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

Andrew Marr: a little bit of a hypocrite

By Stephen Tall | Mon 11th October 2010 - 6:52 pm

I’m intrigued by Andrew Marr’s recent attack on blogging. For those who’ve missed his comments, here’s what he told an audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, as reported in the Telegraph:

“Most citizen journalism strikes me as nothing to do with journalism at all. A lot of bloggers seem to be socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed, young men sitting in their mother’s basements and ranting. They are very angry people. … Most of the blogging is too angry and too abusive. It is vituperative. Terrible things are said on line because they are anonymous. People say things

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 18 Comments
Stephen Tall

The Browne Review and university funding: what’s likely to happen next…

By Stephen Tall | Mon 11th October 2010 - 11:57 am

The publication of the Browne Review into university funding has been brought into even sharper focus for Lib Dems by Vince Cable’s email to party members over the weekend ruling out a ‘pure’ graduate tax to replace tuition fees.

This has sparked vigorous debate, both here on Lib Dem Voice, and beyond, with Lib Dem MPs coming under pressure to stick by their pre-election pledge to oppose any increase in tuition fees.

Some of this sound and fury has been overdone. None of us has yet seen the detail of the funding proposals being brought forward by Vince Cable, which …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , and | 41 Comments
Stephen Tall

How the media loves mixed messages (when they suit their own message)

By Stephen Tall | Sun 10th October 2010 - 1:25 pm

‘Conservative spending cuts are worse than Thatcher’s, says Alan Johnson’ shouts today’s Observer, reporting the paper’s interview with Labour’s incoming shadow chancellor.

If the election had turned out differently — if Labour had won, rather than suffering one of the worst defeats in its history — the headline could have read a little different… Imagine this headline:

    Alistair Darling: we will cut deeper than Margaret Thatcher

But wait, we don’t have to imagine that headline: it already exists, and was used by the Observer’s stablemate The Guardian back in March when reporting the then Labour chancellor’s realistic appraisal of the …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , and | 13 Comments
Stephen Tall

Mail readers attack paper’s ‘Hypocrisy’ slurs on Nick Clegg

By Stephen Tall | Sun 10th October 2010 - 11:35 am

Ah, the Daily Mail and its stable-mate the Mail on Sunday: bastions of enlightened reason and liberal decency. Or something. Today, the paper takes it upon itself to scream ‘Hypocrisy’ at Nick Clegg.

Not on grounds of policy, but because of the options Miriam and he are considering for their eldest child’s school, including a voluntary-aided Catholic school in London, the Oratory: as the Mail so subtly fulminates, ‘Nick Clegg is an atheist whose party doesn’t believe in school selection. So where does he want to send his sons… the same exclusive Catholic school as the Blairs’.

You can gauge the extent of the Mail’s self-righteous fury from the comparison of Nick Clegg to Tony Blair. The only thing missing from the usual Mail checklist-of-outrage is the accusation that Nick Clegg causes cancer. Next week, perhaps.

What do the Mail’s online readers make of the paper’s tirade? Here are the top three ‘best rated’ comments so far submitted:

Why is atheist Nick Clegg considering sending his son to an exclusive Catholic school?
erm – his wife is Catholic.
– Paul, Richmond, 9/10/2010 23:39

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , and | 41 Comments
Stephen Tall

Vince: why I’m saying ‘No’ to the graduate tax

By Stephen Tall | Sat 9th October 2010 - 7:05 pm

Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, has tonight written to all Lib Dem members in anticipation of the publication next week of the report of the Browne Review (‘The Independent Review of Higher Education & Student Finance in the UK’ to give it its official title).

Here’s what Vince has to say:

Dear Friend,

As you know, one of the most urgent tasks facing the Coalition Government is to reform the funding of Higher Education. Our objectives are clear: high-quality university teaching and research; fair access for all, regardless of background; and a progressive funding structure.

At the same time,

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , and | 97 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV Saturday caption competition: “Clegg and Hughes side by side” edition

By Stephen Tall | Sat 9th October 2010 - 5:25 pm

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


(Image by Alex Folkes courtesy Lib Dems’ Flickr photostream.)

Here’s Nick Clegg walking in step with deputy leader Simon Hughes — what do you think they might be saying to, or thinking about, each other?

The winner of our most recent caption competition, the “Andy Coulson’s a bit busy right now” edition – according to The Voice’s judging panel of one – was this one by Jason Good.

