Author Archives: Mark Pack

Mark was the Liberal Democrat Head of Innovations until June 2009 and is now at Blue Rubicon. He also lectures at City University and is co-author of 101 Ways To Win An Election. He blogs at www.markpack.org.uk and is on Twitter as @markpack. He likes chocolate. Lots of it.
Mark Pack

Fashion industry faces intern crackdown

By Mark Pack | Sat 10th December 2011 - 1:47 pm

Good to see Nick Clegg’s push to sort out internships reaching another industry. After public relations, now it is the turn of the fashion industry to face the spotlight, as Vogue reports:

HMRC has warned fashion labels against exploiting their interns and treating them as employees – but without pay. The organisation sent cautionary letters to 102 fashion houses that exhibited during London Fashion Week in September, who they have not named…

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today showed his support for the HMRC’s announcement.

“I strongly urge fashion houses and designer labels to make sure they are treating interns fairly,” Clegg us

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

How does your income compare to everyone else?

By Mark Pack | Sat 10th December 2011 - 10:54 am

Having written about income inequality in the UK earlier in the week, here is an international perspective: www.globalrichlist.com, which lets you put your own income into a global perspective. Ready your decimal places and tap away…

Posted in News | Tagged | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

Europe: what Liberal Democrats have been saying today

By Mark Pack | Fri 9th December 2011 - 7:02 pm

Nick Clegg:

I have said for months that it would be best to avoid arcane debates about treaty change altogether and if we had to proceed down that road, it would be best to do so in a way that did not create divisions in Europe.

The demands Britain made for safeguards, on which the Coalition Government was united, were modest and reasonable. They were safeguards for the single market, not just the UK.

There were no demands of repatriation of powers from the EU to Britain and no demands for a unilateral carve-out of UK financial services.

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , , , , and | 101 Comments
Mark Pack

Two cheers for the English Party: more campaigning allowed in Parliamentary selections

By Mark Pack | Thu 8th December 2011 - 7:51 am

What would you think of a party selection process for candidates which involved putting all the shortlisted names in a hat and picking one out at random to be the winner? Not a lot, but the reasons why that is a bad process have often been neglected in the writing of the party’s selection rules.

Proper contests make for a healthier party

That is because a selection process is not about giving everyone an equal chance – go for a raffle if that is what you want – but about letting those who are most suited for the job demonstrate their …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

British inequality continues its post-2005 rise

By Mark Pack | Wed 7th December 2011 - 8:46 am

This week the OECD published its latest analysis of inequality in the UK, including (another) graph in which 1997 is not a turning point but rather this time 2005:

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: Is less really more?

By Mark Pack | Mon 5th December 2011 - 3:47 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: In a previous Campaign Corner you wrote that “Less is more”, praising big headlines, white space etc. But don’t many issues need more explanation than you can fit in a dumbed down few words?

A very good question! To which (surprise, surprise) I once again have three answers:

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
Mark Pack

What are Lib Dem MEPs up to when it comes to money?

By Mark Pack | Mon 5th December 2011 - 11:55 am

I’ve been wondering for a little time what the Liberal Democrat MEPs are pushing for when it comes to the European Union’s budget, which makes London MEP Sarah Ludford’s latest email update particularly timely:

No pro-European LibDem can be other than fully committed to reform of the EU. Any flaws in the way it is run overshadow its good work on everything from research to roaming charges, not to speak of the area I am passionate about, justice and civil liberties. I’m pleased therefore that a deal has been reached for the EU’s 2012  budget which overall represents no real terms

…

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

By Mark Pack | Sun 4th December 2011 - 6:23 pm

Why not join hundreds of other Lib Dem Voice readers in getting our latest headlines by email?

Some people like regularly visiting a site to see if there’s new stories of interest. Some people like subscribing to its news feed (RSS) and checking that way. But if you prefer email, you can instead sign up to get a daily early morning email with a summary of the previous day’s posts from Lib Dem Voice, complete with a note of how many comments each post has got and convenient links to click on if any take your fancy and you want to take a read.

