Foreign Policy

The topic of foreign policy at the conference was dominated by 3 subjects: the European Union, Elon Musk, Donald Trump.

On Monday morning, conference delegates passed a detailed motion calling on the government to develop stronger ties with the EU, highlighting the party’s long-term goal of reversing Brexit and seeing the UK ‘take its rightful place back at the heart of Europe.’

Regarding the world’s richest man, Sir Ed Davey has been highly critical of Elon Musk ever since he appeared via video link at a Tommy Robinson rally earlier this month, where he called for a ‘dissolution of parliament’ and told spectators that they must either ‘fight back’ or ‘die.’ In response to this, Davey wrote a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer asking him to publicly condemn Musk’s comments, to which Musk responded by calling the Lib Dem leader a ‘coward.’

Davey’s criticism of Musk continued at the conference; speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg, Davey said that Musk is ‘committing crimes’ by allowing certain graphic content to remain on his X platform, whilst during an interview with Sky News he called for him to be prosecuted under the new Online Safety Act and arrested if he ever comes to the UK.

Musk is not the only major figure in US politics to have caught Davey’s wrath during the conference, as he accused President Donald Trump of having an ‘anti-science agenda,’ after the US government cut funding for biomedical research in February – a decision that Davey claimed was motivated by ‘cruelty and stupidity.’

However, when asked by PoliticsUK whether he would rather live on a desert island with Trump, Musk, or Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Davey chose the American President, albeit not necessarily for the right reasons; ‘Trump is the oldest and so he wouldn’t last very long.’

Additionally, during his keynote speech at the end of the conference, Davey warned his party not to allow Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to turn Britain into Trump’s America.

The Threat of Reform

The rise of Farage’s party was another topic on everyone’s minds at the conference. On Monday afternoon, a panel of 3 senior Lib Dem councillors discussed the party’s new Reform Watch initiative, a scheme founded by Ed Davey which encourages grassroots activists and councillors to report back to the party on the activities of Reform in their local area.

Whilst they were highly critical of Reform, accusing them of misleading campaigning and ‘building a record of failure’ through their councils across the country, the mood was certainly not one of fear, with the panel clearly determined, hopeful, and confident that the Lib Dems are the party best positioned to ‘tackle Reform head on.’

The panel also argued that the Lib Dems, not Reform, were the real party of patriotism; a patriotism defined by helping out your community, and ‘talking (your country) up, not talking it down,’ a sentiment that has been on display all throughout a conference where journalists were given a ‘plastic patriot’ Nigel Farage lego figure, and former leader Tim Farron called on delegates to ‘reclaim patriotism’ from the far right, whilst draped in an England flag.

Clean Energy and the Environment

Another key focus of the conference, one that has got somewhat less media coverage than others, was clean energy, climate change, and the environment.

In the conference’s policy review motion, titled ‘Leading the Way,’ the party claimed that the UK is currently on track to miss its net zero targets, that 1 in 6 animal species in Britain are at threat of extinction, and that tens of thousands of Brits are being killed by air pollution each year.

The motion also established the Lib Dems intention to lead the way to a ‘free, fair and open society,’ where ‘everyone can enjoy the benefits of (Britain’s) wonderful natural environment.’

On Sunday the conference also voted in favour of supporting the construction and development of small modular reactors and other methods of generating nuclear power, highlighting the party’s position that nuclear is the way forward when it comes to achieving net zero.

Healthcare and Life Sciences

The aforementioned ‘Leading the Way’ motion also focussed on healthcare, recognising the ‘stark and persistent regional inequalities’ in the quality of healthcare across the country, committing to working towards securing the necessary investment to close those gaps, and listed ‘improving primary healthcare’ and shifting more care out of hospitals and into communities as a key topic that parliament should be focussing on.

Furthermore, in his speech on Tuesday, Ed Davey claimed that under a Reform government the health service would cease to exist and patients would be ‘hit with crippling insurance bills,’ and invited American cancer researchers affected by Donald Trump’s previously mentioned research cuts to Britain, saying ‘if Trump won’t back this research, we will.’

Technology

Elsewhere, Science and Technology spokesperson Victoria Collins launched a new policy plan to protect children from the potential harms of social media and improve their mental health.

The plan includes a proposed ‘doomscrolling cap,’ which would limit the amount of time children can spend scrolling short-form video content to 2 hours a day, and calls for social media companies to introduce health alerts for under-18s.

Such proposals are motivated by recent polling from the party which found that 80% of parents of school-aged children surveyed report that excessive social media usage has caused negative behaviours in their children, including difficulty sleeping, arguments with family members, and loss of interest in other hobbies. 

