Grant Toghill

Going for four in a row in Scotland

By Grant Toghill | Wed 2nd September 2026 - 10:59 am

As parliament is back from recess and Scotland’s adventure at the World Cup start to feel like a distant memory, what better time to start to look forward towards the election year ahead.

Scotland has seen for the last three elections a growth of Liberal voices across all levels. From local councils to Westminster and Holyrood. While we are still celebrating our big wins in May, now the attention is turning towards next May and making it four in a row of gains for the Scottish Liberal Democrats under the leadership team of Alex and Wendy.

The results at Holyrood saw that in every constituency our list vote increased on 2021 so there are people out there ready to give us a chance. 87 councillors was our election total in 2022 and the ambition of getting back into three figures next May has been clear in almost all the time since being announced our autumn conference of that year. Which would be the first time since 2007 when we were last into the three figures range at Scottish local elections, and the only time we have done it so far under STV.

The opportunities to grow in our strongholds of Edinburgh and the Highlands are clearly there but May has shown that we also have the potential to grow in other areas to. If that be Aberdeen and Dundee in the North East of Scotland, continuing our growth in the Borders or starting to make comebacks across my home of the west central belt. There is no area off limits if we put in the work.

Multi-party politics is not new to us here in Scotland as it might be to other parts of the UK so we know that we can’t afford to take our foot off the gas. With Reform and the Scottish Greens being new challengers in urban and rural seats that has not been the case before, we have work to make sure not just that we win in our targets but that we keep our held seats.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems call for action on smart spectacles – some constructive feedback

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 2nd September 2026 - 9:26 am

Whenever a new piece of technology comes out, I always think about how it might be used to assault and abuse women and girls. It’s sad that I have to, but that’s the world we live in.

Air tags – brilliant idea for someone like me for those moments when my husband is not around to use his superpower of Knowing Where I Have Put Things.  Not so brilliant if they are used by an abusive partner, or even a stranger – most often a man on a woman – for stalking purposes.

At least if you have an app on your phone, like some members of my family do, you can choose to do that, or you at least know it is there. I had a message from my sister a couple of years ago asking me if I’d been murdered and put in a skip because the Google earth photos Life 360 uses were out of date. I was in fact at the Book Festival in Edinburgh’s new venue which had been a building site a couple of years before.  But I knowingly gave her the ability to track my every move.

Similarly, if someone, again, most often a man, is filming, again, mostly women for God knows what purposes using a camera phone, at least you have a chance of being aware that he is doing it, although often you won’t be aware. Not so much if he is using smart glasses, which allow you to see an augmented reality and can be used as a camera. As a friend told me “I’ve been filmed by men before and at least with a phone you can see that they are doing it.”

These things have the potential to bring a whole load more pain to an already unsafe world for women and girls.

So it was really good  to see that the party is aware of this. Yesterday they put up a social media image saying:

Nobody should be secretly filmed through smart glasses and have it shared with millions online.

Liberal Democrats are demanding stronger safeguards, including a ban on convicted sex offenders being able to purchase them.

How on earth is that solution enforceable?

And anyone with nefarious purposes doesn’t have to purchase them. They just have to borrow a mate’s.

And if it is enforceable, surely anyone convicted of domestic abuse, particularly coercive control, should not be allowed within a million miles of these things.

I’m not sure what the solution is, but education and awareness is a huge part of it, as is making sure that anyone who films someone with or without their knowledge and shares it online faces very serious consequences that significantly restrict their liberty.But the biggest problem with yesterday’s social media post was the accompanying image:

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Mark Valladares

1 September 2026 – today’s press releases (part 2)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 1st September 2026 - 11:00 pm
  • McArthur sets out opposition to SNP’s food price consultation
  • Rennie responds to CalMac ferry costs rising by £20 million
  • Cole-Hamilton responds to Programme for Government
  • “What happens when the second fire starts?” – Baxter challenges Scottish Government over wildfire readiness

McArthur sets out opposition to SNP’s food price consultation

Responding to the Scottish Government launching a consultation on capping food prices, Scottish Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

Farmers are warning that this will push them out of business, while retailers say it could lead to job losses.

The SNP love populist policy ideas which sound plausible and then backfire horribly.

What’s frustrating is that this kind of policy making ignores genuine solutions like Liberal Democrat calls for an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority into potential profiteering by supermarkets and food multinationals.

We also want to see more support for farmers facing rising energy bills and costly red tape, so that Scottish farmers can get great value food on tables.

Rennie responds to CalMac ferry costs rising by £20 million

Responding to the project management costs for the construction of new CalMac ferries being built in Turkey rising by £20 million, with delays expected for all three vessels, Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:

Islanders and coastal towns will be looking at this news and thinking, here we go again.

They may also be wondering why SNP ministers can approve millions of pounds more for CMAL, but water down a promise of proper compensation for communities affected by ferry disruption.

John Swinney must set out a detailed programme for ferry construction so that islanders finally get the services they deserve.

Cole-Hamilton responds to Programme for Government

Responding to the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

Remote and rural communities will be particularly concerned that when the SNP promise reform, they actually mean taking away local services, removing local decision making and centralising towards Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Right now, ambulances crews are queuing up outside A&E, patients are being treated in corridors and NHS staff are worked to the point of burnout. Reform is necessary but it needs to have their interests at its heart. Big upheaval lasting years could deliver distraction instead of change. If you are a pregnant woman in Caithness or a cancer patient in the Borders, will this actually improve your care?

We were strong critics of the centralisation of the police, and in the early years we were shown to be right and sadly people lost their lives.

We are in favour of communities being in charge and are instinctively nervous about the proposed merger of health boards.

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Mark Valladares

1 September 2026 – today’s press releases (part 1)

By Mark Valladares | Tue 1st September 2026 - 10:30 pm

A big day in Scottish politics today, and the day’s press releases reflect that…

  • Cole-Hamilton: Programme for government must match Scotland’s talent
  • Chou Turvey responds to police officer illness and injury
  • Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court
  • Harley: Swinney must deliver for NHS in programme for government

Cole-Hamilton: Programme for government must match Scotland’s talent

Speaking ahead of John Swinney’s Programme for Government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

The SNP’s programmes for government often read like a wish list to Santa that never got posted, leaving us to think of all the things that never got delivered.

Scotland deserves a government that will match the talent, creativity and ambition of its people.

The priorities of John Swinney’s agenda must be: fixing the crisis in social care to fix the NHS, using ever lever at the Scottish Government’s disposal to help with the cost of living, finally dualling the A9, ending the ferries fiasco, and getting Scottish education back to its best.

From the opposition benches, with our newly expanded group of MSPs, we will be the grown-ups of this parliament, providing strong and effective criticism, hunting for agreement where we can, to get things done for the people of Scotland.

Chou Turvey responds to police officer illness and injury

Responding to embargoed reporting by 1919 Magazine, which highlights that almost 3,000 Scottish police officers are unable to carry out their full operational duties due to illness or injury, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

This is a staggering number of police officers who are unable to do their full job.

Many of these officers are struggling because of the spiralling demand on their time and the failure of the SNP government to properly support them.

Ministers need to stop asking police officers to perform the impossible. I will be using my voice in parliament to make sure the government finally steps up and meets the needs of officers and staff.

