ALDE gives cautious welcome to Greek settlement

Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament responded to news that a third bailout package had been agreed pending ratification by the Greek Parliament:

"For the first time an agreement is reached that represents more than an accounting exercise. It is a more intelligent approach, based on necessary structural reforms, that could mark a new beginning. Papandreou and Samaras never committed themselves to such in-depth structural reforms. Tsipras shows that he is committed to keep Greece in the Eurozone.

"The new package entails some structural reforms to make Greece competitive again. Closed professions will be opened to competition, the energy market will be deregulated and measures will be taken to re-install the rule of law. If these reforms are implemented, they can bring back trust that Greece's future is in the Eurozone. This certainty will lead to more investments, necessary to make Greece's economy grow.

"I hope the Greek Parliament will support this package. But then the real, and most important part of the work starts. The reforms have to be fully implemented.

"This new approach should go hand in hand with a new, more transparent way of overseeing the implementation process. The last couple of years have shown the work of the Troika was hampered by a lack of transparency.

"During the first meeting of the Conference of Presidents with my fellow Group Leaders in the European Parliament, I will propose that the European Parliament should be given a role in overseeing the implementation of the reform package. A transparent monitoring process, including a periodical debate in the European Parliament on the state of play of the implementation measures,will give confidence to both the creditors and the countries in economic transition that reforms will be duly implemented."

Ceredigion MP Mark Williams features in new LibDem campaign team

New federal party leader Tim Farron has announced his campaign priorities.

Chaired by Greg Mulholland MP, his Parliamentary Campaigns Team will consist of:

• Rural Communities and Vice Chair – Mark Williams MP
• EU referendum – Catherine Bearder MEP and Lord Jim Wallace (Deputy)
• Mental Health – Norman Lamb MP
• Immigration – Shas Sheehan
• Civil Liberties – Alistair Carmichael MP
• Green Economy – Baroness Susan Kramer
• Housing – Tim Farron MP

Tim explained:
These are the core issues I want the Liberal Democrats to stand out on and take a lead on.

Sensible, liberal and evidence-based views are already being woefully ignored by the Tory government – so it’s up to Liberal Democrats to make this case.

Whether it’s helping young people in rural areas find work, or ensuring those with mental health difficulties have effective support, our liberal voice is needed now more than ever.

Whether it’s investing in green energy, building the homes we need; understanding the plight of refugees, or ensuring the state can’t snoop on our emails, my party will offer that liberal alternative.

And with David Cameron’s hokey-cokey diplomacy on Europe, the Liberal Democrats will stand up for our country and make the passionate case for Britain to lead, not leave the EU.

This team will work alongside Lib Dems in all chambers, Parliaments and offices to drive forward strong and signature campaigns. I can’t wait to get started.

Welsh parliamentarians named in Tim Farron's first team

Baroness Randerson, former AM for Cardiff Central, will be new Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron's spokesperson for transport. Leader in the Assembly Kirsty Williams will speak for Wales.

The full list is as follows:

1. Leader: Tim Farron MP
2. Economics: Baroness Susan Kramer
3. Foreign Affairs/Chief Whip/Leader of the house: Tom Brake MP
4. Defence: Baroness Judith Jolly
5. Home Affairs: Alistair Carmichael MP
6. Health: Norman Lamb MP
7. Education: John Pugh MP
8. Work and Pensions: Baroness Zahida Manzoor
9. Business: Lorely Burt
10. Energy and Climate Change: Lynne Featherstone
11. Local Government: Mayor of Watford, Cllr Dorothy Thornhill
12. Transport: Baroness Jenny Randerson
13. Environment and Rural Affairs: Baroness Kate Parminter
14. International Development: Baroness Lindsay Northover
15. Culture Media and Sport: Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter
16. Equalities: Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece
17. Justice/Attorney General: Lord Jonathan Marks
18. Northern Ireland: Lord John Alderdice
19. Scotland: Willie Rennie MSP, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
20. Wales: Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
21. Campaigns Chair: Greg Mullholland MP
22. Grassroots Campaigns: Cllr Tim Pickstone, Chair of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors

Introducing the team, Tim Farron said:

“I am delighted to be able to announce my team of party spokespeople. The team I am announcing today is the Liberal voice that Britain desperately needs.

