Liberal Democrat Voice

Ed Davey quizzed on EU, slavery reparations and Lib Dem relevance

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 1st November 2026 - 10:11 am

Ed Davey was interviewed on Sky News this morning

The first question was about whether we should apologise for our role in slavery. He said:

If you have done something wrong, I have no problem in apologising for it. That’s what normal people expect to do. I think Tony Blair started this about 20 years ago and I think if the PM wants to consider it in a bit more detail, we should have that debate.

I don’t think reparations is the right approach. We’ve been doing a lot about it in terms of supporting poorer countries. It showed we had a moral obligation to support those well off in the world where there was global economic injustice. When we were in Government we really pushed that hard and I think that there is a case for doing more of that. I’ve been rather disappointed that both under Conservatives and Labour that has been trimmed back, pushed by pressure from Reform. I think that if we can grow our economy, because aid is linked to our national income, we will be able to support people in less well off countries a bit better.

Isn’t Andy Burnham going a bit further than you?

Not at all. We’ve put forward the idea that we should rejoin the Single Market with freedom of labour earlier this year. We have to negotiate it but we have already advocated and put forward a bill to inttoduce a youth mobility scheme to Parliament.

If you look at what’s happened to immigration since we left the EU, immigration got out of control. If you look at what Europe is doing on immigration, the EU signed a pact earlier this year and it has seen immigration to Europe fall as well. If we work with our European partners we can do a better job than Labour and the Conservatives have done.

But aren’t people protesting about immigration across Europe?

If you look at the protests in France and elsewhere outside Europe, they are related to the cost of living and you can see who has created that problem across the world, Donald Trump with his mad war in Iran. We could benefit from a much closer trade and defence relationship with Europe. By joining the single market and customs union, we could boost our economy. The problem with the Budget is that it had no growth strategy whatsoever. I don’t hear any growth strategy other than what we are putting forward.

But wouldn’t freedom of movement send people to our labour market and stop people getting jobs?

Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged economy, ed davey, eu, interviews, sky news and slavery | 2 Comments

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Scottish Lib Dems defeat SNP on Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 31st October 2026 - 10:00 am

This week Scottish Lib Dems inflicted the first parliamentary defeat of this session on the minority SNP Government. SNP candidates had championed the idea of a Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill for years and it was in their manifesto for the elections in May. I represented the party at numerous hustings on disability, including specific ones to do with supporting people with learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence, and there was unanimity amongst all parties.

Earlier this month, the SNP Government said that it would no longer pursue this, claiming that they could make change more quickly as though these things were a binary choice.

All MPs and MSPs in Scotland will have read heartbreaking accounts of the struggles that families of people with LDAN face, not least that the waiting lists for ADHD assessments in some areas are longer than half an entire statutory education period of 13 years. Think of the effect that that has on life chances. All MPs and MSPs in Scotland will be aware of children not going to school because there is simply not the support for them to enable them to access education.

The SNP’s decision to shelve the Bill and enshrine rights in law is unconscionable and we used our opposition day on Wednesday to call on the Government to bring back the Bill.

You can read the whole debate here.

The motion was proposed by Adam Harley, our health spokesperson:

On average, people with learning disabilities in Scotland die 20 years earlier than the wider population, and too many people continue to experience profound inequalities in healthcare, education, employment, social care and the justice system. That is why so many people had placed their hope in the proposed legislation, ever since the Government committed to it in 2021.

Justice spokesperson Yi-Pei Chou Turvey spoke about the impact of the justice system on people with learning disabilities, neurodivergence and autism:

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged autism, equalities, featured, learning disability, neurodivergence and Scotland | Leave a comment

How housebuilding can tackle the cost of living crisis and boost growth

By Rob Blackie | Fri 30th October 2026 - 6:50 pm

This article draws on “Hitting housebuilding targets would reduce rents by £251 a month” published by the Centre for British Progress, written by Rob Blackie, Tim Leunig and David Lawrence.

Andy Burnham’s recent promise to tackle the cost of living pitch ignored the most practical approach: increasing housebuilding to bring down rents. This week the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted that people will get poorer in the next few years. If Britain focuses on cutting rents we can reverse that trend.

The typical British renter spends three times as much on rent as on food, and five times as much as on energy. And in the most expensive areas, such as London and the South East, renters typically spend 40% of their incomes on rent. And this isn’t because we’re spending money on good housing either. Britain’s housing is smaller, and lower quality, than our European neighbours.

The costs affect not only renters, but all of us. The government spends around £37bn a year on housing subsidies, money we all have to find via our taxes or lower public spending elsewhere. This is the highest rate of any comparable country. There are less obvious costs too: businesses face high rents in London, and skilled individuals can’t afford to move there, constraining the growth of successful businesses in our most successful city. National income – and tax revenues – are lower as a result.

Our high cost of housing can be explained by simple supply and demand, nothing more and nothing less. For instance, London’s population has grown by 1.6 million people this century, and supply hasn’t kept up, constrained by planning rules that prioritise golf courses over house building.

It is reasonable to ask whether new private housing, aimed mainly at people on relatively high incomes, will lower rents more generally. The Prime Minister implies not, hence his currently unfunded pledge to create the “biggest council house building programme” since the 1950s. This would cost tens of billions of pounds a year. This is an admirable ambition, but very unlikely to happen when our government is short of money.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged David Lawrence, housing and tim leunig | 14 Comments

The Independent View: Nobody falls in love with a manifesto

By James Bradford | Fri 30th October 2026 - 4:37 pm

Last week on this site, Maria Linforth-Hall asked a question that has stayed with me: what are the Liberal Democrats for? One line in particular. “Having individual policies is not necessarily the same as communicating a coherent political vision.” She then asked whether ordinary people can recognise liberal values in the practical answers the party offers to their everyday problems.

I should say where I’m writing from. I’m not a party member. I write for LibDem Dating, an independent dating site for liberal-minded singles in the UK, which has no connection to the party and no endorsement from it. So I’m looking in from outside. But I spend a lot of my working life thinking about how people decide whom to trust, and Maria’s question sounds very familiar from where I sit.

