Author Archives: NewsHound

NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Clegg – If Iraq taught us anything, it’s this…

By NewsHound | Mon 18th March 2013 - 10:45 am

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the invasion by the USA and the UK of Iraq. In an article published in The Independent, Nick Clegg reflects on the decisions made by the last Labour government and the lessons to be drawn. Here’s an excerpt:

The pretext given by the Blair government for the invasion – Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction – proved false. The intervention led to years of instability, sectarian violence and religious extremism within Iraq and beyond. It strengthened Iran’s ability to destabilise its neighbours and it undermined the credibility of the United Nations.

The

…

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NewsHound

++ Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce sentenced

By NewsHound | Mon 11th March 2013 - 5:05 pm

The judge has delivered the sentences at the end of the trials at Southwark Crown Court in which Chris Huhne pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, and Vicky Pryce was found guilty of the same offence.

Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce have each been sentenced to 8 months in jail.

You can read a full account of what happened today during the hearing on the Guardian blog, thanks to some detailed tweeting from inside the court by Peter Walker, a Guardian journalist.

Posted in News | Tagged and | 27 Comments
NewsHound

Clegg slams Tories at Eastleigh for “breath-taking opportunism”

By NewsHound | Mon 25th February 2013 - 2:23 pm

nick clegg eastleighFrom PoliticsHome:

Nick Clegg has accused the Conservatives of “breath-taking” opportunism over their campaign in Eastleigh.

The Tories have run posters criticising Lib Dem candidate Mike Thornton for backing a housing development on greenfield land in the constituency.

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NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Clegg – the Conservatives need to adopt the politics of fairness

By NewsHound | Sun 24th February 2013 - 4:15 pm

In today’s Observer, Nick Clegg makes the case once again for a mansion tax to be introduced as the most effective way of spreading the pain of austerity. In fact, he goes a bit further saying it is inevitable:

Victor Hugo observed that it is near impossible to resist an idea once its time has come. Last week, he was again proved right as calls for a mansion tax, first proposed by the Liberal Democrats in 2009, gathered new momentum. … I offer certainty: the mansion tax, or a version of it, will happen. My party has often led the

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NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Thornsby – Why Miliband’s tax move is good news for the Lib Dems

By NewsHound | Sat 16th February 2013 - 6:20 pm

Over at the New Statesman, LDV’s Thursday editor Nick Thornsby has looked at Ed Miliband’s proposal to cut taxes for the low-paid funded by introducing the Lib Dems’ mansion tax proposal. Far from being upset by the plagiarism, Nick argues that Lib Dems will be “secretly rather happy” for two reasons:

First, it shifts the political debate to the area where the Lib Dems are at their strongest: tax policy. For whatever else the party has done in government, it is the implementation of a £10,000 tax-free allowance that is cutting through the fog and being recognised by voters as

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NewsHound

Jeremy Hunt announces Social Care reform

By NewsHound | Mon 11th February 2013 - 5:09 pm

Jeremey Hunt has just announced the heavily pre-trailed social care reforms in the Commons. Here is Andrew Sparrow’s digest of his speech from the Guardian’s Live Blog:

Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, says none of us know what care needs we will face when we get older.

Many older people face paying “limitless, often ruinous” care costs.

The current system is “desperately unfair”. More than 30,000 people a year have their savings wiped out.

This discourages people from saving, he says.

Today he is announcing the government’s proposals.

A cap will be introduced for the maximum amount that an individual might have to pay, and

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NewsHound

++ Chris Huhne to resign as MP

By NewsHound | Mon 4th February 2013 - 12:11 pm

From the BBC:

Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne has said he will resign as an MP, after he pleaded guilty to to perverting the course of justice.

Huhne admitted charges against him over claims his ex-wife Vicky Pryce took speeding points for him a decade ago.

Aides to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the BBC he was “shocked and saddened” by the Lib Dem MP’s conduct.

A by-election is now expected in his seat of Eastleigh in Hampshire, where he has a majority of nearly 4,000.

The prime minister’s official spokesman declined to comment on the former minister’s resignation, saying only: “It is

…

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NewsHound

++ Chris Huhne pleads guilty to perverting the course of justice

By NewsHound | Mon 4th February 2013 - 10:23 am

chris_huhneDramatic news from the BBC:

Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice over claims his ex-wife Vicky Pryce took speeding points for him a decade ago.

