Is anything more important than Brexit? Martin Horwood, Liberal Democrat MEP in the European Parliament, argues that climate change is more important and talks about the discussions that he and members of the liberal Renew Europe group had with young activists recently in the parliament

Lib Dems: Creative subjects are at the heart of plans to build a brighter future

Liberal Democrats will put creative subjects back at the heart of the school curriculum as part of their plans to build a brighter future.

Under the Conservatives, a combination of school funding cuts, high-stakes testing, and targets have squeezed creative subjects out of the classroom. Around 3,500 fewer secondary school teachers are employed in art, music, drama and design & technology compared to 2015. The number of hours spent teaching D&T in secondary schools has fallen by almost a quarter over the same period. 

In their election manifesto launched on Wednesday, the UK Liberal Democrats committed to supporting British citizens living overseas and allowing them to vote in future parliamentary elections. Commenting on the manifesto commitment, the Chair of the Liberal Democrats in Europe, and long-time German resident, Robert Harrison welcomed the promise: 

LibDem Party leader spoke at the Confederation of British Industry's annual conference today and emphasised that the party is supportive of British business

Swinson: The Liberal Democrats are the party of business

Today (18/11/19), Leader of the Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson will be making a speech to business leaders at the CBI annual conference. She will be making the case that the Liberal Democrats are the natural party of business.

Lib Dems: Unholy alliance signs up to Johnson's disastrous deal

Responding to reports every Conservative Party candidate has signed up to vote for Boris Johnson's deal, Liberal Democrat Shadow Brexit Secretary Tom Brake said:

Boris Johnson's deal would be bad for our NHS, bad for our economy and bad for our environment. Every Conservative candidate has now signed up to an unholy alliance with Johnson, Farage, and others that will make people poorer.

"The Liberal Democrats are the only party at this election that can take seats from the Conservatives and stop Boris Johnson's recklessness.

"Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote to defeat Johnson, stop Brexit and build a brighter future."

The Liberal Democrats have unveiled the party's Plan for Equalities and Human Rights. The plan is at the heart of the party's vision to build a brighter future for everyone.

The ambitious policies were revealed at a press conference by Luciana Berger and Chuka Umunna and include:

• tackling the rise in hate crimes by making them all aggravated offenses
• providing funding for protective security measures to places of worship, schools and community centres that are vulnerable to hate crime and terror attacks
• complete the introduction of equal marriage
• reduce the overrepresentation of people from BAME backgrounds throughout the criminal justice system

Lib Dems to invest £500 million in youth services to help tackle knife crime

The Liberal Democrats have set out ambitious plans to tackle soaring levels of knife crime, by investing £500 million in youth services and adopting a public health approach to youth violence.

The Liberal Democrats have set out their vision for a “new era of learning throughout life” with the creation of an ambitious Skills Wallet. This will give every adult £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their lives.
 
A Liberal Democrat Government will put £4,000 into people’s ‘Skills Wallet’ at 25, £3,000 at 40 and another £3,000 at 55. The grants have been designed to encourage saving towards the costs of education and training throughout adult life.

Individuals, their employers and local government will be able to make additional payments into the wallets. Access to free careers guidance will also be provided.

The Liberal Democrats are delighted to announce that the party, as part of Unite to Remain, has made an arrangement with The Green Party and Plaid Cymru to step aside for pro-Remain candidates in 60 seats across England and Wales.

By making this arrangement with other pro-European parties, the Liberal Democrats are showing that we will put the national interest above party politics, to deliver Remain. The Liberal Democrats will stand aside, so that there is a clear pro-Remain candidate in 13 constituencies, in turn, in 43 constituencies other parties will stand aside for a Liberal Democrat candidate