You might expect a dating site for liberals to be full of people listing their positions. Proportional representation, rejoining the EU, scrapping the two-child limit. Some profiles do read like that, and in my experience they’re rarely the ones that get a reply. Nobody falls in love with a manifesto. What draws people in is harder to put in a bullet point: a sense of how the other person treats people.

The profiles I find most persuasive barely mention politics at all. They talk about fairness, about curiosity, about being willing to change their mind. They mention patience with an awkward relative at Christmas, or a friendship that has survived years of arguing about Brexit. They suggest someone who can disagree with you over dinner and still want to see you again. That quality is what most of us are actually looking for, and a party label tells you very little about it. Ten minutes of conversation tells you a great deal.

A first date works a bit like a small election. You can’t check everything about the other person, so you rely on signals. How do they speak to the waiter? How do they talk about an ex, or about people who vote differently? Do they listen, or wait for their turn? None of these is a policy, but together they answer the question that matters: would this person be decent to me when we disagree?

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged liberal democrat values | 8 Comments

Bridges Matter

By Francis Chubb | Fri 30th October 2026 - 1:03 pm

The road bridge infrastructure in London is creaking and inadequate, and ownership and responsibility is fragmented. The soundness, or not, of these bridges has consequences. However, we, Liberal Democrats, do not yet have a policy for London’s bridges and we need one.

London is a massive centre, drawing people, and with them goods and other resources, from right across the country, but particularly from across the southeast of England. And this creates a need to cross the river that flows through the heart of that centre. Whatever we do with public transport, road traffic will always be part of this need.

The issues themselves are actually well understood. The London Assembly Transport Committee, chaired by our own Baroness Pidgeon (Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM, as she then was), prepared a report in November 2021, which sets out the situation and offers a suite of policy suggestions.

But thinking about London’s bridges has stalled and now, as their condition deteriorates, they present a problem. Their importance is such that they need to be considered as strategic assets, and planned for as such, and this does not appear to have happened.

Other people are noticing this problem too. Recent opinion articles by Juliet Samuel in The Times and Simon Jenkins in The Guardian have both highlighted the issue and proposed solutions. Rightly recognising the importance of the bridges to the efficiency of the city, we can be sure that voters will see this as well and we need to have something to say.

You will notice that, in offering their solutions, both Samuel and Jenkins reach for the funds of the City Bridge Foundation. Renamed in 2023, the City Bridge Foundation is a 13th century charity with, by its own admission, more money than it needs to look after the bridges in its remit. So it looks like an obvious grab. But it would be a mistake to rush to do so, for, as barrister Barbara Rich points out, there are serious questions of trusts law and public policy to overcome first. So when looking for our own solutions we need to be more judicious than that.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged bridges and london | 2 Comments

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An altercation in the House

By Mary Reid | Fri 30th October 2026 - 10:53 am

The media are reporting an “altercation” in the Commons between Nigel Farage and Caroline Voaden. It happened at the State Opening of Parliament last May when MPs were queuing on a staircase to leave the chamber.

Caroline told the Guardian:

He was trying to get out of the chamber and instead of just asking if he could go past, he said: ‘Let me past’. I turned round and said: ‘No, you can wait your turn like everyone else’. He grabbed me by the arm or the shoulder, pushed me to one side and tried to push past me. One of my colleagues tried to stop him because he thought I was going to fall down the stairs. And then we all shuffled down.

Quite deliberately, he grabbed me by the arm from behind and pushed me to one side so that I fell into a colleague or the wall on the other side. I was really taken aback and really angry because I think you just don’t behave like that in any workplace, let alone the chamber of the House of Commons. It was rude. It was nasty.

It appears the serjeant at arms had asked Farage to apologise, but he has not done so.

This all came to light after another incident before the Budget on Wednesday. Farage claimed his “prayer card” (ie seat reservation) had been removed, presumably in suspicious circumstances, which was why he missed the Chancellor’s speech – to “avoid a physical altercation”. It turns out that the card was taken by staff because it was not properly date stamped.

And we both know that’s not true Nigel don’t we?

I’m still waiting for the apology you were required to write to me… Though I won’t hold my breath

— Caroline Voaden MP (@CarolineVoaden) October 28, 2026

Posted in News | Tagged caroline voaden MP and nigel farage | 3 Comments

For disabled people, a simple game of football comes with a terrifying price tag: their benefits

By Jean-François Burford | Thu 29th October 2026 - 6:33 pm

Disabled people are encouraged to exercise to protect their health and independence. Yet many fear that participating in sport could jeopardise the financial support they rely on. This is the Activity Trap, and it must end.

For most people, playing football is an opportunity to exercise, enjoy themselves and connect with others. For some disabled people, however, stepping onto a football pitch comes with a frightening question: could this game cost me my benefits?

Health professionals, ministers and sporting bodies regularly promote physical activity for its benefits to physical health, mental wellbeing and social connection. Adapted football and other inclusive sports can help disabled people maintain mobility, manage long-term conditions and combat isolation.

Yet research by Durham University and Disability Rights UK highlights a disturbing contradiction. Their research examines the “Activity Trap”: the fear that physical activity could jeopardise the financial support disabled people depend on.

The findings are stark. 80% of disabled people surveyed worried that physical activity could put their benefits at risk, while more than one in four reported having benefits or other financial support denied or removed in circumstances they associated with being active. Although these findings do not establish the reasons behind every individual decision, they reveal the depth of anxiety surrounding participation.

This is not simply a question of confidence. It is about whether disabled people feel safe enough to participate in community life.

Grassroots football already presents considerable barriers. Accessible pitches and changing facilities remain limited, while adapted equipment, specialist transport and personal support can make participation prohibitively expensive. Finding a suitable club is difficult enough without the additional worry of losing essential financial support.

The Activity Trap reaches into the relationship between disability benefits and assessments of physical ability.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged disability, football and pip | 5 Comments

Budget verdict: A missed opportunity to tackle intergenerational unfairness and give working people a tax breakk

By Callum Robertson | Thu 29th October 2026 - 4:15 pm

For the vast majority of people across the United Kingdom, this year’s Budget may as well not have happened.