Got a photo of a …

Continue reading »
Posted in Caption Comp | 18 Comments
Stephen Tall

Huhne scorns tax breaks for married couples as “flag-waving”

By Stephen Tall | Sat 9th October 2010 - 3:58 pm

Today’s Telegraph has an in-depth interview with the Lib Dems’ climate change and energy secretary Chris Huhne, in which he expertly steers the tightrope of punchily sticking up for party policy while sticking well within collective responsibility.

Somewhat bizarrely, both the BBC and the Torygraph are leading on the least contentious part of the interview, in which Chris points out that the Coalition will adjust economic policy according to circumstances and forecasts:

“I’ve never known one Treasury Red Book to be exactly like the last one. There is always a change. It is a bit like setting sail. If the

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

Congratulations to Alex Foster from all at Lib Dem Voice

By Stephen Tall | Sat 9th October 2010 - 1:30 pm

All of us at Lib Dem Voice join in wishing our colleague, Alex Foster, the very best on his wedding day. May it be everything you both want, and more, Alex.

Alex is one of the founding members of the Voice collective: you can read his first post on his love-hate relationship with Lib Dem conferences (from September 2006) here; and all his other posts for the Voice here.

And if you want to be uplifted while shedding a tear, can I recommend the post he published this week over …

Continue reading »
Posted in Site news | Tagged | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Chris Bowers to write Nick Clegg’s biography

By Stephen Tall | Mon 4th October 2010 - 7:45 am

Well, now he knows he’s really arrived… the Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister is to be the subject of a biography published by Biteback next summer, 2011:

The book, which so far has only a working title ‘Nick Clegg: The Biography’, is being written by the writer and broadcaster Chris Bowers, and will be published by Biteback in time for next year’s party conference season.

“We’ve been looking to appoint a biographer of this year’s breakthrough figure in British politics,” says Biteback’s managing director Iain Dale, “and in Chris Bowers we believe we’ve found an experienced biography writer in

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Books | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #189

By Stephen Tall | Sun 3rd October 2010 - 7:28 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 189th 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 (26th September — 2nd October, 2010), 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:

Continue reading »
Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Ken Clarke: the sixth Lib Dem cabinet minister

By Stephen Tall | Sun 3rd October 2010 - 2:15 pm

Part of the Coalition deal was that the Lib Dems secured five cabinet posts, a number in proportion to the party’s number of MPs. But there was another appointment which can be counted a success of the Coalition from the Lib Dem perspective: the appointment of Ken Clarke as secretary of state for justice.

It’s a success on two levels.

First, Ken Clarke is a liberal Tory — so for the first time in 17 years (since Ken Clarke was home secretary in John Major’s government) the UK has a believer in restorative justice setting government policy. After the right-wing …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 27 Comments
Stephen Tall

Clegg’s role in IDS’s welfare reform plans

By Stephen Tall | Sun 3rd October 2010 - 1:37 pm

Mark Pack blogged here on LDV this morning of Promising news on welfare spending as major reforms set for go-ahead, and noted that “Steve Webb’s backing for the policies is a promising sign”.

Also crucial, it seems, was Nick Clegg’s role, according to the Wall Street Journal’s Iain Martin:

I revealed in the summer that IDS and George Osborne had a stand-up row over the welfare budget, with a deal eventually being brokered in which IDS delivers cuts but gets to keep several billions for his reforms. The shape of those reforms will be announced at Tory conference next week.

Oliver

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 13 Comments
Stephen Tall

The Saturday Debate: Local government is to the Lib Dems what the unions are to Labour and big business is to the Tories

By Stephen Tall | Sat 2nd October 2010 - 8:45 am

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

I was struck by this recent article by the Economist’s political columnist Bagehot, headlined When progressive actually means misanthropic, reflecting on the Lib Dem conference, and specifically the debate on free schools.

Highlighting that, while the party may have lacked power at Westminster, the Lib Dems have for decades now been a major player in local government, it observes that:

… local government occupies much of the mental space taken up by national politics in the Labour and Conservative parties. … more

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , and | 23 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV doesn’t do statporn, but if we did (September ’10)

By Stephen Tall | Fri 1st October 2010 - 6:45 pm

… We’d say a big thank you to the 61,584 ‘absolute unique visitors’* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in September.

That’s almost 30% up on our August figure of c.48,000, and more than treble the equivalent figure for September ’09 of c.20,000.

This brings our absolute unique visitor readership for the last year to date (1 Oct 2009 – 30 Sept 2010) to 698,430, more than double the equivalent figure for 2008-09 of 344,608.

