Welcome to the Weekly Whip. Your one-stop shop for Lib Dem Parliamentary updates, covering the week that was and the week to come.
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HAPPY PRIDE MONTH - JUNE 2020
Weekly Whip w/c 1st June
This week in the House of Commons the Corporate Insolvency Bill, the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill and a motion relating to our future relationship with the European Union were debated and discussed. However, these were not the main stories this week. As much as I would like to get my constitutional nerd on and tell you all about the reasoning behind the structure of Parliamentary constituencies. Some things are more important.
Around 800 EU nationals living in Wealden are still waiting to learn whether they can stay here or not, according to figures unearthed by the Liberal Democrats.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for all EU citizens already residing here to be given the automatic right to stay in the UK, as new official figures show that 790 EU nationals living in the Wealden District Council area have not been granted permanent 'Settled Status' to remain here.
Wealden's Liberal Democrat PC and Parliamentary Spokesperson Chris Bowers greeted the news that Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have been elected as the Labour Party's new Leader and Deputy Leader respectively with positivitity and cautious optimism, saying he hopes that this marks the beginning of a new era of progressive cross-party cooperation and bridge building. Speaking shortly after the announcement was made on Saturday April 4th, Chris commented, "I think all people who believe in working towards a compassionate and just society should welcome the fact that Labour is now led by someone who understands the broad range of progressive views somewhat better than his predecessor did. What we will be looking for now are signs that Keir Starmer understands the need to work across party boundaries, and doesn't continue Labour's habit of thinking it can offer an alternative to the Conservatives all on its own. He will have to tread carefully, but we should be willing to embrace hints that he is willing to build bridges.
"In Angela Rayner, he has a deputy leader who understands at first hand what it's like to have to struggle to survive. She has emerged from a challenging childhood to become one of the most admired MPs in Westminster today. Let's hope they can both use their respective experiences to work with others to create a truly modern Britain."
The Covid-19 Coronavirus situation continues to change all the time - we therefore urge everyone to please check the latest (frequently updated) guidelines from the NHS and the UK Government.
Click HERE for the latest updates re: Covid-19 from Wealden District Council.
For the latest Covid-19 information from the national Liberal Democrats please click HERE.
LibDem's challenge Tory council tax rise for Wealden
Liberal Democrat councillors on Wealden District Council put forward an amendment to the Conservative controlled council's budget asking for a freeze in Council Tax rises for this year. The Liberal Democrat group and many Uckfield residents are frustrated with the mismanagement of the Wealden Plan by the Conservative dominated council which has recently been rejected by the government planning inspector. The development of the Wealden Plan had taken place over many years at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds, and has been rejected due to a catalog of failures. Wealden currently faces a planning "free for all" whilst a new plan is developed. Not surprisingly the amendment was defeated. Follow the link to the full article in the Sussex Express
All Members & Supporters of Wealden Liberal Democrats are invited to attend a meeting to be updated regarding the recently withdrawn Wealden Local Plan:
WHEN: Saturday 15th February from 7pm until 9pm
WHERE: Council Chamber, Uckfield Civic Centre, Uckfield TN22 1AE
Last Saturday December 7th, Crowborough Community Centre hosted Wealden's only pre-General Election parliamentary hustings debate with all four parliamentary candidates participating - Lib Dem Chris Bowers, Labour's Angie Smith, the Green Party's Georgia Taylor and incumbent Conservative MP Nusrat Ghani. The debate was moderated by BBC political journalist Helen Catt.
Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Chris Bowers has said he is "really pleased" that Wealden voters will at last get a chance to hear all four Wealden candidates speaking at a live hustings debate on December 7th in Crowborough. The news comes after over a month of silence from the Tory candidate following Chris' open challenge to Nus Ghani to debate him at a live hustings before the December 12th General Election.
Wealden's Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate Chris Bowers will be participating in the upcoming live 'Climate Emergency Question Time' this Wednesday November 27th, an event which has been organised by Wealden's Extinction Rebellion (XR) group.
The debate will be held this Wednesday November 27th from 8pm to 9.30pm at Michael Hall School Theatre in Forest Row (RH18 5JA). All four of Wealden's parliamentary candidates have been invited, though so far only Liberal Democrat Chris, plus the Green and Labour candidates have confirmed they will be there. Organisers say they are still waiting for a reply from incumbent Conservative candidate Nus Ghani, who has apparently been sent numerous invitations (incidentally, she also still hasn't replied to Chris Bowers' open invitation to debate him at a hustings during the general election campaign!). Perhaps she plans on making a surprise entrance, but for now she is being creatively depicted on XR's event poster as a mysterious piece of topiary on a desert island (see pic)!
We've updated our General Election 2019 FAQ page - Wealden's LibDem Parliamentary candidate answers questions about the environment sparked by an RSPB initiative...
QUESTION: What are you personally pledging to do to help protect the environment?
A number of people have written to Chris asking him to use his voice to protect the environment. This was an initiative started by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds called Let Nature Sing in the General Election, but covers a number of environmental topics and asks candidates to answer three questions amounting to a pledge.
