Tag Archives: john leech

Caron Lindsay

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 …

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Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged , , , , and | 8 Comments
Prateek Buch

Opinion: One last chance to achieve far-reaching libel reform

By Prateek Buch | Fri 19th April 2013 - 3:42 pm

The Defamation Bill is nearly law. Several key reforms needed to protect free debate are already included in the Bill, thanks to the tireless work of the Libel Reform Campaign (declaration: I have acted as an adviser to the campaign), the heroic defence of free speech by individuals in the face of financial ruin, and Parliamentarians from both Houses, with Lib Dems leading the charge.

At the very last, however, a Tory attempt to scupper one of the most important provisions that was included in the bill needs to be defeated if the ensuing Act is to achieve …

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NewsHound

John Leech tables parliamentary motion about homophobic chants at football matches

By NewsHound | Wed 17th April 2013 - 10:15 am

Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, John Leech, has tabled an Early Day Motion (number 1265) which calls for action to be taken against homophobic chanting at football matches, pointing out that if the chants were about someone’s race or skin colour, then they would be tackled.

His EDM says:

That this House welcomes the report from the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters’ Club (BHASC), along with the Gay Football Supporters’ Network (GFSN), that details evidence and a log of the level of homophobic chanting at both home and away matches; recognises the extent of the problem when Brighton fans have been

…

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Mary Reid

LibLink: John Leech – Smoking ban working

By Mary Reid | Tue 22nd January 2013 - 3:48 pm

No smokingOn his blog, John Leech MP, reminds us that there has been a 12% decrease in childhood asthma since the smoking ban was introduced in 2007 (with Scotland leading the way a year earlier).

Smoking is an issue I feel passionate about; I have long supported campaigns to ban smoking in public spaces. However, I believe we need to go further and that research finding such as these studies should give us that impetus. In February of last year I signed an Early Day Motion (EDM 2724) that noted “the

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

++ Government wins vote on Benefits Uprating Bill; 6 Lib Dem MPs rebel

By Stephen Tall | Tue 8th January 2013 - 7:45 pm

There were no serious doubts the Coalition Government’s Benefits Uprating Bill — pegging increases in welfare payments at a below-inflation 1%, the same as public sector wage rises, for the next three years — would be approved. The only question was the size of majority and how many Lib Dems would rebel (I’ve been keeping a running tally here this afternoon).

There were two votes tonight. First, a Labour amendment to the Bill, defeated by 321 votes to 262, a government majority of 59. Then a vote on the unamended second reading, which the government won by 324 votes to …

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Stephen Tall

++ SHOCK! HORROR! LIB DEM MP CAUGHT UP IN NEW EXPENSES ROW!

By Stephen Tall | Fri 9th November 2012 - 3:05 pm

I’m deeply grateful to the Manchester Evening News and its reporter Deborah Linton for exposing Manchester MP John Leech’s shameless attempts to exploit the taxpayer by…

(brace yourselves for the shock)…

… offering coffee to staff working at his constituency office and members of the public visiting him.

With unbelievable extravagance, Mr Leech has splashed out on two £34.99 coffee makers from Aldi for his Didsbury office. As if that weren’t shameless enough, he also bought coffee beans to actually put into the actual coffee makers!

Then to …

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Stephen Tall

In other news… Nick talks Dutch, Farron’s footie boycott, Hemming’s whistleblower charter & more

By Stephen Tall | Sun 28th October 2012 - 6:45 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

Nick Clegg insists on speaking Dutch at Cabinet Office meeting (Telegraph)

Nick Clegg, who speaks five languages fluently, chose to conduct a recent meeting at the Cabinet Office with Herman Van Rompuy, the European Council president, entirely in Dutch. Did the Deputy Prime Minister, whose mother is from the Netherlands, do so to outfox a Downing Street official whom David Cameron had allegedly sent to spy on their conversation? “Nick enjoys being able to talk Dutch,” the Liberal Democrat leader’s spokesman tells Mandrake.