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Mark Pack

“There is absolutely no chance of us winning there” – Conservative MP’s Feltham & Heston outburst

By Mark Pack | Sun 4th December 2011 - 3:42 pm

I headed over this morning to help Roger Crouch’s Parliamentary by-election campaign in Feltham & Heston, all of which went fairly smoothly (at least once I remembered to open my eyes) and it was good to see high quality literature that tied in well with other campaign activity, such as the local newspaper adverts for Roger Crouch.

It was also good to see an idea I helped pioneer at previous Parliamentary by-elections extended at this one – putting a feedback sheet on the back …

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , , , and | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

When should election counts be held?

By Mark Pack | Sun 4th December 2011 - 9:54 am

The Electoral Commission has a new consultation paper out, returning to an old issue: when should election counts be held?

As the paper says:

The key issue is that many Returning Officers have considered that increasingly complex election counts would be better conducted the morning after the close of poll when staff are fresh and less likely to make mistakes, while governments, political parties and candidates have often pressed for counts in major elections to take place immediately after the close of polls. This has led to controversies in the public domain ahead of major elections.

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Posted in Election law | Tagged | 7 Comments
Mark Pack

Brightening up our high streets

By Mark Pack | Fri 2nd December 2011 - 7:47 am

Having high streets which look pleasant rather than grotty should be an aim for local politicians others active in their community. There is the economic reason – businesses tend to do better. There is the safety reason – as the broken windows theory argues and evidence backs up – dealing with grime and grot helps cut crime. There is also a third reason which politicians in particular are often a bit wary of saying, but quite simply having our communities look more pleasant is a desirable end in itself. You do not have to immerse yourself in aesthetic theories to appreciate …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

How much do the richest 1% in the UK receive?

By Mark Pack | Thu 1st December 2011 - 12:55 pm

Here, courtesy of the Centre for Economic Performance, is how the share of income going to the richest 1% has changed since the start of the last century:

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Posted in News | Tagged | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

Brown at 10: the authoritative account – which lays into Ed Balls

By Mark Pack | Wed 30th November 2011 - 3:54 pm

When it first came out Brown at 10 by Anthony Seldon and Guy Lodge was extremely well received for its authoritative detail and the revised paperback edition maintains that standard well. With Seldon being one of the founders of the modern school of contemporary history, it is no surprise that the book follows the thorough, heavily documented approach contemporary historians strive for – with over 1 million words of interviews recorded for posterity (even if many are, for the next 30 years, withheld from public view) and extensive access to private diaries.

The huge depth of research is accompanied by …

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Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Humiliation for MI5 as former boss rules its claims are unfounded

By Mark Pack | Wed 30th November 2011 - 2:55 pm

Not surprisingly, it is the Mike Hancock connection which has got the headlines in the deportation case of Katia Zatuliveter. However, yesterday’s decision by an immigration tribunal to let her stay in the country is a humiliation for MI5.

It had confidently asserted that she was a spy and should be deported. It is not only that the Immigration Appeals Tribunal rejected MI5’s claims, but one of its three members hearing the case was Stephen Lander, himself the former boss of MI5. He and his colleagues concluded that she was not employed by the Russian secret service and that all …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 23 Comments
Mark Pack

What does the public think about income inequality?

By Mark Pack | Tue 29th November 2011 - 3:54 pm

Here, courtesy of the latest British Social Attitudes survey (published last year) is the answer:

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Ed Davey: someone getting the messaging right

By Mark Pack | Tue 29th November 2011 - 10:54 am

Having previously criticised other Liberal Democrat speech makers for having speeches which have positive things to say about the past but only gloom about the future, it is only fair to point out that there is one I have heard who does painting a picture of a positive liberal future well – Ed Davey.

