I am delighted to announce that Heidi Allen has joined the Liberal Democrats.

I'm delighted to welcome Heidi to the party. She has been a tireless campaigner for a people's vote and has time and time again put the country's interests ahead of her own.

I'm absolutely thrilled for Heidi to join our fantastic and ever-growing team and I know that her skills, experience and passion will be a real asset to our party.

When I became an MP in 2015, I could never have imagined we would find ourselves in this position. Through the prudent and practical decisions taken during the coalition years, the economy was recovering and our country was on the up.

Coming from business, joining the Conservative Party seemed the logical thing to do. But two general elections and an EU referendum later, the landscape has shifted beyond all recognition.

Introduction

The Liberal Democrats are a Federal Party comprising England, Scotland and Wales with all their powers defined by the Party's Constitution. This principle embodies one of our most deeply held core values, which is our belief in the devolution of power to the most appropriate level.

Consequently, the separation of power between the Federal and State parties is enshrined in the Constitution, and can only be varied with the agreement of Federal Conference and the Conferences and Conventions of all three state parties.

This has undoubtedly been a great start to the year. Thanks go to all the local campaigners who over the years never gave up and continued to deliver Focuses, campaign and push the Lib Dem message in their communities. When the opportunity came following Tory mismanagement of Brexit, we were ready and prepared to secure gains in the local elections. Over seven hundred local council seats gained - fantastic!

It was Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th President of the United States, who said, "Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then we shall find the way."

That describes, somewhat, where the Chair of The English Party (EP), Tahir Maher, and I are at in relation to co-ordinating my efforts, as Party Vice President, with the EP in working with BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) communities.

We havea fantastic slate of candidates who have received enough nominations to stand for one of our party committees. Find out who is standing here, and our commisserations to everyone who didn't make it.

President

• Christine Jardine
• Mark Pack

Federal Board

• Alistair Bigos
• Anita Lower
• April Preston
• Belinda Brooks-Gordon
• Ben Nutland
• Candy Piercy
• Caron Lindsay
• Christine Cheng
• David Buxton
• David Craddock
• David Simpson
• Elaine Bagshaw
• Garth Shephard
• Gerald Vernon-Jackson
• Graham Neale
• Humaira Sanders
• James Gurling
• Johnny Corbett
• Josephine Hayes
• Joyce Onstad
• Kishan Devani
• Lisa-Maria Bornemann
• Luke Cawley-Harrison
• Neil Fawcett
• Prue Bray
• Rachelle Shepherd Dubey
• Rebecca Forest
• Roisin Miller
• Ross Pepper
• Ross Stalker
• Ruby Chow
• Simon Clarke
• Simon McGrath
• Theo Butt Philip

This morning, the Office for National Statistics published a shocking set of figures. They show that 726 homeless people died in 2018 - a 22% increase since 2017.

This is an epidemic that is claiming far too many lives, and the Conservative Government is completely failing to get to grips with it.

This is an epidemic that is claiming far too many lives

Black History Month is a time to focus our national attention on the history and legacy of black British communities. Each year it is an opportunity to acknowledge the central role that black people have played in transforming the social, political and economic landscape of our country.

Let us empower the next generation of activists and trailblazers and do all we can to ensure that their achievements will never be absent from the history books.

At sunset today, Jewish communities in the UK will come together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. For the millions observing, this is a time of self-examination, reflection and personal change.

For the millions observing, this is a time of self-examination, reflection and personal change.