After working through the Chancellor’s announcements and examining the practical impact on household finances, it is striking how little has changed for ordinary working people. For many families, the only noticeable measures are a £100 payment for households in Council Tax bands A to D and the abolition of gas standing charges.

Neither measure addresses the deeper challenges facing normal people.

The £100 payment is welcome as far as it goes, but it barely touches the sides of the ongoing cost-of-living pressures that households face. Energy bills, housing costs, food prices and transport expenses remain significantly higher than they were only a few years ago. A one-off payment offers temporary relief but does nothing to improve long-term living standards.

Meanwhile, the abolition of gas standing charges has been presented as a significant intervention. Yet this measure deserves closer scrutiny. Standing charges exist to recover fixed costs within the energy system. Removing them does not make those costs disappear. Instead, the cost is likely to be recovered elsewhere, most probably through higher unit charges. For a vast majority of households, this is less a case of eliminating costs and more a case of shifting how those costs are paid.

The real disappointment is that the Budget represents a missed opportunity to address the growing burden on working-age taxpayers and younger generations.

If the government was serious about making Britain fairer, it should have focused on reducing the tax burden on earned income. Three changes in particular would have provided meaningful support to millions of workers.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2026 budget | 14 Comments

Polls Apart: The dehumanisation of Palestinians

By Miranda Pinch | Thu 29th October 2026 - 1:49 pm

I wrote this as Israel went to the polls. It could be weeks before any result because Israeli elections are extremely complicated and depend on coalitions. The one certainty is that little will change for the Palestinians. No candidates are interested in Palestinian self-determination, and all support the illegal settlements.

The West Bank was locked down to ensure free movement and security for Israelis to vote. That prevents the Palestinians from moving from their Israeli designated areas for school, work, medical aid, anything. Israel locks the West Bank down for various reasons at will.

The West Bank including East Jerusalem is occupied territory, illegal under international law. Various statements from Israeli politicians call for the Gazification of Palestinian areas of the West Bank (total destruction) and the Judaization of all the land including Israel itself where twenty percent of the population are Palestinian ‘citizens’ of Israel. Those ‘citizens’ already live under Israel’s Jewish Nation-State Law, which only gives the right of self-determination to Jews. Hardly democratic.

Even the BBC, which has been credibly accused of pro-Israeli bias, documents the illegal Israel settler terrorism, supported by the Israeli army (IDF), who also kill, maim, imprison, and demolish. Ethnic cleansing is an Israeli policy, not just that of rogue settlers.

There is something particularly visceral about the destruction of ancient olive groves and vineyards. The damage caused to land that Israelis claim to love, designed to make it so inhospitable to Palestinians that they leave can also be described as ecocide, destroying native flora and fauna.

I wrote a review of the film NAZA, whose title is Israeli shorthand for “collateral damage” (the number of non-combatants that can legitimately be killed for any suspect). So, one Naza can mean a baby and two hundred Naza can mean the population of a neighbourhood or tower block. It is now showing on general release and will be available for streaming by the Guardian in late November.

The film is about the dehumanization of a population. If people are not human and all propaganda just portrays them as a threat to Israel’s existence, then the idea that they can be exterminated is ‘understandable.’ Some may object to terms like ‘extermination’ and ‘genocide’ as reminiscent of the Nazis, yet my mother equated the treatment of Palestinians to her treatment at their hands well before she died in 2008. Long before October 7^th.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged israel, palestine and west bank | 10 Comments

Ed Davey on the Budget: British people need real change and fast

By The Voice | Wed 28th October 2026 - 10:45 pm

You can watch Ed Davey’s response to the Budget statement here. The full text is below. He wants to see more radical action to encourage growth and the most important thing is try to repair the damage brought about by Brexit. His main message is that we need some jam today and can’t wait another 5-10 years for it.

Here is his response in full:

It is always a pleasure to follow the Chair of the Treasury Committee, the hon. Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier). I am glad she committed to looking at the devil in the detail of this Budget, because when one looks at the fine print there are quite a few things for her Committee to scrutinise. In particular, I hope that she will look at the very disappointing growth forecasts, because I think this Budget will be defined more by Labour’s red lines on Europe and the Conservatives’ Brexit red tape than by faster growth.

At the root of so much of what has gone wrong in our country—the cost of living crisis, higher taxes, broken public services, empty high streets, and the lack of jobs and opportunity—is the lack of economic growth. Our economy is being held back. British business is being held back. It is being held back above all by the terrible damage of the Conservatives’ Brexit deal: a deal, let us never forget, that was backed by the leader of Reform and voted for by Labour—a deal that put up pointless new barriers to trade, tied up British firms in extra costs and red tape, and pushed up prices on our supermarket shelves.

As I was saying, our economy is being held back by Brexit, so the biggest single thing the Government could do to fix our economy is to fix our trading relationship with Europe and take us back into the single market and a customs union, giving us the growth and the money to cut people’s taxes.

Unless and until a Government have the courage to do just what I have outlined, I am afraid that any Budget will only be tinkering around the edges, because it will not provide the growth our country so desperately needs.

The Prime Minister, to be fair, has rightly talked about the economic damage caused by Brexit, but in answer to my questions he still refuses to drop Labour’s red lines set down by Keir Starmer more than five years ago. The world has changed so much since then and it is long past time that Labour policy changed with the world. I welcome the Prime Minister talking more openly this week about the need to move forward on Europe, but can I say to the Chancellor and the Prime Minister that it is just too urgent to wait until the next Parliament? Today’s Budget shows why.