I’ve heard Ed speak a handful of times now, but it was his latest speech that was the most striking in this regard as it was at a South West London Lib Dem fundraiser for Munira Wilson, just after Tim Farron had spoken. Tim’s …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
Mark Pack

Thinking long-term: the government’s alternative to PFI

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th November 2011 - 10:01 pm

Back in February I wrote about the government’s aim to think long-term and the problems with turning that rhetoric into action:

“We must think long term” is a common cry in politics and government. Far easier said than done, but whether it is investing in early years education, making decisions over building new physical infrastructure such as railways, setting rules for pensions or a myriad of other decisions, government repeatedly makes decisions which only work well if they are stuck to for a long period of time and whose positive impact may not be directly felt for many years. For

…

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Posted in News | Tagged | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: Is there such a thing as too many leaflets?

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th November 2011 - 3:54 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: Is it possible to deliver too many leaflets?

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged | 26 Comments
Mark Pack

A welcome shift in international interventions

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th November 2011 - 10:55 am

News of the Arab League’s sanctions against Syria brings to mind the Curate’s Egg – good in parts. That such sanctions are unprecedented shows a welcome increase once more in the Arab League’s willingness to stand up to dictators where mass violence against the population is involved. (Other dictators are another matter of course.) After the steps in Libya and now Syria, the Arab League is looking rather more like a body that does good rather than excuses evil.

That transformation only goes so far. For it has taken months and around 3,500 deaths to bring about sanctions which are …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

How big business got the 50p tax rate wrong

By Mark Pack | Sat 26th November 2011 - 7:45 am

From the Financial Times:

Fears that the 50p rate of tax would hinder recruitment of top executives have been allayed, according to a survey of 50 large companies that will relieve pressure on George Osborne to accelerate plans to abolish the controversial levy in next week’s autumn statement.

Only 13 per cent reported that the 50p rate for those earning more than £150,000 a year was proving a barrier to attracting senior managers to Britain, according to KPMG, the professional services group, in what it said was a “dramatic change of sentiment” since 2009 when over 80 per cent of companies

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 34 Comments
Mark Pack

Pupil Premium comes to Wales

By Mark Pack | Fri 25th November 2011 - 5:55 pm

The Welsh Liberal Democrats report:

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has welcomed the budget deal between Labour and the Liberal Democrats that will deliver an extra £450 directly to local schools for each child on free school meals.

The total package will mean that schools in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend will have an extra £5.8 million to spend from May next year, targeted on the poorest children, who are already under-achieving. This breaks down as £2.57m for Swansea, £1.53m for Bridgend and £1.71m for Neath Port Talbot.

Commenting on the outcome of the

…

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Posted in News and Wales | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

How many people are prosecuted for failing to fill in electoral registration forms?

By Mark Pack | Fri 25th November 2011 - 2:15 pm

In amongst the debate over individual electoral registration, one question has been whether it should remain a legal obligation to complete registration forms sent out by the local council.

But how meaningful is the current legal obligation? Part of the answer to that has come in a recent Parliamentary Question, giving details of how many prosecutions have been commenced under the existing system:

2008 183
2009 67
2010 144
These data are collected by voluntary survey of electoral registration officers (EROs). The Electoral Commission does not have the power to collect this information and it is therefore not compulsory for EROs to complete

…

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Posted in Election law | Tagged | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Three cheers for inflation?

By Mark Pack | Fri 25th November 2011 - 10:45 am

Economist and economic historian Nicholas Crafts is back in the public eye with a new pamphlet for CentreForum. Those with long memories of his previous controversial stances won’t be surprised to know this pamphlet does not take a mainstream approach to economic history or economic policy, instead praising part of the 1930s and calling for more inflation.

