The Liberal Party notes that 12 years after the abolishment of the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, 2700 individuals remain in custody with indefinite prison terms and limited opportunities for parole.

As reported in the Independent (29th September) the Labour government is now reported to have declined to review the sentences of those currently in prison, half of whom have been incarcerated for over a decade.

Such sentences were imposed to protect the public from serious offenders, but did not provide for a timely parole review. Seeing no prospects of parole, many of those incarcerated have suffered from additional psychological harm.

The Liberal Party believes that at a time of a crisis in prison numbers, all remaining cases should be subject to urgent review.

When I served in a NATO headquarters, I recall getting my weekly fix of Scotland through listening to the BBC Scotland's summary of First Minister's Questions at the weekend. I confess it was not because I wanted to closely follow every issue. It was solely because I wanted to hear Alex Salmond. I was an RAF legal officer at the time and I therefore had to maintain political neutrality. I was however well known by my colleagues as a liberal and, perhaps aptly, I now lead the Scottish Liberal Party. I opposed Mr Salmond politically, but I was in awe of his performances in the Scottish Parliament. He made everyone else look mediocre, at best. He could receive the most challenging question, play with it, pull it apart and respond with a killer line which resulted in cheers, as opposed to bored 'hear hears'. Though he bordered on cheerful smugness at points, I found it impossible to resist being impressed. He entertained and caught the imagination. He was the master politician of his generation. Had he joined the Labour Party in his youth and not been obsessed with independence, he would no doubt have been the Prime Minister; and probably a great one. When did we last have one of them? Whatever his talents, he did not persuade me that breaking up the United Kingdom was ever going to be a good idea; that was a bridge too far.
 
His fall from power was something else I witnessed. I make no comment on his personal standards (other than to note his advocate's remarks that he was far from perfect), but I detected betrayal and - no doubt - great hypocrisy. Mr Salmond defeated the charges against him (with the able assistance of the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates). It resulted in a political mess and the start of the SNP's long decline. A film will inevitably be made about him. That is more than can be said for many of those who took pleasure in his troubles.
 
Allan Steele
 
Leader, Scottish Liberal Party

The motions passed at Assembly are now available to view in the Liberal Library section of the party website.

The Liberal Party views the current Israeli land invasion of Lebanon, and the threat of further Iranian retaliatory missile strikes in support of its regional proxy Hezbollah as a catastrophic but inevitable escalation in regional violence.

The party calls for an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, respect for national borders and the rights of the people of the region to peace and security within their own homes and communities be they in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon or beyond.

We believe any Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon will be as destructive as that within Gaza and has already led to a large-scale movement of displaced persons and seen widespread destruction in Beirut and other Lebanese cities.

A year and a day after the brutal Hamas assault on Israel, the international community has yet to deliver a viable plan for a ceasefire and restoration of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian’s trapped in a Gaza which no longer exists as a functioning state.

The weakened Lebanese state now faces the same perilously fate.

The summer issue of Liberal News is now available on the party website in the Liberal Library section.

The Liberal Party notes with anguish the escalation of violence on the Israeli Lebanese border as the region approaches the first anniversary of the brutal Hamas 7th October attack on Israel

At this point in time the region is as far away from peace as at any point in the last 12 months despite considerable loss of life and destruction.

Whilst Hezbollah has provoked Israel along its northern border for months, the recent wave of assassinations using rigged electronic devices has only served to intensify the conflict and risks drawing Iran directly into the conflict.

After 12 months of death and destruction no party can any longer claim any monopoly on pain or loss. The Liberal Party again calls for an urgent de-escalation in the region and a humanitarian ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians and to restore essentials public services.

The Assembly Pack is now available to view on the Liberal Party website within the Liberal library section.

Regards,

The Liberal Party NEC

The Liberal Party views with concern the government plans to means test the winter fuel payment to pensioners.

Whilst we accept the government has a substantial budget deficit to manage, we believe the decision should be withdrawn pending a proper assessment of the impact on some of the most vulnerable in our society.

The party believes that the proposed increase to the state pension for the next financial years comes too late to help pensioners in need this winter and is disingenuous.

With the tax-free threshold still frozen until 2028, pensioners on a fixed income are being pushed into more taxation while living costs soar.

The party would urge all pensioners to check their eligibility for benefits to ensure they are able to manage through the coming winter.

The Liberal Party welcomes the publication of the final report into the Grenfell Tower fire which claimed 72 lives.

We welcome the apology by the Prime Minister for the systemic failures in national and local government all of which contributed to an entirely avoidable disaster in a tightknit community.

The completion of this report over 6 years is however only one further step of the process of healing and justice.

Over 4000 buildings in the UK still retain flammable cladding and urgent progress must be made to complete the removal of this from the exterior of buildings.

We note that the report also does not look to the future and does not deal with the issue of no more hight rise buildings,  no more gas in flats and the wider issue of the use of cladding in the construction industry.

To the Rt Hon David Lammy MP

The Liberal Party has been a long-term supporter of the campaign for the recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as a sovereign country and it being welcomed into the Commonwealth.

We would urge you to give recognition to the Republic of Somaliland as a functioning stable democracy for the last 30 years and its special relationship with the UK as a former protectorate.

There are long established Somaliland communities in the UK. Many former Somaliland men served in the British Armed Forces and the merchant navy.

The Liberal Party believes wider support for Commonwealth countries and greater dialogue promotes better understanding and co-operations with many sovereign states which values their historic links to the United Kingdom.