The situation regarding the coronavirus is changing daily.
It is with regret that all Brighton & Hove Lib Dem face-to-face meetings and events have been cancelled for the forseeable future, as we feel this is the correct decision under the circumstances. We are instead meeting online and will be in touch with our members and supporters via email to invite you to upcoming events.
Across the country, homes will be adorned with wonderful decorations and Diyas will be lit - all marking the festival of lights.
For Hindu communities this is also the start of the Hindu New Year - an important time to sit back and reflect on the past year and look ahead to future opportunities.
Diwali marks the triumph of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance. 2020 has been a dark year for many of us and Diwali's message that light will triumph in the end resonates with many of us, regardless of our faith or worldview.
"People around the world will now be breathing a huge sigh of relief. Over the past four years Donald Trump has fed a new divisive form of politics, testing American democracy to its very limits. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris's victory isn't just democratic, it may have saved US democracy," said Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP.
Liberal Democrats recognise the importance of having a "base" for reasons of health, welfare, quality of life and work. We believe that people should have choice and that there should be a mixture of housing provision available to meet different needs. We also recognise that in a City such as Brighton and Hove there is a shortage of affordable housing and social rented homes. It is therefore a priority for the Council to make every effort to provide those affordable/social rented homes in the City to house the thousands of people who are on the local Housing Waiting List.
Community, Voluntary and other Groups should be informed about their right to nominate a community facility as an "Asset of Community Value" under the Localism Act. This Facility can be nominated if it "furthers the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community". These "social interests" can include cultural, recreational or sporting interests so this nomination can help ensure that amenities that are useful (or might be useful in the future) have the opportunity to be preserved and hopefully resourced. (Justification: Preserving Heritage; Local Economy; Community Involvement; Health)
Liberal Democrats support a "mixed economy" for our City in which people have equal opportunities and are able to develop their full potential. The City Plan should help enable this and ensure that people have the tools to succeed in order to ensure that we are a successful City.
Liberal Democrats believe that the principles of planning should include accessibility, community participation, good design and interconnectivity with local services and sustainable transport. Most of all, we believe that the local community and the people of our City should be able to have a say about decision making.
Accessibility and Affordabilityare important transport principles. The Service, Maintenance, and general Work requirements of local residents and businesses also require that people are able to get around the City. It is also important for quality of life. These are key considerations when developing the City's transport strategy.
Despite the massive effort people have made to fight coronavirus it's clear that the road to recovery is going to be rockier than we first feared.
With millions of workers worried about their livelihoods, the British people deserve a Government that listens to their concerns and does everything in its power to protect them. Sadly, this isn't the case.
Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey has announced a new team of spokespeople who will hold the Government to account and rebuild our party.
Layla Moran: Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs & International Development
Delighted to announce the @LibDems spokespeople for the great offices of state:
My friend @LaylaMoran has agreed to take a role in my top team. As Foreign Affairs Spokesperson she will bring the energy and enthusiasm she brings to all her work & hold Dominic Raab to account.
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Ed Davey's acceptance speech on being elected party leader
I'd like to start by thanking my friend Layla Moran. Layla, you fought a passionate campaign, full of energy.
Since becoming an MP, you have inspired so many people, particularly young people. Your future is bright and I look forward to you playing a big role in my team.
Brighton & Hove Lib Dems today slammed the local Labour Party for bringing the city of Brighton and Hove into disrepute. Lib Dem spokesperson for Brighton Kemptown, Ben Thomas, said:
'The disgraceful mismanagement by the Labour Party in Brighton & Hove over recent months has brought shame and embarrassment on the city of Brighton & Hove. The soon-to-be-former Labour led council has missed their own target after target, from refuse and recycling collections to affordable housing targets and beyond. They have consistently failed us.
Until midnight on Thursday (9th July), if you join the Liberal Democrats you'll get a vote in our upcoming leadership election.
This leadership election will decide our strategy, our messaging, and ultimately our chances of winning. The leader you choose will shape our movement for years to come. You won't want to miss out.
