Tag Archives: rory stewart

How do you pick an expert? The flawed argument against Lords reform

By Mark Pack | Published 8th June 2011 - 8:43 am

You need an expert. What do you do? There are plenty of different ways of going about finding one, I’m sure.

But I bet you don’t dig out the books from 20 years ago, look who was an expert back then, place the names in the hat and then pick out a name or two at random.

That, however, is how the House of Lords works – and that’s why I am unconvinced by those who argue that democracy has no place in one half of Parliament because ‘we need experts’.

Certainly there are some experts in the Lords. Just as there are …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Tory MP Rory Stewart labels his constituents “primitives”

By Stephen Tall | Published 25th July 2010 - 9:45 am

The Cumbrian News and Star reports on rising star Tory MP Rory Stewart’s fulsome apology following some bizarrely gauche comments about his constiutuency to a journalist, including the remark: “Some areas around here are pretty primitive, people holding up their trousers with bits of twine and that sort of thing.”

His local paper says that the Tory MP’s put-downs:

… have been branded as arrogant and crass and the 37-year-old has since admitted he was ‘extremely foolish’. He said his remarks were merely meant to illustrate how some areas of the county were living in real poverty.

I have some, limited sympathy …

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Posted in News | 7 Comments

NEW POLL: Who is your Liberal Voice of the Year?

By Stephen Tall | Published 9th January 2010 - 11:45 am

Ten days ago, in the dying days of the last decade, LDV launched our search for the Liberal Voice of 2009, to find the non-Lib Dem individual or group which has had the biggest impact on liberalism in this country in the past 12 months.

Our thanks to all who put forward nominations, all of which were considered carefully by the LDV editorial collective, which has agreed to short-list the following (in no particular order):

  • Guy Herbert, general secretary of NO2ID, for his campaigning work against the database state;
  • Peter Tatchell, for his tireless and fearless international human

…

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Posted in LDV Awards, Voice polls | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments