Author Archives: David Warren

David is a member of Horsham and Crawley Liberal Democrats
David Warren

Let’s get some national campaigns going on issues the voters care about

By David Warren | Wed 18th November 2015 - 3:07 pm

Our Party is all about campaigning. It is what saved the old Liberal Party from extinction and what sustains us in difficult times. I know local parties up and down the country are running campaigns on many different issues, but we lack some important national ones.
What about Europe I hear you say, or the Human Rights Act?

Well, yes, the EU and human rights are important issues and we do have to campaign for them, but they are not high on people’s list of concerns.

Apart from Europe, we have individual initiatives launched by the leader or an MP, which is great. I am thinking in particular of Tim Farron’s prioritising of housing, and Norman Lamb on social care. However we need that little bit extra, something that really captures attention. What I am thinking of are issues where we can get out amongst the voters with a petition and potentially get lots of signature on equally important areas of policy that emphasise our social liberalism.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 18 Comments
David Warren

We need more blue collar Liberals

By David Warren | Tue 20th October 2015 - 9:50 am

There is plenty of debate across the political spectrum about how unrepresentative of the overall population our elected politicians are.

Much of this discussion focuses on the lack of women and BAME people in the corridors of power.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 43 Comments
David Warren

Time to evaluate the privatisation of Royal Mail

By David Warren | Mon 28th September 2015 - 11:20 am

The privatisation of Royal Mail was mooted by all the main political parties and finally happened under the last government.

Like a lot of the public sector, our postal service suffered from years of underinvestment and a failure to modernise.

The political consensus in the Thatcher years, and beyond, became public equals bad, private equals good.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 18 Comments
David Warren

What a mess – the Labour leadership election

By David Warren | Mon 24th August 2015 - 1:37 pm

A lot of fellow Liberals, and indeed those from right across the political spectrum, will share my view that the current Labour Party leadership election has descended into farce.

The question is how and why did they come up with such a basket case of an electoral system.

Why not use a simple one member one vote system?

For the answer you have to go back more than thirty years to 1980 when the Labour leader was elected by the parliamentary party alone.

Following the disastrous Callaghan administration, the big unions wanted their say in choosing the Labour leader. At a conference in which they had 90% of the votes, they made sure they got it.

An electoral college was introduced with 40% of the vote reserved for unions which could be cast as block votes for their preferred candidate.

Over time this method came under pressure from both a hostile media and a New Labour leadership, determined to reduce union influence, but still get their much needed cash.

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Posted in News | 45 Comments
David Warren

A liberal century

By David Warren | Sat 25th July 2015 - 11:55 am

In many ways the 20th century could be described as a socialist one.

Internationally parties using that label emerged gaining electoral strength, or in some cases,notably Russia, lead successful revolutions.

In Britain, Labour overtook a Liberal Party wracked by division and by 1945 they appeared totally dominant.But as the century ended the collapse of the regimes in Eastern Europe left socialism of the authoritarian variety totally discredited and the democratic socialist parties in the West struggling to define themselves.

Here Blair created New Labour, dropped Clause 4 and built a new philosophy that turned out to be ideologically hollow. A temporary rise in their electoral fortunes has now given way to what looks like another long period of opposition and the inevitable soul searching that goes with it. Their current current leadership election could even bring about a split.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 50 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: The future of pensioner benefits

By David Warren | Tue 23rd June 2015 - 11:14 am

Our pensioners quite rightly enjoy a number of benefits and it was of course a Liberal government that introduced the old age pension over a century ago.

As part of the coalition it was a Lib Dem minister, Steve Webb, who steered through the legislation ensuring the triple lock and the introduction of auto enrolment for those workers without an occupational pension.

Great reforms, but with an ageing population there has been an increased focus on whether we can justify or indeed afford the universal payment of benefits such as Winter Fuel Allowance and free tv licences.

There is also need to focus on the issue of free transport concessions.

In my view, the starting point should be that as liberals we are committed to making sure retired people have a good level of support, but we are not about paying money to those who simply don’t need it.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 32 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: What if ?

