Councillor Carole Mulroney, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Southend Borough Council talks about the new Independent Group in Westminster:

"The dramatic scenes we have all witnessed in Westminster over the last few days make it abundantly clear that both the Tories and Labour are parties divided amongst themselves and are offering nothing of clarity or unity to a divided country.

Politics is broken.

Labour is broken.

Seven former Labour MPs have resigned their party and have come out today saying they are embarrassed and ashamed of Labour today.

Labour is a party that has for years been pulled to the hard, extremist left.

A party that has done nothing to address the bullying and antisemitism in their midst.

A party that is enabling the Tories on Brexit.

As these seven MPs have worked out - something has to change.

Labour is not alone in seeing their party tear themselves apart in recent months. The Conservative party looks every bit as divided and fractious towards their leader as Labour does, and there are many Conservative MPs and members whose views no also longer align with the hard right direction the party has moved towards.

Politics is broken, and I agree - something has to change.

But now is not the time for a fledgeling new party to emerge.

Britain is just over a month away from leaving the EU - without a deal - when the majority of the public want us to Remain.

We have offered the hand of friendship to these MPs who have shown courage in breaking away from Labour and who share our values. We look forward to cooperating with them in parliament and in their constituencies.

But there is only one established party, with the resources and experience, to fight for a people's vote right now.

We need to keep our attention and focus on fighting this disastrous Tory government. There's only one way out of the national embarrassment that is Brexit - a people's vote. Will you share our campaign to fight for a final say on Brexit, and help us keep the focus on fighting against Brexit?

Last week in Parliament, the Conservatives kicked the can down the road yet again.

As the Brexit deadline looms ever larger, Parliament is still gridlocked - and there's no sign of anything changing soon.

For two years, Theresa May's Conservatives have made an absolute mess of Brexit - and Corbyn's Labour have been right there with them - letting them off the hook.

Only the Liberal Democrats are fighting, day in and day out, to stop this catastrophe.

We still have time to stop Brexit - and we need to make our campaign even stronger in the next few weeks.

Together, we've defeated the Government in Parliament 24 times; we've built public support for a People's Vote and we've led the campaign against Brexit on doorsteps across Britain.

We are making a difference - and it's still all to play for. Will you donate to help us keep fighting to stop Brexit?

At the Essex County Council budget meeting, Liberal Democrats identified spare cash stashed away in the council's accounts and proposed the following projects for spending.

• £4 million extra for minor highways schemes across Essex
• £2.5 million for Public Health, to help reduce youth suicides, tackle smoking related illnesses and improve mental health
• £350,000 for the Youth Service, to help young carers, lunch clubs and outreach work
• £250,000 to help 16-18-year olds from low income families to get to college
• £250,000 to help reduce fly tipping
• £12,500 to enable street lights to be left on if recommended by local police
• £22,000 to develop a plan for solar panels on County Council property

Today is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

Back in 2013 the Liberal Democrat minister in the Department for International Development (DFID) Lynne Featherstone, together with campaigners like Nimco Ali and Efua Dorkeeno, kicked off the original government campaign on FGM. They succeeded in securing the biggest ever spending commitment in the world of £35 million to work towards eradicating FGM worldwide. Lynne is delighted to let you know that legacy has continued.

The current Secretary of State for the Department of International Development recently announced that an extra £50 million will go towards eradicating FGM worldwide. On this occasion, the Liberal Democrats are delighted to be overtaken.

In the last week, we also saw the first conviction of FGM in the UK, paving the way for further convictions.

It was clear then and it is clear now - female genital mutilation is child abuse, and now it is beyond all doubt that it is against the law in the UK.

We will continue to shine a light on this issue and make sure that future generations of girls do not suffer.

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The title of this article should be common sense, shouldn't it?

And yet, between 2014 and 2016 alone, over 3000 people were dragged before the court. Not for doing anything wrong, but for falling foul of a 195-year-old law.

The 1824 Vagrancy Act was drafted with soldiers coming home from the Napoleonic Wars in mind. It's a cold, archaic relic from a bygone age. I will do everything in my power to ensure it doesn't reach its 200th birthday.

The sad passing of Paddy has left a huge dent in our political life. He was a leader, a friend, an adviser and, more than anything else, a man buzzing with vision and ideas. You always knew when Paddy was in the room that a suggestion, a policy, a strategy was not far away. He took our party from an asterisk in the polls to a major force in British politics. Yet he always remained self-effacing, never seeking personal glory, apologetic to anyone he might offend with his ideas.