Tag Archives: eric avebury

Government changes its mind and makes caste discrimination illegal

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 25th April 2013 - 9:01 am

The BBC reports that Vince Cable has agreed to outlaw caste discrimination after the House of Lords twice voted on an amendment incorporating it into the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.

Those proposing the change argued that those considered to be of lower caste in some communities were discriminated against in employment or even at school. A government report from 2010 argued that a change in the law was the most effective way of dealing with this issue.

Liberal Democrat peer Eric Avebury has been at the forefront of the campaign to outlaw caste discrimination and has written about …

Next week in the Lords: 4-7 March

By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2013 - 1:21 pm

Yes, we’re back, after this column’s regular late winter break to study comparisons between government systems in the Caribbean. And whilst the House of Lords and the Cuban leadership do have some similarities – having octogenarians in prominent positions, for example – you would probably want to see more of Eric Avebury than you would Fidel Castro…

So, on with the motley…

Monday kicks off the week with the main business being Day 2 of the Report Stage of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. Amongst the …

Posted in News | Also tagged Celia Thomas, hugh dykes, meral ece, mike storey, navnit dholakia, susan kramer and tony greaves | Leave a comment

Lib Dem peer Avebury on working in your 80s

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th February 2013 - 1:28 pm

Yesterday’s Guardian carries a feature on three people who have worked way beyond the age when they can collect their State Pension.

One of those is Liberal Democrat Peer Eric Avebury, who has written several articles for Liberal Democrat Voice.

At 84, he’s still attending the House of Lords 4 days a week.

He talks of the driving force that keeps him going:

As I have got older I have become more and more keen on the idea of equality. The evidence shows that most of the ills of society – such as crime, mental illness and so on – are deeply correlated

…

Posted in News | Also tagged guardian and house of lords | 1 Comment

Next week in the Lords… 10-14 December

By Mark Valladares | Fri 7th December 2012 - 2:50 pm

Firstly, my apologies for missing a few weeks, mostly due to a rather hectic diary. So, where were we?…

It has to be said that next week is a relatively quiet week for the Liberal Democrats, with no oral questions scheduled, although Monday does see some Liberal Democrat ministerial action, with Jim Wallace taking the Second Reading of the Partnerships (Prosecution) (Scotland) Bill, which is intended to make provision for the prosecution in Scotland of partnerships, partners and others following dissolution or changes in membership. More important, probably, …

Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged courts and crime bill, robin teverson and tax avoidance | 3 Comments

Lib Dem Peers rebel as Government defeated on Welfare Reform

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 11th January 2012 - 8:09 pm

The Government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords tonight on various aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill.

The House of Lords was discussing amendments relating to the Employment and Support Allowance.

The Guardian reports that 3 Liberal Democrats, Jenny Tonge, Matthew Taylor and Roger Roberts voted for an amendment which protected young people’s right to claim Employment and Support Allowance.

The Government was also defeated on their one year time limit for claiming Contributory ESA. This was increased to two years by the amendment. The Liberal Democrat rebels were Dee Doocey and Jenny Tonge.

The third defeat was …

Posted in News | Also tagged dee doocey, house of lords, jenny tonge, matthew taylor, roger roberts, shirley williams and welfare reform bill | 44 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 11 February 2010

By Alex Foster | Thu 11th February 2010 - 8:11 am

Well, let’s see. First the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. Then it was February 11th and time for Daily View, on this, Canadian actor Leslie Nielson’s birthday.

He shares the date with the Beast of Bolsover, Dennis Skinner, and Caribou Barbie, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Other notable occurrences today include the death of Sylvia Plath in 1963 and the début of Julia Child’s US TV show The French Chef in 1963. If you’ve never seen it before, go see Julia making omelettes.