Chou Turvey responds to SNP ministers failing to fund sexual offences court

Responding to reporting in the Scotsman that SNP ministers have failed to bring forward any funding for their flagship sexual offences court, which they said would help cut the backlog of court cases, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

The SNP have an exceptionally poor track record of making lots of commitments in legislation and then failing to do the practical work to implement them.

The sexual offences court is at risk of suffering the same fate as greater protections for domestic abuse victims, protections which were promised in law more than five years ago, but which have yet to be implemented.

I am concerned that the SNP’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls is a fundamentally superficial one: warm words that grab headlines but go nowhere.

Ministers must set out a timeline for the creation of a specialist sexual offences court. They must also clarify whether additional resource will be given to ensure the law is implemented.

Harley: Swinney must deliver for NHS in programme for government

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP has said John Swinney must deliver for the NHS in his programme for government, as new figures revealed the worst ever A&E waiting times for July, high delayed discharges, thousands of people waiting more than a year for mental health care and increasing vacancies among nursing and midwifery staff.

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Sean Worrell

AI has moved from future threat to present reality

By Sean Worrell | Tue 1st September 2026 - 12:00 pm

Embed from Getty Images

There is a temptation to treat the latest warnings about artificial intelligence as another round of technological alarmism. We have heard predictions about AI transforming society before, and some have proved exaggerated. But two very different developments over the last three months suggest that we need to pay much closer attention.

The first is Bill Gates warning that AI could fundamentally reshape employment, cybersecurity, biological security and the relationship between humans and machines. The second is an extraordinary cyber incident involving an autonomous AI agent being tested by OpenAI that ultimately compromised infrastructure belonging to Hugging Face.

Taken together, these developments raise a bigger question than whether AI is good or bad. They force us to ask whether politics, government and society are keeping pace with what is happening.

Gates’ warning deserves attention because it goes well beyond the familiar debate about whether AI will take people’s jobs. He has raised concerns about permanent disruption across parts of the labour market, AI being used to facilitate cyberattacks and biological threats, the psychological effects of increasingly persuasive systems and the danger that governments respond only after disruption has occurred.

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Josh Lucas Mitte

Where next for the Lib Dems in London?

By Josh Lucas Mitte | Tue 1st September 2026 - 10:16 am

Many of us in the capital woke up on the 8th May with mixed feelings. We made significant gains in boroughs like Ealing, Brent and Sutton, but felt short of our ambitions in other boroughs, with the Greens upsetting our momentum and the Labour and Conservative vote proving more resilient than expected.

So what does this mean for our next election? Recent polling shows us at 10% in the mayoral race – one of our best results in decades, yet still last among the major parties. But our success in London shouldn’t be judged on our mayoral results, it should be measured on three things

  1.     London Assembly Seats, where for the first time in history we could become essential to passing the Mayor’s budget.
  2.     Strengthening prospects in target Westminster and council seats, and preventing other parties from obtaining bar charts that steal our momentum.
  3.     Building up on-the-ground infrastructure across London, which remains a key factor to our winning formula.

Our next scheduled election is regional, and our Regional Party will be central to setting the strategy that helps make or break momentum. Having spent two years on the Regional Executive, with campaigning experience across local parties of every size, from Lewisham and Merton to Richmond, I’ve seen how the Region could do more to lift us everywhere.

Building a London Brand 

London’s transient population has weakened the effectiveness of localism; London-wide and national issues increasingly weigh more heavily on voters than they used to. We also have to be realistic about our national message: most of our promising prospects remain in the Blue Wall, so we’re unlikely to see the federal party shift that dial in London’s favour.

Since the last GLA election, we’ve doubled our MPs and added dozens of councillors, many fighting on shared priorities for Londoners. Whether it’s Lambeth Lib Dems’ win for tenants on housing disrepairs, Luke Taylor MP championing the Bakerloo extension or Cllr Anton Georgiou calling out Labour’s deal with the Tories. We have the stories and actions, but we must do more to collaborate to turn these into a cohesive regional message.

That’s where the Region must be more proactive, taking ownership of our messaging ahead of the London Elections and getting better at amplifying local successes. Reposting local content isn’t enough. We need to work with local parties to turn their successes into a shared regional narrative, and improve how our councils, GLA team and MPs collaborate.

Digital Campaigning Strategy

On-the-ground campaigning alone is no longer enough to win across London – the air war matters more with each election. The Green Party and Reform UK have shown how social media can be used effectively, with Labour and the Conservatives already catching up. We cannot be left behind.

A London brand with coordinated messaging must include a much-expanded digital presence, particularly on short-form video. Social media is replacing email for many voters, and for London’s younger, transient population it’s often the only channel that reaches them at all.

The Region must equip key members and volunteers across London with the skills and support to produce this content – building on Charlie Clinton’s work on digital campaigning, turning great local content like Southwark and Camden’s into regional narratives, and championing the organic reach already coming from members like Elin Kingston and Sarah Anderson.

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Mark Valladares

29-31 August 2026 – the long weekend’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 31st August 2026 - 10:30 pm
  • Baxter to lead debate on wildfires in Scottish Parliament
  • Cole-Hamilton sets out expectations for Programme for Government
  • New record for sewage: Over 100,000 “disgusting” sewage dumps in 2025
  • Harley responds to hospital flow plan

Baxter to lead debate on wildfires in Scottish Parliament

As parliament returns from its summer recess, Scottish Liberal Democrat rural affairs spokesperson Andrew Baxter will lead a debate on wildfires, following the devastating blaze that raged across the Cairngorms for more than a month.

On Tuesday, MSPs will debate a motion brought forward by the Scottish Liberal Democrat member for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

As well as recognising the increasing threat of wildfires in Scotland, the motion highlights the Scottish Government’s flawed response to the Cairngorms blaze.

More than 2,500 hectares of moorland and forest were destroyed in the fire. It led to the evacuation of residents in Nethy Bridge, with smoke spreading all the way out to Aberdeen.

Ministers delayed chairing of the meeting of their Resilience Room, convened at times of emergency, by more than a week. When it was eventually held, the SNP government refused an offer of UK military support to help tackle the wildfire.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have also published a dossier exposing the state of the country’s fire service.

This revealed that:

  • Scottish Fire and Rescue had to pay almost £6 million in overtime payments last year, up by a third in the last five years from £4.5 million in 2021/22.
  • Mental health absences have skyrocketed, from 4,219 days lost in 2021/22 to 12,132 days in 2025/26.
  • Almost a third of full-time equivalent retained firefighter posts are unfilled.

Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for a cross-party summit to learn the lessons of the response to the Cairngorms wildfire and to ensure that there is a concrete action plan going forward.

Commenting ahead of the debate, Andrew Baxter MSP said:

The Cairngorms wildfire has left an apocalyptic and desolate imprint on one of the most beautiful parts of the country.

It was not a one-off, freak weather event. Wildfires are now happening annually in Scotland; we need a government that is far more prepared, far more proactive when the next one inevitably strikes.

The Cairngorms fire was also the first major test of the new action plan that the government paraded earlier this year, but the unacceptable failings of their response show that this plan must be looked at again.

It’s also clear that the fire service doesn’t have the resources it desperately needs to deal with the growing threat of wildfires. Mental health absences among staff and a burgeoning overtime bill are only making things worse.

