Cole-Hamilton: Only the Lib Dems can get Scotland back to its best Scot Lib Dems comment on SNP candidate list Legal Experts express support for Assisted dying bill Scot Lib Dems respond to Swinney independence comments Labour steal Deputy Mayor appointment as part of a "grubby deal" for control of Oldham Council Cole-Hamilton: Only the Lib Dems can get Scotland back to its best Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that only his party can deliver a fairer vision for Scotland and get our communities back on track, as he marked one year to go until ...
Let's see if we can restore this feature... Lib Dems tell Government to stop "flip-flopping" and introduce EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay Lib Dems slam Govt as "asleep at the wheel" on tech as Labour rejects common-sense reforms to Data Bill The ghost of Liz Truss: Lib Dems attack Welsh Conservatives unfunded tax cuts Shoplifting rises by a third across Scotland Lib Dems tell Government to stop "flip-flopping" and introduce EU Youth Mobility Scheme without delay Responding to the Government's comments that they may finally be implementing a Youth Mobility Scheme with the EU, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Europe ...
The May 2025 local elections were less than a week ago but Reform UK has now lost its second councillor since then after Luke Shingler switched to independents. The first councillor to go was Donna Edmunds, suspended by Reform UK before she left the party. The new departure, Luke Shingler, was elected as a Reform UK candidate for Galley Common ward, Warwickshire. But he is now listed as an independent councillor by the council. The councillor has posted on Facebook that: Due to my current employment I will be serving Galley Common as your County Councillor as an Independent for ...
This clip from 1973 is lovely. Two cats who share a bank account and use it to make donations to good causes. If you wanted a picture of Britain in the Seventies, you couldn't do better than watch old editions of Nationwide. Yes, there were strikes, but there was much more besides - the rise of consumerism and environmentalism, and glorious pieces of eccentricity like this. Thanks to Alix from the Shropshire Witches Podcast for posting this on Instagram.
There can't be many veterans left who actually fought in the 2nd World War, and not many more of us who can remember what we did on VE Day. I was seven years old on the 8th May, 1945, and on holiday in Scarborough with my parents and little sister, so it must have been Whitsuntide Week. I have two memories. Outside Scarborough station was (maybe still is) an obelisk or column, and it was lit up with blue strip lighting on each of its four faces. That was the first time I had seen "neon" lighting. The second is ...
How many times do we have to read the headline: "Migrants killed", to realise that there is a tragedy in the world, a problem far greater than immigrants entering England. From the safety of our own homes it may feel difficult to empathise with people in such desperate situations. However, it is essential for the sake of humanity that we learn to understand and educate ourselves on the lives of immigrants before voting for a party branded as being anti-immigration. Unfortunately, due to the current geopolitical climate, there are millions of people who have been displaced as a result of ...
This is the best song about disillusionment that I know: And he told me all romantics meet the same fate some day Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe And some trivia: Carole King was recording Tapestry at the same time as Joni Mitchell was recording Blue, from which this track comes. Both preferred the piano in one of the studios to the other, so it appears on both LPs.
"From where I'm sitting, it seems inevitable that Farage will suffer the same fate as Johnson. They are beneficiaries of false advertising, who eventually become its victim. That is because they eventually have to deliver on their populist promises. And while they're willing to turn on their chameleon charm prior to entering office - happy to play the role of anti-establishment antagonist - their natural instincts take over in the corridors of power." Sam Bright goes into the prediction business. Tim Farron says UK immigration policy fails young people. Luke Cawley Harrison, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the ...
The recently finalised UK-India Free Trade Agreement is being sold as a triumph —promising billions in new trade and a "win-win" for both economies. But beneath the headlines lies a provision that risks inflaming division, undermining fairness, and feeding the very populism we as Liberal Democrats stand against. Under this agreement, Indian workers on temporary assignment in the UK will be exempt from paying National Insurance contributions for up to three years. Crucially, their employers will also be exempt. In practical terms, this means a British worker earning £15 an hour, and their employer, will both be paying into our ...
Gorgeous news to wake up to this morning. Layla Moran is starting 5 months of parental leave after she and her partner Rosy welcomed their first baby. The BBC reports: Layla Moran has said she is "delighted" to announce the birth of her first child with her partner and will be taking parental leave for about five months. The Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said the baby had been born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and was "doing very well". Ms Moran added: "In this moment of joy for our family I want to thank ...
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw me team up with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team to discuss the local elections. How did they go for the Liberal Democrats and what lessons are there for the party? Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Some highlights from the local election results. Lib Dem Pod. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous ...
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill could have been an opportunity to empower communities, speed up sustainable development, and unlock infrastructure delivery. Instead, the government has chosen a path that centralises power in Whitehall, undermines local decision-making, and erodes trust in the planning system. Nowhere is this clearer than in Clause 46, which would allow ministers to impose a national scheme of delegation, stripping elected councillors of their role in deciding planning applications. In doing so, it introduces a sweeping ministerial power that amounts to a dangerous democratic deficit. Liberal Democrats stand firmly against this kind of centralising power grab. We ...
With many thanks to Westgait Church of Scotland, it is working with the West End Campus to deliver this Tea & Toast drop in for parents and carers of pupils at Victoria Park & St Joseph's RC Primary Schools and Balgay Hill Nursery School. It is starting tomorrow - Thursday 8th May - from 9am to 10.30am. It will be a great opportunity for attendees to meet other parents and begin to build friendships.
The Guardian reports that the Welsh first minister and leader of the Welsh Labour party has said that she is "losing patience" with UK Labour and made it clear she was "tacking to the left" as she tries to counter a growing threat from Reform UK and Plaid Cymru. The paper says Eluned Morgan told them that she wanted Keir Starmer to rethink policy changes on welfare and the winter fuel allowance, and described the Labour party as a "messy family": Morgan argued that while the UK party had time to turn its fortunes around, the task was more urgent ...
