Tag Archives: simon hughes

LibLink: Simon Hughes MP – Students are not being put off university by tuition fees

By Helen Duffett | Published 31st January 2012 - 8:53 am

Simon Hughes MP writes at Comment is Free, following the publication of the latest UCAS figures.

He acknowledges the top-line 8% decline in applications and the mass protest that followed the original decision, but points out that applications from students in deprived areas have barely declined at all:

…a more objective analysis of the data shows a clearer picture. Although applications were down by a significant number, the total number of 18-year-olds in England this year is significantly down as well. If you adjust the figures to take account of changes in demographic, the application rate in England – which

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged comment is free, tuition fees, ucas | 2 Comments

Lib Dem MPs win concessions ahead of benefits cap vote

By The Voice | Published 31st January 2012 - 7:35 am

Lib Dem MPs, including the party’s deputy leader Simon Hughes, look set to obtain concessions from Iain Duncan Smith to win their support for the Coalition’s controversial welfare bill, which will introduce a benefit cap of a maximum of £26,000. Here’s how The Guardian reports the news:

The government is expected to make a series of concessions in the coming days on it controversial £26,000 household benefits cap to win over wavering Liberal Democrat MPs. Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, is expected to agree that a discretionary fund should be established to ease the burden on families

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Posted in News | Also tagged benefits, iain duncan smith, liam byrne, mark thompson | 7 Comments

Tim Farron MP writes… Are two Eds better than one?

By Tim Farron MP | Published 18th January 2012 - 12:54 pm

Are 2 Eds better than one? I’m not sure – but the two Eds said something very interesting over the weekend: apparently they don’t have a ‘Plan B’ for the economy after all!

As I drove into the village of Haverthwaite on Saturday morning to do some residents’ surveying, I was preparing to turn the radio off and then Ed Balls popped up. I listened with amazement. In his interview he admitted not only that the programme of cuts being carried out by the Coalition government were right, but that Labour would not over turn them if they were in Government. Unfortunately however he didn’t go as far as to admit that the cause behind all the cuts – the dire economic situation – was in fact largely his fault.

You’ll have heard Simon Hughes and me over the weekend rightly calling on the two Eds to apologise. We want them to apologise to the British public for deceiving them for 18 months before finally admitting that what the Liberal Democrats have been doing in Government is broadly the right approach. However, there is one apology we didn’t call for publicly, but which they still should make – that’s an apology to you!

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged ed balls, ed miliband, nick clegg | 21 Comments

The Independent View: And then there was one… (Unmasked! The only backbench Lib Dem MP 100% loyal to the Coalition)

By Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart | Published 18th November 2011 - 9:45 am

When a quarter of the parliamentary Conservative party rebels, everyone sits up and takes notice. On 24 October, 2011, 81 Conservative MPs defied a three-line whip to vote in favour of an EU referendum: cue a blaze of negative publicity for David Cameron and the Tory party whips.

But a week or so later one-quarter of Lib Dem MPs rebelled, and (almost) no one noticed. In nine separate votes on 1 and 2 November, a total of 14 Lib Dem MPs voted against various aspects of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. The largest …

Posted in News, Parliament, The Independent View | Also tagged david laws, featured, legal aid, lorely burt, tom brake, tuition fees, whip | 13 Comments

Southwark Lib Dems face questions over Ministry of Sound donations: 3 important points to consider

By Stephen Tall | Published 8th November 2011 - 1:30 pm

Southwark Lib Dem councillors and local MP Simon Hughes have been in the spotlight the past 24 hours following their decisio to oppose a planning application objected to by the Ministry of Sound, a prominent donor to the party. BBC News reports:

Political donations to the Liberal Democrats from a nightclub chain totalling almost £80,000 went undeclared as its councillors discussed a tower block development opposed by the firm, BBC London has learned.

The Ministry of Sound, in Elephant and Castle, south London, was fighting to prevent developer Oakmayne building a residential tower block nearby. The club feared noise complaints from

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Posted in News | Also tagged ministry of sound, southwark liberal democrats | 11 Comments

PMQs: Tim Farron asks “Question of the week” – Ed Balls signals four runs

By Paul Walter | Published 4th November 2011 - 7:53 pm

In my ever-earnest toil to prepare this review, this week I have been reviewing web sites which explain cricket umpire signals. I also checked the umpire signals for netball, American football and baseball.

There is no doubt about it. Ed Balls was signalling a four at Prime Ministers’ Questions. His hand was a bit lower than normal, but it would pass to signal a boundary at Morley Cricket Club.

For a change, I’m going to stand this review on its head this week and concentrate on questions from backbenchers, starting with Liberal Democrats.

