Author Archives: NewsHound

LibLink: Giles Goodall: UKIP’s disgraceful record on gay rights

By NewsHound | Wed 21st May 2014 - 8:55 am

South east Euro Candidate Giles Goodall has compared and contrasted the voting records of the Liberal Democrats and UKIP on LGBT rights in an article for Pink News.

It will come as no surprise to anybody that the Liberal Democrats have supported LGBT at every single stage:

In contrast, Liberal Democrat MEPs have systematically supported LGBT rights, with the European liberal group coming out with the best record in the European Parliament, alongside socialists and greens.

Let’s look at some of the things UKIP …

Posted in LibLink | Tagged european elections 2014, giles goodall, LGBT rights, pink news and ukip | 3 Comments

LibLink: Stephen Tall: Why my heart won’t be too heavy this week when I vote Conservative (in a manner of speaking)

By NewsHound | Tue 20th May 2014 - 2:38 pm

There was much spluttering at LDV Towers this morning when we saw THAT headline. There was Earl Grey everywhere. Eventually, though, we managed to calm down and keep reading. In fact, our Stephen was messing with the heads of the readers of Conservative Home, as he does every few weeks or so.

In fact, his own vote for the fabulous Liberal Democrat team in the South East is secure. He is talking, though, about how he’s casting a proxy vote for a friend of his who has decided to vote …

Posted in LibLink | Tagged conservative home, eu and stephen tall | 23 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg – Coalition is not ‘betrayal’, it’s grown-up politics

By NewsHound | Sun 18th May 2014 - 2:00 pm

Nick Clegg takes to the comment pages of the Telegraph today to make the case for Coalition, first taking a swipe at critics on both Left and Right:

For the Left, the very act of coalition is condemned as heinous moral treachery; for the Right, the Lib Dems have far too much clout, thus frustrating the birthright of the Conservative Party to do what it wishes. Unprincipled powerlessness on the one hand, ruthless power-play on the other. Both can’t be right. In my

…

Posted in News | 136 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg: UKIP would rather turn the clock back on LGBT rights

By NewsHound | Sat 17th May 2014 - 11:13 am

In an article to mark today’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Nick Clegg has told readers of Pink News what the Liberal Democrat MEPs have done for LGBT rights both within Europe and globally:

Your Liberal Democrat MEPs have already been fighting for the rights of the LGBT community in Europe. For example, they have supported a European Parliament campaign for the recognition of equal marriage, civil partnerships and cohabitation in EU countries, as well as for

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged european elections 2014, homophobia, idaho day, lgbt equality, transphobia and ukip | 12 Comments

LibLink: Norman Lamb: Dementia, loneliness and how we can help

By NewsHound | Wed 14th May 2014 - 11:29 am

In Sunday’s Observer, Norman Lamb wrote about the importance of the Dementia Friends initiative. He starts by describing a situation that’s becoming all to common for people with Dementia and their carers:

It is four o’clock in the morning. A man has been roused from an already fitful sleep by his wife. She is upset and confused. And she has wet the bed. He has to comfort her and change the sheets at the same time. Eventually he is able to return to bed and get a little bit of rest

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged dementia, loneliness and norman lamb | 2 Comments

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Britain must remain at the core of the European Project

By NewsHound | Sat 10th May 2014 - 12:14 pm

In an article for the Euro Blog marking Europe Day yesterday, Charles Kennedy wrote of the need for Britain to stay at the heart of Europe.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the jobs and the trade and the money, but Charles starts with the principles of peace and the common good:

9 May marks the beginning of a process of cooperation, which intended to make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. We call it Europe Day The process that was set in motion that day was based on principles like democracy, open markets,

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged charles kennedy, eu, euroblog, european movement and featured | 6 Comments

LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott: EU values are in stark contrast to Putin’s

By NewsHound | Thu 8th May 2014 - 8:30 pm

Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber Edward McMilan-Scott, who is also the European Parliament’s Vice President for Human Rights, has been writing in the Yorkshire Post about the contest between the values of the EU and those of Vladimir Putin. The EU is built on democracy and liberal values while Putin seeks to build a Eurasian alliance built on homophobia and nationalism.

