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It has been a month like no other. Four weeks ago Lib Dem members in the South East selected 10 candidates for the European Elections. We are in a strong position. The opinion polls, such as in this morning's Times, putting us on 19%, suggest we have a real chance of electing two or even three Lib Dem MEPs in the South East on Thursday. That outcome, and other Lib Dem results across the country will be a message against Brexit and for a People's Vote that no-one will be able to ignore. Thursday will be close. Last Sunday's Observer/Yougov poll suggested we just need 1.2% to take a third seat (at the expense of the Brexit Party). Turnout will be key. The most important thing we can do is contact people today and tomorrow to remind them to vote. People are far more likely to vote if they are contacted. One piece of research found that Lib Dem supporters are twice as likely to vote if we knock on their door or call them on polling day. I am asking every single member and supporter of the Liberal Democrats in the South East to get involved if you are able to do so. We will be:
So, where and when can you help? Buckinghamshire MILTON KEYNES - midday till 9pm, base: 11 Ackroyd Place, Shenley Lodge, Milton Keynes, MK5 7PA AYELSBURY - from 10am to 10pm, base: 6 Castle St, Aylesbury. Contact Chris Ward, tel 07708196805 or email |
Congratulations to Scott Raven on winning the District Council by-election for Lib Dems from the Tories in Quainton.
The figures:
Scott Raven, LDM: 564 46.4%
Conservative 492 (40.5%)
Labour 113 (9.3%)
Green 47 (4%)
Spoilt 3
Total 1219
Turnout 47.7%
@PolitiStatsUK helpfully added this: there was no Ind (-23.1), as last ttime; and no UKIP (-22.3) as previous.
"We need more opposition voices in the council chamber, to hold the ruling Conservative group to account, to challenge them, to ask difficult questions and to scrutinise their proposals, which ultimately are funded by you, the council taxpayer."
Time and again when we've been canvassing in recent days in the Quainton Ward for the AVDC Council by-election on May 3, voters have been telling us they have yet to make their minds up.
You are not likely to hear the answer to this in the mainstream media. Because there are so few LibDem MPs, the party's voice in Parliament is rarely heard, and its views seldom reported.
So on the major environmental issues of the day, climate change, air pollution, plastic waste on land and sea, most voters have little idea of our policies. Those who voted for us, and studied our literature in elections, will have a rough idea where we stand, which is generally ahead of the other main parties on these subjects.
Do you have a big, bold, radical idea to address the problems facing Britain today ? This is the Ashdown (Paddy Ashdown, left, former party leader) Prize. Please read on.
The Liberal Democrats, Feb 26, 2018
Lord (Paddy) Ashdown writes:
Living in Britain today, we all know the scale of the problems approaching us - and yet it seems that no-one has the courage to argue for the radical solutions we need.
Runaway climate change; an aging population; healthcare and housing both in crisis; the passing of the liberal international order; the commercialisation of our private data; the risks and rewards of automation and AI; one tax system for multinationals and the rich, another for everyone else.
The list goes on.
Unless we take firm action we will bow to these pressures, leaving the young and the vulnerable unable to lead the rich, full lives they deserve.
In the face of such daunting forces, we must find radical new solutions to protect the power of the citizen - over their own lives, over the decisions that affect them, over the world around them.
This is the Liberalism of tomorrow - the Liberalism Britain so badly needs.
To that end, the Ashdown Prize for Radical Thought will be awarded to the boldest new policy idea that best empowers the citizen in the Britain of today and tomorrow.
The deadline for submissions is midnight on Sunday 8th April. My team of judges and I will announce a shortlist of three ideas on Monday 14th May, after which members of the Liberal Democrats will be invited to vote on which of the three ideas should win the Ashdown Prize.
If you win the prize, you'll get to:
- Meet with me in the House of Lords to discuss how to take your idea forward.
- Receive a £500 award donated by Your Liberal Britain.
- Receive support from the team at Your Liberal Britain to turn your idea into a policy motion for debate at Lib Dem Autumn Conference 2018.
- Join forces with me at Conference to speak in favour of your idea, if it is selected for debate (which is out of our hands).
To take part, follow this link:
https://digitallibdems.typeform.com/to/pXGxXq
Brexit continues to dominate the political agenda as we progress into 2018. And there are signs that our campaign is bearing fruit, with, according to the latest polls, a majority now supporting our call for a second referendum.
But there are other issues and concerns to consider. In January I (chairman Gareth Davies) wrote to the Bucks Herald (see letter below) about the county's pension fund's investment in fossil fuels. You may have your own thoughts about whether divesting from fossil fuels is better than keeping those holdings and trying to influence oil companies as shareholders, but I and other members believe the time has now come to take a firm stand on the issue of funding the continuing extraction of coal, gas and oil if there is to be any possibility of keeping the rise in temperatures below 2°C, let alone the hoped-for 1.5°C.
The government is to allow Britain's public-sector pension schemes to dump their shares in oil, gas and coal companies, as part of the fight against climate change.
This affects us in Buckinghamshire, where the Lib Dems have been campaigning for several years to persuade the county council, which administers pensions investments on behalf of employers across the country, to get rid of its shares in fossil fuels.
People lose council seats. That's politics.
You accept it, and you move on.
That's what Avril Davies (left) and her team will do in the Ivinghoe division of Bucks County Council. Avril lost the seat by 214 votes to the Conservative in the elections on May 4 after 26 continuous years as a LibDem councillor.