Lib Dem policies on Israel/ Palestine: hidden in plain sightAs we gather in York for Spring conference, and the Middle East is in turmoil, we must not let the war with Iran and its proxies shift our focus away from the need to take concrete steps towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The policy motion on 'Trump and the wider world' rightly reiterates existing Liberal Democrat proposals adopted in conference motions 'The UK's Response to Trump' (Spring 2025) and 'The Israel-Gaza Conflict - an immediate bilateral ceasefire and securing two states' (Autumn 2024). Indeed, as far back as Autumn 2021, the party acknowledged 'that illegal settlements represent a breach of ... (more) |
BBC World Service under threatThe Independent reports that a parliamentary committee has warned that the BBC World Service is in danger of being supplanted by Russian and Chinese propaganda outlets on the global stage because of funding cuts and poor management. The paper says that the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a scathing report into the state of the World Service, warning that Britain's soft power on the international stage is being put at risk over "poor decision making": While the service, which is funded jointly by the BBC licence fee and the Foreign Office (FCDO), provided in 43 languages across the world ... (more) |
Latest issue of the Journal of Liberal History publishedThe Liberal Democrat History Group are pleased to announce that the latest issue of the Journal of Liberal History (issue 129, winter 2025-26) has just been published. The Journal is published quarterly and can be purchased here or you can take out an annual subscription here. For those of you who are attending the spring conference, the Journal can be bought from the History Group stand in the exhibition area. You can also subscribe there too. The Journal was first published in 1993 as a newsletter. It has come a long way since then and is read by people from ... (more) |
For Central Bylines: Ed Davey takes aim at the unpatriotic rightI have a new article on Central Bylines this morning: People on the left tend to be uneasy about patriotism - the last refuge of the scoundrel and all that - but it's remarkable how many right-wing politicians and commentators give every impression of disliking their own country. They hanker after the fake past they see online in AI images, but have little love for the country as it really was or is. I wrote this before Ed Davey decided that Nigel Farage is right about badgers being woke and we have to have Churchill on our banknotes. (more) |
Three seats change hands in this week's council by-electionsFive principal authority council by-elections this week, of which three were Liberal Democrat defences. The contests also saw a very welcome full set of Lib Dem candidates, an increase of one on the last time these seats were up. [IMG: Caleb Pell pointing] Prior to this by-election campaign, Caleb Pell already had an impressive pedigree of pointing at things. Abingdon Abbey Northcourt (Vale of White Horse) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 43.7% (+3.3) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 32.5% (-2.1) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 13.8% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 6.8% (-7.3) [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 3.2% (-7.7)Liberal Democrat GAIN from Green.Changes w/ 2023. ... (more) |
Council by-election results scorecard 2025-2026Here's the tally of seats changing hands in principal authority council by-elections held between the May 2025 and the May 2026 local elections: Con Lab Lib Dem Green Reform SNP Plaid Ind/ Other Net Con [15] +2 (+2/0) -10 (+2/-12) +2 (+2/0) -20 (+2/-22) -1 (0/-1) – +2 (+3/-1) -25 Lab -2 (0/-2) [16] -5 (0/-5) -7 (0/-7) -29 (+1/-30) – -2 (0/-2) -7 (0/-7) -52 Lib Dem +10 (+12/-2) +5 (+5/0) [35] +2 (+4/-2) -1 (+2/-3) +2 (+2/0) – +3 (+3/0) +21 Grn -2 (0/-2) +7 (+7/0) -2 (+2/-4) [8] +1 (+1/0) – – -1 (0/-1) +3 Ref +20 ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1488"It's what happens when the NHS has run out of room. It means intimate conversations about cancer, stroke, or dementia in earshot of strangers. It means delays to assessment and treatment, including pain relief, become more likely - dignity stripped away through lack of capacity."Danny Chambers says corridor care will continue for another three years - and that's not good enough. Nick Bowes reckons political fragmentation could lead to the most interesting London election results since the 32 boroughs were formed. "When e-cigarettes first appeared around 2010, they were hailed as a breakthrough: nicotine delivery without the toxic tar and ... (more) |
A Radical Proposal from The Spectator?Tanya Park had an excellent article recently in LibDem Voice on the decline of The Telegraph and The Spectator, each displaying what she brilliantly describes as 'permanent performative outrage'. But I'd like to suggest that occasionally an article comes along in The Spectator that is.... well, a bit radical! Take the recent article by Michael Simmons, The Spectator's Economics Editor, entitled 'It's a Faustian Pact: Rachel Reeves is giving bankers what they want'. It begins with Peter Mandelson's advice to the Chief Executive of the investment bank JPMorgan in 2009, that if he was worried about a pending tax on ... (more) |
Celebrity dog trainer sues government for £8m over upheaval caused by HS2The Independent wins our Headline of the Day Award and the judges thought you might enjoy this example of a celebrity dog trainer's work. (more) |
Achieving economic growth takes more than booing NimbysNew housing at Wellington Place, Market Harborough There's an article on Liberal Democrat Voice today by Steve Wootton announcing the formation of Lib Dems for Growth. The group will have a stall at the York spring conference this weekend. Economic growth does sound like the answer to our prayers, though the environmental constraints on it are becoming more apparent. But that's not what worries me about the statement from the group that Steve quotes. Like a lot of people who call for economic growth, it rather assumes that British industry would leap into action and deliver growth at a startling ... (more) |