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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.
Follow @stephentall

Dear Conservative MPs, Re House of Lords reform here’s what your manifesto & the Coalition Agreement say

By Stephen Tall | Fri 20th April 2012 - 9:35 am

It’s almost enough to make you feel sorry for Conservative MPs — it appears some of them have only just read their own party’s manifesto and the Coalition Agreement they signed up to. That can be the only explanation for the sudden fit of vapours which have apparently afflicted three of their number over the issue of House of Lords reform.

So as a reminder to them, and as a service to their Tory colleagues, here’s a reminder of the Conservative Party’s promise to the people back in 2010 in its manifesto:

We will work to build a consensus for a

…

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Posted in News | Tagged coalition agreement, conservative party, house of lords and parliamentary reform | 11 Comments

The Tories’ and Labour’s collective tax omnishambles

By Stephen Tall | Wed 18th April 2012 - 8:55 pm

Labour is against reducing the 50p top-rate tax to 45p for those earning more than £150,000. What could be clearer? As it happens, quite a lot could be clearer.

First, the omnishambles…

Given how widely predicted George Osborne’s decision to reduce the top-rate was you would have thought Labour would have anticipated it and worked out their line. They failed to — as Mark Pack noted here, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna contradicted himself within 24 hours, while Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls declined to declare his hand.

When Labour did …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged conservative party, featured, george osborne, labour party, nick clegg, tax cuts (Lib Dem) and taxes | 3 Comments

LibLink: Steven Fielding on Scott Egerton, “gentleman, Liberal MP… and detective”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th April 2012 - 5:45 pm

Over at his personal blog, Steven Fielding, Professor of Political History at the University of Nottingham, takes a look at the work of Lucy Beatrice Malleson who, under the nom de plume Anthony Gilbert, wrote 10 books featuring the gentleman detective — and Liberal MP — Scott Egerton. Here’s an excerpt:

Malleson’s Egerton stories follow a clear pattern in that he usually intervenes on behalf of someone falsely accused of murder and proves their innocence by finding the real villain. … If Egerton closely follows the model of the amateur upper-class detective, one best exemplified by Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged steven fielding | 1 Comment

LDVideo: So you want to watch 6mins 23secs of Lembit Öpik in a wrestling ring? You got it…

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th April 2012 - 3:57 pm

This weekend Jonathan Calder brought us the news that Lembit Öpik had contrived an appearance in a wrestling ring at Welshpool Town Hall. Distressingly, video footage has now been unleashed:

(Available on YouTube here.)

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Posted in YouTube | Tagged carol woods, elected police commissioners, jonathan calder, lembit opik and northumbria police | 6 Comments

How would you answer the question about the Lib Dems the Indy asks all with an open mind to consider?

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th April 2012 - 2:15 pm

Mark Pack has posted excerpts here from Nick Clegg’s interview in the Independent today — but it’s worth highlighting also the conclusion of the paper’s leading article today assessing the Lib Dems’ contribution during the first two years of Coalition Government:

There remains much to criticise this Government for, and The Independent on Sunday disagrees with its policy on tax and spending, higher education, the NHS and much else besides. But there was no possible government after the last election that could have delivered all that this newspaper wanted. The effective choice was between a Conservative minority government and

…

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Posted in News | Tagged nick clegg and the independent | 39 Comments

Miliband moves on party funding: offers £5k cap including union donations (but what about members’ opt-in?)

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th April 2012 - 11:55 am

Three weeks after the latest funding furore to hit politics — when Tory co-treasurer Peter Cruddas touted influence on government policy for £250k a pop — Ed Miliband has seized the initiative, proposing to limit all donations from individuals, organisations and unions to a maximum of £5,000.

