Author Archives: Richard Huzzey

The BBC report that the Liberal Democrats have reported the Labour party’s “robo-calling” electioneering to the Information Commissioner. The method – where automated calls ask voters to state their voting preference – may contravene regulations on unsolicited automated calling. In preparation for their botched snap election, Gordon Brown’s party had revived the system, which was controversial when used in 2005.

The Beeb quote our own Mark Pack:

The Lib Dems argue that unsolicited “information gathering” calls in which parties ask people if they would mind being sent more information, do contravene the EC directive.

Asked about the Lib Dems’ use of

…

Tory Shadow Chancellor George Osbourne has today ruled out many of the environmental proposals made by the Gummer-Goldsmith Quality of Life commission. Encouraged by David Cameron to “think the unthinkable”, Gummer and Goldsmith have had their findings unthought by their bosses.

So much for ‘go green, vote blue’. Don’t hold your breath for green proposals from the Tories – you’ll have gone blue before you see any!

A new report by the Green Alliance has placed the Lib Dems lightyears ahead of the Tories and Labour for environmental policies. The Green Standard Report gave the Lib Dems three ‘green traffic lights’ compared to Labour’s one and the Tories’ none.

“The Liberal Democrats have an ambitious and realistic objective for a zero-carbon Britain, tackling carbon emissions from every part of the economy: transport, housing, offices and factories. Our green tax proposals will switch the burden of taxes towards pollution, not people. We need greener and fairer taxes, not more taxes,” said Chris Huhne, our Environment Spokesman.

The news comes ahead …

Top Lib Dem campaigner Shaun Roberts has been appointed National Campaigns Officer, working under department chief Hilary Stephenson in Cowley Street.

Anthony Hook and the Anonymous Barcharter have already posted congratulatory tributes. Lib Dem Voice wishes him the best of success too!

Chris Huhne wrote about the party’s new climate change proposals on Lib Dem Voice earlier in the week. He has written at greater length about his Zero-Carbon Britain proposals at Comment Is Free.

Amongst other things, he declares:

“we in the Liberal Democrats have done with the first comprehensive plans ever set out by a British political party to decarbonise every part of the economy: transport, energy, housing, offices and factories. Our objective is as ambitious as that set out by Sweden, Norway and New Zealand. We want no less than a zero-carbon Britain by 2050.”

Liberal Democrat Voice has learned that the Liberal Democrats are just kicking off plans for a new institution – the first-ever national Community Canvass Week – coming this September 22nd – 30th. The week after our Brighton conference will see MPs, parliamentary candidates and local parties over the country hitting the doorsteps, reminding Britons why calling, listening and responding is a key part of democracy.

Continuing with the Ashdown theme, Paddy is the only author with three books featured in a survey of MPs’ summer reading according to Waterstone’s. Presumably the Brownites were trying to find out how to solve a problem like Afghanistan.

The other crucial information in the survey is that it was only thanks to Lib Dem MPs that the new Harry Potter secured its ranking.

Thank goodness the press keeps us abreast of these developments, and Lib Dem Voice contributors aren’t left spending August trawling the web for irrelevant survey snippets to post about.

The Times says Paddy’s been courted to be an “Afghan overlord”, but Lib Dem Voice can (almost exclusively) reveal that he has declared himself content with ruling his garden and being ruled by his grandchildren.

While our former leader batted off any idea of being Gordon Brown’s Foreign or Northern Ireland Secretary, rumours are still circulating that he will have some role in sorting out Labour’s mess in Afghanistan. Or at least, that’s what the British papers thought.

Less traditional sources of British news suggest otherwise. From Bosnia’s Dnevni Avaz, via the Gulf Times, we hear …

Against all expectations and Guido’s tip, it turns out that Harriet Harman has trumped Alan Johnson by 50.4 to 49.6 of the vote. Sky News had been reporting Johnson as the winner for a long time before it was announced.

Has anyone seen the full breakdown of preferences and transfers? My guess would be that Johnson was ahead of Harman on first preferences and got beaten on successive rounds of transfers. Also, I wonder if Benn was up there with them on first preferences…