So it has been a historic day. The 13th March 2017. The day everything changed. Forever. The day when the House of Lords caved in and allowed Theresa May to trigger Article 50 within days and also the day when Nicola Sturgeon called for a 2nd Scottish independence referendum within 24 months. Of course, the two are inextricably linked. Had England and Wales not voted for Brexit in as much number as they did to overturn the Remain majority in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Sturgeon wouldn't have been handed the 'game-changer' that gave her the moral right to call a ...

Mon 13th
22:30

Heartbreak

I'm feeling pretty heartbroken at the moment. Like Charles Kennedy, I'm a highlander, a Scot, a Brit and a European, with the first and the last most important. Now my rights as a European citizen (though I will be one no matter what) and a British citizen are under threat. As I write, the Labour Party, the so-called opposition, is about to crumble and let the Government have its way on the Bill that will pave the way for our exit from the European Union.It beggars belief that the Government has been able to get this through without any serious ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

Read more about this long-vanished line on the Disused Stations page for Mablethorpe.

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

It's time to report the Labour Party to Advertising Standards or something. They certainly shouldn't be allowed to call themselves an opposition after they have spectacularly failed to provide any on the most crucial issue of our time. The amazing Lib Dem Press Office has been providing some rather entertaining commentary as the country falls apart. While they are on the exploratory, fact finding mission to god knows where, we will actually serve the function of being an opposition. https://t.co/QkavYYfkJS — Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) March 13, 2017 .@UKLabour decide that far from being content with not being fit ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

It looks like either a second referendum on Scottish Independence in 5 years is on its way. Either that or an indefinite stalemate between the Tory Government in London (who must give permission for the vote) and Nicola Sturgeon's nationalist government in Edinburgh. This was inevitable ever since the Brexit vote. That a large majority of Scots voted to remain in the EU was always going to lead us to this place. Nicola Sturgeon built a very big tent in the hours after the result was declared but she and her ministers spent the rest of the Summer dismantling it ...

Posted by Caron Lindsay on Liberal Democrat Voice

Embed from Getty Images Back in 2003 I wrote a column for Clinical Psychology Forum under the name Professor Strange arguing that the practice of sending British children abroad was centuries old and had frequently been controversial. Despite that controversy, it had lasted until around 1970. Media coverage of the Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse has brought to the fore one reason: the patronage of the Royal Family. Take this report from ABC News in Australia: In 1956 a fact-finding mission was sent to Australia to evaluate how child migrants were being treated. Soon afterwards the three inspectors published ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

The Liverpool Echo has the story and photos – see link above

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

The new Liberator has arrived, which means it is time to spend another week with Lord Bonkers. Right from the off, he takes us to the heart of the debate on Europe. Monday I was resting my eyes in the Lords; when I opened them, there was the prime minister In Our House. What immortal rind! And she was staring at me. I wasn't having that so I stared right back. When that didn't work I went through my full gamut of faces: the lovesick Frisian; the angry walrus; Roy Jenkins on the lavatory. That, I thought, had done the ...

Posted by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England

On Saturday afternoon Spring Conference debates motion F11 "Towards a World Free of Nuclear Weapons" which actually endorses the government's plans to replace Trident with Successor at a cost of £200 billion, twice the original estimate. The motion also talks about developing multilateral negotiations and ending Continuous-at-sea Deterrence (CASD) but in essence it supports a like-for-like deterrent, which we opposed through the coalition years. I was on the working group which drafted the report which this motion approves, but I don't agree. I'm tabling an amendment which agrees with most of the motion's analysis and call for beefing up negotiations ...

Posted by David Grace on Liberal Democrat Voice

Bus services have been upsetting people for decades in the West of England. In my 25 years in politics in Bristol they have been a constant feature on the doorstep and in my mail. They are costly compared to many other cities. They don't run late enough to the towns and villages in Gloucestershire and [...]

Posted by stephenwilliams on Stephen Williams' Blog
YouGov

I may only have been in from work less than half an hour, but I already know that what I say is going to upset some of my good friends within the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Nicola Sturgeon is right to call for a second Scottish Referendum after the deal is known and before the UK pulls out. What follows is the reasons why? Firstly the dynamic of what it means to be part of the UK has changed. Many of those, including myself, while part of the last No campaign said that one of the uncertainties for Scottish Independence was ...

Posted by Stephen Glenn on Stephen's Liberal Journal

[IMG: Dumped Fridge] [IMG: Flytipped footpath] [IMG: Rubbish on footpath] [IMG: Rubbish on footpath] [IMG: Rubbish on `] Having had an email from a local resident over the weekend about the state of the footpath that runs from Ross Way to Ferne Way in Sandgate, I've popped up there this afternoon to have a look... And its in a HORRIBLE state. Rubbish everywhere, evidence of flytipping, bags: even a fridge. All this on footpath HF21 at Ross way: ironically the home of the KCC Civic Amenity and Recycling Centre, I think this footpath is in the worst state (for rubbish) ...

