"Drill baby drill' say the Tories while Europe burns. A natural disaster on our doorstep. The climate emergency means every summer will have intense heat leading to devastating fires. It's time to speed up our transition to renewables, not slow it down. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Wildfire now nine miles away from French city of Bordeaux, mayor warns

Thomas Cazenave says they are preparing if further evacuations are issued, as the mayor of a nearby town called the situation "catastrophic".

bbc.co.uk

Another fine for Southern Water. These companies keep getting away with hiking up our bills while dumping sewage. We have a new PM. He should put water companies into special administration and return them to public control as public-benefit mutuals. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Southern Water fined over dumping sewage in Kent coasts

The court heard the discharges forced bathing water closures and harmed the local economy.

bbc.co.uk

Donald Trump is threatening to commit war crimes against Iranian civilians. He must back down from these reckless plans. He and Tehran must stop holding the world to ransom in the Strait. The only way out of this quagmire is a negotiated settlement. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Trump threatens to bomb bridges and power plants in Iran unless talks resume

Trump's comments aired as the two countries exchanged fire for the fourth day in a row and the US resumed blockading Iranian ports.

bbc.co.uk

Great to be on the BBC Politics Show South East sofa filming the show today. We discussed assisted dying, the EU's new border control system, and the Bayeaux Tapestry coming to the UK. Tune in on Sunday morning to have a watch.

Today the Defence Investment Plan will finally appear. Late, underfunded and leaving gaping holes in our ability to defend the UK and NATO. Labour's promises lie in tatters. This Plan fails our armed forces, our defence industry and leaves us less secure. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Starmer finds an extra £1bn for defence as spending plan finally revealed

The new defence investment plan has allocated £14.5bn to fund Britain’s defence, still falling well short of the £28bn officials previously said was needed

independent.co.uk

Last week I joined @eddavey.libdems.org.uk, @calummillerld.bsky.social and fellow Lib Dem MPs in writing to Andy Burnham about our Defence Bonds idea. We face growing threats but the Govt still lacks a plan to fund our armed forces. £20bn in Defence Bonds would help close that gap.

I called for this at last week's Commons statement on the operation to board this vessel. @libdems.org.uk have called for stronger action on the shadow fleet for months and for the seized oil to be sold to support Ukraine. Good to see the govt now agree with us www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06...

Oil from seized Russian tanker to be sold to benefit Ukraine

£35m cargo of ship boarded by Royal Marines could help to fund Kyiv’s war effort

telegraph.co.uk

It is looking like a coronation for Burnham. That is not healthy at all. Having got rid of Starmer, Labour MPs are now stitching things up to ensure that there isn't even a contest to be our new Prime Minister. Maybe they don't want us seeing how few ideas they really have.

We are harming our own country through all these changes of PM. There is no good reason for Starmer to go. He is unpopular but that has never stopped PMs before. This is a palace coup by Labour MPs only interested in self preservation and not the overall interests of the country.

Britain’s economy is being held back by low growth and small businesses are paying the price. That’s why the @libdems.org.uk are pushing for a bold new partnership with Europe to cut red tape, back SMEs and grow our economy.

It's time for a bold new deal that puts Britain back at the heart of Europe. 🧡

Reports of a Russian warship firing warning shots in the English Channel are deeply concerning. Russia is quite literally on our doorstep. Intimidation in our waters must not be tolerated. A reminder that we cannot afford any more delays to the Defence Investment Plan www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

MoD investigating reports Russian warship fired warning shots near yacht in Channel

A UK-registered yacht reported shots were fired by the frigate off the coast of the Isle of Wight.

bbc.co.uk

Healey's resignation reflects poorly on the PM. We should be setting an example for our allies, but this whole messy process has just been embarrassing.

Trump appears finally to have realised what he started. He followed Netanyahu into this war and has pursued it without clear goals and with casual indifference to the consequences. Now he is claiming he can rein in Netanyahu. For once, let’s hope he’s right. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Trump says Netanyahu will have ‘no choice’ but to accept a deal with Iran

US president tells FT that he ‘calls the shots’ after urging the Israeli leader not to retaliate against Tehran

giftarticle.ft.com

What kind of message does this send to our Ukrainian allies? Every pound for Russian oil goes to Putin’s war chest. The Government must reverse these weak waivers, focus on diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait, and implement Lib Dem plans to cut the cost of travel www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK loosens Russian oil sanctions as fuel prices rise

The waiver reflects increasing supply concerns over certain fuels due to the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

bbc.co.uk

Starmer has called it 'Labour's choice', but last year when I gave Labour the choice to back a Youth Mobility Scheme they didn't. Another Labour U-turn after Lib Dem pressure. Brussels wont take this lame-duck PM seriously. We had a chance but the government have dragged their feet.

