South Lincolnshire Liberal Democrats

The murder of George Floyd has led to a global outpouring of anger and grief.

From Windrush to Grenfell, from Stephen Lawrence to Mark Duggan, we are not short of our own examples of institutionalised, deep-rooted injustices that shame us all

Racism has been exposed in the most shocking and tragic of ways in Minneapolis but make no mistake - it exists in Britain too.

When I first moved to the UK from Holland almost eighteen years ago, someone told me I had to use the bus lane as a cyclist - I laughed. Then I realised they were serious.

Over the past few weeks, this country has seen a massive increase in cyclists on the roads - young and old, fast and wobbly. With fewer cars around, many - often tentatively - have given cycling a go for the first time. Bike shops are doing a roaring trade.

Callum Robertson, Chair of the East of England Policy Committee, interviews Ed Davey MP.

Photo credit: Uk Parliament licensed under CC BY 3.0.

HQ press release

Responding to news that the Northern Ireland Assembly has passed a motion calling for an extension to the Brexit transition period given the COVID-19 crisis, Liberal Democrat Brexit and Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said:

"The Conservatives' proposed Brexit will have a profound impact on the people and businesses of Northern Ireland.

The disproportionate toll of COVID-19 on people from BAME groups is extremely alarming.

My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have written to the Prime Minister to express our grave concern at the disproportionate toll of COVID-19 on people from black, Asian and minority ethnicity (BAME) backgrounds and are urging the government to take urgent action now to address this.

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 current virus has temporarily reduced carbon emissions, but climate change is still important.

Carbon offsetting is used to enable an organisation or person engaged in an activity that emits CO2 (or other Greenhouse Gas (GHG)), such as flying, to pay to support project(s) that reduce emissions so they can claim a neutral net effect on climate change. There is a wide range of such projects on offer commercially, an example being planting trees. The cost in £/ton of CO2 varies very widely, and the control and auditing of the validity of their claims is weak. Naturally, both organisations and people are tempted to opt for the cheapest, so there is pressure on projects to overclaim or be dishonest. An offsetting project must lead to additional GHG reductions over what would have happened anyway; for example, if it is profitable without subsidy (most wind or solar projects are now profitable) or is part of a country's Paris commitment, it is not valid. Double counting is of course dishonest.

Our late former Leader Paddy Ashdown argued at the time of the Hong Kong handover that without the added right to live in the UK for those holding British National Overseas (BNO) Passports, Beijing could ignore the Joint Declaration.

We have a duty to act and protect those we vowed we would.

In 2020, this is becoming a tragic reality. 'Beijing's new law will trample over the 'one country, two systems' framework, crushing Hong Kong's autonomy.

When I was growing up there was a catchphrase often bandied about (with a suitable rustic accent) - "The answer lies in the soil." There have always been some who understood the importance of soil; but it has now become an imperative, as we are told that if we continue as we are then we have around 60 years worth of harvests left to us.