I remember when 2% growth was nothing special. When we were in government that was the average, but since we left the EU, it has been less than half that—less than 1% growth a year. Today’s forecasts show things starting slowly to move in the right direction, but they still show growth well below 2% every year for the next five years. What used to be average growth now feels like a pipe dream, so we need a real growth plan with Europe at its heart: a plan that only our party has set out—an economic plan to make Britain richer, safer and stronger.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2026 budget and ed davey | 17 Comments

Vince Cable writes: A budget of small things

By Vince Cable | Wed 28th October 2026 - 9:06 pm

The Chancellor hasn’t crashed the economy by reckless unfunded commitments. Perhaps we should be grateful for small mercies (of which Liz Truss’s new book helpfully reminds us). Nor were there any damaging measures like Rachel Reeves’ big hike in employers’ national insurance contributions. There were lots of small, uncontroversial reliefs for consumers and business which are being paid for by raiding the banks (as I previewed in my last Substack article: The Endless Search for Painless Taxes). But as Kemi Badenoch asked, in her rather effective reply to the Budget, ‘Is that It?’

Much of the budget had been trailed in advance so that there were few surprises. But the reason why the budget was so light on serious content was that the big difficult decisions have been deferred to the Spring Statement. This will explain what is being cut to pay for defence commitments and rising welfare costs, sufficient to keep the government on a financially sustainable path, credible to our international creditors (or, if the expected cuts prove to be too painful, would provide a pretext for the government to go to the country to get a mandate to raise the taxes which were ruled out in the last Labour manifesto).

To be fair to the Chancellor his speech was built around a recognition that the only way of escaping the painful trap of rising fiscal deficits and debt, rising taxation and public spending austerity is to achieve more rapid economic growth. Groth has suffered badly from successive shocks: the global financial crisis; Brexit; Covid; the Ukraine war; now the Middle East war. The government’s own projections are in the 1.5 to 2% range, barely adequate to match the needs of an ageing population, debt service and a growing need to spend more on national security. The forecasts are, frankly, optimistic given the poor external environment of conflict, protectionism and geo-political uncertainty.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2026 budget, featured and vince cable | 2 Comments

David Chadwick launches bid to be Welsh Lib Dem Leader

By The Voice | Wed 28th October 2026 - 10:55 am

Following Jane Dodds saying that she will not seek re-nomination as Welsh Lib Dem Leader, the only other person eligible to stand under the current constitution is David Chadwick MP. He has now formally thrown his hat into the ring.

He will be confirmed in post and will set out his vision and strategy then.

David was elected in 2024 and is the Wales spokesperson in Ed Davey’s Shadow Cabinet.

He said:

Wales is a country with enormous potential. We have talented young people, innovative businesses and communities with the ambition to achieve great things. But too often, that ambition isn’t matched by the opportunities available to people.

I want to see a Wales where hard work is rewarded, where businesses have the confidence to invest and grow, and where young people can build successful lives without feeling they have to leave Wales to get ahead.

Economic growth and strong public services go hand in hand. By supporting enterprise, creating better jobs and raising living standards, we can build the prosperity needed to improve the services we all depend on.

That is the kind of optimistic, ambitious liberalism I believe in. A politics that believes in people’s potential and gives them the freedom and opportunities to succeed.

Posted in News | Tagged david chadwick, featured, jane dodds, Wales and welsh liberal democrats | 4 Comments

A Liberal Vision for Britain’s Overseas Territories

By Cody Butler | Wed 28th October 2026 - 8:55 am

The Liberal Democrats’ Defending Democracy policy paper calls for a codified UK constitution. If democratic consent and self-government matter at home, they must also shape our relationship with Britain’s 14 Overseas Territories, ten of which have permanent populations. In 2025, UK and Territory leaders agreed to develop voluntary Partnership Compacts, and in September 2026 the UK published a Charter affirming “devolution and democratic autonomy” and “nothing about you without you”. These are welcome commitments, but they must translate into a more equal constitutional partnership.

Recognising national identities

“Dependent Territories” became “Overseas Territories” in 2002, reflecting a move towards partnership. Yet there is still room to consider how the constitutional relationship can better recognise the distinct identities and democratic aspirations of each Territory. For some islanders, their primary sense of identity may be rooted in their own island and community, rather than in English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish identity. For others, local and British identities may coexist. These identities should be recognised on their own terms, rather than assumed to fit a mainland British model.

A survey conducted in Gibraltar in 2000 and reported in 2001 found that 45% of respondents identified as both Gibraltarian and British. Though dated and specific to Gibraltar, this illustrates how identities can overlap. We should invite discussion with Territory governments and communities about whether the term “British Overseas Territory” remains appropriate, or whether alternatives such as “British Overseas Nation” would better reflect the identities of some communities.

A partnership in Official Development Aid

Financially self-sufficient Territories should be invited to invest in overseas development alongside British International Investment (BII), combining development benefits with financial returns.

A voluntary co-investment scheme could direct Territory government or institutional capital into independently managed projects, such as small-business finance and climate-resilient infrastructure. In 2025, BII, Zambia’s pension authority and Sweden’s Swedfund launched a platform with an initial close of about £52 million to finance Zambian small businesses.

Some Territories have institutions that could explore similar opportunities. Cayman’s Public Service Pensions Board held around £1.3 billion in assets at the end of 2024, while the Falkland Islands Government reported a £156.7 million Growth Fund in its 2025 accounts. Any investment must have local approval, credible returns and safeguards for pensions, public services and reserves. Participation must remain voluntary, with no expectation that Territories dependent on UK budget support contribute. Britain could invite interested Territories to design a pilot with BII.

Putting elected representatives in charge

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged british overseas territories and democracy | 5 Comments

What can republican political thought teach the Liberal Democrats?

By Daniel Duggan | Tue 27th October 2026 - 5:45 pm

A politics of power

Recent Liberal Democrat proposals for faster GP appointments, better support for rural and coastal schools, and investment in walking and cycling show our commitment to improving public services. These are important ambitions.

Yet improving services does not, by itself, challenge the relationships that leave people powerless: an insecure worker dependent on an employer’s goodwill, a tenant afraid to challenge a landlord, or a citizen unable to contest decisions made about their care.

Liberal Democrats must ask not only whether services are improving, but whether people have the rights, resources and voice to shape their own lives. The question of power must be central to our approach. Republican political thought, with its understanding of freedom as non-domination, offers a rich intellectual tradition from which Liberal Democrats can draw in developing a politics of power.

