Author Archives: Daniel Russell

Opinion: UK sets the right example on same sex marriage

The Polish parliament - Some rights reserved by Kancelaria PremieraIt’s been a week of ups and downs with regard to marriage equality and I am not just talking about in Britain. This week the Polish parliament voted down a bill that would have introduced civil partnerships. Despite an impassioned plea by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a significant part of his governing party voted against the bill, teaming up with conservative members to destroy any chance it had of becoming law. Indeed, one member declared that she would be voting against the bill because gay people “are of no use whatsoever to society.” From this position, equal

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Opinion: Strange bedfellows?

As a Liberal Democrat supporter currently residing in Warsaw, Poland it is with great interest that I have read David Cameron will be in my adopted home town tomorrow to launch with Czech and Polish partners, a new right-wing group in the EU parliament. It is well documented that Cameron pledged to withdraw the Tories from the centre-right EPP grouping but as can be seen from this weekend’s Guardian this is not altogether a popular decision amongst senior Tories.

The Tory party has long made itself irrelevant on European issues – but what bothers me so much is that the …

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Opinion: Pushing for PR

In a week which has seen the Commons Speaker lose his job over his part in the mis-handling of MPs’ expenses – which is merely the culmination of a less than satisfactory tenure in the prestigious position – surely it is time for other sweeping changes to be undertaken for the good of politics in the UK? In particular, now must be the time for the Lib Dems to be pushing even harder for proportional representation.

Voter apathy has been all too apparent in recent years and the disconnection between the public and the political process has been getting wider and …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 12 Comments
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