High Peak
Liberal Democrats

Was Michael Gove right?

On 3rd June 2016, Michael Gove drew ridicule when he stated "People in this country have had enough of experts". However, Theresa May's announcement that her government are now seeking to actively support1 the reintroduction of selective schools goes against all evidence-based expert opinion. We mocked Mr Gove but the reintroduction of selective schools may well prove he was right. There appears to widespread support across the right-wing press and the Telegraph website is currently indicating 77% of their readership support the policy.

JD
11 Sep 2016
View
Lib Dem logo bird projected on blockwork

Migration myths and unravelling of Brexit promises

The recent increase in hate crimes against Eastern Europeans in the UK has rightly been met with condemnation from across the political spectrum. Some dismiss this is a post-referendum spasm which will quickly ebb away. I fear that may not be the case and the Brexit decision may cause long-term damage to community cohesion and open a Pandora's box of nasty populist politics. Let me explain why. Brexiteer leaders - Farage, Fox, Johnson - made promises which are already unravelling. They told voters that leaving the EU would lead to better NHS services, improved job prospects and smaller class sizes. Those promises were largely based on migration myths which, unfortunately, many people believed.

JL
11 Sep 2016
View

Reversing Conservative cuts remains the big social security challenge

The conference policy paper on "Mending the Safety Net" contains lots of good stuff on a wide range of welfare policy, even if I say so as a member of its working group. But, at Conference and beyond, I think it's important not to get distracted from the big issue of the £13bn of cuts planned by the Conservatives. Reversing these - and indeed going further - is what will make the biggest difference to people's lives, to UK inequality and even to the economy (and hopefully win a few votes in the process). Within this, here are three goals that the party should be fighting for. Increasing working-age benefits in line with inflation - and ultimately earnings George Osborne announced that most non-pensioner benefits would be frozen at their 2015 levels for 4 more years. Even before the Brexit vote, this was expected to be a massive drag on living standards. But inflation over the next few years is now expected to be higher than previously predicted - driven by rising import prices due to the weaker pound - and un

AC
10 Sep 2016
View
EU Exit route

Brexit talks role for Belgian EU veteran Guy Verhofstadt

A veteran European federalist, Belgian ex-Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, will be the European Parliament's negotiator in Brexit talks with the UK. Mr Verhofstadt, leader of the liberal MEPs, tweeted that the parliament would play a "central role" in the talks "and any future EU-UK agreements".

10 Sep 2016
View

Save Eramus!

When I launched our petition to save studying abroad, I didn't quite expect the reaction we got. In no time at all, we've collected almost 10,000 signatures and our campaign is growing bigger every second.

CBMEP
9 Sep 2016
View

Dramatic Lib Dem gain from 4th place in Sheffield

Pre-2010 this was a Labour / Lib Dem ward with the Lib Dems winning out in 2008, but then the Lib Dem slide started with Labour winning in May 2010. By 2014 the Lib Dems were third and in 2015 fourth. No longer. Congratulations Gail Smith, who previously had been a councillor for this ward 2008-12. Note again the slump in the Ukip vote, this time in a ward where the party had moved up to being the challenger to Labour in recent years.

MP
10 Sep 2016
View

UK Lib Dem news

High Peak Liberal Democrats AGM Notice 4 Dec 2024 Download File
High Peak Liberal Democrats AGM Notice 7.30pm, 4 December 2024

This website uses cookies

Like most websites, this site uses cookies. Some are required to make it work, while others are used for statistical or marketing purposes. If you choose not to allow cookies some features may not be available, such as content from other websites. Please read our Cookie Policy for more information.

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the website to function properly.
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.
Marketing cookies are used by third parties or publishers to display personalized advertisements. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.