Tag Archives: coalition agreement

Julian Huppert MP writes: High Speed Rail no longer the transport of the future, but a logistical imperative

By Julian Huppert MP | Published 18th October 2011 - 11:53 am

Birmingham in 49 minutes, Leeds in 80, and 45 minutes shaved off the journey to Scotland’s major cities. For some, this is reason enough for the Government’s new High Speed Rail line (HS2) – stretching from London in the South, to Manchester in the North-West and Leeds in the North-East.

Many, including myself, would love to see the line extended all the way up to Scotland, providing a real boost to domestic tourism and sustainable growth.

But in amongst the disputes over cost benefit analyses and NIMBYism, there are some startling figures which remind us why High Speed Rail is vital …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged east coast mainline, general election manifesto, HS2, network rail, nimbyism | 31 Comments

Kirsty Williams AM writes: Getting down to business in Wales

By Kirsty Williams AM | Published 15th July 2011 - 2:37 pm

The long running saga of the ‘Welsh Lib Dem two’ has now been resolved but not without some pain. While Aled Roberts was able to re-take his seat as an Assembly Member, it was clear in the National Assembly that John Dixon did not have the same support.

I would like to pay tribute to John Dixon. He has served the public diligently and with distinction on Cardiff Council. He would have been an enormously effective and hard working Assembly Member. He has paid a very high price and I would like to pay tribute to him for the dignity with which he has handled the situation over the past two months.

Aled Roberts too has had a difficult couple of months but he is now back in the Assembly where he belongs and we have wasted no time in getting down to business and I have been able to announce the team that will hold the government to account.

Posted in Wales | Also tagged aled roberts, cabinet, eluned parrott, farmer's union of wales, john dixon, lloyd george society, nick clegg, peter black, pupil premium, welsh assembly, william powell | 1 Comment

Opinion: The ‘democratic filter’ disempowers tenants

By Cllr Terry Stacy | Published 14th June 2011 - 10:42 am

As Liberal Democrats we should be very welcoming of the Localism Bill. The measures included in it to bring power back to local communities have been at the heart of our politics for many years, and will give people a real say in local decision making. Empowering people was key to me becoming active in the tenant’s movement in the 80’s, why I joined the Liberal Party back then and cut my teeth in politics in Tower Hamlets, and why I stood for Council in Islington years later.

Empowering people is key to being a Liberal Democrat, Indeed, Andrew Stunell …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged andrew stunell, localism bill | 6 Comments

Stephen Williams MP writes: Backbench committees and the louder Lib Dem voice

By Stephen Williams MP | Published 23rd May 2011 - 2:53 pm

There has been much talk in recent weeks about how Liberal Democrats show our distinctiveness and make the party’s voice heard more loudly in government.

A key part of this is the role of the Lib Dem parliamentary committees, one of which I co-chair.

These committees are not simply talking shops. They perform two important functions: making our influence felt within government and preparing the ground for party policy in the future.

Increasingly, the fruits of these committees are being seen.

The Coalition Agreement is the contract that underwrites this government. It sets out the policy agenda agreed between ourselves and our Coalition …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged alan beith, Backbench committees, Centre for Policy Studies, centre forum, david cameron, jenny willott | 5 Comments

Opinion: Putting the Localism Bill in a Social Liberal context

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Published 12th May 2011 - 4:15 pm

In embracing principles of The Big Society and Localism, have the Liberal Democrats being railroaded into an erosion of the public state, seemingly by accident?

The initial premise of the Localism Bill appeals greatly to Liberal Democrat in the Conservative-led Coalition. What is there about bringing power to local communities that is not to be liked?

It could be argued that the principles of the Localism Bill were in fact first proposed within the Coalition Agreement, where Page 11 states;

We will promote the radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government

…

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged localism bill | 12 Comments

Everything you ever wanted to know about… Policy and the Parliamentary Party (part 3)

By Mark Valladares | Published 3rd March 2011 - 2:43 pm

In the first two parts of this mini-series, I looked at how policy is made, and how its creation is managed. Today, I want to look at its failings, the implications of those failings, and how future policy making might be shaped.

As a party of perpetual opposition, our inclusive but often ponderous policy-making regime allowed members to influence core policy, in the knowledge that it would be a means of attacking the Government, but was unlikely to be applied. Occasionally, that led to somewhat populist ideas being espoused but, if a Government did something in a field where our policy was obsolete, or overtaken by events, our spokespeople had a set of principles to fall back on.

Such an arrangement worked, for the most part, especially in small Parliamentary Parties. However, its weaknesses became more apparent as Labour’s mania for legislation produced a plethora of technical changes in need of detailed scrutiny.

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged danny alexander, digital economy bill, federal policy committee, house of lords, special conference | Leave a comment

Nick Clegg writes to Aaron Porter on ‘Right to Recall’ and tuition fees

By Helen Duffett | Published 30th November 2010 - 8:10 am

Nick Clegg, has written to Aaron Porter, President of the National Union of Students, in response to the NUS’ ‘Right to Recall’ campaign.

