Author Archives: Helen Duffett

Helen Duffett

LibLink: Jeremy Browne and Nick Harvey on an International Arms Trade Treaty

By Helen Duffett | Thu 3rd March 2011 - 5:42 pm

Over at Comment is Free today, Jeremy Browne and Nick Harvey argue for the need for an international arms trade treaty, and that Britain must lead its creation:

On Monday the second round of negotiations to establish an international arms trade treaty (ATT) began at the United Nations headquarters in New York. These negotiations, and the need for better regulation of the arms trade, could not be timelier.

The courage displayed in the popular uprisings across the Middle East and north Africa over the last month has been fascinating and inspiring. But the shocking retaliatory brutality, especially of

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Helen Duffett

Poll: What should an elected second chamber be called?

By Helen Duffett | Thu 3rd March 2011 - 11:55 am

Nick Clegg said this week that the Government will shortly unveil its plans for reforming the House of Lords.

Answering questions in the Commons on Tuesday, Clegg said:

The cross-party Committee, which I chair, has been considering proposals for a wholly or mainly elected second Chamber. The Government will publish a draft Bill shortly, which will then be subject to pre-legislative scrutiny. The Government hope that that will be carried out by a Joint Committee of both Houses.

It’s very likely that the second chamber will be renamed, to reflect the constitutional changes.

Upper Houses around the world have a wide variety …

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Posted in Polls | Tagged , , and | 39 Comments
Helen Duffett

Don’t let Liberal Youth get away with murder

By Helen Duffett | Wed 2nd March 2011 - 7:21 pm

Liberal Youth have sent the Voice news of Spring Conference’s most intriguing fund-raiser: a Murder Mystery evening.

All actors are Liberal Youth volunteers and funds raised will be invested in on-the-ground youth campaigns:

No one knows it yet, but murder is afoot.

Donald Trevithick, MP for Crapstone-under-Tamar, is holding a birthday party for his wife, Mary at their home in Drake’s End, Devon. John Maldon, the MP for Scruffton and Lairy North, however, is late…

Inspector Timothy Farron, of the Devon and Cornwall constabulary, has been notified and is on the case, but can you get the bottom of the matter first? Before tragedy

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Posted in Conference | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Helen Duffett

Nick Clegg to speak with notes

By Helen Duffett | Fri 25th February 2011 - 3:09 pm

A hip-hop musical based on Nick Clegg’s role in forming the Coalition government is to be staged later this year.

The show (working title: “Nicked”) also features David Cameron in a “rap-off” with his backbenchers as well as the student demonstrations and the run-up to the AV referendum.

From BBC News:

Steven Atkinson, artistic director of the HighTide Festival in Suffolk, said “They are all in there, Cameron, Clegg, Brown and the Milibands.”

He added that as Mr Clegg acted as a student, he might see the funny side.

The play is due to be staged from 30 April – just before the 5

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Helen Duffett

Charles Kennedy MP: No2AV ads “shocking and outrageous”

By Helen Duffett | Fri 25th February 2011 - 11:49 am

Charles Kennedy MP has urged Liberal Democrat members and supporters to take action by registering their disappointment and disgust at the advertising tactics of the No2AV campaign.

The No campaign recently took out a two-page advertisement in the Birmingham Mail claiming that a sick baby “needs a new cardiac facility NOT an alternative voting system”. The ad misleadingly implies that the public must choose between an alternative voting system and frontline services.

Here’s what Charles said in his email this morning:

Over recent days No2AV have published a series of ads in local papers that can be described as distasteful at best,

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Helen Duffett

Julian Huppert MP voted Lib Dem Backbencher of the Year

By Helen Duffett | Wed 23rd February 2011 - 4:55 pm

Cambridge First reports:

The MP for Cambridge was handed the accolade by the magazine Asian Voice after its readers cast their votes in the publication’s annual political and public life awards.

Asian Voice – which launched 35 years ago to forge links between British and Asian communities – reported: “Julian Huppert has quickly established himself as one of the most refreshing and exciting MPs to have been elected in the last General Election.”

