Today, MP's rejected Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement by 344 votes to 286, a majority of 58, throwing the UK's Brexit plans into further confusion. As Ed Davey said; "This is the third time that the Prime Minister has been told that the majority of MP's don't want to leave the UK on her terms. As Lib Dems, we don't want to leave at all." We realise that the best deal for the UK is for it to remain within the EU.

The last few days have seen more historic votes taking place in Parliament. Yesterday, MPs voted overwhelmingly against Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time. Tonight, MPs rejected leaving the EU without a deal. With events from the last few days, an extension of Article 50 now seems inevitable. An extension to Article 50 could allow time for a people's vote to take place.

They say that in politics, a week is a long time!!

Well, the Liberal Democrats have certainly been busy in the South Hams over the past week. The weekend of the 23^rd and 24^th February saw us take part in the Lib Dems national Weekend of Action. This was the kick start of our campaign to take more seats on the District Council in the election on the 2^nd May.

The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for nearly three years now to stop Brexit - a policy that we believe will damage the United Kingdom for generations.

Today Sarah Wollaston MP left the Conservative Party because of its shift to the right and the government's 'disastrous handling of Brexit'.

A fuel poverty charity has raised concerns about the number of people dying due to not being able to afford heating. National Energy Action has estimated that there were 60 "excess" deaths in the Totnes constituency last winter that could be attributed to the weather and that 30% of these deaths were directly due to people not being able to afford adequate heating at home.

On the 2nd May, we have at least 16 candidates standing in the South Hams District Council elections. This election is a huge opportunity for us to take control of SHDC. The statistics are showing that, nationally, this could be one of the Lib Dems best ever sets of election results.

But, if we are going to maximise this opportunity, we need your help.

Tory-led SHDC has no one to blame but their Cousins in Westminster

The South Hams District Council, along with local authorities throughout the nation, will be even under greater financial pressure this morning thanks to the Tories.
Last night in the House of Commons the Tories passed a bill that will cut a further £1.3 billion to councils all over the UK.
Critics are saying the funding approach will take money from poorer councils and direct it to affluent areas in keeping with the Tories' proven practice of protecting their own interests at the expense of others.
And if that wasn't enough, last night's legislation will undoubtedly result in a rise in council tax for the coming year.
The Tories track record in funding councils over the past few years is so dire that the independent Local Government Association warned last week that many popular council services could disappear by 2025 due to a £8bn funding black hole.
Locally, Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Totnes, noted that Conservative-run SHDC may complain about lack of funding but it is their Conservative colleagues in Westminster who have imposed the cuts in funding.

Over 50 members and supporters of the South Hams Liberal Democrats joined Wera Hobhouse the Lib Dem MP for Bath, at their Annual Dinner in Totnes on Friday 25th January.
The Parliamentary Candidate for Totnes, Caroline Voaden and the Parliamentary Spokesperson for South West Devon, Sima Davarian were also present, as well as many of the candidates standing in the forthcoming District council elections.
Caroline Voaden started the evening of political discussion with a speech that raised the prospect of an early general election. Caroline gave a passionate rallying cry for members to support the Lib Dem campaign for seats both in upcoming the South Hams District Council elections and in a general election, whenever it should occur.
The evening's guest speaker, Wera Hobhouse (pictured with Sima Davarian and Caroline Voaden), is the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath. Wera is also the Lib Dem spokesperson for housing, communities and local government. Wera's passion for local government shone through in her speech as she went on to give an impassioned discourse about the destruction of local services caused by central government spending cuts.
"This lack of funding is having a huge impact on how we deliver local services and if it carries on, we will no longer be able to call ourselves a Welfare State," said Wera Hobhouse MP.
With the District council elections fast approaching, Wera talked about the way in which decisions are made that affect our towns.
"We need to think carefully about where decision making is best placed. If it can be done locally, let it be done that way" Wera said.
Wera is German by birth and is a passionate believer that the UK should remain within the EU. Her speech was followed by a robust question and answer session, largely centered around Brexit and the possibility of a People's Vote. The purpose of a second referendum was questioned by some members, to which Wera said "When has more democracy ever led to less democracy?"