The Lib Dem MP, 58, had originally pleaded not guilty to the charge at Southwark Crown Court.

BBC chief political correspondent Norman Smith said:

We can safely say that his political career is over.

As legal proceedings are currently taking place, personal comments about either Vicky or Chris won’t be published at least until the trial has concluded and then only if …

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NewsHound

Liberalism, youth & the new Arab awakening: a Tunisian perspective

By NewsHound | Fri 1st February 2013 - 10:22 am

Student holds anti-violence poster at protest in Tunis - License Some rights reserved by Magharebia As part of a three year joint project between the Arab Partnership Fund, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the UK Liberal Democrats, a strategic roundtable will be held at our Party conference in Brighton to discuss a roadmap for advancing a progressive agenda in Tunisia and more generally across the Middle East. Youth and female members of liberal political parties have been invited to apply to participate in the roundtable discussion and, although the focus will be on Tunisia, people from all liberal parties across Middle East have been encouraged to apply.

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NewsHound

Chris Huhne to stand trial next Monday

By NewsHound | Mon 28th January 2013 - 5:14 pm

chris_huhneFrom the BBC:

Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife are to stand trial next Monday over allegations she took speeding points for him so he could avoid prosecution.

The Lib Dem MP, 58, pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

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NewsHound

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone working to transform the lives of women and girls around the world

By NewsHound | Sat 19th January 2013 - 1:00 pm

Lynne Featherstone, Minister for International Development, writes at the Huffington Post, on the opportunities 2013 brings to transform the lives of women and girls around the world.

This year is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a lasting difference to the lives of women and girls everywhere in the world.

Between the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in New York in March, the work on the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals and the UK Presidency of the G8, the international community

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NewsHound

LibLink: Guy Verhofstadt thinks that David Cameron would be wrong to leave the EU…

By NewsHound | Fri 18th January 2013 - 3:51 pm

In a piece for the Huffington Post entitled “The UK Is Sleepwalking to the EU Exit. It Is Time to Wake Up”, Guy Verhofstadt, Leader of the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats in Europe (ALDE) Group in the European Parliament, gives a glimpse of the difficulties facing David Cameron in seeking to renegotiate the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union. He warns;

Cameron will not succeed if he attempts to hold his European partners to ransom, exchanging acquiescence to EU treaty change over the eurozone for a unilateral repatriation of powers.

and notes, in language that Liberal Democrats would …

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Posted in Europe / International, LibLink and News | Tagged , , and | 20 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Kirsty Williams on taking up the baton from Lloyd George

By NewsHound | Fri 18th January 2013 - 11:21 am

As Kirsty Williams notes in opening a piece to mark the anniversary yesterday, 17 January would have been David Lloyd George’s 150th birthday, and she took the opportunity to raise the issue of tax varying powers for Wales;

Today seems like an opportune moment to consider how a future Welsh government can continue David Lloyd George’s radical and redistributive legacy.

We must take the opportunity of the Silk Commission to think big. As Lloyd George himself said, “You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” We must take the opportunity to create a new People’s Budget for Wales.

For the first

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Posted in LibLink, News and Wales | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Ming Campbell – Europe offers the best deal for Britain

By NewsHound | Sat 12th January 2013 - 1:00 pm

Menzies CampbellFormer Lib Dem leader Ming Campbell has called on David Cameron to put the national interest ahead of his party’s interest as he prepares for his major speech on Europe:

Those who argue for disengagement in whole or even part have a duty to tell us what the consequences would be. So far they have failed to do so. We need to be rational, not emotional. The issue must be about the essential nature of the relationship, not about squashing the ambitions of Ukip. The EU offers the best deal for Britain.The

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NewsHound

LibLink: Paul Burstow, Lynne Featherstone and Paul Tyler

By NewsHound | Fri 4th January 2013 - 12:21 pm

Elsewhere, whilst some of us adjust back into the normal routine after the New Year, some of our tribunes are already up and running.