Dr Huppert said: “I am delighted to receive this highly prized award from such a prestigious magazine. I thank the readers of Asian Voice for their encouragement.”

The city MP

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Helen Duffett

LibLink: Moving house – the John Thurso story

By Helen Duffett | Wed 23rd February 2011 - 2:25 pm

BBC Politics yesterday profiled the life of John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso – better known as John Thurso, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross:

John Thurso has spent a decade as an MP, but still regards himself as “an entirely accidental politician”.

Living in the “ruins” of his family castle in the northernmost part of Scotland, he might appear a gentleman amateur in the careerist world of Westminster.

Yet politics is in the blood of this grandson of former Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair.

Mr Thurso, the 57-year-old Lib Dem MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, was the first

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Helen Duffett

Charles Kennedy MP re-elected as Glasgow University rector

By Helen Duffett | Wed 23rd February 2011 - 8:13 am

Congratulations to Charles Kennedy MP, the first person since Disraeli (1871-1877) to serve two consecutive terms as the rector of Glasgow University.

From STV.tv:

Mr Kennedy won convincingly after securing 2601 votes out of a possible 3166. The writer received 565 of the votes from students.

The contest to become Glasgow University’s 121st rector came as the institution faces protests over course cuts. And both candidates attempted to win the hearts and minds of the student body by issuing a warning to university bosses.

Mr Kennedy told the Herald before his win: “My job, if re-elected, is to get all

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Helen Duffett

Aberdeen Council “Giant” Ron Clark passes away

By Helen Duffett | Mon 21st February 2011 - 7:03 pm

The Aberdeen Press and Journal has the sad news:

A veteran Aberdeen councillor, described as a “giant” of the community by colleagues, has died.

Ron Clark, Liberal Democrat member for Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone, died last night after being admitted to hospital earlier in the week.

Mr Clark, who was in his mid-70s, marked 30 years of public service last year.

His council colleagues paid tribute to a hard-working character who had dedicated himself to serving his local community.

Last night Liberal Democrat council leader John Stewart said: “Ron has been a great servant for the people of Dyce for many, many years. Last

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Helen Duffett

Lib Dem Erin Harvey wins Parliamentary Researcher of the Year

By Helen Duffett | Mon 21st February 2011 - 4:53 pm

Erin Harvey Parliamentary Researcher of the Year 2011

Photo credit: Paul Heartfield, Federation of Small Businesses.

Erin Harvey, researcher to Liberal Democrat MP Gordon Birtwistle, scooped three prizes at last week’s Dods Parliamentary Researcher of the Year Awards.

From ePolitix.com:

Erin Harvey, the Liberal Democrat researcher who previously worked for Susan Kramer before joining the Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle in May, stole the show where she won three of the seven awards; Liberal Democrat Researcher of the Year, the Federation

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Helen Duffett

Liberal Democrat Spring Conference Agenda – online now

By Helen Duffett | Fri 18th February 2011 - 4:40 pm

News from Andrew Wiseman, chair of the Lib Dem Federal Conference Committee:

The Conference Agenda has been finalised and is now available online, together with accompanying policy papers and consultation papers. For those members who registered for conference before 30 January, hard copies will be arriving through the post very soon.

We have planned an interesting agenda with a variety of debates including one on the NHS and another looking at the strategy of the Party. Representatives will also have the opportunity to participate in two Q&A sessions, one with the Party Leader and the other with members of the BIS

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Helen Duffett

“In a civil union” now a relationship status option on Facebook

By Helen Duffett | Fri 18th February 2011 - 8:53 am

You can now choose Civil Union as your Facebook relationship status
Facebook has updated its list of options for displaying a user’s relationship status.

You can now choose “In a civil union” or “In a domestic partnership” from a list which previously consisted of single, in a relationship, engaged, married, it’s complicated, in an open relationship, widowed, separated and divorced. (And, of course, you can choose not to display a relationship status at all.)