…

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Stephen Tall

In other news… London PPBs, Clegg paint attack, Turing pardon latest, Darlington Lib Dem leader barred

By Stephen Tall | Sun 26th February 2012 - 5:35 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past week…

  • Lib Dems fight reduction of their party political broadcasts in London (Guardian)

    • Provisional plans being drawn up by the BBC suggest giving the Lib Dems two party political broadcasts for the elections – the same as the Green party – rather than the three the Lib Dems enjoyed alongside Labour and the Conservatives in 2008. … A party source said the Lib Dems were confident the decision would be overturned, given that they have seven MPs in the capital, 246 councillors, and

    …

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    Stephen Tall

    Lib Dem MPs set to rebel over ‘back-door’ nuclear power subsidy

    By Stephen Tall | Sat 2nd July 2011 - 4:15 pm

    ‘Liberal Democrats have long opposed any new nuclear construction. Conservatives, by contrast, are committed to allowing the replacement of existing nuclear power stations provided that they are subject to the normal planning process for major projects (under a new National Planning Statement), and also provided that they receive no public subsidy.’

    So declares the Coalition Agreement. However, as the Guardian reports, the finance bill due to be debated this coming week introduces a form of subsidy, and it’s attracted opposition among the party:

    A large group of Lib Dems are concerned about clause 78 of the bill, which MPs will consider

    …

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    Tim Farron MP

    Tim Farron writes… Join the Lib Dems YES! to Fairer Votes campaign

    By Tim Farron MP | Fri 18th March 2011 - 12:23 pm

    Tim Farron launches the Lib Dem YES! campaign

    This morning I launched the Liberal Democrats’ Yes! To Fairer Votes campaign in Manchester.

    Over 100 local members and supporters came along to hear speeches from Simon Hughes, John Leech, Gordon Birtwistle and Floella Benjamin about how monumentally essential it is that we win this Fairer Votes referendum.

    As Nick Clegg has already argued, this is “a battle between reformers and conservatives” and this is our chance, our one opportunity for genuine electoral reform.

    By winning this referendum …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 6 Comments
    Helen Duffett

    John Leech MP: The door is not shut on Labour

    By Helen Duffett | Sat 25th September 2010 - 11:33 am

    Manchester Withington MP John Leech is due to speak at a Fabian Society fringe event at the Labour Party conference on Monday.

    Titled “Is the Lib/Lab coalition Gone Forever?”, the event will also feature former Lib Dem MP Evan Harris, Labour Mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone and former Labour cabinet minister David Blunkett.

    According to the Press Association, John Leech has said,

    The door is not shut on the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties working together.

    Labour need to re-think the mistakes they made over the last 13 years and get out of this immature opposition mentality that they appear to be so

    …

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    Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 16 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    The LDV Bank Holiday Monday caption competition – the “Nick Clegg meets Tardis” edition

    By Stephen Tall | Mon 3rd May 2010 - 9:15 pm

    There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader …


    (Photo: Alex Folkes).

    Here’s Nick Clegg campaigning with the Lib Dems’ Manchester Withington MP John Leech at a primary school – but what do you reckon Nick’s saying, or the kids (or John) are thinking?

    The winner of our most recent caption competition, the “David Cameron sucks bitter lemon” edition – according to The Voice’s judging panel of one – was this one by Jen.

    Posted in Caption Comp | Also tagged | 16 Comments
    Iain Roberts

    A straight choice? Does this squeeze message hold water?

    By Iain Roberts | Sun 4th April 2010 - 6:09 pm

    Under our First Past the Post voting system, the squeeze message is a legitimate one, used by all parties when it’s to their benefit.

    Voting for the third (or lower) placed party in the seat is, they all argue, a wasted vote. Those lower placed parties will say otherwise, but it’s a fair tactic. Lib Dems would say that under a better voting system, tactical voting wouldn’t be needed.

    But in this election we’re seeing a new twist on the theme from the Labservatives, and it’s a bit of a stretch to see how it could be honest or …

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    Posted in General Election | Also tagged , , , and | 12 Comments
    Mark Pack

    LabourList says accurately quoting TheyWorkForYou = “blatant lies”

    By Mark Pack | Wed 8th April 2009 - 11:31 pm

    TheyWorkForYou says of John Leech, Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington, “Voted strongly for laws to stop climate change” (source).

