Carrie Hynds, our Parliamentary Candidate for Hove, who grew up in Northern Ireland, gives her views on the DUP, who may be propping up the minority Tory goverment soon.
There's suddenly a lot of national interest in the DUP and Northern Irish politics. Rightly so.
On an emotional level, I associate the DUP with feelings of claustrophobia and oppression. They shamelessly conflate politics and religion (Rev Ian Paisley was simultaneously the political First Minister and leader of the Free Presbyterian church - which is like the Archbishop of Canterbury being Prime Minister and seeing no conflict of interest). They reinforce victim-shaming, emotional abuse and are interested in no-one's voice but their own.
On a political level, this is a pretty thorough summary of how the DUP operate: https://www.georgiagrainger.co.uk/politics/shame-game-dup/ and I agree it is time to shine a strong flashlight into their murky financial dealings and beyond.
What is interesting is that I've been trying to flag this for years but have been told by the media and mainstream political parties that Northern Irish politics is its own separate, special issue; nothing to do with how the rest of the UK operates. Niche. Not anyone's concern. And, of course, those of us feeling claustrophobic and oppressed moved away from it all as soon as we were physically able.
But now the DUP are Theresa May's kingmakers, a position that will reinforce their already-inflated sense of importance. They don't yet realise how much of what they do is irregular and will be considered by everyone else (including many Conservatives) as deeply unsound politics. What will happen when a party that has run unfettered for so long in the name of Queen and country and the United Kingdom is suddenly told that said kingdom is actually rather ashamed of them? Let's find out.
Liberal Democrats have announced a new Shadow Cabinet. The party which gained seats in the election now have 12 MPs in the House of Commons.
Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said: "I am delighted to announce our new shadow cabinet team, which brings together a wealth of experience. The party has people with a range of skills from within government, business and the charity sector.
This afternoon Tim Farron resigned as Liberal Democrat leader.
At party HQ in London he gave the following speech to party staff:
"This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election.
That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has set in train a deputy leadership election for the parliamentary party in the House of Commons.
Tim Farron said: "In the last parliament we didn't have any women in our parliamentary party and we didn't feel it was right to elect a deputy in those circumstances. But I wanted to revive the role as it gives the party another powerful voice and has helped give prominence to many of our notable MPs, including Ming Campbell, Simon Hughes and Vince Cable.
Introducing the new Liberal Democrat team of 12 MPs, representing constituencies from Orkney to Eastbourne.
Thank you for each and every vote for the Liberal Democrats nationally, and to everyone who has helped the Liberal Democrat campaign in any way in these seats and across the country.
Tim Farron came out on top of tonight's debate showing that he is the voice for those people who want a brighter future than Theresa May's cold, mean-spirited vision for Britain.
He will stand up for the people of Britain on Brexit, the NHS and schools.
Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Campaign Spokesperson, said: "Tim Farron is a leader with principles and passion."
Plans by Theresa May to axe free school lunches would waste the £517,577 invested in the City to upgrade school kitchens, according to the Liberal Democrats. It comes after figures revealed 5,459 children in the City are set to lose out under the Conservative proposals.
When in government, the Liberal Democrats invested £160m nationally upgrading school kitchen facilities to enable them to prepare hot lunches.
Conservative manifesto plans will mean the average household in Brighton, Hove and Portslade could be forced to pay 71% of the value of their homes for social care.
The manifesto plans, which would mean that people would be forced to hand over assets worth over £100,000 to pay for social care at home, would have a particularly damaging impact on sufferers of dementia, who have complicated long-term health needs. The Tories have stripped out any element of mutual insurance from the scheme. Those unlucky enough to suffer expensive and debilitating illnesses in their old age will effectively mortgage their homes to the council to pay for their care and the interest will accrue until their house is sold after their death.
The Liberal Democrats have challenged the Conservative candidates in the City to disown UKIP's endorsement, after UKIP announced they would not be standing in Hove or Kemptown to give the Tories a free run.
Paul Chandler, local agent for the Lib Dem candidates in Hove and Kemptown, Carrie Hynds and Emily Tester, said: "UKIP are standing aside for the Conservatives in these two seats because they know Theresa May has adopted their divisive agenda wholesale.
Tim Farron has laid down the law to developers, warning that unless they build the homes Britain needs, the government will.
Tim has made house building one of his very top manifesto commitments, having campaigned to increase Britain's housing supply throughout his career. The Liberal Democrat manifesto will commit to ensuring 300,000 homes a year are built for sale and rent by the end of the parliament.
Thousands of pensioners living in Brighton Kemptown constituency will receive at least an extra £772 per year under Liberal Democrat manifesto plans to protect the "triple lock" for state pensions.
Thanks to the triple lock guarantee, secured by the Liberal Democrats when they were in government, the basic state pension has risen in each year by whichever is the higher of earnings, prices or a rate of 2.5%.
Carrie Hynds - Lib Dem Candidate for Hove & Portslade
Carrie joined the Liberal Democrats in May 2015, just after the last general election. She lives in Hove, where she works as an editor and proofreader.
