I think this is a very thought-provoking video, and we must be aware of the arguments made here if we are to improve britain's situation.

Part 2 of the video I posted earlier.

Mark Pack puts the chance of a 2026 general election at 30%. Labour staff are rumoured to have been told to cancel their leave in November and December.

The betting markets had the chance of a 2026 GE at 19/1 yesterday, shortening to 15/1 today.

Andy Burnham would have to be mad to pull a Theresa May and go early, right?

My policy areas of focus are:

Labour Movement (Unions, Federation of Labours, Labour Councils, and so on of the organized labour sphere. Also just in general moving forward workers rights/benefits that help all working demographics.)

Climate/Environment (Renewable Energy, Electrification Technology, Conservation, in general things that protect the natural world. We already live in a polycrisis world. We don't need a worsening climate/environmental crisis on top of everything.)

Women's Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights, Civil Rights In General (People/families matter. A society of healthy and happy equals a much better society.)

Peace Movement (We have a lot of war already in this world. We need to find ways to strengthen peace and protect the most vulnerable. Also the growing themes of domestic/international militarization and surveillance are dark and dystopian in trajectory.)

Housing, Housing, HOUSING! (It's a huge huge part of the affordability of life crisis/quality of life crisis of the working class and most vulnerable.)

When it comes to your #1 policy at any level of government to make things brighter & better for the working class and most vulnerable what is it? What do you think the Lib Dems should really have as their showstopper piece of policy focus? :)

I've been thinking about this following a discussion on the minimum wage.

We often talk about how broken our political and economic systems are, but I think we need to get a better understanding of where things are going wrong and what we could actually do to change them.

There needs to be proper, in-depth research into many of these issues. But I thought we could start a discussion here.

What examples of waste, failing systems, poor regulation or bad political decisions do you think need challenging?

Ideally, share a source or reference to back up your example, and if possible, suggest what could be done differently.

I'll get the ball rolling with two examples:

1. Private finance and public money

The A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough road was operated under a 30-year private-finance contract. According to a parliamentary answer in May 2026, the total forecast cost to taxpayers was around £709.5 million. That includes financing, operation and maintenance, but it raises questions about whether these contracts offer value for money.

"Source: UK Parliament" (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-05-18/2522)

1. Water companies and regulation

Ofwat reported that pollution incidents increased again in 2024–25, while customer satisfaction reached its lowest level since the measure began in 2020–21. It raises questions about how effectively essential services are regulated and whether customers are getting what they're paying for.

"Source: Ofwat" (https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/regulated-companies/company-obligations/outcomes/water-company-performance-report-2024-25/)

These are just two examples. I'm sure there are plenty more across housing, energy, transport, taxation, public services and government contracts.

I'm not looking to turn this into a party-blaming exercise. Different governments have contributed to different problems over the years.

What I'd really like is for us to start identifying the problems, understanding the facts and discussing practical solutions.

Perhaps we can bring together some worthwhile ideas that the Lib Dems could explore and push for change.

So, what part of the system would you change, why, and what evidence supports it?

Let's see what we can come up with.

Meanwhile the Lib Dems are lucky to be mentioned by name.

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It's Budget week.

Chancellor John Healey sets out the government’s tax plans in the Commons on Wednesday. MPs then debate them on Thursday and into next week.

Before that, MPs turn to unsafe cladding.

They'll debate a new government bill which would make building owners fix dangerous cladding, and let councils step in if they don’t.

Meanwhile, the Lords pick up the Courts and Tribunals Bill.

It cleared the Commons the week before last.

MONDAY 26 OCTOBER

No votes scheduled

TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER

Developer Contributions (Infrastructure Delivery) Bill
Sets rules on how the financial contributions property developers make towards local infrastructure are spent. Also defines the powers and responsibilities councils have over that money. Ten minute rule motion presented by James Naish. More information not available at this stage.

Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill – 2nd reading
Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland (part), Northern Ireland (part)
Requires owners of residential blocks with unsafe cladding to assess the fire risks and fix them, with fines and criminal offences for those who fail. Lets councils apply to take over repairs where owners don’t act, creates a register of medium-rise blocks, and gives regulators new powers to find out who owns a building. Also makes it easier for people who have paid for repairs to claim the money back from the manufacturers of the unsafe cladding products.
Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing

WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER

The Budget
The chancellor delivers the Budget, followed by debate.

THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER

Budget debate
Continued from Wednesday.

FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER

No votes scheduled

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Saw Daisy Cooper this morning on Laura K. And well done Lib Dems. She could not bring herself to support free movement, instead pushing some fantasy deal where we have all the benefits of the single market but none of the difficult trade offs. Then the triple lock. Oh yes we have to keep it, although every sane voter knows that’s unaffordable. And then finally a Santa budget with lots of goodies for everybody. With no commitment on how to pay for it. No wonder everybody has stopped listening.
Come on Lib Dems! Pick yourself up! Just a lot less of this please.

As a young liberal member, do I get discounted tickets? On the event page, it says a donation can go towards helping young liberal members but how do I access the tickets?

Interesting proposals

• Abolish SDLT
  • Employer NI at a flat 11.5
• Abolish inheritance tax:
• Income tax reform: The personal allowance is abolished, which also removes the 60% taper trap above £100k. The new bands are 6.5% on £0–20k, 20% on £20k–52k, 40% on £52k–110k and 45% above that. Employee NI becomes a flat 4.25%.
• Abolish customs tariffs:
• Abolish eight smaller taxes, including the Bank Levy, Digital Services Tax, ATED, Air Passenger Duty and Vaping Products Duty