The 5 top-read stories during the month were:

  1. +++ EXCLUSIVE: The MEP, the erotic award, the picture (21) by The Voice
  2. Half a defence

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Site news | Tagged | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert leads charge to get parts of Digital Economy Act scrapped

By Stephen Tall | Thu 30th September 2010 - 9:55 am

Julian Huppert, newly elected Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, has made something of a splash in his first months in Parliament, taking up a number of liberal causes, such as the need for more evidence-based and scientific rigour in government decision-making. The Digital Economy Act is one such cause.

TechEYE.net reports:

Julian Huppert said it was wrong to rush the controversial Act through Parliament before the last election and that the proposed measures warrant more discussion. … The new MP for Cambridge said: “Most of the Act is fine, I just don’t agree with every bit of it – and with

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

What would you do if you were David Miliband?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 29th September 2010 - 10:38 am

Let’s leave to one side, at least for the purposes of this post, David Miliband’s record as foreign secretary in the last Labour government. It would take a heart of stone not to feel sympathy for him over the events of the last week.

To lose the Labour leadership for which he fought long and hard is a tough thing. To lose it by a wafer-thin majority having won over, pretty convincingly, majorities of the party’s membership and his parliamentary colleagues is a tough thing. To lose it to his younger brother is a tough thing. To lose it and know …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 17 Comments
Stephen Tall

Ed Miliband’s new-found opposition to the Iraq war: what his voting record shows

By Stephen Tall | Wed 29th September 2010 - 9:27 am

Ed Miliband was not an MP in 2003, when Labour and Conservative MPs voted en masse to approve the British invasion of Iraq: so we do not know how he would have voted if he had had the opportunity.

The Ed-supporting New Statesman has been keen to promote his anti-Iraq war credentials — see for example their third-hand hearsay evidence here — but there appears to be nothing on the public record to back up his claim.

We are left, therefore, with Ed Miliband’s voting record in the one full Parliament in which he has served. Take a look at the new Labour leader’s voting record in the House of Commons, as recorded by PublicWhip.org.

As you can see, Mr E. Miliband has a proud 0% voting record on the issue of ‘Iraq Investigation – Necessary’. There were 10 separate votes in the House of Commons in the period in which he has been an MP: in not a single one of these did Mr E. Miliband take the opportunity to make clear, or even hint at, what he now so sincerely believes: that the Iraq war was wrong.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 16 Comments
Stephen Tall

Should the Lib Dems elect our (shadow) cabinet members?

By Stephen Tall | Tue 28th September 2010 - 4:35 pm

The election of Ed Miliband as Labour leader — despite losing the vote among Labour party members and MPs/MEPs — presented an easy target for the Lib Dems, a party which has always believed in one-member-one-vote, and where the views of our MPs carry equal weight as any other party member.

However, there is another election about to take place within the Labour party: for the 19 places available in their shadow cabinet. All MPs are eligible to stand, and the electorate comprises their colleagues; a separate ballot will decide who will be the Labour chief whip. So far it’s …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | 20 Comments
Stephen Tall

Ed Miliband’s leader’s speech: my first impressions

By Stephen Tall | Tue 28th September 2010 - 4:20 pm

Well, that’s one job done: the new Labour leader (but not the New Labour leader: absolutely not) has got through his first, major task: to deliver his speech to the party conference. It seemed to me to best understood as a ‘detoxifying’ speech. Just as David Cameron’s biggest achievement as Tory leader was to make it almost respectable to vote for his party, so was Ed Miliband attempting to cast off the most illiberal and unpopular aspects of the last Labour government (even though he was a member of its cabinet).

Perhaps inevitably this meant the focus of the speech was …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 60 Comments
Stephen Tall

Ed Miliband’s first conference speech as leader: the LDV live-blog

By Stephen Tall | Tue 28th September 2010 - 2:27 pm

It’s being billed as a huge speech for Ed Miliband, his first chance to place a personal stamp on the Labour party.

2.25 pm
Begins with thanks for advice from all delegates, “some of it unsolicited”, followed by warm tribute to brother David Miliband. Ed dismisses idea he’s more left-wing; David, he says, threatened to nationalise his railway in revenge for Ed stealing his football. Next up on the tribute list is Harriet Harman.

2.27 pm
Then there’s Alistair Darling, praised for “keeping his cool” during the financial crisis; and Jack Straw, for his, well, longevity. Then it’s straight onto the central theme: …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #188

By Stephen Tall | Sun 26th September 2010 - 7:55 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 188th 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 (19th – 25th September, 2010), 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:

Continue reading »
Posted in Best of the blogs | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo conference edition (4): Paddy, Shirley, Trident and Stride

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 8:35 pm

Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

(Please note, as most of these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

Paddy Ashdown interviewed by Andrew Rawnsley


(Also available on the Guardian website here.)