The options appeared from yesterday for users in the UK, as well as in North America, …

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Helen Duffett

Lib Dems’ half-term report: gold stars from Simon Hughes – and Paul Waugh

By Helen Duffett | Thu 17th February 2011 - 8:45 pm

Over at PoliticsHome, Paul Waugh has a very positive piece, highlighting the recent series of announcements which bear a distinctive Liberal Democrat stamp:

Today, Nick Clegg can bask in last night’s AV Bill victory, delivering an historic referendum that could possibly see his party in power for a long time.
But the DPM can also celebrate having played a key role in a string of other areas being discussed today. On each issue, you can judge his success by the irritated reaction of the average Tory backbencher.

Paul helpfully lists welfare reform, gay marriage, green policy, growth, the AV referendum and more.

Go …

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Helen Duffett

New fund to help disabled people become MPs

By Helen Duffett | Wed 16th February 2011 - 6:53 pm

Disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials will have access to a fund to help them overcome the barriers they face, under Government proposals published today.

A £1 million package, including training and mentoring programmes are planned, following the recommendations made by the cross-party Speaker’s Conference in January 2010 on how to improve the representation of women, disabled people and minority ethnic people in the House of Commons.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said,

We are committed to cleaning up politics and restoring the trust of the people in Parliament. A key tool in doing this is

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Helen Duffett

Long-serving West Berkshire Councillor Keith Lock passes away

By Helen Duffett | Mon 14th February 2011 - 1:08 pm

Liberal Democrat Councillor Keith Lock, who represented Mortimer Ward in West Berkshire, died on Saturday night in hospital in Reading, having broken his hip a few weeks ago.

Keith had been a Councillor for West Berkshire and the predecessor Newbury District Council for 38 years. During that time he had twice held the positions of Leader and Chairman of Council.

The Reading Chronicle reports:

The Lib Dem councillor, who was born in Welling, Kent, moved to Mortimer in 1969 and sat on West Berkshire Council from its formation in 1998, having also served on its predecessor, Newbury District Council, since it was

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Helen Duffett

Dominic Carman selected as Liberal Democrat candidate for Barnsley Central by-election

By Helen Duffett | Sat 12th February 2011 - 4:37 pm

Barnsley Liberal Democrats today selected Dominic Carman as their candidate for the March 3 Barnsley Central Parliamentary by-election, at a hustings in the constituency.

Carman, son of the late George Carman QC, and biographer of BNP leader Nick Griffin, previously stood for the Lib Dems in Barking, East London at the 2010 General Election.

The by-election was caused by the resignation of the constituency’s MP, Eric Illsley, who has now been jailed for 12 months for fraudulently claiming more than £14,000 in Parliamentary expenses.

Commenting, Dominic …

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Posted in News, Parliamentary by-elections and Selection news | Tagged , , and | 22 Comments
Helen Duffett

MPs with mental illness will no longer be automatically disqualified

By Helen Duffett | Thu 3rd February 2011 - 7:48 pm

The government announced today the repeal of a law which automatically expels MPs from Parliament if they have a serious mental health condition.

This morning on Daybreak TV, Nick Clegg spoke about the abolition of Section 141 of the Mental Health Act 1983:

Today we are announcing that we are repealing an old-fashioned outdated law which means that MPs at the moment are disqualified from being MPs if they have a mental health problem which goes on for more than six months.

We are scrapping that – it is a relatively symbolic thing because it has never been used – but

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Posted in Election law, News and Parliament | Tagged , , , and | 7 Comments
Helen Duffett

Lib Dems HOLD Oliver’s Battery and Badger Farm, Winchester

By Helen Duffett | Thu 27th January 2011 - 11:51 pm

Congratulations to Cllr Brian Laming

Photo: New Councillor Brian Laming and team. Also available on Flickr here.

The Liberal Democrats have won today’s by-election at Oliver’s Battery and Badger Farm, Winchester City Council.

LD Brian Laming 894 (53.9%)
Conservative 604 (36.4%)
Labour 161 (9.8%)
Turnout 51.1%
LD hold.