To understand what is happening in the Ukraine, we have to know something of President Putin’s Eurasian dream that is steering events. This involves the

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged edward mcmillan-scott, eu, nationalism, putin, russia and yorkshire post | 13 Comments

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown: Alex Salmond should apologise for his poor call over Vladimir Putin

By NewsHound | Sun 4th May 2014 - 10:55 am

“Lib Dem Statesman Paddy Ashdown”. That’s how the headline in Paddy’s Sunday Mail article describes him.

Paddy is writing in response to Alex Salmond’s comments on Vladimir Putin . As a reminder, this is what Salmond said:

Obviously, I don’t approve of a range of Russian actions, but I think Putin’s more effective than the press he gets, I would have thought, and you can see why he carries support in Russia.

“He’s restored a substantial part of Russian pride and that must be a good thing. There are aspects of Russian constitutionality and the intermesh with business and politics that are obviously difficult to admire. Russians are fantastic people, incidentally; they are lovely people.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged alex salmond, paddy ashdown, sunday mail, ukraine and vladimir putin | Leave a comment

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown in Bangladesh: Stoves that save children’s lives

By NewsHound | Wed 30th April 2014 - 12:15 pm

Paddy Ashdown has been writing over at UNICEF’s blog about his recent visit to Bangladesh. There, he saw the benefits of an initiative, supported by Marks and Spencer, to provide better ventilated, safer, fuel efficient stoves to 40,000 homes.

First of all, he outlines how dangerous simply cooking dinner could be:

I have just returned from a visit to the country and even in the tiny village of Daccope, children are exposed to potentially deadly air pollution in their own home every day. This dangerous mix of chemicals, including carbon monoxide,

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged bangaldesh, marks and spencer, paddy ashdown and unicef | 2 Comments

Liberal Democrats support mixed-sex civil partnerships – and Tories don’t. There’s a surprise.

By NewsHound | Mon 28th April 2014 - 10:22 am

From yesterday’s Sunday Times (£):

DAVID CAMERON is to veto proposals to give heterosexual couples the same right as gays to enter into civil partnerships, provoking a coalition split with the Liberal Democrats.

Cameron believes that allowing civil partnerships for heterosexuals would undermine the sanctity of marriage and alienate many traditional Tory voters.

Posted in News | Tagged civil partnerships and sunday times | 9 Comments

LibLink: Tim Farron: European Parliament makes it easier for you to know what’s in the medicines you are taking

By NewsHound | Sat 26th April 2014 - 12:55 pm

Roughly a third of people take part in the European elections. That turnout reflects that people don’t necessarily feel engaged with the European Parliament. Yet this body, whether it be on e-cigarettes, abolishing (with Liberal Democrat support) mobile phone roaming charges or even the medicines your doctor prescribes, makes laws that affect our daily lives. Tim Farron has been highlighting its important work in this medical field in an article over at the Huffington Post.

First of all, he outlines the problem:

Posted in LibLink | Tagged drugs, eu, european parliament, huffington post and tim farron | 3 Comments

LibLink: Martin Horwood – Lib Dems clamping down on the arms trade

By NewsHound | Thu 17th April 2014 - 9:07 am

Over at the Lib Dems’ website, Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has welcomed today’s announcement that Vince Cable has put out a call for evidence on a new register of arms brokers, introducing tougher regulations on the arms trade. Here’s an excerpt:

Arms brokers act as intermediaries in many arms deals by bringing together potential buyers and sellers in return for a cut of the transaction. Currently UK companies require a license before they can export military goods, but brokers are somewhat of an unknown entity. Under the proposals all brokers will

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged arms trade, martin horwood and vince cable | 10 Comments

LibLink: Tim Farron – In 2010, we promised to deliver the Pupil Premium. In 2015, I want us to promise to deliver the Student Premium

By NewsHound | Wed 16th April 2014 - 3:01 pm

Lib Dem party president Tim Farron has given his personal backing to the Lib Dems promising a Student Premium – modelled on the well-received Pupil Premium – at the next election. First proposed by his colleague Stephen Williams, Tim writes the Student Premium “could potentially change the game in terms of student uptake, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds”. Here’s an excerpt of his article for the April issue of the magazine, Politics First:

The Pupil Premium is being delivered only because the Liberal

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged education, higher education, liberal reform, pupil premium, stephen williams, student premium, tim farron and universities | 53 Comments

LibLink: Sir Robert Smith – We must not turn our back on Afghanistan

By NewsHound | Sat 12th April 2014 - 2:15 pm

Sir Robert Smith, Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afghanistan, has written this week about the need for Britain, as our direct military involvement comes to an end, to ensure we keep our promise to maintain support for a developing Afghanistan.