Paul Burstow hit the headlines yesterday with his call for means-testing of the winter fuel allowance, with the intention of saving £1.5 billion, to be redirected towards paying for the proposed social care changed recommended by the Dilnot Commission. Writing in the Guardian;

Some argue this is a debate we need to have at or even after the next general election. But by that time it will be too late. The research in my report reveals that

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NewsHound

Pizza entrepreneur’s £775,000 gift to Lib Dems questioned – Telegraph

By NewsHound | Sat 22nd December 2012 - 11:32 pm

The Sunday Telegraph reports that “the Liberal Democrats are facing an investigation into one of the party’s largest donors”. Part of the reports reads as follows:

The Electoral Commission has been asked to examine whether £775,000 paid to the Lib Dems by Rumi Verjee, the entrepreneur who brought Domino’s Pizzas to Britain, is an “impermissible donation”.

The payments were made through Brompton Capital Limited, a company with no staff that has not recorded a turnover since 2003.

Mr Verjee dined with Nick Clegg at Chevening, the grace and favour mansion in Kent used by the Lib Dem leader, a month after the second

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NewsHound

This week in Europe: 17-20 December…

By NewsHound | Fri 21st December 2012 - 2:51 pm

EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement signed

Catherine Bearder, the Liberal Democrat European spokesperson on international trade, has welcomed the EU trade deal with Singapore as a potential gateway for the UK’s insurance and banking sector into the Asian market.

This free trade deal with Singapore will bring huge benefits to the UK’s financial services sector in particular. Negotiating as a block of 27 countries with the biggest single market in the world has given Brussels the necessary weight to insist that European banks will enjoy a level playing field with US competitors. Britain on its own would have struggled to achieve

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NewsHound

LibLink: Vince Cable – We’ll hunt down the tax avoiders

By NewsHound | Sat 15th December 2012 - 9:50 am

Over on The Guardian website, Vince Cable writes:

Tax avoidance, sham directors, money laundering: the recent Guardian investigation made sobering reading. In the UK we are proud that it is easier and cheaper to set up a company here than just about anywhere in the world. This flexibility is hugely valued by the start-ups and small companies which create a significant proportion of our wealth and jobs, and which are vital to recovery from the latest recession. But this flexibility provides a challenge: how do we stop our system from being abused by people who want to use it to dodge tax or to launder the proceeds of crime?…

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NewsHound

MEPs to press for treaty change for Single Seat following ECJ ruling

By NewsHound | Fri 14th December 2012 - 5:51 pm

Today the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in Case C-237/11 (Joined Cases C-237/11, C-238/11), France v European Parliament against MEPs’ decision to merge two Strasbourg plenary sessions into one week in October.

Senior Liberal Democrat MEP Edward McMillan-Scott, European Parliament Vice President and co-founder of the cross-party Single Seat campaign commented:

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged and | 15 Comments
NewsHound

This week in Europe… 10-13 December

By NewsHound | Fri 14th December 2012 - 8:51 am

European patent will boost UK businesses

Liberal Democrat MEPs have warmly welcomed Tuesday’s green light for the long-awaited deal on a unitary European Patent.

The European Parliament has voted to accept a hard-fought compromise package which has taken nearly forty years to negotiate. Two states, Spain and Italy, have declined to take part on the grounds that their languages are not included in the patent filing process.

Andrew Duff MEP, who represents the important cluster of science research in the East of England, commented:

Today sees a huge break-through for European innovation and competitiveness. The final agreement on a unitary patent

…

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , and | 6 Comments
NewsHound

Fighting for the rights of women – all over the world

By NewsHound | Thu 13th December 2012 - 5:55 pm

This week, The Independent has run an interview with International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone – and no surprise that equalities feature strongly in her approach to the job:

Today we are talking about Zambia, from where she has just returned from a trip to meet victims of domestic violence, as well as the First Lady and the newly-appointed Minister of Gender, as part of her brief as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for International Development (DFID).

In Masabuka, Featherstone discussed ways to empower a population where 63 per cent of women believe domestic battery is justifiable. “It’s a culture that is so

…

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NewsHound

LibLink: David Ward’s visit to the West Bank

By NewsHound | Mon 10th December 2012 - 3:53 pm

David Ward MP has been out in the West Bank. He has been blogging a diary for the three days of his visit. Day One is here:

Yesterday night I met with the Consul General based in East Jerusalem to discuss the incredibly complex issue of achieving peace for Israelis and Palestinians. I am reluctant to post my thoughts at this stage as we have so much more to see over the next three days but there is so much that needs to

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NewsHound

Positive action for women on Westminster shortlists

By NewsHound | Fri 7th December 2012 - 1:52 pm

The English Candidates Committee (ECC) has decided to retain positive action measures to address the under-representation of women in the Parliamentary Party.

