Author Archives: James Kempton

Liberal Democrats Police Policy Review – have your say

By James Kempton | 1st December 2011 - 4:18 pm

What is the role of the police in society? Does it go beyond simply cutting crime and acting as law-keepers to include working with local communities in ways that are sometimes characterised as acting more as “social workers” or “youth workers”?

How should forces work together following the introduction of the new Police and Crime Commissioners? How do we break down barriers between forces to encourage the sharing of best practice and increased cooperation? What needs to happen to ensure that the new Police and Crime Panels (PCPs) act as a check on the power of the Commissioner and are effective …

Opinion: “The Importance of Teaching” White Paper – putting Lib Dem policy into action?

By James Kempton | 24th November 2010 - 3:08 pm

After a year’s work in the run up to the General Election co-writing the Liberal Democrats’ Equity and Excellence education policy paper with other members of the 5-19 Education Policy Working Group, I opened the Coalition Government’s first education White Paper with understandable trepidation.

Nothing can be more important than giving every child a fair start in life, but the education system inherited from Labour offered some young people pretty much the best education system anywhere in the world, while leaving others ill-equipped, under-funded, and lacking the skills needed to get on in life.

The White Paper launched by the government today, called The Importance of Teaching takes as its starting point the unflattering international comparisons of the performance and skills of our pupils. Its critique of where and why the school system is underperforming is one that will be very familiar to most Liberal Democrats. It is a vision for a system based on excellence, underpinned by freedom and fairness: an education system which challenges low aspiration and achievement and where school-level innovation and diversity are seen as strengths to be welcomed.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged education, local government association, ofsted, pupil premium and sats | 29 Comments

Opinion: How Islington’s Liberal Democrat Council is responding to the recession

By James Kempton | 24th January 2009 - 1:39 pm

Liberal Democrat councils in London and across the country have been working on ways to help their residents and local businesses through the recession. Vince Cable is leading the debate nationally, and Liberal Democrats in local government are supplying answers to the real problems on the ground.

In Islington, the Liberal Democrats inherited a basket case council from the loony-left. Labour-run Islington was the proverbial case of bad local government, with enormous levels of debt and the highest council tax in the capital. Labour Islington was a tabloid favourite with scandals, sky-high spending, and crazy policies. …

Posted in Local government, London and Op-eds | Tagged climate change and islington council | 4 Comments