Welsh Liberal blogs

Commenting on the latest announcement by Cardiff’s Labour-run council that Cardiff’s new bus station will not be ready for passengers to use until spring 2023, lead Liberal Democrat candidate for South Wales Central for the 2021 Senedd elections Councillor Rodney Berman said: he staggering incompetence in the way the council’s Labour leaders have handled the bus station project is unbelievable. Plans were initially being drawn up for a new bus station by the council administration which I and the Liberal Democrats led between 2004 and 2012. We left office in 2012 with a funded plan in place – all that was required then was to acquire the site of the former NCP car park in Wood Street. We knew that might take some time, but nothing like the time we’ve had to wait since. Labour fought the 2012 council elections in Cardiff calling for the delivery of a new bus station to be speeded up – but they have delivered just the opposite. Since then, deadline after deadl...

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Wales Baroness Christine Humphreys has applauded Lord Nick Bourne’s principled decision to resign as a Wales Office Minister in opposition to the UK Government’s pursuit of a no deal Brexit. Lord Nick Bourne was a Wales Office and Housing, Communities and Local Government Minister and had been asked to continue in government. Lord Bourne was the leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly between 1999 and 2011. Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Wales Baroness Christine Humphreys commented:  I applaud Lord Bourne’s principled decision to resign as a Wales Office Minister because of his opposition to a no deal Brexit. Lord Bourne has put his principles above his career. It is disappointing colleagues like Alun Cairns aren’t willing to do the same. We know a no deal Brexit would be catastrophic for Wales, devastating our economy, pushing more people into poverty and threatening our ability to access vita...

Welsh Liberal Democrat Lead candidate for South Wales Central Cllr Rodney Berman has criticised Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns for putting his career over his constituents by serving in Boris Johnson’s cabinet. is retention as Secretary of State for Wales follows Alun Cairns’ endorsement of Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership election contest. It means Alun Cairns will serve in cabinet alongside the likes of Priti Patel, Dominic Raab and Jacob Rees-Mogg . Lead Welsh Liberal Democrat Candidate Cllr Rodney Berman commented:  It is disappointing Alun Cairns has chosen to put his career before the interests of his constituents and the people of Wales. In 2016 he voted remain, he’s spent 3 years arguing for a Brexit deal and now he’s happy to support a no deal Brexit. We know a no deal Brexit would be devastating for Wales and the entirety of the UK. It will be catastrophic for our economy, leave us less free and threaten our ability to ...

Welsh Liberal Democrat President William Powell has responded to Boris Johnson’s victory in the Conservative party’s leadership election, calling it a dark day for British politics. Johnson victory a dark day Cllr Powell commented:  Today is a dark day for British politics. The man likely to be our next Prime Minister is fundamentally untrustworthy and has a history of bigoted and offensive statements towards the BME, LGBT+ and Muslim communities. We will fight Boris’ bigotry and stand up for a tolerant Britain. Boris Johnson’s failure to stand up for Sir Kim Darroch, his kowtowing to Donald Trump and his tragic incompetence on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe clearly shows he cannot be trusted on the world stage. It is disgraceful that Boris Johnson refuses to rule out proroguing Parliament to achieve a no deal Brexit. This would do irreparable damage to our democracy and our economy. We will continue to co-operate across Parliament to prevent a no deal Brexit...

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds has welcomed Jo Swinson’s election as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. Jane has hailed Jo Swinson’s vision for a liberal UK at the heart of the EU, a UK that leads the way in fighting climate change. Jo Swinson won the leadership election with 47,997 votes, compared to Ed Davey’s 28,021. As Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane remained neutral throughout the leadership campaign and looks forward to continuing to work with both Jo Swinson and Ed Davey to create a more liberal Britain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds commented: I’m thrilled to see Jo Swinson elected as our new Liberal Democrat leader. Jo is the right person to lead our party and our growing liberal movement through these turbulent and dangerous times. Jo Swinson has long been a friend of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and of Wales. I look forward to working with Jo to fight injustice, rebuild our broken social safety net and build a th...

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed the Better Homes, Better Wales, Better World report and called for Welsh Government and the housing sector to fully embrace the potential of zero carbon housing to reduce fuel poverty and fight climate change The independent report was commissioned by Ministers last year and calls on the Welsh Government to set ambitious housing targets to meet its ambition of achieving net zero carbon by 2050. Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing spokesperson, Cllr Joe Carter said: Zero carbon homes reduce fuel poverty, improve health and wellbeing, and are necessary if we are to save our planet. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are committed to delivering zero carbon housing, we hope the Welsh Government share our commitment. Housing makes up 8% of carbon dioxide emissions so any attempts to tackle climate change must include housing. Wales has the potential to lead the way in zero carbon housing, this report shows us how we can do it. ...

Last month, the Education Minister, Kirsty Williams, announced that the £250,000 Supporting Service Children in Education Wales Fund would be extended into 2019-20. 27 schools across Wales received funding for projects last year. The fund helps schools provide additional support to children from families of Service personnel. The challenges can include the effects of moving from one school to another due to the location of the posting. It can also include the effects of parents or guardians in the Armed Forces being deployed away from home, either on operation or a long term training exercise.  The fund is administered by the Supporting Service Children in Education (SSCE) Cymru project, hosted by the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA). The closing date for schools to submit applications is 30th September. Kirsty Williams said: Ensuring equity of access to education for all children and young people is one of my top priorities and I recognise the parti...

Yesterday Boris Johnson said: …too often there are parts of our country and parts of London still and other cities as well where English is not spoken by some people as their first language, and that needs to be changed… Jane Dodds responded brilliantly: Mae sylwadau di-glem Boris yn dangos pa mor allan o gyswllt yw e gyda Cymru ac ardaloedd fel ein rhai ni.