Lib Dems hit highest ever membership on eve of local elections

The Liberal Democrats have hit their highest ever number of members, eclipsing the high watermark of 101,768 set in 1994. The landmark comes as Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron heads to Oxford to rally activists for the party’s final push of the local election campaign. More than 14,000 new members have joined the Liberal Democrats in the two weeks since the General Election was called. More than 50,000 members have joined since last year’s European referendum and nearly 70,000 since the 2015 General Election. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said: “We are going into these local elections bigger than ever before, with a clear message and a growing sense of momentum. “In many of the counties where these elections are taking place it is the Liberal Democrats who are the main challengers. Liberal Democrat councillors are the strong opposition to the Conservatives and Labour across England and Wales, standing up to them on cuts to schools and elderly care. “You don’t need to agree with us on everything to agree that Britain needs a strong opposition to fight for you and your communities against Tory cuts to our schools, our NHS and our social care services. In county halls just as in Westminster, Liberal Democrats are that strong opposition that Britain needs.”

Ed Davey: Disgrace Govt had to be dragged through courts on air pollution

The Government has announced it won’t challenge the High Court judgement and will publish a draft plan to tackle air pollution next week, after having attempted to delay the plans until after the election. Ed Davey, former Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary commented: “It is a disgrace this Conservative government had to be dragged through the courts before agreeing to publish a plan to tackle air pollution. “How much taxpayers' money has been wasted because of the failure of ministers to do the right thing? “There is an urgent threat to people’s health from air pollution, yet time and again this government has dithered and delayed instead of taking action. “The Liberal Democrats will fight to ensure action is taken to tackle the air pollution crisis that is claiming thousands of lives in UK each year.”

LibDem response to Lords' report on the Middle East

Today, the Lords Select Committee on International Relations has published a report on UK policy in the Middle East which argues that UK should distance itself from Trump; recognise Palestine as a state and support the Iran Nuclear deal. Responding Shadow Foreign Secretary, Tom Brake MP said: "The Conservatives have shown a willingness to pander to Donald Trump, turn their backs on international commitments and give little thought to international security.  "This report is damning of the Tory government's record, but also makes clear recommendations that PM Theresa May must now heed.  "The British people deserve a government that stands up for what is right, while seeking to create a more stable and united international community. Only the Liberal Democrats are fighting for a UK which is open, tolerant and united."

Labour housing U-turn has no credibility - Lib Dems

John Shipley, Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson, said: “Labour has a guilty conscience about housing. It completely failed on house-building during its 13 years in government, selling off 470,000 council houses and adopting Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy without replacing the homes they sold off. “Their announcement today is to build an extra 500,000 council homes, which is the same number as the number of council homes they sold off in Government. “You need a strong economy to increase house-building. Labour’s policies are not credible and will not deliver the homes we need. “Labour voted for a hard Brexit, and that will leave an estimated £200bn black hole in the economy over 15 years, so any spending announcement Jeremy Corbyn makes is not worth the paper it is written on. You can’t have a hard Brexit and a decent supply of houses.” Local activist Frank Little added: “Welsh Labour is particularly culpable, in pushing through the selling-off of council housing long after the Westminster government had back-tracked on the policy. Neath Port Talbot used roundly condemned methods to persuade its tenants to agree to the transfer to NPT Homes”

Wages growth stalled according to IFS

Researchers of the respected independent think-tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, have shown that the employment rate has flattened and real earnings growth stalled. Commenting, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Susan Kramer said: “This stall in average earnings is yet another sign that this Government is failing ordinary workers. Despite a huge increase in the take up of higher education, this has not translated into any gains for take home wages. “This data shows that people are poorer under the Tories and have not seen wages come back to the pre-recession level, while prices and bills seem to spiral upwards.  It is scandalous that it will take 14 years for people to feel as rich as they were in 2007.” After adjusting for inflation, average earnings of employees are still substantially below pre-recession levels, and are currently being squeezed by rising household inflation (linked in large part to falls in sterling). Central forecasts from the OBR imply average earnings will still be lower than their 2007­–08 level in 2021‒22.

