Welcome to Lib Dem Newswire #197 and before we get stuck into this edition, congratulations to our councillors newly elected since last time, along with their agents: Mark Harding, Lisa Webster, John Shepherd, Louise Potter, Tim Martland, Darren Gratton and Michael Skelton.
This time’s edition includes an exclusive extract from Ed Davey’s new book along with news about our HQ in London moving, a cracking political novel and what the Lib Dems have been saying about a trade deal with Europe.
Happy reading,
Mark
P.S. If you haven’t had a chance to read the previous edition of Lib Dem Newswire it is online here: The best Lib Dem candidate showing since 2009.
Bad use of polling by Defra
My first Parliamentary speech having been about email, my second of course was about opinion polls:
The background to this featured in The Week in Polls.
How MI6 tried to recruit Ed Davey
Ed Davey’s new book, Why I Care, includes an account of how he nearly ended up following the footsteps of Paddy Ashdown1 into the world of espionage.
He explains how, in this exclusive extract from the book:
I started work on 3 January 1989 as the parliamentary economics researcher for the Social and Liberal Democrats, as the Liberal Democrats were formally known after those difficult post-merger months.
I was based in a corridor of the Whips’ Office, just off Members’ Lobby in the Commons. Mainly working for Alan Beith, but often summoned by a clipped phone call from Paddy Ashdown to go to see him in the nearby Leader’s Office, where I sit now.
In the mêlée of job searching from Newark, I’d also applied to the Civil Service and had been part way through their application process when it had taken an unexpected turn with MI6 trying to recruit me.
I’ve heard since that the secret services look for people who are orphans. The idea being that when you lose your parents, you have a slightly different view of life and who you are. I still hate the idea of being called an orphan; I didn’t feel a lack of love, or the lack of a family.
MI6 was quite subtle in its out-of-the-blue letter, saying, ‘There are some jobs in the civil service that aren’t open to competition.’ Which is quite an odd thing to state, adding, ‘We’d like you to apply.’ And when I did, it was as if they wanted to know everything about me, from my great aunt’s inside-leg measurement to my favourite film. I went for an hour-long interview, with one other person sitting at the opposite end of a large room from me, asking me further questions about me and my life.
At the end of this grilling, he asked me to sign the Official Secrets Act, a copy of which was placed on a table in the middle of the room. I’m probably breaking it now. For the following hour, the man told me about the job of being a spy.
I can’t pretend I wasn’t tempted, but the fact that my life would be so clandestine for years made me think twice. I’d have had to give up any idea of politics, which by now was getting into my bloodstream. So, in a way my career choice was between espionage and the Lib Dems, though I’m not sure it felt like that back then.
You can get Why I Care from Amazon, Waterstones or Bookshop.org.
Helping spread our strength across the country
Here’s my latest report for Liberal Democrat members and supporters. These reports also appear on the party website.
Thank you…
It is always good to start with thanking colleagues, and this month marked the final full council for Gareth Morgan. He has served an amazing 52 (!) years as a councillor, having been first elected to then Montgomery County Council in 1973 as a Liberal.
Given all the political ups and downs for our party and its predecessors in the years since, that is a particularly impressive run. It is also a run that enabled Gareth to do so much good for local residents’ and for promoting our values.
Thank you, Gareth.
I suspect that may be the longest continuous run for any Liberal Democrat in elected public office. Though do let me know if anyone can top that!
The importance of earlier Parliamentary selections
New analysis of our campaign data from the last Parliament shows the benefit of getting Parliamentary candidates in place, not only in our target seats but also more widely too:
In the last Parliament, only around a third of seats got the opportunity to benefit from the increase in activity that the selection of a Parliamentary candidate brings. That is because the rest had candidates appointed right up towards the end of the Parliament.
It would be unreasonable and impractical, of course, to expect people to be candidates in non-target seats for as long as if they were in a target seat. But as these figures show, the more seats that can select a good time before the election, the more we can boost the building up of our grassroots campaign strength across the whole country.