Posted in Op-eds | 3 Comments

Conservative Councillor joins Lib Dems in West Berkshire

By Paul Walter | Tue 27th October 2026 - 4:15 pm

West Berkshire Conservative Councillor Paul Dick OBE JP DL has joined the Liberal Democrats.

For almost 30 years, Mr Dick was headteacher of Kennet School in Thatcham. At one point he was a “Super Head” and his “top earner” salary was highlighted by the BBC in 2010. He appeared on the BBC’s Panorama programme, as noted by the Financial Times.

He has been a sitting Justice of the Peace since 1994 and is a Deputy Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire.

He has represented Cold Ash and Chieveley ward on West Berkshire Council since 2023.

Posted in News | 10 Comments

Lord Shipley’s Valedictory speech in full

By The Voice | Tue 27th October 2026 - 12:50 pm

Embed from Getty Images
As noted last Thursday, Lord Shipley gave his valedictory speech in the House of Lords Local Government debate. Here is his speech in full:

My Lords, I thank colleagues from across the House for the privilege of working with them over the last 16 years in this Chamber on Bills, on Select Committees and on the general work of this House. Having reached the age of 80, I have decided that the time has come to have a retirement. I thank all the staff of the House for their advice, efficiency and constant good humour. I thank my own Whips’ Office for its loyalty, help and command of its role. I thank my immediate colleagues — my friends — in the Liberal Democrat group, who have been such a support over the years, for their friendship, which I know will continue in the years ahead. I thank my wife and all my family for their support in my time here; it is so appreciated. I thank all the speakers who are going to speak in this debate. I look forward to the maiden speech of my noble friend Lord McCobb, who brings a wealth of experience from his many years in local government.

Posted in News | Tagged lord shipley | Leave a comment

Bournemouth conference dates announced for 2027

By The Voice | Tue 27th October 2026 - 11:21 am

The dates for our Autumn conference at Bournemouth have been announced as follows:

Provisional auditorium timings:
Saturday 18 September: 09.00-18.00 (Rally 18.30-19.30)
Sunday 19 September: 09.00-18.00
Monday 20 September: 09.00-18.00
Tuesday 21 September: 09.00-15.30 (Leader’s speech: 14.20-15.30)

The latest conference news is here.

Posted in Conference | Tagged bournemouth conference 2027 | 6 Comments

Mathew on Monday: Prime Minister, it’s time to restore our freedom to move across Europe

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 26th October 2026 - 4:30 pm

There are few things that better demonstrate the damage Brexit has done to our country than the loss of our freedom to live, work, study and build a life across Europe.

It was a freedom we took for granted. A freedom that opened doors, broadened horizons and brought people together. A freedom that represented something profoundly liberal: the right of individuals to make choices about their own lives. And it was taken away.

Now, as Prime Minister Andy Burnham continues his discussions with European leaders about rebuilding Britain’s relationship with the European Union, I have a simple message: restore freedom of movement, and do it without delay.

For too long, British politics has treated freedom of movement as something to fear rather than something to celebrate. But what could be more liberal than allowing people to cross borders, pursue opportunities, fall in love, raise families and contribute to communities wherever they choose?

This isn’t simply about economics, important though that is. It’s about opportunity. It’s about internationalism. It’s about recognising that our neighbours across the Channel aren’t strangers to be kept at arm’s length, but friends and partners with whom we share so much.

Of course, restoring freedom of movement would benefit our economy. Businesses could recruit the workers they need. Our NHS and social care services could benefit from a wider pool of talent. Young people would regain opportunities that previous generations enjoyed. And European citizens would once again be able to make Britain their home, enriching our communities culturally, socially and economically.

But the argument must go beyond pounds and pence. Freedom of movement is a statement about the kind of country we want Britain to be. Open or closed? Confident or fearful? Internationalist or inward-looking?

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2026 budget, doctors pay dispute and europe | 14 Comments

London’s football pitch crisis is freezing out disabled children. We must stop treating inclusion as a charity luxury

By Jean-François Burford | Sat 24th October 2026 - 8:55 am

There is a cruel irony at play on London’s public sports pitches. While national governing bodies proudly launch multi-million-pound strategies to make football “the people’s game,” the cold reality of urban economics is quietly locking the most vulnerable children out of the sport entirely. For young Londoners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the barrier to entry is no longer just a lack of willing coaches; it is a hyper-financialised property market that has turned the simple act of kicking a football into a luxury.

On paper, the vision is exactly what the sport has desperately needed. The FA’s landmark “Football Without Limits” strategy is a genuinely progressive and vital intervention, injecting long-overdue funding and infrastructure into pan-disability football networks. Supported by corporate backing, this national push is finally providing the framework, specialized kit, and subsidized programs like the Comets initiative that grassroots volunteers have cried out for over decades. It is a massive step forward, proving that the will to change the game exists at the very top.

Yet, as this commendable national strategy hits the streets of the capital, it collides with a brutal, localised reality.

Despite the undeniable progress, grassroots organisers caution that London’s spatial and economic pressures mean the fight is far from over. Bureaucracy can still delay small grants from reaching the smaller, community led estates where the need is highest. Moreover, as land value pressures continue to squeeze urban green spaces, keeping pitch hire affordable remains a volatile challenge.

This isn’t a failure of the FA’s ambition; it is a fundamental design flaw in how urban spaces are managed. While governing bodies provide the funding, clubs must navigate layers of complex auditing and compliance to access it. The tragic paradox is that the tiny, estate based clubs embedded deepest within working class communities, where the concentration of under resourced SEND families is highest, rarely have the administrative muscle to unlock these coffers. Instead, the money naturally pools around wealthier, established suburban clubs with dedicated committees. The system, by design, feeds the fed.

Even when a community club beats the bureaucracy and secures a grant, they run headfirst into London’s brutal spatial politics. As inner city green spaces are swallowed by high density developments, grassroots football has been pushed onto commercial artificial pitches. In London, these venues operate on staggering commercial margins, with pitch hire fees frequently topping £100 an hour.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged football, inclusion, london and SEND | 6 Comments

ALDC by-election report, 22nd October

By Joe Nutt | Fri 23rd October 2026 - 4:38 pm

Five principal authority by-elections took place across England and Wales on Thursday 22nd October.