Clause 24 in the Westminster Rules for Selection of Parliamentary Candidates stipulates that where the ECC has decided to adopt positive action arrangements which affect a shortlist, those arrangements shall be observed by the Returning Officer and shortlisting committee as if they were contained in this Rule.

The provision is that:

In strategic seats and aspiring strategic seats (those that have ‘opted up’ to the full selection process):

    a shortlist of three candidates must contain a minimum of one woman
    a shortlist of

…

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Posted in News, Party policy and internal matters and Selection news | Tagged , and | 35 Comments
NewsHound

And now, the award-winning Assembly Member for Brecon and Radnor…

By NewsHound | Fri 7th December 2012 - 9:49 am

Big congratulations to Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, who was voted ‘Assembly Member of the Year’ at the ITV Wales Welsh Politician of the Year awards ceremony in Cardiff on Tuesday.

Accepting her award, Kirsty Williams quoted Violet Bonham-Carter saying:

I often hear it suggested that women will bring gentleness into politics. I am not altogether sure that this is right.

Kirsty was commended for bringing politicians of all hues together, in Cardiff and in Westminster, for the benefit of Wales.

Earlier on in the year, the Welsh …

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Posted in News and Wales | Tagged | 3 Comments
NewsHound

Launch of Labour for Democracy

By NewsHound | Tue 4th December 2012 - 1:51 pm

Today, an influential group of Labour members are launching a new movement within their party: Labour for Democracy.

Its aim is to reach out to Lib Dems (and possibly Greens as well) in order to prepare a pluralist agenda around progressive issues. Although it does not explicitly say so, it is presumably also preparing the ground for a possible Labour-led coalition after 2015. Their position is based on polling evidence:

On all the major issues  Labour and Lib Dem voters tend to give similar levels of support to broadly  ‘progressive’ value statements, with Labour voters giving slightly stronger levels

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NewsHound

Vince Cable criticises Starbucks over ‘tax dodging’

By NewsHound | Tue 4th December 2012 - 12:32 pm

In the Guardian today, Vince Cable  says that he understands why people are boycotting Starbucks.

The business secretary, when asked by the Guardian if he would consider boycotting their products, said:

I don’t shop at Starbucks so this doesn’t apply to me, but I can fully understand why people would vote with their feet as a result of their tax dodging.

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NewsHound

Alexander: We’ll get under the skin of tax avoiders

By NewsHound | Mon 3rd December 2012 - 5:40 pm

Danny Alexander has announced £154 million of extra funding for HMRC to “get under the skin” of multinationals who are not paying their fair share of tax.

Some media sites are reporting that he may boycott Starbucks.

There is one slight snag with that claim.

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NewsHound

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone on ending violence against women and girls in Zambia

By NewsHound | Tue 27th November 2012 - 10:49 pm

International Development minister Lynne Featherstone is currently visiting Zambia and blogging her trip for the Huffington Post. In her first post she writes:

My first visit since arriving in Zambia was to a UK aid adolescent girls empowerment programme in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of the capital, Lusaka. This initiative is supporting more than 1,500 of the most vulnerable girls, providing safe spaces and mentoring to help build their confidence and life skills.

The girls I met told

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Posted in LibLink and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
NewsHound

A surprising view on tax from a Tory MP

By NewsHound | Mon 26th November 2012 - 2:23 pm

On MailOnline Tory MP and ally of George Osborne, Nadhim Zawahi says that his house is worth £5 million and that he would like to pay more tax on it:

Already, thanks to the closure of tax loopholes, the richest in this country will be paying a greater share of tax in every year of this Parliament than in any year of the last Labour Government.

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Posted in News | Tagged | 14 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Ed Davey – my long battle for a ‘grand energy bargain’

By NewsHound | Sun 25th November 2012 - 4:15 pm

Lib Dem energy secretary Edward Davey was interviewed in The Guardian this weekend about the energy bill to be announced this week. The paper fillets the main points Ed made here:

• Insists that energy prices overall will be 7% lower than they otherwise would have been in the medium term as a result of government policy, even if prices in real terms may rise due to the worldwide energy market.

• Rejects talk of a government-sanctioned dash for gas as overblown, even if he concedes the Conservatives will big this up.

• Says shale gas will not have a significant short-term

…

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