When the Liberal Democrats were in Government, I had the privilege of being Minister of State for Care and Support at the Department of Health. As Health Minister I worked to ensure that mental health was treated with the same priority as physical health, introducing the first ever access and waiting time standards for mental health. We also secured more money for children and young people’s mental health services.

Almost half of all LGBT+ pupils still face bullying at school for being lesbian or gay or bisexual or transgender. Half have self-harmed.

I am pleased to announce today our new spokespeople who will speak out on the most important issues we face in Britain today.

While Parliament is consumed by Brexit, we need to remember that people are also affected by a whole host of other challenges.

We will continue to speak up for them as we continue our fight for the public to have a say on the Brexit deal with a People’s Vote.

As the battle over Brexit in Parliament reaches its final stages, many people are asking me, “what has happened to the People’s Vote”?

Behind the political manoeuvring and procedural wrangles at Westminster, there is still everything to play for.  The People’s Vote is alive and well.

The next step to securing it is to narrow the options, by removing a massively disruptive ‘no deal’ from the table.

Today is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

Back in 2013 when I was a DFID minister, together with campaigners like Nimco Ali and Efua Dorkeeno, we kicked off the original government campaign on FGM. We succeeded in securing the biggest ever spending commitment in the world of £35 million to work towards eradicating FGM worldwide. 

We are currently seeking applicants for a new policy working group on the Nature of Public Debate.

The Federal Policy Committee is setting up a new working group to develop new Liberal Democrat Policy on the Nature of Public Debate.