Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

Lib Dems select local Councillor Mary Di Mauro to stand in Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election

By The Voice | Mon 27th January 2014 - 11:08 am

Local Liberal Democrats have tonight (Sunday January 26th) selected Northenden Councillor Mary Di Mauro to be the Liberal Democrat Candidate in the by-election following the death of Labour MP Paul Goggins.

Mary was a secondary school teacher for ten years. She lives in Northenden village with her husband and two children. Mary has represented Northenden ward on Manchester City Council since 2010.

Mary Di Mauro said: “I am very proud to have been selected to fight Wythenshawe and Sale East for the Liberal Democrats in the by-election. I have lived locally for 20 years and have always stood up for …

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The Voice

Former MSP John Farquhar Munro dies at 79

By The Voice | Sun 26th January 2014 - 8:17 pm

John Farquhar MunroJohn Farquhar Munro, who represented Ross, Skye and Inverness West in the Scottish Parliament from its creation in 1999 until he stood down in 2011 has died at his home at the age of 79.

He was never shy about speaking his mind and voting against the rest of the Liberal Democrat group when he felt it necessary.

Scottish Leader Willie Rennie, who knew him well from the early days of when he was our Chief of Staff in the Parliament paid a warm tribute to him:

John F was a canny, crafty Highlander who calmly asserted his place in the political world. His roots in crofting and the west Highlands gave the strength and depth to endure the trials of politics.

Delivering the right status for Gaelic, protecting crofting and abolishing the Skye bridge tolls are just a few of his many achievements in public life.

His character and personality attracted friends from across politics.

Our thoughts are with his wife Celia, who was a tower of strength in all he did, and all his friends and family.

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The Voice

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 26th January 2014 - 1:15 pm

Many thanks to the 21,900 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

We should support Lib Dem candidate Maajid Nawaz in the face of death threats (134 comments) by Stephen Tall

Internal investigation in to Lord (Chris) Rennard: new statement issued by Alistair Webster QC (37 comments) by The Voice

Opinion: What does bringing the party into disrepute mean? (110 comments) by David Howarth

Tim Farron’s email to Lib Dem members explaining the suspension of Lord Rennard (62 comments) by The Voice

Suspension of Lord Rennard (29 comments) by The Voice

QC’s report into …

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The Voice

Jane Merrick: “How we can all stop worrying and learn to love the Lib Dems..”

By The Voice | Sun 26th January 2014 - 11:28 am

We haven’t seen many nice things written about Liberal Democrats in the last couple of weeks. However, in today’s Independent, Jane Merrick outlines reasons that we can be cheerful.

First she describes what a Liberal Democrat MP overheard on a train from two people talking about the party:

The MP (who was relieved to be unrecognised by his fellow commuters) listened as these two seasoned observers took apart the Lib Dems. One of the men said: “They’re always in trouble, aren’t they?” “Yeah, there was that bloke with the dog,” the other chipped in. “Who was that one who, you know

…

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The Voice

Lib Dem peer Lord Shipley to work with Heseltine on Local Growth Deals

By The Voice | Sat 25th January 2014 - 12:05 pm

Lib Dem peer Lord (John) Shipley, the former Leader of Newcastle City Council, is to join forces with Lord (Michael) Heseltine in supporting negotiations for Local Growth Deals with Local Enterprise Partnerships. The announcement was made by Nick Clegg – here’s the press release with further detail:

The government has committed to negotiating deals with all 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England, devolving power and accountability to local areas to drive economic growth, and providing opportunities for local business and civic leaders to set out their priorities for growth in their areas.

Under the deals, LEPs will be integral in

…

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The Voice

Syria: Clegg continues to push for UK to take refugee responsibilities seriously

By The Voice | Sat 25th January 2014 - 10:43 am

Syria has once again returned to the headlines this week, with the warring parties in the country’s civil war beginning formal peace talks in Geneva amid allegations that the Assad regime has systematically tortured and executed about 11,000 detainees since the start of the uprising.

