Buckingham Liberal Democrats

For more news about Buckingham Constituency Liberal Democrats, click here - https://www.facebook.com/BuckinghamConstituencyLibDems/

Welcome to the website of the Buckingham Constituency Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats remain a proudly pro-European party. We are the only main party to say this unequivocally.

Liberal Democrats believe that the British people should have their say on the final Brexit deal in a referendum. Voting for a departure is not the same as voting for a destination. British people have a right to have their say on whether the deal they are offered is the right one for them, their families, their communities and our country.

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives

If you are interested in joining us, please contact us on:

info@buckinghamlibdems.org.uk

Or go to http://www.libdems.org.uk

Recent updates

Scott Raven wins District Council by-election for Lib Dems in Quainton

Article: May 9, 2018

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.
Need for good opposition councillors on local council

Article: Apr 26, 2018

"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.
Where do the Liberal Democrats stand on the environment?

Article: Apr 11, 2018

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.
Statement by Sec of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government on unitary status

Article: Mar 14, 2018

Sec of State "minded to implement, subject to Parliamentary approval and further discussions, the locally-led proposal to replace the existing five councils across Buckinghamshire with a single council for the area."

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Made on: 12 March 2018
The 2018 Ashdown Prize for Radical Thought

Article: Feb 27, 2018
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
Letter to Bucks Herald calling for fossil fuel divestment

Article: Feb 19, 2018

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.
Rule change could lead to Buckinghamshire County Council divesting from fossil fuels

Article: Dec 18, 2017

By Gareth Davies, party chairman

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.
Why local LibDems lost their one seat on Buckinghamshire County Council last week

Article: May 11, 2017

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.
Mitigating construction impact where HS2 and East West Rail cross - Lib Dems' Ian Metherell reports

Article: Mar 6, 2017

The HS2 rail line was given was given the final go-ahead by Parliament late last month (February).

It will cross the forthcoming East West (Oxford to Cambridge) Rail line (EWR) somewhere around Calvert/Charndon near Grendon, in North Buckinghamshire, in the Buckingham constituency.

HS2 has a large construction depot planned at Calvert, while EWR intends to site a depot a mile or so away at Charndon.
Buckingham party member Jonathan Marks attacks govt's "unrealistic and obsessive" Brexit illusions

Article: Feb 27, 2017

The Lib Derm peers were excellent in the Article 50 debate last week.

This was the contribution of Buckingham party member Jonathan Marks, Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames.

Jonathan is Shadow Lord Chancellor and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice

He concentrated his remarks on the effect on international relations and pointed out the absurdity of the Government's position on the European Court of Justice. He described what he called the Government's two "unrealistic and obsessive illusions" on immigration and ECJ.