Social care is already under severe pressure. Families are waiting too long, providers are struggling to recruit and care workers are not being properly valued. The Government needs to get to grips with this crisis and bring forward a serious plan for social care.

It is good to see Keir Starmer finally recognising the threat the IRGC poses to the Jewish community and the Iranian diaspora, but this should have come a long time ago. Lib Dems will back any emergency legislation required to proscribe the IRGC. www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

Proud to speak at the Lib Dem Conference setting out our approach to defence: standing firmly with Ukraine against Putin, restoring trust with our European allies, and fixing procurement to cut waste. In a more unstable world we remain committed to NATO, international law and our nuclear deterrent.

Watch James' speech in full: youtu.be/SPoWzsdcmJk

James MacCleary Conference Speech | Spring Conference 2026

James MacCleary MP makes his keynote speech to Liberal Democrat Spring Conference 2026 in York, outlining the party's policies in relation to defence, and the need to rearm Britain the fact of a…

youtu.be

At a time of global crisis, Britain should be leading on the world stage – not following Trump like a poodle, as the Conservatives and Reform want to do.

Great to see @makeuk.bsky.social backing defence bonds. We need urgent funding to rearm. Despite big talk from Labour and Tories, only the @libdems.org.uk have a plan. Bonds would raise £20bn over two years and allow everyone to invest in our nation's defence. inews.co.uk/news/britons...

Starmer urged to launch WW2-style war bond plan to plug defence £28bn black hole

A defence trade body wants a bond-buying scheme to bolster defence innovations like counter-drone and sub-sea autonomous vehicles

inews.co.uk

Kemi Badenoch claims the Type 45 Destroyer can’t intercept missiles. That is literally what they are designed to do, and they’re world-renowned for it. The Conservatives should wind their neck in and stop warmongering. We will not gain anything by getting involved in a conflict with Iran.

🇺🇦 🇬🇧 It is sobering to think that today marks four years since the start of Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. I am proud of the support Britain has given, but we must not become complacent. We must continue to stand with our Ukrainian allies who fight for all of our freedom. Slava Ukraini.🇺🇦

We do need to urgently increase defence spending and it's good that the PM is finally realising it. He should adopt the @libdems.org.uk proposal for defence bonds to generate £20bn over the next two years. A serious plan to get the cash boost our armed forces need. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK government considering increase in defence spending

The prime minister is considering meeting a 3% defence-spending target five years earlier than planned, the BBC learns.

bbc.co.uk

Navalny showed incredible bravery standing up for freedom and a democratic Russian future and was murdered for it. Now we know how, it should redouble our resolve to resist Putin and that begins in Ukraine. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Russia killed opposition leader Alexei Navalny using toxin from dart frog, UK says

There is no innocent explanation for the toxin being found in samples taken from Navalny's body, Foreign Office says.

bbc.co.uk

Starmer is finally waking up to the threat of relying on Trump for our security. The PM should be personally leading negotiations to get us into the EU SAFE defence fund and adopt the @libdems.org.uk defence bonds for an urgent cash injection for our armed forces. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...

Munich Security conference live: Starmer announces deployment of warships and fighter jets to Arctic

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells the Munich Security Conference that the US, Canada and other Nato allies will play a role in the operation, as he calls for closer EU ties.

bbc.co.uk

I'm pleased to see the High Court overturn the absurd proscription of Palestine Action. Labour abused the parliamentary system to get them proscribed, but it was clear this was a blatant misuse of terror legislation. Just think how much police time was wasted with this nonsense.

High court rules ban on Palestine Action is unlawful – live

Protest group’s co-founder wins legal challenge against decision to proscribe it under anti-terrorism laws

theguardian.com

It was great to meet Royal Marine Commandos at Parliament ahead of their deployment to Norway for a NATO exercise. They showed us their kit and spoke about the vital work they’re doing to keep us safe in an increasingly unstable world.

The situation in Iran is shocking. The regime’s brutal crackdown has reportedly cost tens of thousands of lives. The UK Government must go further and proscribe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Ayatollahs’ iron fist, as a terrorist organisation.