I hope that the Scottish Government agrees to our call for a cross-party summit. That’s the first, essential step in working with fire teams, local authorities, farmers, gamekeepers, businesses and more to prevent a devastating repeat of this summer.

Cole-Hamilton sets out expectations for Programme for Government

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that the First Minister should be focused on four key areas in his programme for government: delivering first-rate healthcare, help with the cost of living, getting Scotland’s roads and ferries moving and returning Scottish education to its best.

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Patrick Stillman

Winning Britain’s Cities: A Liberal Vision for Urban Britain

By Patrick Stillman | Sun 30th August 2026 - 11:55 am

The Liberal Democrats have achieved something remarkable in recent years. The strategy that delivered 72 MPs in 2024 demonstrated once again the extraordinary power of community politics, strong local candidates, and disciplined targeting. The mood at the last two conferences have been of celebration, but there’s a growing disquiet amongst many following the May local elections: what comes next?

In Britain’s cities, liberal values ought to have enormous resonance. These are places shaped by diversity, mobility, economic opportunity, civil liberties, and the daily negotiation of how people with very different lives live alongside one another. Yet despite pockets of success in May, our reputation of being the party that “fixes the church roof” struggled to cut through. 

In areas where we campaigned hard, had established local candidates, and our eyes on the prize of sizable opposition groups or even control of Councils, our gains were considerably smaller than they might have been. Across London in 2026, Liberal Democrat vote share fell to 12.4%, below both 2022 and 2018, while inner London recorded its weakest Liberal Democrat vote share since 1978. This happened despite a major effort to stand candidates across the capital and despite Labour fighting in an exceptionally difficult national environment. 

The same pattern appeared at ward level. In several places, Liberal Democrat campaigns followed the local election playbook: repeated literature, extensive canvassing, and significant local activity, while Green candidates secured substantial support with limited or in some cases no visible local campaigning.

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Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 30th August 2026 - 9:36 am

CIA

Why did CIA Director John Ratcliffe fly to Moscow? It definitely was not the “semi-routine” visit that Donald Trump claims.

The last time the head of the Central Intelligence Agency visited the Russian capital was in November 2021 – and that was hardly routine.

A study of the available reporting and surrounding circumstances point to a similar reason—with a few additional twists. The first reason is that American and British intelligence are reported to have picked up indications that Putin is considering testing NATO’s Article 5 commitment by taking some sort of action against a NATO country. The most likely target is one of the Baltic states.

America’s stock of Patriot interceptors in Europe has reportedly fallen to critically low levels because of their enormous consumption in the Iran war. If Moscow believes Washington is militarily distracted and European air defences depleted, Putin could conceivably think this is an unusually favourable moment to test NATO.

Another complementary reason for the visit is likely to be Ukraine. Ratcliffe is reported to have given his Russian counterpart—Sergei Naryshkin–a distinctly pessimistic assessment of Russia’s position and urged Moscow to enter serious negotiations before its military and economic circumstances deteriorate further.

Iran would also have been discussed. Russia is closely aligned with Tehran, and Washington is trying to increase pressure on Iran while pushing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz back towards normal. CBS reports that Ratcliffe warned Moscow about further sanctions connected with the Strait. Reuters says Russian support for Iran was among the subjects discussed.

In November 2021 President Joe Biden sent CIA director to Moscow to warn Putin not to invade Ukraine. In August 2026 President Donald Trump sent John Ratcliffe on a similar mission. Putin ignored the first CIA director. Why should Washington believe he will listen to the second?

Mid term elections

Time for some detailed analysis of US mid-term election data. Using Cook Political Report, one of America’s best established non-partisan election analysis organisations, the figures show the Democrats in pole position to win the House and with a 50/50 chance to gain control of the Senate.

But let’s take a closer look. Republicans currently have a five-seat majority in the House of Representatives. This means that the Democrats need to win only three seats to gain control. Analysts reckon that they have a chance of gaining 2-10 seats. This means that at the bottom end of the range the Republican retain control with the narrow majority of one and at the top the Democrats have a solid 15-seat majority.

As of 25 August, Cook reckons that there are 21 congressional election races that could be considered toss-ups worth closely watching. They are: two Republican-held seats in Arizona; one Republican-held seat in California; one Republican-held seat in Colorado; two Democrat-held seats in Florida; one Democrat-held seat in Washington state; two Republican-held seats in Iowa; two Republican-held seats in Michigan; one Republican-held seat in New Jersey;  one Republican-held seat in New York; one Republican-held seat in Wisconsin; one Democratic-held seat in Ohio; three Republican-held seats in Pennsylvania; one Democratic-held seat in Texas and one Republican-held seat in Virginia.

A quick count of the above reveals that of the 21 toss-ups 16 are currently held by worried Republicans. This means that the Republicans are defending more than three times as many toss-up seats as the Democrats.

Now for the Senate where the Republicans currently have a healthier 53 seats and the Democrats 47. Therefore, the Democrats need a net gain of four to win control.  There are seven Senate seats which Cook regards as marginal. They are: Alaska (Republican), Iowa (Republican), Maine (Republican), Michigan (Democrat), Ohio (Republican), Texas (Republican) and North Carolina (Republican).

Cook reckons that North Carolina has moved from marginal Republican to what they call “lean Democrat.” Texas is heading that way with Attorney General Ken Paxton trailing the Democrat James Talarico candidate. The campaigns of the Democrat candidates in Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Alaska have all been given a boost by Trump’s trade war with Canada as the tariffs both sides have imposed will have a big impact on the economies of all those states.

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Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: Canada

By Tom Arms | Sat 29th August 2026 - 10:30 am

What is the British government doing to support Canada? It is one of our closest allies. Our relationship with Canada is more special than that with the US. King Charles is their head of state. Canada is a fellow member of NATO, the G7, Five Eyes, the Commonwealth and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

This question should be asked on the floor of the House of Commons. And the person to ask it is Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. He has made his opposition to President Donald Trump crystal clear. The US-Canada trade war is an opportunity to translate opposition rhetoric into specific policies.

But he should be prepared for the answer which is a lot of waffle which will amount to – nothing.

And where is the rest of the world? Since becoming Canada’s Prime Minister, Carney has made 23 foreign trips to 29 countries. Almost all of them to promote his vision of a powerful new bloc of “Middle Powers” who can provide a collective bargaining front to the US and China. In a few weeks he will address the European Parliament.

Everywhere Carney has gone he has been given a sympathetic hearing and important agreements have been signed with the UK, the EU, Japan and Australia. But there is no sign that Canada’s friends are prepared to translate their sympathy into meaningful support in its confrontation with Trump.

The rest of the world is simply frightened of the mercurial American president. If they explicitly back Carney then they run the risk of retaliation from Trump, and virtually all of Carney’s allies are also allies of the US and dependent on the American nuclear umbrella for their ultimate security.

But they don’t need to explicitly join a retaliation against the US. The American political equation is about to dramatically change with the mid-term elections. The Democrats are strongly favoured  to win control of the House of Representatives and have a chance of also securing a majority in the Senate. The latest forecasts give the Democrats an 87 percent chance of winning control of the lower chamber and a 55 percent chance of doing the same in the upper chamber. Trump’s tariffs against Canada—in fact Trump himself—are deeply unpopular and a political shift in Congress is likely to mean the end of tariffs against Canada and personal problems for the president.

