Lib Dems urge 'No to No-Deal' coalition The Liberal Democrats have today reached out to MPs from across the political spectrum in a bid to form a 'No to No-Deal' coalition ahead of the Conservative Party leadership contest. The move comes as a host of Conservative Party leadership hopefuls, including Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, have said they would be willing to leave the EU without a deal if they become Prime Minister. Tom Brake MP, the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson, has written to MPs representing the Conservatives, Labour, SNP, Change UK, Plaid Cymru and the Greens in order to ...
In amongst all the other excitement, there was one council by-election this week: a Liberal Democrat defence. Brockhurst, Gosport Triggered by the death of Liberal Democrat councillor Austin Hicks, this contest saw Siobhan Mitchell stand for the party. Siobhan has been a councillor before in this ward and is now again: Brockhurst (Gosport) result: LDEM: 51.5% (+10.3) CON: 22.6% (-12.2) BUSP: 17.4% (+17.4) LAB: 8.4% (-4.7) Liberal Democrat HOLD. No UKIP (-5.7) and Grn (-5.1) as prev. — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 30, 2019
If I were the sort of person who used profane language, the air would be royal blue around me tonight. Westminster voting intention: LDem: 24% (+6) Brex: 22% (+4) Con: 19% (-5) Lab: 19% (-5) Grn: 8% (+2) via @YouGov Chgs. w/ 17 May — Britain Elects (@britainelects) May 30, 2019 Of course it is only one poll and all the usual health warnings apply, but it shows the huge opportunity opening up to us. And it shows that a clear and simple message, communicated well, pays dividends. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at ...
Tomorrow's edition of The Times carries a Yougov opinion poll on people's voting intention at the next general election. This is what it finds: Liberal Democrats 24 per cent Brexit Party 22 per cent Conservatives 19 per cent Labour 19 per cent Greens 8 per cent The usual warnings about not making too much of one poll apply. Remember Cleggmania. Your tenancy may be at risk if you don't vote for Lord Bonkers.
This is really the front page from Friday's Times featuring the first post-European elections general election voting intention poll. It puts the Liberal Democrats up massively to 24%... and in first place:
Hello! I'm Mark Pack, author of 101 Ways To Win An Election, and the maintainer of the largest database of national voting intention polls in the UK, stretching back to 1943. Welcome to a round-up of the latest voting intention figures from each of the polling firms who are currently active in Britain. We now have the first post-European elections poll and it is quite the poll. From YouGov, it puts the Liberal Democrats in first place, the first time this has happened since the aftermath of the TV debates in the 2010 general election. (The change figures for the ...
There has been some very interesting number-crunching going on since the results of the European elections in Britain were announced late on Sunday night. And one of the most intriguing outcomes relates to the Cities of London and Westminster (CLW), that quintessentially establishment constituency that embraces many of the great institutions of state, Parliament, Buckingham [...]
Jo Swinson is on Question Time tonight on BBC One at 10:35 pm. Here she is having a bit of fun beforehand. Looking forward to #bbcqt – on BBC1 at 2235. #holdingthecamera pic.twitter.com/i2dNTPjOGr — Jo Swinson (@joswinson) May 30, 2019 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
A memorial service for Paddy Ashdown took place at St John's Church, Yeovil, yesterday. Among those who paid tribute to the former Liberal Democrat leader were Val Keitch, the leader of South Somerset District Council, Graham Cole, the former chief executive of Westland Helicopters, and David Laws, who succeeded him as MP for the town. Somerset Live quotes Laws' words: "Paddy did some of his best work not just in Yeovil and the United Kingdom, but overseas; in Bosnia; he was a passionate supporter of the European Union and the United Nations. "But he was very definitely not the 'Citizen ...
My address to the House of Commons Committee on Justice and Human Rights, on how government can or should combat the spread of hatred on social media platforms. Democracy's most sacrosanct principles collide in this debate.
Some thoughts on the future direction of the party and how we need to put power at the heart of our policies.
Thu 30th
15:31
Ed Davey MP writes...My leadership would be about liberalism, climate change and stopping Brexit
Climate change. Liberalism. Winning. That's been my political story - and I want it to be the Liberal Democrats' story. And with the magnificent victories in this month's local and European elections, the Liberal Democrats are getting back in the game. I want to thank Vince, a giant of liberalism, for his role in getting us here and his contribution to fighting Brexit. Under my leadership, the Liberal Democrats would continue to lead the fight to Stop Brexit. I am writing to Speaker Bercow to ensure a No Deal Brexit cannot happen without a vote in Parliament. But I also ...
Ed Davey has launched his campaign to be Lib Dem Leader in a video posted on Twitter. Today I'm delighted to announce I'm running to be leader of the @LibDems Under my leadership we will: [IMG: 🔶] #DecarboniseCapitalism [IMG: 🔶] Champion Liberals values and expose the deceptions of the new far right [IMG: 🔶] Fight to #StopBrexit [IMG: 🔶] Keep the #LibDems #BackInTheGame More [IMG: 👇] pic.twitter.com/Mm0SNjVbOM — Ed Davey [IMG: 🔶] (@EdwardJDavey) May 30, 2019 He has a new website, Ed for Leader. Ed's plan has three main themes: Winning campaigns Fighting for Liberal values Tackling the climate emergency ...
Thu 30th
12:10
Why I am staying publicly neutral on the lib dem leadership contest, & what I'd like to see from...
