Author Archives: Karen Wilkinson

Karen Wilkinson

Opinion: Aspiration exasperation

By Karen Wilkinson | Sat 9th February 2013 - 9:22 pm

inspiration - Some rights reserved by h.koppdelaneyI love Friday nights. They keep me grounded and motivated simultaneously, they’re the week’s reset button. The fact they usually involve the pub and a reasonable amount of alcohol is completely coincidental.

I’ve been um-ming and ah-ing for ages over an article for LibDem Voice along the lines of “Aspiration Exasperation”. Politicians talk about aspiration easily enough but it bothers me. Aspiration for what? What I take from it – and I would be delighted to hear I’m wrong on this – is that they mean aspiration …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 9 Comments
Karen Wilkinson

Opinion: The hidden costs of pushing parents to conform

By Karen Wilkinson | Thu 31st January 2013 - 2:00 pm

I heard odd things yesterday.  Talk of getting women back into the workplace by subsidising childcare for all parents – and this after means testing child benefit.

Then someone proposed that all child carers should have good GCSE Maths & English whilst increasing ratios! How did the human race survive before academic qualifications? Here we have another narrowing of work opportunities for people who are not so hot at academic stuff.

To add to my indignation, I heard someone say on the radio that only working parents provide a positive role model  for children and that “non-working” parents don’t contribute to the …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 14 Comments
Karen Wilkinson

Opinion: Formulaic differentation of the Lib Dems?

By Karen Wilkinson | Mon 10th December 2012 - 4:34 pm

In the never ending quest to differentiate the LibDems , I’ve developed the following formula for use in the pub on a Friday night, whilst chatting over the veg in the local shop, or wherever else the question arises (my previous longer-winded attempt on a beach is here):

Labour = social conscience plus authoritarianism

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 22 Comments
Karen Wilkinson

Opinion: Conference showed Liberal Democrat heart, soul and backbone

By Karen Wilkinson | Wed 3rd October 2012 - 11:26 am

I joined the Liberal Democrats in 2009 in the fug of the expenses and media scandals. The media wasn’t giving me a window, just leading me into a maze of distorted mirrors. With a slap to the forehead, it finally dawned on me that democracy is not something we wait to have thrust upon us at an election every 4-5 years, but something which we do. If I wanted to find out what was going on, I would have to go and look for myself. And if I wanted to change any of it, I would have to put my …

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

The stimulus of applying for low-carbon community funding

By Karen Wilkinson | Mon 16th January 2012 - 12:23 pm

Today will see the announcement of the successful applicants to the first round of LEAF funding from the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC). Congratulations to all!

I’m involved in a bid to be submitted on Friday, so I appreciate the work it took to get the bids in on time. We’re undertaking three months’ work in as many weeks, I’m told.

LEAF is the “Local Energy Assessment Fund” – a.k.a. loose change DECC found in its trousers pockets before the year-end wash. It was announced in December with two bid rounds. It’s £10 million for …

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Karen Wilkinson

Opinion: Legal Aid – the new NHS?

By Karen Wilkinson | Sun 25th September 2011 - 2:45 pm

The aspect of Conference I most value is the opportunity to hear first hand from Ministers, MPs and Lords the thought processes and details of what we are doing in Government and to see them listen to the feedback from those who are delivering the relevant services on the ground.

A fringe debate on the NHS I attended this week was a great example of that – an open, constructive, intelligent exchange of differing views which left a clear sense that our party in government is listening and acting and has a plan.

Contrast that with the fringe meeting convened by

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Karen Wilkinson

Opinion: What’s your prism?

By Karen Wilkinson | Sun 11th September 2011 - 11:55 am

The perennial question cropped up again the other day, on the beach this time: “What do the LibDems stand for?” I replied that the Tories and Labour view British society through the same prism of class or socio-economic groups, but that the LibDems see individuals.

We don’t believe that your gender, the colour of your skin, religion, social background, the number of parents you have, your weight or body shape or ability, your education level or bank balance say anything at all about your compassion, your willingness to get involved in your community, your intelligence, your wisdom, your sense of humour, …

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Posted in Op-eds | 11 Comments



Recent Comments

  • User AvatarDavid Pollard 19th Jun - 8:12pm
    Go for it. There is all to play for.
  • User Avatarpaul barker 19th Jun - 8:05pm
    Come 2015 we will need 2 parallel campaigns, for seats in the 75 Targets & for votes everywhere else. The campaigns will need very different...
  • User AvatarSteve Griffiths 19th Jun - 7:26pm
    Eddie Sammon "I don’t think the party has gone right wing," Are you serious? As someone else pointed out a while ago on LDV, when...
  • User AvatarAntony Hook 19th Jun - 6:41pm
    I am surprised an article about campaigning and what campaigning we should do makes no reference to the Winning Teams / Launch Pad campaign training...
  • User AvatarSimon 19th Jun - 5:26pm
    @Matthew Huntbach thanks for what I think that is a very thoughtful and insightful annalysis of the dangers of single issue pressure groups.
  • User AvatarEddie Sammon 19th Jun - 5:01pm
    I also want to add that I know some can say that my state based approach to public services is left wing, but the point...
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