22nd September 2025
By Romiley Gazette Reporter
The Liberal Democrats have unveiled plans to use emergency wartime powers to clear the UK’s asylum backlog – but here in Romiley, the party’s local office has faced questions about its own approach to free speech.
At their annual conference in Bournemouth, the Lib Dems said they would invoke the Civil Contingencies Act – legislation usually reserved for wartime or national crises – to create temporary “Nightingale processing centres” for asylum claims.
Home affairs spokeswoman Lisa Smart said the move would double the number of caseworkers, speed up decisions, and help end the use of hotels for housing asylum seekers by 2029. The party is also calling for asylum seekers to be allowed to work while waiting for decisions.
Smart said the policy would be “the right thing to do” for asylum seekers, communities, and taxpayers.
But closer to home, the Lib Dems faced criticism after two police cars and a van were dispatched to Romiley Liberal Democrat office (twice) when a lone protestor stood outside holding an A4 paper sign reading “useless LibDem councillors.”
Eyewitnesses say the protestor remained peaceful throughout and no arrests were made. The sight of sirens and blue lights over a single person with a sign left some residents questioning whether such a heavy police response was necessary.
One local shopkeeper told the Gazette: “It felt like an overreaction. Surely the police have more urgent things to do?”
The incident comes as the Lib Dems are also campaigning for more visible policing, proposing new police desks in supermarkets and libraries across England and Wales.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed officers attended but said no further action was taken.
