Category Archives: Liberal Democrats

‘All bets are off now’: a torrid week when Johnson’s balloon was burst

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Last week’s byelection result laid bare the growing anger felt towards the PM – both from outside and within his own party

Shortly after Owen Paterson resigned as the Tory MP for North Shropshire in early November, Helen Morgan, who had been trounced when she stood as Liberal Democrat candidate at the last general election, rang her party’s HQ in London with a message that took senior officials by surprise.

“She told us that we really had a chance in the byelection, that we had to throw everything at it. Initially there was a lot of scepticism,” said a party official. “Nobody really believed it.”

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North Shropshire byelection: Liberal Democrats win former safe Tory seat in blow to Johnson

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Helen Morgan wins a stunning victory for the Lib Dems in a byelection called after environment secretary Owen Paterson resigned

The Liberal Democrats have won a stunning victory in the North Shropshire byelection, taking what had previously been a safe Conservative seat by nearly 6,000 votes, capping a disastrous few weeks for Boris Johnson.

Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem candidate, took 17,957 votes, ahead of the Conservatives’ Neil Shastri-Hurst, on 12,032, a majority of 5,925. Labour’s Ben Wood was third, with 3,686 votes.

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Johnson faces trust crisis as sleaze shatters faith in MPs

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Poll reveals huge public cynicism, with just 5% of respondents believing politicians work for public good

Trust in politicians to act in the national interest rather than for themselves has fallen dramatically since Boris Johnson became prime minister, according to figures contained in a disturbing new study into the state of British democracy.

The polling data from YouGov for the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) shows a particularly sharp fall in trust in the few weeks since the Owen Paterson scandal triggered a rash of Tory sleaze scandals.

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Sajid Javid’s advice to not ‘cower’ from Covid provokes backlash

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Bereaved families, Labour and Lib Dems all condemn health secretary, accusing him of insensitivity


Sajid Javid has provoked a wave of anger from families of the victims of Covid after he said people must no longer “cower” from the virus.

The health secretary announced on Saturday that he had made a “full recovery” from Covid-19 after falling ill eight days ago, and said: “Please, if you haven’t yet, get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus.”

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John Bercow defects to Labour with withering attack on Johnson

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Former Speaker says party has become reactionary and xenophobic under its current leadership

• The blue wall: what next for the Tories after shock defeat?

John Bercow, the former Tory MP and Speaker of the House of Commons, has delivered an extraordinary broadside against Boris Johnson and the Conservative party as he announces he has switched his political allegiance to Labour.

In an explosive interview with the Observer, Bercow says he regards today’s Conservative party as “reactionary, populist, nationalistic and sometimes even xenophobic”.

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Lib Dems win Chesham and Amersham byelection in stunning upset

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Sarah Green takes formerly safe Buckinghamshire seat despite senior Tories’ canvassing

The Liberal Democrats have pulled off an extraordinary victory in the Buckinghamshire constituency of Chesham and Amersham, taking the formerly safe seat from the Tories in a byelection.

In a shock result, Lib Dem Sarah Green secured 21,517 votes, leaving the Conservative Peter Fleet trailing with 13,489, and giving the Lib Dems a majority of 8,028.

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Elections 2021: Labour wins mayoral races in Greater Manchester and West of England, holds Welsh Senedd – live

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All the latest news and results as counts continue in England and Scotland after Thursday’s elections

Scotland’s first list results are out, with Central Scotland declaring the following:

First list declaration out - for Central Scotland, it's Leonard (Lab) Kerr (Con), Lennon (Lab), Simpson (Con), Griffin (Lab), Gallacher (Con), Mackay (Green). So three Labour, three Tory, and one Green.

Asked whether it was realistic to have a referendum in the first half of parliament, Nicola Sturgeon said that while getting through the pandemic has to come first, it looks as though it is “beyond any doubt that there will be a pro-independence majority in Scottish parliament”.

She told BBC News: “By any normal standard of democracy that majority should have the commitments it made to the people honoured.

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Libs Dems warn China over ‘international bullying’ after sanctions threat

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Chinese newspaper said countries that boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over treatment of Uighurs would face retaliation

The Liberal Democrats have warned China against “international bullying” after a call by UK MPs for countries to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics was met by a warning of potential sanctions.

Last week, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, joined with the Labour MP and former Foreign Office minister Chris Bryant in demanding that the government and the British Olympic Association act over the mass repression of the Muslim Uighur population in the Chinese region of Xinjiang, which campaigners say constitutes genocide.

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Boris Johnson would lose majority and seat in election tomorrow – poll

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Results suggest public are deeply unhappy with the government’s handling of Covid and Brexit

The public are deeply unhappy with the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Brexit negotiations, a damning new poll suggests.

The poll predicts that if a general election were held tomorrow neither the Conservatives nor Labour would win an outright majority. Disturbingly for Boris Johnson, the survey says the Conservatives would lose 81 seats, wiping out the 80-seat majority they won in December 2019.

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Boris Johnson faces revolt over forcing through Covid measures

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Amendment calling for votes on new restrictions is winning cross-party support

Boris Johnson is facing a massive parliamentary revolt over the way he is imposing Covid-19 restrictions on the British people without first consulting MPs – amid new signs that confidence in his leadership is collapsing in the Conservative party and across the country.

