Stirling and Clackmannanshire Liberal Democrats

The Scottish Liberal Democrat conference has today backed plans to revamp the immigration system, by making it more welcoming and accessible, and to force the UK Government to explicitly recognise the value of EU workers to British businesses, public services and culture.

Among the proposals, the conference demanded

The Scottish Liberal Democrat conference has today endorsed plans to tighten licensing for puppy sales and crack down on puppy farming. Sales of puppies from illegal factories in Scotland are estimated to have topped £13m last year.

Proposals for the Scottish Government include:

• Banning third party sales of dogs
• Banning the sale of dogs under 8 weeks old
• Introducing new licences to cover the sale of pets
• Increasing maximum penalties for animal cruelty

The Scottish Liberal Democrat spring conference has today called for a halt to the merger of British Transport Police into Police Scotland and an independent commission to propose legislative solutions to repair the damage caused by the SNP's botched police centralisation.

Speaking after the debate, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said:

The Scottish Liberal Democrat conference has today endorsed proposals for the government to launch a refreshed cervical cancer screening awareness campaign.

At present an estimated 4,500 lives are saved by cervical cancer screenings in the UK each year. With early detection almost all cervical abnormalities can be treated.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie will address the party's spring conference today and pay tribute to his party's ability to set the agenda on public policy in Scotland.

Mr Rennie is expected to say:

"Through our persistence we have successfully made the case for a liberal, open, progressive Scotland.

The Liberal Democrats won two of the council by-elections that were held last night (with one still to declare!), gaining two seats from the Conservatives!

The Liberal Democrats, under Vince Cable, are winning seats up and down the country and against all opposition - because people know when they elect Liberal Democrats, they're electing someone who'll get things done for their community!

As the Scottish Parliament debates safe injecting facilities, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has reaffirmed his support for such facilities and called for new steps to educate people on the dangers drugs pose and tackle record numbers of drug deaths.

Mr Cole-Hamilton's amendment to the Government's motion calls for:

Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie used his question at FMQs today to lambast the government for its "record of shame" on mental health and call for investment in perinatal mental health services across the country.

New research by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance has revealed Scotland is trailing behind the rest of the UK in terms of new investment in mental health services for new and expecting mothers and the provision of local specialist services.

Responding to Work & Pensions Secretary Esther McVey's appearance before the Social Security Committee, where she explained the processes behind the so called "rape clause", Scottish Liberal Democrat social security spokesperson Caron Lindsay said:

"The Secretary of State's justifications for the two child tax credit cap and the rape clause were both unconvincing and shameless.

He criticised the effective monopolies enjoyed by the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon - comparing their market dominance to that of big oil companies in the past - and suggested ways they could be broken up.

"Data is the new oil. Data is the raw material which drives these firms and it is control of data which gives them an advantage over competitors. These companies have acquired their pivotal position by providing a service or platform through which data can be extracted, collected and used.

Just as Standard Oil once cornered 85% of the refined oil market, today Google drives 89% of internet search, 95% of young adults on the internet use a Facebook product, Amazon accounts for 75% of E-book sales, while Google and Apple combined provide 99% of mobile operating systems.

National government and, even more so, supranational bodies like the EU can and should look to break up enterprises where size is detrimental to the economic well-being of the country, its citizens and its capacity for innovation.

There is a case for splitting Amazon into three separate businesses - one offering cloud computing, one acting as a general retailer and one offering a third-party marketplace. Other examples would be Facebook being forced to divest itself of Instagram and WhatsApp as a condition for operating in the EU, creating two new social media networks. Divesting Google of YouTube would be another.

What is striking that the most effective competition authority in the capitalist world - the European Commission - is probably the only body with the clout to take these decisions. The UK could quite obviously never do it alone.

Britain commits an act of serious self-harm by doggedly setting itself apart from the power of shared sovereignty with our neighbours.