May is preparing to raid pensions to pay for a hard Brexit

Responding to Theresa May's refusal today at PMQs to guarantee the triple lock for pensioners, introduced by the Liberal Democrats in coalition, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Susan Kramer said: "Theresa May is preparing to raid pensions to pay for her hard Brexit. "The Conservatives must clarify their position now to pensioners across the country. "The triple lock was one of the Liberal Democrats' biggest achievements in government, lifting many pensioners out of poverty. Now this progress risks being undone. "This election is a chance to prevent a hard Brexit and secure the strong economy we need to protect pensions and public services."

Liberal Democrat membership grows

Government must publish pollution report – Davey

The Liberal Democrats have demanded the government publish a highly embarrassing report on air pollution before the election. Ed Davey,  Lib Dem former cabinet minister for Energy and Climate Change, has said the government is reportedly blocking release of its report into air pollution because it is worried the “shaming” findings would become a major election issue. Ed Davey said: “Air pollution is one of the biggest health challenges in Britain today. The Conservatives have hidden the truth about their toxic policies. Increasingly air pollution is linked to a rise in asthma, COPD, heart conditions, and even recently to dementia. A vote for the Tories is a vote for more air pollution. “It is a disgrace that the government wants to block a report which is expected to say that pollution is at dangerous levels in many of our cities and towns. “Ministers are hugely embarrassed because it is EU air quality standards the government is flouting. No wonder Theresa May wants a hard Brexit, so she can change the rules to leave polluters free to damage the nation’s health. “You can’t have clean air and a hard Brexit. “The government is refusing to spend the money on measures that would improve air quality, such as investment in public transport, but this is a false economy because it burdens the NHS and destroys lives.”

Labour fails to select candidate in Gower with just weeks until election

Labour has failed to select candidates in Gower, Brecon & Radnorshire or Carmarthen East & Dinefwr with the general election just weeks away. It seems that Labour has “given up”, even in some of its former strongholds. A further twelve out of the forty seats in Wales await a Labour candidate, while there are over 340 constituencies Labour has still not selected for in England.

In contrast the Liberal Democrats have selected 92% of their candidates in England and the Welsh Liberal Democrats virtually all their candidates in this region.

It seems that Labour have simply given up in large areas of South Wales West. They claimed to be prepared for a general election, but many of their approved candidates are simply refusing to run under Jeremy Corbyn's banner - and who can blame them? They see a leader who is ineffective and a party that is too divided and a leadership which is too metropolitan to stand up for local people.

Every government needs to be held to account and the Liberal Democrats are rapidly emerging as the real voice of opposition.

How to join the Lib Dems

You can join the Liberal Democrats quickly, easily and safely online here.

There are lots of reasons to join the Liberal Democrats. Some people joined because they wanted to stand up for our values, of openness, tolerance and unity. Some because they want to help us win elections. Others so they could stand for election and stand up for their community.

Becoming a Liberal Democrat will let you do all that – and much more besides. As a member, you’ll have the power to change things and all our members, from party leader Tim Farron, right down to our newest member you get the same vote.

Thousands of people are joining the party and our membership has doubled since the general election.

Membership starts at £12 a year, but the party hopes that you might consider donating a little more – the recommended amount (as decided by members like you at our conference) is £70. There are concessionary rates too: students can join for £1 for their first year of membership and if you’re under 26 and are entitled to receive state benefits (other than the state pension or child benefit) then membership starts from just £6 a year.

You can join the Liberal Democrats quickly, easily and safely online here.

If you would prefer to join the Liberal Democrats via the posts, here’s a pdf of the Lib Dem membership form which you can print off, fill in and post back.

Or if you prefer to speak to someone local, phone Keith - see sidebar.

Thanks to Mark Pack for most of this posting.

Lib Dems gain 8,000 members in 48 hours

The Liberal Democrats gained 8,000 new members in the two days since Theresa May called a snap election. The increase in members is the fastest rise of new membership in the party’s history. The party now has over 95,000 members, more than double what it was at the time of the last general election and only 5,000 less than the reported size of the Conservative Party. Commenting, President of the Liberal Democrats Sal Brinton said: “People are flocking to the Liberal Democrats as we are the only party who are offering effective opposition to this Conservative Brexit government. “Theresa May: we have the troops for this fight and they are raring to go. “The Liberal Democrats are the only party standing up for an open, tolerant, and united Britain.”

Lib Dems: Atos and Capita don’t deserve £700m DWP contracts

The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Department for Work and Pensions after ministers found themselves having to increase the value of contracts to Atos and Capita to £700m a year for their controversial assessments for disability benefits. This is way over the £512m budget.