“It features some of the best campaigners that the party has, balanced with the experience and economic credibility that our party has developed over the last five years in government.

“It was important to me to be able to call on the advice and experience of people at all levels of our party and I believe we have an excellent team to lead the Lib Dem fight back.

“Together, we will take our ideas, our values and our liberal messages to every corner of Britain. We will make the case for housing, immigration, Europe, environmentalism and human rights.”

Hat-tip to Liberal Democrat Voice.

Tim Farron's speech on the Welfare Reform And Work Bill

In the second reading debate on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill yesterday evening, Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said:

Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD): We are very clear: we cannot and will not support the Bill. If it did what it said on the tin, there might be much to commend it, but it does not. The Government pledge a living wage that even they know is not one, they want a welfare state that is anything but good for our country’s welfare, and they use the guise of economic necessity to cover up ideologically driven cuts. Tonight, we will vote against the Bill because we know that the depth and character of the proposals are unfair, unwise and inhuman, and anything but economically necessary.

In truth, the Government do not have to take £12 billion from the poorest families in the country, mostly working families, but are choosing to do so. No amount of political spin will protect the individuals who have to live with the reality, not the words. Calling something a living wage when it is not does not make it a living wage, calling housing affordable when it is not affordable does not make it affordable, and labelling the Bill as progressive does not make it progressive. In the end, the consequences of these actions for Britain will speak louder than the Chancellor’s attempts to change the definition of his words.

The proposals on employment and support allowance—support designed to help people who, through no fault of their own, face more barriers to work than most—will not help into work people with depression, fluctuating conditions, schizophrenia or physical conditions that make more difficult the ordinary tasks that many of us take for granted. In fact, they will act as a ridiculous disincentive. Almost 500,000 people will see their vital support cut by one third once they apply to the new system, meaning that if they are on the existing support, they will lose it as soon as they get a job, even on a short-term contract. It is a disincentive to work and will trap people on welfare, not liberate them.

The Chancellor has chosen to implement a counterproductive policy that demonises people with disabilities and mental health conditions. I am disappointed by Labour’s confusion over the Bill. To give in to the narrative that the answer to our country’s needs is to pit the working poor against the temporarily-not-working poor is shameful. Cutting tax credits, tightening the benefit cap and ramping up the right to buy is not just morally wrong but economically wrong; widening inequality is not just against British decency but economically stupid.

Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD): Of course, we accepted some of the changes to welfare in the last Parliament, but this goes too far. Does my hon. Friend share my concern about the effect on young people who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in need of housing benefit? Why should they be excluded from the same rights that any other citizen in this country has if they have need of the safety net?

Tim Farron: My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. In many ways, young people are the biggest victims of the Bill. I think of young people being supported by housing benefit—for example, in the location of a Foyer, such as the wonderful Foyer in Kendal—and who thereby have access to work, training and further development opportunities. Taking housing benefit away from young people is not just morally wrong but utterly counterproductive, because it will prevent them from accessing work and other life opportunities.

We will stand for the thousands of people in work and yet in poverty, and for the millions of people who might not be personally affected but who do not want to see inequality grow in Britain. Instead, we want a direction for the country that combines economic credibility with truly socially progressive policies, which is why we will continue to make the case for using capital investment to build houses and strengthen our economy for the long term, and for a welfare system that understands the needs of people with mental health conditions and helps them back into work, rather than putting them under the kind of pressure that simply makes them worse.

The reduction in the incomes of poor families in work comes at the same time as the Government are giving inheritance tax cuts to millionaires, cutting corporation tax for the richest firms and refusing to raise a single extra penny in tax from the wealthiest people—for example, through a high-value property levy. We will continue to speak for the millions of people who are young, who suffer from mental health problems, whose parents have no spare rooms or spare income, who do not have parents at all, or who have more than two children. The Liberal Democrats will stand up for families, whether they are hard-working or just desperate to be hard-working. We will not let the Conservatives through choice, or the Labour party through their silence, unpick our welfare system.

All Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the official Labour reasoned amendment but also against the Bill after the amendment was lost.

Diagnosis based on Tim Farron's first leadership speech

European Parliament rejects secret courts as part of TTIP deal

The European Parliament research service recently posted the following summary of its recommendations to the European Commission over the transatlantic trade deal negotiations. The parliament reasserts the need to maintain EU health and safety standards. It also demands an open mechanism for dispute resolution rather than the much-condemned ISDS. Finally, it emphasises that the treaty can in the end be blocked by the EP if its conditions are not met.

The European Parliament takes citizens’ concerns on TTIP very seriously. Thus it is following the talks very closely to ensure that the agreement’s benefits do not come at an unacceptable cost. That is why MEPs will scrutinise and debate any text that emerges from the negotiation process before approving or not the EU-US trade deal.

Recommendations to the European Commission

© Wolfisch / Fotolia

The European Parliament adopted on 8 July 2015 itsrecommendations to the European Commission on the negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). According to these recommendations an EU-US trade deal must open up US market access for EU firms, but must not undermine EU standards, as explained in the respective Parliament press release.

An EU-US agreement needs to ensure “the highest levels of protection of health and safety in line with the precautionary principle laid down in Article 191 TFEU, consumer, labour environmental and animal welfare legislation and of cultural diversity that exists in the EU”, MEPs write in their recommendations to the TTIP negotiators.

No to ISDS

Furthermore, the Parliament requests “to replace the investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system with a new system for resolving disputes between investors and states which is subject to democratic principles and scrutiny, where potential cases are treated in a transparent manner by publicly appointed, independent professional judges in public hearings and which includes an appellate mechanism, where consistency of judicial decisions is ensured, the jurisdiction of courts of the EU and of the Member States is respected, and where private interests cannot undermine public policy objectives.”

Negotiation process

From the very beginning of the negotiation process, Parliament underscored European values and standards that it wishes to see upheld in the course of the talks as outlined in its resolution of 23 May 2013, adopted before the trade negotiations started.

As with all free trade agreements, the European Commission is negotiating the agreement on the basis of negotiating directivesissued by the EU governments, which were finally declassified.

At the European Parliament’s insistence, the European Commission committed to enhanced transparency and agreed to publish the EU position documents. It also decided to grant all MEPs access to the restricted negotiating documents with the use of a special ‘reading room’. They are not allowed to share these documents publicly but they can get an insight into the progress of the talks.

The European Parliament does not take part in these negotiations, but there can be no final agreement without its approval. Parliament has to either approve or reject the final text, although it is not legally able to modify its provisions. However, by drawing up recommendations on agreements such as TTIP, Parliament sends a message on what it wants to see in the final agreement.

Further information

Parliament has launched the specialised webpages ‘The European Parliament and the TTIP‘ and ‘TTIP: risks and opportunities‘.

Working documents and information about the current state of play in the negotiations are available on the Commission’s TTIP webpage.

D

Some thoughts on the Summer Budget

For Liberal Democrats, this is obviously a difficult day. Our party spent five years preventing the Conservatives from implementing policies that we felt were unfair, as well as introducing distinctive Lib Dem policies that made our recovery fairer and more sustainable. Sadly, yesterday’s budget shows the real difference that Liberal Democrats made in government, and are no longer able to make after May’s elections.

Welfare Cuts – The first of an excessive £12 billion in cuts which will fall disproportionately on the poorest. Also, limiting child tax credits and universal credit payments to only cover the first two children in a family sets a worrying precedent for any future Tory changes to child benefit. Student 

Maintenance – We protected the maintenance grants for the poorest students and prevented any changes to this in the last parliament. Now the Tories are turning it into a loan and adding it onto students’ debt.

Green Energy – We created a system of subsidies for renewable energy production, funded by taxes on energy companies, to shift our economy away from our dangerous reliance on carbon. In government, we more than doubled the amount of energy the UK gets from renewable sources. Described by David Cameron as “green crap”, these taxes and subsidies are now being slashed. This is a tragically short-sighted cut that undermines the promising green energy foundations we have spent five years struggling to create.

