Author Archives: Mark Valladares

Mark is one of the more elderly members of the team, having been a Young Liberal when such things existed. He lives in Creeting St Peter, a small village in the heart of Suffolk, where he is a parish councillor.

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Opinion: Federal Policy Committee to the left of me, Tories to the right, where are the Parliamentary Parties? Stuck in the Middle with whom?

By Mark Valladares | Published 7th February 2012 - 11:18 am

Perhaps Stealers Wheel had it right… so it’s time to speak my mind, isn’t it?

I have been following the debate on internal party democracy with first interest, then frustration, and now a degree of numbing disbelief, as the Parliamentary Parties have taken significant flak from a cross-section of Party members and activists.

And yet, from my perspective of a reporter on events in the Lords, a very different story emerges to the increasingly popular one of rogue Parliamentary Parties trashing Liberal Democrat policy in an entirely unaccountable way. But let me tell you a story…

Once upon a time, a small, …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged fpc | 58 Comments

Your LDV guide to rebel Liberal Democrat Peers

By Mark Valladares | Published 24th January 2012 - 1:53 pm

To mark the largest rebellion by Liberal Democrat Peers, we thought that it was time we recognised those Liberal Democrat Peers most prone to rebellion, so here are the top five rebels of this Parliament so far…

1st – Baroness Tonge (26 votes against the Government)

…

Posted in News, Parliament | Tagged house of lords | 11 Comments

Yesterday in the Lords (part 2): you know you’re in trouble when the Bishops vote…

By Mark Valladares | Published 24th January 2012 - 11:53 am

Despite escaping one major ambush, Lord Freud cannot have been looking forward to Amendment 59, moved by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds. A short amendment;

Clause 94, page 63, line 25, after “benefits” insert “with the exclusion of child benefit”

it addressed issues of child poverty, as the Bishop noted,

The Government’s assessment of the impact of the cap is that some 67,000 households will be affected. The Minister spoke of that earlier as not a massive number. It is pretty massive for those involved, but the fact that it

…

Posted in News | 15 Comments

Yesterday in the Lords (part 1): let the banner of rebellion be unfurled…

By Mark Valladares | Published 24th January 2012 - 7:45 am

In a dramatic fifth day of the Report Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill, Liberal Democrat cohesion amongst the Parliamentary Party in the Lords collapsed, with two of the three biggest rebellions in this Parliament ensuing. And, to be honest, it wasn’t difficult to see it coming. However, unexpectedly, only one of them led to a Government defeat.

Amendment 58D, moved by Labour peer, Lord Mackenzie of Luton, was a relatively opportunistic attempt to provide an exemption from the proposed benefit cap for “vulnerable individuals, and individuals and couples …

Posted in News, Parliament | Tagged house of lords, welfare reform bill | 5 Comments

European Parliament – another day, more elections…

By Mark Valladares | Published 20th January 2012 - 11:00 am

Following on from the election of Martin Schulz to the Presidency of the European Parliament earlier this week, European Parliamentarians have been electing fourteen Vice–Presidents and five Quaestors.

Incumbent Vice-President, Edward McMillan-Scott (Liberal Democrat, Yorkshire and the Humber), having been elected last time as a member of the European People’s Party when the Conservatives were still members, was successfully re-elected as a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, meaning that the Liberal Democrats are directly represented on the Bureau, which is the administrative decision-making body in parliament dealing with issues such as buildings and MEPs’ expenses.

The full list …

Posted in News | Tagged andrew duff, edward mcmillan-scott, european parliament | 1 Comment

Martin Schulz elected as new President of the European Parliament

By Mark Valladares | Published 18th January 2012 - 4:55 pm

As reported here on Liberal Democrat Voice on Sunday, the election of a new President of the European Parliament took place yesterday and, as expected, Martin Schulz, from the German Social Democrats, was elected with a plurality of votes in the first round of voting. The result was as follows:

Martin Schulz 387 votes

Nirj Deva 142 votes

Diana Wallis 141 votes

Giving his acceptance speech to MEPs, Mr Schulz told MEPs: ”Those who have voted for me can take pride in having done so. Those who didn’t vote for me will be pleasantly surprised.”. However, …

Posted in Europe / International, News | Tagged diana wallis mep, european parliament | 2 Comments

Coming up in the Lords… 23 January – 2 February

By Mark Valladares | Published 17th January 2012 - 5:23 pm

It has become abundantly clear since the Christmas break that most of the Parliamentary excitement, apart from that curiosity known as Prime Minister’s Questions, is going to come from the Lords until Easter, and the coming fortnight will be no exception.

