Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸

26, caseworker for @libdems mp, he/him, @lufc and @frickleyafc

[Tom Gordon MP @tomgordonLD]

🏳️‍🌈 Happy Pride Month.

I will not stand by while anyone is excluded from participating in public life because there are no facilities they can safely use.
Not now. Not ever.

The Conservative Party would rather pander to a MAGA-style culture war than challenge poor guidance.

The Labour Government wants to pretend there was consensus around the appointment of the new EHRC Chair. There was not.

The Greens didn't show up.

The Liberal Democrats have been clear from the start: the EHRC's guidance must be inclusive, workable and provide clarity, so that nobody is left worried about whether they can safely access public facilities, and no individual, business or service provider is exposed to unnecessary legal risk.

🏳️‍⚧️ Trans rights are human rights.

[Ed Davey @EdwardJDavey]

As the Champions League final kicks off today, football fans are being priced out by TNT Sports locking it behind a paywall.

While the PM has politely asked TNT to make it free, I’m calling on the government to change the law and guarantee these games are always free-to-air!

[Siôn Davies🌹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @SionSteffan]

1/6

There’s been a bit of discourse about parliamentary staff pay recently.

As a staffer I welcome it! MPs should absolutely pay staff decent wages.

But blaming Labour or any other MP alone misses the real issue - IPSA.

[Fred Dimbleby @freddimbleby]

"It's really frustrating when we hear the party leadership and Ed Davey talking about the Lib Dems being the antidote to Reform", says Lib Dem MP @tomgordonLD after losses in the North

He says the party needs a "better message"

On @ITVLastOrders

https://t.co/17YxDvzgpm

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@packe46065 @JBennett_1919 @a_lister2 Glad you’re not the manager!

[Duncan Stott 🏗️🔰🇺🇦 @DuncanStott]

Still astonished by these comments from Davey. Lib Dem activists across urban England will have fought really hard as local election candidates. Their leader basically doesn't believe in their fight. What dreadful leadership.

[Rob Blackie 🔶 @robblackie]

Ed Davey thinks that there's not much that can be done about the Liberal Democrats losing votes to the Greens in urban areas.

This is utterly wrong - and a sign of something gone badly wrong that he is saying this.

[Tom Gordon MP @tomgordonLD]

Congratulations to my mum on her re-election, along with Cllr Rachel Speak’s. Sadly, we didn’t get Sharon over the line with them.

Lib Dems are now the largest opposition party on Wakefield Council & will take on the role of holding the new Reform-run administration to account.

[Snakes🐍 @savemylove4u]

This is what I feel like writing cover letters

[Luke Tryl @LukeTryl]

Actually think this is worthy of proper look at where the balance should sit. Rather than immediate this is idiotic/this is sensible.

On the one hand, there have both been cases where drinking on the estate has led to inappropriate (and worse) behaviour or MPs drinking so recklessly they can’t possibly be said to be doing their job. That needs to be tackled.

On the other on a series of issues like this I think we weight very often towards the (important) but immediately tangible harms against the other side of the ledger.

There is likely some good for MPs rather than sitting in their offices before voting at night, building relationships/tackling polarisation over a drink together. Those types of experiences do tend to lead to better relationships. You can argue it shouldn’t/shouldn’t need to be over booze, but that is how it is for many people. Politics ultimately functions on relationships and there are harms when those relationships don’t form.

I read a really interesting piece once about polarisation in the US. When congress people spent less time in their districts/states it meant they spent the weekends getting to know one another and helped keep polarisation in check, now they spend more time back ‘home’ that’s obviously a good for their constituents, but maybe bad for legislation/getting things done as it’s easier to demonise someone/harder to build trust with someone you don’t know.

It goes beyond politics too, the new proposed stricter drink driving laws are clearly important if they save lives, but if they lead to a breakdown a sense of community in rural areas that’s a harm to be considered too - but again the harm is less tangible. That shouldn’t mean you don’t have strict drink driving laws, but it might mitigate against a zero drink policy . Or something like Martyn’s law was a response to a horrific failure, but if the requirements lead to more community venues/events closing down as has been suggested that’s a harm on the other side

I wish we had better ways of taking into account intangible often social harms that come through efforts to tackle more visible harms and where to set the balance.

[Evie ♡ @EFCevie]

happy st george’s day for those who celebrate

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@PushTheSutton Those halloumi wraps! A big miss from my (brief) Lancaster days. Happy birthday pal 🎉

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@frickleyafc Underrated across the last season and a half! Best of luck Will!

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@martmannion Ahahahahaha

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@kade_bladeSE25 @LUFC Ahahahahah

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@frickleyafc How many of them paying? 😅

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@fe1ixa @greengeorgemw https://t.co/r5XKUiYUUZ

[Chris Howden 🔶🇺🇦🇵🇸 @chrishowden14]

@frickleyafc The lads at the back of the stand who never stopped singing 🔵⚪️🔵