Author: Web Secretary

At the Liberal Party Assembly in October 2024 at The Great Barr Hotel, Birmingham we expressed our objections to a windfall tax on the UK banking sector.

The party believes that however pressing a government may believe its own financial position to be, the monies it would receive have come in the first instance from business and domestic customers pockets and accounts.

As such we believe it would be fairer if banks, and private utilities were instead instructed to reduce the fees on services such as those provided to business customers or to provide rebates to customers returning monies back to its source.

We remain concerned that a windfall tax will cause more bank branches to be shut and jobs to be lost whilst increasing lending costs to struggling small businesses and reducing community banking services.

Members of the  Liberal Party met at the Royal Clifton Hotel in Southport on the Saturday 10^th October for our Assembly.

Assembly is not just an opportunity to renew old acquaintances, it give attendees the opportunity  to make new contacts and share insights and experiences in their home communities.

The motioned adopted are accessible below:

Motions Passed at the 141st Liberal Party Assembly Southport – 10th October 2026

The Liberal Party is alarmed to see that a severe drought has been declared by the Environment Agency along the south coast from Cornwall through Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex.

This autumn has remained unusually dry despite claims that the latest El Niño cycle would bring an end to the parched conditions with above average rainfall. According to one news report the UK will now need above average rainfall as far as next Easter to replenish water reserves.

The Liberal Party believes that the opportunity to ensure sustainable water reserves has been squandered by the failure to ensure that privatised water companies were making the maximum effort to contain leakage and waste from within their network in advance of any protracted dry period.

We again call for the water industry to be brought back into public ownership to ensure all income is reinvested in the service and environmental protection, and not passed as dividends to overseas owners unaffected by UK domestic water restrictions.

With just under a month to go until the Budget, The Liberal Party anticipates a budget that will unfortunately resort to tax hikes in order to paper over, an ever-bleak economic picture. The party believes this will inevitably have a detrimental impact on long term growth.

The Liberal Party would rather see a wholesale root and branch reform of the economic system of the UK, beginning by simplifying the Tax system, for example merging National Insurance with Income Tax. Moreover, by amending the tax system, the party believes that it will allow for organic growth in the economy by encouraging investment.

Furthermore, The Liberal Party welcomes the news that Capital Gains Tax are said to be increased in line with Income Tax; however, the party would add a caveat that it should also allow for inflationary gains, to prevent damaging the prospects of entrepreneurs.

The party would also like to see the personal tax threshold increased to 15K, thus taking at least five million out of paying income tax and thus stimulating growth by increasing demand in the economy. This would encourage more people back into work including part time, by making work pay.

Finally, the party would like to see the freeing up to 1.2 million small businesses from paying corporation tax (over 80% of companies) by lifting the minimum threshold to £100,000. Subsequently, small businesses would pay 15% corporation tax rate, rather than 25%.

The Liberal Party was greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Cllr Paul Holmes, leader of the Cornish Liberals.

A long serving county and later parish councillor, Paul had been a lifelong supporter of the Cornish language and advocate for the reform of the governance of the Cornish peninsular.

Liberal members travelled to Cornwall in June 2023 for a specially commissioned Cornish and West of England Regional Assembly where we were generously entertained at a local community centre.

Our thoughts remain with his family at this time, and an appreciation of him can be seen here:

https://funeral-notices.co.uk/notice/holmes/5315529

The Liberal Party NEC

The Liberal Party is acutely aware of the rise in tensions in Europe in the face of a sustained campaign of blatant acts of sabotage and hybrid warfare driven by Russia.

This campaign has already passed the threshold that in less enlightened ages would have escalated to armed conflict as happened in August 1914 and September 1939 with the deplorable loss of life this entailed.

Whilst we welcome this weekend peace discussion in Moscow and Kyiv, the US Presidents at best ambiguous stance on peace in Ukraine, and his admiration for authoritarian leaders, such as in Russia has embolden the current hostile environment.

We believe that all parties must now work towards a permanent ceasefire and stability in eastern Ukraine and Russia, supported by international organisations such as the UN and the EU.