Lib Dem split emerges over policy of seeking second EU referendum
Nick Clegg defends the party’s policy on Brexit against criticism from Vince Cable, Norman Lamb and Lord AshdownNick Clegg has defended the Lib Democrats’ policy of seeking to block Britain’s departure...
View ArticleThatcher snatches win from Cameron in vote on century's worst PM
Historical writers deliver poll verdict that the notorious scourge of ‘society’ did more damage to Britain than the recently departed bringer of BrexitMargaret Thatcher has narrowly beaten David...
View ArticlePaddy Ashdown urges British ‘progressive centre’ to unite
Lib Dem says ‘lost tribes’ of Labour voters and Conservatives horrified by May’s hard Brexit mean centrists must get together Progressive politicians from all parties must “get out of their tribal...
View ArticlePaddy Ashdown 'horrified' by parallels between UK and 1930s Germany
Former Lib Dem leader tells Hay festival he fears for his country and criticises Theresa May for refusing to take part in live debatePaddy Ashdown has said he sees horrifying parallels between 1930s...
View ArticleHuman rights undermined in Hong Kong, says Ashdown
In report for NGO, former Lib Dem leader says rule of law, democracy and interference by Beijing are areas of concernFreedoms in Hong Kong have been increasingly eroded and human rights have been...
View ArticleChris Patten urges PM to raise Hong Kong plight on China visit
In joint letter with Paddy Ashdown, last governor warns of threats to political freedomsHong Kong’s last British governor, Chris Patten, has called on Theresa May to challenge Beijing over its erosion...
View ArticleHong Kong democracy activists urge UK to release unseen files
Foreign Office still holding back tens of thousands of files now eligible for release after 20 yearsHong Kong democracy activists are demanding that Britain releases tens of thousands of unseen files...
View ArticlePaddy Ashdown reveals he has bladder cancer
Former leader of Liberal Democrats, 77, says he is being ‘wonderfully looked after’The former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown has revealed he has been diagnosed with bladder cancer.Ashdown, 77,...
View ArticlePaddy Ashdown obituary
Former leader of the Liberal Democrats who helped transform party into a British political forcePaddy Ashdown, Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, who has died aged 77, was perhaps the most unlikely...
View ArticleFormer Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown dies aged 77
Tributes pour in for politician who led the party between 1988 and 1999Full obituary: Lord Ashdown, 1941-2018The political world has paid tribute to Paddy Ashdown – the irrepressible former Liberal...
View ArticlePaddy Ashdown: a political life in pictures
A look back at some of the public moments of the former Liberal Democrats leader, who has died aged 77Continue reading...
View ArticlePaddy Ashdown showed that the centre can hold | Matthew d’Ancona
Today compromise is sneered at as impure – but the former Liberal Democrat leader understood it is a sign of strengthThe last time I saw Paddy Ashdown he was having lunch with Nick Clegg in a...
View ArticlePolitical figures celebrate Paddy Ashdown's energy, bravery and humour
Praise for politician who transformed Liberal Democrats and oversaw peace in the BalkansTributes have poured in from across the political world and beyond for the former Liberal Democrat leader and...
View ArticleTuition fees undid Paddy Ashdown’s achievements | Letters
The former Lib Dem leader was against free university education, says Nigel Boddy, and John Marriott remembers him as a thoroughly decent manPaddy Ashdown once said when criticising the EU: “When...
View ArticleHouse of Commons pantomime? Oh no it isn’t! | Letters
A former dame hits back | Paddy Ashdown the historian | Festive misspellings | Consumerism | Welsh Bethlehem | Kent’s DunkirkI agree with David Konyot’s objections to the use of the words “circus” and...
View ArticleTributes paid to former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown at funeral
Ashdown, who died aged 77 last month, remembered for his ‘openness and tolerance’The former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown has been remembered at a private funeral in the Somerset village where...
View Article'A man for ideals': former PMs pay tribute to Paddy Ashdown
Tony Blair, David Cameron and Sir John Major attend service for former Lib Dem leaderPast prime ministers, present-day parliamentarians, diplomats and armed services personnel filled Westminster Abbey...
View ArticleThe Lib Dems are still the party of centrist ‘common sense’ – but are there...
The party may find its self-consciously moderate worldview has little traction in a polarising electionIf you’re on the left, it’s easy to dislike the Liberal Democrats. Helping David Cameron into...
View ArticleThe Liberal Democrats’ place in progressive politics | Letters
Readers respond to opinion articles by Vince Cable and Simon JenkinsI would not be averse to being described as “centre-left, social democratic, liberal and moderate”, but I am unable to agree with...
View Article‘I couldn’t vote Conservative again’: sleaze and parties turn Tory voters off
A failure of leadership has cut deep with people in Paddy Ashdown’s old Lib Dem stronghold of Yeovil, for whom Covid has meant sacrificeThe Christmas lights are twinkling and there is even an energetic...
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