Local Lib Dems Welcome Peer

North East Essex Liberal Democrats welcomed Baroness Lynne Featherstone to Manningtree last Friday. Baroness Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat peer and the party's Spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change, spoke to a packed meeting about her time in Government and Brexit.

Baroness Featherstone expressed her concerns over the Government's actions so far and its refusal to guarantee the rights of EU nationals living and working in the UK. She took questions from members who expressed serious concerns about Brexit and the impact it will have across the country. A member who works for the NHS expressed their concern for the health service, which has seen serious cost increases since the pound collapsed after the vote in June. Another said that she was worried about farmers losing their subsidies, which many local jobs depend upon.

North East Essex Liberal Democrat (NEELD) Chair, Rain Welham-Cobb, said "Locally, we have seen our membership more than double since 2015, with the bulk of people joining after the referendum. Even in Clacton, which voted strongly to leave the EU, we've had many new members join, expressing their dislike of the Government's hard Brexit. With rising prices and uncertainty for businesses, the negatives consequences of the Conservatives' hard Brexit policy are becoming clearer by the day. Across the country, people are rejecting the Government's plans and joining the Liberal Democrats."