more … ]]> Earlier today, Ming Campbell stepped down as Leader of the Liberal Democrats. Here is his letter of resignation, addressed to party president Simon Hughes MP.

The President
The Liberal Democrats

15th October 2007

When I was elected Leader of the Party in March 2006 I had three objectives. First, to restore stability and purpose in the party following my predecessor’s resignation and the leadership campaign itself, second to make the internal operations of the party more professional, and third to prepare the party for a General Election.

With the help of others, I believe that I have fulfilled these objectives, although I am convinced that the internal structures of the party need radical revision if we are to compete effectively against Labour and the Conservatives.

But it has become clear that following the Prime Minister’s decision not to hold an election, questions about leadership are getting in the way of further progress by the party.

Accordingly I now submit my resignation as Leader with immediate effect.

I do not intend to hold a press conference or to make any further comment.

Yours sincerely,

Menzies Campbell
Leader, Liberal Democrats

more … ]]> Last week, Ming Campbell wrote to the Prime Minister calling for an urgent review of the Government’s military strategies. He wrote:

Dear Prime Minister,

It is now urgently necessary for a reappraisal of government strategy in relation to Iraq and Afghanistan. The current level of British casualties is unacceptable.

In the case of Iraq, what is being achieved by the continuing British presence? Our troops are severely restricted in what they can do and they are subject to unreasonable risks. There is now a clear recognition that the objectives of their mission cannot be achieved.

It is nearly a year since Sir Richard Dannatt’s realistic analysis of the British position and nothing has happened since to contradict him. Is it the case, as some have argued, that our continuing presence in Iraq is now only to show solidarity with the United States? Were that to be so, could it be justified against the present level of our casualties?

There are persistent reports that there will be a reduction in the number of British forces deployed to Iraq. It is time to set a framework for the complete withdrawal of all of our forces. The need to do so is underlined by the situation in Afghanistan where our forces are at full stretch. Their position would be made much easier if we were not engaged simultaneously in two such demanding deployments. Afghanistan poses a severe challenge for our forces with its triple requirement to fight the Taliban, to win hearts and minds, and to implement the counter narcotic policy.

In short, is it not clear that withdrawal from Iraq would give us a considerable advantage in Afghanistan, where the military advice is that NATO’s mission can still be successful.

It is time to make the necessary strategic adjustment. Recent events demand it.

Yours sincerely,

Menzies Campbell

more … ]]> Ming Campbell explains what has happened this week:

You may have read in the newspapers about how Gordon Brown spoke to me earlier this week about offering ministerial jobs to Liberal Democrat members of the House of Lords.

I share his high assessment of the abilities of our parliamentarians! But I have rejected his offer, just as I did that from David Cameron, when he asked me in April to consider proposing a joint candidate for London Mayor with the Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrats are a strong, independent party. There is no way that Liberal Democrats can serve in a Labour government – especially this Labour government, which is doing so much that we are fundamentally opposed to: ID cards, mismanagement of the NHS, neglect of the environment, centralisation of power, attacks on civil liberties, nuclear power and Council Tax.

On so many issues, the Conservatives and Labour are now part of a cosy consensus and it is the Liberal Democrats who are providing the real opposition. They agree on the Iraq War. They agree on tax breaks for the rich – something I challenged the Prime Minister about at question time on Wednesday. They agree on keeping council tax, and on keeping student tuition fees. And on the question of whether BAE made secret payments in return for arms contracts and whether the government knew about it, the Conservatives are completely silent because theirs was the government that signed the contract in the first place.

Never has the need for a strong, independent Liberal Democrat opposition in British politics been greater. Of course we will continue to work together openly with people in other parties where we can find common ground. That is how we helped gain, among other things, a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. But we will do nothing that would fetter our right or ability to fiercely oppose this government in all the areas where we disagree with them.

Over the next few weeks we will be publishing further details of our tax plans, our environmental proposals, and how we will tackle poverty and inequality – all areas Labour have failed on and where the Tories offer no answers. All of these will be debated at our conference in Brighton in September. I hope you will come along. (Our website has full details.) We are also about to launch a major campaign to highlight Labour’s failures on health – we will be circulating information on that in the next few days.

