For the supposed home of market economics, the Conservative party has shown very little knowledge of it during its response to the coronavirus pandemic. Almost every aspect of the Government’s efforts to “control the virus” that have ignored competitive market forces (i.e. most of them) have failed. On both track Read more…
Following the close of nominations, we are now in a position to announce the Liberal Reform board for the 2021-22 term. New to the board this time are Daniel Duggan, Emily Tester, Oliver Jones-Lyons and Julia Wright. Julia is a long time supporter of LR and will be known to Read more…
Last night Liberal Reform hosted a Question and Answer session with Ed Davey and Layla Moran, the two Lib Dem MPs battling it out to become the next leader of the Party. You can watch the Q&A back in its entirety at the bottom of this page. The evening was Read more…
Liberal Democrat leaders do not have much say in setting Party policy, but they have far more in setting the Party’s vision, strategy and priorities. With this in mind, and with the Liberal Democrat leadership election fast approaching, Liberal Reform have set out the themes we believe any successful Liberal Read more…
Michael Kitching @mwkitching I thought it would be helpful to update Liberal Reform Members and Supporters on a little personal quest. Since rejoining the party after the 2019 General Election, having left to try and help set up something new (not Change UK before you ask!) it has become a bit Read more…
Ruby Chow* (@doublereds) Yesterday I had the pleasure to summate a motion Liberal Reform put forward to the London Liberal Democrats conference on the urgent need for more house building and in support of an independent review of the Green Belt. Although the motion was heavily amended to the point Read more…
By Callum Robertson, @CRobertson_LD Many will have seen the proroguing of parliament by the Queen on the advice of Boris Johnson, but what does this mean in the micro-environment of these circumstances and what is the wider socio-legal consequence? Our constitution Our constitution is almost unique in its haphazard make-up. Read more…
By Robert Johnston @robertj55 In a recent piece for Liberal Democrat Voice I argued for the adoption of a Carbon Tax or other robust carbon pricing measure to tackle climate change. While referencing the strong case made by economists for this, the article stressed the challenges that would remain in Read more…
By Robert Johnston @robertj55 If one position unites the spectrum of opinion of the Liberal Democrats it is the need for a proportional representation election system with a special focus on the House of Commons. There are wider considerations for electoral reform; ranging across the House of Lords, devolved government Read more…
By Callum Robertson, @Callum4Clacton It seems evident that we will want to focus on keeping Britain within the EU and fighting for an “Exit from Brexit” in the EU elections that seem almost certain to take place. However, this cannot be the sole reason we fight these elections. The elections Read more…
It’s that time of year again; this weekend the Liberal Democrats head to York for Spring Conference. As Brexit continues to dominate the headlines, Conference presents an opportunity for the party to re-assert itself as the only credible UK-wide party in favour of a People’s Vote. As ever, Liberal Reform Read more…
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2019, Liberal Reform sat down with two of our board members, Aria Babu and Ruby Chow, to discuss liberalism, the Liberal Democrats, and gender equality… Liberal Reform: What does liberalism mean to you? Aria Babu: Liberalism is difficult to pinpoint. It fades in and out Read more…
By Daniel Carr, @danmcarr Education policy matters a great deal to us. Our commitment to empowering people to thrive and take ownership of their lives demands that we think seriously as to how our education system can enable this. As education is also a key way in which social mobility Read more…
By Callum Robertson, @Callum4Clacton This article features as a contribution to Liberal Reform’s review of the 2010-2015 Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government. When reviewing the Liberal Democrat record in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) during the Coalition, it is easy to castigate our party over the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment Read more…
By Andy Briggs, @Briggs_AndyJ This article features as a contribution to Liberal Reform’s review of the 2010-2015 Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government. It would be easy when critiquing the Coalition’s record on international development to solely focus on the actions of the Department for International Development (DFID), the government department responsible Read more…
Liberal Reform is planning to publish a series of articles that provide a constructive critique of the Liberal Democrats’ participation in the 2010-15 coalition government. These will be published on the Lantern, Liberal Reform’s blog. The series will identify both the positives and the negatives of our party’s time in Read more…
By Andy Briggs, @Briggs_AndyJ 2018 has been a frantic year for Liberal Reform, the Liberal Democrats, and British politics more generally. The past few months in particular have been so action-packed that it’s become easy to forget events that took place earlier in year. Whether it be the election of Read more…
By Stephen Lloyd, @StephenLloydEBN When I set off in 2016, to take part in another of the debates in draughty town halls that are the staple diet of a political campaigner, little did I realise that this particular hustings would precipitate the events that would cause to me resign the Read more…
by Aria Recently, British regulators and lawmakers have started to acknowledge the health benefits of certain, previously banned, substances. Cannabidiol (one of the chemical constituents of cannabis but with virtually all of the stuff that gets you high – THC – removed) has been legal since 2017. As of the Read more…
by Robert Johnston, @robertj55 With the selection of the party’s London Mayoral candidate imminent, the team at Liberal Reform want to ensure party members are able to make an informed choice. So, we invited each of the candidates to discuss their experience, campaigning priorities, and policies. Liberal Reform is not backing Read more…