Author Archives: James King

James King

Opinion: The case against Coalition 2.0

By James King | Mon 9th February 2015 - 11:55 am

House of Commons. Crown Copyright applies to this photo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_parliament/4642915654/Hung Parliaments have become rather like buses for Lib Dems. For election after election we longed for one to come along. Now it seems a second one will turn up rather sooner than we might want it.

Another hung parliament doesn’t automatically mean another coalition involving the Lib Dems. And despite having been a firm advocate of coalition in 2010, I am very sceptical that Coalition 2.0 is in the interests of the party or liberalism.

I should state at the outset that while I’m predicting that the Tories will again have the largest number of seats – and probably Tory + Lib Dem MPs will make up a (slim) majority – most of my arguments are just as relevant to scenarios where Labour is in the lead.

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Posted in Op-eds | 54 Comments
James King

Opinion: Feeling at home with housing policy

By James King | Thu 6th June 2013 - 9:04 am

With the general election less than two years away, it is increasingly important for the Lib Dems to pursue ‘differentiation’ from our coalition partners. This includes advancing clear and specific Lib Dem proposals that we will seek to deliver this side of the election. But we should also start highlighting priorities which will form the basis of our pitch to the electorate in 2015.

The emerging agenda includes support for wealth taxes, defence of EU membership and the protection of civil liberties. These issues are as important as ever, but at this stage our platform seems light on ‘social liberalism’ and …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 13 Comments
James King

Opinion: Four point plan for a liberal, democratic Europe

By James King | Sat 27th October 2012 - 2:35 pm

Europe is rising up the political agenda. It’s an issue that could bring down David Cameron or break-up the coalition. Yet the Liberal Democrats are strangely silent. The EU didn’t appear on the Brighton conference agenda and we no longer have a Minister in the Foreign Office. We need to develop a vision for a liberal, democratic EU and get smart about fighting for it.

Here’s my four point plan:

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 47 Comments
James King

Opinion: 5 reasons the AV referendum lost

By James King | Fri 13th May 2011 - 10:30 am

Here is my take on the five main reasons why the UK gave such a comprehensive thumbs down to AV, with one important lesson for the future:

  1. Tuition fees and trust – This is not the place to rehearse all the arguments on tuition fees. But there can be no denying that it was a significant turning point in public perceptions of Nick Clegg. Even though over 300 Tory MPs voted for higher fees, the Conservative-dominated No campaign ruthlessly exploited this as an argument against coalitions in general and Clegg in particular. While I believe the policy itself can be justified, Clegg clearly under-estimated the political cost of a U-turn, particularly in the context ofacritical referendum that needed to be won only a few months later.
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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 46 Comments
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