Carney’s supporters in Asia and Europe don’t need to join his trade war per se. They could show support for accelerating trade agreements; increasing purchases of Canadian goods; offer investment; coordinate critical mineral deals and increase defence procurement cooperation. The framework for the above has already been established by Carney’s diplomacy. It just needs to be activated.

If it is then that would be a giant step towards establishing Carney’s vision of a network of countries and organisations representing 1.5 billion people. This would give members of the network collective bargaining power in any negotiations with the US and China.

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Mark Valladares

28 August 2026 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Fri 28th August 2026 - 10:30 pm
  • Green responds to independence bill
  • Almost 500 repairs needed in Scottish police buildings
  • Cole-Hamilton responds to SNP’s first 100 days failure
  • Chamberlain responds to serial rapist police officer passing vetting checks

Green responds to independence bill

Responding to the Scottish Government publishing a draft referendum bill on independence, Scottish Liberal Democrat public service reform spokesperson David Green MSP said:

Yawn.

Almost 500 repairs needed in Scottish police buildings

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP has today urged the SNP to “wake up” to the pressures facing the justice system, as she revealed that there are almost 500 repair works needed in police buildings across the country.

A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request to Police Scotland asked for the detail of repair works raised in condition surveys.

These surveys outline the physical state of police buildings and any work that requires attention.

The request found that:

  • There are 460 works requiring attention in 175 police buildings across Scotland.
  • 57 of these works related to fire safety.
  • 33 related to security, while 28 related to roofing.
  • Police stations in Glasgow have some of the highest number of repairs requiring attention, with 10 needed at the London Road Station, 10 at Meiklewood Road Complex and 8 at Govan Police Station.
  • The Scottish Police College in Tulliallan has 17 repairs requiring attention

The 2026 condition surveys estimated that these works would cost £20,671,609.

The request also found that an investment of £510 million is required to maintain and upgrade the police estate in line with modern policing needs.

In 2024, Police Scotland shut down its Forfar HQ due to concerns around the building’s structural safety, water ingress and potentially dangerous airborne yeasts and moulds. Lying empty ever since, there are now plans to sell the building, but there is no indication of when it will go on the market.

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Joe Nutt

ALDC by-election report, 17th August

By Joe Nutt | Fri 28th August 2026 - 2:25 pm

Five principal authority by-elections took place across England on Thursday 27th August.

Labour were defending two seats (in Wandsworth and Sheffield), Reform UK were defending two seats (in Newcastle and St Helens), and the Conservatives were defending one seat in Dover.

The standout performance of the week for the Liberal Democrats came in Newcastle, where an extraordinary campaign saw us vault from 5th place all the way into a clear 2nd with a massive 24.3 percentage point surge in vote share. Elsewhere, Reform UK gained a seat from Labour in Sheffield while losing another to Labour in St Helens, and the Green Party unseated the Conservatives in Dover.

Newcastle City Council, Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn

In Tyneside, the Liberal Democrats delivered an exceptional result in the Throckley, Walbottle and Newburn ward on Newcastle City Council following a councillor resignation.

This result comes against the backdrop of a historic milestone on Newcastle City Council earlier this May, when the Liberal Democrats became the largest party on the council and formed a minority administration supported by confidence and supply from the Green Party.

Supported by a grant from ALDC’s Fighting Fund, Stephen Kelly and the local campaign team delivered a stunning campaign in what has historically been tough territory for us. We rocketed from 5th place straight into 2nd, boosting our vote share by a massive +24.3% to finish within striking distance of Reform UK, while pushing Labour down into 3rd place. This outstanding momentum sets up a fantastic springboard for the next set of local elections in this division.

A huge thank you and congratulations to Stephen Kelly and the entire campaign team in Newcastle for an inspiring result!

Reform UK: 901 (39.0%, -4.8%)
Lib Dem (Stephen Kelly): 670 (29.0%, +24.3%)
Labour: 534 (23.1%, -5.9%)
Green Party: 103 (4.5%, -9.2%)
Conservative: 101 (4.4%, -4.4%)

Reform UK HOLD

 

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Arthur Wu

Remember why we started: What the Hong Kong Alliance case means for Hong Kong’s future

By Arthur Wu | Fri 28th August 2026 - 12:19 pm

As I write this, I am looking at my small model of the Goddess of Democracy (民主女神像) on the shelf. It takes me back to my student activist years in Hong Kong, when democracy was something my generation argued about, organised around and fought for.

The original Goddess stood in Tiananmen Square for only a few days before it was destroyed in June 1989. Its image survived. In Hong Kong, one organisation kept that memory alive for more than three decades: the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (支聯會).

On 21 August 2026, the Hong Kong Alliance and its former leaders Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were convicted of inciting subversion under the National Security Law. Albert Ho, another former leader, had previously pleaded guilty. Central to the case was the Alliance’s longstanding call to “end one-party dictatorship”. The court held that this sought to undermine the constitutional leadership of the Communist Party of China.

The Alliance organised the annual candlelight vigils in Victoria Park commemorating the victims of 4 June 1989. Its politics were always contested. The pro-Beijing camp opposed its objectives. As a member of the pan-democratic camp, I defended the tradition of June Fourth remembrance. Some right-wing localists opposed the vigil for very different reasons, questioning its focus on democratisation in China and arguing for a future centred more exclusively on Hong Kong.

Those arguments could be fierce. Looking back, what stays with me is that we were able to have them.

That was part of the Hong Kong I grew up in. Pro-Beijing politicians, pan-democrats and localists had radically different ideas about democracy, identity, China and Hong Kong’s future. Even the meaning of June Fourth was openly contested.

Much of that political space has disappeared. Political participation now operates under the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, with national-security requirements shaping who can stand for public office. Pan-democrats and localists no longer participate in formal politics in anything resembling their previous form.

The Alliance case captures this change. Hong Kong once argued openly over competing political futures. Today, advocacy directly challenging the Communist Party’s monopoly on political power can fall within national-security law. It raises a basic liberal question: how much room remains for peaceful political disagreement?

Pluralism requires space for people with fundamentally different ideas to argue, organise and persuade. We can profoundly disagree with a political movement while defending its right to take part peacefully in public life. That freedom once allowed pro-Beijing politicians, pan-democrats and localists to argue over Hong Kong’s future. Its loss should concern liberals everywhere.

The Alliance also carried something beyond politics. For decades, candles in Victoria Park allowed Hongkongers to remember publicly what could not be openly commemorated in mainland China. A replica of the Goddess of Democracy stood at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) from 2010 until it was removed in December 2021. As political space narrowed, so did the space for public remembrance.

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The Voice

Welsh Lib Dems: Burnham must back Wales with more than words

By The Voice | Thu 27th August 2026 - 11:15 pm

Responding to Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s comments in Port Talbot today, Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson David Chadwick MP said:

Burnham says his visit to Port Talbot sends a powerful signal to the community, but he still hasn’t actually committed to Wales receiving its fair share of the £2.5 billion steel fund, the single biggest decision that could benefit Port Talbot and the wider economy.

Our priority is securing the powers that will make the biggest difference to people’s everyday lives, from rail and infrastructure investment to research and development funding to the Crown Estate.

Most fundamentally, Burnham is still refusing to look at

…

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Mary Reid

Happy Birthday to us!

