Tiverton and Honiton Liberal Democrats

An amendment providing enhanced protections for employment, equality, health and safety entitlements, rights and protections, and consumer and environmental standards has been passed in the Lords.

This is the second defeat today for the government in the EU Withdrawal Bill.

This defeat is a key step in ensuring that parliament plays the key role in Brexit and not just a handful of Ministers altering standards via the back-door.

Guaranteeing that standards relating to equality, employment law and many other things can only be altered via primary legislation is extremely significant and essential to the democratic process.

April already, so local government election campaigns are getting underway!

Thanks to all our candidates and their teams, out knocking on doors, putting up poster boards and preparing for getting out postal votes later this month ahead of polling day on 3 May.

If you haven't got elections near you, please offer to help somewhere nearby - every pair of hands is vital, with plenty of different jobs to be done.

In November 2017, I was appointed by the Federal Board of the Liberal Democrats as Special Investigation Counsel to conduct an investigation and produce a Report on the handling of sexual impropriety complaints within the Party.

I am pleased that, after a period of being embargoed, the report has now been published and you can access it here.

Empowering and thought-provoking, this intensive training weekend for aspiring female MPs will provide you with the knowledge and skills required to run as a successful candidate.

Many current and former female Lib Dem MPs started their journeys at an FWMP event and you could be next!

The invaluable opportunities, skills and advice you will gain include:

The Windrush scandal has exposed the brutality of the Home Office and the Conservatives more clearly than a multitude of other immigration and asylum scandals.

The reason?

The Windrush Generation are British citizens. People who've lived here for decades - working, raising families, part of Britain.

Even the Daily Mail has been forced to back their case.

Riding the coattails of an erratic US President is no substitute for a mandate from the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister could and should have recalled Parliament this week and sought the approval of MPs before proceeding.

Liberal Democrats stood ready to assess the evidence and objectives for any action and if it were properly planned and justified, to support a military response.

At this moment our thoughts are with British and allied troops. But the Government's decision fatally undermines the integrity of this mission.

Next month more than 100 local parties are facing council elections. If yours isn't one of them, you can still make a huge difference to the party's overall local election effort - and help us elect more Liberal Democrats in May.

There is a secret phenomenon in British politics.

It is occurring in by-elections all over the country, week in, week out, to local authorities from Sunderland to Somerset. Against the Tories. Against Labour. In Leave areas. In Remain areas.

Since the general election in 2017, the Liberal Democrats are up 15 seats, double Labour's increase of 7, while the Conservatives are tanking - they have lost 18 seats.

I am certain that many Britons are as appalled as I am about the horrific scenes coming out of Syria.

The use of chemical weapons is barbaric. It is a crime against humanity and it is a clear violation of international law.

The Liberal Democrats are an internationalist, outward-looking party - and part of that is being willing to play our part in upholding international law.

1. Working to end homelessness being criminalised.

Vagrancy isn't a word we often use in the 21st Century. That's why the law that makes homelessness a crime dates back to the 19th century. Layla Moran MP, our excellent MP for Oxford West and Abingdon has brought forward a bill to repeal this draconian law and stop people being arrested just for not having a roof over their head.