Many of these private members' bills simply fell off the parliamentary order paper this week - the Tory government failed to give us to debate these vital issues. Others were outright blocked. We must demand better than this broken government, distracted by their Brexit mess.

Here are our 14 progressive private members' bills the government doesn't want you to know about.

Cutting down plastic pollution

We need radical action to cut down on plastic pollution. Alistair Carmichael's bill does just that.

His bill would  require the government to commit to ambitious targets to reduce plastic pollution and report back on progress annually. It also aims to get rid of single use plastics by 2025.

If we are to truly confront climate change and pollution, our ambition must match the enormity of the challenge ahead. 

Providing end of life care for the homeless

We must do much more to help those who are rough sleeping or homeless. That means a new approach to low cost and social housing, as well as scrapping the odious Vagrancy Act that criminalises the homeless.

It also means we do more to ensure those who are terminally ill, and living on our streets, have appropriate medical care and housing support. Ed Davey's bill would do just that.

Ending the gender price gap

It's a travesty that women have to pay more than men for basic products like razors when there is virtually not difference in the product. It's just not fair.

Christine Jardine's bill to end the gender price gap seeks to end this malpractice.

Immigration armed forces bill

Serving in our armed forces is a statement of pride and commitment, and we are lucky to have members of the Commonwealth in our military. Why, then, do we levy fees on those men and women who then seek to make Britain their home after serving?

Ed Davey doesn't think this is right. His bill would remove the £2,389 per person fee for ex-service men and women to make Britain their home. Almost £10,000 for a family of four to move to the UK after their parent has served our country? It's simply wrong.

Improving access to radiotherapy 

A cancer diagnosis places a tremendous amount of stress on an individual or a family. It is one of the difficult things to face, and the government must do more to help.

Tim Farron's bill seeks to make it easier for patients to access vital radiotherapy for cancer treatment, including a maximum travel time of 45 minutes for patients to travel. 

Parental leave bill

Each year 54,000 women are forced out of their jobs due to pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the UK.

It's time to get serious about workplace discrimination against new mothers and pregnant women. Jo Swinson's bill would compel employers with over 250 people to publish information about parental leave, and their pay during the course of such leave. 

We must demand better for families across Britain and tackle this fundamental injustice.

Making it easier for asylum seekers to find work

Why are we making it harder for asylum seekers to find work? For those people forced from their homes, we should be welcoming them into Britain and giving them the opportunity to start contributing to society.

That's what Christine Jardine's bill would do. Everyone deserves the right to work and play their part. If you agree, join our campaign here.

I am SO proud of our Party today

The fight against Brexit is not over. We showed we’re closer than ever to a People’s Vote

Alongside other pro-Europeans, we showed the fight against Brexit is not over. We showed we’re closer than ever to a People’s Vote.

I’m on the train returning home from Brussels after a day speaking to European liberal leaders, ahead of the European Council, and then briefing the gathered media on the Liberal Democrat campaign for a People’s Vote, to stop Brexit.

In the news this week, it was announced that an increasing number of schools across Birmingham have stopped their LGBT+ relationship education directly as a result of protesting parents.

Warning: use of a trigger word in this article

A few days ago, I was surprised to receive an email with ‘Vice President’ in the subject title.

‘Why would the Vice President of the Party be writing to me?’ I asked myself.

Then I realised that the ‘Vice President’ WAS me…

In 1919, the Lloyd George government’s Ministry of Reconstruction published the Report on Adult Education. The report set out the fundamental importance of educational opportunities throughout life:

"Adult education is a permanent national necessity, an inseparable aspect of citizenship, and therefore should be both universal and lifelong."

Today, access to learning throughout life is no less vital for individuals or for society as a whole. But sadly, a century on, the aspirations set out in the 1919 report for an education system which is truly “universal and lifelong” is no closer to being a reality.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable convened an independent Commission on Lifelong Learning.  

