Author Archives: Helen Duffett

How much will coalition change Liberal Democrat conference?

By Helen Duffett | Wed 28th July 2010 - 9:20 am

Party conference rumour season is well underway, with more special guest speculation than last month’s Glastonbury. But whoever’s doing the briefing, it doesn’t seem to be coming from the Liberal Democrat side.

The story that David Cameron might address Lib Dem conference seems to have originated from the Independent:

David Cameron and Nick Clegg are drawing up plans for closer links between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and senior figures from the two parties will address each other’s party conference this autumn.

The two leaders are keen to cement the coalition and a special meeting of the Cabinet next month will discuss a joint approach to the party conference season, including co-ordinated policy announcements. One option is for Mr Cameron to address the Liberal Democrat conference in Liverpool and Mr Clegg the Tories in Birmingham. More likely, at present, is that other Cabinet ministers will “change places” and speak at their coalition partner’s event.

The Guardian also ran a similar story the same day: David Cameron could speak at Liberal Democrat conference.

– Well, yes he could,* but here are some things to consider:

Posted in Conference | Tagged coalition, david cameron, federal conference committee, glee club, nick clegg, ros scott, samantha cameron and Special Conference May 2010 | 11 Comments

Labour to oppose voting reform legislation

By Helen Duffett | Wed 28th July 2010 - 7:50 am

The Labour shadow cabinet has decided to vote against the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, insisting that it should not be given a second reading.

From the Press Association,

Labour is to vote against legislation paving the way for a referendum on reforming the voting system.

The shadow cabinet decided to oppose the Government’s Bill because it also includes provisions for equalising the size of constituencies.

The move sets the stage for a major test of the coalition, with Labour MPs lining up alongside rebel Tories in a bid to derail the proposals.

The commitment to a referendum on switching to Alternative

…

Posted in News | Tagged av referendum, electoral commission, jenny watson, nick clegg and Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill | 27 Comments

Dee Doocey challenges Met Police Commissioner over treatment of photographers

By Helen Duffett | Tue 27th July 2010 - 4:05 pm

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has said that although the Met has issued guidelines to officers about people taking photographs in public places, he cannot guarantee that officers will interpret them correctly.

His remarks came at a meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority at London City Hall on July 22, where Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Dee Doocey asked him,

Are you confident that your officers are aware of the law when it comes to members of the public taking photographs in a public place?

Stephenson replied,

Posted in London | Tagged dee doocey, jules mattsson, metropolitan police authority, photography and sir paul stephenson | 2 Comments

Joan Ruddock MP submits wholly notional expenses return

By Helen Duffett | Mon 26th July 2010 - 6:50 pm

The Londonist reports that Joan Ruddock, the Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford, has taken the unusual step of submitting her election expenses return without attaching any invoices or receipts, instead listing all expenses as “notional”:

Posted in Election law | Tagged election expenses, electoral commission, joan ruddock, lewisham deptford, londonist and tamora langley | 1 Comment

Rogerson and Teather: pupil premium will help all children

By Helen Duffett | Mon 26th July 2010 - 5:12 pm

Today the coalition Government announced that plans for a Pupil Premium will go ahead, targeting funding at schools that take pupils from deprived backgrounds.

The premium, a key part of the Liberal Democrats’ 2010 election manifesto, will provide additional per pupil funding on top of the existing funding provided to schools, and will be spent as individual schools choose.

Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Education, Dan Rogerson said:

Labour’s unequal education system left too many children falling behind.

The Liberal Democrats made clear during the election campaign that a Pupil Premium targeted at the most disadvantaged pupils was an

…

Posted in News | Tagged dan rogerson, education, pupil premium and sarah teather | 3 Comments

Revealed: the AV referendum question

By Helen Duffett | Mon 26th July 2010 - 1:35 pm

The wording of the question that voters will be asked in next May’s AV referendum has been published:

Do you want the United Kingdom to adopt the ‘alternative vote’ system instead of the current ‘first past the post’ system for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons?

