Archive Press Releases/News

The Liberal Party is proud to announce the distribution of candidates in May’s local elections.

The party will be fielding a total of 19 candidates in Liverpool, as well as the Timperley and Hale Central Ward’s of Trafford, Dogsthorpe in Peterborough, Tyseley & Hay Mills in Birmingham and Norcot in Reading.

The party would urge members in the adjacent areas to consider reaching out to local candidates to assist in their campaigns or to donate to their funds.

The Liberal Party retains a national presence and will be holding its 2nd June Special Assembly in Newcastle upon Tyne to further encourage regional growth.

We would wish to thank the party’s offices for their support during the nomination process and wish all our candidates the best of luck in their endeavours at the polls on the 3rd May.

11th March 2018

Sir,

It is with disappointment and a degree of anger that we in the Liberal Party view the recent speech by Sir Vince Cable to the ‘Liberal’ Democrats’ Spring Conference.

Once again the vile slur is peddled that those who voted in favour of leaving the European Union are too old, too stupid or too racist to have their vote count. How Sir Vince manages to masquerade as a ‘liberal’ whilst demeaning the 17 million who voted for Brexit in such a fashion is beyond comprehension. Sir Vince would do well to remember that more people voted to leave the European Union than have voted for anything, ever!

It is also difficult to see how leaving the EU is the result of ‘white nostalgia’. In case Sir Vince hasn’t noticed the countries of the EU are overwhelmingly ‘white”. Leaving the EU will enable the UK to trade more freely with the rest of the world, including increasing trade with African and Asian countries, for example. Leaving the EU will enable the UK to set its own immigration policy rather than be forced to shut out commonwealth immigrants (including non-white immigrants) because we cannot set any limit on immigration from the EU.

All of this is especially rich coming from a 74 year old white man who represents a constituency which is 86% white. But then Sir Vince and others of the metropolitan elite are so desperate to remain within the protectionist, undemocratic and corrupt European Union that they will say virtually anything and aren’t going to let anything as trivial as democracy stand in their way.

Yours faithfully,

DANIEL WOOD
Chair of the NEC
The Liberal Party

The Liberal Party notes the recent comments from Housing Secretary Sajid Javid MP that some councils could see their planning power’s revoked if they fail to ensure a faster approval rate for housing developments.

Local decision making is a cornerstone of liberalism and allows local communities to have a say in shaping the character of their locality.

The perceived shortcomings of the local planning process should not be an excuse for central government to impose arbitrary housing targets, which are then approved by an un-elected government inspector as is being muted.

Without local intervention communities risk being blighted with excessive developments which see the loss of gaps between communities creating conurbations or the squeezing in of crowded developments of undersized homes.

The Liberal Party recognises that there is a degree of self-preservation in some planning objections, but centrally imposed housing targets simply fail to address the nation’s regional housing crisis, nor support’s local democracy.

Conservative broken promises. Don’t trust them.
Getting it fixed. Overflowing rubbish bins. Not Acceptable.
Can you help me? Can you deliver a few leaflets where you live?

Liberal News – Winter 2017/18

CANZUK
Launch of new Liberal Birmingham Group!
A Personal View on the Bristol Assembly, 2017.
Support for CANZUK.
The Commonwealth.
Little Bits of History Repeating?
Liberal News Opinion.
Assembly News: New Year Special Assembly.
Liberal Party News.

Cullompton Town Council (North Ward) – Liberal Party Gain

Lloyd Knight takes former Tory Safe seat in Mid Devon by-election for town council – well done for support work in the campaign by Cllr Jenny Roach who lives in the next valley.

The Liberal Party Candidate

KNIGHT Lloyd

4 Bowling Green View
Cullompton
EX15 1UQ

148 Votes

The Liberal Party annual Assembly, conducted in Bristol this year, debated the reform of leasehold property rights in this country.

The party notes the almost feudal nature of the scheme and recent revelations have called into question a long term residential leasing scheme almost unique to England and Wales.

Home dwellers with such leaseholds are seeing a periodic doubling of ground rates, punitive fees for basic home improvements and the transfer of leaseholds to offshore havens for tax purposes.

The party is weary of any government plan that falls short of anything other than complete abolition, and calls for compensation for leaseholders, the right to buy their lease and temporary provision for all leases ending before 2025 to revert to the leaseholders with fair compensation if appropriate.

Such reforms are in line In with the party constitution which calls for a society where every citizen shall possess liberty, property and security.

The Liberal Party note with concern media reports that a number of councils have alleged that central government has declined to release urgent funds for remedial work to residential tower blocks.

Any argument concerning whether such work is additional rather than essential is academic when many tower blocks have seen their external insulating cladding removed as a fire precaution.

The party accepts that the fitting of water sprinklers is a long-term aspiration subject to design and structural assessments, but as a minimum external cladding should be replaced as matter of urgency with the onset of winter.

The Grenfell tower tragedy has highlighted the disparity in living conditions of many of this countries most vulnerable and cost should not be a consideration when providing adequate and safe accommodation.

The Liberal Party notes with agreement the decision of the Scottish government to extend its existing moratorium on fracking.

The Westminster government continues to push fracking aggressively despite there being sufficient evidence to show that the fracking process poses a real risk to public health, the environment, the climate and fair competition

The party remains concerned that insufficient research exists into the long-term effects of pumping high pressure water and chemicals into subterranean strata and its effect on the public water supply.

As such it believes such a moratorium should be extended to all of England and Wales until adequate research into fracking has been conducted and reviewed, and the public are fully briefed on its effects.