Celia Thomas, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for disability, said:

“Before these companies are given more money for benefit assessments, they need to give much better value for money than they do at present.

“In particular, the PIP reassessments from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are a complete lottery for claimants, with two-thirds of these PIP claimants winning their appeals.

“Poor assessments have resulted in many disabled people losing their Motability cars for which they have later become eligible on appeal. The DWP has its priorities backwards. It should look at the poor quality of many of these assessments before giving Atos and Capita more money.”

Who pays the piper?

Local Liberal Democrats have questioned the cost of "Local Voice", a tabloid newspaper distributed throughout the county borough on behalf of Labour in the Neath Port Talbot local election campaign. We have independently costed such an eight-page tabloid which makes extensive use of colour photographs. We chose a supplier who would be at least competitive with Trinity Mirror in Birmingham who printed the Labour election material, and came up with a figure of £5,400. (Anything less than this would suggest a subsidy by Trinity Mirror, which would have to be declared on election expenses.)

The question is: did every ward party chip in the £100 or so to pay for the newspaper (this would be on top of the cost of glossy colour leaflets they have already sent out)? Or did one or more of the big public service unions donate the upfront cost?

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Liberal Democrats continue to make local council gains

Following yesterday's stunning victory over UKIP in a council by-election in Aylesbury Vale, England, Liberal Democrats extend their lead on the scoreboard of gains in British local government. It now looks like this:

Candidates for local government elections

Postal ballots for the 2017 elections to Neath Port Talbot county borough council (and to the town and community councils in the Neath area) will land on doorsteps in the week ending 22nd April. Voting in person will take place on Thursday 4th May.

Liberal Democrat candidates are:

Aberavon

Cen Phillips

Bryncoch South

Frank Little

Cadoxton

Sheila Kingston-Jones

Cimla

Charley Cross

Coedffranc North

Keith Davies

Coedffranc West

Helen Ceri Clarke

Sandfields West

Tehani (Taz) Taylor



















If there is no web page indicated,please address correspondence for Neath wards to neathlibdems and for Aberavon to aberavonlibdems both at hotmail.co.uk.

Post-Brexit power shifts

VoteWatch Europe reports:

With Brexit process triggered, many observers wonder how the equilibrium of powers in the EU Council would change and who will be most successful in influencing the future EU legislation. We have looked at the voting dynamics over the past 7 years (over 22.000 votes of EU governments) to understand what is likely to happen after the UK leaves. Our analysis is based on the same dataset and methodology that indicated that the UK was increasingly outvoted in the Council in recent years, thus predicting the centrifugal policy orientation of the British government. These are our main new findings: Coalition building dynamics seem to favour the countries that promote more EU integration; France, Italy seem in a better position to build majorities or blocking minorities than Germany; Poland has drifted away from the core of the EU in the past year; The Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark lose the most out of Brexit (they were UK's closest partners); Political affiliations of the governments play a role, hence the results of upcoming elections in France, Germany, Czechia and Italy are crucial for the future direction of the EU First published in July 2016, this report has been updated to take into account the latest political developments.  The full analysis is here,

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Whatever galaxy you come from, the Lib Dems support you

More gains for LibDems in council by-elections

After a first gain from the Conservatives in West Somerset yesterday, the UK-wide picture now looks like this:

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The mood in Westminster

Baroness (Jenny) Randerson writes:

The mood in Westminster is sombre and thoughtful today. The streets are eerily still, with no traffic and none of the usual bustle of pedestrians. The noise of traffic is replaced by the endless whirr of helicopters overhead. The Lords’ Chamber was packed this morning as we held a minute’s silence for the victims of yesterday’s attack and heard tributes from Party Leaders and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The PM’s Statement was repeated. We paid particular respect to PC Keith Palmer who died protecting Parliamentarians and the institution of Parliament itself. But the carnage went well beyond Parliament.

The list of the dead and injured includes Romanians, South Koreans, a German, Irish, Polish, Chinese, Italian, American, Greeks, as well as French schoolchildren and many British. This is the melting pot that is central London – the heart of tourism as well as of our democracy. Terrorism is an international phenomenon and this time it struck in a way that will send reverberations across the world. In his comments Lib Dem Leader in the Lords, Dick Newby, reminded us all how much we depend on close relationships with our European neighbours in order to foil attacks like this.

