Today 7 Labour MPs have left their party to become Independents.

It's not unexpected, or unwelcome. In part, they've been pushed to this by Jeremy Corbyn's refusal to respect his party's policy on Brexit.

"I am furious that the Labour leadership is facilitating Brexit." Mike Gapes MP on the #LabourSplit.
The British people deserve better opposition to Brexit.
Liberal Democrats are the only party dedicated to fighting Brexit. Join us today https://t.co/Bomm21Qhk9

- Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) February 18, 2019

Every May, there are local elections in the UK, to elect the councillors that local after our local communities.

In the Liberal Democrats, we're committed to making sure this year's local elections produce the biggest gains ever, returning hard-working Liberal Democrat councillors to town halls right across England.

It is less than a month now to Spring Conference in York. I'm sure many of you will by now have booked your trains and your accommodation to join us for all the interest that two days packed full of motions, training, fringes and meeting up with others from across the country. If you haven't booked yet, you can do so here: libdems.org.uk/spring-conference

We all know the power of a good story.

Storytelling is the oldest way of passing along information, in which facts can be shared but we also know it is also one of the most powerful for sharing our messages.

That's why we want yours.

We want to share your story to help us win the fight for an Exit from Brexit.

Tonight in Parliament, the Conservatives kicked the can down the road yet again.

As the Brexit deadline looms ever larger, Parliament is still gridlocked - and there's no sign of anything changing soon.

For two years, Theresa May's Conservatives have made an absolute mess of Brexit - and Corbyn's Labour have been right there with them - letting them off the hook.

Only the Liberal Democrats are fighting, day in and day out, to stop this catastrophe.

We still have time to stop Brexit - and we need to make our campaign even stronger in the next few weeks.

Together, we've defeated the Government in Parliament 24 times; we've built public support for a People's Vote and we've led the campaign against Brexit on doorsteps across Britain.

We are making a difference - and it's still all to play for. Will you donate to help us keep fighting to stop Brexit?

In Hull last May we confounded expectations and swelled our councillor numbers on the Guildhall benches from 17 to 24 - winning seats off Labour heavy-weights right across our City.

Forlorn looking faces of Labour councillors and candidates stood looking shell-shocked around the count tables as ballot papers tipped out of the boxes - their Council majority has been slashed to just five. They could not comprehend what had happened.

Brexit latest

Westminster is in a strange state of lassitude. We know there is a massive Brexit storm ahead; but nothing much is happening. Theresa May's statement to the Commons yesterday was largely an exercise in repetition, including the ludicrous assertion that we might 'accidentally' leave the European Union without a deal.

Last week a Private Members' Bill aimed at protecting young girls from female genital mutilation was brought to the Commons.

The bill would clear up a loophole in the law. Currently, female genital mutilation doesn't count as one of the conditions for a temporary care order to be issued. This means it's harder to get at-risk girls away from families looking to mutilate their own children.

Tomorrow sees two parliamentary bills become law.

Two bills that the Liberal Democrats have been fighting on, to improve the lives of those living in Britain.

Upskirting

Back in June last year, my Private Members' Bill making upskirting a specific criminal offence was kicked out of Parliament by a Tory dinosaur - for no good reason. But we didn't give up.

Despite telling Labour conference he would pursue a People's Vote if he could not secure a General Election, Jeremy Corbyn is now offering support for Theresa May's Brexit.

His support is coming at the cost of people's jobs, our NHS and the environment - he's just missing in action. We've had enough.