By Mary Reid | Thu 27th August 2026 - 12:36 pm

Lib Dem Voice was launched 20 years ago today, on 27th August 2006.

In that time we have published 38,490 posts and 530,761 comments, and each has been lovingly read and edited by our team. Our Founding Editors were Mark Pack, Rob Fenwick and Will Howells and they were joined in by Stephen Tall and Richard Huzzey. You can see a full list of current and past editors here: The Liberal Democrat Voice team.

Over the years more than 3000 people have contributed posts. Our current Editor, Caron Lindsay, has penned an astonishing 4311 posts for LDV, just beating Mark’s 4106.

Here are a couple of memorable posts from the past:

Do add links in the Comments to other historic posts that readers might enjoy.

We have marked the passing of some great and interesting politicians.

April Fool’s posts have hoodwinked a surprising number of (presumably) rational Lib Dems.

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Mark Valladares

26 August 2026 – today’s (other) press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 26th August 2026 - 10:30 pm
  • Dunlop: What is the Scottish Government doing to stop care-experienced young people dying prematurely?
  • Harley responds to extension of GP walk-in centres
  • Burnham Wales Visit – Wales doesn’t need another Labour listening exercise, Wales needs action

Dunlop: What is the Scottish Government doing to stop care-experienced young people dying prematurely?

Following a UK Government review into deaths among young people with experience of the care system in England, Scottish Liberal Democrat children spokesperson Duncan Dunlop MSP highlighted that the scale of the tragedy is “no different” in Scotland.

An independent UK Government review estimates that young people who are leaving the care system in England are dying at three to four times the rate of other people their age.

More than a third of the deaths examined by the review were believed to be suicides.

The Liberal Democrat MSP used his maiden speech in the Scottish Parliament to tell the stories of young people in Scotland whom the state has failed.

He has also repeatedly pressed the SNP government to commit to publishing the premature death rates of all care-experienced people, ensuring that a mechanism is in place to monitor progress.

Duncan Dunlop MSP said:

I got into politics because I want to transform the lives and outcomes of Scotland’s care-experienced young people.

The findings of the UK Government’s review are nothing short of tragic, and the horrifying scale of that tragedy is no different in Scotland.

After leading a care charity for many years, I have seen first-hand the trauma experienced by young people in Scotland’s care system. I have also seen how they have been utterly failed by the SNP’s broken Promise.

I have repeatedly pressed the Scottish Government to sit down to work on this specific issue. As a bare minimum, I want to see them gathering a clear picture of the problem in Scotland, which is why ministers should commit to publishing the premature death rates of all care-experienced people.

By taking steps like this, we can start to reinvigorate efforts to transform care and ultimately save lives. The Scottish Government needs to get on with it.

Harley responds to extension of GP walk-in centres

Responding to the Scottish Government’s plans to extend the number of GP walk-in centres despite stubbornly low attendance rates among those that are already up and running, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said:

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Caron Lindsay

Scottish Lib Dems object to huge Scottish Water bonuses

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 26th August 2026 - 8:30 pm

We’re used to hearing about bosses of English Water companies getting rewarded for failure, but north of the border, things are just as bad, if not worse. It’s particularly egregious to see  publicly owned Scottish Water pay out £250,000 in bonuses to senior management when the company’s record is far from unblemished.

Scottish Lib Dem Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Emvironment spokesperson Sanne Dijkstra-Downie have written to John Swinney to ask him how such bonuses could be justified. They said:

Dear John,

We are writing to you following the publication of Scottish Water’s annual report, which included the executive members’ renumeration for 2026.

The report shows that executive members have received more than £250,000 in bonuses over the past year. It comes at a time when billions of litres of sewage are being discharged into Scotland’s rivers, lochs and beaches every year. New research has also suggested that almost all raw sewage spills in Scotland could be illegal.

Meanwhile, ongoing pollution incidents at Portobello Beach, a designated bathing water, have led to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) advising the public against entering the water. Indeed, analysis has found that Portobello Beach recorded E.coli levels ten times above the safe limit. Wardie Bay, a popular wild swimming spot in the north of the city, has also experienced problems with water pollution, with a sewage pollution alert issued this month.

The continued water-quality issues at Kinghorn Beach means that the site faces being stripped of its designated bathing water status if it receives a fifth successive “poor” SEPA rating. The watchdog said that the water could be a risk to human and animal health.

As you will be aware, the bonuses paid to Scottish Water are only to be payable if the organisation meets its performance targets, which includes measures like customer satisfaction and a reduction in incidents. It is extremely difficult, therefore, to understand why such high bonuses continue to be paid when sewage discharges are consistently high and popular beaches are being forced to close.

Indeed, these bonuses will simply seem unjustifiable, especially for the many people who have been directly impacted by sewage problems and pollution at some of the country’s most beloved bathing spots. It is not at all clear how Scottish Water, a public body, is being properly held to account when these bonuses persist despite consistently disappointing performance.

Will you, therefore, explain why such high bonuses continue to be paid out and what, if any, consideration is given to significant factors like sewage dumps and beach closures in the decision to pay them?

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Alex Cole-Hamilton

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and MSP for Edinburgh North Western

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie

Scottish Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson and MSP for Edinburgh Northern

I suspect we may have seen the subject of Alex’s first First Minister’s Question of the new session next week.

Christine Jardine MP used a recent Scotsman column to criticise the bonuses too:

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The Voice

Ed Davey on “unfair mean and nasty” attacks on Jason Arday

By The Voice | Wed 26th August 2026 - 7:23 pm

Ed Davey has spoken to Politics Home about the death of Jason Arday following an extended period of vicious press coverage.

Davey told PoliticsHome that parts of the media had seemed to “focus in on it and attack him in a way which seems awfully disproportionate, unfair, mean, and nasty”.

What it shows is that we have to push back against this Trump-like attack on liberal values where we embrace everybody equally and respect everybody.

“There seems to be a movement, particularly on the right, to move away from the liberal progress I thought we made, where we respect people, we judge them on their merit, and we celebrate the contribution that everybody made.”

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Mark Valladares

25 August 2026 – yesterday’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Wed 26th August 2026 - 9:36 am
  • Police submit first charge file relating to Mohamed Fayed
  • Rennie urges Dalzell investigation amid reports of misuse of taxpayer money
  • Almost 10,000 waiting on care package or assessment
  • SNP urged to change course to get 770,000 Scots treated
  • Harley: Pause GP walk-in centres as low attendance rates persist
  • Chou Turvey responds to recorded crime increases
  • Green: SFC report shows public sector reform falling short

Police submit first charge file relating to Mohamed Fayed

Commenting on the update from the Metropolitan Police that Operation Cornpoppy detectives have submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a Charge decision, Dave Robertson MP and Wendy Chamberlain MP, Co-Chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods – the cross-party campaign in Parliament – said:

This will be a huge moment for many survivors – whether this first charging decision relates to them or not.

As a group they have been waiting years, and in some cases decades, for justice.

We are pleased to see the Metropolitan Police pushing ahead in its investigation by referring this charging decision to the Crown Prosecution Service.

We recently met with the force, who assured us that progress on the investigation is accelerating, and we will keep supporting survivors to be heard by the all the institutions involved in this case.

They deserve certainty that every aspect of the abuse they suffered at the hands of this trafficking network will be pursued to the fullest extent possible.

