Author Archives: Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: When should an MP rebel against their party?

By Carl Quilliam | 4th February 2012 - 9:25 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

In the Australian system even a single rebellion against your party can mean the whip is withdrawn but in the UK we’re much more used to MPs ‘crossing the floor’ and voting against their party.

In fact there’s been a fair amount of coverage on Lib Dem Voice of Mark Pack’s research on the number of backbench Lib Dem MPs who have rebelled against the government since the last election.

One could argue that MPs have a duty to vote with the party …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 17 Comments

The weekend debate: Should Stephen Hester accept his bonus?

By Carl Quilliam | 28th January 2012 - 9:25 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Since the £963, 000 shares bonus for RBS Chief Executive Stephen Hester has been revealed there have been opinions pouring out from across the political spectrum.

When Ed Miliband accused David Cameron of a “failure of leadership” over it, Cameron promptly distanced himself from the process altogether, with George Osborne claiming it was due to rules put in place by Labour.

Boris Johnson seems to be against it, as is our usually economically …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , and | 28 Comments

The weekend debate: Should we do business with people who don’t share our values?

By Carl Quilliam | 14th January 2012 - 8:50 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The weekend debates have been light on foreign policy so far, so for those foreign policy buffs out there here’s one inspired by our former leader.

Over at Ted talks, Paddy Ashdown has been discussing ‘the global power shift’ from the West to the rest and in particular to the nations around the Pacific rim.

He touches on a lot of areas, including what the future of global governance might look like, how long American power might remain dominant and the growth of …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged and | 16 Comments

The weekend debate: Should we end the bargain booze bonanza?

By Carl Quilliam | 31st December 2011 - 9:25 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Just in time to kill everyone’s new year buzz David Cameron has announced government plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing in England, similar to recent proposals by the Scottish government.

The details are still to be confirmed but the proposed system could stop the sale of alcohol at below 40p to 50p a unit in shops and supermarkets and cost drinkers up to £700 million a year.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 17 Comments

The weekend debate: Should former MPs get to keep their parliamentary passes?

By Carl Quilliam | 17th December 2011 - 8:55 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

This week saw the revelation in the Independent that there are now 326 former MPs who hold Former Members’ Passes.

The passes allow them access to bring guests into the House of Commons and book restaurants with family in the Palace of Westminster. The Independent raises worries that former MPs may be using these passes to further there lobbying careers.

Former speaker Michael Martin introduced the scheme to allow former MPs to keep up with friends in Parliament but should former MPs have …

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Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged , and | 16 Comments

The weekend debate: Lobbying

By Carl Quilliam | 10th December 2011 - 8:26 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

It has been a week of scandal surrounding the lobbying industry, with The Independent publishing a series of stories based around the claims of the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger to be able to influence government policy.

The consultants at Bell Pottinger made claims to undercover reporters that they had already influenced government policy and could do so again for a fee. The government initially responded by saying these claims were rubbish but later conceded that lobbying from companies did have some impact.

So who’s …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 3 Comments

The weekend debate: Should the Government send a King James Bible to every school?

By Carl Quilliam | 3rd December 2011 - 9:54 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Michael Gove is planning to send a King James Bible to every school in the UK to mark the 400th anniversary of its translation, with a short introduction written by himself.

The National Secular Society has criticised the decision and believe that there are already enough bibles in British schools.

So, is this a worthwhile celebration of an important part of British history or is it a waste of money that could …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 42 Comments

The weekend debate: Who would you send to Mars?

By Carl Quilliam | 26th November 2011 - 9:25 am

NASA’s latest astronaut recruitment drive is talking about sending people to Mars. They are looking for people with advanced degrees in engineering, maths, biology or the physical sciences. You can’t be shorter than 5’2″ or taller than 6’3″. Pilots with more than 1,000 hours of flight time are desired; so are educators.

And of course you’ll need a sense of daring!

But let’s forget all that and think instead about the more whimsical idea of who we’d like to send a few million miles away.

The only rules are: stick to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 13 Comments

The weekend debate: What if Gordon Brown Were Still Prime Minister?