Doing that would build on the two important boosts that the rounds of May elections give to the breadth of our strength. I reported last time on how our spread of candidates in the May election was our best showing compared to Labour and the Conservatives since 2009. Getting the Liberal Democrats on more of the ballot papers that are seen by all voters is part of building that national presence.
So too is winning more council seats, and again there is good news from the May elections. Although some of our most dramatic headline grabbing gains were in Southern England, there was good news across the rest of the country too, including winning control of a county council in the Midlands for the first time ever (Shropshire). Overall, we gained seats in 18 of the council areas that were up for election, held steady in three and went down by 1 seat each in two areas.
That was much more than only doing well in areas with Liberal Democrat MPs, though of course doing well in those is important for firmly embedding those record gains from last year.
Of the council seats up for election in areas with Liberal Democrat MPs, we won 69% of them. By contrast, the Conservatives only won 37% of the seats up in their MPs’ constituencies, and Labour was down at 10%.
Just under half of the seats we won were in areas with Lib Dem MPs, and the other half elsewhere - a neat statistical coincidence that shows the importance of both doubling down on MP incumbency and growing more broadly.
This point leads on of course to what will be happening with our Parliamentary selection processes in this Parliament. Both the Scottish and Welsh parties are proceeding with their parts of plans to implement the F10 motion on candidates that was passed at our Spring Federal Conference.
Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the English Liberal Democrats, sent out the following email following the English Party’s own discussions:
Last night we held a meeting of English Council, with around 140 members representing each region and the English Young Liberals.
On the agenda was a debate and vote on implementing Motion F10 from our Spring Federal Conference, which was a constitutional amendment that had been passed in March by around four to one. It set out to implement the recommendations from the party’s General Election Review, to move towards a different structure, linked much more with our General Election planning cycle and creating parity between the three states - England, Wales and Scotland.
Last night’s English Council meeting considered a motion to give the English Party’s assent to those changes, by amending our constitution. The motion was supported by a clear majority of English Council representatives (80 votes to 53). However, this was 9 votes short of the two-thirds majority that it required under our rules to amend the constitution.
This means that across these two votes at both Federal Conference and English Council there is a clear desire for change from members of the party in England, but also that the specific proposals put forward last night did not secure sufficient support to proceed immediately.
Since last night's meeting I have been contacted by many members, wanting clarity about the next steps. Given the clearly expressed desire for change, this issue is not going to disappear. I want to reassure you that as the Chair of the Liberal Democrats in England, I will be speaking with others about an appropriate way forward to find a suitable and acceptable solution that allows for the clear views of the wider membership and English Council to be respected, but that also addresses the outstanding concerns raised at English Council. This will take a few weeks to consider and reflect.
I will also be reflecting on some of the behaviour by a handful of members last night which was not acceptable, and consider the appropriate steps to take to restore a sense of decency and professionalism at our meetings. Staff and members have a right to carry out their roles in a safe environment.
I will keep you informed of developments.
Thank you for all the work you do for the party.
Having been at the meeting too and directly seen the behaviour Caroline refers to myself, I fully agree with her on that. Our 2024 general election review was the first for a long time not to have to report major complaints from staff about how they had been treated by party bodies in preceding years. We absolutely must not slip back on treating staff well or in expecting professionalism from how people run the party on behalf of members.
And then there were 76
As various hung councils have picked their new administrations, an amazing 76 councils now have a Liberal Democrat Council Leader. Lib Dem administrations are now responsible for £17 billion of public spending.
Reform Watch
As reported by The Guardian:
The Liberal Democrats have set up an internal “Reform watch” system to monitor Nigel Farage’s party in local government, with Ed Davey saying Labour and the Conservatives are too scared of the threat from Reform to hold it to account…
It is being spearheaded by Amanda Hopgood, the leader of the opposition group in the Reform-run County Durham, along with Antony Hook, who performs the same role in Kent, and Mike Ross, the leader of Hull city council, who came second to Reform’s Luke Campbell to be mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire.
Congratulations to…
Thank you also for the fabulous efforts put in by the local parties who were the top recruiters in the last month:
England: Waverley (again!)