Back in 2015, I joined the Liberal Democrats at a time when they had been trounced in the general election and were choosing their next party leader. I had never joined a political party before, and quite frankly I didn't even realise I cared about there being a liberal voice in UK politics - until it became clear that the Lib Dems' continued existence wasn't a given. Faced with the very real possibility that there would be no Lib Dem candidate to vote for in the next election because the party would no longer exist, I signed up and voted for my preferred leadership candidate.
Lockdown may mean that we can't march this Pride, but at London Lib Dems we're still determined to celebrate and get together for #PrideInside.
On Saturday 27 June - the day that would have been the day of London Pride - please join us for our very own Pride Inside - open to Lib Dem members across the country.
Brighton and Hove Lib Dems welcome the announcement that the council has now amended its advice to schools to enable them to gradually open to students once again from today. In conjunction with the Lib Dems 5-point plan to reopen schools safely and fairly, Ben Thomas, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokesperson for Brighton Kemptown, encouraged the council to work constructively and collaboratively with the government and other parties to support schools in this endeavour.
Ben Thomas, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Brighton Kemptown, was among the protesters marching in Brighton yesterday. He said:
"It was inspiring to be amongst thousands of people marching in solidarity of Black Lives Matter in Brighton yesterday. Listening to the various speakers was truly moving and we have to make sure we seize upon this moment to deliver real, lasting change.
Responding to reports that the Government will ban conversion therapy, but has dropped plans to simplify the gender recognition process, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Hove & Portslade Beatrice Bass, said:
"It is outrageous that the government is rowing back on their previous commitments to reform the Gender Recognition Act, in Pride Month of all months.
Responding to reports the UK Government will tell the EU on Friday it is not going to seek an extension to the Brexit transition period, Brighton & Hove Lib Dems member Caroline Brown, who last month joined with Grassroots for Europe to write to Hilary Benn as chair of the Brexit Committee in the wake of Michael Gove's appearance before them, said:
Brighton & Hove Lib Dems have written a joint letter in conjunction with Grassroots to Europe, as follows:
LETTER TO RT. HON. HILARY BENN, MP, CHAIR
COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION
Dear Mr Benn
GOVERNMENT'S NEGOTIATIONS WITH EUROPEAN UNION DURING TRANSITION PERIOD
The Government's response of 23rd April 2020 to a petition, "Extend the transition; delay the negotiations until after the coronavirus outbreak", included an exchange of letters between you and Mr Gove after he had appeared before your select committee. We appreciate the hard work on this incredibly complex issue that you and your committee have undertaken and we should be grateful if you would kindly follow up on our behalf some of the points raised in that correspondence.
In the week since the death of George Floyd in the United States, the grief and anger of black communities in the US and closer to home has been clear.
The Liberal Democrats extend our solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Protests against the killing of black people by police have erupted everywhere from Floyd's home state of Minneapolis, USA, to the UK, Japan, and New Zealand. The world knows George Floyd's name, and his death has fuelled a movement to end police violence against black people.
The Coronavirus crisis has left millions of families facing financial hardship, with unemployment rocketing up.Without the Jobs Retention Scheme, it would have been worse.
That has enabled around 6 million employees to be "furloughed", staying at home, safely, with most of their wages paid by the Government.
But the Government is now talking about ending the scheme. With the scheme due to end on 30th June, many businesses are set to start consulting on mass redundancies next week.
And the Chancellor has yet to say what will happen next.
If this support is stripped away overnight, millions more could become unemployed.
That is why - working with businesses - Liberal Democrats have created a new plan to protect employees, their families and the businesses they work for.
The furlough scheme is protecting millions of people from risk of redundancy - yet the Government is now suggesting it will "wind down" the scheme.
We cannot let this happen. We must extend the furlough scheme and protect those workers 👇https://t.co/u8C5iximJ9
Our plan includes keeping some furlough payments as lockdown is eased so businesses can recover. The shadow of the lockdown will be long, and the 'new normal' will be challenging for businesses.