I have been in Parliament for six years and have been aware that one day something like this was likely to happen. But that doesn’t reduce the shock when it does. I crossed the road into Parliament barely three minutes before the attack started, but once inside the building you are strangely insulated. We were told about it very quickly and rapidly corralled from one area to another in large groups, defended by armed police. We were locked down for over 5 hours. I spent a long while talking to Mark Williams MP for Ceredigion and our new MP Sarah Olney. Then we were moved into Westminster Hall, where I lost track of them but struck up conversations with several new friends.

Conversations were largely seeking news of what was going on outside. Despite the wonders of modern phones, we still lacked a real perspective on events.

As the hours moved on we became weary, hungry and thirsty, and rather cold, but there was never any doubt that we were being efficiently dealt with for our own safety. There were groups of bewildered schoolchildren there, as well as visitors and the staff of the Palace of Westminster. When eventually the area was declared safe, I trecked over to a far flung tube station, as Westminster Tube station was, and remains, shut.

When I got home I realised I was exhausted emotionally and physically – standing up for 5 hours is surprisingly tiring. My mood was reflected in speeches today. Speeches of defiance and determination to stand up for democratic values. In the face of violence and intolerance, there has never been a greater need to face outwards to the world and to refuse to change our values as a society.

Inflation rise hits the poorest

Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Susan Kramer responding to the rise in inflation announced today, said: “You can’t have a hard Brexit and affordable prices.

“This is proof that the British public are paying the price for Theresa May’s decision to take Britain out of the Single Market, which is causing a Brexit squeeze. With the pound falling in value by 18% since the referendum, the price of imports have shot up and broken the official target.

“Worst of all, the dramatic leap in food prices is hitting the poorest the most, with some producers also reducing package sizes, meaning the real inflation figure is now much higher.

“The fragile UK economy has been kept on life support by consumer spending, but with prices rising, that is now threatened.”

Local Liberal Democrats point out that the BBC reports that prices at the factory gate are also rising quickly, suggesting more inflation is on the way to the High Street. At 2.3%, inflation is increasing at the same rate as average earnings, meaning the average pay rise is being totally eaten up by increasing prices. Public sector workers whose pay is capped are already feeling the effects of rising inflation; now the average worker is going to be worse off as inflation overtakes average wage rises.

Huge Election Victory for Dutch Liberals as Populists Fail to Breakthrough

Liberal International reports:

Dutch Liberals VVD and D66 (LI full members) delivered a huge blow to the march of populism across Europe as the VVD, the party of prime minister Mark Rutte, topped the polls this week for a 3rd consecutive election, while D66 finished joint-third with 19 seats.

The election, which saw the highest turnout of Dutch voters in 30 years amid earlier concerns that the far-right party of Geert Wilders would emerge with the most seats, is seen as a bellwether for the French elections later this year.

LI President Dr Juli Minoves tweeted that VVD and D66 had “stopped populism in its tracks” while LI President of Honour, Hans van Baalen MEP, who leads the VVD delegation in the European Parliament said: "The extreme right wing populists of Wilders took a serious hit from the lead party VVD; this will help defeat Le Pen in France and AFD in Germany. Congratulations to D66 for their very good results. Liberals will shape the Netherlands and Europe in the years to come!"

Leader of D66, Alexander Pechtold, labelled his party’s gains as “historic” as the social liberals gained 7 seats, while Mark Rutte described “an evening where the Netherlands, after Brexit and the American elections, has said ‘ho’ to the wrong sort of populism,” adding that “now it’s important to bring our country together and form a stable government.”

The final membership of the House of Representatives will not be known until Tuesday, after any individuals on party lists are promoted/demoted.

Tim Farron responded:

Tim Farron‏Verified account @timfarron

Well done to our liberal allies @VVD and @D66 in Dutch elections. Looks like a victory for liberalism over politics of fear and division

• RETWEETS546
• LIKES1,332
• 

11:31 pm - 15 Mar 2017

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Welsh Liberal Democrat policy

A list of the policy resolutions of the 2017 spring conference held in Swansea last weekend are on a pdf here.

Spring conference on TV

The Welsh Liberal Democrat spring conference in Swansea this weekend will be covered by BBC TV, starting with BBC Parliament at 11 a.m.

Apologies if you have already registered to vote ...

