lib Dems MPs this week

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 5th January 2025 - 2:28 pm

Parliament is back tomorrow after the two week Christmas recess. You would think that our MPs would have been taking a well earned rest after a brutal year of campaigning and then settling in to their new roles.

Not a chance. They’ve been on the doorsteps, doing urgent casework, attending events in their constituencies. They’ll have full inboxes to attend to. The holiday gives their regular correspondents plenty of opportunity to write in with their asks on many different subjects.

So what will our MPs be up to this week?

On Wednesday, Keir Starmer will face his first PMQs of the year – and he’ll have five Lib Dems to look forward to. Marie Goldman has the second slot, Victoria Collins the fourth Andrew George and Christine Jardine are at 9 and 10 respectively. And Ed will also have his usual two questions.

Posted in Parliament | Also tagged andrew george, christine jardine, clive jones, ed davey, jamie stone, lib dem mps, marie goldman and richard foord | 5 Comments

Our new MPs – Marie Goldman, Charlotte Cane, Victoria Collins, Steffan Aquarone, Pippa Heyling

By The Voice | Sat 6th July 2024 - 4:21 pm

We thought you might like to find out a little bit about our new MPs. We didn’t think we’d have quite so many, but this is a lovely problem to have. All details come from the party website or the MPs’ social media. We’ll get to know them more over the next wee while, but here’s a taster.

Our editor sleepily compiled a Twitter list of all our MPs’ accounts she could find. You can follow it here.

Marie Goldman MP – Chelmsford

Marie has lived in Chelmsford for over twenty years. Her children were born in Chelmsford and she runs a small business here with her husband.

Marie got involved in politics to make here home city an even better place to live, leading projects such as refurbishing the theatre and Council support for small local businesses.

Marie has fought for improved GP services – Marie knows how important GP services are to Chelmsford residents. She made sure that Lib Dem-led Chelmsford City Council is investing to improve much-needed facilities, such as Sutherland Lodge surgery and allocating a site for a new surgery in the west of Chelmsford development.

Marie has championed the need for affordable local housing – Marie understands how difficult it is for everyone to buy or rent the home they need and can afford. This has been made even worse by the cost of living crisis. Marie has worked to get more affordable housing for our city, including new social-rent housing in places like Woodhall Road.

Marie has fought for better health services for our children – Marie shares the concern of many parents about the effects of the pandemic on children’s mental health. She is fighting to extend free school meals and better health services. She backs the Lib Dem plan to put a mental health professional in every school and ensure children never go hungry.

Twitter – @mariecgoldman

Charlotte Cane MP – Ely and East Cambridgeshire

Charlotte has lived in East Cambridgeshire for thirty years. As a child, she moved home often with her Army father. Her mother, a teacher, worked wherever he was posted. She read Ancient History & Archaeology at Birmingham, where she and her husband worked as field archaeologists. When interest rates hit 15% in 1990 they had to sell their home and Charlotte retrained with KPMG as a Chartered Accountant.

In 1994 a job with an arts charity brought Charlotte to Reach. Her two children were born in the Rosie and attended Swaffham Prior Primary, Bottisham Village College, and sixth forms in Cambridge.

As a teenager Charlotte wanted to end apartheid and protect the environment. She’s still campaigning for equality and fairness, while deaths from floods, droughts and heatwaves show why we must tackle climate change.

“East Cambridgeshire is a place which I love, and for whose residents I want the best. I want to help rebuild our NHS, with GPs, dentists, district nurses, prompt hospital treatment, and high-quality care at home. Protect our rivers, fens and chalk grasslands and give people a fair chance in life.”

Twitter: @charlottecane8

Victoria Collins MP – Harpenden and Berkhamsted

Posted in News | Also tagged charlotte cane, marie goldman, our new mps, pippa heyling and steffan aquarone | Leave a comment

Caron’s Conference Part 1: A glimpse to the future

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 20th March 2024 - 12:20 pm

I’m now back from York, having stayed on for a bit of a tourist break. I’ve spent so much time in the city over the years, but have rarely deviated from the Golden Triangle of the Barbican, Novotel and Mason’s Arms. I did not know until Monday that I had walked past the grave of Dick Turpin many times.

Thursday and Friday

I am writing this in York on Friday morning in an exceptionally comfortable and cosy room, propped up in bed with lots of plump and luscious pillows. A cup of Earl Grey at my side. It is always strange when I am away to have a whole bed to myself and not to have find a space clinging to the edge of the bed while my husband clings to the other edge and two spaniels take up all the space they can.

I arrived in York yesterday lunchtime and spent an enjoyable afternoon in the pub (me drinking tea I’ll have you know) with my friends.

In the evening we went to Toto’s, the Italian near the Barbican. The food was brilliant and the company stunningly good. I had prawns with avocado and Marie Rose sauce – a very generous portion – and then tagliatelle with a creamy salmon sauces. The Tiramisu was chocolaty and creamy though I would have added more amaretto.

Afterwards back to the Mason’s Arms, traditionally Awkward Squad HQ and where 6 of us are staying. The landlord had kindly bought in supplies of Whitley Neill Black Cherry gin. Jennie Rigg and I had drunk them out of that by the Friday night last year.

It was great to catch up with Our Hero of Rochdale Iain Donaldson and hear all the intel about the by-election and the aftermath. All you need to know is that George Galloway is far from being universally loved on that patch.

My path to the bar was blocked by beautiful border terrier Betty who very much needed a belly rub and that was the most important thing ever.

I got to bed at a civilised hour.

Friday started in very relaxed fashion.

It was Long Covid Awareness Day, I am acutely aware of how much smaller Conference has become for me. I can no longer cope with the whirlwind from day to night. If I don’t rest in the afternoon I pretty much collapse in a heap and that can set me back for days.

So a slow start was essential laziness.

The first thing I had to do was the Social Liberal Forum lunch at 12. I need to plan and pace everything within an inch of its life which does not really come easy to as free and impetuous a spirit as me.

The Social Liberal Forum gave, I very much hope, a glimpse into the future. The three speakers are PPCs in highly winnable seats: Victoria Collins our hope for Harpenden and Berkhamsted, Josh Babarinde for Eastbourne and Bobby Dean for Carshalton and Wallington. The links to their website are included in the hope that you get on to them, donate all the money you can afford to their campaigns and do what you can to help them. They all have so much to bring to the parliamentary party and we need them to get elected.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged 2024 spring conferene, bobby dean, featured, josh babarinde and social liberal forum | 3 Comments

Op-eds

Keep the earnings link: don’t repeat the mistakes of the 80s (Chris Perry)
Where have we heard this one before? Labour and electoral reform (Jack Meredith)
A national care service – questions for Burnham (and us) (Ruth Bright)
Opportunity at the heart of our vision in local government (Callum Robertson)
Vince Cable writes: Drill, baby, drill…or not (Vince Cable)

Advert

Vince Cable writes: Drill, baby, drill…or not

Lib Dems must do better on Burnham

Britain should be proud, but never afraid of the stranger

Lib Dem Women: Amplifying women’s voices at Conference

Tag Archives: victoria collins