The events of this week show just how important the Liberal Democrats are in British politics.

No doubt the months ahead will see more attempts by Gordon Brown and David Cameron to co-opt us to their causes. Be assured I will continue to resist them.

We will remain a strong, confident and principled voice of opposition – holding this government to account, and setting out the only serious alternative to their failing agenda.

more … ]]> Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ming Campbell today wrote to Gordon Brown calling on him to take part in a series of televised debates with himself and David Cameron over the next six weeks.

In his letter, Menzies Campbell said:

“In the absence of a contested election the public will not have the benefit of the kind of debate about your vision for the country that a leadership election would have allowed.

“After ten years of Tony Blair’s premiership, there is a great public appetite for discussion about the direction the country should take.

“Speeches alone are no substitute for the scrutiny that a proper debate would allow, and to which the public are entitled before a change of their Prime Minister.

“To fill the gap arising out of your uncontested election, I would like to suggest that you take part in a series of televised debates with myself and David Cameron to discuss the direction the country should take on major issues of public concern such as poverty and opportunity, the environment, crime, pensions, the future of our health service and our continued military deployment in Iraq.”

more … ]]> Happy New Year to each and every one of you.

For me, 2006 has been a year unlike any other. Becoming leader of a political party is both a privilege and a great responsibility. I am determined to make the very best of our Party’s opportunities and I believe that we have made a good start.

I want to take this opportunity to draw your attention to a serious matter. It makes me angry when I meet people up and down the country who have had their lives ruined by crime. We all want to live in a safe and secure environment. I am determined that our Party should use next year as an opportunity to show how we can make that happen.

But we need your help.

I want you to join our New Year campaign: We Can Cut Crime. It will set out our ideas about how to make Britain safer for everyone.

Liberal Democrats are already working at a local level to cut crime. Through positive and pragmatic measures, our Party has had great success in cutting crime.

In Liverpool, we have slashed domestic burglary by 24% through such practical policies as gating off back alleys between homes, and in Newcastle violent crime has fallen by 12%, after a rise of 54% in 2002-04, when its Council was under Labour control.

By contrast our opponents talk tough, but Labour has presided over the wholesale degeneration of our criminal justice system: overcrowded prisons; one of the highest reoffending rates in the western world; falling conviction rates for serious violent crimes like rape; high levels of public fear of crime and antisocial behaviour; a demoralised probation service; and constant attacks by the government on judges. Making matters worse, Tony Blair has put more than 3,000 new criminal offences on to the statute book since coming to power. His legacy is clear: tough talk, headline-grabbing gimmicks and poor performance.

As for the Conservatives, who knows what they think? One day David Cameron wants to hug a hoodie, the next he is calling for ever-larger prison numbers.

By contrast, we have effective ideas for cutting crime. Together, we can put these into action with concrete results.

Ours is a party that is liberal in principle, but more effective in cutting crime than our opponents.

The Party is currently considering a policy document entitled Crime in the Community and I have asked our Shadow Home Secretary, Nick Clegg to do some radical and innovative thinking about the best and most practical ways to cut crime.

This will include a new approach to sentencing, the reform of our over-crowded prison system, tackling town centre violence and closing the revolving door of repeat offending.

That thinking will form the basis of the We Can Cut Crime campaign.

Our campaign is aptly named. We know that crime can be reduced and we know that we are the party to do it. I am determined to show that the Liberal Democrats are the only party that can tackle crime both honestly and effectively.

We can and should be seen as the party that will cut crime.

But we need your help to ensure that this message reaches the public.

So I want to set you a challenge for the New Year. I am asking you to consider how you think the Party can sharpen its message on crime and make clear our priorities. Below are five questions on crime. Please consider them carefully and let me know your views. Your experiences and opinions will be crucial to informing this vital campaign.

1. Have you ever been the victim of crime and, if so, would you be prepared to share your experiences?
2. How do you think that we can make prison, and other aspects of the criminal justice system, work better?
3. What are the crime issues of most concern to people in your area?
4. What have been the most successful local initiatives for cutting crime in your area?
5. Are you, or any other Liberal Democrat member or supporter in your area, involved in any part of the criminal justice system?