Neither Ed nor Jo is the leader of my dreams. Neither of them (as far as can be told so far) would be so awful that I'd have to leave the party if they won. And I'm chair of an SAO and will have to work with whoever wins to further the aims of that SAO, so... I'm staying publicly neutral. This is not to say that I don't have views or a preference, just that I'm not going to be public about them. I would genuinely like to see a lot more values and policy stuff from both candidates. ...
The Liberal Democrat campaign for the European elections made an emotional connection with voters that the Remain referendum campaign missed. It spoke with clarity and trustworthiness. That's in stark contrast to many people's response to they dysfunction both tin the government and the Labour party. We need to connect with people in this space to help the country find a saner alternative. After the European Parliament elections The actual results were exciting, with pro-Remain parties getting more votes than pro-Brexit ones and many people voting Liberal Democrat who would not have done so a year ago. Polling from Lord Ashcroft ...
Wed, 12:33: RT @SkyNewsBreak: A district judge has ruled Boris Johnson will be summonsed to court to face accusations of misconduct in public office fo... Wed, 12:33: RT @nickeardleybbc: PA just flashed: Boris Johnson will be summonsed to court to face accusations of misconduct in public office for comme... Wed, 12:37: RT @MalmstromEU: Very happy to welcome @WeyandSabine as new director general for @Trade_EU as from the first of June. Looking forward worki... Wed, 14:01: Northern Ireland and the backstop: Why 'alternative arrangements' aren't an alternative https://t.co/buyPxrvs51 New from @SamuelMarcLowe. Wed, 15:31: Taking Boris to Court is Really, Really, Stupid ...
Well, with all that excitement behind us we can now look forward to the warm glow that will infuse Autumn Conference this year. I can just imagine what the Rally will be like, with all those new MEPs and councillors celebrating alongside our new leader. We will be by the seaside again in Bournemouth from 14th to 17th September. Registration is now open, and as usual the early birds get the cheapest rates. For a full member's pass you pay £70 before 14th June; after that it becomes £90, or £150 after 2nd August. As always there is a hefty ...
Ed Davey today became the first Liberal Democrat to formally launch a bid for the party's leadership, in a race that is likely to see him up against Jo Swinson, though not Layla Moran. No surprise the Brexit featured heavily in his opening media comments: We are going to fight Brexit, but we are going to do it in a democratic way so the people of Britain have the final choice. No surprise, though those are of course words that you could just as easily imagine come from Jo Swinson or indeed nearly all other Liberal Democrats. Which is why ...
So how are things settling after the EU elections? For as long as we as a party were in single figures in the opinion polls, we were effectively on life support, particularly if boundary changes go ahead. But now suddenly our fortunes have changed and the long wait is over. We are back in business again winning elections. Clearly the electorate is unusually volatile and there is hard work ahead to keep the gains we have made, but now we can start thinking about the power that we might have with new MPs elected at the next general election, which ...
Following his election to become St Albans and District Council's new Leader, Chris White has announced the Liberal Democrats' plans for the local area. The Liberal Democrats will overhaul aspects of council services to deliver a better experience for residents, visitors and local businesses, and work to improve the environment for all and restore pride [...]
When members are actively encouraging Labour Party HQ to expel them for voting for another party then warning klaxons should be sounding amongst the leadership. There is even an #expelmetoo hashtag on twitter in support of the most high profile expulsion to date, former Blair spin doctor Alistair Campbell. Instead, the purge continues, with high ranking Labour Party apparatchiks defending the decisions as being in line with party rules. I am in no position to argue with them. If they want to gut their party of Remainers who can no longer stomach Corbyn's backing for Brexit and his tacit support ...
As I argued in the Guardian earlier in the week, the Greens and Lib Dems should not be too overwhelmed by their results in last week's Euro-elections. It is not the best Green result in these elections, and the Lib Dems managed a higher vote share in three recent general elections. After all, what will it [...] The post There are more important issues than Brexit appeared first on Radix.
A Pacer at Preston Station www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-48434379 I had a laugh when I read this BBC website article (see link above) about the coming end of the hugely unpopular 'Pacer' trains and that they could have a potential future use as village halls, cafes etc. Of course the obvious question is why, as it's often commented upon within railway circles about what bad condition many of these old diesel units are actually in. And why this class of old train? Many classes of old railway stock are being replaced at present due to them being life expired, for example Merseyrail (which ...
Davey: Stopping Brexit only solution on citizens' rights Responding to the Home Affairs Select Committee's report on the EU Settled Status scheme, published today [Thurs 30th May], Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said: The Liberal Democrats have long been warning that Brexit will create a new Windrush Scandal. No one really believes that the Home Office will successfully grant Settled Status to all 3.6 million EU citizens before the arbitrary 2021 deadline. And no one should be reliant on a Home Office IT system to prove their right to live and work in the UK. We support any ...
Further to my recent update on the "Sew: Together" exhibition, further news from the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee : Sew: Together - Stitch Workshop inspired by Marion StewartSaturday 1st June at 2pm - Lamb Gallery, Tower Building, University of Dundee This event accompanies the exhibition Sew: Together, paying tribute to textile artist and designer Marion Stewart (née Gracie, 1931-2017), who worked for many years at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, where she taught embroidery and stitched textile design to generations of students. For this special event, one of Marion's students, textile artist and tutor ...