2 Cheerful Stories

British Retail’s “irreversible downward spiral”

The Guardian has news that some British towns and cities have so many empty shops they may never recover:

Many of Britain’s towns and cities are suffering from such huge shop vacancy rates that they risk becoming ghost towns, wiping hundreds of millions of pounds off property values, a study revealed yesterday.

Cities such as Wolverhampton and Bradford, where nearly a quarter of shops lie empty, could be on an irreversible downward spiral as a result of the financial crisis. The research by the Local Data Company shows retail vacancy rates across Britain rose 2% in the past six months of last year to 12%, with some towns seeing as much as 24% of its shops lying empty.

“As much as 24%” ? What’s wrong with “Almost a quarter” ?

Oh, and NB, the photo in the story is my home city Nottingham. I’m not sure where it was taken, but it’s not really typical of the city.

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged andrew reeves, beast of bolsover, dennis skinner, inequality, john prescott, julia childs, leslie nielson, nottingham, retail, retirement, sarah palin, taylor dayne and uganda | Leave a comment

Daily View 2×2: 5 February 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 5th February 2010 - 11:15 am

Happy birthday to Jo Swinson, Lib Dem MP for East Dunbartonshire!

2 Must-Read Blog Posts

What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

Biometric data

How many people have had theirs taken under the Terrorism Act 2000, and how successful have they been at getting the samples destroyed? Lord Eric Avebury has put down a Parliamentary Question.

Will libertarian bloggers ever grow up?

Jonathan Calder wants libertarian bloggers to widen their repertoire beyond “Get out of my room Mom!”

Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren’t on the aggregator? Do post up a comment sharing them with us all.

2 Big Stories

Liberal Democrat MEP celebrates French equality win

Since August 2007, French couples in a Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PAC) have enjoyed the same rights in relation to tax and inheritance laws which had previously only applied to married couples. However, due to a legal anomaly, British civil partnerships were not recognised under French law, meaning couples living in France were liable for a 60% inheritance tax and were treated like any other unmarried couple.

Graham Watson pointed out the ridiculous situation that many people faced: “Up until now, the practicality of French law has meant that British civil partners living in France would have to dissolve their partnership and enter into a PAC in order to secure the same rights as French couples. This violated the idea of European citizenship and equality, and something had to be done.”

Watson asked the European Commission to press the French Government on the issue.
Ministers have now announced that British civil partnerships are recognised as equal to PACs, and reimbursements will be made to individuals who have made undue tax payments since August 2007.

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged civil partnerships, graham watson, id cards, Jo Swinson, jonathan calder and national dna database | 1 Comment

Nick: "Jobs are right at the heart of the Lib Dems’ agenda"

"Lib Dems set to name 7 new peers for House of Lords"

EU in/out referendum bill - will Lib Dem MPs abstain?

The Morrissey Report: "No excuses" says Caron Lindsay

Tag Archives: eric avebury

Government changes its mind and makes caste discrimination illegal

Next week in the Lords: 4-7 March

Lib Dem peer Avebury on working in your 80s

Next week in the Lords… 10-14 December

Lib Dem Peers rebel as Government defeated on Welfare Reform

Daily View 2×2: 11 February 2010

2 Cheerful Stories

Daily View 2×2: 5 February 2010

2 Must-Read Blog Posts

2 Big Stories

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Nick: "Jobs are right at the heart of the Lib Dems’ agenda"

"Lib Dems set to name 7 new peers for House of Lords"

EU in/out referendum bill - will Lib Dem MPs abstain?

The Morrissey Report: "No excuses" says Caron Lindsay

Tag Archives: eric avebury

Government changes its mind and makes caste discrimination illegal

Next week in the Lords: 4-7 March

Lib Dem peer Avebury on working in your 80s

Next week in the Lords… 10-14 December

Lib Dem Peers rebel as Government defeated on Welfare Reform

Daily View 2×2: 11 February 2010

2 Cheerful Stories

Daily View 2×2: 5 February 2010

2 Must-Read Blog Posts

2 Big Stories

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