LibLink: Anna Sabine, the 'Whispering' Lib Dem MP -"Do I seem weak now?There's the heartrending story of Anna Sabine MP over on PoliticsHome's The House section. Anna tells their Ben Gartside how emergency surgery led to the loss of her voice. The Frome and East Somerset MP says she is returning to Parliament more determined than ever to be heard: When Anna Sabine finished a routine media appearance on Politics Live in the spring, she returned to her office and received an email that would prove life-changing. Her parliamentary assistant warned her that they had been sent a "really weird" email, and they couldn't be sure it was legitimate. "It wasn't even ... (more) |
Focus delivery, Mexican styleGateshead and Durham Lib Dems held a join action day on Saturday. On the Gateshead side we delivered 1000 Focus on Barley Mow newsletters. On the other side of the border, Durham delivered their latest edition of their North Lodge Focus. We are used to action day lunches consisting of sandwiches. North Lodge Councillor Craig Martin had other ideas. It turns out he is a keen cook and (more) |
Foreign interference in British politics: How the Liberal Democrats man meet the challengeThe Brexit referendum was a watershed moment in British politics. Ten years on, the British political landscape is still very much carved out between 'Remain' and 'Leave'. Among Remainers, there are also beliefs that the campaign was heavily affected by influence from Russia and far-right figures in the United States. Nigel Farage, one of the leading figures in the Brexit campaign, was recently involved in an alleged case concerning unsolicited donations, and allegations about Reform UK's links with Russia and the Trump Administration continue to make newspaper headlines. At the same time, far left politics is similarly highly susceptible to ... (more) |
Mixed messages from Plaid CymruWales-on-line's political editor, Ruth Mosalski reflects on yesterday's meeting of the three nationalist leaders of the devolved nations of the UK, Wales' Rhun ap Iorwerth, Scotland's John Swinney and Northern Ireland's Michelle O'Neill. She says that in their capacities as party leaders, they asserted their desire for self determination, claiming that "Each of our nations has the right to determine its own future, through democratic means and in accordance with the wishes of its people.": Mr ap Iorwerth passionately disputed during the press conference that this meant a "break-up" of the United Kingdom. He refused to accept the word was ... (more) |
Patrick Stillman announced as Liberal Democrat candidate for Holborn and St Pancras by-election[IMG: Patrick Stillman] Cllr Patrick Stillman. A party press release brings the news: Patrick Stillman, a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Hampstead and outgoing Chair of Camden Liberal Democrats, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Patrick has lived in Camden for the past five years, moving to the area after graduating from the University of Kent. He works in compliance for a financial payments company based in Holborn. Earlier this year, Patrick was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for West Hampstead ward, taking the seat from Labour. Since then, Patrick ... (more) |
Mother Damnable and the curse of Camden Town tube stationJago Hazzard takes us to Camden Town station and its curse: the most complicated junction on the London Underground. Blame the witch Mother Damnable or Mother Redcap. The station was almost named after a pub that bore her name. You can support Jago Hazzard's videos via his Patreon page. (more) |
Write a guest post for Liberal EnglandI love publishing guest posts here on Liberal England. Have you thought of writing one yourself? It could be on where the Liberal Democrats should go from here, on politics more generally or... anything really. Why not an article about a local campaign or quirky piece of history? Please drop me an email if you'd like to discuss your idea first. I'd hate you to spend time on a piece I really wouldn't want to publish. Here are the last 10 guest posts on this blog:Lib Dems must be "Tough on billionaires, tough on the causes of billionaires" - Anselm ... (more) |
Mathew on Monday: It's time to take big money out of British politicsIf ever there were a moment to have a serious conversation about how we fund our politics, this is it. In the space of just 48 hours, Reform UK received an extraordinary £72 million from two billionaire donors – £36 million apiece from crypto entrepreneurs Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne. Let me be clear: my argument isn't that Reform should be singled out for rules that don't apply to everybody else. The problem is the system itself. At present, there is no overall limit on the amount a permissible donor can give to a political party. That means our democracy ... (more) |
Political spending: the gap even better donation rules wouldn't coverI'll be speaking later today in Parliament about the need to tighten up by the rules over money coming into politics – such as with a donations cap – as well as the rules about how money is then spent. The latter has had much less attention in the last few days than the former, but is an important part of the picture, as I explained on Times Radio at the weekend: A party can spend unlimited sums on direct mail before May's local elections, as long as the leaflets avoid naming the candidate. Mark Pack told Times Radio the ... (more) |
Nigel Farage's ratings hit record low with YouGovAlthough hitting a record high unfavourable rating is what catches the eye in the latest YouGov Nigel Farage tracker, note the longer term trends shown below. It isn't just one moment of trouble for Nigel Farage, but rather a sustained pattern. 69% of Britons now have an unfavourable opinion of Nigel Farage (9-10 Sep 2026), the highest recorded by our tracker in the decade it has runFavourable: 24% (+1 from 13-14 Aug)Unfavourable: 69% (+2)Net: -45 (-1)yougov.com/en-gb/articl... — YouGov (@yougov.co.uk) 2026-09-14T09:23:28.459Z Nigel Farage's unfavourability stretches to those who voted Leave in the 2016 referendum. No surprise that Remain supporters split 88%-9% ... (more) |