The party also voted in favour of holding a debate about the topic of digital ID cards, at a time when it is being reported that the government are considering introducing them to tackle illegal immigration. Whilst when they were in government alongside the Conservatives in 2010 the Lib Dems blocked a r proposal to introduce digital ID, during Tuesday’s speech Davey called for the party to look at the issue again, recognising that ‘times have changed’ and stating that he was impressed with the system being used in Estonia.

Furthermore, despite Davey calling for Elon Musk to be prosecuted under it, the conference passed a motion calling for reform of the Online Safety Act, demanding that it be reviewed by parliament and that regulation focusses on ‘real online harms,’ rather than ‘blocking access to politics, education, or wellbeing resources.’ The end goal of these proposals is the creation of a new ‘Digital Bill of Rights’ to protect freedom of speech, whilst simultaneously ensuring that the public is protected from genuinely harmful content.

Conclusion

Overall, the Lib Dem conference painted a picture of a party striving to balance principle with pragmatism. By doubling down on their pro-EU credentials, championing clean energy and environmental action, and calling for investment in healthcare and life sciences, the Liberal Democrats reinforced their progressive identity. At the same time, Ed Davey’s combative stance toward figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and his warnings about Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, showed a readiness to engage forcefully in today’s polarised political climate. Whether their ambitions will translate into greater influence at Westminster remains to be seen, but the conference left little doubt about the Lib Dems’ determination to shape Britain’s future.

Held in central London, the event brought together stakeholders across business, and policy for an evening of discussion, networking, and insight. Guests were treated to a three-course dinner and the chance to hear from two Labour voices at the forefront of efforts to reform and rebuild public services.

“I stood because I wanted to make a change”

Opening the evening, Sonia Kumar MP delivered a personal and compelling speech about her path to Parliament: “I’m the Member of Parliament for Dudley and my background… is actually in healthcare.”

She recalled growing up above her family’s shop: “I was brought up in a greengrocer’s – so I lived on top of a shop. My dad worked sort of 24 hours a day, pretty much seven days a week. I used to sit down with him, do his accounts, rub them out in pencil- because I used to get them wrong – and then restart them again.”

Kumar described her career as a physiotherapist in the NHS. “As soon as I got into being a physiotherapist, I was told I had two days of training and then I’d be looking at ITU paediatric patients. And I thought, this can’t be happening. So two weeks in, I’m now looking after three wards as a junior physiotherapist. And I thought, this can’t be right.”

Despite her seniority later in her career, the problems remained. “Every single time I went up – 25 years – I was managing two wards, managing over 30 members of staff, and I thought, this still can’t be right.”

Her decision to run for office was driven by frontline experience: “I was angry, working in the NHS, when I knew that things could be so much better.”

She highlighted her outsider status in Westminster. “I’m not a politician, I haven’t got it in my blood, I didn’t study it, I didn’t have any family or friends in politics. I stood because I wanted to make a change.”

Now serving as MP for Dudley, she remains energised: “I love my job. I’m still in my honeymoon period at 10 months in, still enjoying the waves of not knowing where I need to vote and how quick I need to get there, and in heels can I run quick to the voting lobbies.”

“Her insights and views on these matters are genuinely indispensable to us”

Following on from his Labour colleague: Stephen Kinnock opened his speech with high praise: “She’s an absolutely outstanding newcomer to Parliament. She has an amazing background in healthcare. Sonia’s done it. She’s been there, she’s been at the front line. And her insights and views on these matters are genuinely indispensable to us.”

Stephen Kinnock described Kumar’s story as emblematic of Labour’s ethos. “We are also a party that believes in breaking ceilings – that there should be no connection between the circumstances of the family that you’re born into, the place that you’re born, and what you can achieve in your life.

“Sonia embodies that ethos of our party, which is: if you want to get on, if you have big dreams, you work hard and you’ve got the talent, you can do anything.”

“Nothing in this country bloody works anymore”

Kinnock then delivered a stark assessment of the current state of health and care services: “When I was appointed as the Minister of State for Care and went into the department, started asking questions, started looking at the books, started looking at the state of our health and care system, it was much, much worse even than I thought. 7 million people on the backlog, GP numbers declining, NHS dentistry ceasing to exist almost.”

He continued: “Demand for NHS dentistry is going through the roof and yet they were handing back the NHS contract every year because dentists are not incentivised to do it. Our adult care system is on its knees as well.”