Labour were defending two seats (in Leeds and Carmarthenshire), the Conservatives defended one in Wychavon, the Green Party defended one in East Hertfordshire, and an Independent defended one in South Kesteven.

It proved to be a productive night for the Conservatives, who held their seat in Worcestershire and secured three gains from three different parties – taking seats from the Greens in Hertfordshire, Labour in Leeds, and an Independent in Lincolnshire.

For the Liberal Democrats, it was an undeniably tough set of contests where our vote was squeezed in non-target territory and in a disappointing result in East Hertfordshire.

Elsewhere, Reform UK and the Greens continued to experience electoral friction amidst wider national controversies, while Labour’s night was mixed – losing two seats, but showing signs of vote share recovery in West Yorkshire compared to earlier this spring.

Leeds City Council, Calverley and Farsley – 22 October 2026

Over in West Yorkshire, the Conservatives gained the Calverley and Farsley ward on Leeds City Council from Labour in a contest triggered by the resignation of former Labour councillor Peter Carlill on health grounds.

Leeds is currently governed by a Labour minority administration after the party lost eight seats in the May 2026 local elections, leaving them on 48 of 99 seats. Calverley and Farsley is a three-member ward elected by thirds, where Labour had previously held two seats and the Conservatives one.

In a crowded field of seven candidates, Conservative candidate Amanda Carter took the seat with 40.2% of the vote. While technically a seat loss for Labour compared to their 2023 defence, their 36.8% vote share actually represented a 9.5-point rebound compared to their May 2026 local election showing in the ward. The Liberal Democrats have not historically had an active base in this part of Leeds, and candidate Stuart McLeod was squeezed by the intense two-party battle at the top of the ballot.

Thank you to Stuart McLeod for ensuring local residents had a Liberal Democrat choice on the ballot paper in a crowded contest!

Conservative: 2330 (40.2%, +4.8%)
Labour: 2134 (36.8%, -18%)
Reform UK: 693 (12%, new)
Green Party: 341 (5.9%, +2.4%)
Restore: 151 (2.6%, new)
Lib Dem (Stuart McLeod): 92 (1.6%, -1.3%)
Yorkshire Party: 57 (1%, -2.5%)

Turnout: 32.2%

Conservative GAIN from Labour

Posted in News | Tagged aldc local government by-elections | 20 Comments

Is kindness what we stand for?

By Josh Matthews | Fri 23rd October 2026 - 2:02 pm

If what we’re against, above everything else, is cruelty and the abuse of power… then are we for kindness?

But before I get into this article, I want to address a few points.

I’m talking about a kindness that is radical in the change it demands. A kindness that fights when facing down cruelty and those looking to concentrate and abuse power.

We also need a vision of what a kind society could be. I’m not only talking about the how of doing politics. That radical, standing-up-to-cruelty type of kindness must flow into our policy and campaigns.

I don’t think I’m suggesting kindness as a slogan or headline message. And we don’t have a monopoly on kindness in our party, policies, members, or voters.

What I do think, is that there is space for a politics that grasps and leads with that strong, radical kindness.

“What do the Liberal Democrats stand for? I don’t know”

That most of the public don’t know what we stand for has become a dominant and tiring narrative. But we must keep addressing it.

We stand for so many things. And that’s often the problem.

Liberal Democrats struggle to create an instinctive subconscious reaction where people feel connected with an overarching story.

I wrote recently about that challenge and the idea of a platform. I’ve come to view my own liberalism as trying to give people the platform to thrive and live their unique version of a best life. Genuine freedom and opportunity. Without accepting that there must be winners and losers in society.

But despite standing by that platform as a guiding beacon for politics, policymaking, and as a vision for society, I wasn’t fully convinced in it as a clear answer to what we’re for.

That’s where kindness comes in.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged kindness and liberalism | 15 Comments

Don’t take Democracy for granted

By Lord William Wallace | Fri 23rd October 2026 - 10:49 am

We’re Liberals and Democrats, and we should be outspoken in support of both. And both have to be fought for to prevent our country sliding back into illiberalism and authoritarian government.

At the end of the Cold War American liberals thought that democracy had triumphed, and that authoritarian states would move towards liberal democracy as they became more prosperous and more integrated into our open world society. 35 years later, things look far less rosy. Orban’s illiberal regime in Hungary has thankfully just fallen, although it is still too soon to see how stable and constitutional its new government will be. Trump’s second administration in the US has shown how easy it is for a populist leader to sweep past constitutional safeguards and create a corrupt and chaotic autocracy; we may at last see after the mid-term elections some belated resistance. In France we are watching a surge of anti-constitutional violence, which may well lead to a hard-right executive presidency in their coming elections. And we are witnessing in Britain illiberal movements on the left and the right, with Farage as a pluto-populist (a politician financed by the ultra-wealthy who claims to stand for the ‘people’ against the elite) and Tommy Robinson as a violent anti-democrat.

In the face of this, the current Labour Government is astonishingly complacent. Manifesto promises to modernise the Commons have shrunk to a few measures to improve access; Burnham’s government payroll in the Commons is even larger than Starmer’s or Sunak’s. Its changes to the composition of the Lords have been minimal, and a flood of new appointments is again leading to an oversized House. The Representation of the People Bill passed through the Commons virtually unchanged; the Lords will do its best to regulate political finance and foreign interference more tightly than the government is proposing. Behind Burnham’s rhetoric about changing the voting system many Labour veterans are denying the need for change. David Blunkett, among others, has welcomed the troubles that Reform and the Greens now face as marking a return to our traditional two-party system. Public trust in Westminster politics is low, and many young people are disillusioned and disengaged.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged democracy and featured | 9 Comments

Britain’s gas gamble: Why Jackdaw is a bad bet for our energy future

By Mark Hofman | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 5:43 pm

Ministers have approved a gas field that will create 27 jobs, while heat pump grants face the axe in next week’s budget. They are backing the wrong horse.