Councillor Brian Laming commented:

This is a real honour and a tribute to the local Lib Dem team and their work over the years. I’m also really grateful to the hard work from the whole Winchester team across the last few

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Posted in Council by-elections | Tagged and | 29 Comments
Helen Duffett

Lib Dem Peer Lord Goodhart calls for filibuster ban

By Helen Duffett | Fri 21st January 2011 - 7:27 pm

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Helen Duffett

Lib Dems GAIN Marl, Conwy (and other by-election results from Jan 20)

By Helen Duffett | Fri 21st January 2011 - 4:18 pm

Marl councillors Mike Priestley and Sue Shotter
Photo: Marl Councillors Mike Priestley and Sue Shotter. Also available on Flickr.

Liberal Democrat Sue Shotter gained Marl in Conwy from the Conservatives last night:

LD Sue Shotter 389 (40.4; -10.1)
Con 270 (28.1; +5.7)
Lab 216 (22.5; +14.2)
Ind 87 (9.0; -9.7)
Majority 119
Turnout 31.3%
LD gain from Con
Percentage change is since May 2008

New councillor Sue Shotter said:

This result was achieved through a combination of Mike’s hard work over the years building up the Lib Dem vote, teamwork,

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Helen Duffett

ID cards to be scrapped at midnight tonight

By Helen Duffett | Fri 21st January 2011 - 10:31 am

From midnight tonight, ID cards may no longer be used to prove identity or to travel in Europe.

The documents are to be scrapped by the government under the Identity Documents Act 2010.

Tom Brake MP, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Policy Committee on Home Affairs, Justice and Equalities told Lib Dem Voice,

After yesterday’s annoucement of the cut from 28 to 14 days pre-charge detention, this is the second really big step in restoring the balance between civil liberties and security concerns.

This delivers yet another Lib Dem commitment in Government.

All personal information supplied during the process of applying for an …

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Helen Duffett

Chris Wiggin not seeking Lib Dem nomination for Barnsley Central by-election

By Helen Duffett | Wed 19th January 2011 - 7:29 pm

Liberal Democrat campaigner Chris Wiggin has announced that he will not seek the party’s nomination for the forthcoming parliamentary by-election in Barnsley Central, to be triggered shortly by the announced resignation of the sitting MP Eric Illsley.

Chris, who stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Barnsley Central in the May 2010 General Election and came second with 6,394 votes, indicated that he will concentrate his efforts on standing in Heslington ward in this year’s City of York Council elections.

Chris said:

It was an honour standing for Parliament last year in Barnsley Central for the first time. I was

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Helen Duffett

Parliamentary pillow fight as peers face all-night sittings

By Helen Duffett | Mon 17th January 2011 - 11:49 pm

Members of the House of Lords are bedding down for the first ermine sleepover in recent Parliamentary history as peers debate the government’s plans to hold a referendum on electoral reform.

After eight days of the Bill at Committee Stage, there are still 165 amendments of the original 275 remaining for consideration.

From the Financial Times:

Labour peers are braced for the prospect of all-night sittings in the coming days in what the government has condemned as unprecedented “filibustering” by the opposition party.

Officials were setting out camp beds in several rooms in the House of Lords on Monday night for

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Helen Duffett

“By-election was a hard-fought contest” – Clegg

By Helen Duffett | Fri 14th January 2011 - 2:05 am

From a party news release:

Commenting on the by-election result in Oldham East and Saddleworth, Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, said:

This was a very hard-fought contest but we were not able to gain this Labour seat on this occasion. I’d like to pay tribute to our superb candidate, Elwyn Watkins, and his team up in Oldham who have run an exceptional campaign.

I am proud of each and every one of the hundreds of activists and volunteers who have brought the fight to Labour’s front door in a way that will have confounded our critics.

