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

The PPC Files (4): What’s different about being a Lib Dem PPC compared to being a Labour/Tory PPC?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 31st July 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 | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #75

By Stephen Tall | Wed 30th July 2008 - 6:26 pm

Welcome to the 75th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (20-26th July), together with a hand-picked quintet you might otherwise have missed.

Let’s get straight down to it, in traditional descending order: (Lembit fans may care to avert their eyes).

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

The PPC Files (3): What do your family and friends think about your decision to run for Parliament?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 30th July 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 | 27 Comments
Stephen Tall

The LDV members’ poll: have you voted yet?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th July 2008 - 6:42 pm

Last Friday we invited Lib Dem Voice readers to take part in our first ever members’ poll. More than 100 of you have so far done so for which many thanks. For those of you who haven’t yet filled it in you have until midnight on Friday, 1st August.

It takes between 5-10 minutes to complete, and you can find the link to the survey in our members’ forum – simply look for the thread, ‘FIRST LDV MEMBERS’ SURVEY – August 2008’ under the ‘General’ heading.

Topics we are asking your opinion on include:
– the party’s performance in recent …

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Posted in Voice polls | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

Michael Brown ‘on the run’ ahead of fraud trial

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th July 2008 - 5:22 pm

According to Sky News:

Police have issued an arrest warrant for Michael Brown after he skipped bail. He is the Lib Dems’ biggest ever donor, having given £2.4m to the party in the run up to the 2005 General Election. He was due to stand trial in September accused of a string of fraud and money laundering offences. But a judge at Southwark Crown Court issued an arrest warrant today after he breached his bail conditions.

All credit to Sky, though, for noting what few other news outlets ever do – but which LDV always does – the view of …

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Posted in News | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

Shenanigans in Cumbria – when should elected representatives get the blame?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th July 2008 - 1:33 pm

There’s an interesting report in yesterday’s Cumbrian News and Star reporting on the seemingly likely break-up of the Conservative / Lib Dem alliance that has run the County Council for the last seven years. This follows the sacking by the Conservative council leader of his Liberal Democrat deputy, Joan Stocker, following a significant audit failure in the Council’s finance department:

It emerged on Friday that millions of pounds of spending had been wrongly categorised in the 2007-8 accounts. Although no cash has gone missing, the errors have ruined any chance the council had of improving its rating as one of

…

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Posted in Local government and Op-eds | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV readers say: Margaret Thatcher was a Bad Thing for Britain

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th July 2008 - 1:07 pm

That’s the overwhelming verdict of almost two-thirds of Lib Dem Voice readers, according to our recent poll asking, “do you think Margaret Thatcher was a good or a bad thing for Britain?”

Here are the results in full…

We asked: “On balance, do you believe Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister was a good or a bad thing for the UK?”

You said:
• Yes, Margaret Thatcher was a Good Thing on balance: 162 (37%)
• No, Margaret Thatcher was a Bad Thing on balance: 272 (63%)
Total Votes: 434. Poll ran: 19th-28th July 2008

Posted in Voice polls | 14 Comments
Stephen Tall

The PPC Files (2): what do you wish you’d known before you became a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th July 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 | 8 Comments
Stephen Tall

NEW POLL: Do you think Barack Obama is all that?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 28th July 2008 - 9:07 pm

There are now, believe it or not, only 100 days until the race to become the 44th President of the United States of America is decided. And there’s no doubt who continues to grab the headlines, and not only here in Europe: Barack Obama’s candidacy has enthralled not just the Democratic party, but much of the western world. But why?

Perhaps for some it is the relief of having a plausible Democratic presidential nominee; that he isn’t George W. Bush; that he claims to represent a ‘new politics’ of change; that he can forge bipartisan consensus; that he is a compelling …

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Posted in LDVUSA and Voice polls | 23 Comments
Stephen Tall

Is this the beginning of the end for Brown?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 28th July 2008 - 6:34 pm

It’s silly season, so the temptation to dismiss the current media frenzy over Gordon Brown is a reasonable one. The faint sound of a barrel being scraped can be heard when MPs like Gordon Prentice – a long-term foe of Mr Brown – are given the platform to keep the wheels of the bandwagon rolling (to mix my metaphors). Yet it’s evident, even to outsiders, that the Prime Minister is in serious, serious trouble.