… the attacks of September the 11th brought home the fact that what happened in that far away country made a difference back here.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged afghanistan, featured, helmand province, iraq and sir robert smith | 8 Comments

LibLink: Alistair Carmichael: Let’s cut out referendum tension and concentrate on historical significance of referendum vote

By NewsHound | Thu 10th April 2014 - 10:30 am

Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael has written for the Daily Record about the need to conduct the independence referendum in a more respectful tone, citing examples of attacks from independence supporters on those who want to stay in the UK:

Cybernats – or internet trolls, to give them their proper name – wish Eddie Izzard serious harm simply because he has the cheek to disagree with them.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged Alistair Carmichael, daily record, Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 3 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: More action needed on reproductive rights for all

By NewsHound | Wed 9th April 2014 - 4:32 pm

This week, International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone is attending the UN Commission on Population and Development. She has written for the Huffington Post about how crucial it is to make sure that women have the choice about when to have children by having access to contraception, potentially saving 800 lives every day:

Globally there are 222million women who wish to space or delay the timing of births, but do not have access to modern forms of contraception. This has real and devastating consequences on their lives. In 2010, 800 women a day died from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth and in 2008 an estimated 8.7million young women aged 15 to 24 in developing countries resorted to unsafe abortions. All of this was preventable.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged equality, huffington post, international development, lynne featherstone and reproductive rights | 1 Comment

Nick Clegg talks of shock and disappointment at Sheffield’s Labour council refusing to accommodate vulnerable Syrian refugees

By NewsHound | Wed 2nd April 2014 - 3:33 pm

From today’s Guardian:

Nick Clegg has accused Labour council leaders in Sheffield of refusing to take a single refugee from Syria under the coalition government’s vulnerable persons relocation (VPR) scheme.

The deputy PM and Sheffield MP is furious that Labour put pressure on the coalition government to do more to help Syrian refugees but is refusing to offer practical help locally. Refugees have been arriving from Syria in the past few weeks under the government scheme.

Posted in News | Tagged nick clegg, sheffield city council and syria | 7 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: Last night we saw the nasty side of Nigel Farage

By NewsHound | Thu 27th March 2014 - 5:00 pm

Lynne Featherstone has written an article for the Liberal Democrats’ website in which she slams Nigel Farage’s comments on same sex marriage and Crimea in the debate last night.

I agree with Vlad

Nigel Farage loathes the EU so much that he is prepared to side with Vladimir Putin against the people of Ukraine and the democracies of the western world.

His statement, that the EU has “blood on its hands”, was an insult to those pro-democracy demonstrators who bravely took to the streets of Kiev to fight for their

…

Posted in News | Tagged lynne featherstone, nickvnigel, nigel farage and same sex marriage | 22 Comments

#NickvNigel: Charles Kennedy: I couldn’t get the Liberal Democrats to fight a pro-European campaign

By NewsHound | Wed 26th March 2014 - 4:10 pm

This morning, Charles Kennedy went on the Today programme to talk about tonight’s debate.

There was just a trace of frustration in his voice as he remembered that he, as a “down the line unashamed unalloyed pro-European” he couldn’t get the party to campaign on that basis, so when Nick took the initiative:

I was absolutely delighted and f I’d been in his shoes I’d have taken the same initiative but I might have been blocked or thwarted.

We are the down the line pro-European party and Nigel is the direct opposite. It’s

…

Posted in News | Tagged charles kennedy and nickvnigel | 8 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: A long road ahead to stop gender based violence, but we are on the right track

By NewsHound | Mon 24th March 2014 - 3:50 pm

Lynne Featherstone has been writing for local paper in her constituency about her trip to New York for the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the works she’s doing in Government aimed at dealing with the global problem of violence against women and girls:

Over the last year, I have spearheaded a new multi-million pound programme to tackle one of the most extreme manifestations of gender-based violence – female genital mutilation (FGM). And because of this solid foundation of work and momentum, this July the prime minister will host a major summit to tackle FGM as well as early …

