Adam Harley's first speechNew Strathkelvin and Bearsden MSP Adam Harley made his first speech in Holyrood yesterday, highlighting the importance of providing young people with opportunities, protecting important community facilities and restoring trust in politics. Adam originally worked in theatre and the arts before moving over to the charity sector, fighting for the rights of people with cystic fibrosis to access life-saving medicines. He has also volunteered for organisations educating children from disadvantaged backgrounds and has worked with community groups supporting young people in danger of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, helping them turn their lives around. The text is below ... (more) |
Changes in status: Local Elections wrap upLord knows I love an election map and I start this blog by looking at the 2009 map for Upper Tier Local Authorities. As you can see it's a depressing sea of blue with one small fleck of amber in Bristol, the one gain we made that year. This map represents 12 years of protest votes against New Labour that the Tories mostly capitalised on, not us Lib Dems. The New Labour era represented slim pickings for Lib Dems at a local level - we only made substantial gains in three out of 13 years, and they were directly after ... (more) |
A roadmap to Queer EqualityRebuilding the trust of the Queer Community will be a long road. Yet, it is one we have now begun. I have written before about how the Party's reluctance to meaningfully challenge the regressive trend of queer rights in the UK has resulted in a loss of trust from the trans community, pushing many dedicated and experienced activists to join the Green Party. But, as the response from the Party to the EHRC Code of Practice has shown, there is potential to turn around this regressive trend. The Party likes to talk about our outstanding record on standing up for ... (more) |
Britain has privatised care into the familyAt the heart of Britain's care settlement lies a contradiction: unpaid carers are thanked for their work, while the growing responsibilities and stresses they face are ignored, with little to no reprieve. Unpaid carers across the UK provide care worth approximately £184 billion a year, with more and more responsibilities absorbed by households, which increased by 29.3% between 2011 and 2022. Those same care responsibilities usually fall on one family member, with women aged 55-59 years old and living in the highest levels of poverty being most likely to provide unpaid care in Wales alone. Public Health Wales found that ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1527"In the Wigan constituency, which has always been Labour-held but where Reform picked up 24 out of 25 seats in last month's local elections, the governing party's by-election message is focused squarely on Burnham. It is a cartoon of his face emblazoned across leaflets and Correx boards, along with the words "ANDY FOR US". Labour branding is limited, pretty much, to what is legally required."Sienna Rodgers takes us inside the Labour campaign in the Makerfield by-election. Lucia Osborne-Crowley interviews Gisè€le Pelicot, whose courage transformed the debate around abuse, about survival, reclaiming confidence - and shutting down the tools of sexual ... (more) |
A strange but welcome feelingI write this as a serial and vocal complainer about much of what the Parliamentary Party does. I have been such for many years. Way back in the neolithic era I won awards for blogging my complaints. So it's only fair that when the Parliamentary Party knocks something out of the park I be equally vocal with my praise. Firstly, on Sunday, Ed Davey, our leader and Marie Goldman, our Equalities Spokes, sent this letter to Bridget Phillipson. The consensus among the exec of LGBT+LDs was "well, we might have worded a couple of things differently, but mostly, it's really ... (more) |
Fifteen years ago today......[IMG: Headshot of Andrew Reeves] Fifteen years ago this morning, I was woken up by an unusually early phone call from a friend telling me the devastating news that Andrew Reeves, our campaigns director in Scotland, had died suddenly at the heartbreakingly young age of 43. Andrew was hilarious, incredibly hard working and very good at getting you to do very much more than you had ever planned to do for a particular campaign. We had known each other for years online before he moved to Scotland in 2008, but I first worked closely with him in the 2008 Glenrothes ... (more) |
Spencer Davis Group: Watch Your StepThe closing track of the Spencer Davis Group's second album, which was imaginatively titled The Second Album. It was Bobby Parker, a Black American artist, who wrote and first performed this song. (more) |
What should the Liberal Democrats stand for?This article was published on Liberal Democrat Voice on Sunday Listening to David Miliband at the Hay Literary Festival a few days ago, two things that he said struck me as interesting. The first was that the Labour government had been elected to effect change, but they have not changed enough. The second related to the high number of young people who have left school with no education, employment or training opportunity. Where is the triple lock for that cohort, he asked. Of course, both of these statements are easy soundbites, needing much more policy detail and commitment before any ... (more) |
2 June 2026 - today's press releases (part 2)Cole-Hamilton calls for SNP inquiry and Sturgeon to assist cops Transport Sec pushed on A9 dualling committee Cole-Hamilton calls for SNP inquiry and Sturgeon to assist cops Responding to Peter Murrell's hearing today and confirmation that the majority of items bought with stolen funds have not been located, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: While there is a comical note to Peter Murrell purchasing shampoo and conditioner for his ill-gotten campervan, it is extremely serious that the SNP Chief Executive was routinely producing fraudulent invoices, especially when the party had received considerable sums of public money over the years. ... (more) |