The annual Liberal Party Assembly will be held on the 5th October at The Great Barr Hotel, Birmingham, B43 6HS. The event will run from 9:30am till 4:30pm and be hosted in the 'The Festival Suite'.
 
This is the annual event where policy is debated, and we welcome submission for discussion at the meeting. It is your opportunity to influence the direction of the party.
 
The event will be a blended meeting with a Zoom facility for those wishing to participate and the Assembly/Conference is open to all members.
 
Travel options for the venue are available via the Traveline website.
 
Using a larger venue will give members attending the event to opportunity to socialise in more relaxed surrounding during the meeting.
 
More details and a Zoom meeting invite can be obtained from the secretary to the NEC

The Liberal Party wishes to reiterate our support for Ukraine to have sovereignty over its territories as a functioning democratic state. We believe western democracies should support all efforts to assist Ukraine resist military occupation. We support diplomatic efforts and sanctions to bring about a just and sustainable peace.

Cllr Steve Radford, Leader of The Liberal Party

The Liberal Party condemns the civil violence and mindless destruction currently gripping several urban areas in the UK.

A senseless mob is exploiting contentious issues such as immigration and has attempted to vilify asylum seekers and minority groups, most specifically Muslims.

We applaud the response of many communities caught in the crossfire as they attempt to repair and renew after such senseless destruction.

The Liberal Party views with alarm the chancellor’s assertion that tax increases and cuts to public funding will be needed balance a newly emerged £22bn shortfall in funding.

The party believes the UK economy is being held back in part due to a lack of infrastructure investment.

Funding local rail links is essential to help employment growth in businesses and meeting environment targets. 

Without doubt the state finances were known as challenging prior to the election. It is labours choices of cutbacks that risk locking the UK into further low growth.

Local targeted investment in transport is needed and should be paid for Economic growth can be further stimulated by better support for small businesses and SME, who create economic activity, prosperity and employment in local communities.

This sector offers the best avenue to increase productivity, tax receipts and reduce unemployment.

The Liberal Party offers its deepest condolences to the victims of the Southport knife attack, along with their traumatised and grieving families and the community that is supporting them.

Whilst the events of the 29 July remain the subject of an active police investigation, it is wrong to speculate on the motives or origins  of the 17-year-old suspect who remains in police custody.

The Liberal Party condemns the subsequent  violence again the police and the unprovoked attack on a  local mosque as shameful and not representative of the local community.

The very same emergency service workers helping families in such a tragedy being attacked by a mob is disgusting. It was also disrespectful that the Prime Minister,  Metropolitan Mayor and Chief Constable were heckled during a dignified show of respect on a visit to the area.

The Liberal Party notes with grave concern that Macquarie, the Australian pension fund is to take full control of Britain’s gas network via the acquisition of National Gas and its national gas distribution network.

Macquarie has previous take control of water utility Thames Water in 2005, relinquishing control in 2017 having almost quadrupled the utilities debt to £10 billion  whilst paying out £2.6 bn in dividends.

The Liberal Party believes that the legacy of its ownership of the utility company has directly contributed to Thames Waters current perilous financial situation. As such we believe that Macquarie is not a fit company to own a crucial party of the UKs energy infrastructure.

In order to prevent foreign companies such as Macquarie from asset stripping British companies The Liberal Party would end tax breaks for private equity firms that bury companies in debt.

We believe that the UK water industry along with the National Grid should be brought back into public ownership under a mutualisation model and foreign ownership, specific, asset stripping, discouraged, to ensure proper sound investment in the UK.


 

Following the intervention of the general election, the next Liberal Party NEC will be held via Zoom on the 17th August between 2pm and 6pm.

The meeting is open to all, and an agenda will be available shortly.

A Zoom invite can be obtained from the secretary of the NEC, or another member of the NEC.

We look forward to hearing or seeing you on the Zoom call.

The Liberal Party notes with grave concern the latest figures from the Office for National Statistic(ONS) revealing that the UK’s Govt debt has now reach 99.5% of GDP, totalling £2.8 trillion.

This debt pile now comes with an estimated cost in interest payments of £89 billion in the next financial year whilst the govt continues to run a fiscal deficit expect to be a near identical £87 billion per the Office of Budget Responsibility.

The party believes that this trajectory is unsustainable and believe that major structural changes are required to promote growth coupled with reform of the tax regime, tax rebates, and exemptions.

We believe better support for small businesses and SME must play a key part to promote economic activity thus creating jobs and prosperity to guide the country to a more secure financial future without further cuts to public spending.

The Liberal Party welcomes the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, made by the foreign secretary David Lammy on his recent visit to Israel.

Whilst Israel has every right to respond to the brutal Hamas attack of the 7th October to defend its boarders and citizens, the protracted campaign has long exhausted any justification on the grounds of self- defence.

After 9 months of bitter and increasingly indiscriminate bombing and shelling, the population of Gaza has been reduced to a state of destitution, hunger and despair, with its medical facilities and civilian infrastructure all but broken.

The Liberal Party again calls for an internationally broken ceasefire, a resumption of humanitarian aid and a release of hostage, actions which are long overdue in stopping the spiral of violence.

The Liberal Party notes the inclusion of changes to the UK planning process included in this week’s Kings Speech, which are intended to address a national housing shortage of approximately one and half million properties.

Whilst we welcome plans to better utilise brown field sites, and limited adjustments to the green belt, we believe that mandating building targets risks encouraging an over concentration of building in area’s lacking the capacity to absorb new residents.

Mandating housing targets without ensuring section 106 developers’ contributions are collected and used effectively means housing is built without the funding for local services such as schools and surgeries.

We believe that building targets should reflect the needs of communities, the sustainability of developments, and their impact on the environment.