Liberal Democrat Voice » Helen Duffett

The LDV Friday Five: 10 February 2012

Helen Duffett — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:00:20 +0000

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

Jenny Willott MP writes… The Welfare Reform Bill – What’s happened on ESA? (47 comments) by Jenny Willott MP
Opinion: What price democracy in the Lib Dems? (133 comments) by Linda Jack
Chris Huhne: the straight talking fighter faces his biggest battle (52 comments) by Stephen Tall
Opinion: Lib Dem Cabinet Ministers – surely we can do better than this? (57 comments) by Robin McGhee
Opinion: There is one coalition that needs to last (28 comments) by Paul Ankers

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(10th February, 2007-11)

Scotland gets a better budget thanks to the Liberal Democrats (2 comments) by Andrew Reeves, from 2011
The 14 non-Lib Dem MPs who backed the Single Transferable Vote (11 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2010
What Nick’s Facebook friends are saying about his 25 random things (9 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2009
Catch Brian Paddick on the media for 24 minutes and 13 seconds (5 comments) by Mark Pack, from 2008
What I did in my Holidays (0 comments) by Alex Foster, from 2007

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

carina trimingham
lib dem rebels
simon mcgrath lib dem
huhne
welfare reform bill

5 recent Lib Dem tweets

Love waking up to news of a great LibDem by-election hold and 2 gains!

— Elaine Bagshaw (@esbagshaw) February 10, 2012

My focus round had a cat on it. The cat was personally displeased I had permitted snow to occur.

— A C McGregor (@A_C_McGregor) February 4, 2012

Good work by Lib Dems on @HighlandCouncil, delivering a fair budget with more money for services despite difficult times.

— Charles Kennedy (@charles_kennedy) February 9, 2012

Thought for day: Our hearts desire is to be loved and wanted for ourselves not to be used for ulterior motives by selfish people

— Floella Benjamin (@FloellaBenjamin) February 7, 2012

Vince Cable, Adam Ellison from @UKYP & Tim Razzall will be at @LiberalYouth‘s Q&A on Youth Unemployment: ow.ly/8WqCS #ldconf

— Harry Matthews (@hmatthews92) February 10, 2012

If you are a Lib Dem who tweets, and would like to be added to Ryan’s Lib Dem Tweets aggregator, drop him an email at

That’s it from the LDV Friday Five. Let the weekend commence in 5-4-3-2-1…

This week’s council by-election results: Lib Dems GAIN in Towcester

Helen Duffett — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:06:39 +0000

From the Independent:

Liberal Democrats made two landslide gains from Tories in the latest council by-elections, suggesting their voting support has not been dented after the resignation from the Government of Chris Huhne.

Their candidate Chris Lofts took Northamptonshire County Council’s Towcester division on a massive swing of more than 30% since the 2009 shire polls.

Party colleague Lisa Samiotis triumphed at Towcester Brook, South Northamptonshire District.

This brings the total of Lib Dem gains this month to three, after a win from Labour last week.

This week’s results, courtesy of ALDC are as follows:

Hampshire CC, Winchester Southern Parishes
Con 1661 (53.8; -3.8)
LD Vivian Achwal 1038 (33.6; +6.6)
UKIP 133 (4.3; -7.9)
Green 130 (4.2; +4.2)
Lab 124 (4.0; +1.0)
Majority 623
Turnout 25.45%
Con hold

Staffordshire CC, Leek South
Con 725 (27.3; -0.9)
UKIP 556 (20.9; -15.7)
Lab 432 (16.2; +6.5)
LD John Fisher 419 (15.8; -3.0)
Moorlands Democratic Alliance 336 (12.6; +12.6)
Ind 192 (7.2; +7.2)
Majority 169
Turnout 21.89%
Con gain from UKIP

Staffordshire Moorlands DC, Leek North
Lab 514 (54.9; +22.8)
UKIP 188 (20.1; -13.8)
Con 178 (19.0; -1.6)
Moorlands Democratic Alliance 33 (3.5; +3.5)
LD Roy Gregg 24 (2.6; +2.6)
[Ind (0.0; -13.5)]
Majority 326
Turnout 24%
Lab gain from UKIP

Leek TC, Leek North
Lab 495 (52.5)
UKIP 197 (20.9)
Con 181 (19.2)
Moorlands Democratic Alliance 43 (4.6)
LD Roy Gregg 26 (2.8)
Majority 298
Turnout 24%
Lab gain from UKIP.

South Lakeland DC, Windermere Town
LD Jo Stephenson 418 (72.9; +3.0)
Con 85 (14.8; -0.4)
Lab 50 (8.7; -6.1)
UKIP 20 (3.5; +3.5)
Majority 333
Turnout not known
LD hold

Suffolk CC, Kesgrave and Rushmere St Andrew
Con 1302 (49.7; -7.5)
Lab 804 (30.7; +16.7)
LD Derrick Fairbrother 514 (19.6; -9.3)
Majority 498
Turnout 17.1%
Con hold

Suffolk Coastal DC, Kesgrave East
Con 531 (55.0; +11.2)
Lab 241 (24.9; +3.0)
LD Derrick Fairbrother 194 (20.1; +2.6)
[Green (0.0; -16.9)]
Majority 290
Turnout 13.4%
Con hold

Deal TC, North Deal
Lab 521 (36.4)
Con 505 (35.3)
LD Robin Hook 406 (28.4)
Majority 16
Turnout 28.72%
Lab hold.

