Author Archives: Mary Reid

Mary Reid

The dance of coalition

By Mary Reid | Tue 23rd July 2013 - 4:24 pm

Nick Clegg and David CameronSteve Richards, writing in the Independent, has a thoughtful analysis of the three main parties and their level of unity. He claims that the Liberal Democrats display “the greatest sense of unity and discipline” and yet they have the greatest level of internal differences. I like to think that is because we are a broad church that tolerates and even celebrates differences, because we do unite around the fundamental principles of fairness, liberty and equality.

But, according to Richards, those differences make it unlikely that the party will agree to another coalition with the Conservatives, hence his headline: “There will be no Con/Lib coalition after the next election”.

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Mary Reid

John Leech writes to a constituent

By Mary Reid | Tue 23rd July 2013 - 8:56 am

john leechAny of us who have been elected to public office will have received letters, emails or even phone calls that shock us into realising that not all our compatriots are liberal and fair-minded.  Rascist, homophobic or simply personally offensive rants, expressed in highly charged language, remind us that we still have much work to do.

When it has happened to me I have initially been quite upset, then dealt with it by distancing myself from the contents and refusing to respond. But maybe there is another way to handle such communications.

John …

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Mary Reid

LibLink: Nick Clegg – Celebrate the arrival of equal marriage

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th July 2013 - 3:34 pm

Nick Clegg Lib Dem leaderNick Clegg, writing in Pink News, said:

We’re almost there. We’ve almost made it. With the Third Reading of the Equal Marriage Bill complete, we’re just a few final steps away from the equal right for gay couples to marry becoming law.

I know you’re saving the champagne for when it actually happens. And that’s right. But it’s also important for us to recognise how much your commitment to this cause has transformed people’s attitudes to equal marriage in this country.

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Mary Reid

LibLink: Danny Alexander – The Highlander

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th July 2013 - 8:56 am

house danny alexanderThe House magazine features a smiling Danny Alexander on the cover, and a lengthy interview inside.

On the Comprehensive Spending Review:

Now that the dust has settled on the Spending Round, he has a rare moment to catch his breath and reflect on how it went. He says things went “more smoothly than many people outside this room thought when we started out on it”, but admits it was at times not easy.

“You are dealing with finding £11.5bn of savings. Of course those discussions are going to be difficult, they

…

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Mary Reid

Nick Clegg’s offer to Ed Miliband on the political levy

By Mary Reid | Tue 9th July 2013 - 6:56 pm

Nick Clegg Q&A - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsIt was Deputy Prime Minister’s Question Time today, and Nick duly stepped up to the mark.  In reply to a questions from Conservative MP, Jonathan Lord, and others, he offered the Labour Party a chance to make changes to the political levy.

At present, members of trade unions pay a political levy on their membership subscriptions, which, of course, goes to the Labour Party and helps to justify the unions’ heavy involvement in the party and their participation in leadership elections. Many members …

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Mary Reid

Vince Cable opens massive biofuels plant

By Mary Reid | Tue 9th July 2013 - 11:53 am

bioethanol-plantFor a picture of Vince Cable in a hard hat and hi vis clothing, check out the Yorkshire Post.  He was opening a £350 million bio-fuels plant in Humberside, one of the largest in Europe.

The plant converts animal quality wheat into bioethanol which is then added to petrol to produce a greener fuel. This is in an area which has been described as the ‘wheat belt’ of the UK.

Vince Cable is quoted as saying:

Here we are turning an agricultural product potentially into very good fuel, blending for motor vehicles, creating environmentally

…

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Mary Reid

Richard Grayson resigns from the party

By Mary Reid | Tue 9th July 2013 - 10:36 am

richard graysonOr, as he explains in his lengthy article on Compass, Richard Grayson’s membership has lapsed and he is not renewing. Richard was the party’s Director of Policy prior to 2004, Vice Chair of the Federal Policy Committee, PPC in Hemel Hempstead in 2010 and a founder member of the Social Liberal Forum.

He writes:

… the sad conclusion I have come to is that I have more faith in Labour and the Greens, than I do in the Liberal Democrats to put forward a package of policies which former Liberal

…

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Mary Reid

A free-for-all on school term dates?

By Mary Reid | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 2:58 pm

schoolsignMichael Gove has had another ‘good idea’, produced without any reference to the professionals who will have to implement it, nor to the general public who will have to work around it. This time he is keen to allow all schools to set their own term dates, in line with the freedom already granted to academies and free schools.