The wording of the question is contained in the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, published last week. (The question will also be made available in Welsh.) The Electoral Commission is statutorily required to consider the intelligibility of the question, before reporting back to Parliament, who will consider the comments and have …

Posted in Election law | Tagged av referendum, electoral commission, Fixed Term Parliaments Bill, nick clegg and Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill | 1 Comment

Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards 2010 – nominations now open

By Helen Duffett | Mon 26th July 2010 - 10:20 am

The Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards, run by Lib Dem Voice, are back for their fifth year. As usual, they’ll be awarded in a ~~budget~~ lavish ceremony at the party’s autumn conference in Liverpool. (There’s further information on the event over at the Lib Dems’ Flock Together site). Click on the following links to see last year’s Shortlist and the Winners.

This year’s awards are as follows:

Posted in Best of the blogs and Conference | Tagged andy williamson, blog of the year awards, costigan quist, featured, helen duffett, Jo Swinson, jonathan calder, lee chalmers, mary reid, prateek buch, ros taylor and ryan cullen | 1 Comment

By-election results: Victory in Torbay and holds everywhere else

By Helen Duffett | Fri 23rd July 2010 - 4:40 pm

Cause for celebration this week with a good set of by-election results:

Liberal Democrat Andrew Baldrey won St Mary’s with Summercombe (Torbay UA) from the Conservatives with a huge swing:

LD Andrew Baldrey 801 (52.7%;+16.4)
Con 365 (24.0%;-23.9)
Lab 195 (12.8%;+12.8)
UKIP 159 (10.5%;+10.5)
Turnout 26.2%
Percentage change is since May 2007

Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats held all the seats that we were defending: the principal elections were Kidlington North on Cherwell District Council; Nethermayne on Basildon District Council (the seat previously held by Ben Williams who stood down to become a special advisor to the Government’s deputy chief whip) and Thatcham South and …

Posted in Council by-elections | 5 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 23 July 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 23rd July 2010 - 9:20 am

It’s Friday, so here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the past week on LDV:

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

Phil Woolas’ future as an MP to be decided “before Parliament reassembles”

By Helen Duffett | Wed 21st July 2010 - 5:44 pm

A High Court judge has ruled that an election court should sit in the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency on 13 September, to decide whether Phil Woolas can continue as an MP.

As we reported last month, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Elwyn Watkins is challenging the result of the election in Oldham, alleging a breach of the Representation of the People Act (1983). Mr Watkins claims that literature distributed by the Labour party “contained numerous misleading and erroneous claims” regarding his personal character and reputation, and that of his campaign.

Today the BBC reports:

Two High Court Judges will travel

…

Posted in Election law | Tagged elwyn watkins, oldham east and saddleworth and phil woolas | 4 Comments

Lib Dem by-election winner “angry” at Exeter unitary ruling

By Helen Duffett | Mon 12th July 2010 - 4:45 pm

It was recently announced that 26 councillors in Exeter and Norwich have lost their seats following a High Court decision over unitary status.

As the BBC reported:

Mr Justice Ouseley last month quashed a Labour government decision to allow the cities to take over county council powers and now members must stand down.

Each council lost 13 councillors and was ordered to pay legal costs.

The 26 councillors were due to stand for re-election in May but had been granted extensions in office as part of provisional arrangements for unitary status.

The judge has now ruled the by-elections must take place to maintain legality.

Leader of Exeter Council, Adrian Fullam (Liberal Democrat) said:

Posted in Council by-elections and News | Tagged adrian fullam, exeter and tim payne | 11 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 9 July 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 9th July 2010 - 9:00 am

It’s Friday, so here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the past week on LDV:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

1. Opinion: I admit it, I am shocked by Labour’s hatred (243) by Nick Perry
2. Would the coalition dare to cut welfare back to Labour levels? (18) by Iain Roberts
3. EXCLUSIVE: What Lib Dem members think of the Coalition Budget measures and that VAT increase (61) by Stephen Tall
4. The coalition “marriage” – should we keep our name? (58) by Helen Duffett
5. Should our MPs give Clegg more support in the Commons? (34) by Stephen Tall