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #259

Helen Duffett — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:00:32 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 259th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (29 January – 4 February, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. My faith in my party and this government is gone forever by Lisa Harding on Spiderplantland.
On redundancy and the Welfare Reform Bill.

2. Betrayal and Loathing In the Lib Dems on Steve Pitt’s Blog: Life & Politics in Wirral.
Steve sadly contemplates a name change for the party.

3. This means war by George Potter on The Potter Blogger.
On Lib Dem MPs’ votes in support of the government’s welfare reforms.

4. Ed Davey is not fit to be a Cabinet minister on Gareth Epps’ blog.
Gareth disagrees with Nick.

5. Come on Davey light my fire by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
“Let’s hope he can surprise me in his new role as Energy Secretary,” says Jonathan.

6. Why are Liberal Democrats becoming hostile to genuine liberal reforms? by Daniel Furr on Too Liberal.
Daniel wants to see more competition.

7. Gay ex-footballer talks openly to A Scottish Liberal by Andrew Page on A Scottish Liberal.
“Look, there are quite a lot of gay footballers. They’re not all playing in the Premier League but they’re out there. I was one of them. There have always been others.”

And now to the five blog-posts that come highly recommended, regardless of the number of Aggregator click-throughs they attracted. These are normally chosen using the LibDig bookmarking website for party members, the site where you can highlight blog-posts you want to share with your fellow Lib Dems. Remember, though, you’re still more than welcome to nominate for the Golden Dozen a Lib Dem blog article published in the past seven days – your own, or someone else’s – using the steam-powered method of e-mail … all you have to do is drop a line to .

8. Headlines you won’t read today: University applications up this year more than 16% by Stephen Tall on The Collected Stephen Tall.
“Excellent piece of analysis from Stephen putting the headline figures into proper context” (Submitted by markpack via LibDig.)

9. If tuition fees work, but keep us out of government for 80 years, is that a price worth paying? by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
“Richard Morris asks the tricky question, “If tuition fees work, but keep us out of government for 80 years, is that a price worth paying?”" (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

10. Metablog: The Labour Party needs to win moral, not economic, credibility by Jack Holroyde on Gaining the Advantage.
“Not because I like the Labour party, or dislike the coalition – but because a strong, principled and visionary opposition is the best thing for all of us.” (Submitted by @theGladstonian via Twitter.)

11. Simon Hughes: Young people have not been put off university… by Tim Holyoake on Just One More Ten Pence Piece ….
“This post specifically looks at the issues surrounding fees for mature and part time students and has provoked a little debate in the comments too.” (Submitted by Tim Holyoake via email.)

12. ECFR Scorecard – Britain’s role in EU Foreign Policy by Morgan Griffith-David on Spineless Liberal.
“Britain as “Great” is a fait accompli no longer, and we must fight for our place on the world stage – the European Union offers us the best opportunity to hold on to our waning power” (Submitted by Alisdair McGregor via email.)

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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LibLink: Simon Hughes MP – Students are not being put off university by tuition fees

Helen Duffett — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:53:34 +0000

Simon Hughes MP writes at Comment is Free, following the publication of the latest UCAS figures.

He acknowledges the top-line 8% decline in applications and the mass protest that followed the original decision, but points out that applications from students in deprived areas have barely declined at all:

…a more objective analysis of the data shows a clearer picture. Although applications were down by a significant number, the total number of 18-year-olds in England this year is significantly down as well. If you adjust the figures to take account of changes in demographic, the application rate in England – which is where the changes in higher education policy have the greatest effect – has declined by only 1%. Just as important, the decline is proportionately higher in areas where more people go to university and which tend to be more affluent (where the figure is 2.5%) compared with more deprived areas, which very encouragingly have hardly seen any decline at all (0.2%). Both of these figures compare with a 3.5% population-adjusted decline in applications across England when the Labour government introduced top-up fees for the 2006 academic year.

Although Simon did not support the rise in tuition fees in 2010 – “My fear was that although nobody going to university for the first time would pay up-front fees, this message would be lost among the political fallout and the headlines of £9,000 fees. I was worried particularly about young people from very mixed and traditionally working-class inner city communities such as those I represent in Bermondsey and Southwark,” – he resolved that young people should make properly-informed decisions about starting higher education:

After being appointed advocate for access to education in 2011, I travelled the country and heard first-hand that when young people were presented with facts not fiction about the costs of higher education, they were much more willing to apply.

Read the full piece at Comment is Free.

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #258

Helen Duffett — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:25:04 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 258th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (22nd-28th January, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Liberal Democrat Whip resigns over MEP selection on Chris Davies MEP’s blog.
Davies resigns as whip in a gesture of protest against the expected confirmation that Stewart Arnold is to be one of the party’s MEPs in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

2. Clegg’s e-mail signals start of fight back against Labour by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
Caron praises “joined-up thinking” in the party’s comms.

