Author Archives: Stephen Tall

Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall. He writes a fortnightly column for ConservativeHome and 'The Underdog' column for Total Politics magazine. He edited the 2013 publication, The Coalition and Beyond: Liberal Reforms for the Decade Ahead, and is a Research Associate for the liberal think-tank CentreForum. He was awarded the inaugural Lib Dem ‘Blogger of the Year’ prize in 2006, was a councillor for eight years in Oxford, including a year as Deputy Lord Mayor, and appears frequently in the media in person, in print and online. Stephen combines his political interests with his professional life as Development Director for the Education Endowment Foundation, though writes here in a personal capacity.
Stephen Tall

Sure, we all say we hate negative advertising – but does it work?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 27th August 2008 - 1:22 pm

Some interesting analysis of the Democrats’ Denver Convention to anoint Senator Barack Obama as their presidential nominee over at the Electoral Vote website:

The traditional media seem to have picked up on … theme that the Democrats are letting McCain off easy. Long-time Clinton insider James Carville has been all over TV saying that the Democrats have let slip a golden opportunity to pummel McCain. Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) compared Obama to Adlai Stevenson, another cerebral Illinoisian, saying that both of them liked to give long thoughtful answers to complex questions, when soundbites would be more effective. Sen. Chuck

…

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Posted in LDVUSA | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

Electoral Commission recommends electoral law shake-up

By Stephen Tall | Wed 27th August 2008 - 1:10 pm

The Times, BBC and Telegraph all have reports and you can read the full report for the UK here; and for Scotland here.

The six main recommendations of the Electoral Commission are as follows:

1. establish Electoral Management Boards in Great Britain, including all Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers for each area
2. provide the chairs of Electoral Management Boards in Great Britain with statutory powers to direct Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers
3. develop the Electoral Commission’s role in driving and monitoring performance improvements for electoral administration in Scotland
4. consolidate and simplify the legal framework for

…

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Posted in News | Tagged | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV readers say: we’re luke-warm about Obama

By Stephen Tall | Tue 26th August 2008 - 2:25 pm

For the last month, Liberal Democrat Voice has been asking our readers what you think of Senator Barack Obama, the Democrats’ hope for the White House.

Slightly to my surprise, you take a pretty sceptical line, with 44% of you viewing him either as a cynical opportunist, or someone who will disappoint more than he inspires. A little over half, 56% of you, have a more benign/positive outlook on his candidacy. Perhaps LDV readers are more likely than most to subscribe to the view that Senator Obama is a little too Blair-like (or – worse still? – too …

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Posted in Voice polls | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

NEW POLL: what’s the main point of the Lib Dem party conference?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 26th August 2008 - 1:15 pm

Having arrived back at work this morning with a dull judder, I toyed with asking, plaintively, the question: does the UK need more bank holidays? (At 8 annual public holidays, England and Wales enjoy the fewest in Europe, except for the Netherlands: for the record, Scotland gets nine, and Northern Ireland 10). But I thought that might come across a bit grumpy, so instead…

To celebrate the countdown to the Lib Dem party conference – yes, there are just 18 days to go, and, yes, you really should have booked your hotel by now – LDV is asking readers to say …

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Posted in Voice polls | 12 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Ton (The Top 10!)

By Stephen Tall | Sat 16th August 2008 - 7:45 am

‘Tis the season for lists… All this week we’ve published the top 100 posts by Lib Dem bloggers, in descending order of popularity, for the last year – August 2007 to July 2008, inclusive, according to click-throughs from the Aggregator.

(Profuse thanks to techno-wizard and stat-monkey Ryan Cullen, who runs the Aggregator, for compiling this table.)

And now, at last, we come to this year’s Top 10:

1. That day again (Peter Black)
2. Grasping at straws (Peter Black)
3. EXCLUSIVE: Liberal Democrats to drop “Democrats” (Gavin Whenman)
4. Sajjad Karim defects to Tories (Lib Dem Voice)
5. Team Clegg: in …

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 10 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Ton (Nos. 11-20)

By Stephen Tall | Fri 15th August 2008 - 7:45 am

‘Tis the season for lists… All this week we are publishing the top 100 posts by Lib Dem bloggers, in descending order of popularity, for the last year – August 2007 to July 2008, inclusive, according to click-throughs from the Aggregator.

