Dundee Liberal Democrats - www.dundeelibdems.scot

The NHS should be at the heart of the case for United Kingdom according to the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Willie Rennie will tell the These Islands Conference in Newcastle that the case for Scotland's place in the United Kingdom should show how caring and compassionate the people of our country have been collectively. He will say that the pro-UK campaigners should not be shy about our common achievements like the NHS and should reach out to talk about issues beyond the economic strength that comes with a single UK market.

Liberal Democrats have long demanded fundamental reforms to the distribution of power: proportional voting, decentralisation, an elected second chamber.

Sadly, electoral reform has been lacking entirely from the Labour party's leadership contest. That's why, this week, I've written to the three remaining Labour leadership candidates, urging them to ditch our broken voting system in favour of proportional representation.

The Liberal Democrats are working hard to tackle the big issues that people are facing across the UK.

✔︎ Ensuring a properly resourced NHS, to provide the highest quality care for our loved ones

✔︎ Fighting to reverse police cuts, to protect our communities from violent crime

✔︎ Protecting our environment. We've already done more to fight the climate emergency than any other party

The first time you go canvassing can feel daunting. For many people, going up to a stranger's door, knocking, and starting a conversation isn't something they do every day. They don't often ask people about how they want things to change, in their neighbourhood or across the country as a whole.

More than 1 in 4 of us will experience depression, anxiety or stress this year. Almost every family will be affected.

Responding to the news that the Scottish Government will now support Monica Lennon's bill on free period products, despite previously withdrawing its support, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

"People inside and outside the SNP told them that their opposition to the bill that would tackle period poverty was unjustifiable and I'm glad they've seen sense and caved. A lack of period products shouldn't be getting in the way of women's lives or education.

At our latest meeting, the Federal Board welcomed our newest member, Lisa Smart, who has been elected the new chair of the Federal Communications and Elections Committee (FCEC), taking over from James Gurling. Welcome on board, Lisa!

We also welcomed back to the Board Tony Harris as Registered Treasurer and chair of the Federal Finance and Resources Committee (FFRC) and Mike German as Federal Treasurer.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Education Committee discussing STEM teaching in early years education, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Beatrice Wishart MSP has criticised Education Scotland for dismissing evidence that teachers and parents are having to stump up for basic classroom resources and arguing children can get by with activities including "tinkering with broken equipment".

Today, Ed Davey and I have written to the Prime Minister, calling for him to reverse plans to scrap the BBC licence fee.

The British Press is by no means without criticism, but at its best, the BBC remains a beacon of independent journalism as well as high-quality entertainment. That's why Liberal Democrats will fight tooth and nail to save it. Read our letter in full below: