Category Archives: News

“They’re all mad, swivel-eyed loons”: a top Tory on the Tories

By Stephen Tall | Sat 18th May 2013 - 12:15 pm

Here’s the remark attributed to ‘a member of the Prime Minister’s inner circle’ according to the Telegraph:

“There’s really no problem,” the Conservative figure said about the parliamentary turmoil. “The MPs just have to do it because the associations tell them to, and the associations are all mad swivel-eyed loons.”

There is an obvious point here (and it’s the reason why whoever said it will soon be resigned): don’t diss your own supporters. ‘Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican,’ was Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment. It was as …

Lynne Featherstone: If you think a girl is in danger of being forced to endure FGM, tell the Police

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 18th May 2013 - 9:45 am

Lynne Featherstone has urged anyone who suspects a girl may be at risk of being forced to endure Female Genital Mutilation to go to the Police with their concerns. She said that she wants to see cases prosecuted to send a powerful message.

She appealed for help to protect girls as what she called “the cutting season” approaches. The procedure often happens during the Summer holidays when the girls are away from school for several weeks.

She said that prosecution and other work to change behaviour were the way forward:

It would be great to have a prosecution and send out the message

…

Tagged fgm and lynne featherstone | 2 Comments

Willie Rennie: highlights of his first two years as Scottish Liberal Democrat leader

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 1:06 pm

It’s two years today since Willie Rennie was elected Scottish Liberal Democrat leader.

Here are some of the highlights of his first two years in the job:

The first interview – I was there in North Queensferry when he kicked off his leadership in the sunshine. At that point it had rained every day since the Nationalists had won their overall majority.

He was soon calling out Alex Salmond for attacking a senior Supreme Court judge.

And being praised by journalists.

Then he spent 24 hours with carer Clare Lally …

Tagged willie rennie | Leave a comment

Smith, Crockart, Bruce and Williams win in Great Parliamentary Raffle

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 11:38 am

Well, I learned something I didn’t know about parliamentary procedure yesterday. I had always assumed that the Private Members’ Bill Ballot was an actual ballot, where MPs voted for themselves or their colleagues. How naive was I? The secret is now out, and available on You Tube. It’s actually a big raffle as you can see here:

440 MPs’ names went into the box and just 20 were drawn out. Among them were 4 Liberal Democrats. We had Sir Robert Smith in 9th place, Mike Crockart in 11th, Mark Williams in 13th and Sir Malcolm Bruce in 14th. I …

Also posted in Parliament | Tagged mark williams, mike crockart, private members bills, sir malcolm bruce and sir robert smith | 7 Comments

Stephen Tall guests on Guardian Politics Weekly podcast – Tory EU referendum question: in hand or out of control?

By The Voice | Fri 17th May 2013 - 10:25 am

LibDemVoice co-editor Stephen Tall joined the panel for this week’s Guardian Politics Weekly podcast, hosted by Tom Clark and also featuring political columnist Melissa Kite and Guardian social affairs editor Randeep Ramesh. They discuss the Tories’ latest implosion over when to hold an in/out EU referendum and Theresa May’s proposal that life should mean life in prison for anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.

You can listen to it here online, or download it as an MP3 here.

Also posted in Podcasts | Tagged melissa kite, podcast, randeep ramesh, stephen tall, the guardian and tom clark | Leave a comment

The most important thing going on in Parliament this week…

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 16th May 2013 - 9:20 am

Forget the EU referendum faffery and PMQs. When people wake up in the morning, their first thoughts are unlikely to be anything to do with the internal wranglings within the Conservative Party or any sort of parliamentary panto. They will be to do with their health or thir job or any other problems they or their family face.

However, at 11:30 or thereabouts today, MPs will talk about something that most people will find real and relevant. There’s a backbench debate on mental health. I doubt it will be as powerful and intense as the debate we had at Scottish Conference …

Also posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged ewan hoyle, katherine welby, mental health and sophie bridger | 5 Comments

That EU vote: 6 thoughts on what it means for the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour

By Stephen Tall | Thu 16th May 2013 - 8:40 am

116 Tory MPs last night backed an amendment to the Queen’s Speech and called for an EU referendum bill. Here’s six thoughts from me on what it all means…

This wasn’t about Europe (much): this was about Cameron’s leadership

The Tory outers/Eurosceptics had already won: David Cameron capitulated in January, conceding an in/out referendum he’d tried hard to dodge. But that wasn’t enough for them. So they forced the Tory leader to capitulate again this week, forcing him to rush out a draft Bill legislating for just such a …

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged david cameron, European referendum and featured | 14 Comments

Liberal Democrat MPs to be given free vote on all aspects of Same Sex Marriage Bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 7:27 pm

Rumours reach my ears of a surprise decision at last night’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Bill comes back to the Commons next Monday for two days of debate on a number of amendments.