Nick Clegg has, The Guardian reported, been making the case for the UK to take its international responsibilities seriously and join a UN scheme to take a limited number of refugees from Syria:

A source close to the deputy PM said: “Nick Clegg has been arguing for weeks in government that Britain should consider

…

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The Voice

Mike Hancock: Portsmouth Lib Dems issue statement

By The Voice | Fri 24th January 2014 - 11:32 pm

We reported on Wednesday that the Lib Dems had suspended Mike Hancock’s party membership following the leaking of a report commissioned by Portsmouth City Council into allegations of sexual assault against the MP who is a also a councillor.

Tonight Portsmouth Liberal Democrats have issued this statement:

We have today been made aware that Liberal Democrat HQ has received a complaint about Mike Hancock and has, pending investigation of that report, suspended Mike Hancock’s membership of the party.

There is an ongoing civil court case on the issues raised in the complaints to Portsmouth City Council and to the Lib

…

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The Voice

LibLink: Giles Goodall – The EU has made strides towards LGBT equality but discrimination and isolation remain common

By The Voice | Thu 23rd January 2014 - 9:56 am

Over on Pink News, Giles Goodall, Lib Dem European Parliamentary candidate for South East England, argues that the EU has played a key role in strengthening LGBT rights, and can continue to have a positive impact on the challenges that remain.

Here’s an excerpt:

On LGBT rights, voters face an important choice in May Equality is a European value, and over the years the EU has become a strong advocate for LGBT rights. We have the EU to thank for Europe-wide laws prohibiting discrimination in the workplace and providing special protection for victims of homophobic and transphobic crime. EU pressure has changed the lives of millions of LGBT people for the better in its newer member states in central and eastern Europe, where homosexuality was still a criminal offence as recently as the 1990s.

Of course that doesn’t mean that all is rosy for LGBT communities in Europe. An EU survey last year found that fear, isolation and discrimination are still all too common. Two out of three LGBT people reported hiding their sexuality when they were at school (68% in the UK), while 60% were bullied or called names. 26% of people said they had been attacked or threatened with violence in the past five years. In the UK, the figure was even higher, at 31%.

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The Voice

QC’s report into allegations against Mike Hancock MP made public

By The Voice | Wed 22nd January 2014 - 5:04 pm

We’ve reported before on the allegations of sexual assault against Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock – Mike temporarily stood down from the Lib Dem whip last June and denies any wrong-doing. He has continued to serve as a Lib Dem councillor in Portsmouth and is the city’s cabinet member for planning, regeneration and economic redevelopment.

Last night, Lib Dem-run Portsmouth City Council voted not to publish the report – we understand on the advice of the Council’s solicitor – commissioned by the Council to investigate whether Mike Hancock had breached its code of conduct. In November, the Council’s standards …

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The Voice

Two Conservative Councillors join the Liberal Democrats in Winchester

By The Voice | Wed 22nd January 2014 - 12:54 pm

Good news from Winchester Liberal Democrats:

Councillors Jamie Scott and Derek Green, both representing St Luke ward on Winchester City Council, resigned from the Conservatives after deciding they could do a better job for their residents as part of the strong local Liberal Democrat team.

Winchester’s prospective Liberal Democrat MP, Jackie Porter said “Jamie and Derek are fantastic additions to the Liberal Democrat team. They both live in the heart of their community. Like me, they want to improve the lives of local people by supporting local jobs and giving everyone a fair chance in life.”

This means that the Conservatives have …

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The Voice

One further member of the Liberal Democrat Voice Roll of Honour

By The Voice | Tue 21st January 2014 - 3:35 pm

Earlier this month Lib Dem Voice ran a series of posts under the heading ‘Liberal Democrat Voice Roll of Honour 2013’ (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

One submission reached us too late to be included, but given that we all need to be cheered up today, we decided to share it with you.

Harold Woodman

For delivering in the Wells constituency come rain or shine. He delivers many thousands of leaflets / publications each year.

One special task that he undertakes is that …

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The Voice

Tim Farron’s email to Lib Dem members explaining the suspension of Lord Rennard

By The Voice | Mon 20th January 2014 - 4:35 pm

The following message from Lib Dem party president Tim Farron has just been emailed to members:

It has been a difficult few days for the party. Many of you have contacted me directly to express your anger and disappointment at Lord Rennard’s refusal to apologise following the recommendations of the investigation into his behaviour. As President, I wanted you to hear from me.