3. Two difficult elections lead to two defeats by ALDC.
By-election commentary from the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors.

4. Letting the side down? by Peter Wrigley on Keynesian Liberal.
Peter regrets the recent resignations of two Lib Dem MEPs.

5. Blog: Wallis succession: It just doesn’t sound right on Chris Davies MEP’s blog.
Davies opposes the possibility that Diana Wallis’s husband could succeed her as MEP.

6. For the benefit of Iain Duncan-Smith: a definition of homelessness by Mark Valladares on The View from Creeting St Peter.
Shelter’s official definition, in fact.

7. On “locking horns” with the Telegraph’s Cristina Odone by Stephen Tall on The Collected Stephen Tall.
As the Telegraph is forced to apologise after printing false claims about Chris Huhne, Stephen takes Cristina to task on Twitter.

8. Why are Paddy and other Lib Dem Peers picking this Welfare Reform fight? by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“A good look at the reasons behind the governmnent’s defeat on the benefit cap.” (Submitted by GeorgeWPotter via LibDig.)

9. We need to tackle ‘crony capitalism’ on our watch on Gareth Epps’ blog.
“A sorry tale of a lobbying organisation on behalf of property companies getting rather more equal access to Goverment than others.” (Submitted by garethepps via LibDig.)

10. The day the Coalition broke. Literally. by Stephen Tall on the Collected Stephen Tall.
“An allegory from Stephen Tall’s kitchen – his coalition mug breaks the very day Clegg calls for faster tax cuts.” (Submitted by helenduffett via LibDig.)

11. Yes to Help for Low Earners, But We NEED to Help the No-Earners Too! by Richard Flowers on The Very Fluffy Diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant.
“That Elephant gets it bang on yet again – we are not challenging the appalling way people who aren’t in work are treated.” (Submitted by Caron via LibDig.)

12. Question: Big or small government? Answer: effective by Henry Vann on Lib Dem Voice.
“Excellent post – ‘We are surely the party that says “I don’t care how big or small the state is; I care about the individual and their control over their life.”" (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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The LDV Friday Five: 27 January 2012

Helen Duffett — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:00:23 +0000

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

The Independent View: The benefits cap policy is based on myths (30 comments) by Alison Garnham
How should Diana Wallis be replaced? (54 comments) by Mark Pack
Lib Dem peers help inflict Lords defeat over Coalition’s benefit cap plan (61 comments) by Stephen Tall
Telegraph apologises for false slurs on Huhne and offensive Cristina Odone article (6 comments) by Stephen Tall
Opinion: MEP Diana Wallis resigns – but the European Parliament’s great ‘stitch-up’ continues (13 comments) by Paul Haydon

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(27th January, 2007-11)

LibLink: Tim Farron – Easing of control orders makes this a proud day for civil liberties (36 comments) by NewsHound, from 2011
Clegg on suppressed Iraq documents: “this has all the hallmarks of a cover up” (1 comment) by The Voice, from 2010
Opinion: MPs should keep out of local rag debate (2 comments) by Chris White, from 2010
Ken Clarke lays into Conservative policy, again (2 comments) by Mark Pack, from 2009
Has the Mail on Sunday missed a story about Labour breaking the law on donations? (11 comments) by Mark Pack, from 2008

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

diana wallis
labour isn’t working
police commissioner election
benefit cap
mansion tax

5 recent Lib Dem tweets

Lib Dems win Berwick TC, St Boisil by election.More significantly it’s probably first election run entirely using Connect

— ALDC (@ALDC) January 26, 2012

This week, I will be mainly writing about pot holes, an in depth analysis of conference motions, and a history of the SDP. #LibDemblogging

— charlotteahenry (@charlotteahenry) January 22, 2012

Are you under 30 or a full time student? There’s a South Devon @LiberalYouth group coming very soon! Stay tuned…

— Glyn Ley (@glynley) January 26, 2012

Good to hear Clegg talking about raising the tax threshold to £10k early. Page 1 Manifesto stuff for the Lib Dems bit.ly/AingxP

— Cllr Marie Jenkins (@cllrmjenkins) January 26, 2012

#coalicious is now the 5th top trending topic in the United Kingdom. I have literally never been happier in my life.

— Phil Reilly (@phil_reilly) January 26, 2012

If you are a Lib Dem who tweets, and would like to be added to Ryan’s Lib Dem Tweets aggregator, drop him an email at

That’s it from the LDV Friday Five. Let the weekend commence in 5-4-3-2-1…

Diana Wallis MEP’s husband will not take over her seat

Helen Duffett — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:42:19 +0000

The Yorkshire Post reports:

The husband of a Euro MP at the centre of a furious “nepotism” row has bowed to pressure and decided not to take over her Yorkshire seat when she quits next week.

Stewart Arnold, husband of Hull-based Liberal Democrat MEP Diana Wallis, has informed officials he will not be taking over his wife’s post at the EU Parliament, despite being eligible to do so as the party’s second-choice candidate at the last Euro elections.

His announcement follows a week of mounting criticism at the possibility of a husband automatically taking over his wife’s seat. Fellow Lib Dem MEP Chris Davies quit as party whip in protest, accusing the pair of “nepotism”.

The seat will now pass to Rebecca Taylor from Todmorden, who came third on the party’s regional list in 2009.

Read the full story at the Yorkshire Post.

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #257

Helen Duffett — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:00:03 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 257th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (15-21 January, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Chris Davies slams fellow Lib Dem MEP Wallis over her shock resignation by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
Caron rounds up the reactions.

2. Newcomen Ward residents show their contempt for Labour’s obnoxious smearmongering on Chris Abbott’s blog.
“No more Labour leaflets” signs in residents’ windows.

3. The best kept secret in the Liberal Democrats on Mark Pack’s blog.
The concessions Liberal Democrat peers have been securing in the House of Lords over welfare reform.

4. Fitzsimmons defends Israel’s lebensraum by David Grace on Disgruntled Radical.
“Lorna Fitzsimmons condemns Nick Clegg for describing Israeli settlement building as “a deliberate act of vandalism”.”

5. Chris Davies is still very angry with Diana Wallis by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“I would probably have preferred that the arguing had taken place behind closed doors,” says Caron.

6. The real problem the Liberal Democrats have with gender balance by Andrew Page on A Scottish Liberal.
“Very little progress will be made on gender balance if our energies are directed only towards aspiring politicians rather than in defending the seats of the most vulnerable incumbents,” says Andrew.

7. Wohoo – Tim Farron comes out fighting… by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
On the party President’s latest ~~missile~~ missive.

8. Why Charlotte Henry’s purity test of “real” liberalism is misguided by James Graham on Quaequam Blog!
“Features a good quick history lesson on who the factions really were.” (Submitted by markpack via LibDig.)

9. Why Zoe Williams’ tale of Tesco subsidies only tells half the story by James Graham on Quaequam Blog!
“Why raising the personal tax allowance is both a liberal and socially just policy.” (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

10. Ballsed up – Labour’s economic narrative implodes by Matthew Green on Thinking Liberal.
“Matthew Green gives a brilliantly fair-minded account of how Labour’s economic narrative has unravelled.” (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

11. SNP MP claims to be an Unionist by Stephen Glenn on Stephen’s Liberal Journal.
“Stephen caputres an SNP attempt to baffle a NI Unionist as to which ‘union’ he is discussing in light of independence for Scotland.” (Submitted by Stephen Glenn via LibDig.)

12. Elton John and David Furnish: Ridiculous Mail story by Paul Walter on Liberal Burblings.
The bit that takes the biscuit is: “Lady John (as he’d be called if he was a woman)”

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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Nick Clegg on the Andrew Marr Show tomorrow

Helen Duffett — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:37:01 +0000

Nick Clegg will be the main guest on tomorrow’s Andrew Marr Show, in the third of Marr’s major party leader New Year’s interviews.

You can watch the show 9am tomorrow on BBC1 or live online at the BBC website. Or catch it afterwards on BBC iPlayer.

The LDV Friday Five: 20 January 2012

Helen Duffett — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:00:08 +0000

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

And the winner of our Liberal Voice of the Year award is… Mark Littlewood (66 comments) by Stephen Tall
Comeback Clegg – the Times’ reasons to be cheerful about the Lib Dems (23 comments) by Helen Duffett
Opinion: What’s happened to democracy in the Liberal Democrats? (68 comments) by George Potter
The Lib Dem Candidates Leadership Programme – a participant’s view (44 comments) by Layla Moran
Tim Farron MP writes… Are two Eds better than one? (21 comments) by Tim Farron MP

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(20th January, 2007-11)

Paul Burstow writes… A few facts about the NHS (127 comments) by Paul Burstow MP, from 2011
Opinion: Who to Blame for the Democrats’ Loss In Massachusetts? Blame Me (13 comments) by Karin Robinson, from 2010
#MPexpenses – act now! (2 comments) by Alex Foster, from 2009
Paddick launches online advertising campaign (7 comments) by Mark Pack, from 2008
Yet another Conservative defection (14 comments) by Mark Pack, from 2007

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

lesley strathie
martin shapland
labour isn’t working
diana wallis
snp

5 recent Lib Dem tweets

Registration now open for the @liberalyouth Spring Conference (30 Mar-1 April) in Leeds bit.ly/AakVKe

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) January 16, 2012

My reputation for puns has clearly gone too far. 4 people have asked me if I’m responsible for Clegg’s ‘haves & have yachts’ line. I am not.

— Phil Reilly (@phil_reilly) January 16, 2012

Wonder what odds I can get on #libdems replacing Labour as second party after 2015 GE

— Dave Page (@davepage_ld) January 17, 2012

Dromey MP This is why the Lib Dems are pushing for the right to sack MPs bbc.in/wzSVLf (3rd time lucky!)