Days 5 and 6 of the Report Stage of the Welfare Reform Bill will take place on January 23rd and 25th, with the Third Reading scheduled, perhaps optimistically for 31st January. It’s always dangerous to guess exactly how much progress will be made on Day 4, taking …

Posted in News | Tagged dick newby, house of lords, jim wallace, lord mcnally | 21 Comments

Diana Wallis MEP announces her candidacy for President of the European Parliament

By Mark Valladares | Published 15th January 2012 - 5:51 pm

Our apologies for being a little behind with this, but news has reached us of Diana Wallis’s attempt to become the President of the European Parliament, a job that, traditionally, has been stitched up by the two dominant Groups within the Parliament, the Socialists and Democrats, and the European People’s Party. Indeed, the Presidency has been held during the first half of the 2009-2014 term by Jerzy Buzek from the European People’s Party as part of a deal whereby he would stand down part way through to be replaced by a Socialist MEP.

The catch is that a by-election must take …

Posted in News | 4 Comments

LibLink: Lord Trevor Smith – looking to the future of the Liberal Democrats

By Mark Valladares | Published 12th January 2012 - 4:57 pm

Over on the Social Liberal Forum’s website, Lord Smith of Clifton has given a backbench peer’s perspective on political events and where the Party should be going, opening with a warning;

The Lib Dems are in a very serious state, possibly facing meltdown of the kind experienced by the Canadian Conservatives some time ago (though they managed a spectacular comeback), or the Canadian Liberals in last year’s elections. The burning question is how, at the very minimum, to limit the electoral damage and hopefully to revive the party’s fortunes.

For more of his thoughts, the full article can be found here.

Posted in LibLink, Parliament | Tagged lord smith of clifton | 17 Comments

Introducing ‘A postcard from…’

By Mark Valladares | Published 10th January 2012 - 4:22 pm

Think of this as an experiment.

I’ve always been intrigued by questions such as, “What does the rest of the world think about what we’re up to?”. In a surprisingly parochial political culture, where the debate, if there is any, is about what the big countries are up to, what is the view from other places? And, as those nice young people at Liberal Democrat Voice have left me partly in charge on a day release basis, I thought that I should at least make an effort to find out…

So, …

Posted in Europe / International | 1 Comment

Joint Statement: European Liberal Democrat Leaders Meeting

By Mark Valladares | Published 10th January 2012 - 8:23 am

Leading Government Ministers, Party Leaders and European Commissioners from Liberal Democratic parties across Europe, meeting in London at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg, and under the aegis of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform party (ELDR), yesterday made the following declaration.

Jobs, Growth & Reform

Europe is at a dangerous crossroads. Without decisive and concrete action, we risk recession, rising unemployment and falling living standards. There is a real risk of Europe turning inwards, with a return to the protectionist policies of the past. Our ability to prevent this now depends on our …

Posted in Europe / International, News | Tagged economy, europe, nick clegg | 6 Comments

European liberal leaders gather in London

By Mark Valladares | Published 8th January 2012 - 11:23 am

Tomorrow sees politicians from across Europe gather for a meeting of Liberal leaders, hosted by Nick Clegg under the auspices of the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR). Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler are among the senior liberal figures joining him at the mini-summit in London.

Having promised to ‘re-engage with Europe’, Nick sees this meeting as part of that process, using the umbrella organisation of European liberalism to gather potential allies and influence the European Commission more positively than David Cameron did at last month’s …

Posted in Europe / International, News | Tagged eldr, nick clegg | 8 Comments

Coming up in the Lords… 10-20 January

By Mark Valladares | Published 4th January 2012 - 12:47 pm

Welcome to Liberal Democrat Voice’s coverage of the House of Lords, where we’ll be flagging up some of the forthcoming events at the more reflective end of the Palace of Westminster. So, without further ado…

The House of Lords returns to work next Tuesday after its Christmas recess, with a heavy legislative schedule to be dealt with before the end of the Session, and the first fortnight offers a hint of what is to come.

Days 2, 3 and 4 of the Committee Stage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing …

Posted in Parliament | Tagged chris rennard, house of lords, roger roberts | Leave a comment

European candidate selections: is that the time already?

By Mark Valladares | Published 3rd January 2012 - 7:25 pm

News has reached your reporter that, in a radical break with tradition, the English Candidates Committee is likely to meet later this month to address key questions relating to the selection of European Parliamentary candidates for elections due in May 2014, where Liberal Democrats will be defending seats held in each of the nine English Regions (two in South East England) and in Scotland.

Radical, because the Committee usually only meets four times a year, with the first meeting at the Spring Federal Conference, and the newly elected Chairs …

Posted in News, Selection news | Tagged candidate selection rules, european elections | 1 Comment

Author Archives: Mark Valladares

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