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

Liberal Youth on local executives
New Chair of FPC
So – should I buy an iPad
Arguments for/against AV
PPCs for the next General Election

5 from the LDV archive

1. Clegg unveils 100-day plan to abolish Lords and reform voting by The Voice, May 2009
2. When Liberals Attack! by Alex Wilcock, September 2006
3. Should we become a nation of contented losers? by James Graham, April 2007
4. DLT: Community Politics by Dictionary of Liberal Thought, February 2008
5. Opinion: We’re all liberals now? by Richard Huzzey, May 2007

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | 1 Comment

Londoners: have your say on civil liberties and DNA

By Helen Duffett | Tue 6th July 2010 - 9:20 am

The Metropolitan Police Authority Civil Liberties Panel held an open meeting at City Hall on Thursday 1 July to hear what individuals and campaigning organisations think about DNA in policing and the use of National DNA Database (NDNAD).

The meeting enabled participants, as well as those who could not attend but submitted written evidence, to voice their concerns about the current and future use of DNA.

Major themes which emerged during the meeting included:

DNA collection seems to have become an end in itself, a process to be completed irrespective of proportionality

there should be more transparency specifically about how the DNA database is

…

Posted in London | Tagged dee doocey and national dna database | 1 Comment

John Sharkey to run Liberal Democrats’ Fairer Votes campaign

By Helen Duffett | Mon 5th July 2010 - 5:20 pm

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has announced the appointment of John Sharkey as chairman of the Liberal Democrats’ Fairer Votes Campaign – the campaign for a “Yes” vote in next year’s AV referendum.

Nick Clegg said,

I am delighted that John Sharkey has accepted this role.

This is a vital campaign for the country and I can’t think of a better person than John to run it for the Liberal Democrats.

John Sharkey is one of Nick Clegg’s closest advisors and a former MD of Saatchi and Saatchi, who worked on the Conservatives’ 1987 General Election campaign.

More recently, he chaired the …

Posted in News | Tagged av referendum, john sharkey and nick clegg | 44 Comments

Nick Clegg’s statement on political and constitutional reform

By Helen Duffett | Mon 5th July 2010 - 4:28 pm

Nick Clegg has just made a statement in the House of Commons outlining the Government’s proposals for political and constitutional reform, including plans for a referendum on the use of the Alternative Vote system in the UK.

The statement included the announcement of two important dates: the date for the AV Referendum (in the Bill to be introduced before the Summer recess) is intended for 5 May 2011 and the next General Election on 7 May 2015.

Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged av referendum, electoral reform, nick clegg and parliamentary reform | 22 Comments

Total Politics Best Blog Poll 2010: vote now!

By Helen Duffett | Mon 5th July 2010 - 1:20 pm

It’s that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. This is the fifth year of the poll. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2010-11, which will be published in September. For the second year running, the poll is being promoted/sponsored by LabourList, LibDemVoice and Iain Dale’s Diary.

The rules are simple.

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks …

Posted in Best of the blogs and Online politics | Tagged blogging, iain dale and total politics | Leave a comment

The coalition “marriage” – should we keep our name?

By Helen Duffett | Sun 4th July 2010 - 9:50 am

In the Guardian last week, Timothy Garton-Ash argued that the Liberal Democrats’ distinctive identity is being lost both by coalition with the Conservatives and by other parties’ appropriation of the “liberal” label:

The Liberal Democrats should change their name to the Liberals. Here’s why. First of all, Liberal Democrats is a pretty meaningless name. That’s liberal democrats as opposed to illiberal democrats, is it? Or as opposed to liberal anti-democrats?