Posted in LibLink | Tagged cgm, lynne featherstone and violence against women and girls | 2 Comments

LibLink: Vince Cable: Smell the coffee, Boris. The Mansion Tax has slipped in already

By NewsHound | Mon 24th March 2014 - 11:55 am

This story appears under the byline of a “Daily Mail Reporter” which is a bit odd, because I don’t think they’ve let any of them into the Cabinet yet, and certainly not any who oppose the Tories. The reference to “my Cabinet colleagues’ kind of gives the game away that it’s our Vince who has taken on Boris over the Mansion Tax. Now, there’s another debate I’d like to see alongside Nick vs Nigel. Vince vs Boris. One day, maybe..

Anyway, Vince started by pointing out that action was taken in the Budget to tax corporate property buying:

One less publicised move was a crackdown on people using high-value property to make easy capital gains from property inflation and then dodge tax, hiding behind a corporate façade.

At a time when families are desperate for housing, thousands of luxury flats sit empty in tower blocks along the Thames. The Government is stopping this abuse by charging a penal rate of stamp duty and a charge on the property value – a mansion tax.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged boris johnson, mail on sunday, mansion tax and vince cable | 8 Comments

Independent: “Lib Dems fall out over who should take on George Osborne in election debate”

By NewsHound | Sun 23rd March 2014 - 1:05 pm

Stephen Tall’s article here yesterday – Without a shadow of a doubt: Vince Cable should be the Lib Dems’ Shadow Chancellor at the 2015 election – has been picked up by today’s Independent:

As the minority coalition partner, the Lib Dems do not have a shadow chancellor. Nick Clegg must choose between the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, and the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, who represented the Lib Dems in the 2010 debate.

Posted in News | Tagged Danny Alexander, shadow cabinet (lib dem), the independent and vince cable | 8 Comments

“I thought it was a spoof” Danny Alexander on Shapps’ “patronising” Bingo tweet

By NewsHound | Thu 20th March 2014 - 11:50 am

Proof, as if we needed it, that Liberal Democrat and Tory mindsets are very different can be seen from Danny Alexander’s reaction to Grant Shapps’ “Bingo”poster.

#budget2014 cuts bingo & beer tax helping hardworking people do more of the things they enjoy. RT to spread the word pic.twitter.com/5vbL7RDAg5

— Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 19, 2014

Posted in News | Tagged budget 2014, Danny Alexander and grant shapps | 11 Comments

Nick’s Netmums Q & A on childcare

By NewsHound | Wed 19th March 2014 - 8:55 am

Over at Netmums, Nick Clegg has been answering questions about the new tax free childcare system announced yesterday. He explains the three elements, including the extra help for families on the lowest incomes:

Firstly, if you’re a working family with children under 12, which doesn’t receive tax credits, Universal Credit or Employer Supported Childcare, but both parents are working or you’re a lone working parent, the government will provide 20% of your child care costs up to £10,000 a year.

Posted in News | Tagged childcare, netmums and nick clegg | 2 Comments

Vince Cable: I don’t understand why bankers need to earn a million quid a year

By NewsHound | Mon 17th March 2014 - 1:26 pm

In an interview for the Observer magazine’s “This much I know” feature, Vince Cable has shared his life lessons.

He shares his incredulity that anyone needs a salary/bonus of over £1 million to live on:

I don’t understand why people need a million quid a year. I’ve asked one or two of the more sympathetic bankers to explain it to me. The response has been: “It’s not that I need the money, it is because others get it so I should, too.”

Posted in News | Tagged the observer and vince cable | 37 Comments

LibLink: Danny Alexander: Get real, Lord Lawson, it’s the low paid who need our help

By NewsHound | Sun 16th March 2014 - 4:35 pm

Linking to the Daily Mail usually brings me out in hives, but there are occasions when it’s ok. Danny Alexander taking down Lord Lawson for suggesting that further tax cuts should be focused on higher earners is one such case.

In today’s paper he starts by reminding people that it was a Liberal Democrat priority to cut taxes for the lowest earners. He missed a trick by reminding people where Tory hearts lay – an inheritance tax cut for the rich, but that’s by the by.