It sounds like a superficial change, but those of us who have examined the issue in depth know that the implications could be far greater than you might imagine.

Some eight years ago I attended a series of meetings of councillors who, like me, held education portfolios in London boroughs.  Our aim was to co-ordinate school term dates across the whole of London, and, wherever possible, with the surrounding counties, and we did achieve that.  At the same time we looked at patterns of terms, considering some quite radical alternatives, such as six or seven equal length terms, with a shorter break in the summer.

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Mary Reid

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone on successes in campaign against FGM

By Mary Reid | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 9:13 am

Lynne featherstone by paul walterOver on Huffington Post, Lynne Featherstone has written an article about the heartening early successes in the campaign against female genital mutilation. She writes:

“I wanted to save lives not put them at risk.”

That’s what a former female genital cutter told me during a visit to Kenya last week, as she explained why she downed her tools and instead became a birth attendant.

I believe this woman should be celebrated for taking such a brave stance against the centuries-old tradition of female genital mutilation (FGM).

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Mary Reid

David Cameron says “I can be Prime Minister without Nick Clegg”

By Mary Reid | Tue 25th June 2013 - 5:06 pm

David-Cameron-and-Nick-CleggThe Telegraph has the news that the Tories have drawn up plans for a minority Government, should Nick Clegg be ousted and replaced by someone who is less sympathetic to the Coalition.

Apparently, Cameron’s advisers have told him that he could stagger along to 2015 without Nick Clegg, because the Liberal Democrats would still support the key reforms to state pensions and long-term care.

What they haven’t revealed is how much of the programme would have to be ditched.  I cannot imagine a full timetable of legislation in those circumstances.

The article once …

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Mary Reid

Investing in support for troubled families

By Mary Reid | Tue 25th June 2013 - 3:58 pm

Danny AlexanderYesterday Danny Alexander announced a major increase in funding for the Troubled Families programme, with an extra £200 million to be invested into the service.

He says:

Reforming how services are delivered is going to be a central part of this week’s Spending Round.

The Troubled Families programme is a radical example of how, by spending a bit more in certain areas, we can save much more in others and by doing so create a stronger economy and a fairer society.

Extending this intensive help to 400,000 more families will enable us to tackle

…

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Mary Reid

David Laws on the Liberal Democrat agenda for tackling low pay

By Mary Reid | Tue 18th June 2013 - 5:05 pm

David LawsLast Wednesday David Laws gave a speech at the Resolution Foundation on the Liberal Democrat agenda for tackling low pay.

He began by reflecting on the job market.

Many of us vividly remember the recession of the early 1980s, which destroyed so many jobs. There are still communities in our country which have failed to recover from that economic heart-attack. In contrast, the recent recession and the unusually slow recovery from it have been characterised by much better than expected employment outcomes. Instead of losing millions of jobs, we have been

…

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Mary Reid

Nick Clegg and Julian Huppert are Internet heroes

By Mary Reid | Tue 18th June 2013 - 1:47 pm

The Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) has shortlisted both Nick Clegg and Julian Huppert  for it’s Internet Hero award for 2013.

And why? – for the role they both played in preventing the communications data bill from reaching the statute books.

The other two nominees are Edward Snowdon, who was the whistleblower on the PRISM project, and Spamhaus, an IT security organisation who fought off  a major denial of service attack earlier this year.

ISPA Secretary-General Nicholas Lansman noted that the Internet Hero award is “one of the most anticipated categories” at the ISPAs.

Given what has happened in the last year, it is no surprise

…

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Mary Reid

The ins and outs of the Snoopers Charter

By Mary Reid | Tue 11th June 2013 - 3:19 pm

web snoopers charterYou may be forgiven for being confused over whether the Snoopers Charter (aka the Communications Data Bill)  is in or out.

Back in December Julian Huppert reported that the Joint Committee that was looking at the Bill had unanimously agreed that it would have to be significantly amended to be acceptable. In an article in the Independent he wrote: “We have gone through the Home Office proposals – and the results are damning. The Bill as it is simply cannot proceed. ”

In April, Nick Clegg vetoed the Bill, and

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Mary Reid

Review of North Sea oil and gas

By Mary Reid | Tue 11th June 2013 - 12:30 pm

Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has launched a review of the North Sea oil and gas industry, headed by Sir Ian Wood.