Gas is in terminal decline in British homes, and today’s decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field will not change that. Every year, more developers and families choose clean electric heating over a gas boiler. My own home is one of them: it no longer burns any gas, thanks in part to the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

That scheme is now under threat. With Whitehall hunting for savings to fund defence ahead of next week’s budget, heat pump grants are reportedly on the table. So in the space of a week, the government could back a new gas field and cut the support that helps families leave gas behind. That is exactly the wrong way round.

Look at what Jackdaw actually offers. Over its lifetime, it would produce around 2 months of UK gas demand, a sliver of what the country burns. Its developers say it will create just 27 full-time jobs. And it will not bring down bills. North Sea gas is sold at international prices, so British households will keep paying whatever the global market demands.

What Jackdaw does do is tell investors that gas is still a safe bet. That is the last message they should be hearing. We need every pound of capital flowing into wind, solar, nuclear and the grid connections that bring cheaper, cleaner power to all of us.

There is a better use for what is left under the North Sea: leave it there. Gas is not just a fuel. It is also the raw material for the fertiliser that grows our food, and there may be times ahead when we need it far more than we do today. Keeping our remaining reserves as a strategic store would give future generations a buffer in a crisis, instead of burning it now for a short-term return.

In the meantime, we can import cleaner gas. According to the regulator’s own figures, pipeline gas from Norway is produced with less than a third of the emissions of Britain’s North Sea output.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged gas | 24 Comments

Hello and goodbye

By The Voice | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 3:11 pm

One of our newest peers, Dave McCobb, (Baron McCobb, of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire) gave his maiden speech in the Lords last week. Appropriately enough for a former councillor it was in a debate on Local Government: Democratic Accountability, Participation and Electoral Reform – he even managed to include some poetry.

The debate itself was opened by John Shipley (Baron Shipley of Gosforth), giving his valedictory speech. He was previously the Leader of Liverpool City Council and vice-president of the Local Government Association, so was eminently suitable to lead on the issue.

Dave McCobb said:

Posted in News | Tagged dave mccobb and john shipley | 3 Comments

Vince Cable writes: The endless hunt for painless taxes

By Vince Cable | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 11:55 am

Few expect Andy Burnham’s extended political honeymoon to last beyond the October 28 budget. The fiscal position is precarious. The bond vigilantes are signalling their nervousness about the UK in the form of 10 year bond yields of 5.4% : the highest of developed economies (despite some nice comments from the IMF). The public will expect to see some evidence of the Prime Minister’s commitment to spend more on defence, employment for young people, affordable housing, meeting the NHS and social care needs of an ageing population, together with some relief from high energy costs, which may spiral further if Trump returns to war with Iran after the mid-term elections on November 5. A promise to defer difficult budget decisions until next year will not convince markets.

The tax options are seriously constrained by the unnecessary pre-election promise not to raise VAT rates or the rates of income tax and employees NICs. Taxes are already approaching 40% of GDP, a post-war high. But more will be needed. The government has, however, already discovered that seemingly easy options targeted at companies and rich people can backfire. Rachel Reeves’ increase in employers’ NICs has angered employers and threatens jobs. A tax raid on inheritance has proved to be less of a tax on rich heirs to family fortunes than a major threat to family farms and firms. Some big taxpayers amongst the ‘non-doms’ have emigrated rather than pay more tax. VAT receipts on private school fees have had to be netted off against the costs of educating children of less affluent families who have migrated to the state sector. Successive attempts to hit the well off by salami-slicing pension tax relief have undermined savings. Gordon Brown’s seemingly innocuous ending of tax relief on company dividends helped to end DB pension schemes. Clever schemes to combat cleverer tax avoidance have added to complexity and economic distortions. The Law of Unintended Consequences is unforgiving.

Taxation is unpopular and so is ‘austerity’ applied to popular public services. Politicians who want to be liked, or win elections, face a dilemma: how to raise revenue painlessly while avoiding damaging unintended consequences. Experience tells us that it is impossible to square this circle. Taxes on companies are hidden from the public but are mainly passed on in -unpopular – higher prices or by reductions in investment. Taxes on rich people may be popular with people who aren’t rich but rich people are potentially mobile and able to afford tax advice on avoidance techniques. Wealth taxes have been largely abandoned except where they are very small (as in Switzerland). Property is not mobile but the taxation of family homes is deeply unpopular with the public outside of ‘mansions’. These problems are unlikely to deter Mr Healey from trying to squeeze a bit more from Capital Gains Tax (which can deter the establishment of new businesses), tax relief on pension contributions (deterring savings) or high-value property (which can’t be isolated from the wider property market). These all tick the box marked ‘fairness’ but they represent the last bit of a much squeezed toothpaste tube.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged 2026 budget, featured and taxation | 50 Comments

Sorry – not our fault

By Mary Reid | Thu 22nd October 2026 - 9:59 am

Apologies for our downtime yesterday, and the lack of posts!

Our tech guru was sorting out the fallout from the PHP crisis, which affected our website as well as many others globally.

Posted in Site news | 3 Comments

Jane Dodds to step down as Welsh Lib Dem Leader

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 20th October 2026 - 7:50 pm

For nine years, Jane Dodds has led the Welsh Liberal Democrats through some very challenging times. By the time she took office, the party had been brutally punished at the ballot box for its role in the Coalition and the ensuing decade has not provided the most fertile of territory for us.

However, Jane has stood up consistently for our values in that challenging environment. She has always stood up for human rights, proposed ways to alleviate child poverty, including a Universal Basic Income. In fact, she was responsible for me becoming more sympathetic to that. She was one of the first politicians to talk about tackling loneliness and social isolation. She’s been a voice for marginalised people and deserves our pride and gratitude.

Just as in the Federal Party, elections for the Scottish and Welsh parties trigger a leadership election. Alex Cole-Hamilton was quietly re-elected as Scottish Leader unopposed a month or so back. Tonight, Jane has announced that she is stepping down as Welsh Leader.