Here’s the BBC report:

Labour leader Ed Miliband has offered to limit donations to his party from trade unions to £5,000, as leaders discuss how to change the system. He told the BBC this would remove the influence of “big money” on politics. The issue has been the subject of an ongoing

…

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Posted in News | Tagged ed miliband, party funding and trade unions | 29 Comments

Avant le déluge: If you want to follow the French presidential elections…

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th April 2012 - 10:25 am

The UK is approximately 3687 miles from the United States of America, and separated by an ocean. The UK is approximately 22 miles away from France, and separated by a channel.

Yet there has already been more coverage expended on the race for the Republican nomination than there has been on the battle to become President of France. The White House trumps the Élysée Palace every time in the mind of the media even though France is closer and the result is more likely to impact directly on the UK.

However, …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged featured, france, francois hollande, french presidential election and nicolas sarkozy | 7 Comments

“Hard to believe she’s just 16!” The headline that sums up the morality of the Daily Mail

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th April 2012 - 6:45 pm

Next time that esteemed family newspaper the Daily Mail screams at the permissive society for its outrages against decent family values it will be worth recalling this article and its beyond-parody headline:

Hard to believe she’s just 16! Kendall Jenner looks older than her years as she shows off her model shape in stunning bikini shoot

Continue reading »

Posted in News | Tagged chris morris, daily mail and media | 16 Comments

LDV Caption Competition: Osborne, Clegg & Alexander “Three Musketeers” Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th April 2012 - 5:30 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader…

Here is Tory Chancellor George Osborne flanked by the two Lib Dem members of the ‘Quad’, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about them?

And the winners of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, Tim Farron & Prince Charles “I want that hat” Edition.

Continue reading »

Posted in Caption Comp | Tagged Danny Alexander, george osborne and nick clegg | 14 Comments

A question for the Coalition: Would Lib Dems and Tories support the Charity Tax if Labour had proposed it?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 13th April 2012 - 8:05 am

One of the aspects of the furore over the Coalition’s Charity Tax that has struck me is that charity is a more divisive issue than I’d realised.

Those of us who work in the charity sector probably take for granted that our organisations provide a public good, that the aggregated generosity of donors and the endeavours of staff make for a better society. That’s probably a majority view among the wider public, but it clearly isn’t a universal attitude.

Look at the reader comments on major news …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged big society, budget 2012, charity, featured, fundraising, nick aldridge and tax | 23 Comments

Telegraph smears Clegg. Again. (Y’know, I’ve a sneaky feeling they don’t like him.)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 12th April 2012 - 9:55 am

Here’s today’s comically skewed headline from the Torygraph:

Nick Clegg wants to let MPs keep family fortunes under wraps

Though you wouldn’t guess it from the headline or the story, what Nick Clegg was actually saying was simple enough: he thinks MPs as public servants should have to be transparent about their financial affairs, but he doesn’t think their family members, as private citizens, should have to publish details of their salaries and any other wealth. Which seems fair enough to me.

But then the Telegraph has a proven track record when it comes to having a pop at the Lib …

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Posted in News | Tagged christopher hope, daily telegraph and nick clegg | 7 Comments

Labour’s not-so-very-local election broadcast shows how unimportant local decision-making is to Ed Miliband’s party

By Stephen Tall | Wed 11th April 2012 - 7:58 pm

Tonight’s Labour local election broadcast, starring telly’s very own Lord (Robert) Winston, climaxes with the rallying cry:

On Thursday May 3rd, vote NHS, vote Labour

Exactly how voting Labour then will help the NHS isn’t explored — not surprisingly, because it won’t. There’s a reason these elections are called local elections, after all.

Before highlighting Labour’s misleading tactics I thought I should first check out the Lib Dem record on fighting local elections. I have to say I was expecting to find comparable examples, times when the party leadership had called …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged charles kennedy, ed davey, featured, labour party, local elections, Ming Campbell, NHS, nick clegg and robert winston | 23 Comments

In other news… Kemp4Liverpool, Duwayne4London, Tod4Winchester, Salmond4Inquiry, and more…

By Stephen Tall | Mon 9th April 2012 - 6:10 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

Liverpool elected mayor candidates announced (BBC News)

Twelve candidates have been nominated to stand as Liverpool’s first directly elected mayor. Nominations closed at midday and voters will go to the polls on 3 May. Among the 12 are four members of Liverpool City Council, including Labour leader Joe Anderson and Liberal Democrat Richard Kemp.