The Liberal Democrat Job Protection Scheme will help businesses to rebuild, stop job losses and stop unnecessary damage to our communities.
The plan includes:
1. A "Safe to Return to Work Scheme" providing new wage subsidy for all employees coming off furlough, with:
●50% of salary paid during the first monthin work, after furlough.
●40%of salary paid during the second monthin work, after furlough.
●30%of salary paid during the third month in work, after furlough.
The current £2,500 cap under the Job Retention Scheme would be reduced in line with these percentages.
The scheme would begin from 1st July, or if lockdown ends later, as soon as it has been eased.
If a company commits to employing the staff member for at least 6 months, this new 3 month wage subsidy could be paid upfront, to ease cashflow further.
Why are vital planning decisions being taken without proper scrutiny?
A controversial planning application to build 148 new flats in three blocks up to 11 storeys high in Newtown Road, Hove, has been narrowly agreed by the council's Planning Committee virtual meeting. This scheme had just 22 per cent affordable housing and 54 per cent are one-bedroom flats. This follows the recent approval of 824 flats in the Moda scheme, in Sackville Road, Hove. The non-retirement element of the scheme includes just 10 per cent affordable housing and 45 per cent studio or one-bedroom flats.
Liberal Democrats acknowledge the urgent need for more housing in Brighton. In particular, we need far more three-bedroom family homes than we are currently building. We need these to be at affordable prices, rather than continuing to build more and more one-bedroom flats at high rents. The council's own Objectively Assessed Need report from 2015, which is used as a reference to measure planning applications against, outlines the optimal housing mix required yet seems to be consistently ignored. Why is this?
In the same area near Hove Station the New Wave scheme consisting of 65 flats has already been built, and the 200 flats at Hove Gardens development, south of the railway line, are soon to follow. In the Davigdor Road area the Artisan Flats development has been built. Approvals have been given for adjacent sites at 113-119 Davigdor Road and to build four new blocks at Lyon Close. Applications in course include one for a major development on the corner of Palmeira Avenue and Cromwell Road and another one to extend the overbearing P&H Building in Davigdor Road.
Each of these plans have their merits and faults in isolation but who is looking at the cumulative effect of so much development in such a small area? Does the council really want to meet so much of the city housing target by building in Goldsmid ward?
We are concerned that the objections of the Goldsmid Labour and Green councillors regarding over-development, affordability, housing mix, traffic gridlock and infrastructure are being ignored. Other councillors, representing wards not affected by these schemes, squeeze them through.
Dubious decisions about the future development of our city are being taken in a hurry by exceedingly small margins. Can it be right that a slim majority of councillors can agree decisions that will cumulatively have a materially adverse impact on the local living environment for many years to come? The pressing need for more housing does not justify poor decision making.
It is time for a fundamental look at the planning process in our city.
Lib Dems celebrate success as Brighton & Hove planning law to be amended to protect music venues
Brighton & Hove Lib Dems are delighted to note that council's proposed submission for the City Plan Part 2 has been updated to include provisions for the full adoption of the Agent of Change Principle, following a campaign led by former parliamentary candidate and now Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Hove & Portslade, Beatrice Bass.
Brighton and Hove Lib Dems welcome the publication of the council's Proposed Submission for the City Plan Part 2, focusing on new housing developments across the city up to 2030.
We are delighted to hear the council talking of the need to deliver more genuinely affordable housing across the city, however we also note with frustration that the City Plan Part 1, adopted in 2016, committed to targeting 40% of affordable housing provisions in developments of over 15 dwellings and on this front they have consistently fallen a long, long way short. We urge the council to be more robust in their negotiations with developers, ensuring adequate provisions are consistently included.
Brighton & Hove Lib Dems welcome the publication of the council's Proposed Submission for the City Plan Part 2, to follow on from the adoption of the City Plan Part 1 in March 2016. All parties in Brighton & Hove are in total agreement that we have a significant housing shortage - in particular of affordable housing - in the city, which we need to take prompt action to address. However, we do have some concerns with approach and results the council has been achieving on housing which we believe must be addressed going forward.