(Profuse thanks to techno-wizard and stat-monkey Ryan Cullen, who runs the Aggregator, for compiling this table.)

In today’s fifth instalment we run through 11-20:

11. Take it down, Chris (UPDATE) (Quaequam Blog!)
12. Nick Clegg up close (Paul Walter)
13. A new banner for Team Huhne (Norfolk Blogger)
14. Shock candidate for Lib Dem leader (Liberal England)
15. The canard …

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 24 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Ton (Nos. 21-40)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 14th August 2008 - 7:45 am

‘Tis the season for lists… All this week we are publishing the top 100 posts by Lib Dem bloggers, in descending order of popularity, for the last year – August 2007 to July 2008, inclusive, according to click-throughs from the Aggregator.

(Profuse thanks to techno-wizard and stat-monkey Ryan Cullen, who runs the Aggregator, for compiling this table.)

In today’s fourth instalment we run through 21-40:

21. Nick, time for a small reshuffle? (Cromwell Country)
22. Sunday Telegraph alleges clash between Nick Clegg and Chris Rennard (Liberal England)
23. Cleggs Oft Used Phrase: A Clanger (Gavin Whenman)
24. The Times asks: Is …

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Posted in Best of the blogs | Tagged | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Ton (Nos. 41-60)

By Stephen Tall | Wed 13th August 2008 - 7:45 am

‘Tis the season for lists… All this week we are publishing the top 100 posts by Lib Dem bloggers, in descending order of popularity, for the last year – August 2007 to July 2008, inclusive, according to click-throughs from the Aggregator.

(Profuse thanks to techno-wizard and stat-monkey Ryan Cullen, who runs the Aggregator, for compiling this table.)

In today’s third instalment we run through 41-60:

41. Tory compares Boris to Mussolini (Peter Black)
42. Mail on Sunday sleazy journalist Clegg funding scandal complete nonsense (Pete Dunphy)
43. Just how low will Huhne’s supporters go ? (Norfolk Blogger)
44. Clegg should take …

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Ton (Nos. 61-80)

By Stephen Tall | Tue 12th August 2008 - 7:45 am

‘Tis the season for lists… All this week we are publishing the top 100 posts by Lib Dem bloggers, in descending order of popularity, for the last year – August 2007 to July 2008, inclusive, according to click-throughs from the Aggregator.

(Profuse thanks to techno-wizard and stat-monkey Ryan Cullen, who runs the Aggregator, for compiling this table.)

In today’s second instalment we run through 61-80:

61. An odd sequence of events (Peter Black)
62. Updated: Which MPs were in the pub during the abortion vote? (Jo’s Jottings)
63. BBC Shamefully Undervalues Importance of MEPs! (Love and Liberty)
64. Nick Clegg – …

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 30 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Ton (Nos. 81-100)

By Stephen Tall | Mon 11th August 2008 - 7:45 am

‘Tis the season for lists… All this week we are publishing the top 100 posts by Lib Dem bloggers, in descending order of popularity, for the last year – August 2007 to July 2008, inclusive, according to click-throughs from the Aggregator.

(Profuse thanks to techno-wizard and stat-monkey Ryan Cullen, who runs the Aggregator, for compiling this table.)

In today’s first instalment we run through 81-100:

81. EXCLUSIVE : Labour MP in shock announcement (Norfolk Blogger)
82. Nick was great on QT! (Liberal Revolution)
83. Want BNP? Vote Labour (Love and Liberty)
84. Nick Clegg: an apology (Anders Hanson)
85. Nick Clegg, …

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Michael White on Nick Clegg’s leadership

By Stephen Tall | Fri 8th August 2008 - 3:35 pm

The Guardian’s senior political commentator examines the party’s fortunes in today’s online political briefing. It makes interesting reading:

Nick Clegg has issued a reader-friendly pre-conference document, Make It Happen, which will be discussed at his party conference in Bournemouth from September 13-17. If endorsed, it will mark the first Lib Dem shift towards a lower overall tax burden for many years. It will not be straightforward.

But who is listening at a time when the government’s troubles seem terminal, when the resurgent Conservatives, around 20% ahead of Labour in polls, look set to sweep all before them without a hung parliament

…

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Posted in News | Tagged | 22 Comments
Stephen Tall

Norman Baker: time to ditch the oath of allegiance

By Stephen Tall | Fri 8th August 2008 - 3:10 pm

For those who are surprised that Norman Baker should have come third in our poll of most-rated Lib Dem shadow cabinet members, much of Stormin’ Norm’s popularity is the result of his championing of causes just like this:

A collection of 22 cross party MPs are launching a campaign to end the tradition of swearing allegiance to the Queen when entering parliament. Led by Liberal Democrat Norman Baker, the MPs are calling for the choice to swear an oath to their constituents and the nation instead.

“This is a matter of democracy,” said Mr Baker. “I’m put here by my constituents

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 70 Comments
Stephen Tall

Lib Dems to back SNP on local income tax?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 8th August 2008 - 2:51 pm

The Scotsman reports that the Lib Dems are going to come to the rescue of the SNP to ensure that the council tax is replaced by a local income tax in Scotland:

SNP ministers are prepared to do a deal with the Liberal Democrats which could see every council in Scotland set its own income tax rate, it emerged yesterday. The Scottish Government wants to introduce a nationally-set local income tax of 3p in the pound to replace the council tax, but its proposals have come in for heavy and sustained criticism since their publication earlier this year.

Business groups, councils,

…

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Posted in News and Scotland | 10 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV members’ survey, August 2008 (5): how do you rate the performances of the current shadow cabinet?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 8th August 2008 - 7:45 am

All this week, Lib Dem Voice has been publishing the results of our first ever survey of party members. Some 133 of you accessed the survey via our private members’ forum. We don’t pretend it’s a representative sample, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value either. We hope you, LDV’s readers, find it interesting. Perhaps the wider party will, too. This is the first in what we intend to be a monthly survey – if you have ideas for future survey questions, please email me at [email protected].

The final question asked members to rate out of 10 the current …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 21 Comments
Stephen Tall

Axe the Tax: is the party softening its line on Local Income Tax?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 7th August 2008 - 10:26 am

The Guardian publishes today what appears to be a well-briefed article suggesting the Lib Dems are thinking of deferring plans to scrap Council Tax in favour of a local income tax:

Liberal Democrats are planning to soften their support for a local income tax to replace the council tax, a key policy for at least three elections. Instead they are expected to propose reforms to adapt the council tax.

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman, is backing the shift in stance. He believes the party should not look to introduce, or press any coalition partners to introduce, a local income

…

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | 80 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV members’ survey, August 2008 (4): are the Lib Dems on the right or wrong track?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 7th August 2008 - 7:45 am

All this week, Lib Dem Voice is publishing the results of our first ever survey of party members. Some 133 of you accessed the survey via our private members’ forum. We don’t pretend it’s a representative sample, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value either. We hope you, LDV’s readers, find it interesting. Perhaps the wider party will, too. This is the first in what we intend to be a monthly survey – if you have ideas for future survey questions, please email me at [email protected].

The fourth question asked about the current direction of the party.

LDV asked: Do …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV doesn’t do statporn, but if we did…

By Stephen Tall | Wed 6th August 2008 - 3:20 pm

We’d probably note that in July we had almost 15,000 ‘absolute unique visitors’*. That’s a little down on June’s record of almost 17,000 – but still our third best month overall. For comparison, Iain Dale received 59,000 absolute unique visitors and Guido Fawkes 113,000.

Thank you to all our readers, whether you visit only occasionally, or pop by often.