An extraordinary cross-party backlash against Johnson’s “rule by diktat” from Downing Street was taking shape on Saturday – ahead of a key vote on Wednesday – as a new poll by Opinium for the Observer showed Labour has overtaken the Tories for the first time since Keir Starmer became leader in April.

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No kicks, coughs or slip-ups as party conferences go online

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Attendees of this year’s virtual gatherings may be spared any gaffes, but at what cost?

Utter the phrase “conference season” to a Westminster veteran and don’t be surprised if their initial reaction is a shudder. For regular attendees of the annual party gatherings, which kick off next weekend, they raise the prospect of lengthy policy sermons and curled cheese sandwiches by day, followed by sweaty bars and third-hand gossip by night.

Related: Keir Starmer's conference challenge is to avoid the shadow of past leaders | Zoe Williams

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General election: poll suggests Tory lead narrows as campaign enters last day – live

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Labour and the Conservatives in scramble for votes on the final day of campaigning

Here’s Labour’s campaign ad this morning, invoking the Blitz spirit.

Let's get back on track. pic.twitter.com/nITBAzhJUO

A busy day all round. Johnson will be travelling from Yorkshire to the Midlands, Wales and London.

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The Guardian view on general election 2019: A fleeting chance to stop Boris Johnson in his tracks | Editorial

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The mood may be one of despair, but this election is critical to the country’s future. The best hope lies with Labour, despite its flaws

Britain has not faced a more critical election in decades than the one it faces on Thursday. The country’s future direction, its place in the world and even its territorial integrity are all at stake, primarily because this is a decisive election for Brexit. The choice is stark. The next prime minister is going to be either Boris Johnson, who is focused on “getting Brexit done” whatever the consequences, or Jeremy Corbyn, who with a Labour-led government will try to remodel society with a programme of nationalisation and public spending.

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General election: Labour sets out plan for first 100 days in office – live news

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John McDonnell to outline agenda for Labour government as general election campaign enters its final days

Good morning. We’re here, in the final stretch of the campaign. The country will go to the polls on Thursday, but before that happens, the parties are giving their pitches one final push.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell will outline the party’s plan for the first 100 days of a Labour government, while the party focuses on the benefit of its policies to the bank balances of voters, promising the public that a Labour government would put “money in your pocket”.

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General election: Swinson condemns Johnson over Trump friendship ahead of London visit – live

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Lib Dem leader said leaders should be ‘very careful’ about relationship with US president, ahead of his arrival for Nato

Morning, Amy Walker here, I’ll be taking over the politics liveblog for the next hour or so.

The former head of the parole board, Nick Hardwick, has criticised government changes to the criminal justice system after London Bridge attacker Usman Khan was released from prison under licence.

PA Media reports a vigil will be held to pay tribute to the victims killed in the London Bridge terror attack and to honour the emergency services and members of the public who responded to the incident.

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Revealed: Tory candidates issued with attack manuals on how to smear rivals

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Party’s dossier contains dubious and outdated claims about Lib Dems and Labour

Conservative candidates in the general election have been issued with a detailed dossier on how to attack Labour and Liberal Democrat rivals which contains numerous rehashed and potentially misleading claims, the Guardian can reveal.

The documents accuse the Liberal Democrats of pushing “pro-pimp” policies and sex work as a career for schoolchildren.

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Conservatives open up 19-point lead with 47% share of the vote

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Latest Opinium/Observer poll shows Tories capitalising on retreat of Brexit party as manifesto is unveiled

The Conservatives have taken a commanding 19-point lead over Labour with less than three weeks to go before voters head to the polls, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.

Related: Poll models fail to spot voting variation in similar seats

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General election 2019: Corbyn vows to take on wealthy elite during Labour’s manifesto launch – live news

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Party promises record investment blitz and to scrap tuition fees and universal credit

Corbyn is now responding to questions from students at the venue, Birmingham City University.

He says young workers will benefit from the living wage.

Q: Some voters do not see you as patriotic. Is that fair?

Corbyn replies:

Yes, I do support this country. I am patriotic about this country.

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General election live: Corbyn should not resign immediately if Labour loses election, says McCluskey – live news

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All the day’s developments on the campaign trail before Johnson and Corbyn’s first TV debate

Boris Johnson has gone for some Rocky Balboa-type posturing ahead of tonight’s ITV debate. (See 2.33pm and 4.50pm.) As you would expect, Jeremy Corbyn’s warm-up routine is rather different.

Labour leader @jeremycorbyn has arrived for the #ITVdebate, saying he hopes for a respectful debate and prepared by eating a Caesar salad#GE2019 #Leadersdebatehttps://t.co/itw9efaa2W pic.twitter.com/Z2PVqCmgEd

And here is another useful Twitter thread on the likely impact of the debate tonight, from the academic Prof Tim Bale. It starts here.

THREAD: Did a @SkyNews bit today on debates. Here's (some of) what we think we know from research in the UK and elsewhere. 1/8

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Brexit party will not contest 317 Tory-won seats, Farage says

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Party leader announces election climbdown in effort to avoid splitting leave vote

Nigel Farage has said the Brexit party will not field any candidates against the Conservatives in the 317 seats they won at the last general election, after Boris Johnson committed to leaving the EU by 2020 and pursuing a Canada-style trade deal.

Farage said his party’s climbdown came after months of trying to create a leave alliance with the Tories, but he felt it was time to put the country before his party and make a “unilateral” move.

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