When your deputy as party leader can argue that the country has “not yet seen the best of the Prime Minister” – and that …

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Posted in Op-eds | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

The PPC Files (1): the 3 worst things about being a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate

By Stephen Tall | Mon 28th July 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 | 27 Comments
Stephen Tall

First ever LDV members’ survey

By Stephen Tall | Fri 25th July 2008 - 6:24 pm

If you are a registered member of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum – and any paid-up party member is welcome to join – then you now have the opportunity to make your views known on a range of current issues in our August members’ survey. Topics we are asking your opinion on include:

– the party’s performance in recent by-elections;
– the launch of Make it Happen, and what you think of the tax-cutting proposals;
– your views on Nick Clegg’s leadership;
– whether the Lib Dems are on the right/wrong track;
– and your chance to rate the individual members of the Lib …

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Posted in Voice polls | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

The question isn’t: ‘Should Labour replace Gordon Brown?’ It’s ‘Why would anyone want to succeed him?’

By Stephen Tall | Fri 25th July 2008 - 11:10 am

Last night’s stunning SNP victory in Glasgow East caps one of the worst six months for the Labour party in at least 25 years. Policy gaffes and u-turns; a deeply unpopular leader; and catastrophic election defeats across the country – it doesn’t get much worse than this.

The time has now passed when the question could genuinely be asked whether it is in Labour’s interest to replace Gordon Brown as leader. The answer is just too obvious: of course they should, and (if it can be achieved in a dignified way) the sooner the better. It isn’t just a matter …

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Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
Stephen Tall

Glasgow East and the Lib Dems

By Stephen Tall | Fri 25th July 2008 - 10:46 am

Well, let’s not pretend it was a great result: losing three-quarters of your support is rarely likely to cheer a party up. But it would be equally silly to read anything of great significance into it, either. As I pointed out yesterday, in the 1999 Hamilton South by-election the Lib Dems trailed in a pretty dire sixth place: it meant diddly-squat for the party’s fortunes at the subsequent general election.

Yes, it’s true, the Tories managed only to suffer a small drop in support. But, then, it’s not much of a surprise to anyone to learn that the …

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Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged | 30 Comments
Stephen Tall

Scottish Lib Dem leader nominations close

By Stephen Tall | Thu 24th July 2008 - 1:31 pm

The Press Association reports the (unsurprising) news:

The deadline for nominations in the race to lead the Scottish Liberal Democrats has closed with no late challengers in the three-way campaign.

Mike Rumbles and former ministers Tavish Scott and Ross Finnie will now concentrate on winning party support before the poll on August 26.

The candidates are hoping to succeed Aberdeen South MSP Nicol Stephen, who quit the top job earlier this month citing family reasons.

Posted in Leadership Election and Scotland | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Open (speculation) thread: What do you think will happen in Glagow East – and will it matter?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 24th July 2008 - 1:07 pm

What is it about parliamentary by-elections? You wait ages for one, then four come along at once. Hot-on-the-heels of Crewe and Nantwich, Henley and Haltemprice & Howden is Glasgow East, theoretically at least a safe Labour seat. Here was the result at the 2005 general election:

David Marshall, Labour 18,775 (61%)
Lachlan McNeill, Scottish National Party 5,268 (17%)
David Jackson, Liberal Democrat 3,665 (12%)
Carl Thomson, Conservative 2,135 (7%)
George Savage, Scottish Socialist Party 1,096 (4%)
Labour majority: 13,507 (44%), Turnout: 48%

It’s clear enough this is the proverbial two-horse race for first position, with the SNP apparently breathing down the Labour party’s neck. It would …

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Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged | 63 Comments
Stephen Tall

Memo to the party re: Bones Commission – time to get with the Internet!

By Stephen Tall | Thu 24th July 2008 - 9:08 am

Last week, the Lib Dem blogopshere lit up following a report in The Times alleging that the Bones Commission on reforming the party’s structures would “turn the party’s traditional structure on its head, centralising all decision-making under a new “chief officers group” and diluting the roles of its committees.” Nick Clegg himself addressed some of the concerns in an article for Lib Dem Voice last week.

