Welcome to the website of West Midlands Liberal Democrats

The West Midlands covers the five counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and the metropolitan area of the West Midlands.

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity - Preamble to the Liberal Democrat Constitution

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WEST MIDS SIKH VISIT TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ENDS IN PROTEST Wed 7th May 2008 Today was the day when local LibDem Euro-MP Liz Lynne was supposed to welcome a delegation from the Sikh Federation in the West Midlands to the European Parliament, but it finished as a protest outside the building when, for the third year running, delegates were not allowed to enter.
Read "WEST MIDS SIKH VISIT TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ENDS IN PROTEST" in full (318 words).

CLOSE RIGHTS LOOPHOLE FOR OLDER PEOPLE ASAP, SAYS MEP Wed 7th May 2008 Liberal Democrat MEP Liz Lynne is urging the government to move quickly to close a loophole that exempts thousands of older people in the UK from human rights legislation. She has also raised the issue with the EU institutions by amending a parliamentary question on elder abuse, which will be debated later this month.
Read "CLOSE RIGHTS LOOPHOLE FOR OLDER PEOPLE ASAP, SAYS MEP" in full (261 words).

MPS BACK KEETCH'S CALL OVER MUGABE KNIGHTHOOD Sat 3rd May 2008 Fifty MPs have now backed calls by Hereford MP Paul Keetch to strip Robert Mugabe of the honorary knighthood given him by Britain in 1994. Yesterday leads from the Zimbabwean electoral commission suggested that Mugabe came second in his country's Presidential Election, but he still clings on to power.
Read "MPS BACK KEETCH'S CALL OVER MUGABE KNIGHTHOOD" in full (142 words).

MP Releases charity song for family miscarriages of justice Sat 3rd May 2008 John Hemming, a Birmingham MP who chairs the organisation "justice for families" is releasing a charity song called "bring the sunshine in" to fight miscarriages of justice against mothers and fathers.
Read "MP Releases charity song for family miscarriages of justice" in full (865 words).

CANDIDATE JOINS FORCES WITH COMMUNITY ACTION FOR MOVE TO NEW MALVERN HOSPITAL SITE Thu 1st May 2008 West Worcestershire's Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Richard Burt has joined forces with Malvern and District Community Action to press for a new headquarters on the site of the new hospital to be built at Seaford Court in Malvern.
Read "CANDIDATE JOINS FORCES WITH COMMUNITY ACTION FOR MOVE TO NEW MALVERN HOSPITAL SITE" in full (172 words).

GOVERNMENT DRAGGING ITS HEELS ON DRINK-DRIVE LIMIT Wed 30th Apr 2008 A local Euro-MP has criticised the government for taking too long to look into lowering the drink-drive limit, despite Britain having a higher limit and a lower breathalyser test-rate than most other EU countries.
Read "GOVERNMENT DRAGGING ITS HEELS ON DRINK-DRIVE LIMIT" in full (240 words).

MP BACKS FARM ANIMAL WELFARE CAMPAIGN Wed 30th Apr 2008 Solihull's MP, Lorely Burt has backed an all-party campaign in Westminster designed to improve standards of farm animal welfare by raising the bar for food procurement for the public sector, including schools, hospitals, prisons, the armed forces and staff canteens.
Read "MP BACKS FARM ANIMAL WELFARE CAMPAIGN" in full (123 words).

KEETCH CALLS ON ALL TO 'SUPPORT OUR ARMED FORCES' Mon 28th Apr 2008 Paul Keetch, Liberal Democrat MP for Hereford, in a letter published in Saturday's Daily Telegraph newspaper, together with the president, patrons and vice presidents of the United Kingdom National Defence Association [UKNDA] has issued an appeal to all to join a recently created campaign to address the issues surrounding the over stretch and underfunding of the UK's Armed Forces.

Read "KEETCH CALLS ON ALL TO 'SUPPORT OUR ARMED FORCES'" in full (179 words).

MP LAUNCHES 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS FOR SHIRLEY ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Mon 28th Apr 2008 Solihull's MP, Lorely Burt was guest of honour at the launch of 75th anniversary celebrations for Shirley Branch of the Royal British Legion recently.
Read "MP LAUNCHES 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS FOR SHIRLEY ROYAL BRITISH LEGION" in full (183 words).

BURT HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF COUNTY PIG FARMERS Sun 27th Apr 2008 West Worcestershire Parliamentary Candidate, Richard Burt today visited Lawn Farm in Welland to highlight concerns about the plight of the pig farming industry in Worcestershire and across the UK.
Read "BURT HIGHLIGHTS PLIGHT OF COUNTY PIG FARMERS" in full (353 words).

CHANGE IN EU BEEF RULES GOOD FOR LOCAL FARMERS Fri 25th Apr 2008 Local Euro-MP and LibDem European agriculture spokesperson for England and Wales Liz Lynne has welcomed a decision by the European Commission to relax the rules on processing slaughtered beef on the bone.
Read "CHANGE IN EU BEEF RULES GOOD FOR LOCAL FARMERS" in full (165 words).

MEPs PUSH FOR CONTINUED PRESSURE ON BURMESE GOVERNMENT Thu 24th Apr 2008 China and ASEAN must rein in the excesses of the Burmese junta and the EU must campaign for a worldwide arms embargo to improve the lot of the Burmese people. That was the message of MEPs today in a strongly worded resolution adopted by an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament.
Read "MEPs PUSH FOR CONTINUED PRESSURE ON BURMESE GOVERNMENT" in full (292 words).

EU GUN CONTROL STRENGTHENED Thu 24th Apr 2008 EU Member States have agreed to improve and tighten gun control legislation, in order to reinforce the fight against organised crime and firearms trafficking. Among the measures agreed are improved traceability and stronger rules for the acquisition, sale and possession of firearms, in particular for convertible weapons.
Read "EU GUN CONTROL STRENGTHENED " in full (228 words).

MP SLAMS 'TOP-DOWN DICTATORSHIP' ON REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY Wed 23rd Apr 2008 Solihull Liberal Democrat MP Lorely Burt, has slammed the Government imposition of a further 40,000 houses on top of the 365,000 agreed by the WM Regional Assembly for the Regional Spatial Strategy.
Read "MP SLAMS 'TOP-DOWN DICTATORSHIP' ON REGIONAL SPATIAL STRATEGY" in full (175 words).

FOOD PRICE RISES: CAUTION URGED Wed 23rd Apr 2008 LibDem European agriculture spokesperson Liz Lynne has urged caution in the wake of rapid food price rises which some have blamed on the increase in biofuel cultivation.
Read "FOOD PRICE RISES: CAUTION URGED " in full (213 words).

Archive of earlier news stories.