Rennie urges Dalzell investigation amid reports of misuse of taxpayer money

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie has today written to Cabinet Secretary Stephen Flynn urging him to investigate significant allegations about the operation of the Dalzell steel plant, including misuse of taxpayer money, non-payment of pension payments, theft, collapsing maintenance standards and the sourcing of steel slab from Kazakhstan, after he was approached by a number of sources at the plant over recent goings on.

Mr Rennie’s letter is as follows:

Dear Stephen,

I am writing with regard to the Dalzell steel plant.

This is an issue that I have taken an interest in over the years as I wish to see Scotland maintain domestic steel capacity.

At this stage you will be familiar with the travails of the site’s present owner Sanjeev Gupta and his GFG Alliance business empire. I understand from recent media coverage that the Scottish Government are now investigating misuse of loans provided in respect to the Lochaber aluminium plant, also part of Mr Gupta’s network.

I have recently been contacted by a number of sources at the Dalzell plant who raised a number of concerning issues and I am now writing to you to seek confirmation as to the following points and to ask what action your government will now take to ensure fair treatment for Scottish taxpayers and the workers at the plant:

• Whether it is correct that rather than sourcing steel slab from British steelmakers, the Dalzell plant has been sourcing raw materials from Kazakhstan?

• What engagement the Scottish Government has had with bosses at the Dalzell plant given that the plant has been effectively mothballed for the past twelve months with workers on reduced payments?

• Whether it is correct that payments into the employees pensions have stopped as Aviva will not accept the payments that the plant’s operators are forwarding due to concerns over the source of these payments?

• Whether the Scottish Government assesses that there are major issues that will stop the plant from running in the very near future? My contact is warning that the furnaces that heat the slabs are on their knees due to lack of maintenance and investment.

• Whether it is accurate to say that there is now a shortage of fitters and electricians?

• What action the Scottish Government has taken in response to reports that the plant was ransacked and nearly every piece of copper stolen from it preventing the installation of key equipment?

• My contacts have also warned that the £7 million owed to the Scottish Government was not spent on the Dalzell plant but was in fact transferred elsewhere.

In my previous exchanges with Scottish Government ministers on this matter, I have been left concerned that no one has ever been able to explain whether or when government loans are likely to be paid back, whether Mr Gupta’s businesses are in breach of their deals with the government and what this could all mean for Scottish taxpayers.

I hope you will be able to furnish me with some answers,

Yours sincerely,

Willie Rennie

Almost 10,000 waiting on care package or assessment

Responding to new figures that show, 9,736 people were waiting to receive a social care package or to be assessed for one at the beginning of July, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said:

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Veronica-Mae Soar

Are the Liberal Democrats invisible?

By Veronica-Mae Soar | Tue 25th August 2026 - 9:37 am

The Liberal Democrats are currently a significant force in British politics, attracting millions of votes. We hold a substantial number of parliamentary seats, control local councils across the country and have a loyal base of support. Yet, listening to the news or watching political programmes, you could often be forgiven for thinking there are only two major parties. Is this something we should worry about?

I have voted Liberal and Liberal Democrat for around 60 years, and in all that time I have never had my own candidate win. That is quite a sobering thought. It also makes me wonder how much of the problem is the way our electoral system works, rather than simply how well we communicate. What do others think?

At present, so many people vote tactically. They may support us but decide that they need to vote for someone else to prevent another candidate from winning. When we eventually get PR, will that change? And will it be enough?

This is not simply a question of getting more publicity. It is also about voters understanding what we stand for.

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Mark Valladares

24 August 2026 – today’s press releases

By Mark Valladares | Mon 24th August 2026 - 10:30 pm
  • Almost 1,500 Scottish Water investigations into potential dry weather sewage spills
  • Chou Turvey responds to Rape Crisis report
  • Chou Turvey calls for better police officer support amid shoplifting rise
  • SNP must swap centralisation for reform to improve public services

Almost 1,500 Scottish Water investigations into potential dry weather sewage spills

Scottish Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson Sanne Dijkstra-Downie MSP has today revealed new figures showing that Scottish Water have conducted nearly 1,500 investigations into potential dry weather sewage spills.

Sewage dumping typically occurs when the sewage system is overburdened, often as a result of excessive rainfall. Sewage dumping on dry days is considered to be more damaging to the environment because discharges will not be diluted by rainfall. In England, releasing raw sewage into waterways during dry spells is illegal.

New figures obtained by Scottish Liberal Democrats using freedom of information legislation show that 3,867 alerts have been triggered for a potential dry weather sewage spill, and of these alerts 1,496 required maintenance or investigation in person, across 521 different sites.

Previously the scale of dry weather sewage spills in Scotland had not been known, although Environmental Standards Scotland reported that it believed Scottish Water and SEPA were underestimating the scale.

In his report into sewage dumping in Scotland ‘sewage sleuth’ Peter Hammond, portrayed by Jason Watkins in the Channel 4 TV show Dirty Business, found incidents of dry weather sewage dumping occurring at 3 sewage treatment works:

  • 302 days where dry weather sewage spills occurred between 2018 and 2023 at Helensburgh WWTW
  • 18 days where dry weather sewage spills occurred between 2018 and 2020 at Kilmory STW
  • 96 days where dry weather sewage spills occurred between 2018 and 2019 and Tighnabruaich STW

Sanne Dijkstra-Downie said:

We already knew from Environmental Standards Scotland that dry weather sewage spills were being underestimated, but the number of potential incidents being shown here is very concerning.

Dry weather sewage spills are especially dangerous to the environment because sewage discharges will not have been diluted by rainwater. That’s bad news for people, pets and wildlife.

We need to see the Scottish Government finally start taking the sewage crisis more seriously. We have now had both the government’s own environmental watchdog and renowned sewage sleuth Peter Hammond call out the state of sewage dumping in Scotland but SNP ministers don’t seem interested.

Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a Clean Water Act to take the sewage scandal seriously, track down and report every sewage dump, and replace outdated standards with modern enforceable regulation.

Chou Turvey responds to Rape Crisis report

Responding to a new report by the Scottish Rape Crisis Alliance that by 2028 almost 2,000 women and girls could be forced to wait months for specialist support after experiencing rape and sexual violence, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Yi-pei Chou Turvey MSP said:

With reports of sexual violence now at their highest level in over 50 years, much more is needed to prevent these horrific crimes and support survivors.

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Chris Nicholson

Being a Councillor – 35 years on

By Chris Nicholson | Mon 24th August 2026 - 10:00 am

On May 7th I was elected as a Councillor on Lambeth Council – 35 years after standing down as a Councillor in Kingston after a 9-year spell.

So, what have I found is different – and what is the same?

The first big difference is the amount of casework – it is far greater – I would estimate 5-10 new items per day, plus the follow up on existing cases.

I think the big difference here is emails and mobile phones/WhatsApp. They have made it far easier to contact a Councillor with associated increased expectations of speed of response.

The outgoing Labour Councillor prided herself on responding to emails within half an hour! The other Labour candidate made a public pledge to respond to residents within an hour throughout his 4-year term!

Residents have come to expect that – within 3 weeks I had an email on Wednesday at 8.05am complaining that I had not responded to an email sent at 9.40pm on the Monday evening. Such expectations make it difficult for anyone who has a full-time job and/or caring responsibilities to fulfil the role. That to me is a real concern about how representative Councillors can be of their local community.