— Political Parry (@PoliticalParry) January 19, 2012

The Ayes have it! Delighted that my #LiveMusicBill has made it through the Commons. Now to the Lords where it will hopefully be passed

— Don Foster (@DonFosterMP) January 20, 2012

If you are a Lib Dem who tweets, and would like to be added to Ryan’s Lib Dem Tweets aggregator, drop him an email at

That’s it from the LDV Friday Five. Let the weekend commence in 5-4-3-2-1…

Comeback Clegg – the Times’ reasons to be cheerful about the Lib Dems

Helen Duffett — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:49:06 +0000

There’s a great article in today’s Times [£] praising the Liberal Democrats and fancying the party’s prospects between now and 2015.

Rachel Sylvester writes that although the received wisdom says coalition government has ruined the Lib Dems’ chances, it’s too early to write them off:

The Liberal Democrats could end up doing a lot better than most people currently think.

She cites encouraging signs in the polls:

A huge number of people still have no idea how they are going to vote and although only 12 per cent say that they would support Mr Clegg’s party if there were an election tomorrow, 21 per cent say that they would “seriously think about” voting Lib Dem when the country next goes to the polls. There is, by contrast, almost no gap between these two sets of figures for either Labour or the Conservatives. The swing voters who propelled Tony Blair to victory and, before that, kept Margaret Thatcher in No 10 are open to Mr Clegg. For from being squished to oblivion, the Lib Dems could end up as the party of the centre ground.

And the reason for this renewed confidence in the party?

The Lib Dems have done one crucial thing by joining the coalition — they have proved that they can be a serious party of government. This removes the single biggest reason why people did not vote for them in previous elections — the idea that putting an X in the Lib Dem box was a wasted vote. If economic credibility is an essential precondition for electoral success, then Mr Clegg is in a far better position than Mr Miliband right now.

The party is praised for learning the “importance of party discipline and political consistency,” reflected in the words of a “senior party figure”:

The party is becoming more grown-up. We’ve gone from adolescence to adulthood in months, not years.

Read the full piece in the Times [£].

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #256

Helen Duffett — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 19:00:10 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 256th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (8-14 January, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. What the fuck has happened to us? by George Potter on The Potter Blogger.
On Wednesday’s House of Lords vote on the Welfare Reform Bill.

2. So, Nick Clegg thinks I’m an extremist… by Andrew Page on A Scottish Liberal.
On Nick Clegg’s remarks about attitudes to Scottish independence.

3. Sausages by David Grace on Disgruntled Radical.
David revives a meaty meme.

4. David Dimbleby and the demise of Nationwide by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Did the enlistment of David Dimbleby in 1982 seal Nationwide’s fate?

5. The Independence Referendum – praise for Mike Moore by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
Caron rounds up the plaudits for the Scottish Secretary.

6. Charles Kennedy set to lead pro-Union campaign in referendum by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
“Will Charles and co. be enough to save the Union?” asks Jonathan.

7. If Scotland votes for independence it’s game over, binding or not on Mark Thompson’s Blog.
“If Scotland votes in a referendum for further or full independence, regardless of whether David Cameron likes how and when the vote occurs, it will happen.”

8. What should the Spartacus Report mean for the Welfare Reform Bill? by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“Caron reminds everyone why the Spartacus Report means all Lib Dem members of parliament should be having a rethink about the Welfare Reform Bill” (Submitted by Richard Morris via LibDig.)

9. Well done Jenny Tonge by David Grace on Disgruntled Radical.
“Very well merited commendations for Jenny Tonge for her sterling performance in the Lords, voting for party policy when even the likes of Lord Ashdown didn’t.” (Submitted by GeorgeWPotter via LibDig.)

10. +++Breaking News Lords reject one year time limit for ESA by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“The very welcome news that Lib Dem policy triumphed in the Lords, even though so few of our peers supported it.” (Submitted by GeorgeWPotter via LibDig.)

11. Loving Borgen, but I do just have three questions about it… by Stephen Tall on The Collected Stephen Tall.
“Really. I mean, the leader of the Moderates, Birgitte Nyborg, sparks a dose of ‘Cleggmania’ which actually works… she gains more seats, and forms a government. This is Lib Dem dreamland!”

12. Who’s Up in 2012 at ALDC .
A very useful summary of the composition of councillors, by authority-type and party, facing election in May 2012.

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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The LDV Friday Five: 13 January 2012

Helen Duffett — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:00:52 +0000

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

Lib Dem Peers rebel as Government defeated on Welfare Reform (40 comments) by Caron Lindsay
Lib Dem council candidate in trouble over online comments (3 comments) by Prateek Buch
Opinion: Scottish independence – bleak consequences for LibDem and Labour Westminster representation (34 comments) by David Franklin
How the left/right balance of Liberal Democrat voters has changed (28 comments) by Mark Pack
Lord German writes… A benefits system that works: the Welfare Reform Bill in the House of Lords (34 comments) by Mike German

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(13th January, 2006-11)

‘Cowley Street’ may not be ‘Cowley Street’ for long (28 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2011
Clegg calls for full gay equality – what will Cameron do? (51 comments) by The Voice, from 2010
Lord Tebbit’s praise for the Lib Dems’ tax plans (33 comments) by Sara Bedford, from 2010
Congratulations to Brian (0 comments) by The Voice, from 2009
Telegraph has it both ways (2 comments) by Alex Foster, from 2008

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

duwayne brooks
lib dem conference 2012
welfare reform bill
national defence medal
david laws

5 recent Lib Dem tweets

While Ed Miliband talks about delivering fairness in tough times, the #LiberalDemocrats in Government have been doing it…

— Don Foster (@DonFosterMP) January 10, 2012

…#LibDems lifted the lowest earners out of income tax, £2.5bn extra by 2015 via Pupil Premium & extended free early years education

— Don Foster (@DonFosterMP) January 10, 2012

Good day Renewed LibDem party membership!