Housing – The mass sell-off of housing association properties is a shameful example of short-term Tory electioneering at the expense of the social fabric of our communities. The plans for replacement of properties are threadbare and this whole plan has been ill thought-through. Now, these plans are being joined by the removal of housing benefit for Under-21s, which is going to make it even harder for young people and the less well off to find a home in our communities.

These are just four areas where the absence of Liberal Democrats in government will soon be felt. There will, no doubt, be more - such as protecting the Human Rights Act and fighting the Snooper's Charter.

Locally and nationally, we will continue to campaign for a fairer Britain. You can join us in this campaign by clicking here. Join us today, and help us continue the fight to protect our environment, our civil liberties, our housing and welfare systems, and fairness in higher education.

Welsh Government's Renting Homes Bill is a disaster waiting to happen

As reported on Wales Online, Liberal Democrat housing spokesman Peter Black has voiced the party's objections to a measure which purports to make it simpler to rent a home in Wales.

He has warned that the Lib Dems may vote down the Renting Homes Bill if changes aren't made.

He said: “This bill from Labour is a disaster waiting to happen, and we will vote it down unless there are significant changes."

Peter asserts that the Bill may even breach the Human Rights Act.

“Removing the 6 month minimum tenancy rule will put tenants in a much more uncertain and insecure position, especially given more and more vulnerable people are to be placed in the private sector under this bill.

“Housing is yet another area of abject failure for this Welsh Labour Government. With fewer than half the houses that Wales needs being built, Labour’s poverty of ambition is driving the dream of affordable housing out of reach of too many people.”

Welsh Liberal Democrats accuse government of casual attitude to domestic abuse

South Wales West Liberal Democrat AM Peter Black is concerned that the Welsh Government has given only part time status to a domestic abuse programme advisor.

He said: “This Bill was controversial from the outset as many people felt it did not go far enough to tackle domestic abuse and sexual violence.

“In particular, all three opposition parties were concerned that sufficient and appropriate mechanisms were being put in place to mainstream education on relationships in schools.

“I am shocked therefore that the recent advert for the National Adviser says: 'The hours expected to fulfil this role will be part-time'.

“It seems to me that co-ordinating the various bodies involved in delivering this service, advising ministers on important issues such as funding and overseeing the important education agenda is in fact a full time job.

“We need much more information and assurances on this matter. Will the national adviser have a team of staff for support, for example, or will they be expected to fulfil the role individually? The government must not backtrack on this vital role."

Liberal Democrats in Europe want to give Greece three more months

Not for the government, but for the Greek People

ALDE's Guy Verhofstadt identifies clientelism as a hurdle which must be removed. He calls on the Eurozone leaders to give the negotiations with Greece three more months to work out a programme to fundamentally change the Greek political and economic system in combination with a structural debt solution arrangement.

Peter Black criticises Labour's local government stitch-up

But process of reorganisation offers chance of fair votes at local level

Welsh Liberal Democrats believe that the job of reorganising councils is a job for the independent Boundary Commission. They should be tasked to come up with a fresh map based on natural communities that actually works for local people.

Peter Black AM characterises minister Leighton Andrews' proposals for reduction in the number of local councils as a party-political stitch-up in Labour's quest to hoard power in Cardiff Bay.

However, he goes on, "this is so much more important than just lines on a map. This re-organisation process should be about devolving powers from the Cardiff Bay to the new councils. It should empower councils and local people, giving them greater ownership of services.

"Who knows where this journey will lead us, but I have made absolutely clear that our party will not support any reorganisation plans unless they involve changing the voting system. The status quo isn’t fit for purpose, and I can assure you that Welsh Liberal Democrat AMs will never give up the fight for a truly proportional and fairer system."

Peter Black's advice session

Assembly Member Peter Black will be holding an advice surgery in Neath Library next Friday.