Liberal Democrat initial response to budget

Liberal Democrats have been reacting to Philip Hammond’s budget which seems to do not much more than stoke the balance in favour of massive corporates as opposed to small business and give extra money to Tory hobby-horses like free schools in England.

Exchequer spokesman Susan Kramer highlighted how the Tories had broken their manifesto promise by raising national insurance for the self-employed:

"This is a tax on builders, taxi drivers and window cleaners, some of Britain’s hardest working people. This hits the gig economy where people are already insecure and facing rising prices and job uncertainty. And on International Women’s Day it will hit over one and a half million women.

"Companies will continue to save money by using workers without giving them the security and benefits of staff jobs. Meanwhile, these workers will have to pay more. This is patently as unfair as it is a tax on entrepreneurship and hard work."

Catherine Bearder MEP writes on Human Trafficking

On a day in which we are all asked to #beboldforchange, I call on us all to fight against the disgrace that is this modern-day slave trade.

Human trafficking is an issue that predominantly affects women. It is happening now, across Europe, under our noses, and we must open our eyes.

Please take a look at my report and join the fight today.

4th May is getting closer

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Liberal Democrats to try to kill Government's bill to restrict disability benefits

The Independent reports:

Yesterday's by-elections: Conservatives & Liberal Democrats increase vote share

Labour sinks

(Graphs courtesy of Press Association)

In local council by-elections, there were two Liberal Democrat gains from Conservatives.

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Liberal Democrats fastest-growing party in British politics

More than 4,000 people have joined the party in January, turned off by Theresa May's plans to take Britain out of the Single Market and attracted by the Liberal Democrats' opposition to "the politics of fear, division and hatred".

The Liberal Democrats: the fastest growing party in British Politics Since January 1st more than 4,000 people have joined the Liberal Democrats and our membership is now the highest it's been in more than two decades - and more members are joining every single day. Read more

By-election update: 8 days to polling day Our fantastic candidates in both Stoke-on-Trent and Copeland, Zulfiqar Ali and Rebecca Hanson, are doing fantastic work standing up for our values of openness, tolerance and unity. Catch up on the latest from Stoke-on-Trent and find out how you can help in the final week: Find out more

Do you ever get déjà vu? Earlier this month, we released our latest PPB - if you missed it, you can watch it here: Watch the video

Nick Clegg cheered by students

Hat-tip to Liberal Democrat Voice for the following:

"Six years ago, Nick Clegg was not the most popular politician amongst students. Now, things have changed as many young people find that he speaks for them as the Government hurtles towards a hard Brexit which will blight their future and opportunities. The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour watched him speak to a crowd of students:

 Follow

Patrick Wintour 

✔@patrickwintour

Heard Nick Clegg speak on Europe at a very large student event in London last night. No question on tuition fees. Huge applause at close.

9:32 AM - 10 Feb 2017

 
•  7878 Retweets
 
•  9292 likes

In a concurrent London Evening Standard piece, Nick Clegg wrote:

I was on a platform with other politicians taking questions from a student audience. A local Labour MP was having the normal go at me about tuition fees. Fair enough — though I noticed he omitted to mention Labour’s own role in introducing tuition fees, and then trebling them on its own watch.

No, the moment Labour’s malaise really struck me was when this MP started speaking about the vote last week in the Commons on Article 50. He displayed none of the intelligence or humility of Keir Starmer, the shadow secretary for exiting the EU, who disarmingly confessed to the gathered MPs how difficult the issue is for Labour. Instead, in Sheffield this MP started to deliver a sanctimonious lecture to the Ukip and Conservative panellists, berating them for placing immigration above the economy in the Brexit talks.

I couldn’t contain myself. Irascibly, I interrupted his pro-European sermon to remind him that he’d just got off a train from London having voted with Douglas Carswell, Michael Gove, John Redwood and other zealous Brexiteers. How could he claim he was representing the interests of the youngsters in the audience having given his support to Theresa May’s uncompromisingly hard Brexit, yanking the UK out of the single market altogether?
Nick then went on to talk about catching up with new Liberal Democrat Councillor for Brinsworth Dr Adam Carter, who won with a colossal 2000 votes – more than the Lib Dems managed in 2015 in the entire Rotherham constituency:

When I asked the jubilant Lib-Dem councillor what his explanation was for his victory, his answer was simple: “People round here just feel totally taken for granted by Labour.”

Who are Liberal Democrats?