— David Green (@DavidMGreen73) January 12, 2012

Had a great day talking to lots of residents today. One of my favourite bits of the job.

— Claire Thomas (@clairethomas1) January 10, 2012

following LabourHame & ToryHoose, look out for the imminent launch ofLibDemTh’uum, a group blog for all liberals north of Cyrodiil

— i am robson (@wv_v) January 12, 2012

If you are a Lib Dem who tweets, and would like to be added to Ryan’s Lib Dem Tweets aggregator, drop him an email at

That’s it from the LDV Friday Five. Let the weekend commence in 5-4-3-2-1…

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #255

Helen Duffett — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 19:00:35 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 255th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (1-7 January, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Exclusive poll data: where have the lost Liberal Democrat voters gone? on Mark Pack’s blog.
Oh Mark, you tease.

2. We liberals have our myths too by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Media mythbusting.

3. My most commented post on New Statesman ever. And what comments. Blimey by Richard Morris on a View from Ham Common.
This is what you get for horseplay, Richard.

4. Nick Clegg, Mark Pack and Chocolate – all in 5 minutes on the Today Programme by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
Caron critiques the DPM’s appearance on Thursday’s Radio 4 Today programme.

5. Listen very carefully, I will say this only 529 times: David Cameron can NOT call an election by Paul Walter on Liberal Burblings.
Paul points to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.

6. Have we all been complicit in collective naiveté? Lib Dems have underestimated Tory politicking and missed the real political narrative by Matthew Gibson on Solution Focused Politics.
Beware Tory stealth attacks, says Matthew.

7. Is Euro realism breaking out in the Liberal Democrats? by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
“Support for co-operation at a European level need not decay into uncritical support for the current structures and policies of the European Union. Liberal Democrats should be known for demanding reform in Europe – as we do everywhere else.”

8. Political storytellers to watch in 2012 (1): Barack Obama seeks re-election by Neil Stockley.
“Perceptive, as ever, here’s Neil’s guide to the possible incumbent narrative of 2012.” (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

9. Tories don’t do social mobility. Would Labour? by Lester Holloway.
“Sutton councillor Lester Holloway says Nick Clegg’s Demo speech about an open society can only be achieved in partnership with Labour.” (Submitted by Lester via LibDig.)

10. A new year – time to take stock: What Opinion Polls teach us from being in Government and what it says we should do in 2012 by Matthew Gibson on Solution Focused Politics.
“So what have we learnt from the highs and lows of opinion polls since being in Government and what does it say we need to do in 2012″ (Submitted by MatthewJ via LibDig.)

11. Diane Abbott: what’s race got to do with it? by James Graham on Quaequam Blog!
“James Graham hits nail on head” (Submitted by niles via LibDig.)

12. Diane Abbott. You can’t generalise about people’s views according to their skin colour. by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
“Richard Morris makes some very good point about why what Diane Abbott said is unacceptable.” (Submitted by GeorgeWPotter via LibDig.)

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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Sir Bob Russell MP: “I have spent my entire adult life fighting the establishment but clearly, I have failed.”

Helen Duffett — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:50:06 +0000

Bob Russell MP, who who was first elected when Nick Clegg was only four years old, has received a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list.

Sir Bob, who received the honour for his public service, has described the honour as “A matter of great personal importance and significance to me.”

The BBC reports:

The Liberal Democrat, who’s been involved in local politics for more than 40 years is among the region’s most outspoken MPs, particularly since the formation of the coalition.

This is a significant honour for a man who for decades has been one of the most colourful characters on the region’s political scene.

“Clearly in this role, any MP creates enemies as well as friends but I hope that nobody would ever say that I never did my best for the people I represent and my town,” he says.

“I grin to myself because I have spent my entire adult life fighting the establishment but clearly, I have failed.”

He says his knighthood recognises the work of those around him and that it came as a bolt from the blue.

Bob Russell was first elected aged 25 as a councillor for New Town ward in 1971. He then served as mayor and later leader of Colchester Council, before becoming the town’s MP in 1997.

Richard Thomas is Welsh Lib Dems’ new Chief Executive

Helen Duffett — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:32:43 +0000

Richard Thomas started today as the Chief Executive of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

The BBC reports:

The Welsh Liberal Democrats’ former head of communications has been appointed as the party’s chief executive.

Richard Thomas takes up the post as the Lib Dems get ready for local elections in all Welsh councils in May.