Details are at http://www.peter-black.net/advice_surgery_190615_neath

Liberal Democrat AM backs call for OP investigation

A new Labour MP has renewed the campaign for an inquiry into the effects of organophosphate sheep dip on susceptible farm-workers.

Ceredigion Lib Dem MP Mark Williams said: “Although the links between organophosphates and illness of those who have used it has been studied over the past 20 years, the symptoms are all too real for many farmers, including constituents of mine, who are now unable to work because of their illness. It is for this reason that I echo calls for an independent inquiry into this issue.

“What concerns me with the response we had in the debate from the minister is the inconsistency between the many cases from constituents, some of which we heard in the debate, and the outcome of the committee of toxicity reports. That surely should necessitate a fresh investigation.”

Welsh LibDems press health agenda

Betsi Cadwalaldr health board

Responding to the suggestion that board members should be suspended over the Tawel Fan scandal, Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams said it was only right people were “held to account” at all levels.

“I think the chair of Betsi (Peter Higson) and indeed everybody involved in the situation needs to think about what role they have played in the situation to date.”

Need for an independent watchdog

Leader Kirsty Williams said: "The latest round of shocking reports on care within our NHS reveals a complete failure of all the systems that should be in place to protect our most vulnerable people."

They show that the current watchdog, Health Inspectorate Wales, is "not fit for purpose". "The current system for inspecting hospitals in Wales should be scrapped and replaced by a new organisation which is independent from government."

Peter Black AM and party leader Kirsty Williams oppose E-cig ban

Welsh Lib Dem AM Kirsty Williams AM said: “The evidence for this decision is wafer thin. Banning things just for the sake of it isn’t a position any Government should take.

“There is very little evidence to date that e-cigs emit anything more harmful than water vapour. Therefore any ban on e-cigs is completely unjustifiable.”

South Wales West AM Peter Black has added:

"Ministers argue they do not want to take the risk of seeing smoking 'normalised' again after the success of the smoking ban.

"So by their own admission they are seeking to regulate a perfectly legal activity so as to change people's behaviour. The precedent that this sets is quite concerning and heralds the beginning of a nanny state or worse.

"The anti-smoking campaign group ASH Wales, Cancer Research UK and Tenovus are among those opposed to this ban whilst the British Heart Foundation, British Lung Foundation and the Royal College of Physicians want more evidence. Furthermore in a public consultation on the proposals last year, 79% of responses were opposed. So it is not as if there is a public clamour for this measure either. Why does the Government bother consulting when it has already made up its mind?

"Some people who vape are concerned that they will now be cast outside to join the smokers and that this will lead to them returning to smoking. Indeed there is some evidence in other countries that this is what has happened. There is strong evidence that e-cigarettes have enabled a large number of people to give up smoking, something that decades of lectures by government has failed to do."

Welsh Lib Dems Call For End To Gay Blood Ban

Marking National Blood Week, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to end the ban on men who have sex with men (MSM) giving blood.

Peter Black AM, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Equalities Minister, said: “National Blood Week has brought to our attention that the blood service needs 204,000 extra donors to meet demand. Given this huge demand for blood donors, I completely fail to understand why the ban on men who have sex with men giving blood is still in place.

“This ban not only turns away thousands of willing and healthy potential donors, but it also serves to reinforce negative stereotypes about gay and bisexual men. Straight people get HIV too, and all donated blood is tested for HIV and other diseases before being transfused for precisely that reason.

“The sooner this unfair and discriminatory ban is lifted, the sooner our blood services can benefit from a greater supply of donated blood and more lives can be saved.”

Specifically for women

Reminder: join now and vote for Nick Clegg's replacement

If you are not already a member, you have until 16:00 on Wednesday 3rd June to join the party if you wish to influence the decision on a new leader to replace Nick Clegg.
The simplest way to do this is to go to http://www.libdems.org.uk/join

Alternatively, you may wish to speak to someone in person. See Huw's widget on the right-hand side of this blog or contact any local Liberal Democrat you may know.

People who join after the 3rd June will be just as welcome and will be able to help form policy, but will not be able to participate in the election of the leader of the party at Westminster.