His letter in full:

Dear Aaron,

Thank you for writing to me about your ‘Right to Recall’ campaign.

The idea of a right to recall was something I proposed when I first became leader of the Liberal Democrats and I am proud that it is now part of the Coalition Agreement. However my proposal was for it to apply to MPs who were found guilty of serious wrongdoing by the parliamentary authorities. My intention has always been that it should be

…

Posted in News | Also tagged aaron porter, derek conway, graduate contribution scheme, graduate tax, higher education, nick clegg, nus, right to recall, tuition fees, universities | 60 Comments

David Laws: 22 Days in May

By Helen Duffett | Published 15th November 2010 - 4:18 pm

David Laws’ account of the negotiations that led to the Coalition agreement is due out next Monday.

According to the publishers:

The Liberal Democrats’ and Conservatives’ decision to form a Coalition government has changed the face of British politics. This book sets out the inside story of how this momentous event unfolded, and how – together – the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have started to address the challenge of a massive government budget deficit.

22 Days in May is the first detailed Liberal Democrat insider account of the negotiations which led to the formation of the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition government in May 2010,

…

Posted in Books | Also tagged david laws | 17 Comments

LibLink: Tim Farron – Tuition fees are the poll tax of our generation

By Helen Duffett | Published 12th November 2010 - 9:43 am

Over at the Guardian’s Comment is Free, Tim Farron MP reiterates his pledge to vote against tuition fees, calling them “the poll tax of our generation” – a reference to the angry scenes at Wednesday’s demonstration.

In his article, Tim makes the distinction between the NUS pledge against tuition fees, signed by Parliamentary candidates before the General Election (which he intends to abide by), the Liberal Democrat manifesto (which became a negotiating document) and the Coalition Agreement (which contains 65% of the Liberal Democrat manifesto).

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged general election manifesto, higher education, poll tax, tuition fees, universities | 34 Comments

Opinion: our ministers need to communicate better – and fast

By Mark Thompson | Published 18th October 2010 - 4:02 pm

I have previously been a big supporter of the coalition government.

During the negotiations back in May I wrote that we should take the Tory deal for the good of the country and that it was effectively the only game in town.

I was also supportive of many of the actions taken in the early days of the government including the decision to focus more heavily on reducing the deficit. I broadly accepted the arguments that the government as a whole have used to justify this.

I have not blogged myself since the start of August but have found myself in mid-October …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged higher education, nick clegg, tuition fees, universities | 34 Comments

Infographic: the Lib Dem effect on the Coalition

By Helen Duffett | Published 29th September 2010 - 5:43 pm

How much respective influence have the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives had on the Coalition Government’s policies?

Lib Dem blogger Duncan Stott has crunched the data from the Guardian’s Datablog:

“The most objective way of assessing the coalition at this early stage is the coalition agreement. An analysis of this text and the roots behind each policy would give the best description of how this government is formed.

Happily the Guardian have done exactly this analysis and provided it as a spreadsheet.

…

Posted in News | Also tagged duncan stott, infographic | 14 Comments

The coalition agreement: transport & universities and further education

By Mark Pack | Published 6th June 2010 - 5:50 pm

Welcome to the twentieth and last (phew!) in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here.

Traditionally the transport sections of party manifestos contain commitments to various expensive, long-term public expenditure projects. In the current financial climate it is no surprise that the coalition agreement’s transport section is rather heavy on matters of regulation and bureaucracy and rather light on directly spending money to improve transport.

So we have a promise to “make Network Rail more accountable to its customers”, a commitment to “fair pricing for rail travel”, a …

Posted in News | Also tagged crossrail, high-speed rail, higher education, ming campbell, railways, transport, tuition fees, universities | 5 Comments

The coalition agreement: social care and disability & taxation

By Mark Pack | Published 5th June 2010 - 12:20 pm

Welcome to the nineteenth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here.

Although when talking about other parts of the agreement I’ve sometimes being quite critical about the parking of issues with commissions or reviews, the commission on long-term care is a good move. It has a clear remit, has to report within a year and tackles an area which requires policies that have a chance of long term cross-party agreement given the nature of the subject. The failure of cross-party talks prior to the election means the …

Posted in News | Also tagged marriage, tax | Leave a comment

The coalition agreement: social action

By Mark Pack | Published 4th June 2010 - 3:45 pm

Welcome to the eighteenth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here.

At the time David Cameron started talking about the Big Society, the concept struck me as a mix of traditional community politics and vagueness. Looking at the specifics in this section, there is still a fair amount of vagueness, but the specifics are ones that often touch on themes which our party (or more precisely the Liberal Party) has talked about in the past and rather neglected in more recent years. In other words, it’s …

Posted in News | Also tagged big society, community politics, lynne featherstone, mark oaten | 2 Comments

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