Posted in News | Tagged Danny Alexander, mail on sunday and tax | 6 Comments

LibLink: Tim Farron – We need to capitalise on our scientific excellence

By NewsHound | Sun 16th March 2014 - 1:15 pm

Tim Farron has been writing for the Adam Smith Institute – there’s a sentence we didn’t expect ever to write – about turning the UK’s universities into entrepreneurial hubs. The Lib Dem party president is familiar with the sector, having worked in higher education at Lancaster University before entering Parliament. Here’s an excerpt:

Britain has a historically poor record of turning our scientists into entrepreneurs. Too often we have favoured the image of the mad professor or boffin, absent-mindedly beavering away in their lab, oblivious to the wider world around them. We must root out this gross caricature and start talking about the scientists of the future, like Dr Judith Spitz, who as well as not being male and grey haired, jumped at the opportunity to take her skills in speech and language therapy into the corporate world to become Chief Information Officer of Verizon.

Posted in News | Tagged adam smith institute, entrepreneurs and tim farron | 5 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women

By NewsHound | Thu 13th March 2014 - 9:07 am

Development Minister Lynne Featherstone spent two days in New York earlier this week at the United Nation’s annual Commission on the Status of Women. She posted a series of blogs from the Big Apple. Here are some highlights.

Day One:

I’ll be attending a whole load of events as well as talking to my counterparts from around the world to ensure the CSW negotiations lead to a

Posted in LibLink | Tagged disability, fgm, international development, lynne featherstone, united nations and violence against women and girls | Leave a comment

Cable and Davey proud to employ foreign staff

By NewsHound | Wed 12th March 2014 - 7:59 pm

While we’ve had the Tories tying themselves up in knots so as not to have to admit to anyone employing foreign staff in their homes, Ed Davey and Vince Cable have an entirely different attitude. Ed’s au pair is from Hungary and Vince Cable’s cleaner is from Poland, as the Telegraph reports:

The willingness of Mr Davey and Mr Cable to disclose details of their help at home contrasts with the vast majority of Conservative ministers, who have declined to say if they employed a foreign cleaner or nanny.

Posted in News | 5 Comments

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Author Archives: NewsHound

LibLink: Giles Goodall: UKIP’s disgraceful record on gay rights

LibLink: Stephen Tall: Why my heart won’t be too heavy this week when I vote Conservative (in a manner of speaking)

LibLink: Nick Clegg – Coalition is not ‘betrayal’, it’s grown-up politics

LibLink: Nick Clegg: UKIP would rather turn the clock back on LGBT rights

LibLink: Norman Lamb: Dementia, loneliness and how we can help

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Britain must remain at the core of the European Project

LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott: EU values are in stark contrast to Putin’s

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown: Alex Salmond should apologise for his poor call over Vladimir Putin

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown in Bangladesh: Stoves that save children’s lives

Liberal Democrats support mixed-sex civil partnerships – and Tories don’t. There’s a surprise.

LibLink: Tim Farron: European Parliament makes it easier for you to know what’s in the medicines you are taking

LibLink: Martin Horwood – Lib Dems clamping down on the arms trade

LibLink: Tim Farron – In 2010, we promised to deliver the Pupil Premium. In 2015, I want us to promise to deliver the Student Premium

LibLink: Sir Robert Smith – We must not turn our back on Afghanistan

LibLink: Alistair Carmichael: Let’s cut out referendum tension and concentrate on historical significance of referendum vote

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: More action needed on reproductive rights for all

Nick Clegg talks of shock and disappointment at Sheffield’s Labour council refusing to accommodate vulnerable Syrian refugees

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: Last night we saw the nasty side of Nigel Farage

I agree with Vlad

#NickvNigel: Charles Kennedy: I couldn’t get the Liberal Democrats to fight a pro-European campaign

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: A long road ahead to stop gender based violence, but we are on the right track

LibLink: Vince Cable: Smell the coffee, Boris. The Mansion Tax has slipped in already

Independent: “Lib Dems fall out over who should take on George Osborne in election debate”

“I thought it was a spoof” Danny Alexander on Shapps’ “patronising” Bingo tweet

Nick’s Netmums Q & A on childcare

Vince Cable: I don’t understand why bankers need to earn a million quid a year

LibLink: Danny Alexander: Get real, Lord Lawson, it’s the low paid who need our help

LibLink: Tim Farron – We need to capitalise on our scientific excellence

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women

Cable and Davey proud to employ foreign staff

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