Brentwood Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Brian Paddick, has called for an overhaul of UK Drugs policy.

He said that the Government's new Psychoactive Substances Bill "adds to the confusion and further undermines the credibility of UK drugs laws."

His comments come during the Bill's Second Reading in the House of Lords. Lord Paddick has branded the Bill unfit for purpose with huge unintended consequences.

In a dedicated Commons session for Charles Kennedy today, Nick Clegg reflected on Charles' wisdom, humour and courage.

Nick's speech is as follows:

A few days ago I got in touch with Charles because I was looking for a telephone number of someone we both knew.

His friends will not be surprised to learn that we were texting eachother. He was notoriously bad at answering his phone but famously fluent by SMS.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of former leader of the Liberal Democrats, Charles Kennedy.

Charles was one of the greatest politicians of his generation, devoting his life to public service, having been elected as a Highlands MP at the age of 23. He was well known for his wit and charm when speaking, which touched many people beyond the world of politics.

Today (Wednesday 27 May) Nick Clegg will respond to the Queen's Speech for the Liberal Democrats.

In his first intervention in the House of Commons since the election, Nick will say:

"The Liberal Democrats worked hard to ensure that the Coalition Government's agenda had a clear thread of liberalism running through it - from the priority we gave to mental health and the green agenda, to creating the pupil premium and protecting our civil liberties.

Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington, has written about the Tories' plans to abolish the Human Rights Act. You can back our campaign to protect it here.

Tom writes:

In Coalition, the Tories said they would abolish the Human Rights Act as quickly as possible if they had their own way.

Before the election Liberal Democrats warned that if the Conservatives won a majority they would scrap the Human Rights Act.

Now the Conservatives have set out plans to abolish the Human Rights Act in the first 100 days of this Parliament.

The Human Rights Act protects your basic human rights regardless of your gender, religion or background and ensures that everyone is treated equally and fairly.

Commenting on the Conservatives' plans to introduce banning orders, Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said:

"Liberal Democrats blocked Theresa May's plans for banning orders on three different occasions.

"If she has just re-heated her original proposals, they are ill thought through, illiberal and will not tackle the problem they are supposedly designed to solve.

Since polls closed on Thursday, more than 10,000 new members have joined the Liberal Democrats.

The surge continues as Liberal Democrats across the country have been fighting back and making the case for liberal values of freedom, liberty and change.

We're recruiting people who have never joined a party in the past but want to stand together against the things this Conservative government is already promising to do.

Membership of the Liberal Democrats is now at more than 54,240.

Since polls closed on Thursday, 7296 new members have joined the Liberal Democrats.

People are joining right across the country, and these are not just people who've been members before.

We're recruiting people who have never joined a party in the past but want to stand together against the things this Conservative government is already promising to do.

Nick Clegg has written to Liberal Democrat members following the General Election. His letter is below:

Dear Friends,

I always expected this election to be exceptionally difficult for the Liberal Democrats, given the heavy responsibilities we have had to bear in government in the most challenging of circumstances.

But clearly the results have been immeasurably more crushing and unkind than I could ever have feared.

For that, of course, I must take responsibility and therefore I announce that I will be resigning as leader of the Liberal Democrats.

A leadership election will now take place according to the party's rules. Our President, Sal Brinton, will be in touch with you later on today with details of that process.

For the last seven years it has been a privilege and an honour to lead a party of the most resilient, courageous and remarkable people.

The Liberal Democrats are a family and I will always be extremely proud of the warmth, good grace and good humour which our political family has shown through the ups and downs of recent years.

I want to thank every member, every campaigner, every councillor and every parliamentarian for the commitment you have shown to our country and to our party.

It is simply heart-breaking to see so many friends and colleagues who have served their constituents so diligently over so many years abruptly lose their seats because of forces entirely beyond their control.

In 2011, after a night of disappointing election results for our party, one of our candidates in Edinburgh, Alex Cole-Hamilton said that if his defeat was part-payment for the ending of child detention then he accepted it with all his heart.

Those words revealed a selfless dignity which is rare in politics but common amongst Liberal Democrats.

We will never know how many lives we changed for the better because we had the courage to step up at a time of crisis.

But we have done something that cannot be undone.

Because there can be no doubt that we leave Government with Britain a far stronger, fairer, greener and more liberal country than it was five years ago.

However unforgiving the judgement has been of the Liberal Democrats in the ballot box, I believe the history books will judge our party kindly for the service we sought to provide to the nation at a time of great economic difficultly and for the policies and values which we brought to bear on government - opportunity, fairness and liberty - which I believe will stand the test of time.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the absence of strong and statesmanlike leadership, Britain's place in Europe and the world, and the continued existence of our United Kingdom itself, is now in grave jeopardy.

And the cruellest irony of all is that it is exactly at this time that British liberalism - that fine, noble tradition that believes that we are stronger together and weaker apart - is more needed than ever before.

We must keep fighting for it.

That is both the great challenge and the great cause that my successor will have to face.

I will always give my unstinting support to all those who continue to keep the flame of British liberalism alive.

On the morning after the most crushing blow to the Liberal Democrats since our party was founded it is easy to imagine that there is no road back.

But there is because there is no path to a fairer, greener, freer Britain without British liberalism showing the way.

This is a very dark hour for our party but we cannot and will not allow decent liberal values to be extinguished overnight.

Our party will come back. Our party will win again.

It will take patience, resilience and grit. But that is what has built our party before - and will rebuild it again.

Thank you, so much, for everything you have done.

Nick Clegg