In the Financial Times, Ed Davey is quoted as saying:

I expect it to say tough things to industry, as well as be supportive, and say tough things to government as well. Our offshore infrastructure is getting older, and we are seeing a decline in the rate of exploration and in the amount of oil and gas that is being recovered.

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Mary Reid

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone – Gender equality and empowerment are crucial in the fight against world poverty

By Mary Reid | Tue 11th June 2013 - 10:46 am

Make_Poverty_HistoryLynne Featherstone, the International Development Minister, has written an article for The Herald, reflecting on progress since the G8 in Gleneagles in 2005.

She writes:

In 2005, Scotland hosted the G8 in Gleneagles where world leaders made the historic pledge to “Make poverty history”.

Eight years on, the UK is again hosting leaders, this time in Northern Ireland, so it seems appropriate to reflect on how far we’ve come in reaching that goal.

I am particularly proud that we have helped 5.3 million children have a primary school education and will have improved access to

…

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Mary Reid

Meat is a treat

By Mary Reid | Tue 4th June 2013 - 4:48 pm

barbecued-chickenParliament’s International Development Committee, chaired by Lib Dem MP Sir Malcolm Bruce,  has been turning its attention to global food supplies. According to The Independent the committee reports that even in the UK we are never more than few days away from a significant food shortage. You can read the full report on Global Food Security here.

We all throw away far too much food – up to one third of all food produced globally – so the committee is urging the Government to develop strategies that will help us to reduce the amount of food wasted in the UK.

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Mary Reid

Thoughts on a windy moor

By Mary Reid | Tue 28th May 2013 - 6:40 pm

cullodenYesterday afternoon I was standing on a windy moor in Scotland and reminding myself that, over 250 years ago, my ancestors, the Prices, had stood directly opposite my husband’s ancestors from Clan Donnachaidh, preparing for what was to become the last full-scale battle in Britain. After one hour of intense fighting, 1250 Jacobites lay dead on the moor alongside 50 Government troops. The field of battle is still honoured as a war grave.

My memories from school history had romanticised Culloden as a confrontation between the Scots – Bonnie Prince Charlie and …

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Mary Reid

Nick Clegg announces the Chair of the 2014 Election Campaign

By Mary Reid | Tue 28th May 2013 - 5:09 pm

Tim FarronMembers have just received this email from Nick Clegg:

The 2014 local and European elections are hugely important, so I’m putting one of our best campaigners in charge – Tim Farron.

The dust may have barely settled since this May’s local elections but it’s never too early to start work on the next set. No one embodies that more than Tim, a true 24/7 campaigner, working hard all year round – just ask the people of Westmorland and Lonsdale.

Given the critical importance of these elections for Liberal Democrat representation at a local …

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Mary Reid

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: “Coming together”

By Mary Reid | Tue 28th May 2013 - 11:04 am

Nick Clegg used his Bank Holiday weekend letter to members to reflect on the deeply disturbing Woolwich murder, as well as progress with the Equal Marriage Bill.

libdem letter from nick clegg

This was a week that put things in perspective. I know I speak for all Liberal Democrats when I say that our thoughts are with the family and friends of Drummer Lee Rigby – the British soldier attacked and killed in Woolwich on Wednesday. And I’ve made it clear, on the party’s behalf, that we are immensely grateful to our police,

…

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Mary Reid

Schools in well-off areas ‘are failing’ poorer pupils

By Mary Reid | Tue 23rd April 2013 - 7:13 pm

David LawsThe Pupil Premium has had an impact on the educational achievements of many children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Indeed, the gap in attainment between them and the rest of the pupil population is the narrowest it has been for many years.

However, in an interview with the Independent, David Laws highlights the, perhaps surprising, differences between performance in deprived and in affluent areas of the country. It seems that disadvantaged children in well-off areas are not achieving as well as similar children in deprived areas.

David Laws, the Schools minister, described the

…

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Mary Reid

Large supermarkets are hoarding good housing land

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th April 2013 - 2:31 pm

tesco-siteA large site which has been earmarked by a council for residential housing, but owned by a major supermarket chain, has been lying derelict for 11 years. At a time of pressing housing need, this is a scandal.

Perhaps you know of similar cases to my story. If so, share them in the comments. Does anyone know how much land is being hoarded in this way?

