Tag Archives: matthew oakeshott

Tune in to Iain Dale’s Lib Dem night tonight on LBC, featuring Nick Clegg, Simon Hughes and others

By Nick Thornsby | Published 8th August 2011 - 4:54 pm

Iain Dale returns to his evening show on London’s LBC radio tonight with a Lib Dem special. First up is a live Q & A with deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, followed by interviews with a whole host of prominent Lib Dems, including three of the four London Mayoral hopefuls as well as deputy leader Simon Hughes.

Here’s the schedule in full from Iain’s blog:

6-7pm Live Q & A with LibDem leader Nick Clegg
7-7.30pm Interview with Nick Clegg (tbc)
7.30-8pm Reaction to Clegg with Lord Oakeshott, Susan Kramer & Jo Phillips
8-9pm Meet the LibDem London Mayoral Candidates – Brian Paddick, Brian

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Posted in News | Also tagged brian haley, brian paddick, iain dale, jo phillips, lembit opik, london mayoral selection, mike tuffrey, nick clegg, simon hughes, susan kramer | Leave a comment

The Lib Dems on ‘Hackgate’ and Murdoch: Ashdown, Huhne, Hughes, Farron, Oakeshott all join the fray

By Stephen Tall | Published 10th July 2011 - 4:25 pm

It’s been a frenzied week in British politics, with attention for once focused less on the mis-deeds of politicans than the criminality practised by many journalists, both at the News of the World and beyond. Here’s a brief round-up of what the Lib Dems have been saying…

BSkyB takeover: Lib Dems hint at backing Labour motion to delay deal (Guardian)

The Liberal Democrats have indicated they could back a Labour move in parliament to delay the Murdoch takeover of BSkyB until after the police investigations into phone hacking. …

[Simon] Hughes told Sky News: “We have to be careful and I would

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Posted in News | Also tagged chris huhne, media, news international, nick clegg, paddy ashdown, rupert murdoch, simon hughes, tim farron | 8 Comments

Lord Stoneham defends Goodwin disclosure

By Helen Duffett | Published 24th May 2011 - 9:16 am

The Liberal Democrat peer who disclosed that former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Sir Fred Goodwin had a relationship with a senior colleague defended his action last night.

Using Parliamentary privilege, Lord Stoneham of Droxford told peers last Thursday:

Every taxpayer has a direct public interest in the events leading up to the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, so how can it be right for a super-injunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague?

If true, it would be a serious breach of corporate governance and not even the Financial Services Authority would be

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Posted in Parliament | Also tagged ben stoneham, william wallace | 2 Comments

The Independent Banking Commission publishes its interim report

By The Voice | Published 11th April 2011 - 6:23 pm

Via the BBC:

UK banks’ retail operations should be “ring-fenced” from their investment banking arms, the Independent Commission on Banking has recommended.

However, in its interim report the commission stopped short of recommending the two should operate as separate entities.

It said more competition was needed in retail banking, including the sell-off of more Lloyds branches.

The commission’s final recommendations will be published in September.

Robert Peston adds,

The big banks will claim that putting their retail banks into subsidiaries would impose significant extra costs on them – because it would force them to raise and retain more capital (which is expensive), and it

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Posted in News | Also tagged banking, independent commission on banking, john vickers, robert peston | 4 Comments

Independent Commission on Banking threatened mass resignation to make Osborne back-off

By Mark Pack | Published 1st March 2011 - 7:34 pm

Matthew Oakeshott’s departure as a Liberal Democrat spokesman for criticising the ‘Project Merlin’ deal with the banks over bonuses and the like may have got the headlines, but the real story is revealed by Anthony Hilton in the Evening Standard – all the members of the Commission threatened to resign in protest at government interference with their work.

He writes:

The Government offered to emasculate the Independent Commission on Banking as it tried to strike a deal on bank bonuses a few weeks ago. I am told it backed off only when Sir John Vickers, chairman of the inquiry, and his entire committee, Clare

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Posted in News | Also tagged banking, george osborne, independent commission on banking, john vickers, lord turner | 13 Comments

Matthew Oakeshott profiled in The Guardian

By Mark Pack | Published 26th February 2011 - 6:41 pm

Today’s Guardian has a profile of Lib Dem peer Lord (Matthew) Oakeshott:

Lord Oakeshott is the master of the one-liner. Treasury officials, in his opinion, “couldn’t negotiate themselves out of a paper bag”. Bankers’ pay particularly irks him: “If this is bonus restraint, my name is Bob Diamond,” is one of the most memorable remarks uttered by any politician this year…

Posted in News | 9 Comments

Lord Oakeshott departs as a Lib Dem Treasury spokesman

By Mark Pack | Published 9th February 2011 - 10:33 pm

By “mutual agreement”, earlier today Lord Oakeshott stopped being a Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman in the Lords. In a lively alternative to the usually banal exchange of letters on such occasions, Oakeshott and Danny Alexander instead exchanged waspish soundbites.

Matthew Oakeshott criticised today’s deal with the banks on bonuses, lending and other matters saying, “If this is robust action on bank bonuses, my name’s Bob Diamond and I’m going to claim my £9m bonus next week”.

Danny Alexander responded on Channel 4 that his “name clearly isn’t Bob Diamond”.

Lord Oakeshott was not “the” Liberal Democrat spokesman in the Lords, a role which …

Posted in News | Also tagged cathy newman, danny alexander | 48 Comments

Lord Oakeshott attacks Barclays over bonsues

By Mark Pack | Published 5th February 2011 - 6:25 pm

The Guardian reports:

Barclays was tonight accused of making a mockery of attempts to call a truce with the government over “banker bashing” amid fresh expectations that its chief executive Bob Diamond would be awarded a bonus of at least £8m.

