Liberal Democrats What the Liberal Democrats achieved in 2023



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It's been an incredible year, John!



With outstanding election wins, a return to in-person Conferences, and making
impactful changes in Parliament, locally and beyond -2023 has been a brilliant
year for the Liberal Democrats.



Here are some of our party’s top achievements of the year!



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A new Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton & Frome



19,213

Conservative majority overturned


11,008

new Liberal Democrat majority


29%

swing to the Liberal Democrats


In July, Sarah Dyke became our 15th MP with a sensational win in Somerton &
Frome. Since then, Sarah has been working hard for her constituents, giving
them the representation they deserve.

It’s great to be able to say that the Lib Dems are back in the West Country!

This win would not have been possible without the hundreds of volunteers who
joined us on this campaign - your dedication and hard work made this happen!

And another thank you to everyone who helped on the hard-fought campaign in
Mid Bedfordshire, where we doubled our vote share!


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A stellar performance at May’s Local Elections



407

councillors net gain


12

councils gained majority control


20%

national vote share


The local elections in May showed the giant strides we are taking nationally.

This was the highest number of councils gained by the Lib Dems since 1995,
and we held all 17 councils we were defending. Plus, our 20% national vote
share was our highest since 2010!

We’re taking the fight to the Conservatives in the Blue Wall and beyond, and
winning against Labour too!


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The return of in-person Conferences


We held our Spring Conference in York and Autumn Conference in Bournemouth -
and it was great to see so many of you there or joining online!

After a few years of purely online events, it was great to come together
again in-person, to celebrate our achievements and build our momentum for the
future.

Across these two events, we heard from current and future Lib Dem MPs, plus
some incredible guest speakers.

And we passed policy - at Autumn Conference, we passed 23 motions, including
our pre-manifesto,For a Fair Deal <[link removed]>. If you
haven’t had a chance to read it, please do - it’ll form the basis of our
manifesto going into the General Election.


For A Fair Deal ➜ <[link removed]>

And if you don’t have the time now, keep an eye on your inbox for the email
series we’re currently sending you, which breaks down the policies in our
pre-manifesto.


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Landmark legislation



Here are just some of our achievements in Parliament this year:

Worker Protection Act

Wera Hobhouse MP’s Private Members’ Bill (PMB) on workplace sexual harassment
became law, steered through the Lords by Baroness Burt.

This legislation makes employers liable to their employees if they have not
taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment, effectively shifting the
responsibility for prevention from individual employees to employers.



Read more ➜
<[link removed]>



Carer’s Leave Act

Wendy Chamberlain MP’s PMB on leave for carers also became law, steered
through the Lords by Lord Fox.

The law will give an estimated 2.4 million carers across the UK a statutory
right to take five days of unpaid leave per year, helping unpaid carers better
balance their work and caring responsibilities.



Read more ➜
<[link removed]>



Defeating the Government on nutrient neutrality laws

Liberal Democrat Peers helped to successfully defeat the Government's plans
to ditch nutrient neutrality laws, which force builders to prove their projects
are 'nutrient neutral' in protected areas. This would have increased river
pollution and further degraded water quality.



Read more ➜ <[link removed]>



Of course , it would not be possible to mention everything our MPs, Peers and
their teams have achieved and that is testament to all their hard work.


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In the Media 📰


We made the headlines in print and on the airwaves in 2023. Here are some
highlights…

Ed Davey MP was interviewed by the Guardian in May. In this frank and
personal piece, Ed opens up about his childhood and his role as a carer to his
son.


Read more ➜
<[link removed]>

During his speech to Autumn Conference in Bournemouth, Ed announced a landmark
policy to boost survival rates for cancer - calling for a new legal right to
cancer treatment within two months of an urgent referral in England. This
gained significant media coverage.


Read more ➜ <[link removed]>

As the UK's first British-Palestinian MP, Layla Moran MP has been taking to
the airwaves to support the party's position in calling for a resolution to the
conflict in Israel and Gaza. In this interview on the BBC with Victoria
Derbyshire, Layla shares the harrowing accounts of her family trapped in Gaza.


Watch ➜ <[link removed]>




Our impact online 🛜

<[link removed]>
Most-watched video

Ed Davey MP’s keynote speech at Spring Conference in York was his first at an
in-person Conference since becoming leader. It’s no surprise then that this was
our most-watched video on Youtube of 2023.

Watch ➜ <[link removed]>

And if you didn’t catch Ed’s speech to Autumn Conference, you can do so here
<[link removed]>.

<[link removed]>
Top post on Social Media

In January, Conservative MPs passed new regulations that will allow water
companies to continue dumping sewage into our rivers and seas for another 15
years.

Naturally, we posted a list of all those Conservative MPs who did so on X
(formerly Twitter). It gained around 10 million views, 10 thousand reposts and
10 thousand likes.

View our top post ➜ <[link removed]>

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These are just some of the highlights from a busy year for the Liberal
Democrats…

And next year is going to be even bigger.

2024 will be the year of the General Election - what we have all been working
towards.

We can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together, so here’s to a very happy
new year and to many successes to come!

Best wishes,




Liberal Democrats


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What will you do in 2024, John?



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