Duwayne Brooks announced as Lib Dem deputy mayor (BBC News)

A friend of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has been named as a deputy to Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick if

…

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Posted in News | Tagged alex salmond, barbara sloan, birmingham council, david walter, duwayne brooks, liverpool city council, london mayoral election, martin mullaney, martin tod, richard kemp and winchester council | Leave a comment

Mary Ann Sieghart socks it to Quentin Letts for his “witheringly misogynistic” assault on Lynne Featherstone

By Stephen Tall | Mon 9th April 2012 - 1:55 pm

I try as hard as possible not to link to the Daily Mail — it’s my small and admittedly token gesture not to encourage them. And Quentin Letts is the Mail at its most unpleasantly execrable, slavering to stick his pen-knife into anyone he cares to disdain, especially if they’re female or have a funny accent or some other personal tic to pick on.

Last week, he laid into Lib Dem equalities minister Lynne Featherstone. It was classic play-the-woman-I’ve-got-no-balls Letts:

Though aged 60 (and counting), she teeters up to the Despatch Box in high heels, grinning girlishly at the Opposition benches before

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged daily mail, featured, lynne featherstone, mary ann sieghart and quentin letts | 21 Comments

LDVideo: Remembering the 1992 general election, 20 years ago today

By Stephen Tall | Mon 9th April 2012 - 10:45 am

Thursday, 9th April, 1992 — the first election for the newly-formed Liberal Democrats, and the last election when the Tories won a parliamentary majority. Here’s a video trip down memory lane…

Andrew Marr on John Major’s biggest popular mandate in electoral history

Paddy Ashdown on the campaign trail

Continue reading »

Posted in YouTube | Tagged andrew marr, charles kennedy, don foster and paddy ashdown | 10 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #268

By Stephen Tall | Sun 8th April 2012 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 268th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (1-7 April, 2012), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

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Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

Clegg: “no objection in principle” to publishing his tax return

By Stephen Tall | Sun 8th April 2012 - 11:45 am

Today’s Independent on Sunday reports:

Nick Clegg has “no objection in principle” to publishing his tax return, aides said yesterday, after senior politicians scrambled to respond to calls for greater US-style openness from public figures.

After the four main candidates for London’s mayoral elections revealed their personal tax affairs, the Chancellor, George Osborne, yesterday said he was “very happy” for his own details to be published. The disclosures from Boris Johnson, Ken Livingstone, Brian Paddick and Jenny Jones were seen as a turning point, with some warning that they were succumbing to the “Americanisation” of British politics.

An aide to the Deputy

…

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Posted in News | Tagged Danny Alexander, nick clegg, tax and vince cable | 3 Comments

LDV Caption Competition: Tim Farron & Prince Charles “I want that hat” Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th April 2012 - 5:15 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader…

(Picture reproduced here with thanks to Steven Barber.)

Here is Lib Dem party president Tim Farron meeting Prince Charles this week. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about them?

And the winners of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, Clegg & Obama “Seoul Brothers” Edition.

Continue reading »

Posted in Caption Comp | 10 Comments

Reading Labour Party leaflet’s “born and bred” racist innuendo: will Labour now apologise and withdraw it?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th April 2012 - 12:45 pm

This is the leaflet the Labour Party is delivering through letter-boxes in a ward where the sitting Conservative councillor — Cllr Azam Janjua, a Reading resident for half a century — is facing a Labour opponent, Eileen McElligott. See if you can notice the oh-so-subtle way in which Labour puts its lips together to dog-whistle:

You read that right:

“Eileen McElligott … was born and bred in Reading … She will fight for us here … because she is one of us.”