Carrie says: In 2015, seeing so many hard-working Lib Dem MPs lose their seats made me want to take action, and I am proud to be a liberal voice for Hove & Portslade in this election. I will fight to build more affordable homes, reverse school funding cuts, invest in mental health services and give young people a real say in their future. I will oppose hard Brexit, heavy-handed government surveillance through the Snoopers' Charter and the shameful removal of housing benefit for 18 to 21-year olds.
A final say on Europe
Carrie on Europe: I truly believe that the EU is the world's most successful peace project, and saw this first-hand growing up in Northern Ireland. Their peace and reconciliation work helps break down barriers so that people can join together and help each other towards a better future. That's why I'm fighting for a final say on Europe.
The Liberal Democrats would hold a referendum on the Brexit deal, keep the UK in the Single Market and guarantee the right to stay for EU citizens as well as our rights to live, work, study and travel across Europe.
Building affordable homes
Carrie on housing: The average rent for a one-bed flat is now £978 per month, and rough sleeping has doubled in the past year. We need to start building truly affordable, sustainable homes right now or the fabric of our city will change.
Carrie chairs our local B&H Lib Dem housing campaign, which calls for 40% affordable homes in new developments, more transparency in planning decisions, choosing the right partners for new developments and making sure new homes are environmentally friendly and economical to run.
At national level, the Liberal Democrats would create a Housing Investment Bank to allow councils and local authorities to build again; establish renters' rights and scrap letting agent fees; give more funding to local authorities for homelessness prevention schemes and support long-term rough sleepers towards independent living.
A fair deal for young people
Carrie on youth inequality: Right now, young people in the UK have all of the responsibility of adults but fewer rights. We need to give young people a fair deal and real say in their futures. I've signed the Save Our Schools pledge to reverse the Conservatives' disastrous cuts to funding which will see schools in Hove & Portslade lose an average of £193,500 per year.
The Liberal Democrats would give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in elections and referendums, give back housing benefit to 18 to 21-year-olds, properly fund mental health services and improve online privacy by scrapping the Snoopers' Charter.
Instead of cutting £3 billion from educational funding, we would invest £7 billion: £3.3 billion to protect per pupil funding in schools, £660 million to protect further education per pupil funding, £1.26 billion to ensure no school loses out from the National Funding Forumla, £415m on protecting the pupil premium, introduced by the Coalition government, and £165 million to invest in continuous professional development for teachers.
Proper funding for our NHS
Carrie on healthcare: The NHS is simply fantastic but has been chronically under-funded. An extra penny in the pound will give the cash injection needed to properly fund primary care, social care and mental health services.
The Liberal Democrats would add 1p to the basic, higher and additional rates of income tax, with the £6bn used to fund the NHS and social care, including a boost in funding and support for mental health services. This means an extra £31 million per year for healthcare in Brighton & Hove.
The Liberal Democrats have announced they would plug funding gaps for the NHS and social care by putting a penny on income tax, in their first major manifesto commitment of the election campaign.
The tax would raise an additional £31.5m for the city with £20m for the NHS and £11.5m for social care each year.
Our General Election campaign is now officially under way.
If you are curious about the Liberal Democrats please register here so we can stay in touch. Members can help in the first instance please by completing our volunteer page or getting in touch with your local ward organiser who also has posters for you to display and can arange delivery of a stakeboard for your garden or fence. We also accept donations for the campaign directly from your bank account.
Worrying details of discussions between Theresa May and European Commisson President Jean-Claude Juncker at last week's dinner at 10 Downing Street have been leaked to a German newspaper.
In a series of tweets yesterday, Jeremy Cliffe (@JeremyCliffe), Berlin bureau chief of The Economist, gives a summary of the report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). It lifts the veil somewhat on how unprepared our prime minister is for the make-or-break Brexit negotiations of the next eighteen months.
The Liberal Democrats have committed to ending the scandal of rough sleeping in Britain, as the Homelessness Reduction Bill entered into force Thursday.
Following a campaign visit to the Hundred Houses Society, a charitable housing association in Cambridge, Tim Farron announced a series of measures the party would put in place to help end rough sleeping.
At a crowded and passionate meeting Wednesday Brighton and Hove LibDem members from the Pavilion constituency voted overwhelmingly not to offer a LibDem candidate at the General election and to endorse Caroline Lucas, the current Green Party MP.
The motion not to stand was supported by a three to one margin of local members present.
Speaking after the decision Paul Chandler, who was the party's local choice to be candidate, said: "We feel that this is a unique 'Brexit' election and in these special circumstances we have to make this decision. Of course, I respect the counter arguments but I'm very happy that members chose the way they did and so convincingly.
"We have plenty of differences with the Green Party and this establishes no precedent. We will be fighting as fiercely as ever for LibDem candidates in Hove and Kemptown. But Caroline shares her EU policy 100% with us. There is no difference on that matter.
"After the Greens' gesture of standing down last year at the by-election in Richmond Park, we have agreed to return the favour.
