Recently reading that nearly 5 people every day were sectioned across Wales during 2020 really had an effect on me. I decided to stand for election because of my experience not only in the business world but because I am one of those detentions by the police under section 136 of the 1983 mental health […]
One year on from the first lockdown: still not out of the woods
Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a blog for Lib Dem Voice on the Government being behind the curve in introducing measures to curb the spread of Covid-19. Little did we know then what was coming then. By 21 March last year, there had already been more than 400 deaths from Covid in UK […]
Linking the Test and Trace scandal to local election campaigning
Conservatives despise local government. English local authorities have been starved of funds since the coalition government began, with a sharper downward curve since 2015. The one-size fits-all model of elected mayors has been imposed on successive ‘city regions’ – in the case of Yorkshire, against the settled preference of almost all the local authorities in the […]
NHS pay rise of a measly 1% is too little to reward the health heroes of our nation
We have stood on the streets and applauded our front line NHS staff. We have wondered at their resilience in the biggest health crisis of our lifetimes. We have sympathised with them when they have fallen ill and with their families when they have died. The reward health service workers will get for their efforts […]
The word “truth” is being hijacked by fake news conspiracy theorists who claim their dark ideas are light
There have been too many victims of Covid-19. People for whom coronavirus was the primary cause of death. Many others whose death was accelerated or whose recovery from other diseases was cancelled through catching Covid. Truth has been a victim too. Conspiracy theorists and populists have been promoting a distorted review of reality. Uncertainty, crisis […]
Waiting for the all clear
It’s great news that our wonderful NHS staff and volunteers are storming forward with the UK’s vaccination programme. Still, I worry about people being lulled into a false sense of security once they have had their first and even second jab. Most of us will have had, or be getting, the AstraZeneca (Oxford) vaccine. It […]
Declare a mental health crisis say Scottish Lib Dem MSPs
Even if your circumstances have not been too adversely affected by the pandemic, chances are you have gone through some mental health challenges. Even people who were coping pretty well have found the dark and cold Winter lockdown pretty grim. And if you have had to suffer bereavement, loss or financial struggles along the way, […]
The party’s latest advice for campaigners in the pandemic
Mike Dixon, the Chief Executive Officer of the Liberal Democrats, has recently written to activists about campaigning in the pandemic, as follows: In the last few days, anger has been growing about the Tories’ brazen attempt to skew the May elections and stop elected councillors and volunteers doing their jobs by safely delivering literature. Independent […]
Rabina Khan on BBC Newsnight on tackling vaccine disinformation in Tower Hamlets
Here’s a clip of Councillor Rabina Khan on BBC’s Newsnight discussing the steps we need to take to tackle vaccine disinformation. You can see Rabina and her husband going into their community, in a socially distanced way, to support local residents – addressing their concerns directly. Rabina Khan – Vaccine Disinformation from Liberal Democrats on […]
Negative impact of Covid-19 on people with a learning (or intellectual) disability
This is a version of a post, revised by the author, that originally appeared earlier this week. The covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the unacceptable health inequalities faced by people with a learning (or intellectual) disability. This has been brought home by the JCVI decision not to prioritise them adequately during the vaccination programme and has […]