Inevitably much of the speculation is just that, as few outside of the party’s inner circles have yet seen the report. And fair enough, to a great extent. After all, the report was …

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

Huhne on knife crime: “sellers allowed to ply deadly trade”

By Stephen Tall | Wed 23rd July 2008 - 5:39 pm

Extensive coverage today of Chris Huhne’s revelations – via some pointed Parliamentary questions – showing that “none of the people caught selling knives to young people in the last five years were sent to prison and only one was given a community sentence”. The BBC is among those reporting the Lib Dems’ findings that:

• Only 71 people have been successfully prosecuted for selling knives to the children in the last five years
• None were sent to prison and only one was given a community sentence
• 56 were fined, of those 11 were given a fine of between £50 …

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Posted in News | 24 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #74

By Stephen Tall | Wed 23rd July 2008 - 1:21 pm

Welcome to the 74th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (13-19th July), 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 | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

Norman Baker condemns Gordon Brown’s ‘take out the trash’* day

By Stephen Tall | Tue 22nd July 2008 - 6:46 pm

The Guardian asks the question Is Gordon trying to bury bad news?, noting:

At 2pm on the day the House of Commons rises for a 75-day summer break, Gordon Brown will publish 10 written ministerial statements on everything from the gifts received by ministers to the guests entertained at Chequers at the public’s expense.

The move has prompted claims that the prime minister and his government – which is due to publish a total of 30 written ministerial statements today – has broken it own code of conduct and is attempting to “bury bad news” by deluging parliament with such

…

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

The Iain Dale Total Politics top blogs list

By Stephen Tall | Tue 22nd July 2008 - 2:19 pm

I have a confession to make, dear reader. There’s an email I’ve been, erm, sitting on while I try to work out what to do with it. And it’s from Iain Dale.

If you read his blog (what do I mean ‘if’, of course we all do) then you’ll already know what it’s about. If not here’s the copy ‘n’ paste skinny:

In early September TOTAL POLITICS, in association with APCO WORLDWIDE will publish the 2008-9 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK. It will contain articles on blogging by some of Britain’s leading bloggers, together with a directory of

…

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Posted in Online politics | Tagged , , and | 20 Comments
Stephen Tall

A wee dram of consolation for Gordon…

By Stephen Tall | Tue 22nd July 2008 - 2:05 pm

He is at least less unpopular more popular than President George W. Bush – PoliticalWire reports on the latest American Research Group poll

finds that just 21% of Americans approve of the way President Bush is handling his job and 72% disapprove. When it comes to Bush’s handling of the economy, 17% approve and 77% disapprove.

Furthermore, 76% say the national economy is getting worse, 61% say their household financial situations are getting worse, and 68% say the national economy is in a recession.

That’s something to cheer the Prime Minister up as he embarks on his holiday – a …

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Posted in LDVUSA and News | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Glasgow East Lib Dem candidate “one to watch”

By Stephen Tall | Tue 22nd July 2008 - 1:33 pm

There’s high praise for the Lib Dems’ Glasgow East candidate Ian Robertson in The Herald today:

Yesterday he had Scots grandees Sir Menzies Campbell and Lord Wallace in to help, plus deputy leader Vince Cable, but he knows he won’t be giving up the teaching career any time soon.

Watch him on any of the televised hustings and you’ll be impressed. Most journalists have scored him as an excellent candidate and one to watch if a more winnable seat comes up.

Meanwhile, The Herald also reports on possible trouble for Labour following allegations that “the daughter of retiring Glasgow East MP …

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Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Guardian: Make it Happen “a shift towards liberal traditions and away from social democratic ones”

By Stephen Tall | Mon 21st July 2008 - 5:50 pm

There’s an interesting and pretty perceptive editorial in today’s Guardian taking a thoughtful look at the Lib Dems’ Make it Happen policy proposal paper, launched by Nick Clegg last week. (And, whether it was deliberate or not, let me take a moment to congratulate The Guardian on not rushing to judgment, but taking a reflective, carefully considered, and rounded look at the document).