In a statement emailed to Welsh Lib Dem members before being released publicly, she said:

I wanted you to hear this from me first, before anyone else: I have decided to stand down as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

Leading this party has been the honour of my life. When you elected me in 2017, I said I wanted to bring like-minded people together, rebuild our party, and make the Welsh Liberal Democrats a radical, progressive force in Welsh politics again. Nearly nine years on, I hope you feel we have done that together.

We’ve won councillors in every corner of Wales. With just one voice in the Senedd, we used our budget deal to win real money for childcare, for families who were desperate for it. We’ve fought for the children growing up in poverty in our country. And when others wanted Wales to turn its back on refugees, we stood up, loudly and proudly, for Wales as a Nation of Sanctuary.

None of that happened because of me. It happened because of you: the leaflets, the doorsteps, the phone banks, the wet Saturday mornings. Thank you.

I’ve spent the summer thinking hard about May’s election. If I’m honest, it wasn’t the result we worked so hard for. Once again, I am our party’s only Member of the Senedd. I don’t want to be the only one after the next election. Wales needs a team of liberal voices in the Senedd, and that means starting now. We need new candidates, new councillors and new leaders who will spend the next few years in their communities, shaping our policies and making our case on the airwaves. I believe that work should be led by a new generation, and that the right time to hand over is now, while there is time to build.

When I became leader, Theresa May was Prime Minister and Carwyn Jones was First Minister. Six Prime Ministers and five First Ministers later, I hope I have given our party something steady to build on.

I am not going anywhere. I will carry on as the Member of the Senedd for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, and I will carry on doing what brought me into politics in the first place.

I spent 27 years as a child protection social worker. I saw what poverty does to children, and I have never been able to accept it. One child growing up in poverty is one too many. Today, more than 200,000 children in Wales, almost one in three, are growing up poor. The new Plaid Cymru Government has promised to put child poverty at the heart of everything it does. I will hold them to that promise every single day, and I will keep pushing them to go further and faster, until every child in Wales gets the start in life they deserve.

Our Party President, Tim Sly, will write to you in the coming days with the timetable for the leadership election.

Finally, my thanks to our staff and volunteers, who have given so much, and above all to my husband Patrick. I could not have done any of this without his love, patience and support.

Diolch o galon, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Jane.

At the time of writing, the only eligible candidate is Wales’ other parliamentarian, David Chadwick.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured, jane dodds, Wales and welsh liberal democrats | 7 Comments

The silent scandal of ME…and in praise of Tessa Munt

By Paul Walter | Tue 20th October 2026 - 1:30 pm

Embed from Getty Images
I wrote on the subject of ME back in February 2025. Sadly no progress seems to have been made, questions to the government receive “dead bat” pro-forma answers and still the silent scandal of 1.35 million people in the UK suffering from ME/CFS (or Long Covid with ME-like symptoms) continues. That’s about 2,000 on average per UK parliamentary constituency.

Some figures: The average lifetime costs per patient with ME are £4.7 million on average.

There are £20 billion per year costs to the economy due to ME – and this is rising. (This includes loss of productivity and the fact that many patients are cared for by their parents)

There is currently no UK ring-fenced funding for long term research into the illness. This compares badly with Germany who have dedicated 500 million Euros over 10 years for research labelled a “National Decade Against Post-Infectious Diseases” (photo above shows the sort of public protests which preceded the commitment of that money).

Recently there have been a few reasons for hope.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) | 1 Comment

The Lib Dems should be bolder. Here’s how….

By James Hill | Tue 20th October 2026 - 12:00 pm

It is no secret that the party is narrowly focused on retaining the 72 seats we won at the last general election and expanding further into triple digits. Local election results in those constituencies are a sign that it seems to be working. Recently, the Guardian published a sensible editorial pointing out that it is imperative for the Lib Dems to achieve this goal to keep an unholy Tory-Reform alliance at bay in the next general election. Furthermore, it will maximise our influence over a Labour minority in a potential hung parliament. So yes, in our FPTP system, and facing the dire threat of Reform and Reform-lite, this ruthless commitment to target seats is the correct one.

However, pursuit of this goal has led to an overabundance of caution that is diluting the party’s messaging and enabling us to fade further away from the national conversation. We seem to have leapt at the opportunity to snatch Kier Starmer’s fabled Ming Vase and have been hobbling around with it for the past two years – afraid of saying anything too bold, too radical or too liberal. This matters because if we are ever to make progress across the whole country, we need to be present in the national political agenda to give our local activists something to build off. If we don’t establish the party’s identity now, a potential coalition may simply reduce us to the yellow branch of the Labour party and could prove existential in the event we do get PR elections. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, if we don’t actively go out and preach the liberal solutions to our country’s problems, we actively concede the intellectual ground to our conservative opponents.

Posted in Op-eds | 23 Comments

Before we talk about coalition, we must ask: What are the Liberal Democrats for?

By Maria Linforth-Hall | Tue 20th October 2026 - 10:24 am

Today, a Liberal Democrat friend suggested that perhaps the best way forward for our party would be to enter into a coalition with Labour.

It was an interesting proposition. Could the two parties work together? What might they achieve? What compromises would be necessary? And what would happen to our political identity?

But as I explored these possibilities, I realised that a much more fundamental question had emerged.

Before we decide whom we might govern with, shouldn’t we first be absolutely clear about what we want to govern for?

This is not an argument against coalition government. It is an invitation to examine the identity, purpose and future direction of the Liberal Democrats.

We have policies on healthcare, social care, education, housing, taxation, climate change, Europe and constitutional reform. Many reflect longstanding liberal principles. But having individual policies is not necessarily the same as communicating a coherent political vision.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged coalition and liberal democracy | 8 Comments

SNP Govt defeated on Lib Dem motion

Vince Cable writes: A budget of small things

Chadwick launches leadership bid

Don’t take Democracy for granted

Recognising national identities

A partnership in Official Development Aid

Putting elected representatives in charge

Leeds City Council, Calverley and Farsley – 22 October 2026

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