Kit Malthouse votes against emergency tax cut. Liberal Democrats have today slammed Kit Malthouse for voting against an emergency tax cut in the House of Commons on Wednesday. It comes as over 300 Conservative MPs voted against the measures put forward by the Liberal Democrats to cut VAT from 20% to 17.5%. This proposal would be set to save families an average of £600 each. It would also reduce inflation by keeping prices down in the shops. However, it was blocked after the Conservatives voted it down. Councillor Luigi Gregori, local Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson, slammed the local Conservative MP for voting against the tax cut. The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to immediately bring in an emergency tax cut to help families facing soaring inflation and rising prices. The party is also calling for a windfall tax on the massive profits of oil and gas companies, to fund extra support for the most vulnerable families. Commenting, Luigi Gregori said: "People are struggling with skyrocketing energy bills and rising food and fuel prices. "But the Conservatives have done nothing to help, and instead have blocked our calls for an emergency tax cut. Families and pensioners in deserve better than Kit Malthouse, who voted against tax cuts put forward by the Lib Dems. "The Liberal Democrats are fighting for a better deal for communities being let down and taken for granted by this Conservative government. Our plans for a VAT cut would put money back into people's pockets and boost spending in our high streets to support the economy."

Richard Foord will be our Liberal Democrat candidate for the upcoming Tiverton & Honiton by-election.

I was proud to serve my country in the Armed Forces for ten years and now want to serve my community in Westminster.

Richard Foord

Richard lives in Uffculme with his wife and family. He grew up in the West Country and served for ten years in the army after graduating from Sandhurst, reaching the rank of Major and receiving three campaign medals for service in Iraq and the Balkans.

Richard Blackman is Elected as Councillor for Bassett, Southampton

On Thursday 5th May Richard Blackman was elected as the new Councillor for Bassett.

Result:
LD: 52.6%
Con: 35.1%
Lab: 11.1%
Other: 1.3%

A party spokesperson said: "This is a historic result in Southampton. After more than 10 years without a Lib Dem councillor in Southampton, the Lib Dems are back.
This also marks a huge turning point in the Romsey & Southampton North constituency with the Lib Dems continuing to grow their pool of Councillors.
Richard will be a dedicated, hard working and proactive councillor who will ensure Bassett sees positive steps forward. Residents continued to be disappointed by the Tories in Bassett and we have seen that at the ballot box yesterday."

Here we find ourselves again. It is now coming up on two years since the Conservatives' first threatened to break international law over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Then, this time last year, we heard the continued threats over Article 16 which threatened to overshadow the G7 summit in Cornwall. And now, we are awaiting a rumoured announcement from the Foreign Secretary regarding legislation which will, reportedly, unilaterally rip up the Protocol.

Since Spring Conference, most members will have been focused on the Local Elections which took place in many parts of the country - and rightly so: the hard work has paid off, with some truly fantastic gains made from both the Conservatives and Labour. Particular mention should go to our amazing Chief Steward at Conference, Mike Ross, who is now the Leader of Hull Council! Massive congratulations to Mike and the whole team.

The Liberal Democrats have selected Cllr Sarah Dyke as their candidate for the Somerton and Frome constituency.

Sarah lives in the constituency and is from a Somerset farming family which can be traced back over 250 years to the local area. Sarah worked in the agricultural industry and is Portfolio Holder for the Environment on South Somerset District Council where she is spearheading rewilding programmes, investment in electric vehicle charging points and the council's zero-carbon targets.

Liberal Democrats won right across the country in May's local elections with successes from the Scottish Highlands to Somerset, from Kingston-Upon-Thames to Kingston-Upon-Hull, from Powys to St Albans.

Liberal Democrats elected 868 Councillors, a net gain of 224!

We are winning again because we are listening to people. Because we hear their concerns and their frustration. Because we are standing up for our values, standing up for our communities, and fighting for a fair deal.

Dear Friends,

Wow! What an excellent set of election results. Overall around the country the Liberal Democrats gained hundreds of seats and control of five councils including Gosport in Hampshire. Whilst we had no elections in Test Valley this May, on the other side of the constituency in Basingstoke and Deane council we did have some elections. I was lucky enough to be invited to the count where I saw our hard campaigning work pay off. We won both the Tadley seats (Tadley and Pamber; Tadley North, Kingsclere and Baughurst). Well done to newly elected councillors Jo Slimin and newbie Kerry Morrow respectively.