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Posted in News | Tagged azam janjua, eileen mcelligott, gareth epps and reading council | 74 Comments

The Weekend Debate: Should election candidates have to declare their tax records?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th April 2012 - 8:45 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The race to be London mayor took a fresh twist this week when the leading candidates pledged on BBC Newsnight to release their tax records. Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick declared himself very happy to publish full details, which appear here on his website:

Brian Paddick has nothing to hide and is very happy to be open and transparent about his income and tax returns as a registered sole trader. His figures show he has never attempted to use any complex

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged boris johnson, brian paddick, ken livingstone and london mayoral election | 17 Comments

Time for Nick Clegg and the Coalition to see sense and stop the ‘Charity Tax’

By Stephen Tall | Wed 4th April 2012 - 9:15 am

This year’s budget was, in general, a good one for Lib Dems. Most notably, the party’s number one priority of taking more low-paid workers out of tax was fast-tracked, while the controversies, and specifically the cut in the 50p top-rate at a time when pensioners’ tax allowances are being frozen, have hit their Tory backers’ support in the polls.

However, there is one lesser noticed and malign Budget change, the ‘Charity Tax’ — a cap on tax relief which threatens to cost the charitable sector hundreds of millions of pounds — which has not attracted mainstream media attention. That needs to change if the Coalition is to be talked down from a policy with Lib Dem fingerprints on it, and which will undermine philanthropic giving at a time when it is needed more than ever during the public funding squeeze.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged big society, budget 2012, charities aid foundation, charity, featured, fundraising, george osborne, nick clegg, tax and voluntary sector | 11 Comments

In other news… Jo on Easter eggs, Brian interviewed, Dr Pack post-budget wallchart, and more…

By Stephen Tall | Sun 1st April 2012 - 4:45 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

Confectionery giants ‘not doing enough’ to reduce Easter egg packaging (Daily Mail)

Easter egg manufacturers have been criticised for not doing enough to reduce packaging and improve how much can be recycled. Currently, an estimated 3,000 tonnes of waste is produced in the UK every year just from Easter egg packaging alone. And an annual survey by Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson has found the percentage of Easter egg boxes actually filled by chocolate was 38 per cent – the same figure as

…

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Posted in News | Tagged brian paddick, dave herbert, Jo Swinson, john keys, Mark Pack, mark young, vince cable and warren bradley | 4 Comments

LDV Caption Competition: Clegg & Obama “Seoul Brothers” Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sun 1st April 2012 - 1:59 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader…

As I mentioned yesterday, Nick Clegg has been busy this week doing some real work. Here he is meeting US President Barack Obama, together with Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about them?

And the winners of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, Cameron & Miliband “We’re in this together” Funding Scandal Special Edition.

Continue reading »

Posted in Caption Comp | 19 Comments

Politics in pictures: How Cameron, Clegg & Miliband led from the front this week

By Stephen Tall | Sat 31st March 2012 - 6:40 pm

It’s been a tumultuous week in the political world. So let’s have a look at how the three main party leaders led from the front in statesmanlike fashion…

David Cameron played badminton in a suit…

Ed Miliband bought sausage rolls in Greggs…

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Posted in News | Tagged barack obama, david cameron, ed miliband and nick clegg | 6 Comments

Bradford West by-election: 5 initial thoughts on an astonishing result

By Stephen Tall | Fri 30th March 2012 - 9:45 am

Here are some inital reflections on George Galloway’s stunning by-election win in Bradford West…

Devastating for Labour…

It is not simply the fact that Labour lost a seat they’ve held at every election since 1974. It is not simply the fact that they’ve become the first opposition party since William Hague’s Tories at Romsey 12 years ago to lose a by-election. It is not simply the fact that Labour must have thought they’d enjoyed a good fortnight in which the Tories have been given a good pasting. It is not simply the fact that this by-election suggests Labour’s current national lead …

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Posted in Op-eds and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged bradford west by-election, featured, george galloway and nasser butt | 53 Comments

+++ Labour crashes to sensational Bradford West by-election defeat to George Galloway

By Stephen Tall | Fri 30th March 2012 - 6:19 am

In a sensational result, George Galloway has won the Bradford West by-election for the Respect party. The former Glasgow and east London MP secured victory with more than half the votes cast, and a majority of more than 10,000.

