Author Archives: Tony Greaves

Tony Greaves

Lord Greaves writes…We must do more for wage-earners below income tax threshold

By Tony Greaves | Wed 6th March 2013 - 11:59 am

I have tabled an oral question in the Lords to ask the government what measures they will take to ensure that wage-earners who are below the income tax threshold will benefit from any future increases in the personal allowance.

In a little-noticed debate last September the Liberal Democrat conference debated social and economic inequality. Inequality, the conference decided in the obscure language motion-writers use, “is an obstacle to individuals determining their own destinies and reduces aspirations”.

The resolution also, equally clumsily, said that inequality “prevents talent from fulfilling its potential to the detriment of the economy and society”. And, more accessibly, that …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 23 Comments
Tony Greaves

Tony Greaves writes… The health and social care bill. The party has spoken. What happens now?

By Tony Greaves | Mon 14th March 2011 - 3:10 pm

The next big event comes very soon and is nothing to do with the Liberal Democrats or the coalition per se – it’s the BMA’s Special Representative Meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) which they say “will form a key part of our activities to step up member engagement and lobbying”. I suspect it will also get a lot more publicity than the Liberal Democrat conference did.

There are some outrider motions of no confidence in Andrew Lansley and calls for “industrial action” which will result in a lot of press noise and no action, but there seems little doubt that the meeting …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 58 Comments
Tony Greaves

Tony Greaves writes: seeing the wood for the trees

By Tony Greaves | Fri 25th February 2011 - 1:49 pm

Why did the Government drop its proposals for the Forestry Commission (FC) and the forests and woodlands it manages? I thought it would happen but I was astonished by the speed of it. It comes down to three things. An ill-considered and foolish policy. Incompetent presentation. And a stupendously successful and largely under the radar campaign which burst through with stunning effect.

The Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) included a target of £100million from selling around 15% of the national forestry estate in England. This is the most that can be sold under existing legislation. But over the summer DEFRA Ministers …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 9 Comments
Tony Greaves

Tony Greaves writes: Coalition, Government and the Lords

By Tony Greaves | Tue 25th January 2011 - 10:43 am

We are in a new situation which started with the coalition being negotiated. Nobody in the political parties had thought it through. It had to be made up as they went along and it is still being made up, week by week, month by month. It has had a major effect on the resulting policies. It has also had an effect on the ongoing processes of government.

The coalition was put together in five days. An important lesson must be that future coalition-building in this country after an election really ought to take place at a slightly more measured pace, and …

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Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged and | 46 Comments
Tony Greaves

Opinion: Post-election blues

By Tony Greaves | Sat 8th May 2010 - 9:03 pm

This is the worst possible election result for Liberal Democrats but we have to make the best of it.

A majority for one party would have left us in our usual comfort zone of simple opposition.

The expected gain of 40 seats or more would have left us with real momentum and a genuine balance of power in the Commons – the chance to turn the screw in negotiations with the other two parties and act as the catalyst for substantial political reform including STV.

Even a Lib-Lab majority in the Commons, with no Lib-Con majority, would have provided the chance (and the …

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Posted in Op-eds | 52 Comments
Tony Greaves

Tony Greaves writes… Abolish postal voting on demand

By Tony Greaves | Tue 19th May 2009 - 11:25 am

I want to abolish postal voting on demand, which was introduced in 2000 with the best of intentions. It has proved to be wide open to electoral fraud, corruption and fiddling, and is a thoroughly bad thing.

Ministers have talked about the “convenience” of voting. This is the word the Government used in the Electoral Administration Bill in 2006, when I was ploughing the same furrow. They talked about convenience and increasing turnout. Unfortunately there are unintended consequences, many of which are unavoidable.

The Electoral Commission report in August 2004, following the last European election – Delivering Democracy? The Future of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 25 Comments



Recent Comments

  • User Avatarnuclear cockroach 19th May - 3:31pm
    @Martin Lowe All true, despite any Trappist vows undertaken by those travelling on the Underground.
  • User Avatarnuclear cockroach 19th May - 3:28pm
    "you cannot wish away euroskeptic voters" Your spelling gives away more than you imagine. "or pretend they are few enough that you don’t need to...
  • User AvatarMadasafish 19th May - 3:18pm
    Having read most of the comments: Running away from an issue just makes it worse. Facing up to an issue and taking the lead usually...
  • User AvatarManfarang 19th May - 3:17pm
    Does the Sun report true stories? I have never noticed.
  • User AvatarDominic 19th May - 3:07pm
    agree with the article but very wary of any stats coming from ActionAid. As their recent (scurrilous and wholly fallacious) campaigns on tax demonstrate, these...