Author Archives: Mark Valentine

Mark Valentine

Opinion: Starting from ‘the Other Place’

By Mark Valentine | Mon 11th May 2015 - 3:50 pm

 

Where can the Liberal Democrats start to rebuild? How can they reassert their identity as a party with a distinctive philosophy? How do they remind voters that they can make a real difference? The answers can in part be found in an unexpected place.

It’s worth remembering that there are two Houses in Parliament. And, treating cross-benchers as neutral, the House of Lords now has an opposition majority of something like 90-100. Every single piece of legislation that Mr Cameron wants to introduce will not only have to negotiate his own wafer-thin majority in the Commons, but this hurdle in what MPs call “the other place” too.

Here’s where the 101 Liberal Democrat peers can make a difference. Now they are no longer shackled to the compromises of coalition, they can act entirely on the basis of liberal and social democratic principles. They can also be watchdogs for the “one nation” principle that Mr Cameron says he wants to honour.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 15 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Peter Davies
    Compulsory voting would provide a big boost for those of us who appear at the top of the ballot paper....
  • Steve Trevethan
    Thank you for a most relevant article on the vulnerabilities of our alleged "Democracy"! Might ignorance, both passive and imposed/structural, be a signific...
  • Kevin Hawkins
    There has been a lot of discussion on Lib Dem Voice about our party’s performance in different parts of the country with a number of people commenting that we...
  • Ellyott
    My memory from the time of the introduction of the triple lock was in response to the reduction of the state pension's buying power in preceding years and its l...
  • Nonconformistradical
    I agree with Paul Barker at 16th Oct '26 - 3:41pm...