"This is the most important election of my lifetime and it will have consequences for decades into the future. It is no time for political tribalism."
This Conservative Government is pursuing a reckless policy of a hard exit from the European Union with little thought of the consequences of us leaving the single market and with little consideration for the feelings of the three million Europeans living in the UK or of our one million British people living in the EU. Theresa May seems to have little imagination in resurrecting the Grammar School system which curtails the chances of those who do not get a place in these elite schools. The Conservatives have also lost sight of the interests of British Business by risking our trade relationship with our 27 European neighbours and a callousness in (almost) going back on their election promise of not raisising the rates of National Insurance. This is just the beginning of the damage that the Conservatives can do to our country and our people if they are elected for a further five years.
Brighton and Hove Liberal Democrats have seen their membership boosted by 16% in the two days since Theresa May called a snap election. Our local party is now nearly five times the size it was at the time of the last General Election in 2015.
Carrie Hynds, prospective parliamentary candidate for Hove, said:
"This is fantastic news and I'd like to thank and welcome all of our new members. They will have the opportunity to get involved straight away as there is much to fight for in this election.
The reality of a hard Brexit would be a disaster for Brighton & Hove. Our two Universities exchange skills and knowledge with other seats of learning throughout the world. Already foreign students are wondering if it is sensible to study in the UK and researchers are anxious about their ability to attract the grants that make their work possible. Our city has a huge hospitality trade; removing the right to stay means hotels and restaurants will be short of staff and short of skills. The Royal Sussex County Hospital is undergoing a massive rebuild and will be the Trauma Centre for the area; it needs the skills of medical staff from all over the world.
We have got to stop the Tories from damaging Brighton and Hove's prospects for years to come."
Nationally, the Liberal Democrats have gained 8,000 new members in 48 hours, the fastest rise of new membership in the party's history. President of the Liberal Democrats Sal Brinton said of the increased Lib Dem membership across the country:
"People are flocking to the Liberal Democrats as we are the only party who are offering effective opposition to this Conservative Brexit government. Theresa May: we have the troops for this fight and they are raring to go. The Liberal Democrats are the only party standing up for an open, tolerant, and united Britain."
Lib Dems: Corbyn can't lead his party, let alone the country
Responding to Jeremy Corbyn's speech today, Liberal Democrat Shadow First Secretary of State Alistair Carmichael said:
"Jeremy Corbyn is never going to be Prime Minister. He can't lead his own party, let alone our country. The more people see him, the less they want to vote for him.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has called out Theresa May for refusing to take part in televised debates as ITV announced they will go ahead with a leaders' debate.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions today, Tim Farron said: "This election can change the direction of our country. From the consequences of potential hard Brexit outside the Single Market to the future of our NHS and social care, schools and environment.
The Liberal Democrat General Election campaign has got off to a flying start as new members have seen the party double in size since May 2015.
In the short time since the snap General Election was announced the Liberal Democrats have gained over 2,500 new members.
Commenting on the surge Leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron said: "This election is a chance to change the direction of our country and thousands are joining our fight.
Commenting on the Prime Minister's call for a General Election, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said:
"This election is your chance to change the direction of our country.
"If you want to avoid a disastrous Hard Brexit. If you want to keep Britain in the Single Market. If you want a Britain that is open, tolerant and united, this is your chance.
"Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority."
Theresa May and her Government are rushing us headlong out of Europe. It is time for Liberal Democrats to make a stand and make the case for maintaining the closest possible ties with the European Union and ensuring that the three million European nationals currently living in the UK feel welcome here.
The Liberal Democrats have criticised the Conservative government over its plans to raise taxes on the self-employed, as figures reveal that our city will be hard hit by the tax hike.
The Chancellor broke a Conservative manifesto pledge by proposing to increase National Insurance contributions for the self-employed, hitting them with an average cost of £240 a year.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics show there are over 25,000 self-employed workers in Brighton and Hove making up nearly 15% of the total workforce.
The government has also announced cuts to corporation tax are still set to go ahead at a cost to the country of over £2.5 billion a year.
This will come as a major shock to the thousands of self-employed people in our City already facing a Brexit squeeze to living standards. While this government gives tax cuts to wealthy corporations it imposes tax rises on hard-working entrepreneurs who are the seed bed of future employment in the city.
Meanwhile companies in the 'gig' economy like Deliveroo who insist their workers remain self-employed, will continue to save money by using workers without giving them the security and benefits of staff jobs.
LibDems in Parliament and in the country will be opposing these taxes. Tim Farron tweeted: 'Targeting the self-employed, hitting White Van Man with a tax hike betrays Theresa May's pledge to help the just about managing'.
Brighton & Hove Liberal Democrats hosted a booksale on Saturday 4th March to celebrate International Women's Day. The sale featured books written by or about inspirational women and was held at the Chapel Royal, North Street, Brighton. More than a hundred books were sold, raising almost £200 for local charity RISE, which does outstanding work to support victims of domestic abuse.