The result will be a body blow for Labour leader Ed Miliband, who had appeared to have the Tories on the defensive in the past 10 days over the ‘Granny tax’, the resignation of Tory treasurer Peter Cruddas, and so-called #pastygate.

But none of these were enough to stop Labour losing a previously safe seat, though they will take some small consolation that …

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Posted in News | 36 Comments

In defence of Tim Farron: 3 liberal reasons to stick up for him

By Stephen Tall | Tue 27th March 2012 - 11:50 am

Lib Dem party president Tim Farron has caused something of a storm within the party by co-signing a letter in his capacity as Vice Chair of the ‘Christians in Parliament’ group urging the Advertising Standards Authority to withdraw their ruling “that the Healing On The Streets ministry in Bath are no longer able to claim, in their advertising, that God can heal people from medical conditions.” The controversy is easy to understand, as it pits two tenets of liberalism against each other: free speech and rational scepticism.

Personally, I am very happy to defend Tim Farron’s stance. Here’s three …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged advertising standards authority, featured and tim farron | 85 Comments

6 essential steps to help clean up the reputation of British politics

By Stephen Tall | Mon 26th March 2012 - 9:15 am

We’ve been here before: many times, under many different governments. The latest addition to the lexicon of big money politics scandals is Peter Cruddas’s crude cash-for-access fundraising, with influence on government policy touted for £250,000 a pop. Under Labour, we witnessed the Bernie Ecclestone affair, as well as the cash-for-honours scandal.

To date this shared complicity — the “all parties are as bad as each other” mentality — has served only the interests of senior politicians in justifying the continuing scandal of how big money talks …

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Posted in News | Tagged christopher kelly, featured, party funding and peter cruddas | 31 Comments

Chris Nicholson resigns as CentreForum chief executive, appointed Ed Davey’s new special advisor

By Stephen Tall | Mon 26th March 2012 - 8:15 am

When Chris Huhne resigned as energy and climate change secretary last month, he didn’t just create a vacancy in the cabinet — his departure also triggered some musical chairs elsewhere.

The same day Ed Davey was appointed Chris Huhne’s sucessor, Duncan Brack and Joel Kenrick departed as Chris’s special advisors. You can read Duncan’s take on his time in the job here, Liblink: Duncan Brack on how to get green policies implemented in Government.

These two vacancies have now been filled by Katie …

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Posted in News | Tagged centreforum, chris huhne, chris nicholson, duncan brack, edward davey, joel kenrick and katie waring | Leave a comment

LDV Caption Competition: Cameron & Miliband “We’re in this together” Funding Scandal Special Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sun 25th March 2012 - 5:45 pm

For once, there IS a prize at stake. Better than that, there are TWO prizes. The best two entries of this week’s caption competition will each win a copy of former Labour MP Chris Mullin’s diaries, A View from the Foothills. The hit book has now been adapted for the theatre as A Walk On Part: The Fall of New Labour. So make some extra witty noise for this week’s competition…

Here’s David Cameron and Ed Miliband sharing a special moment together earlier this week. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about them?

And don’t worry, unlike the Tories or Labour we don’t require any fee for you to take part.

And the winner of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, The Obama & Cameron ‘Special Relationship’ Edition.

Continue reading »

Posted in Caption Comp | Tagged david cameron and ed miliband | 28 Comments

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