Author Archives: Chris Pallet

The coalition and the leadership contest

The legacy of the coalition seems to be a big part of the debate around our leadership election. Those arguing the most important thing is that we move on from the coalition will tend to favour one of the two candidates not around during the coalition. And visa-versa. I assume contributors to Lib Dem Voice are not allowed to write direct endorsements of their preferred candidate, but they can signal their preferences by proxy in this way.

So, in that vein, here are my thoughts on what factors we should consider when choosing our next leader. You will note that many …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 48 Comments

Keir Starmer should be good news for all of us

I for one am mightily relieved that Labour now have someone in charge who looks credible and authoritative. I say this as a citizen and as a Liberal Democrat.

As a citizen…

having a weak opposition party is in no one’s interest. It opens up space for a weak government. We’ve seen that happen in recent years and are living with the consequences now.

There is no getting away from it, under FPTP Labour are the alternative government. We should all care about what sort of government they might form.

And Starmer is clearly a big improvement. Corbyn, the lifelong backbencher who …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 42 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • John B Grout
    Excellent piece, Josh. As for seeking others' thoughts on the pitch, here are mine: Labour and the Greens want to do things for you, the Conservatives and R...
  • David Evans
    It's an interesting article, which gives us more to think about, but when it ends with "Government and politics can strive toward this platform ... giving ind...
  • Neil Sandison
    This one of a series of articles recently published in the Liberal Democrat Voice that defines our social liberal values . Frequently the hot house of Westminst...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    This is the right problem to be working on, and I think the answer may be less about the words than about the moments. In my experience people learn what we sta...
  • Simon Robinson
    It's good to have an MP putting herself forward for this. The manifesto seems a bit vague though. All good thoughts and nothing you can really disagree with, b...