This report covers their recommendations in relation to Personal Education and Skills Accounts.

No parent should have to bury their child.

It's crushing to see it happening so much in the news.

Jo started out with a heartfelt tribute to those killed in the Christchurch mosque shooting this morning.  

“The forces that sow hate and division and seek to turn fellow citizens against each other must not and cannot win”

Liberal politics for the age of identity

In a wide-ranging set of essays on Britain's future, Vince Cable casts his party not at the centre of the tranditional left-right axis, but as the leading proponent of a values-based politics, which is open, inclusive and outward-looking, not closed or narrow-minded.

He examines how liberals should respond to the 'age of identity' and proposes an ambitious program of radical reform.

Read Vince Cable's speech to Liberal Democrat Spring Conference, 2019 in York:

Our justice system is failing the vulnerable, and we should all be embarrassed about it.

Legal aid spending in England and Wales has been cut by £933 million in the last eight years. And as a direct result, we’ve seen huge reductions in support.

Across Britain, you can’t have failed to notice that our high streets and town centres are run down.

The Sutton Trust estimates 40% of young interns are working for free. Many of them are probably entitled to the National Minimum Wage. But a loophole in the law lets employers pass their roles off as "voluntary" unpaid internships.

The Liberal Democrats are changing.

Politics is utterly broken right now. Labour and the Conservatives are being dragged to the ideological extremes, leaving millions feeling powerless and frustrated with the direction our country is taking.

That needs to change. Liberal Democrats will be that force of change.

For all those who feel frustrated with our political system, who feel that we're not making the progress we desperately need on climate change, housing, NHS funding, and improving our schools, the Liberal Democrats are their home.

Liberal Democrats will be that force of change.
Ed Davey

At Spring Conference our membership approved steps to create a new Supporter Scheme.

We are opening our doors to new people to get behind our liberal campaigns, work with us to deliver real results for people across the country, and shake up the system.

What does that mean? As a Supporter you can:

• Help shape party policy
• Take part in our bold campaigns for a liberal Britain
• Get involved with Conference
• Work with the party to help shape the direction of the Liberal Democrats

If you are sick and tired of this outdated, dysfunctional politics, and believe Britain deserves better, now is the time to act. 

Sign up as a Supporter and help us change the course of Britain's Future.

Ed Davey

Q: In view of Labour’s abstention on a People’s Vote, is there any avenue to resubmit a vote on a People’s Vote? Now Jeremy Corbyn has betrayed Remainers, what will the Liberal Democrats do?

We can't afford to ignore the health problems caused by roadside air pollution. 42% of primary school children attend schools in areas which breach the legal limit of toxins from traffic exhaust.

Our children breathe this toxic air every day. It means an increased risk of asthma and other breathing problems. Not to mention health problems that can last a lifetime.

The highest percentage of these schools are state-funded nursery schools. I'm appalled that we're sending kids barely older than toddlers to schools being choked by poisonous exhaust fumes.

I'm delighted that Conference has just overwhelmingly passed a motion committing to the creation of a registered supporter’s scheme for the Liberal Democrats.
The debate was split into 7 votes. Here’s a summary of how they went down:

The Liberal Democrats have campaigned for an Exit from Brexit since the day after the 2016 Referendum. This motion reaffirms our policy of a public vote between the Governments deal and remaining in the European Union.

This motion also calls on the Government to:

• revoke Article 50 if no deal is agreed a week before we are due to leave the European Union.
• remove the deadline for settled status applications, provide additional support to those who need it.
• create an emergency Brexit Support Fund of at least £7.5 billion to mitigate job losses caused by Brexit uncertainty.
• ensure the UK’s participation in the 2019 European Parliamentary Elections, if any -extension of Article 50 means that the UK is still a member of the EU at the time of the election.

This week Jeremy Corbyn stuck two fingers up at Remainers.

Morning Conference.

It's fantastic to be back here in York… and a bit eerie for me.

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.