Hear from our newest MP, Sam Gyimah, on why he has joined the Liberal Democrats

Last week, I and twenty brave colleagues took the ultimate step of defying the Conservative whip to make crashing out on October 31st illegal. In an unprecedented move, Boris Johnson withdrew the whip from us all.

I won’t be seeking to get it back. It is with great sadness that I’ve come to realise the Conservative Party is no longer the party I joined more than twenty years ago.

Back then, the party embodied the pragmatic One Nation values I share. I am proud of what we achieved in government, including in coalition with the Liberal Democrats: increasing childcare, same-sex marriage, helping the low paid, balancing the books and backing business.

Since the referendum the Conservative party has drifted away from One Nation values and towards English nationalism.

t's populist, scorched-earth approach to Brexit, intended to neutralise Nigel Farage and his Brexit Party, is doing profound damage to our institutions, our economy and the integrity of our family of nations.

The change has been even more alarming since Boris Johnson became leader. The party has become more intolerant and doctrinaire; less a broad church, more a narrow sect in which lively, open debate has been replaced by oaths of allegiance.

The Conservative Party no longer has a place for people like me.

At this critical time for our country, I still want to contribute to public life. And as I have worked across parties these last few months for a Brexit resolution it has become clear that the Liberal Democrats under Jo Swinson’s determined leadership are best placed to forge a new liberal movement on the big issues of our time.

That is why I am crossing the floor and joining the Liberal Democrats.

And I know that if everyone who also wants a real alternative gets behind us, their votes will count and we will change our country for the better.

Calls for Labour to Go Further on War on Plastic

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on Welsh Labour to be more ambitious in its war on plastic and introduce a bottle deposit scheme in Wales. While welcoming the long-delayed plans to ban single-use carrier bags and plastic drinking straws in Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrats said there was more to be done. Under legislation introduced today, single-use carrier bags, plastic drinking straws, plastic plates, cutlery, stirrers and cotton buds would all be banned under the proposed new law. Research from Wrap Cymru estimates that 400,000 tonnes of plastic waste are generated in Wales each year, with 67 per cent of that waste being packaging. Another report by the Marine Conservation Society found that there were 29 drinks containers for every 100 meters of beach in Wales. A Deposit Return Scheme, also known as a bottle deposit scheme, encourages people to recycle drinks containers such as plastic or glass bottles. People pay a small deposit f...

Wales Hosepipe Ban – Criticism of Welsh Water Over Large Bonuses While Infrastructure Creaks

Following the news that people in some areas of Wales could face a hosepipe ban this summer, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised Welsh Water for paying large bonuses to its bosses while infrastructure creaks. Data from Ofwat, the Water Services Regulation Authority, showed that 169.9 megalitres/day were being wasted through leakage in Welsh Water’s network during 2020-21. The company also failed to meet its Per capita consumption (PCC) targets which are designed to push for less water to be taken from the environment. The Welsh Liberal Democrats say that their analysis of Company House data shows that executives at Dŵr Cymru were paid £2.6 million in 2020 and 2021 including £931,000 in bonuses, benefits and inc entives. Commenting Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds said: " We cannot control the hot and dry weather, but we can control wastage through outdated or poorly-maintained infrastructure. “Welsh Water brands itself as “no...

Ed Davey pays tribute to Her Majesty The Queen in Parliament

Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, paid tribute to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Parliament. The deep mourning across the country now – just like the celebrations of her Jubilee a few months ago – comes not from a sense of duty, but from genuine and heartfelt affection, love and admiration of Her Majesty. It's not because we were her subjects, but because she was truly our Queen. What she meant to us is perhaps best summed up by a phrase on so many people’s lips over the last twenty-four hours: “I can’t imagine our country without her.” For almost everyone in the country, she has been there our whole lives. At times of national grief and national jubilation, she has never not been there for us. So it is hard to accept that she is gone. And hard to see how we go on without her. But we will. Our great United Kingdom has a great future – because The Queen’s spirit of strength, grace and resolve lives on in her people. One of the great...

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