LDDA - The Liberal Democrat Disability Association

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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Weekly Whip w/c 21st September

Monday 21st September

Before Monday's main business on the Internal Market Bill, Matt Hancock gave a Ministerial Statement on a Covid-19 update from over the weekend and the sharp rise in cases across the country. Munira Wilson took the opportunity to press the Secretary of State on testing in care homes. Despite his emphasis on prioritisation of care homes, many homes are still experiencing a two-week delay for test results.

The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police in the US has sparked an international reckoning with racial injustice.

The Liberal Democrats need to commit ourselves to combating racism - conscious or unconscious, individual or institutional - wherever we find it, including within our own party.

Day 2 at Autumn Conference saw two big policy motions passed, speeches by MPs Layla Moran and Munira Wilson, and a Q&A with new Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey.

Didn't have time to catch it all? Here's what you might have missed on Day 2, as well as what's coming up on Day 3...

Motion calling on urgent change to COVID-19 strategy passes

Q: What is a Liberal Democrat, who are you targeting, and how will your vision reach them?

I think a political party must always start with our values. The Liberal Democrat values of freedom, equality of opportunity and community - these are our strong values which we've campaigned on for years and years, and we must keep campaigning on them.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed every single one of our lives.

For our frontline workers, we need safety, support and fair pay now.

You may have been furloughed from work, or lost your job, You may be one of millions of young people now navigating an online learning environment. You may be isolated from friends or family or have lost a loved one to COVID-19.

Ten months ago, I was standing on a doorstep. It was dark. It was freezing cold. It was a few days before polling day. I was talking to a lovely couple, one of whom broke down in tears. She was a nurse at our local hospital and she was telling me how she and her colleagues were struggling to cope. They were stressed out, burnt out and desperately needed more staff.

Our union is under threat.

Nationalism is a dangerous force, fuelled by a sense of alienation and powerlessness. Brexit has forced divides between our four nations.

Coronavirus and Brexit, two of the biggest issues facing the UK, have demonstrated the inadequacies of our current constitutional arrangements. With growing support for reform across our nations and regions, it's time to act. It's time we created a truly federal UK.

Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference is in full swing, and despite this year's event looking very different, it's gotten off to a great start.

With four jam-packed days of policy in the agenda, there's a lot to keep track of, so here's a quick recap of all the big moments from Day 1.

Motion on UBI passes

The UK is one of the strongest economies in the world, and yet our economic system leaves too many people without enough money to meet their basic requirements and fails to value properly vital unpaid work like caring.

Today, Liberal Democrat Conference has voted to campaign for Universal Basic Income.