Liberal Democrats in Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and Rossendale

Lib Dem Councillor, Roy Davies, has been working hard to get action on the seemongly abandoned building site in Clarence St, Darwen. They are due to develop flats but there had been no action on the site for years. Cllr Davies has written to the Council and finally the Council has contacted the developers. They have received assurances from the developers that were should start again soon to complete the development.

So James Dyson has Singapore slinged his hook and moved his company headquarters out of the UK.

This is perhaps the biggest vote of no confidence from a UK business yet since the referendum result.

Actions speak louder than words - and this action speaks volumes.

Actions speak louder than words - and this action speaks volumes.

This afternoon I delivered our letter to Jeremy Corbyn calling on him to back a people's vote.

The response to the letter has been astounding - over 31,000 people joined our campaign demanding Jeremy Corbyn stop playing party politics and act in the national interest.

Many of Jeremy's MPs back a vote, his party membership overwhelmingly do and, most importantly, the public are calling for it too. Yet still he prevaricates.

17:17: We've had a tipoff that Corbyn's backbone was spotted enjoying a slice of cake and a cuppa in a local cafe...

SPOTTED! Corbyn's backbone on Brexit.
Not where it should be though… Enjoying a slice of cake when it should be standing up to Brexit.
Tell Corbyn to back a people's vote now > https://t.co/70T7fUlye5 pic.twitter.com/ZUZBjb8QxO

- Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) January 25, 2019

The sad passing of Paddy has left a huge dent in our political life. He was a leader, a friend, an adviser and, more than anything else, a man buzzing with vision and ideas. You always knew when Paddy was in the room that a suggestion, a policy, a strategy was not far away. He took our party from an asterisk in the polls to a major force in British politics. Yet he always remained self-effacing, never seeking personal glory, apologetic to anyone he might offend with his ideas.

Brexit latest

Following the Prime Minister's crushing defeat, there was a no confidence debate on Wednesday initiated by Labour. This was predictably defeated as Tory and DUP MPs all came dutifully into line. "No to Mr Corbyn". The most memorable bit of the debate (I exclude my own five minutes - the maximum allowed) were the concluding speeches. Tom Watson was excellent: measured and intelligently critical - everything his party leader wasn't. Michael Gove was barnstorming: eloquent, funny (including at my expense) and cruelly hard-hitting against Corbyn. Could we have been witnessing the next Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in action?

Last Tuesday night Theresa May lost the vote on her Brexit deal by 432 votes to 202. It's the biggest defeat by a Prime Minister in Commons history.

The next day, Jeremy Corbyn called a no-confidence vote in the Government. It failed.

Now, Theresa May wants MPs to vote on a deal that's barely different to the one we already rejected.

What times we live in. The SODEM team led by Steve have been outside my office with their cries of "Stop Brexit!" for the last two and a half years and earlier this week we came closer to doing that very thing. The vote was the biggest loss by a government ever and you, our members, contributed to that immensely. Each and every time we've asked you to get involved in the Brexit campaign over those last two and a half years you've stepped up to the plate and exceeded expectations. When the history of Brexit is written (if Tim Shipman isn't already writing it!) the Liberal Democrats will be at the heart of it as having led the way from start to finish for a people's vote and that's because of YOU.