He takes over from Joanne Foster who now works for Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.

As well as his previous job with the party, he has worked for Lib Dem MPs and as a public affairs consultant.

Here’s how Richard shared the news on Twitter:

Today was my 1st day in new job as Chief Executive of the @WelshLibDems

— Richard Thomas (@RichardKThomas) January 3, 2012

Congratulations on your new role, Richard – a fantastic appointment and richly deserved.

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #254

Helen Duffett — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:00:50 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 254th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (25-31 December, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. A Labour Party we could work with by Tom Papworth on Liberal Vision.
Tom says it’s not as crazy as it might sound.

2. Do the Lib Dems have a Clegg problem if we wanted to work with Labour in 2015? by Andrew Emmerson on the Yellow Bastard.
Andrew’s also considering a coalition with Labour.

3. In which I am mentioned in First Minister’s Questions… by Andrew Page on A Scottish Liberal.
Alex Salmond namechecks Andrew Page.

4. Margaret Moran may be too ill to face trail by Andy Strange on Strange Thoughts.
The former Luton South MP may not be well enough to face trial for expenses related charges.

5. Ed Miliband; doomed to lose the next election? by Chris Sams on The Ginger Liberal from Medway.
A look at the polls… and a history lesson.

6. How did I do on my 2011 predictions? on Mark Thompson’s blog.
Mark’s mixed bag.

7. Narrativewatch: Nick Clegg’s “Happy New Year” message by Neil Stockley.
“Facts tell, but stories sell . . .”.

8. Why I’ve never felt more at home with the Liberal Democrats by Josh Dixon on Liberal Insight.
“A Good News New Year message: “We are a party that is founded upon fairness and democracy, something which may often be lacking in society. If we utilise what we do have and not allow it to slip away under a barrage of negative press and comments then we can really make a change for the better.” ” (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

9. Opportunistic party bashing from within rears its head again by Lisa Harding on Spiderplant Land.
“Spidey gives some constructive criticism to another blogger and their attempt to stir up discord within the party.” (Submitted by cjmillsnun via LibDig.)

10. Danny Alexander is more influential than Simon Cowell by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
“That is the moral that the John O’Groat Journal and Caithness Courier draws from GQ magazine’s list of the 100 most influential men in Britain”

11. 12 Predictions for 2012 by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
Politics, sport… and summink about Karen, Rory and River…

12. It’s been quite a year by Lynne Featherstone MP.
Lynne looks back on 2011 in government and in Hornsey and Wood Green.

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #253

Helen Duffett — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:00:21 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 253rd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (18-24 December, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Underestimating Danny Alexander by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
Mr Alexander doth speak in italics.

2. Odd defection news on Simon Wilson’s blog.
Musical chairs in Norfolk.

3. The Liberal Democrats in 2012 by Andrew Emmerson on The Yellow Bastard.
Andrew’s 6-point plan for growth.

4. Ed Milbiand, head in hands, caught on Google StreetView by Mark Pack.

5. I still don’t feel that sense of urgency… by Richard Morris on a View from Ham Common.
Richard’s finger wavers over the panic button…

6. Winning public support on the EU could not be more simple by Joshua Dixon on Liberal Insight.
Just talk about it, says Josh.

7. Guardian corrects 37 stories at once – is this a record? by Paul Walter on Liberal Burblings.
All related to the hacking of Milly Dowler’s voicemail.

8. How not to run an elected mayor campaign on Steve Middleton’s blog.
“If you’re politically naive, then it’s generally not a good idea to accept a public debate challenge from two veterans of local politics – but that’s exactly what Geoffrey Berg (Salford’s elected mayor petition organiser) did on Wednesday night. I’ve previously written extensively on my blog about Salford’s elected mayor referendum that was forced by Mr Berg and his English Democrat sidekick.” (Submitted by Actual via LibDig.)

9. ‘Nick Clegg sneers at Mr and Mrs Britain’ by Paul Walter on Liberal Burblings.
The Express takes “a particularly venoumous” pop at Nick Clegg’s comments about taxt breaks for married couples.

10. Tim Farron’s Christmas Message – and my challenge to him for 2012 by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“My challenge to our President for the New Year is to get through an entire Conference speech without one single football reference.”

11. Remembering David Penhaligon by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone.
“His untimely death [25 years ago] robbed the party of one of its great communicators and almost certainly a future leader.”

12. Why Clegg was right to choose Popper by David Boyle on The Real Blog.
Popper was the central figure of Nick Clegg’s Demos speech this week and “is also, as it happens, the philosophical justification for Liberal-style localism – it is about “setting free the critical powers of man”.”

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #252

Helen Duffett — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:00:52 +0000

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 252nd weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (11-17 December, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

1. Tories hold Coombe Vale with increased majority by Dan Falchikov on Living on words alone.
“This breaks a 24 year duck for Kingston Conservatives who have failed to win any by-election in Kingston Borough since 1987.”

2. How Ed Miliband could be PM by Christmas. ish. by Richard Morris on A View from Ham Common.
What would happen if a Vote of No Confidence were called.