Remember, if you’ve got something to say, and you want to say it to thousands of readers, then do consider writing an article for LDV, and email it to [email protected]. We publish some guidance for those wishing to write for the …

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Posted in Site news | Tagged and | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

Guido, did you really think Vince wasn’t way ahead of you?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 6th August 2008 - 2:04 pm

Over at Guido Fawkes’ blog, Paul Staines attack-dogs Lib Dem demi-god Vince Cable, accusing him of “naivety” in relation to the Government’s botched nationalisation of Northern Rock:

What about the naive politicians Vince, who welcomed the nationalisation, without having done any due diligence on behalf of the taxpayers?

Why didn’t Vince ask the key question, what are the taxpayers billions in loans secured against?

I guess Mr Staines isn’t an avid reader of Hansard, but as any fule kno’ it has of course been the Lib Dem shadow chancellor asking just these questions of Gordon Brown and Alasdair Darling throughout the shambolic …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 22 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV members’ survey, August 2008 (3): what do you think of Nick Clegg’s leadership?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 6th August 2008 - 7:45 am

All this week, Lib Dem Voice is publishing the results of our first ever survey of party members. Some 133 of you accessed the survey via our private members’ forum. We don’t pretend it’s a representative sample, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value either. We hope you, LDV’s readers, find it interesting. Perhaps the wider party will, too. This is the first in what we intend to be a monthly survey – if you have ideas for future survey questions, please email me at [email protected].

The third question asked about Nick Clegg’s leadership of the party.

LDV asked: Are …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 13 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #76

By Stephen Tall | Tue 5th August 2008 - 8:59 pm

Welcome to the 76th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (27th July – 2nd August), together with a hand-picked quintet you might otherwise have missed.

Let’s get straight down to it, in traditional descending order:

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV members’ survey, August 2008 (2): what you think of Make it Happen’s tax-cutting agenda

By Stephen Tall | Tue 5th August 2008 - 7:45 am

All this week, Lib Dem Voice is publishing the results of our first ever survey of party members. Some 133 of you accessed the survey via our private members’ forum. We don’t pretend it’s a representative sample, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value either. We hope you, LDV’s readers, find it interesting. Perhaps the wider party will, too. This is the first in what we intend to be a monthly survey – if you have ideas for future survey questions, please email me at [email protected].

The second set of questions asked what you think of the Lib Dems’ …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 17 Comments
Stephen Tall

Does it matter where the Cabinet is held?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 4th August 2008 - 11:44 pm

One of the more bizarre headlines today was from the BBC, Cabinet ‘may go to West Midlands’:

Gordon Brown will hold his first cabinet meeting after MPs’ long summer break outside London – most likely in the West Midlands. A Downing Street spokesman said the gathering was set for 8 September.

Ministers will also be taking part in a range of other events in the region on the day to give them an opportunity to “engage” with the public.

The spokesman said the move was part of the government’s commitment to “listen and learn” from people’s experiences.

Let’s move beyond the easy …

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Posted in News | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

Cumbria update: Lib Dems quit joint Tory administration

By Stephen Tall | Mon 4th August 2008 - 7:08 pm

Last week Lib Dem Voice reported on Shenanigans in Cumbria, and the likely break-up of the Tory/Lib Dem coalition which has run the County Council since 2001 following the dismissal by the Conservative council leader of his Liberal Democrat deputy, Joan Stocker. Well, now, the inevitable has come to pass, and the Lib Dems have called an end to the joint administration, with the Tories now running the council as a minority group until the elections in 2009.

Here’s the local party’s press release:

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Posted in Local government and News | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV members’ survey, August 2008 (1): the Lib Dems and by-elections

By Stephen Tall | Mon 4th August 2008 - 7:45 am

All this week, Lib Dem Voice will be publishing the results of our first ever survey of party members. Some 135 of you accessed the survey via our private members’ forum. We don’t pretend it’s a representative sample, but that doesn’t mean it’s without value either. We hope you, LDV’s readers, find it interesting. Perhaps the wider party will, too. This is the first in what we intend to be a monthly survey – if you have ideas for future survey questions, please email me at [email protected].