Liberal Democrat law on zero-hours contracts is now in force

Liberal Democrats may no longer be in government but laws we made are still being implemented, reports Caron Lindsay. Last week, Vince Cable’s ban on exclusivity contracts in zero hours contracts came into force.

It was a punitive anomaly that a company could both have no obligation to provide work and to require that their employees did not work for anyone else. The CIPD, the organisation for HR professionals, wrote about the change on their blog:

Employers who do not guarantee staff any hours of work, but prevent them from working for another employer, could face legal ramifications from today under a provision in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act.

The ban on the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts, which was first proposed by the outgoing coalition government, comes into force after a lengthy public consultation.

Before today employers were not prohibited from seeking exclusivity from an individual as this was considered a contractual matter between the employer and individual.

However, after 83 per cent of respondents to the government’s consultation voted in favour of a ban on exclusivity clauses, it is now a legal offence to prevent staff on zero-hour contracts from seeking other employment.

Liberal Democrat response to government programme announced today

Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Kirsty Williams AM concentrated on human rights:

Liberal Democrats blocked Tory plans to weaken our human rights obligations in Government and we will continue to fight to stop them in opposition.

It would appear that David Cameron is waking up to the fact that this ridiculous policy is easier said than done. Not only will he struggle to cobble together a majority of votes to support it, but he clearly hasn’t thought through the ramifications it will have on the devolution settlement.

Europe’s human rights laws were designed by British lawyers to reflect British values of justice, tolerance and decency. The Tories now want to throw all that good work away – we won’t let them.

Ceredigion MP Mark Williams said that our basic rights were hanging in the balance:

Today was an unveiling of the old nasty Tory party; devoid of fairness and intent on curbing our freedoms.

The human rights we hold dear, our right to privacy in an online age and our future as an outward-looking country are all hanging in the balance again because of this Tory Queen’s Speech.

And on the Wales Bill:

A new Wales Bill is a positive step for devolution in Wales, but it’s disappointing that few details were revealed. The Tories must deliver in full on the St David’s Day agreement – no ifs, not buts.

I urge the Government not to dither on the new Wales Bill. George Osborne promised it would be delivered within a hundred days and already that appears to be a broken promise. The Liberal Democrats ensured devolution moved faster than it had done in any time over the previous decade – the new UK Tory Government can’t allow that momentum to be lost.

Alistair Carmichael

Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie has issued this statement acknowledging the seriousness of Alistair Carmichael’s actions but saying that the Orkney and Shetland MP deserves a second chance.

I have discussed the serious nature of the publication of the Scotland Office document with Alistair Carmichael. He fully understands the impact it has had on his reputation. He deeply regrets his actions, has accepted responsibility for his error of judgement, apologised to Nicola Sturgeon and the French Ambassador and declined his ministerial severance payment.

I have known Alistair for almost thirty years and have worked closely with him in parliament for almost a decade. I have always been impressed by his energy, dedication and professionalism.  He has served Orkney and Shetland for fourteen years and has been elected on four separate occasions.  It is clear to me that recent events are an aberration.

As a liberal I believe that people deserve a second chance.  I hope fair minded people would agree that Alistair Carmichael should be given that second chance.

Yesterday, the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party Executive met and gave Alistair Carmichael its support. He has my support too.

Alistair will now get back to his job representing Orkney and Shetland.

Leadership election timetable published

Liberal Democrat HQ has informed us:

Following the agreement of the Federal Executive and the party’s returning officer I am pleased to be able to confirm to you the timetable for the election of a new party leader.
 

Opening of nominations	13th of May 2015
Close of nominations	3rd of June 2015
Dispatch of ballot papers	24th of June 2015
Deadline for ballot papers to be returned	15th of July 2015
Count and declaration of the winner	16th of July 2015

 

Any member who joins the party before the close of nominations is able to vote in the election, so this is a fantastic time to ask local supporters and former members to join the party. The easiest way for them to join is online at www.libdems.org.uk/join. 
 

If you have any questions regarding this process, please get in touch via www.libdems.org.uk/contact.