3. Are the Lib Dems really pro-European? by Iain Sharpe on Eaten By Missionaries.
“Time and again I let slip in conversation to a Lib Dem colleague that I don’t quite share the party’s zeal for the European project only to be told that neither do they.”

4. Europe and the Liberal Democrats: we’re at our best when we believe in something by Mark Valladares on The View from Creeting St Peter.
“If you’re not in the room when the big questions are discussed, you’re not fighting for Britain’s interest, you’re watching as other decide your future for you,” says Mark.

5. Lessons from Feltham and Heston on Jonathan Fryer’s blog.
“The campaign probably needed more of a persuasive national LibDem narrative: why should people vote LibDem nationally at the moment?”

6. Europe: Clegg got it right..and then completely wrong… by Angela Harbutt on Liberal Vision.
On Nick’s handling of the post-veto situation.

7. Since when was it ok to violently throw someone off a train? by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“I think the Scotrail conductor was wrong to accept the offer of help he received to have the guy removed,” says Caron.

8. Education isn’t a political football by Rhys Taylor on Ramblings of a Lib Dem.
“The issue of education and RCT is beginning to be a bit repetitive now. Having blogged about the farce Labour led RCT Council made over the restructuring of post-16 education in the county borough not so long ago, the Government’s new ‘banding system’ only highlights the failings of RCT on education.” (Submitted by rhystaylor92 via LibDig.)

9. Alex Salmond complains bitterly to Cameron over EU veto – but fails to say what he would have done by Caron Lindsay on Caron’s Musings.
“Caron on the SNP’s opportunistic response to the Cameron and Europe.” (Submitted by oneexwidow via LibDig.)

10. Small row in Europe, not many hurt by Jonathan Calder on Liberal England.
“Lashings of common sense on Europe (albeit a little superseded by events).” (Submitted by stephenftall via LibDig.)

11. Is it REALLY necessary to be that aggressive? by Mark Valladares on The View from Creeting St Peter.
“Why I love Lady Mark. End of.” (Submitted by caron via LibDig.)

12. What would Clegg say if he wasn’t in Government? Lib Dems have lost their most effective voice by Matthew Gibson on Solution Focused Politics.
“What we are seeing is the result of Clegg having been put in a box and having lost his voice. As a result the Lib Dems have lost their voice and so we shouldn’t be surprised that our poll rating is so low. The country misses Nick Clegg, but more importantly, the country needs Nick Clegg.” (Submitted by MatthewJ via LibDig.)

And that’s it for another week. Happy blogging ‘n’ reading ‘n’ nominating.

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http://andrewdakers.com/profiles/blogs/time-for-liberal-democrats-to-invoke-clause-6-6-in-defense-of-eur

The LDV Friday Five: 16 December 2011

Helen Duffett — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:45 +0000

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

Europe: what Liberal Democrats have been saying today (101 comments) by Mark Pack
Opinion: What Cameron should be doing in Brussels (59 comments) by Jonathan Fryer
David Cameron’s a hostage to his party and the right-wing press. Thank goodness for Nick Clegg (42 comments) by Stephen Tall
Opinion: Danny Alexander is right (29 comments) by Zadok Day
“An inept negotiating strategy placed in the hands of an inexperienced prime minister” – behind the scenes of Cameron’s ‘veto’ (35 comments) by Stephen Tall

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(16th December, 2006-10)

LibLink: Chris Huhne – The biggest energy market shake-up in 25 years (9 comments) by NewsHound, from 2010
Should all fun events in December have to include “Christmas” in their title? (6 comments) by Mark Pack, from 2009
“A more coherent liberal position” (38 comments) by Alix Mortimer, from 2008
Vince snubs Cameron courtship (16 comments) by Richard Huzzey, from 2007
Scottish coalition turning frosty as election nears (0 comments) by The Founding Editor, from 2006

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

liberal democrat blogs
george kendall
lib dem forum
lib dem conference 2012
roger crouch lib dem

5 recent Lib Dem tweets

10 O’Clock news: Cameron looking lost, Miliband looking lonely (in a sweater), Clegg looking like a Prime Minister. #justsaying

— Tom Morrison (@ThomasMorrison) December 11, 2011

Ironic that Daily Mail accuses Nick Clegg of talking Britain down – same paper which tells us we’re nation of feral, addicted benefit cheats

— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) December 12, 2011

Ok, aside from the needlessly long speech, Andrew Rosindell just moved a bill meaning the government decides when Eid is. That’ll end well.

— Ben Mathis (@binny_uk) December 13, 2011

The Committee stage of my Live Music Bill has been completed and so we are another step closer to its implementation

— Don Foster (@DonFosterMP) December 14, 2011

Read Wikipedia page on the Higgs Boson. Still don’t understand it. If someone understands particle physics better after today, it’s not me.

— Zoe O’Connell (@zoeimogen) December 13, 2011

If you are a Lib Dem who tweets, and would like to be added to Ryan’s Lib Dem Tweets aggregator, drop him an email at

That’s it from the LDV Friday Five. Let the weekend commence in 5-4-3-2-1…