By David Warren | Mon 8th June 2015 - 1:15 pm

In February 1974 Edward Heath called  a snap General Election in response to a second miners’ strike in three years. Heath famously posed the election as a decision on ‘Who Runs Britain’.

Despite opinion polls suggesting he would be returned to office and polling the highest number of votes, the vagaries of our electoral system meant Heath’s Tories not only failed to win a majority of seats, but actually got less than Labour. Historians suggest that the miners’ peaceful pursuit of their pay claim and an independent inquiry finding that there was justification for their dispute, dealt Heath a devastating blow.

The other big story of the election was the surge in the Liberal vote. From just over 11% in 1970, the party increased its share to nearly 20%, but again because of FPTP they only won a few more seats.

We all know what followed.

A weak attempt by Heath to remain in office, followed by a minority Labour government, and then another election which returned Wilson a small majority, the Winter of Discontent, Thatcherism, and all that followed.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 9 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: The Betting Industry and Animal Welfare

By David Warren | Tue 26th May 2015 - 8:55 am

The proliferation of betting shops in our high streets and the associated issue of the amounts gambled on high stakes gaming machines have been the subject of intense political debate recently.

The welfare of animals in the betting industry, I am thinking in particular of racehorses, receives a lot less interest.

I have always been a very strong supporter of the rights of animals, but having developed a keen interest in horseracing a few years ago, I started to examine much more closely the treatment of the non-human participants in what is a multi-billion pound industry.

Horseracing is an international sport, with the top competitors going long distances to chase big prizes.

Two of the big welfare issues are the use of the whip and races that involve jumping over obstacles.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 10 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: A golden handshake

By David Warren | Sat 2nd May 2015 - 10:45 am

Jonny Smith, the principal character in Stephen King’s ‘The Dead Zone’, awakes from a coma with the power to see into a person’s future by touching them.

It starts in hospital where he forsees a nurse’s house is on fire with her child in it.

His premonition is correct and the child is saved.

He becomes a national celebrity and is able to help the police solve a serious crime in a rural backwater.

However when he turns his attention to politicians, the fun really starts.

The novel was written in the 1970’s, the era of Nixon, Ford and Carter.

Smith encounters candidate Carter on the campaign trail, shakes his hand and sees that the peanut farmer will become President but encounters no feelings of malevolence.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: The Liberal Democrats are setting the agenda on health and social care

By David Warren | Fri 10th April 2015 - 8:51 am

As the General Election campaign gathers pace all parties are focusing on the future of our NHS and social care, but it is the Liberal Democrats who are setting the agenda.

The announcement of £8 billion of extra funding and thus the challenge to the two big parties to match it, has been met with stunned silence. Combine this with the proposal for a ‘Care Closer to Home Fund’ and you have a party leadership that is getting to grips with what needs to done in this important policy area.

Contrast this with Ed Miliband’s staggering ignorance evidenced by his promise to fund 5,000 extra care workers for the NHS.

Miliband clearly doesn’t realise that care workers are almost exclusively employed by private companies!

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 8 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: What’s in a name ?

By David Warren | Mon 6th April 2015 - 9:00 am

 

Having recently finished reading a biography of Charles Kennedy, which covered the merger of the Liberal Party and SDP in detail, I pondered for some time on the controversy surrounding the names and philosophy of political parties.

In the late 1980s the Social and Liberal Democrats or SLD were lampooned as the Salads, the use of the shorter Democrats was unpopular because it omitted the word liberal, so we ended up with the Liberal Democrats – a title that is now long established.

If you look beyond the UK though, the confusion really begins.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 66 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: Thoughts on some Liberal candidates past and present

By David Warren | Mon 2nd March 2015 - 11:00 am

The first General Election I can remember was in 1979, when as a fifteen year old I was starting to really get interested in politics.

In my village and constituency (Henley) the Tories were well entrenched, but the Liberals had a level of support too.

The Liberal candidate was a chap called Steven Atack and I still remember seeing a poster advertising him as a speaker at a public meeting in the village hall.

I thought they had spelt his name wrong!

My parents who were Liberal voters didn’t go to the meeting, which I suspect was poorly attended and the Tories swept in.