Lib Dems, to which they are usually abridged, is even emptier. The name sounds like the product of an awkward compromise, which is exactly what it is. When the Liberal party,

…

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged coalition, paddy ashdown and timothy garton-ash | 78 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 2 July 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 2nd July 2010 - 5:00 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

1. Should Lembit Opik be the Liberal Democrat candidate for London Mayor? (70) by Mark Pack
2. Government moves right, political agenda moves elsewhere (71) by Mark Pack
3. Two Lib Dem MPs rebel over VAT (82) by Mark Pack
4. Lines of attack against the Lib Dems becoming clearer (145) by Iain Roberts.
5. Opinion: Observer’s dishonesty doesn’t disguise party challenges (24) by Chris White.

5 from the LDV archive

1. Nick Clegg on the Freedom Bill by Mark Pack, November 2006.
2. 76% say London mayoral candidate should be from grassroots by the founding editor, January 2007.
3. LDV readers say: Miliband would be most effective Labour leader by Stephen Tall, October 2008.
4. Huhne and Clegg set out their views on coalition politics by the Voice, November 2007.
5. Jo Swinson writes… Experiences of a Female MP: Overcoming the Ultimate Old Boys Club by Jo Swinson, April 2009.

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

David Cameron to campaign against Alternative Vote reform

By Helen Duffett | Fri 2nd July 2010 - 2:40 pm

This morning, David Miliband – leading contender for the Labour Leadership – said that he’s in favour of Alternative Vote reform.

Now the BBC reports:

David Cameron will campaign against changing the voting system, his spokesman said, in a referendum expected next May.

His spokesman said the PM would be asked his view and “clearly his view is that he’s not in favour of it”.

There’s been some ambiguity about whether Cameron being against AV constitutes him campaigning against the reform – the Prime Minister’s own spokesman doesn’t yet seem sure:

Posted in News | Tagged alternative vote, coalition, david cameron and david miliband | 10 Comments

By-election news: two Lib Dem gains, one loss, Yeovil hold

By Helen Duffett | Fri 2nd July 2010 - 1:40 pm

Local farmer Richard Huffer, last night won Clee Division of Shropshire County Council from the Conservatives taking over 60% of the vote. Speaking after the count, Richard said “I’m extremely grateful for the confidence that local electors have shown in me. The scale of the victory is quite humbling. Now the work really starts – our area has suffered from neglect and poor representation for too long!”

Parliamentary Candidate Heather Kidd, who was agent in the by-election said,

Richard will make an excellent councillor.

…

Posted in Council by-elections | Tagged garfield kennedy, heather kidd, mike lock, richard huffer and terry curtis | 9 Comments

Clegg to announce AV referendum date “next week”

By Helen Duffett | Thu 1st July 2010 - 6:35 pm

Reuters reports:

Liberal Democrats want a date to be set for a referendum on the move to the Alternative Vote system as a tangible reward for their role as junior coalition partners with the Conservatives.

The LibDems hope a vote can be held as early as next May, although AV actually falls short of their desire for a genuinely proportional voting system.

“I’m hoping to make an announcement literally in a couple of days, next week,” Clegg said in answer to a question after making a speech in London.

Read the full piece here.

And as Mark’s already blogged, it’s not too soon …

Posted in News | Tagged alternative vote, av referendum and nick clegg | 4 Comments

Nick Clegg launches “Your Freedom”

By Helen Duffett | Thu 1st July 2010 - 6:13 pm

Posted in News | Tagged freedom bill and nick clegg | 23 Comments

Election court agrees to examine Oldham East slur leaflet

By Helen Duffett | Wed 30th June 2010 - 9:23 pm

As we reported last month the Liberal Democrat candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth was petitioning for a hearing of an election court, alleging a breach of the Representation of the People Act (1983).

The BBC now reports:

A court is to examine claims that a Labour Party election leaflet from former minister Phil Woolas linked an opponent to Muslim “extremists”.

An election court has agreed to hear the case brought by Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins.

He claims Labour falsely portrayed him as taking “illegal” foreign donations.