Secondly, the shift to a Leader/Cabinet model means that a backbench Opposition Councillor has relatively little power compared to a committee system. Even though we hold the balance of power on the Council the only power Full Council has is to set the Budget, the Borough Plan which is the policy framework for decisions and to elect the Leader. When I was previously the Leader of a No Overall Control Council the Opposition Councillors had real decision-making power. The Leader/Cabinet model in local government in my view is fundamentally undemocratic.

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Roz Savage MP

Roz Savage MP writes: Liberalism is having a Moment. But does it have a future?

By Roz Savage MP | Sun 23rd August 2026 - 10:58 am

Liberalism seems to be going through an identity crisis. Within a few months, three very different thinkers have published books asking the same question: what has happened to Liberalism, and what would make it relevant again?

Adrian Wooldridge has given us Centrists of the World Unite!, David Howarth Being Liberal, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu What Happened to Liberal Democracy?

We are halfway through this parliament, barring Andy Burnham calling an early election. So it’s a good time to search our collective Liberal soul in a quest for clarity of purpose. 

We have 72 MPs, our largest parliamentary party in a century, yet remarkably little influence over the national conversation. If people still struggle to say what Liberal Democrats are for, perhaps we haven’t told a sufficiently compelling story.

I approached Wooldridge’s Centrists with some scepticism. To me, “centrists” implies the mushy middle between left and right, administered by nice people who want to be everybody’s friend/tactical voting choice.

Fortunately, that isn’t Wooldridge’s Liberalism. His is restless and insurgent. Historically, Liberals challenged aristocratic privilege, monopolies and inherited hierarchies. His complaint is that this bold tradition became associated instead with a cautious, managerial establishment.

His challenge is worth hearing. We are good at being reasonable, evidence-led and practical. But competence is not a destination. Liberalism should feel radical.

David Howarth’s Being Liberal explores the Liberal disposition: open-minded, suspicious of abuses of power, uncomfortable with hierarchy, treating people as individuals rather than categories, and accepting that reasonable people can disagree.

It captures something policy programmes miss. Liberalism isn’t only about what government does. It is about how we treat other people – and how we behave when given power ourselves.

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Joe Nutt

ALDC by-election report, 20th August

By Joe Nutt | Fri 21st August 2026 - 6:02 pm

There were four principal authority by-elections across England on Thursday 20 August. Labour were defending two seats, Reform UK were defending one and there was one vacancy in Huntingdonshire where Reform had won one of the ward’s three seats at the May elections.

The Liberal Democrats were defending no seats this week, but produced the standout result of the night by gaining St Neots Eynesbury from Reform UK with a commanding swing of almost 30 percentage points. Elsewhere, Labour regained a Reform seat in Barnsley, Reform gained from Labour in Carlisle’s Harraby South, and Nottingham’s crowded six-way contest demonstrated how fragmented local politics has become in parts of the country.

Huntingdonshire DC, St Neots Eynesbury

The headline result of the week came in St Neots Eynesbury, where the Liberal Democrats overturned a Reform UK gain made only three months ago. In May’s district elections, Reform had won two of the ward’s three seats after the collapse of the long-standing St Neots Independent Group representation, while the Liberal Democrats finished third. This by-election represented an immediate opportunity to test Reform’s breakthrough here.

The wider political context made the contest even more significant. At the 2026 elections, the party won 20 seats to become the largest group on the council, overtaking the Conservatives, but remained short of an overall majority on the 52-seat authority. Since then, the minority administration has faced additional pressure after the Green Party just this week left the governing arrangement, leaving the Liberal Democrat and Independent administration operating on a knife edge. This gain lifts the administration’s combined strength to 26 seats, exactly half the council, which marginally strengthens its position.

St Neots itself has become one of the Liberal Democrats’ strongest parliamentary success stories too. The town sits within the St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire constituency won by Liberal Democrat MP Ian Sollom in 2024, and Eynesbury has seen significant housing growth over recent decades, creating an electorate that has become increasingly competitive between several parties.

Against that backdrop, Ian Taylor delivered an outstanding victory. His 1,024 votes and 47.9% share represented a remarkable 29.8-point increase on the previous Liberal Democrat performance, while his 377-vote majority over Reform UK sends a powerful signal about the value of sustained local campaigning.

Huge congratulations to Ian Taylor and the team on an exceptional gain that strengthens the Liberal Democrat administration in Huntingdonshire.

Liberal Democrats: 1,024 (47.9%, +29.8)

Reform UK: 647 (30.3%, +3.1)

Conservatives: 143 (6.7%, -3.8)

Green Party: 118 (5.5%, -12.5)

Labour: 104 (4.9%, new)

Independent: 102 (4.8%, new)

 

Turnout: 24.0%

Liberal Democrats GAIN from Reform UK

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Geoffrey Payne

Social Liberal Forum heading to Brighton i360 for high-flying pre-Conference event

By Geoffrey Payne | Fri 21st August 2026 - 12:39 pm

The Social Liberal Forum (SLF) has unveiled a pair of high-profile keynote speakers for its signature Pre-Conference Social ahead of the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Brighton.

Taking place on Friday, 18th September 2026, at the iconic Brighton i360, the evening will feature guest appearances from Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero Pippa Heylings MP, alongside former Cambridge MP David Howarth, who will be launching his new book, Being Liberal: The Liberal Disposition in Contemporary British Politics.

A High-Altitude Start to Conference Weekend

Set 450 feet above the Sussex coastline aboard …

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Ben Edginton-Thomas

Reinvigorating the Royal Navy

By Ben Edginton-Thomas | Fri 21st August 2026 - 9:30 am

On the 20th July this year, a Russian Navy frigate conducted live-fire exercises approximately 40 nautical miles south of Plymouth, in the English Channel. The vessel was shadowed by a Royal Navy ship and a French military aircraft. A week earlier, a separate Russian frigate had fired warning shots at a British yacht south of the Isle of Wight.

These are not distant signals picked up by intelligence. They are warships firing guns off the English coast. And the Royal Navy response required a French aircraft because we did not have enough of our own to spare.

Welcome to the state of the Royal Navy in 2026.

In 1991, the picture was very different. The Senior Service had 50 destroyers and frigates. Today it has only 11. Six Type 45 destroyers and five Type 23 frigates, most of which are ageing. Combine that with the two hilariously unreliable aircraft carriers the UK has, which spend more time in maintenance than at sea, and you wind up in our situation, where the UK had zero deployable carrier strike capability at points this year.

Adding to the general embarrassment, the Royal Navy has only 60 active and commissioned ships total. To command these, we have 134 admirals and flag officers, a ratio that would embarrass any organisation, and much higher than any of our allied partners such as France or the US. The Ministry of Defence also employs 57,445 civil servants, which is nearly twice the number of people serving in the entire Royal Navy.

We are top-heavy and underperforming. What rarely gets told alongside these defence statistics is that we did not just lose the ships. We lost the factories, the engineering expertise, the apprentices, the supply chains, the institutional knowledge and the communities that built them. The decline of the Royal Navy and the decline of British manufacturing are the same story told from different angles. In trying to save money through privatisation and outsourcing, we achieved neither defence efficiency nor industrial growth.