It was always going

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Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , , and | 61 Comments
Helen Duffett

‘Cowley Street’ may not be ‘Cowley Street’ for long

By Helen Duffett | Thu 13th January 2011 - 9:53 am

Liberal Democrats HQ, Cowley Street
Photo credit: Loz Flowers on Flickr.

The Liberal Democrats are looking for new headquarters in Westminster, and plan to vacate their current offices at 4 Cowley Street.

From Property Week:

4 Cowley Street is a Grade II listed building which was originally constructed in 1905 as the London headquarters of the North Eastern Railway Company and provides just over 7,000 sq ft of offices.

A similar amount of space is being sought on a single floor and several properties have already been

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 28 Comments
Helen Duffett

Eric Illsley to resign as MP before being sentenced

By Helen Duffett | Wed 12th January 2011 - 2:45 pm

From the BBC:

Eric Illsley is quitting as an MP after pleading guilty on Tuesday to dishonestly claiming parliamentary expenses.

The MP for Barnsley Central had come under pressure to step down after admitting £14,000 of expenses fraud.

Labour leader Ed Miliband was among those to urge Illsley, who has yet to be sentenced, to quit.

Illsley has apologised to his constituents, saying he “deeply regretted” his actions.

Illsley’s office issued this statement from him:

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Helen Duffett

Eric Illsley MP pleads guilty to expenses fraud charges

By Helen Duffett | Tue 11th January 2011 - 11:52 am

From the BBC:

Former Labour MP Eric Illsley has admitted he fraudulently claimed more than £14,000 in parliamentary expenses.

He pleaded guilty to three false accounting charges over claims for council tax, maintenance, repairs and utility bills for his second home.

Illsley, appearing at Southwark Crown Court, previously denied all charges.

He was re-elected as Labour MP for Barnsley Central in May, but had the party whip withdrawn after being charged and now sits as an independent.

The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks, for a pre-sentence report. If Illsley receives a prison sentence of less than a year he may remain an MP, but if he is sentenced for longer, he will be disqualified from being an MP under the Representation of the People Act 1981.

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Helen Duffett

“Who agrees with Nick?” – BBC Radio Sheffield’s Nick Clegg documentary

By Helen Duffett | Mon 3rd January 2011 - 10:23 am

There’s still time to listen to BBC Radio Sheffield’s documentary about Nick Clegg, which features an exclusive interview with Nick, as well as comments from Paul Scriven (Leader of Sheffield City Council), Allan Wisbey (Nick’s election agent in Sheffield Hallam for the 2010 General Election) and Joe Otten (Lib Dem blogger and Chair of Sheffield Hallam Liberal Democrats).

From the accompanying blurb on the BBC Sheffield and South Yorkshire website:

“It’s been a real rollercoaster year.”

Nick Clegg’s own assessment of the last few months could be seen as something of an understatement.

Go back to December

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Helen Duffett

New Year messages from Welsh and Scottish Lib Dem leaders

By Helen Duffett | Sat 1st January 2011 - 8:55 pm

From Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats:

2010 has been a challenging year for many. There are some positive signs but the economic recovery will be slow and uncertain.

The Liberal Democrats made the right decision to be part of turning things around in government. Of course, in government, some decisions will be controversial, particularly in a time when there is not as much money as we would like. But having a stable majority government to steer us through difficult times is of vital importance.

Coalition government is a new experience for many in England. In Wales, as Scotland, it

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Helen Duffett

Lib Dem Voice: 2010 in stats

By Helen Duffett | Sat 1st January 2011 - 7:25 pm

Happy New Year and thankyou to all our readers!

Here are a few statistics which sum up the past year on LDV:

384 authors have written a total of 3239 posts. (For more on how to write for us, click here.)

Readers have visited our site 1,473,760 times, making 3,140,977 pageviews.

Our busiest day was Friday 7th May, the day after the General Election. This is typical for political websites the day after an election, and a reminder to defer that lie-in until after you’ve updated your site with results and commentary. The surge in readers the day after Polling Day is often greater than the steady trickle who’ve been visiting a site during an election campaign.

The 5 most-read stories on LDV in 2010:

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