Wind …

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David Warren

Opinion: The Trade Union and Workplace Reforms Debate

By David Warren | Mon 12th January 2015 - 10:56 am

The issue of the unions and strikes is back in the political arena.

I have lost count of the number of times in recent years that the Tories have called for participation thresholds in industrial action ballots before they can be considered legal. Indeed I commented on similar Tory proposals for Lib Dem Voice back in 2011. This time the figure they are proposing is 40%.

Once again they are focusing on the public sector; this is clearly an attempt to throw some red meat to their supporters.

It is too early to say if this going to be a big issue in the coming General Election. The winter of discontent is a distant memory, and union membership has fallen dramatically since its height in the late 1970s. However all democrats should be opposed to measures that restrict the rights of working people to withdraw their labour.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 40 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: A life after caring

By David Warren | Tue 6th January 2015 - 1:32 pm

There are an estimated six million carers in the UK and the system is struggling to provide them with the support they need.

I have written previously about my experience, in which I abruptly had to give up a full time job to become a carer.

The Liberal Democrats have included policies in their pre manifesto that will help, but it isn’t just about carers while they are actually caring.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 4 Comments
David Warren

The Independent View: Where Next for Royal Mail?

By David Warren | Mon 15th December 2014 - 5:00 pm

Royal Mail delivery trolleyWith privatisation done and dusted it was inevitable that the debate about Britain’s postal service would move beyond the public vs private argument.

Royal Mail is now a private company and is likely to remain so. It, of course, faced many challenges regardless of ownership which were certain to surface once it moved into the private sector. One of these is now coming across loud and clear. Namely the requirement of Royal Mail to deliver a universal delivery service to every UK address six days a week.

In response to falling profits, management and union within the company  launched a call to the regulator to require the competition to be bound by the same Universal Service Obligation as Royal Mail. This call has fallen on deaf ears.

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged | 14 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: Crisis in our social care system, a personal memoir

By David Warren | Wed 25th January 2012 - 8:55 am

There is a crisis in our social care system and it needs addressing as a matter of urgency.

I made a public call for cross party talks on social care following an interview on BBC Radio Berkshire last Autumn.

The interview came about because I started a campaign, ‘Crusading for Carers’, aimed at highlighting the plight of carers.

During that interview I was asked what I’d like politicians to do about the growing crisis in our social care system. I was aware of the Dilnot Report and of the cross party talks that took place prior to the General Election so I called for them to …

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David Warren

Opinion: Trade unions, pensions and Labour

By David Warren | Sat 9th July 2011 - 2:45 pm

I have been following very closely the pensions dispute as it unfolds and one of my concerns is public sector workers could lose a lot of pay through strike action in what I am starting to believe is a political strike which they cannot possibly win.

I am also a little surprised at the way the government have handled things so far and, as a former national union representative, I have been amazed at times by their ineptitude.

Further confirmation I am afraid that the Tories and sadly many in our party don’t understand the real world of industrial relations.

So why do …

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David Warren

Opinion: further curbs on unions are wrong and counterproductive

By David Warren | Thu 10th February 2011 - 11:27 am

As someone who has been a trade union member since the age of 16 and a representative for almost as long I follow with interest any new developments in industrial relations in our country.

Employment law has been transformed over the past 25 years to the extent that is now very difficult for unions to organise lawful industrial action.

I believe Britain now has the most restrictive labour laws in Western Europe.

Not content with the status quo the Tory right are now agitating for even more restrictions, the principle one being that any ballot for action has to have at least a …

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 30 Comments
David Warren

Opinion: The tyranny of the state and my conversion to social liberalism

By David Warren | Tue 28th December 2010 - 2:25 pm

I came into politics thirty years ago believing that the abolition of nuclear weapons, private education, health care and a massive expansion of the public sector represented a socialist programme that if implemented would make Britain a fairer country.

All these were Labour party policy and as a socialist I was an active member of the party that was happy to use the ‘s’ word. In fact it looked for a while as though the socialist left were going to take total control of the party driving out the remaining social democrats.

What actually happened was the party moved in the other …

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Posted in Op-eds | 60 Comments
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