The Royal Ordnance Factories, publicly owned, were privatised in 1987 and subsequently acquired by BAE Systems. It is one of many. Defence Electronics, shipbuilding, aerospace design, one by one these sovereign capabilities were sold or allowed to atrophy on the grounds that the private sector does these things better. The private sector then consolidated, reduced competition, and settled into a comfortable arrangement of monopoly, returning significant profits to shareholders whilst delivery programmes run late and over budget. BAE Systems returned £1.5bn to shareholders in 2024, the very same year they were managing UK programmes years behind schedule. The MoD, as a captive customer, simply absorbed the cost overruns and you and I, as taxpayers, paid for both.

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Peter Chambers

Global Power or Euro-Atlantic leader?

By Peter Chambers | Thu 20th August 2026 - 10:56 am

What is Defence for?

Recent governments seems reluctant to define national security goals. There are needs around the Home Islands, the Falklands, Cyprus, Ascension, Diego Garcia, Gibraltar, the Caribbean, and various nations that the government has given “iron clad” security guarantees.  There are also commitments to NATO and the Northern Group, in Europe.

For a politician there is a large and vocal demand for defence, but we are told there is no more money. And industry will want certainty – for investment – to start large capital investment and skills pipelines. People around government talk of there being no headroom.

So is there headroom by reducing the requirement? Is government trying to defend Europe, create an Atlantic Bastion, police the Caribbean, hold the Falklands, give guarantees in the Indian Ocean, maintain a presence in Cyprus, provide a US base in Diego Garcia, have a shipyard in Gibraltar, maintain an air-link via Ascension, and other things?

So can we look at the defence needs and remove some to find headroom? The current tasks seem to fall into two categories: Global Power and Euro-Atlantic, and the government gives signs that it wants to do both. But not to fund both to the point of credibility.

Who are these categories for? The Global Power side seems to support a vision of a lost Empire that has not found a role. The needs here include the major centres mentioned above and a large list of “lily-pads” that can be rapidly reinforced by military mass that no longer exists. It may also include the role of riding to help US power, on request.

The Euro-Atlantic category is easier to explain to the public. It includes the UK home islands, the associated airspace and economic zone. It also includes support to all the nations who stand between us and the main regional threats.

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems at the Edinburgh Festival

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th August 2026 - 11:22 am

If you happen to be visiting Edinburgh in the next few days, you’ll find that choosing the Fringe show you want to go to is even more challenging than working out your Conference diary.

Over the four weeks, 3649 shows take place over 268 venues, for a total of 53000 performances in the biggest cultural festival in the World. And that’s before you start on the Book Festival.

Two Scottish Lib Dems are performing in shows this week and beyond.

Fife Council candidate Eliza Twaddle appears in The Real Housewives of the Zombie Apocalypse.

The dead have risen! But that won’t stop our seven housewives from serving high-camp drama in the most high-body-count reunion episode yet! Can our favourite OG queens of reality TV survive the hordes – and each other – and manifest their way to the end? Clydebuilt Theatre Company’s original musical returns! ***** (MusicalTalk’s Pick of the Fringe 2025, podcast). **** (Scotsman).

The reviews refer to technical problems on one performance but these are easily resolved.

Elsewhere, Charles Dundas, the Scottish Party’s Campaigns and Candidates Convener, is appearing in a whole load of improv shows between now and the end of the Fringe. He has very usefully listed them all here.

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Caron Lindsay

Let’s celebrate: LDV turns 20 next week

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th August 2026 - 8:57 am

On 27th August 2006, LDV burst onto the blooging scene with a post suggesting that Simon Hughes was “certain to be challenged for the party presidency.”

Word reaches the Voice that weeks before the position had been advertised in Lib Dem News, party officials in Cowley Street received a call requesting a copy of the nomination papers for party President – the caller was not acting on behalf of Simon Hughes.

Word also reaches us that one potential candidate is positioning himself to blitz Autumn Conference with an army of supporters bearing nomination papers, to seize the momentum.

A Presidential contest is no bad thing – though there is an argument that there are better ways to spend the money. The Voice has been told that a proposal is being put to the Federal Executive to double the campaign expenditure limit – to  £5000 per candidate.

Clearly this put off any rival as a month later...

Multiple unofficial, but reliable, sources tell the Voice that Simon Hughes will not face an election for the post of Party President.

PS This time I am assured the Voice is right, unlike the other time. I really am right this time. 100%. There’s a press release coming, and everything.

UPDATE: The party’s official announcement is here.

For other elections (Federal Executive, FCC etc) the timetable now is as follows:

  • The final opportunity for candidates to withdraw their nomination has passed

  • The final opportunity for candidates to submit manifesto artwork has passed

  • Ballot papers will be sent out on 16 October

  • They should be returned by 3 November

  • The results will be announced on 6 November

Well, at least we were noticed. By September 2006, LDV was  posting several times a day and since then has been there through the tension of leadership elections, the anxiety and rage of the coalition years, the dark days that followed and the rebuild to our best ever General Election result in 2024.

We’ve reported on births, deaths, marriages, party controversies, policy ideas, conferences, speeches. We’ve showcased Lib Dem achievements at all levels of Government. We’ve tried to encourage our party to be the best it cam be. We’ll be looking back on our two decades as part of the Liberal Democrat community over the next, well, for as long as we feel like it.

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BLAC Liberal Democrats

Diversity, standards, and the treatment of Professor Jason Arday

By BLAC Liberal Democrats | Tue 18th August 2026 - 1:10 pm

An Open Letter from BLAC Lib Dems

The tragic story surrounding Professor Jason Arday has left many of us deeply troubled. Let us be clear: plagiarism is unacceptable. Academic standards matter, and allegations of academic misconduct must be investigated properly and fairly.

But we also need to ask a bigger question about the culture in which this controversy has unfolded.

There is a growing anti-inclusion movement in Britain — one that has imported much of the American culture war and increasingly portrays diversity, equality, and inclusion as threats to standards rather than essential parts of a healthy society.

At its heart is an ugly assumption: Black people who attain prominent positions must somehow have got there because standards were lowered, because of preferential treatment, or because their background mattered more than their ability.

We have seen versions of this narrative repeatedly. In sport, figures such as Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford have been targeted. In media and culture, Ed Enninful and Misan Harriman have faced attempts to diminish their achievements and attribute their prominence primarily to diversity initiatives.

This is not an argument against scrutiny. Public figures should be scrutinised, universities should uphold rigorous standards, and institutions should be accountable.

But scrutiny is not the same as suspicion.

If there were legitimate concerns about Professor Arday’s academic work or his readiness for a senior role, those concerns should have been identified and addressed through proper processes. If Cambridge failed in that responsibility, it should acknowledge it.

What we should not do is turn one Black academic’s difficulties into evidence for a wider ideological argument against diversity.

We are particularly concerned by the way some critics have celebrated what they regard as the exposure of a supposedly corrupt diversity agenda. Nathan Cofnas, described by the BBC as a “self-defined race realist” and who left Cambridge in 2024, has publicly claimed credit for exposing Arday. Whatever one’s views of Cofnas, his reaction illustrates the wider ideological context in which this controversy has been seized upon.

We should be wary of allowing American racial politics and culture-war narratives to become normalised in Britain.

There is another uncomfortable truth.

We failed Professor Arday too.

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