(UKPA. Jan 5th. )

A leading Liberal Democrat has repeated her calls for companies to use models of all shapes and sizes in their ad campaigns.

Jo Swinson, the Scottish Lib Dem deputy leader, urged advertisers and retailers to "recognise the consequences and damage done by constantly flooding the market with a narrow range of unrealistic images of what the industry deems to be beautiful".

Honeybee health in the spotlight

A bid to protect up to 50,000 beehives across South East England has been backed by Lib Dem Catherine Bearder MEP.

The European Parliament voted in November on a report in Strasbourg outlining measures to protect bees following an increase in the species' mortality rate.

The shock news that the Department of Transport has given the go ahead to the UK's East-West rail link haas been wamly welcomed by local Lib Dems. It's now almost 20 years since the Lib Dems in the Buckingham constituency first started campaigning for its reintroduction.

In a letter to the East West Rail Consortium, the DoT revealed that the government was "committed to developing the new East West rail link between Oxford, Bicester, Aylesbury, Milton Keynes and Bedford".

The 2013 Review of Parliamentary constituency boundaries will introduce substantial changes. It will reduce the number of constituencies in England from 533 to 502 and make sure that each constituency has a similar number of registered electors.

Under the proposals, published by the Boundary Commission for England, England is to lose 31 seats.

In his keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference, Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has outlined his goals for the Government and the country over the coming years. He reiterated his commitment to liberal values on the environment and human rights and his determination to ensure a fair chance for every child, saying "every child can do good things, great things, if only we give them the opportunities they deserve."

At the end of the Parliamentary "term" Lib Dems have reasons to be cheerful.

We endured a torrid passage over student fees, and lost the AV referendum.

But we reined the Conservatives in over the NHS reforms, immigration and tax cuts.

And, best news of all, Vince Cable is back. Eight months after he was humiliated in a sting by the Telegraph, he emerged from the Murdoch hacking debacle with his reputation restored. [This article is based on an interview with Dr Cable in today's Independent on Sunday, July 31st.]

Success Welcomed By Lib Dem MP Mark Hunter, who started campaign.

On July 13, 2011 the UK Payments Council announced that they are to reverse their decision to scrap cheques by 2018 and continue their use for as long as customers need them. Cheadle MP Mark Hunter, who originally launched the 'save the cheque' campaign through an Early Day Motion in Parliament in November 2009 heralded the announcement as a fantastic triumph and victory for common sense.

Over the past few weeks many members have been in contact about the latest allegations on phone hacking, so to help answer some of your questions I sat down with Julian Huppert MP (left), who has played a prominent role on the select committee, to talk about some of the issues being raised.

You can view the video on our YouTube channel here.

The phone hacking scandal has uncovered a crisis that strikes at the heart of our democracy, calling into question our trust in the institutions and individuals tasked with protecting our freedom and enforcing the rule of law.

Liberal Democrats have for more than a decade challenged the dominance of News International, with successive Parliamentarians raising the issue, from Paddy Ashdown in 1998 to Chris Huhne just before the General Election. We have time and again battled both the Conservatives and Labour to push for stronger laws on media plurality seeking to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a few media moguls.

It is vital that we now build on the select committee hearings and cast a greater spotlight on what was clearly a murky relationship between the press, police and indeed politics. That is why the Liberal Democrats have made sure the inquiry is Judge-led and has the power to summon witnesses to give evidence under oath and sits in public.

It is clear that much more detail will come to light, but I think we are now embarking on process of greater openness and greater accountability, finding out what really happened.

If you have any comments or questions, you can email me on this subject at phonehackinginquiry@libdems.org.uk

Lib Dem Euro MP Catherine Bearder met celebrity fishing campaigner Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to discuss the future of fishing.

On a visit to the European Parliament to launch the European Fish Fight Campaign, Fearnley Whittingstall praised the efforts by MEPs to put the issue of fishing reforms high up on the European agenda.