Question of the week came from Tim Farron:

The world population

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Posted in Parliament, PMQs | Also tagged alistair darling, caroline lucas, ed balls, mike crockart, tim farron | 3 Comments

LibLink: Simon Hughes – It’s our job to rein in the ruthless Tories

By NewsHound | Published 18th September 2011 - 9:55 am

Today’s Observer carries an interview with Simon Hughes:

At a time when the Tory right is pressing David Cameron ever harder to follow its agenda and trample on the Lib Dems, Hughes is acting as his party’s, and the coalition’s, left-wing brake. “I think the useful role I can play is to be a guardian of the policy and traditions of the left of the party,” he says…

Hughes has a strong message for such Tories as they demand a more eurosceptic agenda and the end of the 50p rate of tax for those earning more than £150,000. He describes them as

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Posted in LibLink | 5 Comments

MP conference fringe league table 2011: Vince is the new Simon, Simon is the new Vince

By Mark Pack | Published 13th September 2011 - 10:25 am

Back for its third year (see 2009 and 2010) is my conference fringe meeting league table, showing how many fringes each MP will be speaking at. As ever, this is based on the information from the official fringe listings in the printed conference directory.

The Simon Hughes Memorial Prize for Multiple Simultaneous Fringe Booking award this year was tightly contested. After Simon Hughes winning in 2009 and then in 2010 the honours being split fourways between Burstow, Cable, Featherstone and Teather, 2011 saw a tight contest again.

There were numerous MPs who managed one, or more, double bookings. Special mention …

Posted in Conference | Also tagged featured, vince cable | 5 Comments

LibLink: Simon Hughes – Profits must no longer go to the few at the top

By Nick Thornsby | Published 16th August 2011 - 6:27 pm

Over the weekend, Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Simon Hughes, penned a piece for the Guardian’s Comment Is Free site arguing that Britain needs to become a more equal place both in terms of the distribution of wealth and of opportunity.

Here’s a sample:

We must now focus on the redistribution of wealth. But this will not succeed by means of greater hand-outs. Financial benefits must seek to engage people positively. The redistribution of hope and opportunity means the redistribution as well as the creation of work. Co-operative and mutual businesses and social enterprise should be prioritised. The private sector, like the public

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged #ukriots, inequality | 16 Comments

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, matthew oakeshott, mike tuffrey, nick clegg, susan kramer | Leave a comment

LibLink: Simon Hughes – Make university an option for all

By Nick Thornsby | Published 2nd August 2011 - 1:54 pm

Simon Hughes, Lib Dem deputy leader and author of The Hughes Report on access to higher education, recently had an op-ed in the Daily Express outlining the thoughts he sets out in that report.

Here’s a sample:

Last week I submitted my report to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, with more than 30 recommendations on what can be done to improve access to higher education.

These do not focus only on university admissions but on what can be done to encourage young people to think about university from an early age.

This is crucial because from the age of 13 children

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged higher education, tuition fees, universities | 16 Comments

LibLink | Stephen Tall: Would you hire someone without interviewing them?

By The Voice | Published 28th July 2011 - 2:55 pm

Stephen Tall has an article over at Dale & Co on the Hughes Report on Access to Higher Education, which he previously outlined here on Lib Dem Voice.

Stephen comments:

However, there is one recommendation in ‘The Hughes Report’ with which I take issue:

It is my firm view that interviews which are conducted by an academic who will end up teaching that particular student are too subjective. … interviews should be conducted by trained admissions personnel who will not have face to face teaching responsibilities for the interviewee. (p.33)

It’s an odd comment for two reasons. First, it

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged Dale & Co, higher education, hughes report, stephen tall | 13 Comments

‘The Hughes Report’: Lib Dem MP’s 33 recommendations to improve access to higher education

By Stephen Tall | Published 24th July 2011 - 3:25 pm

Last week saw the publication by Simon Hughes, the Government’s advocate for higher education access, of his report for the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister on how more young people can be encouraged to apply for university. It’s received little attention, perhaps understandably given the current frenetic news cycles — but it’s a shame because the report is a serious piece of work.

Though 45 pages long in total, it presents clearly, readably and concisely 33 recommendations designed to ensure that everyone, from young to old, has the chance to experience higher education. You can read the report in full below, but there are five aspects which struck me as worth highlighting:

Importance of early years: the report recommends that, from primary age onwards, ‘schools can play an important role in motivating children to think about their future career and start working towards achieving their dreams’. These range from work experience opportunities to, in particular, ensuring proper advice is available at age 13-14 ‘when a young person starts to make the choices of courses influenced by the qualifications they hope for and the careers they plan.’

Posted in News | Also tagged featured, higher education, universities | 22 Comments

Hughes, Farron and Foster write to Rupert Murdoch – full text of letter

By Helen Duffett | Published 13th July 2011 - 6:53 am

Simon Hughes, Tim Farron and Don Foster have written to Rupert Murdoch about the proposed take-over of BSkyB by News International.

They ask Murdoch to respond to public opinion by changing his commercial strategy in the UK: withdrawing his News Corporation bid for BSkyB and concentrating all his efforts on cleaning up News International.

The letter in full:

Proposed take-over of BSkyB by News International

Ever since the report of our Information Commissioner ‘What Price Freedom?’ and the conviction and imprisonment of Goodman and Mulcaire in 2006, there has been growing concern about the policy and practices of UK newspaper titles owned

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Posted in News | Also tagged don foster, gordon brown, james murdoch, news international, news of the world, rupert murdoch, the sun, the sunday times, tim farron | 3 Comments

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, matthew oakeshott, media, news international, nick clegg, paddy ashdown, rupert murdoch, tim farron | 8 Comments

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