This year began with some challenges for the Liberal Democrats. But our stunning victory over Labour in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, our outstanding by-election performance in the Tory stronghold of Bromley and Chislehurst, and a strong and consistent position in the opinion polls have shown that this is a party heading in the right direction.

But our continued success depends upon having a strong and motivated team working together. That team includes each and every one of you: the party’s members and supporters.

Please do send me your responses to the questions above and help us to ensure that we reach our full potential in 2007.

With every best wish for the year ahead.

more … ]]> Ming Campbell recently wrote to party supporters as follows:

Of all the problems that face our country today, the situation in Iraq is the most tragic; not only because of the scale of the catastrophe in that country – food shortages, electricity and oil supplies still below their pre-war levels, and the rise of sectarian violence with 3000 deaths per month – but because this terrible situation could and should have been avoided.

Liberal Democrats opposed the 2003 invasion on principle. It was an illegal war, fought without a proper plan for postwar reconstruction. We also now know that it was launched on a flawed prospectus. Weapons of Mass Destruction – ready to fire within forty minutes of a command – simply did not exist.

Last month Liberal Democrats joined with others to vote in the House of Commons for a motion that would have initiated an investigation into the war in Iraq and its aftermath. Unfortunately the government narrowly defeated that motion.

Three and a half years after the occupation, Iraq is on the verge of civil war, and its population is united only in its hostility to the presence of coalition troops (a Ministry of Defence survey found that eight out of ten strongly opposed their presence). Last month, Sir Richard Dannatt, our most senior soldier said that the presence of British soldiers is making the security situation worse. The difficulties that they are experiencing, and Sir Richard’s comments, are a reminder that in addition to our responsibilities to the Iraqi people, we have an obligation to our armed forces to provide them with a clear strategy and a credible mission.

Our government should heed those words and change its strategy now. I have made this point to Tony Blair in the House of Commons. He has refused to change his position. America is openly debating its strategy, and our Prime Minister is awaiting decisions from Washington. Britain’s foreign policy is once again reliant on America’s, just as it was in Lebanon.

There is another way. We need a phased withdrawal from Iraq – and sooner rather than later. That means taking a number of steps in the immediate future: establishing a UN-led effort to disarm, reintegrating and rebuilding the state, with support from the World bank and international donors; creating a regional contact group to engage Iraq’s neighbours in defusing sectarianism and helping to reconstruct the country; speeding up the training of Iraq’s security forces and depoliticising them; an end to the indefinite detentions by Iraqi and US forces that enrage the population; and full access granted to UN human rights monitors and the Red Cross.

These are the conditions that will allow a phased security transfer and withdrawal of coalition troops in months rather than years – and may be the only hope for securing a peaceful future in Iraq.

Yours sincerely

Ming Campbell
Leader, Liberal Democrats

more … ]]> Liberal Democrat Leader, Ming Campbell, today wrote to the Prime Minister to ask him to suspend any further arms exports to Israel.

In light of disproportionate military action by Israel in Lebanon and Gaza the UK Government must suspend any further arms exports to Israel.

Over the last year and a half the UK Government has licensed the export of arms to Israel worth over £25 million, including components for naval light guns, military utility helicopters, aircraft radars and electronic warfare equipment.

The Government is right to ensure there are no arms transfers, either direct or indirect, from the UK to Syria, Iran or illegal armed groups such as the military wing of Hezbollah.

Kofi Annan has said attacks in Lebanon are inflicting collective punishment on the Lebanese people and the UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator has described attacks on Beirut as a ‘violation of humanitarian law’.

The Government must now comply with its own arms export rules and institute an immediate suspension of all UK arms exports to Israel.”

more … ]]> North East Fife Liberal Democrat MP Menzies Campbell has written to Mary Dickson the Managing Director of First Scotrail about the lack of disabled access at Cupar, Springfield and Ladybank Stations.

Commenting Menzies Campbell said “This is an unacceptable situation made worse by the apparent lack of any future programme to provide the necessary disabled access. The situation is particularily unsatisfactory at Cupar Station because it is so well used.