At Second Reading in February, no votes were whipped. Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael stepped out of the shadows to explain why to Lib Dem Voice readers.

The view of my parliamentary colleagues that came up time and again was that they supported equal marriage and were keen to see it on the statute book. They wanted, in fact, not just to support the

…

Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged equal marriage, featured, same sex marriage and same sex marriage bill | 18 Comments

“Feisty” Clegg in Groundhog PMQs

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 3:17 pm

So, the Commons had the weekly panto half hour to ask Nick Clegg lots of awkward questions. MPs limited themselves, though, to asking several questions many times over. Nick looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying the encounter and took every opportunity to promote Liberal Democrat coalition wins like fairer taxes and the single tier pension. Strangely, though, he didn’t once mention the words stronger economy or fairer society. Not once.

Harriet Harman’s strategy was strange. She wasted 3 questions on the fact that Cameron wasn’t there and that he’d only answered questions on one week in the last eight. Well, …

Also posted in Parliament | Tagged nick clegg and PMQs | 29 Comments

Fancy a Lib Dem numberplate?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 1:33 pm

It’s never good when someone leaves the party, but I am sure some readers will be excited about a certain car numberplate coming back on the market.

L16 Dem was until recently on the car of former parliamentary candidate Andrew Duffield, who has been a regular commenter on this site. Now that he’s left the party and joined Labour, as the BBC reports, he understandably wants to sell it. He’s looking for £500 for it.

There were lots of oohs and aahs and shouts of “OMG, want” in the LDV office when we first saw this. Sadly, it’s way beyond my …

Tagged andrew duffield, bbc and guardian | 12 Comments

Jeremy Browne sets off on global drugs policy research tour

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 12:21 pm

Liberal Democrat Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne is in Portugal this week. As reported in the Guardian, he has embarked on a tour that will take him to Denmark, Sweden and the US to investigate different drugs policies before reporting his conclusions at the end of the year.

He is quoted as saying:

I’m proud of the UK’s drug policy and there are strong signs our approach is working. Illegal drug use is at its lowest level since records began and far more people are leaving treatment free from dependency than ever before.

But I’m not complacent. The UK cannot deal with

…

Tagged drugs policy, guardian and jeremy browne | 3 Comments

Clegg v Bone: The Rematch

By The Voice | Wed 15th May 2013 - 10:52 am

Just so you all know, Nick Clegg is doing Prime Minister’s Questions today as David Cameron is in the US. He will face Harriet Harman and no doubt a fair few of the Tory right wing Eurosceptics.

I doubt Peter Bone will be as friendly as he was last time Nick did PMQs, in November. And Ms Dorries has restored from the wilderness.

Nick has usually performed very well at PMQs. I expect his weekly phone in and regular town hall meetings make a Commons full of baying MPs much easier to tame. I’m tempted to make a comment about the …

Tagged nick clegg and PMQs | 1 Comment

Lib Dem attitudes to poverty and welfare: 3 interesting findings from today’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation report

By Stephen Tall | Tue 14th May 2013 - 6:05 pm

Three interesting findings from today’s report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) — Public attitudes to poverty and welfare 1983-2011 — carried out by NatCen Social Research, exploring public attitudes to poverty and welfare over the past three decades.

1) Interestingly… Lib Dem supporters are less likely than Labour supporters to believe that people live in need because of laziness or a lack of willpower.

Tagged featured, joseph rowntree foundation, poverty and welfare reform | 18 Comments

Liberal Democrat Councillor Karen Chilvers on ITV’s The Chase

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th May 2013 - 4:40 pm

Brentwood Liberal Democrat Councillor Karen Chilvers appeared on ITV quiz show The Chase last night.

She took on The Barrister, Sean Wallace in a showdown that was much more tense than I had expected. I had never watched the show before and I found it quite compelling.

The idea of the game is that each contestant answers as many questions as possible in a minute to earn £1000 per correct answer. At the end of the minute, they gamble that amount of money in a play off against The Chaser, any one …

Tagged cllr karen chilvers, itv and the chase | Leave a comment

Clegg on UK and EU relationship with Africa: “more trade, fairer tax and greater business transparency”

By NewsHound | Tue 14th May 2013 - 2:47 pm

Nick Clegg gave a speech at the Africa Jubilee Business Forum which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation for African Unity. Here are the highlights:

Political rights must go in tandem with economic growth

Everybody, of course, wants growth – the key decision is how you achieve it. More and more African countries face a choice between the economic models of authoritarian capitalism, on the one hand, and liberal democracy, on the other.