In 2002 Tesco bought a redundant Ministry of Defence site in Tolworth, which lies within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in the southwest corner of Greater …

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Mary Reid

Caroline Pidgeon reveals £53 million unclaimed refunds on Oyster cards

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th April 2013 - 1:07 pm

Caroline PidgeonI was getting on a London Tube train yesterday and was expecting the guard to tell us all to “Move down inside the train” and “Mind the doors”. Instead he announced “Have you read the Evening Standard? You lot are owed £53 million on your Oyster cards”.

He should have given credit to Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly and our spokesperson on the Transport Committee.

The problem lies with the 19,790,130 dormant Oyster cards, ie those that have not been used in the last 12 months. (For …

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Mary Reid

Join Team 2013

By Mary Reid | Wed 10th April 2013 - 2:54 pm

 

team2013

Team 2013 is the brand being used by the Lib Dem campaign for this year’s local elections. A bright new website has been launched to encourage you to help the campaign, even if you don’t have elections to fight in your own area.

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Mary Reid

Bene habere bonum Aprilis Stulte Dies

By Mary Reid | Tue 2nd April 2013 - 9:00 am

I hope you all spotted that we had not one, but two, April Fool posts yesterday.

Simon McGrath announced a Special Lib Dem Conference to be held on April 1st 2016 when all former Lib Dem Ministers would don sackcloth and ashes and apologise for their actions in Government. I hear a song coming on …

That was followed by a post by our new co-editor, Caron Lindsay on how you can help Liberal Democrat Voice. Oh, sorry … that was deadly serious.

But later in the morning the Lib Dem Voice collective revealed that secret talks had been going on between the …

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Mary Reid

Changing culture is a long term project – the future

By Mary Reid | Sun 31st March 2013 - 10:31 am

Last Tuesday I wrote a post in which I looked at some of the major changes for the better that had occurred in my lifetime.  In many cases they were eventually consolidated in legislation, but cultural shifts had to happen over a long period of time before Parliament was willing to formalise them in law.

Before outlining some ideas for the future, I wanted to highlight a few more changes in my lifetime. Some of these required only minimal or no legislation but the changes in culture were nevertheless significant.

  • Mental illness was considered deeply shameful and patients were locked in

…

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Mary Reid

Changing culture is a long term project – the past

By Mary Reid | Tue 26th March 2013 - 12:15 pm

Over the years there have been many changes in legislation that have made the UK more liberal country and a safer place to be. Equal marriage is a recent example, a proposal that would have been inconceivable 50 years ago when homosexual acts between men were still a crime.

In my lifetime we have seen anti-discrimination policies enshrined in law in terms of race, gender, disability and sexuality; we have laws that protect children and that give women control over their own bodies. But all of these were only possible because of cultural shifts that had occurred in the decades that …

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Mary Reid

Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association speak out on secret courts

By Mary Reid | Tue 26th March 2013 - 11:05 am

house of lordsThe Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the Justice and Security Bill. They have sent this message to Lib Dem peers:

It was the unanimous view of the meeting that the measures introduced by the Justice and Security Bill amount to an attack on the Rule of Law in the United Kingdom and that those present were opposed to the measures contained in Part II of the Bill. I was felt that arguably the measures are a greater attack on our traditions and

…

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Mary Reid

Norman Baker launches his first single

By Mary Reid | Tue 19th March 2013 - 5:33 pm

It’s been a long political day, and we have the Budget to look forward to tomorrow. So sit back and enjoy Norman Baker’s first single ‘Piccadilly Circus’, with his band The Reform Club.

The Guardian provides these passnotes:

 Baker fits the rockstar profile perfectly. He has been a troublemaker in the House of Commons, and campaigns for environmental and animal welfare causes.

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Mary Reid

After prison

By Mary Reid | Tue 12th March 2013 - 1:30 pm

jonathanaitkenA former journalist, who rose through the political ranks to become a cabinet minister, resigns in the midst of a scandal of his own making, strenuously denies the allegations but is convicted of perverting the course of justice and goes to prison, with his political career and reputation destroyed.

That was the tragedy of  Jonathan Aitken, who has been doing the media rounds in the last 24 hours.

I want to tell his story – it happened some years ago so some readers may not remember – because it is a tale of redemption.

The incident that led to his downfall took place in when he was Minister of State for Defence Procurement, but it only came to light in 1995 after he had been promoted to Chief Secretary to the Treasury. He accepted hospitality, in the form of nights at the Ritz in Paris, from a Saudi businessman.   The Guardian unearthed the story and Granada investigated it further in World in Action documentary.

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