Tim Farron led a noisy Liberal Democrat contingent at the March for Europe in London today. From Facebook:
Unfortunately the BBC couldn’t fit him on their list of speakers at the event, but speak he did.
He was clear that the UK needed to stay in the EU for our children’s futures.
.@timfarron speaking passionately in Parliament Square to the #marchforeurope – UK in EU for our children's future. pic.twitter.com/UwQ7s1S0BS
— Lindsay Northover (@LPNorthover) July 2, 2016
Interesting choice of sign behind his head:
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron at #marchforeurope (I'm more impressed by the sign behind his head) pic.twitter.com/PwAXHGsaVu
— Georgina Rannard (@lapicescongoma) July 2, 2016
And talking of our children’s futures, the party is campaigning to save Erasmus, the programme under which young people across Europe can study in other EU countries. Add your name here.
Tim said:
Exchange programmes like Erasmus work to erode the culturally rooted mistrust that sets nations against nation. Erasmus stands as an avenue of hope for future cooperation.
This is why the Liberal Democrats are launching this campaign to protect students’ rights to access it even if we leave Europe. Tens of thousands of students starting university in September will be hoping for the chance to take part in this scheme, and we call on the government to confirm that they will be able to do so, Brexit or not.
Earlier this week, Erasmus, the EHIC card and the European Arrest Warrant were the focus of Willie Rennie’s questions to Nicola Sturgeon in the Scottish Parliament. Watch here from about 27:20. He also launched a pretty devastating attack on the Tories who could not have the cheek to claim that they are defenders of the union.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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15 Comments
Tim Farron is now the only convincing party leader left in England.
Hear hear
So, headline news is :
‘Londoners hate democracy, and throw a hissy fit’
Nothing to see here,..move along.
It’s time we got seriously heavy with the BBC about the lack of coverage given to Tim in the same way that Alistair Campbell used to get heavy with them in support of Blair.
I know for a fact that Campbell was constantly on the phone to BBC producers…… It’s time HQ got someone to do the same.
“It’s time we got seriously heavy with the BBC about the lack of coverage given to Tim”
We’ve got 8% of the vote and 1.2% of the seats. How unfair are the BBC actually being? Someone in the BBC will be keeping a tally.
J Dunn:
On the contrary, many Londoners like me are very keen on parliamentary democracy. Let us hope Parliament votes wisely on this issue.
I understand your acerbity, J Dunn, but do you seriously believe that if the result had gone the other way that there wouldn’t have been a similar event organised by Leave, with Boris Johnson declaiming, “This is not the beginning of the end my friends, but the end of the beginning”, and Nigel Farage raging against the establishment? Events like this are necessary political psychodrama and are part of a process by which the terrible divisions that have been created by the referendum can begin to be healed. Having said that, if the result had gone the other way we wouldn’t be facing the prospect of a new Prime Minister, the Labour Party in meltdown, sterling in freefall, the succession of Scotland, and the (I hope very remote) possibility of renewed civil war in Northern Ireland.
@ Steven Rose. I do happen to know what Campbell did.
Your recipe if do nowt will produce …. Nowt – but if that’s what you want then who am I to disturb your complacency?
Stevan Rose,
Do you think Tim got even 1.2% of the tv coverage in the referendum campaign??
And look what Farage got with no position in the Official Leave campaign (no doubt the excuse the BBC would use about Tim…), 15% of the votes and just 1 MP…
J Dunn, so why did this vote have no margin to pass unlike the Scottish and Welsh assembly votes? This is more important than an election where a bad MP can, at least in theory, can be kicked out and the margin should be higher.
The BBC report now does mention Tim and includes a quote from him.
Peter Hayes
“J Dunn, so why did this vote have no margin to pass unlike the Scottish and Welsh assembly votes?”
So, did you make a complaint about this lack of ‘margin’, in the weeks prior to the referendum?
Your whinge, sounds much like an echo of this ‘Generation Snowflake’, having their … ‘Bwaaah,…it’s not fair ‘, tantrum.
Let’s not forget that people were given an extra 48 hours to online register, and even then, with their supposed deeply held belief to Remain in the EU,.. only 35% of under 25’s could be bothered to get their arse out of bed,… to actually put an ‘X’ on a piece of paper and put it in a box. What madness have we come to.?
A hundred years ago, our under 25’s were dying in the mud of the Somme,.. and today whole swathes of ‘porcelain fragile’ under 25’s appear to have turned into the generation of Eloi banality,… exactly as H.G. Wells predicted.
Is Tim highlighting the issue of the break up of the UK which will occur if Scotland is forced out of EU by a UK government – this could become a real focus for opposition to the rush to Brexit as I doubt whether there is majority support for this across the UK. All politicians now talking Brexit need to be challenged in the media on this . The break up of the UK will be a fine 90th birthday present for the Queen!
@ John Dunn,
The message is, that some Londoners and many voters in the country, have quite reasonably examined the legal and constitutional issues and come to the conclusion that the campaign by the Leave faction was dishonest.
@ John Dunn,
‘ Londoners hate democracy and throw a hissy fit’.
What rot. We have a representative democracy in the UK , not rule by the majority but rule by our representatives.
We have had an advisory referendum and it is now for the representatives, our MPs whom we voted for to make the decision and pass the necessary law if we are to leave the EU.
Given all the grumbles by those who voted leave because they said that they wanted to have us making our own laws because they don’t want us bound by European ones, why are you now saying boo hoo, we don’t like our British parliamentary democracy, we don’t want to be bound by British law and our British way of doing things?
If MPs are opposed to leaving the EU because they believe that it will be an act of self destruction, they have the right and the power to do so. They should not be expected to vote against their conscience.