In countries like China, authoritarian capitalism argues the case for economic growth ahead of political freedoms. And it’s a seductive argument in view of surging growth

…

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged africa, eu, G8, international aid, nick clegg and trade | 2 Comments

Battle of the Andrews over 5 Days in May: Lib Dem Stunell lambasts Labour’s Adonis for “spurious rubbish”

By The Voice | Tue 14th May 2013 - 1:10 pm

Lord (Andrew) Adonis, a former SDP councillor and the very model of a modern Blairite New Labourite, has a new book out offering his assessment of those five heady days in May when the alternative Lib-Con and Lib-Lab coalition options were discussed.

In the main it confirms what was already known: that Labour had not given any thought to the fact they might have to work with the Lib Dems in the event of a hung parliament.

But his Lordship, having conceded how ill-prepared Labour was, is nonetheless mustard-keen to lay much of the blame for the failure of the Lib-Lab option at the door of Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems. Andrew Stunell, Lib Dem MP and one of the party’s five-strong negotiating team, is having none of this revisionism — as he points out punchily in a letter in today’s Guardian.

Tagged andrew adonis and andrew stunell | 17 Comments

EDMwatch #1: animals, VAT on tabloids, Diabetes and Sir Alex Ferguson

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th May 2013 - 11:53 am

I thought it might be a good idea to introduce a new feature for the start of the shiny new parliamentary session – a regular look at the Early Day Motions tabled by MPs. These are basically House of Commons petition and are used to raise awareness of an issue. One of the biggest elements of an MP’s postbag or inbox is a pile of requests from supporters of a particular organisation or charity to sign a particular EDM. As a rule, ministers don’t sign EDMs.

You would think, wouldn’t you, that MPs could just sign them with a click of …

Also posted in Parliament | Tagged adrian sanders, EDMwatch, george galloway, john hemming, john leech, malcolm bruce and Parliament | 8 Comments

Where Ukip won (or almost won) on 2nd May 2013

By Stephen Tall | Tue 14th May 2013 - 7:45 am

Wondering where Ukip won (or almost won – see below) in the local elections on Thursday, 2nd May? Then here’s a handy graphic and breakdown by constituency…

My thanks to Lib Dem Ben Mathis (@binny_uk) for crunching the Ukip numbers, as below. We’ll update the list with any more found…

Tagged anthony wells, local elections 2013, lord ashcroft and ukip | 15 Comments

Libby Local – The Final 2 Episodes: “Election Day!”

By Libby Local | Sun 12th May 2013 - 2:15 pm

Since last October, the pseudonymous Libby Local has been keeping LDV readers up-to-date with her first-time attempt to win Demsbury Central in Libbyshire. Here’s the 16th and penultimate episode…

It was mid-afternoon on Thursday and the grumbling old man at the bar shouted across to me: “Who’s your candidate?”

I was feeling exhausted and didn’t need this intrusion from a man who had just announced that he had voted UKIP.

The day had begun at 5am with letters delivered through letterboxes of hard-to-reach and wobbling voters. The post run also …

3 Comments

Next week in the Lords: 13-16 June… God bless Her Majesty!

By Mark Valladares | Sun 12th May 2013 - 11:21 am

After the pomp of the Queen’s Speech, comes the dissection of its content. Of course, that’s not all that gets done, so let’s dive into the week ahead…

Monday sees the debate on elements of the Speech relating to business, economy, local government and transport, whilst crossbench peer, Baroness Young of Hornsey has a particularly salient oral question, seeking a view on how UK clothing sector retailers might ensure that people working throughout their supply chains enjoy safe and secure working conditions in light of the Rana Plaza disaster.

On …

Also posted in Parliament | Tagged hugh dykes, kate parminter, queen's speech, sal brinton and tony greaves | 2 Comments

Clegg leadership plot: Gove’s ‘crazy grenade’ detonates, briefly, before Tories revert to arguing about Europe

By Stephen Tall | Sun 12th May 2013 - 11:05 am

Hats off to Mr Gove! With the Tory party in its customary state of internecine warfare over Europe, the education secretary used his interview this morning on The Andrew Marr Show to allege a leadership plot to overthrow Nick Clegg. Here’s PoliticsHome’s account:

Michael Gove has suggested Nick Clegg’s opposition to increasing childminders-toddlers ratio is due to an internal Liberal Democrat plot to unseat him as leader.

