Type | Associated Organisation of the Liberal Democrats |
---|---|
Purpose | Support and promote policies which lead to peace and security for Israel |
President | Baron Palmer |
Vice Presidents | Baron Alliance Alan Beith Baroness Ludford |
Affiliations | Liberal Democrats |
Website | Official website |
Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel (LDFI) is an associated organisation whose stated objective is to 'maximise support for the State of Israel within the British Liberal Democrat Party', and to 'promote policies which lead to peace and security for Israel within a Middle East peace settlement'. [1]
The Liberal Friends of Israel group was the first friends of Israel group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[ citation needed ]
The SDP Friends of Israel group was formed in July 1981 with Bill Rodgers as President. [2]
The Liberal Friends of Israel and the SDP Friends of Israel groups were amalgamated into the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel when the parties merged in 1988.
In July 2020, the LDFI issued a statement expressing "deep concern" about plans by the Israeli government to annex part of the West Bank. [3]
In October 2020, the LDFI and the Board of Deputies of British Jews jointly wrote to Mendip District Council urging it to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, after the council voted unanimously against adopting it. [4]
The President of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel is Lord Palmer of Childs Hill. The Vice Presidents are Lord Beith, Lord Alliance, and Baroness Ludford. The Chair is Gavin Stollar and the Vice Chair is Jonathan Davies. [5]
In alphabetical order, members of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel include:
Alan James Beith, Baron Beith, is a British Liberal Democrat politician who represented Berwick-upon-Tweed as its Member of Parliament (MP) from 1973 to 2015.
Mark Oaten is a British politician who was a senior member of the Liberal Democrats. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Winchester from 1997 to 2010.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established in 1760 by a group of Sephardic Jews, the board presents itself as a forum for the views of most organisations within the British Jewish community, liaising with the British government on that basis. Notably, while Lord Rothschild was President of the Board of Deputies, the Balfour Declaration was addressed to him and eventually led to the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine. It is affiliated to the World Jewish Congress and the European Jewish Congress. The current president is Phil Rosenberg.
Jennifer Louise Tonge, Baroness Tonge is a politician in the United Kingdom. She was Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond Park in London from 1997 to 2005. In June 2005 she was made a life peer as Baroness Tonge, of Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, which entitled her to a seat in the House of Lords.
Sarah Ann Ludford, Baroness Ludford is a British-Irish Liberal Democrat politician and member of the House of Lords. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 1999 until 2014.
William John Lawrence Wallace, Baron Wallace of Saltaire,, is a British academic, writer, and Liberal Democrat politician, who was a Lord in Waiting from 2010 to 2015.
Thomas McNally, Baron McNally, PC is a British politician and a former Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords.
Yachad is a non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom. It describes itself as "pro-Israel, pro-peace".
Cambridge University Liberal Association (CULA) is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at Cambridge University.
In the 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election, Sir Menzies Campbell was elected to succeed Charles Kennedy as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom.
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party and the Israeli Labor Party. LFI says it supports a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with Israel recognised and secure within its borders, and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. As of July 2020, it comprises around one quarter of the Parliamentary Labour Party and one third of the Shadow Cabinet.
Richard Gordon Holme, Baron Holme of Cheltenham CBE, PC was a British Liberal Democrat politician.
The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. Party members elect the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the head and highest-ranking member of the party. Liberal Democrat members of Parliament also elect a deputy leader of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons, often colloquially referred to as the deputy leader. Under the federal constitution of the Liberal Democrats the leader is required to be a member of the House of Commons.
The 2007 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held following the resignation of Sir Menzies Campbell as leader on 15 October 2007, after 19 months as leader of the Liberal Democrats, the third-largest political party in the United Kingdom. Vince Cable, the deputy leader of the parliamentary party, was acting leader until the conclusion of the leadership election. The result was announced on 18 December 2007 with Nick Clegg winning by a narrow margin of 1.2%.
The Israel lobby in the United Kingdom are individuals and groups seeking to influence the foreign policy of the United Kingdom in favour of bilateral ties with Israel, Zionism, Israel, or the policies of the Israeli government. As any lobby, such individuals and groups may seek to influence politicians and political parties, the media, the general public or specific groups or sectors.
Liberal Democrat Friends of Turkey (LDFoT) is a UK-based campaign group promoting support within the British Liberal Democrat Party for a strong bilateral relationship between Britain and Turkey. It also seeks to strengthen the bond between the British Liberal Democrats and Turkish liberals, organising meetings in both the UK and Turkey between senior figures.
The Liberal Democrats are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1988. 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 79 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 the conference the right to speak in debates and 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.
David Ward is a British politician who was elected as the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford East at the 2010 general election. He lost his seat in 2015 when the Labour Party candidate Imran Hussain defeated him by 7,000 votes. Before his election to parliament, he was a councillor in Bradford for 26 years, and returned to local politics as a councillor from 2016 until his defeat in 2021 and returned again in 2024.
The list that follows is the Liberal Democrats Frontbench Team/Shadow Cabinet led by Menzies Campbell from 2006 to 2007.
The 2015 Liberal Democrats leadership election was held on 16 July 2015 following the resignation of Nick Clegg as leader on 8 May 2015, after almost eight years as leader of the Liberal Democrats, following the party's poor performance at the 2015 general election.