The two are linked because he splits Britain’s economic record in the 1930s in two, arguing that in the second half of the 1930s higher prices helped fuel a strong economic recovery:

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

Missing: the people the Leveson Inquiry won’t be talking to

By Mark Pack | Fri 25th November 2011 - 7:45 am

“Follow the money”. It’s a cliché of investigative journalism for a very good reason. If you want to get to the heart of what is really going on, knowing who has paid what to whom frequently exposes the real action being hidden away behind warm words, evasive statements and muttered “no comments”.

It is also at the heart of many a public inquiry. Want to know why something happened? Who pays whom is again right at the centre of the story. Whether it is understanding drugs policy and the economics of the illegal market or looking at problems of rail safety, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

The party’s back to front: why our political messaging is wrong

By Mark Pack | Thu 24th November 2011 - 10:55 am

Hearing both Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg speak several times at local Liberal Democrat events over the summer, something not quite right about their speeches was nagging away at the back of my mind.

It was not the delivery, for both have speaking styles which are excellently suited to the semi-formal audience of between 20 and 100 which is common at such events.

Nor was it about the consistency of message: without either lapsing into robotic repetition of the sort that served Ed Miliband so badly in his notorious public sector strikes interview, both in their different ways were echoing the …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 27 Comments
Mark Pack

Was there a Clegg coup? Review of The Clegg Coup – Britain’s First Coalition Government Since Lloyd George by Jasper Gerard

By Mark Pack | Wed 23rd November 2011 - 9:54 am

Many book titles reveal little about what their book contains, either providing but a banal name for its contents or a clever, clever name which obscures rather than reveals. However, The Clegg Coup – Britain’s First Coalition Government Since Lloyd George by Jasper Gerard has a title which is revealing in two aspects. First, the way general accuracy in the book is marred by detailed slips – for whilst the general point of the title is true, with the May 2010 coalition being the UK’s first peacetime coalition in Westminster since before 1939, the title does not use the …

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Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 25 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: How to write effective fundraising letters

By Mark Pack | Mon 21st November 2011 - 4:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I know I need to ask members and supporters for money to help fund our local campaigning, but I hate writing fundraising letters. What should I say?

  1. The basic formula is thank, warn, inspire: in other words, thank people for their past support, warn them of what can go wrong if there is not enough money for the campaign (e.g.

…

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

How well do you know the British Prime Ministers?

By Mark Pack | Sun 20th November 2011 - 4:10 pm

A quick history quiz for the weekend: only five recent Prime Ministers have not subsequently taken a seat in the House of Lords. Who are the five?

Three you should find quite easy, a fourth not too hard if you are an older reader, but the fifth may surprise – or make you think “oh, of course!”…

(Answer after the jump)

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged and | 15 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: How do I make my ward emails more effective?

By Mark Pack | Mon 14th November 2011 - 4:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I have built up quite a large number of emails for residents in my ward and I’m expecting a close fight in May. How can I get the most out of emails to them?

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Posted in Campaign Corner and Online politics | Tagged | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

David Steel, bombing Greenland and regulating cats

By Mark Pack | Tue 8th November 2011 - 3:15 pm

It being over four years since I last read David Steel’s speech to the Liberal Party Assembly of 1976, I thought it was time I did so again. As you do.

And yes, once again, it is the bombing of Greenland and the cats which caught my attention:

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 5 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • expats
    I give up!.. Reading some of the posts it seems that Burnham shouldn't have mentioned the EU, the 'triple lock' and also how his electoral reform is the 'wrong ...
  • Chloe
    A huge mistake by Burnham. Opening the EU's pandora box will sap the energy from this government . Everything will be overshadowed by that question....
  • Big Tall Tim
    An excellent article Victor on the great work you are doing. It's a great shame people like David can't give credit where credit is due....
  • Scott Rennie
    Couldn’t agree more Karen. It’s the best speech in a generation, and more importantly an opportunity to build common cause on things that matter to us, like...
  • Nigel Jones
    I too thank you for this interesting article. Community has been in decline for decades in most parts of the country, but this seems particularly the case where...