Mr Clegg said last week that he was “yet to be persuaded” by the case for allowing staff to look after more children.

However Mr Gove today said the reforms, which were defended by

…

Tagged matthew oakeshott, michael gove, nick clegg and vince cable | 32 Comments

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: “Lib Dems remain focused on the things people really care about”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 12th May 2013 - 8:55 am

Nick Clegg isn’t one for the pomp and pageant of parliament (he’s rather keen to let you know). He’s also keen to let you know that this week’s Queen’s Speech was “designed to build a stronger economy and a fairer society in Britain, enabling everyone to get on in life” (to quote Her Majesty). Over to Nick…

Fair pensions. Decent care in your old age. A tax cut for small businesses taking on staff. A major new high speed railway. Energy investment to keep lights on and bills affordable. Shared parental leave. Rehabilitation of prisoners to set them back on the straight and narrow.

Just a few highlights from the Government’s plans for legislation this year, outlined this Wednesday in the Queen’s Speech, designed to build a stronger economy and a fairer society in Britain, enabling everyone to get on in life.

Tagged featured, nick clegg and queen's speech | 8 Comments

Christine Jardine selected for Aberdeen Donside by-election

By NewsHound | Sat 11th May 2013 - 4:43 pm

Christine Jardine, a former Downing Street Special Adviser, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Aberdeen Donside Scottish Parliament by-election caused by the death o SNP MSP Brian Adam last month. She is seen second on the right in the photograph, which also features Cllr Steve Delaney, Alison McInnes MSP, Scottish leader Willie Rennie MSP and Sir Malcolm Bruce MP.

The by-election will take place on June 20.

Liberal Democrat Voice readers will be familiar with her name because of occasional …

Tagged aberdeen donside by-election, christine jardine, sir malcolm bruce and willie rennie | 4 Comments

ALDE Party Council: “The sun lounger can wait, Brad, there are only twelve months to save Europe!”

By Mark Valladares | Sat 11th May 2013 - 3:37 pm

From Yerevan and Lisbon, from Mariehamn and Palermo they came, not necessarily to put the world to rights immediately, but to at least organise the processes by which it might happen.

Ah yes, process – not an obvious reason to come to Pula, in Istria on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, I admit, but that was what brought European liberals together for the Spring meeting of the Council of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). The promise of warm sun, blue sky and crystal clear waters couldn’t have had an influence, surely?

There were two key issues to …

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged ALDE | 10 Comments

The double dip recession that never was?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 11th May 2013 - 12:35 pm

Did the double-dip recession ever happen? It looks increasingly possible that it didn’t — the BBC reports the latest revision to the data:

A revision by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has cast doubt on the UK’s double-dip recession last year. Revised growth estimates now suggest the construction industry shrank in the first quarter of 2012, but by less than previously thought. Analysts say the revision may be enough to mean the overall economy narrowly avoided falling into recession for a second time. The ONS is due to give official confirmation of this in June.

In fact there was a …

Tagged featured, hamish mcrae, niesr, office for national statistics, peter kellner, recession and vince cable | 17 Comments

Praise for Nick Clegg and Liberal Democrats from both sides – should we be worried?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 11th May 2013 - 12:16 pm

I remember hearing Nick Clegg saying that if he was being attacked from both left and right, then he felt reassured that he was doing something right. He may be feeling slightly worried now, as there have been a couple of not entirely unpleasant pieces in the New Statesman and Daily Telegraph in the last few days.

From the left, we have Rafael Behr, the political editor of the New Statesman, arguing that it’s Nick Clegg, not Nigel Farage, who has shaken up Westminster:

For Lib Dems, the distinction is between two styles of politics. There is the managerial one, laden with

…

Tagged daily mail, daily telegraph, miriam gonzalez durantez, new statesman, nick clegg, peter oborne, quentin letts and rafael behr | 8 Comments

Vince Cable talks sense on immigration

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 11th May 2013 - 10:34 am

Vince Cable has spoken up for the economic benefits of immigration in the Queen’s Speech debate, challenging the half truth and hyperbole in the illiberal rhetoric that’s doing the rounds at the moment. He reserved much of his ire for the Labour party:

I was hesitant about raising the subject because it is essentially covered by the Home Office, but substantial economic issues are also involved and it is important to refer to them. I was provoked into feeling that we should debate the issue in this context because a couple of days ago I was on the radio on the

…

Tagged ed davey, hansard, immigration and vince cable | 23 Comments

Tom McNally writes… transforming rehabilitation

By Lord Tom McNally | Fri 10th May 2013 - 4:23 pm

For decades Britain has been locking people up for short periods of time only to see them reoffend as soon as they are released from prison. This party has long recognised that the criminal justice system just wasn’t working in preventing reoffending.

