Here's a rundown of the key Bills being proposed by the Government in the Queen's Speech

Sovereign Borders Bill

The bill changes asylum rules, including making claims inadmissible if the person has arrived in the UK "illegally". The government has closed the UK's resettlement schemes, meaning there are no safe and legal routes into the UK. Asylum seekers are being forced to enter the country illegally, then being punished for it, this is inhumane and unacceptable. We should welcome refugees fleeing war and/or persecution with compassion, not treat them like criminals and understand they don't have time to check their plans with the Home Secretary.

We had one of the set piece moments of the political calendar on Tuesday with the Queens speech outlining the governments agenda for the next 12 months. When questioned recently over allegations of sleaze the standard Tory response was people were not interested in such behaviour as thee government were getting on with delivering the peoples priorities.

We must rebuild as a fairer, greener and more caring country in the aftermath of Covid.

Boris Johnson has utterly failed to deliver an ambitious programme

So it is crushingly disappointing that the Government's plans will fail on every account - still failing small businesses and the self-employed, still not rising properly to the climate challenge and still ignoring millions of people caring for loved ones at home.

The Lib Dem vote share in Derbyshire Dales went up and Sue Burfoot retained her seat in Matlock & Tansley with a significantly increased majority.

Despite standing down in two County Divisions, we polled 19.1% of the vote, up from 17.4% in 2017 when we stood 6 candidates.

Both Labour and Conservative vote shares went DOWN, by 2.8% and 1.7% respectively.

This is what you are breathing in!

The doorway to the (now empty) Dorothy Perkins store in Ashbourne is set back from the road (the A515 northbound) in a covered 'porch'. Nothing can fall onto the window frames on the doors except what is brought in on the air. So the thick black deposits on these window frames must be fine particles that were in the air, diffusing in from the highway.

How did that happen?

The severe limitations of the 'First Past the Post' voting system (FPTP) have been exposed by the results in the recent County Council elections in Derbyshire Dales.

There are 6 'County Electoral Divisions' in the Dales and 26,148 people cast their vote either in person or by postal ballot. Of these 13,023 voted Conservative but this allowed them to secure 5 out of the 6 seats.

No more Council Meetings on Teams or Zoom

From May 7^th councils in England are no longer permitted to hold meetings remotely, after the Government did not legislate to extend their ability to do so and a High Court claim to establish councils' ongoing legal right to do so was lost. Derbyshire County Councillor Sue Burfoot has commented on the 'utterly absurd' circumstances that see Councils compelled to meet in-person even while indoor gatherings are still banned on public health grounds, while also warning that progress in public access and participation in Council meetings held remotely is at risk of being lost.

Lib Dems have been busy in the Derbyshire Dales as they campaign for County Council seats in the May 6^th elections. In towns and villages, candidates and volunteers have been out delivering and campaigning and by election day well over 30,000 letters, flyers and leaflets will have been delivered, A phenomenal achievement - many thanks to all those involved.

We have put all our campaign leaflets online. Click on the links to download a pdf version

Matlock Flyer Outer pages & inner pages

Matlock Focus Outer pages & inner pages

Derwent Valley Flyer Outer pages & inner pages

Derwent Vally Focus All pages

Ashbourne Flyer Outer pages & inner pages

Liberal Democrat agricultural spokesperson Tim Farron explains the launch launch of a campaign to Back British Farmers.

British farmers have been let down by the Conservatives. They've been promised that British standards will not be undermined, yet this hasn't been guaranteed in law.

They've been promised that levels of funding will be maintained, yet the transition will see huge amounts of income lost.