Kinnock pointed to specific areas where the government has begun delivering improvements. “In our manifesto, we pledged an additional 40,000 elective procedures per week. We smashed that target. 2 million extra appointments in the first year? We smashed that within seven months.

He went on: “We have renegotiated with general practice. We’ve got 1,500 new GPs now on the front line.”

On social care investment, he noted: “We are also pushing forward with things like the biggest uplift to carer’s allowance since the 1970s, a big uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant and £3.7 billion into care authorities across the country.”

“The number one mission of this government is to drive growth”

Kinnock argued that rebuilding services must go hand-in-hand with reforming the UK’s economy. “There’s two big pieces to this story. One is about economic growth and the other is about rebuilding our public services.”

He reflected on decades of regional decline. “Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there were 20,000 men and women working in that steelworks. There are now fewer than 5,000.” He added, “We have failed to harness those forces and make them work for working people… The coal mines were replaced by Amazon warehouses. That is what we need to change in our country.”

He described Labour’s economic agenda as a break with past models: “It has to be a new kind of growth. Not the kind of growth that works for the top 1% of society, but the kind of growth that will rebuild our working and middle classes from the bottom up.”

Kinnock said business must be a partner in that effort. “We are the party that can partner with business… It has to be a partnership – the state and business working together to drive a new kind of growth.”

“They are snake oil salesmen”

Addressing the rise of Reform UK, Kinnock issued a clear warning. “There’s no doubt, both for Sonia and I, that the clear threat now is coming from Reform.”

Referring to Nigel Farage’s policy proposals set out in the Daily Mail, he said: “He’s going to raise the personal allowance from £12,500 to £20,000 … Do you know what that will cost the Exchequer? £50 billion.”

He criticised Reform’s populist message: “They are snake oil salesmen, they are magic bean sellers and they would be very, very dangerous for our economy.”

He gave a clear warning against the populist allure of Reform’s economic agenda”When you actually look at the policies that Reform stands for, they would trigger a worse financial crash than what we saw with the Liz Truss mini-budget.”

“Let’s actually start to deliver the change”

Kinnock concluded with a message of encouragement to his colleague and a call to action to the wider room. “Enjoy it. It’s a hell of a ride. You’re going to be a fantastic MP.”

“Let’s work together. Let’s actually start to deliver the change that the country voted for. Make sure that people feel that change. Make sure they know it’s thanks to a Labour government that that change is materialising.”

Chamber UK would like to thank Phoenix Sustainable Investments for their generous support of the event.

Curia members are able attend all dinners at no cost.

On Thursday 21^st March 2024, women from every level of UK politics gathered at the Leeds Civic Hall to take part in 50:50 Parliament’s event in collaboration with Chamber UK. Speakers included Shadow Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, and Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, alongside many local councillors and charity leaders. The event was kindly sponsored by Frog, with Head of Public Sector Kieran McBride joining the event in Leeds.

Getting Women into Politics

The event was introduced by the Chief Executive of 50:50, Lyanne Nicholl, and Cllr Debra Coupar, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Resources at the Leeds City Council. A fireside chat with the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP and Tracy Brabin soon followed, with both discussing their collaboration on policies to improve the safety of women, including setting up the UK’s first women’s safety unit in West Yorkshire. Both Tracy and Yvette made it clear just how central the safety is to their political work, with Yvette aiming “to halve violence against women and girls in the next ten years,” which both she and Tracy feel is possible, especially with their “burning urgency to make our country safer for women,” as Tracy put it.

Tracy and Yvette also spoke about the importance of encouragement, lived experiences, and male allies in getting more gender diversity into politics, both recalling the influence of inspiring mentors and role models in politics for them, such as Barbara Castle and Joanne O’Connell, an Irish trade unionist.

After this fireside chat, an insightful discussion ensued from the panel, with panellists including:

• Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire
• Kieran McBride, Head of Public Affairs, Frog
• Laura Weldon, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
• Katherine Miles, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Oxford City Council
• Lauren Fabianski, Pregnant Then Screwed
• Fatimah Khan-Shah, Inclusivity Champion for West Yorkshire Combined Authority

The panel shared their experiences as women in politics, discussing the barriers faced in politics, the importance of having women’s voices in policymaking, and concrete examples of policies they have worked on, including policies surrounding safety, childcare, the gender pay gap, and more.

The key encouragement shared for women thinking about getting into politics was to just “have a go!” as Yvette Cooper and many others said on the day. The panel encouraged women of all backgrounds and experience levels to just go for it, with Tracy Brabin emphasising that their own lived experiences were a political “superpower” in itself.