Scotland: North Edinburgh, East & Leith
Wales: Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe tied with Bangor Aberconwy
A reminder if you are recruiting members locally: if you use libdems.org.uk/join-local then your local party will get extra payment to recognise the local recruitment. (If someone joins via another route, you can also get the membership team to tag them as a local recruit by emailing help@libdems.org.uk).
Conference registration is live
Registration has opened for our September Federal Conference in Bournemouth (20-23 September). You can register to attend in person or online. Details here.
Registration options include a brand-new Day Pass for Autumn Conference that includes both voting and speaking rights, replacing the old non-voting Day Visitor option.
Other party matters
Following feedback after our previous decision on this, the Federal Board decided to set the expense limit for the next President and Vice President all-member elections at £20,000, rather than the £25,000 figure chosen previously.
We also agreed the bundle of business we will submit to the Autumn Federal Conference, which will include proposed members of the Federal Appeals Panel (FAP), something that comes up every five years, the usual motion on membership subscriptions (which will not propose any changes in the minimum membership rate or related figures) and a constitutional tidy-up amendment.
During the last Westminster Parliament, the Federal Board focused on several specific areas of reform and improvement, submitting appropriate constitutional amendments. But one task left over from that is a general tidying up of small ambiguities, consequential changes from previous decisions that were overlooked at the time, and so on.
The best time for such tidying up is an autumn conference early in a Parliament (i.e. when the pressure on conference time is lower than at Spring or later in a Parliament).
Therefore the Board intends to submit a tidying up amendment to Autumn. The intent is to avoid controversial items, which should be for their own separate, dedicated debates.
A draft list of items to include has been published and feedback on these - and in particular on any suggested additions to the list - is very welcome.
A new party HQ
The May Board meeting also agreed plans to move our London HQ to a new location also near to Parliament. The building we are in (1 Vincent Square) has changed owners and is being turned into residential property. (Just as our old 4 Cowley Street HQ ended up a residential property!) We therefore have the chance to move on very good financial terms to a new property later this year.
Watch out for more details in due course, and as before there will be post forwarding arrangements etc. to cater for materials out there with the old address on.
Do you have questions on any of this report, or other Lib Dem matters? Then please drop me a line on president@libdems.org.uk. Do also get in touch if you would like to invite me to do a Zoom call with your local party or party body.
A cracking political novel
I suspect quite a few readers of Lib Dem Newswire would enjoy a novel I have just finished: The Prime Minister’s Affair by Andrew Williams.
A fictional tale of skulduggery and a spy service that thinks it has a higher duty than serving the government of the day, fictional but tightly wound around what we do know about PM Ramsay MacDonald's affair and with the fun of many real characters popping up, including the later Lord Haw Haw, Oswald Mosley (in his Labour Party incarnation) and the highly dodgy Major Sir George Joseph Ball - whose record of dirty tricks in British politics makes Watergate look tame by comparison.
Although the plot itself is fictional, all the characters and main background events - plus the (very likely) fact of MacDonald's affair - are real, making it also a great introduction to a very strange and difficult time in British politics. The politics of the 1920s were a wild and dangerous roller coaster that makes the Brexit Years look pretty tame (!).
You can get The Prime Minister’s Affair from Amazon (including both ebook and audio options), Waterstones or Bookshop.org.
Josh Babarinde on campaign win for domestic abuse victims
Sarah Olney has also had a campaign success, in this case for her work to ensure more victims get access to court transcripts free of charge.
Podcast: Local elections 2025 - the Lib Dem verdict
The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw me team up with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team to discuss the local elections. How did they go for the Liberal Democrats and what lessons are there for the party?
You can take a listen in your favourite podcast app, as well as on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or the web.
🎧Find all the episodes of Never Mind The Bar Charts here.
📟 Sign up for a dedicated email notification each time a new episode appears here.
A more ambitious trade deal with Europe: Lib Dems in the news
Health and social care
Liberal Democrats say ministers should waive the higher visa fee for NHS and care staff.
Layla Moran: “There are real costs to not tackling this grievous [social care] problem. But, as we report today, the data we need doesn’t seem to exist”.
Economy and cost of living
Calum Miller: “A far more ambitious trade deal with Europe, including a new UK-EU customs union, would be the single biggest thing ministers could do to boost growth and fix the public finances.”