Nearly half – 47.5% – of those leaving prison are reconvicted within a year. For prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months it is almost 60%. The cost of reoffending by ex-offenders to our economy each year is between £9.5bn and £13bn. This is not good enough. Victims of crime deserve better than this. Society as a whole …

Also posted in Parliament | Tagged penal reform and rehabilitation | 6 Comments

Fancy working for the Liberal Democrats?

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 10th May 2013 - 1:30 pm

I thought it might make sense to do an occasional round up of jobs available around the country with the party, as advertised on the Work for an MP website.

If you are wanting to apply to work for either Michael Moore MP or John Leech MP, you need to get your skates on, as applications close later today.

New jobs up for grabs this week include a Policy Officer post with the Welsh Liberal Democrats. I spent a weekend in Cardiff last year and fell in love with the place, so if you fancy working near the beautiful …

Tagged fancy working for the liberal democrats and w4mp | 7 Comments

The Sun’s new superhero: Greg Mulholland, the Casked Crusader

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 10th May 2013 - 10:35 am

Liberal Democrats have long known about Leeds North West MP Greg Mulholland’s efforts to protect the Great British Pub. Now, the Sun has caught on to his work and interests and, today, have dubbed him The Casked Crusader, illustrated in this fetching portrait. In this article, entitled Scandaleous, they quote him as saying:

The pubco model is a scam. No one has got to grips with it — it’s a corporate scandal as big as Libor or Enron but no one’s even probing it.

What I’m saying is, enough is

…

Tagged fair deal for your local campaign, greg mulholland the sun, pubcos, pubs and yorkshire post | 2 Comments

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Ed Davey: Helping consumers to get cheaper energy bills

That EU vote: Stephen Tall's 6 thoughts on what it means

Same Sex Marriage Bill: Lib Dem MPs to be given free vote

Category Archives: News

“They’re all mad, swivel-eyed loons”: a top Tory on the Tories

Lynne Featherstone: If you think a girl is in danger of being forced to endure FGM, tell the Police

Willie Rennie: highlights of his first two years as Scottish Liberal Democrat leader

Smith, Crockart, Bruce and Williams win in Great Parliamentary Raffle

Stephen Tall guests on Guardian Politics Weekly podcast – Tory EU referendum question: in hand or out of control?

The most important thing going on in Parliament this week…

That EU vote: 6 thoughts on what it means for the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour

This wasn’t about Europe (much): this was about Cameron’s leadership

Liberal Democrat MPs to be given free vote on all aspects of Same Sex Marriage Bill

“Feisty” Clegg in Groundhog PMQs

Fancy a Lib Dem numberplate?

Jeremy Browne sets off on global drugs policy research tour

Clegg v Bone: The Rematch

Lib Dem attitudes to poverty and welfare: 3 interesting findings from today’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation report

Liberal Democrat Councillor Karen Chilvers on ITV’s The Chase

Clegg on UK and EU relationship with Africa: “more trade, fairer tax and greater business transparency”

Political rights must go in tandem with economic growth

Battle of the Andrews over 5 Days in May: Lib Dem Stunell lambasts Labour’s Adonis for “spurious rubbish”

EDMwatch #1: animals, VAT on tabloids, Diabetes and Sir Alex Ferguson

Where Ukip won (or almost won) on 2nd May 2013

Libby Local – The Final 2 Episodes: “Election Day!”

Next week in the Lords: 13-16 June… God bless Her Majesty!

Clegg leadership plot: Gove’s ‘crazy grenade’ detonates, briefly, before Tories revert to arguing about Europe

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: “Lib Dems remain focused on the things people really care about”

Christine Jardine selected for Aberdeen Donside by-election

ALDE Party Council: “The sun lounger can wait, Brad, there are only twelve months to save Europe!”

The double dip recession that never was?

Praise for Nick Clegg and Liberal Democrats from both sides – should we be worried?

Vince Cable talks sense on immigration

Tom McNally writes… transforming rehabilitation

Fancy working for the Liberal Democrats?

The Sun’s new superhero: Greg Mulholland, the Casked Crusader

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"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Ed Davey: Helping consumers to get cheaper energy bills

That EU vote: Stephen Tall's 6 thoughts on what it means

Same Sex Marriage Bill: Lib Dem MPs to be given free vote

Category Archives: News

This wasn’t about Europe (much): this was about Cameron’s leadership

Political rights must go in tandem with economic growth

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