Welsh Liberal blogs

  The Welsh Lib Dems have continued their calls for the Welsh Government and local councils to rule out the illiberal and unworkable vaccine passports, with news that the Conservatives in Westminster are looking to bring them in.   The party’s leader in Wales, Jane Dodds MS said: “The Welsh Liberal Democrats continue to oppose any form of passport or certificate for accessing services or venues. The introduction of these would not only be divisive and discriminatory but unworkable and illiberal.   "If we truly want to keep people safe, then we must ensure that we have a strong test and trace system to protect vulnerable people - but a national ID system for vaccines does not help with this.   "Introducing these passports will leave many businesses on their knees, facing reduced custom and struggling with the extra cost of enforcement.   "I call on the Welsh Government and local councils to rule out introducing these burdensome vaccine passports here in

  Protests are an essential way for people to make their voices heard. Liberal Democrats are fiercely opposing the new Protest Crackdown Law and will be voting against it this evening. As you may have noticed, this Conservative Government doesn’t like to be challenged. Just look at how angry and red-faced Boris Johnson gets at Prime Minister’s Questions every week. Just listen to how often Ministers rail against lawyers and the courts, because judges sometimes rule against them. Just remember how they refused to do interviews with journalists who might dare to ask difficult questions. MPs vote today on Priti Patel’s Protest Crackdown Law And now comes their latest attempt to silence any opposition to their policies, as MPs vote today on Priti Patel’s Protest Crackdown Law – or, to use its official title, Part 3 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The new law would, if passed, give the police new powers to clampdown on protests if they are noisy. It would also cr

Wales is never going to get a fair deal under the Conservatives The Welsh Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservatives for voting against a motion to explore the devolution of powers over justice to the Senedd. Tonight, in a vote at Westminster, the Conservatives have voted down a cross-party motion which was aimed at forcing the UK Government to explore the impacts of the devolution of justice within six months. The devolution of justice powers to Wales has long been recommended, including in the Silk Commission in 2014 and in the Commission on Justice in Wales in 2019. Justice is devolved in both Wales and Northern Ireland. The Welsh Liberal Democrats put fighting for justice to be devolved to Wales at the heart of their recent Senedd manifesto and have long campaigned for a fairer, federal UK. Jane Dodds MS, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: “Tonight, the Conservatives have chosen to put their quest for power and control ahead of the best interests of Wale