If I asked you to imagine your ideal community, who and what would be in it? What kind of people would you choose to have as your neighbour? Would you want a neighbour who would be there in your moment of need – maybe even go as far as risking their life for you? Well, you may have heard that just over a month ago, a resident here in Manchester did just that. Robert Chilowa ran to the scene of a ferocious blaze engulfing a neighbour's house after hearing screams of terror. He rescued two young children from the flames ...

Posted by John Leech on Liberal Democrat Voice

I'm really proud to be the Liberal Democrats' Brexit Spokesman for the South East. Working with Nick Clegg, our national Brexit spokesman, to hold the government to account and fight for the true national interest could not be more important. One of the most successfully ways to communicate a message is visually. Pictures speak loudly. I would like to mention two opportunities, if you are coming to party conference this weekend, to join photos that you can use at a local level. First, we know that hard Brexit is putting our future under the axe. No-one voted for the Brexit ...

Posted by Antony Hook on Liberal Democrat Voice

[IMG: York Minster] Liberal Democrat Spring Conference takes place 17-19 March 2017 in York and all the staff at ALDC look forward to seeing the many councillors and campaigners who are making the trip. As usual we have a full programme of training and exhibition crammed into the three-day event and along with our LGA colleagues, are holding a [...]

Posted by Claire Halliwell on Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Merseyrail's Kirkdale Motive Power Depot with Kirkdale Station in the background. Merseyrail, as I understand it, applied for an injunction to stop today's rail strike on the network on the basis that the decision to implement new trains (which will run without guards) was taken by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and, as such, Merseyrail had no choice but to implement the plans. Merseytravel (a Committee of the Combined Authority), I understand, responded by saying that they were aware of the injunction, but that the injunction was a matter for Merseyrail as the employer of the staff represented by ...

Posted by Cllr. Tony Robertson on Sefton Focus

Philip Hammond's decision to raise National Insurance contributions (NICs) for self-employed people has been the most eye-catching and controversial aspect of the budget. No less captivating for a Liberal Democrat has been our party's response. Lib Dems are understandably keen to hammer the Tories for breaking a manifesto promise. And MPs have been quick to paint themselves as the defenders of entrepreneurs and small business people (though patronising them as "White van man" is probably unwise). For all that, the Chancellor's policy is right - though it goes only a tiny way to treating all workers equally and fairly. Let ...

Posted by Tom Papworth on Liberal Democrat Voice
Mon 13th
15:07

from the gullet

I stood on the hill where the barges had gone through the locks or the inclined plane, draining the guts of the country downhill to force its carbon promise free In forsaken tribute from miners and stokers who gave their lives unequally to fuel propelling power in blind direction, while the worth of a man was [...]

Posted by AL Franklin on Maintain the Advance!

Frequent Opinion Polls since May 2016 show one picture; Conservatives way ahead, Labour & Liberal Democrats suffering, UKIP hanging on. But when we look at "Real Votes from Real People", from a 310,000+ sample size, from 3 countries since May 2016, we get a much different picture: Local government by-elections may not be translatable into General Election results, but they show a remarkably different position - and one that is much more attuned with feedback from the doorstep. Conservatives are managing only 30% of the popular vote, Labour 27% and the LibDems maintaining over 19%. And this isn't just about ...

Posted by Brian Milnes and John Grout on Liberal Democrat Voice

As the countdown to party conference continues, I would like to say how pleased I am to be welcoming Spring Conference back to York. Visit York estimate that the weekend will boost the city's economy by more than £600,000. And I know that pubs, hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, and restaurants will be reporting soaring demand. Added to the short-term economic boost is the long-term impact that the continued national exposure will bring. It is a showcase for York as a destination for conferences and events. York is a beautiful, well-connected city with the potential to hold many more big political ...

Posted by Keith Aspden on Liberal Democrat Voice
eUKhost
Mon 13th
12:36

Round 2.0

Nicola Sturgeon announced this morning that, in the absence of evidence of the United Kingdom government making concessions to accommodate the devolved nations in their approach to Brexit negotiations, she intends to hold a second independence referendum between Autumn 2018 and Spring 2019. She has stated she will seek that the UK Parliament should make another section 30 Order, transferring competence to allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for such a referendum, on essentially the same basis as happened in 2013 ahead of the one in September 2014. The Scottish Parliament does not, on the face of it, have the ...

