Have we forgotten what we stand for?I joined the Liberal Democrats six years ago. I was 16, I'd just finished my GCSEs and I wanted to make a difference. I believe in Liberalism, and the party's preamble spoke to me. After all, who wouldn't want a free, fair and open society? Well, as it would seem, quite a lot of people. But nevertheless, I campaigned in elections during 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 3 times in 2024 and again in 2025 and I'll continue in 2026 for my local election campaign. We lost most of those elections. All 5 of the ones I stood in we lost, ... (more) |
Fighting for Britain's soul and bursting the Westminster bubbleTake a moment and imagine at the next General Election, the closing polls come in. That ping comes through on your phone, the announcement comes up on the TV, the person next to you turns and says "Reform is winning....the exit polls look like tomorrow we'll have Nigel Farage as our Prime Minister...". Then, over the next few years a Reform government takes away the rights and freedoms of millions up and down our country in a toxic wave of populism. We know sadly the polls show this is very possible but we know it's not inevitable. This is the ... (more) |
Important party elections, next steps on PR and growing our local government base (LDN#202)Liberal Democrat Newswire #202 is a bumper edition including news about the important internal party elections for which ballots are going out today (Tuesday). If you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, just sign up now: Welcome to Lib Dem Newswire #202, a bumper edition including party election news, the latest on campaigning for electoral reform, analysis of how the Lib Dem local government base has grown and much more. Details are also included of continuing Lib Dem local government gains – a marked contrast from Labour, Conservatives and even the ... (more) |
Trans and non-binary Liberal Democrats - I stand right with youSo many of us in LGBT+ community – and countless allies, too – feared that the Supreme Court ruling earlier this year would challenge the dignity and identity of trans and non-binary people across our country. Shortly after the ruling, I insisted on meeting the Supreme Court Justices following the judgement and made it clear to them just how much trauma, pain and uncertainty has been created by it among our trans and non-binary community. It is gut-wrenching to see this reverberate through our party, particularly in the last 24 hours, and to have spent yesterday speaking with some of ... (more) |
Liberal Democrat Election Quotas: An Open LetterThis letter is being written in the context that the Returning Officer for the party elections has rewritten the quota rules in the party constitution through. The effect of these changes, whilst the wording is unclear, appears to be to create a new category of "binary biological sex" through which the quotas in section 2.5 are to be applied. It further reduces the available section 2.6 quota for sexual minorities, and creates a new, separated section 2.6 quota for gender minorities. We, the undersigned, understand and believe the following to be the case: The quotas in section 2.5 of the ... (more) |
Wadworth brewery in Devizes transformed by demolitionFor what I believe is the first time, Wiltshire's Gazette & Herald wins our Headline of the Day Award. Don't worry: the historic parts of the brewery have not been razed - the judges just liked the headline. (more) |
Let them eat lunchWe have a simple rule in Gateshead Lib Dems for action days: always go for lunch together in a local hostelry or in a member's house. On Saturday, at the end of our action day in Dunston Hill and Whickham East, we gathered at the Waggon Team pub near Lobley Hill. Very nice! (more) |
From now on, no decent person can vote ToryI have known lots of Tory voters in my life and a fair few Tory members and many of them have been decent people who want the best for our country, albeit they have different ways of achieving it to us (the same could be said for Labour supporters). But on October 18th the Tory Party changed and I do not believe any decent person can now vote for them. Their " rising star" Katie Lam, who is a shadow Home Office Minister, says that she wants to deport millions of people who have "Indefinite Right to Remain" (ILR). She ... (more) |
Our weekly West End Ward surgery tonight #dundeewestendOur joint weekly ward surgery takes place tonight. This week it is as follows : Blackness Library (Tuesdays 5pm - every week during school term time) All welcome - no appointment necessary! (more) |
Farage's half-apology is not good enoughThe Independent reports that Nigel Farage has described comments made by one of his MPs as "ugly" and "wrong" after she said she was driven "mad" by advertisements featuring Black and Asian people, but stopped short of calling her remarks racist. The Reform leader was responding to an appearance on TalkTV over the weekend, when Sarah Pochin, the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, responded to a viewer who complained about the demographics of advertising, saying she thought the viewer was "absolutely right", adding that "It drives me mad when I see adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people." ... (more) |