And broadly it gives Make it Happen a thumbs-up, albeit in a back-handed way for those who came into the party through the SDP:

Liberal Democrats do not think of their party, as the media does, in

…

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Posted in News | Tagged | 29 Comments
Stephen Tall

Ming: Lib Dem MSPs should oppose independence poll regardless of conference

By Stephen Tall | Mon 21st July 2008 - 10:15 am

An interesting article in yesterday’s Times, with former national Lib Dem leader Ming Campbell wading into the current Scottish leadership debate, and in particular the controversy over whether Lib Dems should support a referendum on Scottish independence:

Sir Menzies Campbell has warned the next leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats to oppose an independence referendum, even if the party conference votes in favour. …

Two of the three candidates in the race to replace Nicol Stephen as leader of the Scottish Lib Dems have already said they are open-minded about a ballot on breaking up Britain. Mike Rumbles has proposed

…

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Posted in News and Scotland | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV readers say: Brown will lead Labour into the next general election

By Stephen Tall | Sat 19th July 2008 - 7:50 pm

That’s the overwhelming verdict of almost two-thirds of Lib Dem Voice readers, according to our recent poll asking, “Do you think Gordon Brown will get to enjoy a second anniversary as Prime Minister?” However, a fairly significant minority – 21% – dissented, taking the view that the Labour party will choose to ditch their leader within the next 12 months.

Here are the results in full…

We asked:
“Do you think Gordon Brown will get to enjoy a second anniversary as Prime Minister?”

You said:
No – the Labour party will dump him as an electoral liability: 119 (21%)
No – he will …

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Posted in Voice polls | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

NEW POLL: do you think Margaret Thatcher was a good or bad thing for Britain?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 19th July 2008 - 2:52 pm

A story LDV didn’t get round to covering this week was the Mail on Sunday’s suggestion that Margaret Thatcher is to be honoured when she dies with a state funeral, the first British Prime Minister since Winston Churchill to be afforded such an honour. This prompted a flurry of commentary from friends and foes taking fairly predictable positions.

* “all that pomp and ceremony in her honour, plus a day off for school kids, will be very, very wrong.” (The Mirror)
* “Thatcher did succeed … like Churchill, the country owes her a 19-gun salute.” (Harry Phibbs …

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Posted in Voice polls | 33 Comments
Stephen Tall

Has Making it Happen made it happen for the Lib Dems?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 18th July 2008 - 6:39 pm

Well, if the press and media reaction is anything to go by, the launch of the Lib Dems’ Make it Happen policy paper has succeeded way beyond the party’s expectations. No need for LDV to round them all up, as Centre Forum’s Freethink blog rounds up the newspapers’ responses, while Julian H’s Orange By Name has the blogosphere’s first reactions.

Why such a media splash? (And I admit the term splash is relative; but the tendency of political reporters to ignore a party which attracts almost one-quarter of the national vote means we Lib Dems get a little …

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Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged and | 52 Comments
Stephen Tall

Vince slams Brown’s fiscal rules re-writing as “embarrassing and almost humiliating”

By Stephen Tall | Fri 18th July 2008 - 9:22 am

A sign that politics is now all about the economy is that a story with words ‘fiscal rules re-writing’ can lead the morning news bulletins. This from the BBC:

The government is considering re-writing its own rules on how much it can borrow in order to counter the effects of the economic slowdown.

The new framework, which could be announced in the Autumn pre-Budget statement, would permit more borrowing as an alternative to increasing taxes. … the Treasury stressed no decision had yet been taken.

The Lib Dems’ shadow chancellor Vince Cable has once again called on the Government to place …

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Posted in News | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

Clegg launches ‘Make it Happen’ with call to cut taxes

By Stephen Tall | Thu 17th July 2008 - 12:54 pm

The party website has a blue mast-head, a youthful leader and a call to cut taxes for low- and middle-income earners: yes, the Lib Dems’ leader Nick Clegg has today launched the party’s new ‘Make it Happen’ policy and consultation document, and made an unequivocal pitch to voters wanting to kick Labour out of office and mistrustful of the Tories’ ability to marry economic competence and social justice.

Nick showcased the proposals on this morning’s BBC Radio 4 Today programme:

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has outlined his pledge to cut taxes for low and middle-income people, as part of

…

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Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged and | 89 Comments
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