The court could order a fresh election in the Oldham East and Saddleworth

…

Posted in Election law | Tagged elwyn watkins, oldham east and saddleworth, phil woolas and representation of the people act 1983 | 4 Comments

Police detain teenager for photographing Armed Forces Day parade

By Helen Duffett | Mon 28th June 2010 - 6:35 pm

Posted in News | Tagged anti-terrorist legislation, jules mattsson, photography, policing and romford | 30 Comments

Paul Burstow announces more power for patients in personal health budget pilot

By Helen Duffett | Mon 28th June 2010 - 4:32 pm

From the Department of Health comes this news:

Patients will be offered more choice and control over their healthcare with the launch of the first direct payment scheme, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced today.

Eight Primary Care Trusts will begin to road test direct payments for personal health budgets. This will allow Primary Care Trusts to give the money for someone’s care directly to them, allowing individuals to decide how, where and from whom they receive their healthcare, in partnership with the local NHS.

Previously, personal health budgets could only be held by a Primary Care Trust or third party.

The cost of …

Posted in News | Tagged NHS and paul burstow | 2 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #174

By Helen Duffett | Sun 20th June 2010 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 174th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (13th – 19th June, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

Posted in Best of the blogs | 1 Comment

Nick Clegg’s budget trip to Spain

By Helen Duffett | Wed 16th June 2010 - 7:20 pm

Giles Paxman, British ambassador to Spain, has blogged about Nick Clegg’s visit to Spain last week.

While emphasising Britain’s interest in the Eurozone’s economic success, the Deputy Prime Minister showed he’s economising too:

The top priority, obviously, is tackling the problems with our public finances. Nick Clegg made the point strongly, in his long meeting with Prime Minister Zapatero and his speech to a packed audience of top Spanish movers and shakers, that this was a duty that we owe to future generations and that

…

Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged easyjet, european union, foreign and commonwealth office, giles paxman, nick clegg and spain | 9 Comments

Nick Clegg on the scale of the economic challenge

By Helen Duffett | Mon 14th June 2010 - 8:32 pm

Video of Nick Clegg’s speech to the Institute for Government also available here.

This morning Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg made a speech on the economy (above) at the Institute for Government, putting the case for cutting debt sooner rather than later. He said that the debt crisis in Europe and Labour’s “terrible legacy” necessitated urgent action:

The choices that were available to us just two months ago are no longer available. We have to take action now so that we can still be in control of our future.

This evening, Nick emailed Liberal Democrat members with this summary:

Posted in News | Tagged deficit, institute for government, nick clegg and office for budget responsibility | 46 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 11 June 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 11th June 2010 - 5:00 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

1. Do you pass the Lib Dem test? The 13 Yes/No questions that will give you your answer (45) by Stephen Tall
2. Opinion: I’m no longer prepared to support Stonewall under the leadership of Mr Summerskill (36) by Ed Fordham
3. Redundancies announced at the Parliamentary Office of the Liberal Democrats (21) by The Voice
4. Opinion: The coalition’s education policies are seriously flawed (51) by Peter Downes
5. Want to know who the most liberal Labour leadership contender is? (32) by Stephen Tall

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

When will we get an AV referendum?
How do you win an alternative vote referendum?
Music
Spads
Deputy Leader…?

5 recently active groups on ACT

1. Support for David Laws
2. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
3. Restore the Presumption of Innocence
4. ENGAGE – The Lib Dem Policy Network
5. Liberal Democrat Christian Forum

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

London Assembly to review May 6 polling problems

By Helen Duffett | Fri 11th June 2010 - 3:20 pm

The London Assembly has unanimously passed a motion calling for an investigation into how polling was conducted for the general and council elections in May.

From the BBC:

The review comes after hundreds of Londoners were unable to vote and left queuing as polling booths closed.

About 300 people were turned away in Lewisham and another 150 were unable to vote in Hackney. Long queues were also seen in Vauxhall and Brockley.

The review will look at the issues of overcrowding and as well as allegations of electoral fraud.

The review will be conducted by the Business Management and Administration Committee, …

Posted in London and News | Tagged Caroline Pidgeon | 2 Comments

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Author Archives: Helen Duffett

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

5 from the LDV archive

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 recently active groups on ACT

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

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