Later on, Lyanne opened the floor up to the audience for some questions, which prompted positive conversation among the panellists about the need for better LGBTQ+ representation in politics, the need for reforms to parental leave policies, and how the panellists respond to the online abuse faced by women in politics.

Why We Need More Women in Politics

This event emphasised the importance of getting a greater gender balance into politics, as well as the importance of advocating for this to overcome the barriers to entering politics. But this begs the question, how do we get more women into politics? The key advice from the speakers at the event was encouragement, which may seem simplistic but can go a long way. All of our speakers explained how they would not have reached their current positions without great encouragement from their peers.

The panel also noted the need to be intersectional in how we encourage gender representation in politics, giving women from all backgrounds the space and opportunities to come into politics. This encouragement of diversity and intersectionality is crucial to inspiring more and more women to go into politics. Kieran McBride also spoke in support of acknowledging intersectionality to promote diversity and inclusion in politics to “prove that having empathy and more diverse perspectives on a problem gives you a much better solution”.

By holding events like this across the country, 50:50 Parliament aim to encourage and inspire women to be involved in politics. As Lyanne stated:

“Representation shapes policy, policy shapes lives.”

Stay in touch

If you want to keep updated on events run by Chamber UK, make sure to sign up to our Newsletter here, and follow us on our social media channels, including Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn

This article was written by Bart Smallman.

The investigation, which was led by Adam Heppinstall, found that Sharp had breached the rule on public appointments as he had failed to declare his connection to the loan. As a result, the report states that Sharp had created a “potential perceived conflict of interest”.

As per the findings, Sharp had contacted Johnson about the role at the BBC before applying telling him that he wanted the job. He also told Johnson that he was planning on meeting with the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, as he would be able to introduce Johnson to someone who could help with his personal finances.

At the time, Johnson was going through an expensive divorce and there were reports that he was struggling with his personal finances. The suggestion from the report is that Sharp effectively offered Johnson a way out of his financial woes in return for the job at the BBC.

Not long after Sharp met with Case in December 2020, the government started to brief media outlets that he was the government’s preferred candidate for the job. This put others off from applying as it appeared that the job was already lined up for Sharp.

The reports states that Johnson had also personally approved Sharp’s appointment while those on the “independent recruitment board” were informed before any interviews took place that he was the only person that the government would support.

A breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment

In light of the report, which was published this morning, Sharp released a statement announcing that he would be standing down from his position as BBC Chair in June. However, he did make the point of saying that his breach did not invalidate his appointment. His resignation statement read:

“Mr Heppinstall’s view is that while I did breach the governance code for public appointments, he states that a breach does not necessarily invalidate an appointment.

Indeed, I have always maintained the breach was inadvertent and not material, which the facts he lays out substantiate. The Secretary of State has consulted with the BBC Board who support that view.

Nevertheless, I have decided that it is right to prioritise the interests of the BBC. I feel that this matter may well be a distraction from the Corporation’s good work were I to remain in post until the end of my term. I have therefore this morning resigned as BBC Chair to the Secretary of State, and to the Board.

To chair this incredible organisation has been an honour. The BBC’s contribution to our national life is immense, its people are hardworking and brilliant, and preserving and enhancing it matters.”

Sharp added that he wishes “with the benefit of hindsight” that he had mentioned the perceived conflict of interest during his interview with the appointments panel but that he maintains he played “no part whosoever” in the “facilitation, arrangement, or financing” of Johnson’s loan.

Reaction to the resignation

With Sharp set to step down in June, the government will now be responsible, alongside the BBC, for appointing a new Chair. In regard to the appointment process going forward, the report found that “leaks and briefing to the press of ‘preferred candidates’ for public appointments should be prohibited by ministers.”

Lucy Powell, the Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, has echoed these thoughts saying that “Rishi Sunak should urgently establish a truly independent and robust process to replace Sharp to help restore the esteem of the BBC after his government has tarnished it so much.” She added:

“The incident has caused untold damage to the reputation of the BBC and seriously undermined its independence as a result of the Conservative’ sleaze and cronyism.”

Meanwhile, Powell’s opposite number, Lucy Frazer, who was appointed by Sunak during his cabinet reshuffle in February has written a letter to Sharp thanking him for his service to the BBC calling him a “champion for what a strong BBC can achieve” and wishing him well for the future.

Boris Johnson has declined to talk to the press about Sharp’s resignation while Rishi Sunak admitted that he hasn’t had time to read the report yet when quizzed by reporters in Glasgow.