By Carl Quilliam | 19th November 2011 - 7:55 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Over at the New Statesman Guy Lodge has posed the question, ‘What if … Gordon Brown was leading the Eurozone crisis?’, and come up with quite a flattering answer for our former Prime Minister.

He believes that Gordon Brown would have shown more leadership than David Cameron and George Osborne in the Eurozone crisis, and crucially would have more credibility to deal with Nicolas Sarkosy and Angela Merkel.

Is he right?

What if the Lib Dems had propped up Gordon Brown in …

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 29 Comments

The weekend debate: Are Lib Dems too pro-European?

By Carl Quilliam | 12th November 2011 - 8:45 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

With the looming debt crisis in the Eurozone and Eurosceptics from across the political divide baying for blood, the LDV weekend debate couldn’t resist the pressure any longer.

So, with people openly talking about the possibility of the end of the Euro as we know it, and Europe seemingly in crisis, are Lib Dem Ministers taking the right decisions for the party and the country as a whole?

The party has long been …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged , and | 59 Comments

The weekend debate: Is it time to end the ban on political TV advertising?

By Carl Quilliam | 5th November 2011 - 8:47 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

A few weeks ago a campaign advert made by ONE, an organisation founded by Bono (of U2 fame) was banned from TV because it breaches political advertising rules. 

Many people seeing this story for the first time might be quite pleased not to have to deal with the unbearable smugness of Bono on their TV screen again. But outside of any personal dislike of a particular celebrity, politician or political party is this an issue where broadcast regulations are simply out of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 8 Comments

The weekend debate: Would Mitt Romney make a better President than Barack Obama?

By Carl Quilliam | 29th October 2011 - 8:55 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Over the last three years Obama has had to concede much of his programme to Republicans in Congress. His healthcare reforms had to be significantly watered down even before Republicans won back the House of Representatives in 2010. And the reforms themselves have since acted as a lightning rod for criticism of the President.

Obama is struggling to get the economy going again amid continued turbulence in the global economy and unemployment is staying stubbornly high despite the massive £800 billion stimulus package. …

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Posted in LDVUSA and Op-eds | Tagged , and | 8 Comments

The weekend debate: Is there nothing left to vote for?

By Carl Quilliam | 22nd October 2011 - 8:55 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Over on the BBC, Noel Gallagher has been talking about the last election and attempting to explain why he almost didn’t vote at all. In the end he voted for the Pirate Party because “there’s nothing cooler than a pirate”.

He went on to say:

 The Labour Party have managed, proved themselves to be just as sleazy and horrible as we all know the Conservatives are. There’s nothing left to vote for anymore.

Now as Liberal Democrats we know there’s an alternative but with …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 25 Comments

Opinion: Delivering local citizens’ initiatives

By Carl Quilliam | 19th October 2011 - 2:50 pm

Five years ago, back in the final throws of the Blair government, when Cameron was still hugging hoodies and Ed Miliband was just a twinkle in the unions’ eyes, I worked for an organisation called Our Say.

Our Say campaigned for the introduction of citizens’ initiatives in the UK, referendums that can be instigated by a petition of a certain percentage of citizens in a given area.

The campaign wasn’t active for very long but it received cross party support, primarily from backbenchers. Overall, Conservative MPs more than Liberal Democrats or backbench Labour MPs received it better. In fact the Lib …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments

Recent Comments

  • User Avatarpaul barker Feb 22 - 5:35 pm
    When asked, Polling organisations always say that Voting Intention (VI) Polls are just a snapshot & are not meant to be used as a predictive...
  • User AvatarRichard Dean Feb 22 - 5:34 pm
    Tabman, I disagree, but don;t worry, I do it on principle. I always find that arguments are more interesting if there is fierce debate. It's...
  • User AvatarChris Jenkinson Feb 22 - 5:22 pm
    Is this available as a list on Twitter?
  • User AvatarGareth Aubrey Feb 22 - 5:12 pm
    For fear of oversimplifying (but as it's a point that never gets across to some no matter how many times it's pointed out), energy efficiency...
  • User AvatarTabman Feb 22 - 5:09 pm
    LL - "thanks for the economics lesson" - my pleasure :D