    John Leech put out a leaflet saying he voted for climate change laws. Fair enough you might think. After all, that claim is backed up by a widely-respected independent website which bases its descriptions of MPs’ voting records directly on the official Hansard voting records.

    But LabourList’s response?

    To pick up on the leaflet:

    In it he claims to have voted for “Climate Change Laws”

    And to say of this claim (and one other in the leaflet) that this is a case of:

    blatant

    …

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    Posted in News | Also tagged | 16 Comments

    Leadership Platform 7: Join Matthew Taylor and John Leech on Chris Huhne’s campaign team

    By Anna Werrin | Wed 12th December 2007 - 11:23 am

    There are just days to go, but there’s time for members to get ballot papers back with a first-class stamp on it! We need the help of Chris’s supporters to call members and get crucial votes returned for him by Saturday.

    I’m delighted that two more MPs have chosen to declare their support for Chris Huhne as Liberal Democrat leader today. Matthew Taylor, former Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Chairman, and Campaign Chairman for Charles Kennedy’s Leadership campaign in 1999, has announced his backing. So too has Manchester Withington MP John Leech, our Shadow Transport minister.

    Chris was part of Matthew Taylor’s economy …

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    Posted in Leadership Election | Also tagged | 2 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    How the MPs are lining up (UPDATED)

    By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd November 2007 - 11:25 am

    By popular request, here’s the current list of which Lib Dem MPs have declared for which leadership candidate so far. (Originally compiled with the help of Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph.)

    The list shows that Nick has attracted two MPs who supported Chris as leader in 2006: Greg Mulholland and Stephen Williams; and eight who supported Simon Hughes (all listed below). Chris has attracted one former Ming Campbell backer – Tom Brake – and three MPs who supported Simon Hughes last time.

    Eight MPs have stated they will not declare for any candidate; four have yet – so far as I’m aware – to state their intentions.

    As we continue to note, the number of MPs who declare for any one candidate is, in one sense, irrelevant: we are a one-member-one-vote party. Clearly, however, MPs’ endorsements will carry some influence with party members, especially among non-activists.

    The full list appears below:

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    Posted in Leadership Election and News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , and | 4 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    How the MPs are lining up (UPDATED)

    By Stephen Tall | Thu 25th October 2007 - 2:57 pm

    I’m grateful to Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph, who has compiled (and allowed me to reproduce here) his up-to-date list of which Lib Dem MPs have declared for which leadership candidate so far.

    Jonathan comments: “Below are my most up-to-date lists, which suggest that Huhne now cannot possibly overtake Clegg in terms of MPs declaring. Brackets state where they went in the 2006 election.”

    The list shows that Nick has attracted two MPs who supported Chris as leader in 2006: Greg Mulholland and Stephen Williams; and seven who supported Simon Hughes (all listed below). Chris has attracted one former Ming Campbell backer – Tom Brake – and two MPs who supported Simon Hughes last time.

    Nine MPs have stated they will not declare for any candidate; 14 have yet to state their intentions.

    As was pointed out in the comments on yesterday’s thread, the number of MPs who declare for any one candidate is, in one sense, irrelevant: we are a one-member-one-vote party. Clearly, however, MPs’ endorsements will carry some influence with party members, especially among non-activists.

    It will also influence how the media perceives, and then reports, the strengths of the respective leadership campaigns. Though, of course, being seen as the favourite is not always the most comfortable of positions, as Ming Campbell discovered last time. Lib Dems do love an underdog.

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    Posted in Leadership Election and News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 26 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    What Lib Dem MPs will be reading this summer

    By Stephen Tall | Mon 2nd July 2007 - 1:37 pm

    We’re into July, yet summer seems to have decided to give the UK a miss this year (so far). No matter.

    Packing books for the beach (or wherever) is as much a summer ritual as the Brits crashing out of Wimbledon, and helping out in the latest Parliamentary by-elections. So Lib Dem Voice asked a few of the party’s MPs which books they’d be taking with them on holiday this year. Here’s what they told us:

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      "... judging by the lack of internal criticism of Clegg and co by their grassroots activists." Well that seems to sum up perfectly how much...
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      The Government and Europe should act immediately to stamp out this barbaric treatment of girls and women. Those communities practicing it should be targeted with...
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