Tag Archives: david davis

LibLink: Nick Clegg… AV got the Mayor elected – now he’s voting against it

By Helen Duffett | Published 27th April 2011 - 3:28 pm

Nick Clegg wrote an article for the Evening Standard yesterday aimed at London voters, who’ll only be voting in the AV referendum on May 5th as London does not have council elections* this year.

As well as outlining the reasons for voting Yes to Fairer Votes, “I believe most Londoners want a new way of electing MPs that cleans up politics, makes MPs work harder and makes every vote count,” Nick busts the myths about AV: “vote-counting machines that don’t exist and won’t be needed. Claims that the alternative vote is too complex for the British people to understand, as …

Posted in London, News | Also tagged av referendum, bnp, boris johnson, david cameron, evening standard, nick clegg, southwark | 24 Comments

Votes for (some) prisoners to get a vote in Parliament

By Mark Pack | Published 18th January 2011 - 8:34 pm

The BBC’s Nick Robinson reports:

David Davis and Jack Straw have got their way. The Commons will get the chance to vote – probably in the middle of February – for a motion to defy the European Court of Human Rights on prisoner voting…

The prime minister welcomes the plan for the Commons to hold a debate on whether prisoners should be given the vote as demanded by the European Court of Human Rights and believes that it “could be helpful”, I’m told. David Cameron is said to want as few prisoners as possible to be given the vote and is still

…

Posted in Election law, News | Also tagged jack straw, votes for prisoners | 9 Comments

Anti-terrorism legislation: news emerges of likely reforms

By Mark Pack | Published 30th November 2010 - 12:54 pm

In his Hugo Young lecture last week Nick Clegg clearly signalled the imminent end to control orders. Now over the last couple of days the shape of the likely conclusions from the anti-terrorism review are starting to emerge, with the current 28-day limit on detention without charge coming back down to 14 days. A new set of tighter than usual bail conditions could then be imposed for a further 14 days.

The police’s stop and search powers are also likely to be curtailed, particularly following the news that in the last year over 100,000 stop and searches were conducted under …

Posted in News | Also tagged alex carlile, anti-terrorist legislation, control orders, nick clegg | 2 Comments

Dear David Davis…

By Mark Pack | Published 29th September 2010 - 1:05 pm

Dear David Davis,

You have me confused.

In your speech today you warn against “the destruction of a 200-year-old constitution” and give this as a reason to oppose AV.

But aside from our voting system, there is another part of that 200 year old constitution that is also currently up for change before Parliament.

200 years ago the size of Parliamentary constituencies varied hugely. Much more than 5% or 10% and not simply on islands or in the Highlands. Massive variations were built into the system, specially to protect particular vested interests.

So if you are wanting to protect our 200 year old constitution, I …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged electoral reform, featured | 16 Comments

Opinion: Reasons to be cheerful

By Chris White | Published 26th July 2010 - 11:45 am

As some of us head for the beach at the end of a very long term, it might be a good idea to see whether there is any light in the current political gloom.

I can count no less than 6 ‘reasons to be cheerful’.

First of all, last week saw the initial meetings of the new Westminster policy teams, designed to facilitate dialogue and communication between the Liberal Democrats in government, especially ministers, and interested parliamentarians, councillor representatives and the Federal Policy Committee.

The ones I attended were workmanlike – and anyway are a great deal better than anything our Coalition …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged david cameron, michael gove | 18 Comments

Ah, so that’s what happened to David Davis

By Stephen Tall | Published 24th July 2010 - 12:20 pm

The 10th July is an anniversary I forgot to mark here on Lib Dem Voice. For it was two years ago, on that day, that David Davis won the Haltemprice and Howden by-election he had himself forced as a self-declared referendum on civil liberties.

At the time, I was fairly sympathetic to the impact of Mr Davis’s stance, arguing “it would be churlish to deny that a significant number of folk chose to have their say”, and that this afforded the former Tory shadow home secretary “a commanding personal mandate”.

In truth, I was over-generous to Mr Davis: Jonathan …

Posted in News | 21 Comments

Opinion: Who can trust Cameron?

By Ed Randall | Published 8th March 2010 - 4:25 pm

In June 2006 Professor John Curtice, commenting on opinion polls and shifts in the UK political environment said: “It looks as though we may have entered a new political era”. Andrew Grice, The Independent on Sunday’s Political Editor, observed that the Independent’s ‘poll of polls’ showed “David Cameron’s rejuvenated Conservative Party [opening] a seven-point lead over Labour.”

The focus of their political analysis was the impact of a recently elected Conservative Party leader on UK party politics. Here was a leader who had set out to detoxify the Tory brand, and he and his party appeared to be making significant headway.

