Author Archives: Martin Shapland

Martin Shapland

Martin Shapland writes: A petition to retain the ban on capital punishment

By Martin Shapland | Thu 4th August 2011 - 8:36 pm

You can tell it’s silly season. The top story today is that a petition on the Death Penalty is at the top of the government’s new e-petition site. You might not have noticed that the petition with the most signatures says – ‘Retain the ban on Capital Punishment.’

Yes I launched the petition; no this isn’t a vanity project. Paul Staines (AKA Guido Fawkes) and the Daily Mail, which have both launched campaigns to restore the death penalty, need to be opposed. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and most Members of Parliament happen to be on holiday.

It might …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 35 Comments
Martin Shapland

Opinion: Equidistance is as important now as it ever was in opposition

By Martin Shapland | Tue 10th May 2011 - 10:54 am

Liberals, I put it to you that we are neither wannabe conservatives nor right wing Labourites. We are distinct as Liberal Democrats and need to start making this clear.

The small ‘c’, conservatives who fought for a no vote in the referendum show, at heart, narrow party interest drives activists in both Labour and Conservative parties. As long as they remain tribal, with every motivation checked against what is best for party, it will prove fatal if we continue to seek pluralism in a world where pluralism is derided and to ignore the self preservation of our own party and values.

Instead …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 8 Comments
Martin Shapland

Opinion: Its time for a well informed response on Diversity

By Martin Shapland | Wed 9th March 2011 - 11:41 am

Conference is almost upon us once again, and glancing my eye over the agenda I am pleased to see a motion based on Baroness Sal Brinton’s report on party diversity.

You may remember this came up at the last conference. The speech I made at Liverpool was my maiden at a federal conference; the amendment I co-sponsored helped pave the way for the motion on improving diversity we will debate this coming Saturday.

It was also one of the most depressing experiences I’ve witnessed as a party member. Friends who supported the amendment were treated appallingly by supporters of the motion. I …

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 13 Comments
Martin Shapland

Opinion: we’re walking the wrong path on fees

By Martin Shapland | Mon 8th November 2010 - 3:58 pm

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” Barack Obama

“Our party has long prided itself on its commitment to education as the great leveller; the best way to create social mobility and equality of opportunity in society” – words written by Jo Swinson MP in her article yesterday.

I agree with her, and that’s why I disagree that a near tripling of fees meets that commitment. That’s why I will be lobbying MPs to vote down the measure in the House of Commons in December.

There is much that is progressive in the …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 42 Comments
Martin Shapland

Liberal Youth respond to graduate tax proposals

By Martin Shapland | Thu 15th July 2010 - 3:40 pm

Well I, for one, was hoping for a quiet summer.

Having been elected as the new Chair of the Youth party exactly two weeks ago I’m just about getting my bearings about where all the buttons to push are, so imagine my surprise when I found the big red button marked ‘Higher Education Funding.’

The issue of Higher Education funding is, perhaps, Liberal Youth’s biggest single issue, and our policy, and that of the Federal Party, is probably our most recognisable to young people across the country; When you ask a student about Fees they will be able to tell …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged | 27 Comments
Martin Shapland

Opinion: the challenges facing Liberal Youth are not of policy, but of delivery

By Martin Shapland | Fri 28th May 2010 - 11:40 am

The following article is written by Martin Shapland who is a Candidate for Chair of Liberal Youth.

In an article on Wednesday, Richard Heinrich and Phil Jarvest – two of my competitors for the Chair of Liberal Youth – sought to open up a policy discussion about our Higher Education funding policy.

For the record I do fully support our current policy to abolish fees. I believe that education is the great driver of social change and individual liberty. I believe that widening access to quality education is fundamentally important, not just at higher education, but at Primary and …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 15 Comments
Martin Shapland

Opinion: Get Activated

By Martin Shapland | Wed 1st July 2009 - 3:50 pm

I’m not really going to comment on the Lib Dem Voice piece by Richard Wilson about Liberal Youth being stuck in the proverbial headlights; with 600 new members since March, a new website being launched and a brand new executive team taking over next week, we need a youth party that looks to the future and prepares for the battles to come, like the Norwich North By-election this summer, and beyond to the upcoming General Election and the next parliament.

The first step to building those future successes will be Liberal Youth’s comeback training event, Activate, taking place …

Continue reading »
Posted in Events | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Advert



Recent Comments

  • graham
    Thanks Mark. I too enjoyed the film Conclave which is based on Robert Harris`s novel of the same name which is a page turner. Like the previous film "Two Popes"...
  • Daniel Stylianou
    Morgan - looking to the Australian model doesn’t really help because members of their Senate are directly elected, just as in the US system. It goes back to t...
  • Craig Levene
    Sarah Campion, Dan Carden , Andy Burnham. Have all called for a further enquiry, & rightly so. Reading Dan's statement, it certainly resonates. These horrif...
  • Paul Barker
    Just on the point of comparison, I know from experience that German Trains are much worse than those around London & The South-East. Again, they seem to ha...
  • David Garlick
    We can't move in revolutionary manner if we want to progress in a way that improves our Party whilst making room to test changes out. I think that the report f...