Author Archives: Tom Papworth

Opinion: I’d rather be boring than bonkers

By Tom Papworth | Published 20th September 2011 - 9:35 am

Monday night’s Channel 4′s coverage of the Liberal Democrat conference ended with Michael Crick interviewing Ann Treneman and Michael White about the general feel amongst Lib Dems.

Among the usual sniping from a reactionary sketch-writer and the doyen of the urban intellectual elite came a lament that the Liberal Democrat conference did not feel like a Liberal Democrat conference. People were too on message, they moaned; there was not enough rebellion; nor enough eccentricity. Michael White in particular bemoaned the absence of beards and sandals. Lib Dem conference, they felt, had become boring.

Too right.

We are not in the 1970s, when …

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Posted in Conference, Op-eds | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Opinion: Stephen Williams is right to support the criminalisation of squatting

By Tom Papworth | Published 27th June 2011 - 12:57 pm

It’s always a pleasure to see a Liberal Democrat MP standing up for our core liberal values. And among the core principles of liberalism, private ownership of property is of huge importance.

So it’s truly gratifying to see that Stephen Williams, MP for Bristol West, is taking a stand to protect owners of property from being dispossessed. Stephen has given his support to legislation, to be brought before parliament by the government, to criminalise squatting.

This is highly welcome and long overdue. Squatting has for too long been portrayed as a victimless crime, a Robin Hood grab …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Meme: The Great Repeal Bill should seek to abolish…

By Tom Papworth | Published 25th June 2010 - 10:20 am

The Liberal Democrats called it The Freedom Bill. The Tories called it The Great Repeal Bill – and there are more of them in the government, so they will probably win the competition to name it.

Nonetheless, the aim is clear: to slough off the dead skin of government; to deliver us from regulatory evil.

And in a novel (and perhaps suspect) twist, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has promised that it will be up to the public to propose legislation for the chop. I have yet to be convinced!

But …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 15 Comments

Opinion: Cold comfort for the Lib Dems in the dawn of the new politics

By Tom Papworth | Published 15th May 2010 - 2:50 pm

On Thursday night we saw the dynamics of the New Politics unfold.

For the first time, advocates of the Lib-Con pact came face to face with opponents and the general public in a very public forum. On Question Time, Simon Hughes MP and Lord Heseltine defended the new government against a tirade of abuse from Lord Falconer, Mehdi Hasan and Melanie Phillips, while the audience expressed exasperation and dismay. Get used to it. This is the New Politics, and if Cameron and Clegg are to be believed, this is what we have to look forward to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments

Opinion: Clegg half-way there on tax cuts

By Tom Papworth | Published 24th September 2008 - 6:20 pm

The Liberal Democrats made a significant step forward at their Conference last week when we passed the Make It Happen policy paper.

The main issue of the debate revolved around Nick Clegg’s pledge to cut billions of pounds from the income tax of low and middle income families. The party has broadly welcomed this, though many have accepted it only as long as it is accompanied by a promise that the overall tax-take will remain the same, and that richer people should shoulder more of the tax burden.

This redistributionist error was sadly reinforced by Clegg himself in an …

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Posted in Op-eds, Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 34 Comments