The Bath Philharmonia is an orchestra based in Bath. They collaborated with Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey on the 2024 Christmas charity single "Love is Enough".
Bath Philharmonia is one of the leading professional orchestras in the South-West of England. Jason Thornton is the orchestra's Artistic Director.
On 28 November 2024, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey released the Christmas charity single "Love is Enough" featuring Bath Philharmonia, entering the race to secure the Christmas number one. [1] His decision to do a Christmas song was inspired by his time as a chorister when he was a teenager. All money raised from downloads and streams of the song will go to the Carers Trust and Bath Philarmonia. [2] Davey said of the song: “I hope people listen to this song and download it and are as impressed as I am by the amazing talent of these young carers. I hope people take some time this Christmas to think about this amazing group of people who look after their loved ones from such an early age. This time of year is tough for all carers, particularly young ones - let's put them in the spotlight.” [3]
The Darkness are an English rock band that formed in Lowestoft, England in 2000. The band consists of Justin Hawkins, his brother Dan Hawkins, Frankie Poullain and Rufus Tiger Taylor.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. The band gained in popularity when they began touring in 1999 after completing their second album, The Christmas Attic, the year previous. In 2007, The Washington Post referred to them as "an arena-rock juggernaut" and described their music as "Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall." TSO has sold more than ten million concert tickets and over ten million albums. The band has released a series of rock operas: Christmas Eve and Other Stories, The Christmas Attic, Beethoven's Last Night, The Lost Christmas Eve, their two-disc Night Castle and Letters From the Labyrinth. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also known for their extensive charity work and elaborate concerts, which include a string section, a light show, lasers, moving trusses, video screens, and effects synchronized to music.
Sir Edward Jonathan Davey is a British politician who has been the leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2020, having acted in the position from 2019 to 2020. He served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015 and as deputy leader to Jo Swinson in 2019. An "Orange Book" liberal who has often advocated for carers, Davey has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston and Surbiton since 2017, previously holding the seat from 1997 to 2015.
John Gilbert Brogden is an Australian businessman, philanthropist, and former politician. He was a Liberal Party member for Pittwater in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from May 1996 until his resignation in August 2005, and served as the leader of the opposition in New South Wales from 2002 to 2005.
Hillsong Music is Christian music produced by Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia as well as offshoot churches, Hillsong London, and Hillsong Kyiv. Hillsong albums are released and distributed by Hillsong Music. The main groups are Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United, Hillsong Young & Free, and Hillsong Kids.
The Liberal Democrat Conference, also known inside the party as the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference, is a twice-per-year political conference of the British Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the UK by the number of seats in the House of Commons, and the fourth largest by popular vote after the 2024 general election. The Conference is typically held over three days in Spring and four in Autumn, during the party conference season, at a variety of venues. It culminates in a speech by the party's Leader.
The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. They are based at Liberal Democrat Headquarters, near Westminster, and the current leader of the party is Ed Davey. They are the third-largest party in the United Kingdom, with 72 members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons. They have 78 members of the House of Lords, four members of the Scottish Parliament, one member in the Welsh Senedd, and more than 3,000 local council seats. The party holds a twice-per-year Liberal Democrat Conference, at which party policy is formulated. In contrast to its main opponents' rules, the Liberal Democrats grant all members attending its Conference the right to vote on party policy, under a one member, one vote system. The party also allows its members to vote online for its policies and in the election of a new leader.
Even Better Than the Disco Thing is an Irish charity album released by the commercial FM radio station, Today FM, for the Christmas market on 21 November 2008. The album features covers of well-known disco songs by a selection of Irish musicians. Disc one features sixteen tracks, whilst disc two is labelled "Mix CD" and contains twelve of the same sixteen tracks all over again. All the songs were performed and recorded live on The Ray D'Arcy Show. The title is a pun on the Even Better Than the Real Thing series of charity CDs recorded in previous years on D'Arcy's show, but temporarily discontinued after the third edition in 2005. They themselves are a reference to the U2 song "Even Better Than the Real Thing". Funds raised were donated to the National Children's Hospital and Barretstown.
An election to Cumbria County Council took place on 2 May 2009 as part of the 2009 United Kingdom local elections. All 84 councillors were elected from various electoral divisions, which returned one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. They coincided with an election for the European Parliament. All 84 seats in the Council were up for election, and a total of 301 candidates stood. The total number of people registered to vote was 392,931. Prior to the election local Conservatives were leading a coalition with the Liberal Democrats with the Labour party as the council's official opposition.
Layla Michelle Moran is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She has served as the Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee since September 2024, and has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Oxford West and Abingdon since 2017.
Gavin Carr is a British conductor and baritone working with major choruses in the UK and appearing in opera and concert in the UK and around the globe.
The list that follows is the Liberal Democrats frontbench team led by Paddy Ashdown, who was party leader from 1988 to 1999. Initially known as a frontbench team, the Lib Dems began to refer to their Frontbench Team as a "Shadow Cabinet" during the leadership of Ashdown's successor, Charles Kennedy, although the use of the term is controversial.
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of the same name, became Jett's highest-charting hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.
The 2017 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the resignation of Tim Farron as leader on 14 June 2017, after just under two years as leader of the Liberal Democrats. At the close of applications on 20 July 2017, Vince Cable was the only nominated candidate and was therefore declared the new leader of the party.
Jane Winifred Dodds is a Welsh politician who has served as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire at the seat's 2019 by-election, but was an MP for only three months before being defeated in the general election later the same year. In May 2021, Dodds was elected to the Senedd on the Mid and West Wales list. She is the only Liberal Democrat MS in the Senedd.
The 2019 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the announcement of the resignation of Vince Cable as leader on 24 May 2019, after just under two years as leader of the Liberal Democrats in the United Kingdom. The two candidates to succeed Cable were Ed Davey and Jo Swinson.
The 2020 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held in August 2020, after Jo Swinson, the previous leader of the Liberal Democrats, lost her seat in the 2019 general election. It was initially set to be held in July 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was delayed by six weeks, having been at first postponed until May 2021.
Ed Davey was appointed as Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Jo Swinson. Davey announced his first frontbench team as Acting Leader in January 2020.
The Climate and Nature Bill, formerly promoted as the Climate and Ecology Bill, is a private member's bill before the Parliament of the United Kingdom aimed at tackling the climate crisis and environmental disaster.
In British politics, the blue wall is a set of parliamentary constituencies in southern England which have traditionally voted for the Conservative Party, but generally opposed Brexit and are seen as being potentially vulnerable to gains either by the Liberal Democrats or the Labour Party. This shift was noticeable in the UK general elections of 2017 and 2019. In 2024 many of these seats did indeed fall to the Liberal Democrats and Labour Party.