Posted by Graeme Cowie on Predictable Paradox

So we come to the crunch. We have voted against triggering Article 50 in both the Commons and the Lords. We are being attacked, as Tim Farron was on Radio 4's Any Questions last Friday night, for being anti-democratic. I have read this accusation many times here on Liberal Democrat Voice. I have occasionally heard it on Copeland doorsteps too, during the recent by-election. No amount of pointing out, as Tim did again that night, that the people who voted Leave in the Referendum had not voted to leave the EU Single Market has cut much ice with those voters ...

Posted by Katharine Pindar on Liberal Democrat Voice

Win a signed copy a of Ronald Laing: The rise and fall and rise of a revolutionary psychiatrist. Click the link at the end of this blog to enter our GOODREADS BOOK GIVEAWAY. Or use a click-to-tweet below to tweet and enter our weekly EBOOK GIVEAWAY. Something about our culture is riveted by the 1960s and 70s, and it was certainly a peculiar time - I'm old enough to remember it. But the ultimate period film is coming out in April, where the actor David Tennant plays the ultimate 1970s icon, the radical psychiatrist R. D. Laing. The film, Mad ...

Posted by David Boyle on The Real Blog

Issue 383 of Liberator is on its way to subscribers. This issue's free sample online content is from Tony Greaves on what 'taking back control' really means, and from Dave Raval on why the much-vaunted post-Brexit trade deals will bring more problems. Elsewhere in the issue there is: On the Fence With A Part-Time Submarine Liberal Democrats look set to yet again show they lack the guts to scrap the waste of money that is Trident, says David Grace A Vote for A Delusion Leave voters who think they have made Britain a global player again are in for a ...

Posted by The Liberator Collective on Liberal Democrat Voice

Liberal Democrat Newswire #91 came out last week, including the results of my latest survey of party members which asked about cross-party cooperation and electoral pacts.

Posted by Mark Pack on Mark Pack

Remember back in those halcyon days of '15, when Jeremy Corbyn was being touted as the Labour leader who would bring Scotland back into the party's orbit; the guy who would vanquish the SNP, leaving Labour to gleefully take the Scots for granted again, once more able to use the seats as a convenient place to dump would be cabinet ministers of a future Labour government. How far away does that look today? Of all the ways in which Corbyn has failed spectacularly, Scotland might just take the cake. He stirred the pot again over the weekend, explicitly contradicting Dugdale ...

Posted by Nick on nicktyrone.com

Just received an email from Tim Farron. "Incredible news , "he reported, "moments ago, our membership reached 85,002." I wrote back: "Not enough." We are still in fourth place. Labour stands at 515,000. The conservatives are 150,000 and the SNP is 120,000. The United Kingdom is a tribal nation and its politics reflect the tribes that divide it. The Liberal Democrats are a unifying force. That is one of the main reasons I joined it. But to succeed it must break the tribal lock that has bedevilled British politics for nearly 200 years. The only way to be certain of ...

Posted by Tom Arms on Liberal Democrat Voice

Hi all, just posting my unedited speech to Scottish Lib Dem conference for anyone who's interested: Good afternoon conference.The substance of this motion covers two main areas of concern. Deaths associated with MDMA-type drugs, and deaths associated with opiates such as heroin and methadone.MDMA or ecstasy deaths had been averaging under 5 a year in Scotland between 2008 and 2012, but in the last three years the rate has jumped to 15 a year as the strength of ecstasy available has increased.Regan MacColl took a fatal overdose of ecstasy in the Arches nightclub in 2014. After this tragedy the police ...

Posted by Ewan Hoyle on Ewan has something to say

From Dundee City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of gas service connection works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Paton's Lane (from its junction with Magdalen Yard Road to approx. 40 metres north), Dundee This notice comes into effect on Monday 13 March 2017 for 5 working days. The one way order relating to Paton's Lane will be rescinded for the duration of these works. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. ...

An unpublished Treasury document predicts that Theresa May's plans to rely on World Trade Organisation tariffs in the case of a hard Brexit will cause a "major economic shock" and is worse than any other option. The document, which was leaked to the Independent, warns that crashing out of the EU without a trade deal is the "alternative to membership with the most negative long-term impact" on the economy. They say that the 36-page report uses language far stronger than that employed in the Treasury's published analysis of Brexit's long-term impact on the economy: The document claims that consumers would ...

Posted by Peter Black on Peter Black

Tales from the Coffeeshop: High diplomacy at our ministry of foreign delusions Particularly vicious Cyprus analysis this week. (tags: cyprus ) Danger, Breakdown Ahead! It can happen to any of us. (tags: psychology work ) Breaking Down the Father on BBC Being Interrupted by His Children This absolutely nails everything about it. (tags: tv family ) The persistence of kippers - looking at where post-referendum UKIP is now Still in double figures, despite everything. (tags: ukpolitics )