Dundee Liberal Democrats - www.dundeelibdems.scot

The Scottish Liberal Democrat spring conference has today discussed a new report entitled Federalism: Still the best future for Scotland, outlining a series of radical proposals for reforming the United Kingdom and how the party will work with others to fix the union.

The report outlines five steps to a federal union:

Campaigning steps up...

I've just been in touch with one of the Liberal Democrat councillors for the ward up the road from me to line up a Focus delivery round on Monday, 8 March. That's the date from which the latest change in guidelines in England comes in. It gives the go-ahead to a much wider range of leafleting and also to doorstep canvassing.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has today used an address to the party's virtual spring conference to criticise the Conservatives and SNP and warn that independence would be Brexit 2.0

Ed Davey said:

"Brexit is already the disaster we said it would be - with huge costs for business.

"From the record increase in red tape hitting our exporters to the loss of the Erasmus scheme, Boris Johnson's Conservative Government's response to the worst economic downturn in 300 years is - to make it more difficult to trade. More difficult to do business. More difficult to keep your job. The Tories seem determined to make us smaller, poorer and more isolated...

Responding to Douglas Ross' speech this morning declaring that he is in charge of the Scottish Conservative election campaign, not the PM, Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chair Alistair Carmichael MP said:

"The idea that the Douglas Ross tail is going to way the Boris Johnson dog is laughable. He nominated Johnson to be party leader. He got his own job because Boris Johnson wanted him in post. He even switched sides on Brexit to match Boris Johnson.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat spring conference has today adopted a package of proposals designed to boost the economy and help Scotland to put the recovery from the pandemic first, with a focus on skills and long-term career advice, new graduate placements with small businesses, new retraining grants for people who need them, and enabling more employee and community ownership of businesses.

Responding to comments from Ian Blackford saying another independence referendum could take place in 2021, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

"Another independence referendum will do nothing for the hundreds of thousands of people whose operations have been cancelled, or the children whose education has been disrupted.

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has welcomed news that the United States will end retaliatory tariffs imposed on Scottish whisky, which have cost the industry as much as £500m and lowered US exports by 35% since they were first imposed in 2019. The Biden administration has agreed to lower the 25% tariffs for four months ahead of wider negotiations with the EU. The drop in tariffs also applies to other products including cheese, pork and cashmere.

Speaking after he pressed the First Minister to release the OECD report into Scottish education, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

"It should not take a threat to the job of the Deputy First Minister before the Government complies with the will of parliament once again.

"It's been two weeks since the parliament voted for the OECD education report to be published. The First Minister said we should judge her on her record on education but that can't be done if such an important report is hidden from the voters at the election.