Liberal Democrats have announced a new Shadow Cabinet. The party which gained seats in the election now have 12 MPs in the House of Commons.

Liberal Democrat Leader Tim Farron said: “I am delighted to announce our new shadow cabinet team, which brings together a wealth of experience. The party has people with a range of skills from within government, business and the charity sector.

“Together we will provide the strong opposition Britain needs to stand up to this Conservative government.”

Leader – Tim Farron MP
President – Baroness Sal Brinton
Deputy Leader – TBC
Exiting the European Union; International Trade; First Secretary of State – Tom Brake MP
Chancellor – Vince Cable MP
Foreign Secretary – Jo Swinson MP
Home Secretary – Ed Davey MP
Health Secretary – Norman Lamb MP
Education Secretary; Young People – Layla Moran MP
Communities and Local Government; Refugees – Wera Hobhouse MP
Culture, Media and Sport – Christine Jardine MP
Work and Pensions – Stephen Lloyd MP
Scotland – Jamie Stone MP
Chief Whip; Northern Ireland – Alistair Carmichael MP
Exiting the European Union (Lords) – Baroness Sarah Ludford
Energy and Climate Change – Baroness Lynne Featherstone
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Baroness Kate Parminter
Business and Industrial Strategy – Lord Chris Fox
Defence – Baroness Judith Jolly
Transport – Baroness Jenny Randerson
International Development – Baroness Shas Sheehan
Equalities – Baroness Lorely Burt
Justice – Jonathan Marks
Wales – Baroness Christine Humphreys
Europe/ALDE Liaison – Catherine Bearder MEP
London – Caroline Pidgeon AM
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats – Kirsty Williams AM
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats – Willie Rennie MSP
Leader in the House of Lords – Lord Dick Newby
Chief Whip in the House of Lords – Lord Ben Stoneham

On Friday, it will be one year since the appalling, hate-filled murder Labour MP Jo Cox.

Her friends and family don’t want it to be a mournful occasion. Jo was a passionate campaigner, and inspired by her, they want us to channel our horror and grief into something positive.

So, they’re spending the weekend celebrating what we have in common, and they’ve asked us to join them. It’s called The Great Get Together, and it’s a very simple idea: they’re asking you to do something — big or small — to bring our communities together on 16 – 18 June. Will you join in?

At last count, 111,197 events are already planned across the country — from picnics of local schools to street parties, football tournaments and community iftars (breaking of the ramadan fast). If Liberal Democrat members join in, the celebration of having more in common will be truly huge.

Just let the Jo Cox Foundation know that you want to join in and they’ll send you a list of ideas for how other people are getting involved.

The idea of the Great Get Together was born out of that desire to carry on Jo’s work and celebrate our shared humanity.

An incredible range of organisations and individuals are taking part from the Scouts and GirlGuides to the RNLI, RSPB, Women’s Institute and Premier League. The Big Lunch have also agreed to move their annual celebration. Every faith is also taking part. With us taking part as well, this will be an incredible celebration of what we have in common.

Sign up now to say you’re in, and get full information on how you can join in, wherever you live.

Get involved

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to urgently publish a long-awaited review of building regulations on fire safety and implement its recommendations, following the deadly fire at Grenfell Tower.

Sal Brinton, Liberal Democrat Party President and member of the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group, commented:

“My heart goes out to the victims of this tragedy, their family and friends and the emergency services who have shown such bravery in appalling circumstances.

“It is too soon to say the exact causes of this deadly fire, but we must not shy away from asking difficult questions.

“In particular, we need to look at why the lessons of the past seem not to have been learnt.

“Ministers have been asked repeatedly to upgrade fire safety regulations but have done nothing, including on sprinklers and strengthening compliance rules.

“The government must conduct an urgent review into fire safety and building regulations, with recommendations implemented as soon as possible.

“We must also hold a public inquiry into what caused this tragic fire and how it could have been prevented.”

Retail sales fell by 1.2% between April and May, worse than economists had expected, figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown.

The ONS said that average store prices have risen by 2.8% over the year, which has been a significant factor in slowing growth.

Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable said: “The economy has been kept going for a year on the basis of consumer debt, which was always artificial and unsustainable.

“The brutal reality of a hard Brexit is now starting to hit businesses and consumers.

“Unless the government takes a cross-party approach to Brexit, reflecting the need for compromise, we will inevitably see a continuing slowdown and possible slump in the economy.”

This afternoon Tim Farron resigned as Liberal Democrat leader.

At party HQ in London he gave the following speech to party staff:

“This last two years have seen the Liberal Democrats recover since the devastation of the 2015 election.

That recovery was never inevitable but we have seen the doubling of our party membership, growth in council elections, our first parliamentary by-election win for more than a decade, and most recently our growth at the 2017 general election.

Most importantly the Liberal Democrats have established ourselves with a significant and distinctive role – passionate about Europe, free trade, strong well-funded public services underpinned by a growing market economy.

No one else occupies that space. Against all the odds, the Liberal Democrats matter again.

We can be proud of the progress we have made together, although there is much more we need to do.

From the very first day of my leadership, I have faced questions about my Christian faith. I’ve tried to answer with grace and patience. Sometimes my answers could have been wiser.

At the start of this election, I found myself under scrutiny again – asked about matters to do with my faith. I felt guilty that this focus was distracting attention from our campaign, obscuring our message.

Journalists have every right to ask what they see fit. The consequences of the focus on my faith is that I have found myself torn between living as a faithful Christian and serving as a political leader.

A better, wiser person than me may have been able to deal with this more successfully, to have remained faithful to Christ while leading a political party in the current environment.

To be a political leader – especially of a progressive, liberal party in 2017 – and to live as a committed Christian, to hold faithfully to the Bible’s teaching, has felt impossible for me.

I’m a liberal to my finger tips, and that liberalism means that I am passionate about defending the rights and liberties of people who believe different things to me.

There are Christians in politics who take the view that they should impose the tenets of faith on society, but I have not taken that approach because I disagree with it – it’s not liberal and it is counterproductive when it comes to advancing the gospel.

Even so, I seem to be the subject of suspicion because of what I believe and who my faith is in.

In which case we are kidding ourselves if we think we yet live in a tolerant, liberal society.

That’s why I have chosen to step down as leader of the Liberal Democrats.”