Daisy Cooper: “The public are rightly furious at the government’s decision to rip vital support from millions of the most vulnerable, yet ministers simply are not listening.”
£5bn from Youth Mobility Scheme would give Government nowhere to hide on winter fuel payment, says James MacCleary.
Environment and water industry
Tim Farron: “The Government must act now and replace Ofwat with a new regulator with real power that can properly hold water companies to account.”
Liberals and Democrats for Nature and Climate launched with new polling on the environment.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Ukraine
Ed Davey: “Will the Prime Minister work with our allies, in Europe and in the Commonwealth, and make clear to President Trump that if he picks a fight with James Bond, Bridget Jones and Paddington Bear, he will lose?”
Lib Dems: “It would be a real shame if Reform councillors block their communities from flying the flag for our brave British troops and our allies against Putin, all for the sake of some meaningless virtue-signalling.”
Crime and anti-social behaviour
Balaclava-clad hare coursing gangs terrorise rural communities as FOI reveals almost 1,800 police reports made last year.
Burglaries and shoplifting ‘decriminalised’ as most offences don’t result in a suspect being charged.
Other issues
Jamie Greene: “The SNP made an explicit promise [on conversion therapy] if they got into government to introduce this Bill and haven’t.”
Hina Bokhari: “When firefighters fear bullying, harassment or retaliation for speaking out about misconduct, the safety of both personnel and the public is compromised.”
Ed Davey demands PM backs joint plan to recognise Palestine:
People news
Congratulations Layla on the birth of her child!
James Gibson-Watt stands down as leader of Powys.
Shaffaq Mohammed’s moving maiden speech in the House of Lords.
Nick Clegg is back writing about politics: The EU must reinvent itself... or die.
Councillors Joe Harris, Bridget Smith and Heather Kidd have been re-elected as the LGA Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Deputy Leader and Group Whip respectively.
An update from the Commons Treasury team: Sarah Olney has taken over the business brief from Sarah Gibson.
Tim Farron’s London Marathon effort raised over £6,000 for Growing Well.
A fun electoral fact from the May local elections: the Lib Dem with the highest vote share in the country was Heather Kidd, with 71.1% in Chirbury & Worthen, Shropshire. Congratulations Heather!
📲 You can get more updates like the above in real time through my WhatsApp updates 2-3 times a week. Sign up details here.
Reform sheds councillors
In case you missed them first time, here is a selection of posts from my websites and newsletters since last time:
Reform sheds a fifth councillor.
How to spend £19m badly, without anyone complaining.
Donations to Candidates at Election Time: A Hidden Source of Mass Party Funding?
Another way of looking at the local election results.
Does the public know who did best in the local elections?
Conservative MPs stay off Bluesky.
What the polls are saying
Votes
Leaders
For more details on both the above tables, and for updates in-between editions of LDN, take a look on my website here.
Party favourability
In other polling news…
Selections news
Henry Vann has been selected as our 2027 Bedford Mayor hopeful.
Good luck, Henry.
Council by-elections round-up
The by-elections since the May local elections have seen a successful Lib Dem defence, a continuing spread in Lib Dem candidate numbers and then a trio of successful defences.
The net seats changes are Reform +3, Lib Dem +/-0, Green +/-0, Plaid +/-0, SNP +/-0, Independent/Others +/-0, Conservatives -1 and Labour -2.
For more details, see my table of net seat changes since the last May local elections.
In other changes, seven councillors have joined the Lib Dems in Slough, an independent has joined in Elmbridge and also in Burnley, a Labour councillor has joined in Hertfordshire and a trans councillor who quit Labour has joined the Lib Dems in Plymouth. But two Lib Dems have switched to independent/other in Oadby and Wigston and one each in East Suffolk, Harborough, South Kesteven and West Lindsey.
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And finally…
Forget the jam or cream first on sconce disputes, Marie Goldman is itching for a fight over how to make a cup of tea.
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Thank you and best wishes,
Mark
Note: Links to books in the newsletter are usually affiliate links that generate a commission for sales made.
Allegedly.