After months of talking with the banks, the coalition is yet to announce a deal, codenamed Merlin, under which the industry would to agree lending targets of up to £190bn and show restraint on bonuses in return for less criticism from the government.

The talks with the banks have been led by Diamond’s predecessor John Varley and tonight Lord Oakeshott, a Liberal

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Posted in News | Also tagged banking, bob diamond, john varley | 16 Comments

Lord Oakeshott attacks bank bonus secrecy

By Mark Pack | Published 8th January 2011 - 3:32 pm

From The Guardian:

Cracking down on bankers’ bonuses is a “moment of truth” for the coalition government, a leading Liberal Democrat has warned, amid mounting expectations that payments of at least £7bn will be awarded in the coming weeks…

Lord Oakeshott, a Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman, said this was a moment for the coalition to act, particularly on forcing more disclosure from banks on the amount they pay.

“This is the coalition’s moment of truth on fairness,” he said. “The first item on our coalition agreement is a promise to deal with unacceptable bankers’ bonuses. Secret bonuses are by definition unacceptable, so

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Posted in News | Also tagged banking | 9 Comments

The Huhne – Oakeshott two-step

By Mark Pack | Published 1st November 2010 - 10:51 pm

Over the weekend we saw two stories, two prominent Liberal Democrats, two public staking out of positions on issues that are the subject of much debate within the coalition in Whitehall:

David Cameron was warned yesterday by a senior Lib Dem not to delay the introduction of legislation banning non-doms from making donations to political parties in Britain. In a sign of strains within the coalition, Treasury spokesman Lord Oakeshott said there was “absolutely no reason” to delay the legislation. (The Guardian)

and

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat energy secretary, reiterated his party’s strong opposition to retaining a policy that he had previously

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Posted in News | Also tagged chris huhne, theresa may | 3 Comments

Oakeshott: New tax only way to end bank bonus culture

By Sara Bedford | Published 6th October 2010 - 10:18 am

A Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman has called for a new tax on bonuses to be placed on banks. Lord Oakeshott’s call came after the Royal Bank of Scotland’s chairman claimed that regulation was the only way to restrain the annual bonus bonanza in the financial services industry. Sir Philip Hampton admitted that the bank was “paying a lot of people who aren’t worth it” and concluded that, whilst RBS had made changes to the structure of bonus deals to avoid rewards for failure, “My own view is it can probably only be decisively solved through regulation”.

Posted in News | 10 Comments

Tory donor, tax affairs, Oakeshott on the case: some things haven’t changed

By Mark Pack | Published 25th August 2010 - 8:11 pm

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott is clearly not put off by coalition from his pursuit of Tory donors and their tax statuses. Today it is Jon Wood, whose tax affairs have been in the papers with Lord Oakeshott saying, “Now is the time to take big money out of British politics”. You can read more here.

Posted in Opposition watch | Also tagged conservative party, donations | 3 Comments

Labour U-turns on non-doms as Lib Dem’s Oakeshott wins battle

By Stephen Tall | Published 1st February 2010 - 6:55 pm

Glad tidings from the House of Lords today, where Labour has – at long, long last – bowed to Lib Dem pressure and announced that non-doms will no longer be able to sit in Parliament.

The party’s terrier-like Treasury spokesman Lord (Matthew) Oakeshott has welcomed the Government’s announcement:

I have introduced 4 bills over the last 5 years to ban non-doms from the House of Lords with no support from the Government and with serious obstruction from the Conservatives.

“Now, with an election looming, I am delighted that the Government has had this last-minute conversion and adopted my Bill almost to the letter

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Posted in News | Also tagged non-doms | 1 Comment

What the papers say…

By Robert Dobson | Published 16th January 2010 - 5:22 pm

Tories claim Labour is using taxpayers’ money to fund election advertising campaign – Telegraph, 15.1.10

“The Conservatives accused Labour of “raiding” taxpayers’ money to fund their election campaign. New figures uncovered by the Conservatives show that spending on advertising has increased to £232 million, which is a 39 per cent increase on the previous year.”

A tenth of schools fail to meet GCSE targets – The Guardian, 14.1.10

“One in 10 secondary schools in England failed to meet basic targets for GCSEs last summer and academies were disproportionately represented among the failing institutions, government statistics published today reveal.

“David Laws, the Liberal Democrats’ education …

Posted in General Election, News | Also tagged alistair darling, chris bryant, david cameron, david laws, david miliband, demos, ed balls, ed miliband, frank field, gordon brown, nick clegg, peter mandelson, peter watt, zac goldsmith | 2 Comments

What the papers say…

By Robert Dobson | Published 9th January 2010 - 2:20 pm

Brown sees off the plotters…just – The Daily Telegraph, 7.1.10

“Gordon Brown was forced to rely on lukewarm backing from senior Cabinet colleagues last night to see off an attempt to oust him as Prime Minister.

“By last night, the attempted coup, which had begun at lunchtime, appeared to have failed as no senior figures were prepared to back it. But while every senior minister issued a statement condemning the letter, few voiced strong support for Mr Brown.”

MPs could be in line for £15,000 pay rise – Daily Mail, 6.1.10

“MPs could receive a big pay rise to compensate …

Posted in News | Also tagged alistair darling, david blunkett, david cameron, george osborne, gordon brown, lord adonis, NHS, steve hilton, vince cable | Leave a comment

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