LibDem anger over ‘Cold War’ Trident

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference and YouTube | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

First thoughts on Ed Miliband’s election as Labour leader

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 7:35 pm

Here are some first thoughts on what Ed Miliband’s wafer-thin election victory in the contest to lead Labour might mean…

1. He’s going to have to work hard to prove he’s his own man. There’s no doubt the right-wing press and the Conservatives will do all they can to show Ed Miliband is little more than a puppet of the unions, given he won Labour’s electoral college thanks to the votes of trade unionists, having lost the vote among party members and MPs/MEPs. The pressure will be on for him to show he can stand up to union power or risk …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , and | 56 Comments
Stephen Tall

+++ Ed Miliband elected new Labour leader: loses on members and MPs, wins big among unions

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 5:00 pm

It’s official. Ed Miliband has just been announced Labour’s new leader by the narowest of margins, 50.4% to brother David’s 49.6%. But what’s most fascinating is to see the final breakdown of votes after the re-distribution of preference votes:

  • Among party members… David Miliband won 54% to 46%;
  • Among MPs/MEPs… David Miliband won 53% to 47%;
  • Among trade unions… Ed Miliband won 60% to 40%.

So that narrowest of wins is down to the trade unions delivering their bloc vote to Ed. I imagine they will expect him to be duly grateful. That’s not a good thing for …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 109 Comments
Stephen Tall

Three key issues facing the new Labour leader, Mr Miliband

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 3:35 pm

In an hour’s time we shall know who is the new leader of the Labour party. Though the bookies now make Ed Miliband favourite, my hunch is that older brother David will get the nod, just. We shall soon see. The best guide I’ve read on what to look out for as the votes are announced is over at Next Left; Adam Boulton’s blog also has a good guide to the nuts and bolts of what happens when.

But whichever of the Milibands wins through, here are three issues they will need urgently to address heading into the party’s …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo conference edition (3): Hughes, Huhne, Alexander and Browne

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 12:45 pm

Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

(Please note, as these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

Is Simon Hughes on the political left or right?

Chris Huhne’s ‘green deal to offset budget cuts’

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference and YouTube | Tagged , , and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

LDVideo conference edition (2): Vince Cable special

By Stephen Tall | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 9:45 pm

Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

(Please note, as these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

Vince Cable warns banks over ‘outrageous’ bonuses

I must be doing something right

Continue reading »
Posted in YouTube | Tagged | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

LDVideo conference edition (1): Nick Clegg special

By Stephen Tall | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 8:45 pm

Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

(Please note, as these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

Nick Clegg addresses UN on poverty: here’s why Nick left the party conference early

Nick Clegg defends Lib Dem coalition decision:

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference and YouTube | Tagged | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

The state of the Lib Dem blogosphere

By Stephen Tall | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 10:40 am

‘Like a yeti in a barber shop?’ This was the playful headline with which the big ‘n’ bearded Lib Dem MP David Heath chose to announce his arrival in the party’s blogosphere, capturing something of the tongue-in-cheek essence of Lib Dem blogging. David’s blog – http://davidwsjheath.wordpress.com – has, rather sadly, fallen silent since the general election, and his appointment to the government as Deputy Leader of the House. But don’t expect for a moment the coalition agreement to have a similarly quelling effect on the rest of the party’s blogging community.

What’s out there?

There are, as I write, 249 active …

Continue reading »
Posted in Online politics | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

LDV survey: Lib Dem members think Mili-D would make best Labour leader (but Balls would be best for us)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 7:45 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the early race for the party presidency, the London mayoral selection, Trident, and the Labour leadership. Over 400 party members have responded, and we’ve been publishing the full results.

This Saturday we find out who will be the next Labour leader. The assumption is it will be neck-and-neck between the Brothers Miliband, David and Ed. David has been the favourite throughout the summer-long contest, but in the last few weeks theres been a sense that the race has tightened with many folk now tipping …

Continue reading »
Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged , , , , and | 6 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Suzanne Fletcher
    I agree we need to raise taxes for this and other spending needed. However not VAT, that impacts on poorer people on a lot of things they have to spend money o...
  • Geoff Reid
    I’m with Gordon Lishman on this one but nice to be in broad agreement with Simon!...
  • Christopher Haigh
    Surely it's NATO that should organise the defence spending of its member nations, not individual countries doing its own thing....
  • Gordon Lishman
    We broadly agree for once. I regard it as “stopped clock syndrome” - right once in 24 hours! However, I prefer income tax....
  • Simon McGrath
    @David Raw - you think we should not change our minds about something after 16 years ?...