We began by asking about the party’s performance in recent by-elections.

LDV asked: …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

The PPC Files (6): the 3 best things about being a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate

By Stephen Tall | Sat 2nd August 2008 - 9:20 am

Imagine what it’s like to be a Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate – tasked with leading and motivating a group of diverse volunteers against all the odds, and organising foot-slogging campaigns on a shoe-string budget that will get you and the party noticed.

Lib Dem Voice contacted a dozen PPCs to find out what they really think about the experience. We guaranteed anonymity to ensure those responding felt able to say what they think, and not simply stick to the obligatory it’s-such-a-privilege line. Of the 12, seven are men and five women, and they include one ethnic minority candidate. The …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

A look back at the polls: July

By Stephen Tall | Fri 1st August 2008 - 1:20 pm

We tend not to be too poll-obsessed here at LDV – of course we look at them, as do all other politico-geeks, but viewed in isolation no one poll will tell you very much beyond what you want to read into it. Looked at over a reasonable time-span and, if there are enough polls, you can see some trends.

Here, in chronological order, are the results of the eight polls published in July:

Tories 41%, Labour 28%, Lib Dems 19% – Populus/Times (8th July)
Tories 47%, Labour 25%, Lib Dems 16% – YouGov/Sunday Times (13th July)
Tories 45%, Labour 24%, Lib Dems 16% …

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Posted in Op-eds and Polls | 11 Comments
Stephen Tall

The PPC Files (5): How has becoming a PPC affected your career?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 1st August 2008 - 9:20 am

Imagine what it’s like to be a Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate – tasked with leading and motivating a group of diverse volunteers against all the odds, and organising foot-slogging campaigns on a shoe-string budget that will get you and the party noticed.

Lib Dem Voice contacted a dozen PPCs to find out what they really think about the experience. We guaranteed anonymity to ensure those responding felt able to say what they think, and not simply stick to the obligatory it’s-such-a-privilege line. Of the 12, seven are men and five women, and they include one ethnic minority candidate. The constituencies …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Vince: how to tackle fuel poverty

By Stephen Tall | Thu 31st July 2008 - 7:49 pm

The Lib Dems’ deputy leader and shadow chancellor has written for today’s Independent setting out his measures for tackling fuel poverty. You can read the article in full here, but here’s a snippet to whet your appetites:

The recent announcements by British Gas and the French electricity utility EDF, that they plan to increase gas and electricity prices by a third and a fifth respectively, have major, and worrying, implications for those on the edge of fuel poverty. This comes on top of industry-wide increases at the start of the year. Even in the balmy heat of midsummer, people are

…

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Posted in News | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

Liberator on the Bones Commission: “Clegg has just effected a power grab”

By Stephen Tall | Thu 31st July 2008 - 5:49 pm

There’s a must-read article in the latest Liberator taking a behind-the-scenes look at the clearly heated internal Lib Dem discussions of the Bones Commission into party reform. You can read it in full here.

Three things stand out:

1. That the report receives a general welcome (albeit some way down the page): “Much of Bones is sensible. Its central thrust seeks to deliver Clegg’s incautious commitment to get 150 MPs by the election after next. Its warning that resources need to be poured into a second tier of 200-odd winnable seats will be widely welcomed, in particular by critics of the …

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 12 Comments
Stephen Tall

Membership of political parties –from mass movements to freakish oddities?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 31st July 2008 - 12:11 pm

The news in today’s Telegraph that the Labour party’s membership is now at its lowest in a hundred years is a stark wake-up call for the governing party (and doubtless will in the well-worn cliché of tired journalistic prose “add to the pressure on the Prime Minister”). From 400,000 at the height of Tony Blair’s popularity to just 177,000 today – that’s some drop.

But let’s put to one side the tribal nonsense for a moment – not least because what’s happening to Labour is reflected more widely.

One of the (perhaps fortunately) ignored stories of the last leadership election …

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Posted in News, Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | 27 Comments
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