Final thought

It’s been a torrid time for the BBC of late following the controversy surrounding Gary Lineker, who was briefly taken off air by Richard Sharp just last month for speaking out against the Conservative Party on Twitter and their immigration policies last month. Following the resignation of Sharp, Lineker once again took to Twitter, this time to say that the Chair of the BBC should not be appointed by the government “not now, not ever.”

Leeds City Council will be teaming up with International Funfairs to bring the UK’s best known Valentine’s Fair back to Leeds city centre over the half term holidays.

Celebrating three decades of operation, the popular event will take over Millennium Square, Victoria Gardens and Cookridge Street from Friday, February 10 until Sunday February 19, 2023. 

Launched in 1992 as the first ever Valentine’s Fair in the UK, the seasonal event has been taking place every year since, except for 2021 when it had to be cancelled sue to the COVID pandemic.

A huge range of rides

Previously hosted in locations including Elland Road and Woodhouse Lane, the fair will return to its birthplace in Leeds city centre for the second consecutive year. 

A huge range of rides, attractions and games will be available for families and thrill seekers to enjoy, including 360° spinning ride The Superstar, the 40m-high Booster Ride, huge swinging pendulum The Devil Rock, family favourite the dodgems, and the much-loved Leeds Wheel of Light. 

A selection of food stalls will also be available on site serving traditional favourites including hot dogs, churros, donuts and candy floss as well as coffees and hot chocolate.

Roger Tuby of International Funfairs said: “We are so proud to not only have been involved in the first ever Valentine’s Fair in the UK but to be able to bring it back to its original home. Last year was exciting to be back in the city centre and we were so grateful to Leeds City Council for helping to make this happen. The advantage of being in the city centre is that it is so accessible to everyone with fantastic transport links and car parking options.

“The fair has always been well supported and this year we have brought together a huge selection of rides, attractions and games together with a selection of hot food and drink and sweet treats for all the family, friends and our visitors to enjoy.”

Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Economy Culture and Education, Councillor Jonathan Pryor said: “It’s fantastic to see the Valentine’s Fair retuning to Leeds and to be giving people a chance to enjoy such a fun, popular and spectacular event at the heart of the city centre.

“Events like this are a great way of bringing people together and showcasing what a vibrant, diverse and thriving city Leeds is.”

Join the fair

Leeds Valentine’s Funfair will be open daily from 12pm until 9.30pm (4pm-9.30pm on Friday 10 February). Entry to the site is free, with individual admission fees for all rides and attractions. Discounts will also be available for Leeds Card and Breeze Pass holders.

Visit the Valentine’s Fair website for further information. 

Who

The Mayor hopes to visit later in the year, pending government advice. Portsmouth City Council will issue a further media statement once the visit is rescheduled.
Please disregard the media opportunity (summarised below) that was sent on 11 August 2022.
Portsmouth progress trade talks with Bangladesh.

What

Trade talks between Portsmouth and Sylhet City, Bangladesh begins with the official welcome to the Mayor of Sylhet and delegation of councillors from Portsmouth’s twin city of Sylhet.
Contact Information.

Portsmouth City Council, 07920 233 093
mediacom@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Case study submissions for the 2022 LGBT+ Commission are now open. Taking a grassroots-up approach, the Commission now welcomes members of local/regional government as well as civil society groups and businesses to submit their examples of best practice addressing LGBT+ inequalities. These case studies will form the basis of scalable policy recommendations that will be taken to the Government Equalities Office and other bodies in June 2022, ahead of the UK’s ‘Safe to Be Me’ conference.

Case Study Forms:

Respondents will be able to submit case studies across the four key themes, based around key areas of concern for the LGBT+ community:

1. Health, Mental Health, Sexual Health, and Fertility
2. Homelessness and Housing
3. Hate Crime and Domestic Violence
4. Employment, Employability, and Education

Reducing Inequalities:

The inequalities faced by LGBT+ people in these areas are well-established and widely acknowledged to require greater focus. However, while the problems are known, the solutions are less so. As such, the Commission will take a solutions-focused approach, taking effective and scalable services that have been developed and implemented at the local level to the Government Equalities Office as examples of provisions that could be rolled-out more widely.

It is here that your case studies will be critically important. If you are involved in LGBT+ service provision at local/regional government level, work for a civil society group concerned with providing support to LGBT+ people, or for a business with strong LGBT+ inclusive policies, please submit a case study and forward on the survey to others in your network. Your submissions will allow the commission to take concrete and workable solutions to the Government to help drive their LGBT+ agenda following the scrapping of the LGBT action plan.

If you have any questions about the case study form, please contact our Policy and Research Team at hal.arnoldforster@politicsuk.com