David Cameron had, according to Andrew Grice, called on …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged andrew grice, david cameron, david willetts, george osborne, john curtice | 2 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 9 February 2010

By Sara Bedford | Published 9th February 2010 - 9:53 am

Welcome to this morning’s Daily View. I am sure I cannot be the only person to be cheered by waking to the news that the Conservatives believe that their no. 1 electoral weapon is George Osborne.

On this day 60 years ago, United States Senator Joe McCarthy launched his anti-communist crusade, with a speech accusing more than 200 staff in the State Department of being members of the Communist Party. On 9^thFebruary 1979, England and Birmingham City forward Trevor Francis signed for Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest for £1 million, the first UK footballer to move for a seven figure sum.

Today is also the third anniversary of the death of actor Ian Richardson CBE, best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the wonderful House of Cards trilogy.

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged afghanistan, anthony hook, chris huhne, david cameron, electoral reform, ewan hoyle, falklands, george osborne, ian richardson, parliamentary privilege, simon weston | 2 Comments

Tory split on climate change

By David Pollard | Published 2nd December 2009 - 9:02 pm

A pretty comprehensive story in today’s Independent shows how split the Tories are on Copenhagen and climate change policies. The article is refreshing in that it names names, most of whom are the usual right wing suspects. For quite some time Nigel Lawson has been touring the Country pushing his Climate Change denial message and he seems to have drawn some heavyweight Tories with him (if you can call John Redwood, Peter Lilley and Ann Widdicome heavyweight).

David Davis on the other hand in a two column article produces a much more balance view. When you have waded through all …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged climate change, environment, nigel lawson | 2 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 14 June 2009

By Mark Pack | Published 14th June 2009 - 7:00 am

Welcome to the Sunday outing for The Voice’s Daily View series. As it’s a Sunday, today it comes with a bonus complaint and the easiest quiz question of the week.

2 Big Stories

Could Alan Johnson scrap ID cards?

Gordon Brown’s weakness means there is a set of senior Cabinet members who are now unsackable. If any of them were to take it upon themselves to indulge in a very un-Brownian desire to do something dramatic and decisive, it would be extremely hard for Gordon Brown to stop them.

Step forward then possibly, perhaps, just maybe Alan Johnson. (He is, after all, one of …

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged alan johnson, bnp, david cameron, id cards, iran, star trek, twitter | 1 Comment

The LDV 2×2 Daily View (12/5/09)

By Stephen Tall | Published 12th May 2009 - 9:34 am

Welcome to what’s intended to be a daily feature here on LDV: an early preview of the two big news stories of the day, and a click-though to two of the must-read Lib Dem blog posts just published. Each day a member of the LDV collective will take their turn to bagpipe fact into news*.

2 Big Stories

MPs’ expenses: paying bills for Tory grandees
The Telegraph has the most enjoyable schadenfreude story of the day, with the latest set of MPs’ expenses revelations this time focusing on the ‘estate-ocracy’ of Tory MPs. Particular faves include:

Douglas Hogg (aka 3rd Viscount

…

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged alan haslehurst, douglas carswell, douglas hogg, fiona whelan, michael martin, nich starling, nick clegg, norman baker | 1 Comment

Has David Cameron gagged David Davis?

By Mark Pack | Published 26th February 2009 - 10:50 am

I only ask because, you see, when the Freedom of Information legislation was going through Parliament, David Davis was one of the MPs who opposed the idea that a Government minister could veto the release of information:

A cross-party alliance of senior MPs was formed yesterday to attack the Home Office for giving ministers wide-ranging powers of veto in the Freedom of Information Bill … Others who joined the call for fellow MPs to back cross-party amendments to the Bill included David Davis (C, Haltemprice and Howden) (The Independent, 31 March 2000)

So now that Jack Straw has used the …

Posted in Opposition watch | Also tagged david cameron, freedom of information, iraq, jack straw | 4 Comments

Cabinet minutes on Iraq 2: Can you guess what Dominic Grieve said next?

By Mark Pack | Published 25th February 2009 - 9:50 am

So there he was, sat in the House of Commons listening to Jack Straw announce his decision to veto the Information Tribunal’s decision that the Cabinet minutes of the decision to go to war in Iraq should be released.

Up he then got, and this is what Dominic Grieve said:

The Secretary of State’s decision to use his powers of veto in this case classically illustrates what has been wrong with the Government’s approach to freedom of information.

and

The public have had their expectations about openness raised by Labour’s spin and propaganda, only to be brought down to earth.

and

Does

…

Posted in News, Opposition watch, Parliament | Also tagged david cameron, dominic grieve, freedom of information, information tribunal, iraq, jack straw | Leave a comment

Tag Archives: david davis

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