Along with Nick Clegg, I made my view absolutely clear – Lord Rennard’s refusal to apologise is unacceptable. Most importantly, Lord Rennard is actively rejecting calls to apologise from party members and is refusing to comply with a formal

…

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The Voice

Statement by Lord Rennard on his suspension by the party

By The Voice | Mon 20th January 2014 - 3:11 pm

Lord Rennard has issued the following statement in response to the news that he has been suspended from the party:

It is impossible to describe how enormously distressed I am by this situation and I am certainly too ill to attend the House of Lords today.

In the interests of my party and all concerned, I will now release a statement that I have prepared:

In 2009, I was the subject of a smear campaign in relation to House of Lords allowances. The timing of this campaign was clearly chosen as it was in the middle of major election campaigns, for

…

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The Voice

Suspension of Lord Rennard

By The Voice | Mon 20th January 2014 - 2:29 pm

The Liberal Democrats have just issued this statement:

Nick Clegg made clear last week, and again this morning, that it would be inappropriate for Lord Rennard to resume the Liberal Democrat whip unless he apologises. Lord Rennard has refused to do so.

The Regional Parties Committee, which oversees disciplinary procedures under the English Party membership rules, today decided to suspend Lord Rennard’s membership of the party pending a disciplinary procedure. As such, he cannot return to the Liberal Democrat group in the House of Lords.

Lord Rennard will now be investigated for bringing the party into disrepute on the grounds of his failure

…

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The Voice

The Rennard case: what Caron Lindsay and Stephen Tall have said about it

By The Voice | Mon 20th January 2014 - 2:23 pm

Lib Dem Voice’s co-editors, Stephen Tall and Caron Lindsay, have both written on their own blogs about the fall-out from the independent investigation into the allegations against Lord (Chris) Rennard.

Stephen wrote on Friday summarising the background to the mess the party finds itself in here: Q&A on the allegations against Lord Rennard. (My conclusion: it’s a mess.)

And on Sunday Caron posed the question, How is the party going to get through this?

There is an obvious path to peace.

It’s not too late for Chris Rennard to apologise, and to do it well. I really think that he should

…

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The Voice

Clegg: “Basic decency” that Rennard should apologise for distress caused

By The Voice | Mon 20th January 2014 - 9:00 am

Nick Clegg has been doing a round of media interviews this morning – the original purpose was to unveil the Coalition’s mental health strategy, but they’ve been overshadowed by the continuing row over the allegations of sexual impropriety against Lord (Chris) Rennard.

Lord Rennard has decided not to issue an apology to the women who have made complaints against him for any distress caused as recommended by Alistair Webster’s independent report. The QC issued a further statement on Sunday explaining he thought it would be no more than “common manners” for an apology to be offered.

Here’s what …

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The Voice

Internal investigation into Lord (Chris) Rennard: new statement issued by Alistair Webster QC

By The Voice | Sun 19th January 2014 - 10:30 am

On Wednesday, Alistair Webster, the QC appointed by the party to examine the evidence in the disciplinary case being considered against Lord (Chris) Rennard, released this statement explaining his investigation.

A further statement has just been released today:

“In view of the extensive comment which has followed my statement, and in view of some of the statements made by those directly concerned, I wish to make the following quite clear:

“1. My report to the RPC has not been provided to any other party for one reason only: the Committee had unequivocal advice from independent solicitors that to publish it without

…

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The Voice

New Statement from Liberal Democrat Women

By The Voice | Sat 18th January 2014 - 9:20 pm

LDW believe the entire process from the word go has been mishandled. As a result we have been left with an unsatisfactory position which has not been fair to anyone involved.

We, have been talking to Senior Members of the Party about how LDW can contribute to resolving this distressing situation. Our involvement has been welcomed and we have been working behind the scenes to help in anyway we can. We are speaking to the Leader’s Office to arrange a meeting with Nick Clegg as soon as possible.

LDW is aware that the women who made the allegations against Lord Rennard have …

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The Voice

Nick Clegg: Inappropriate for Lord Rennard to rejoin Lib Dem Lords if he does not apologise

By The Voice | Fri 17th January 2014 - 7:45 pm

A statement released tonight by a Liberal Democrat spokesperson

Nick Clegg is of the view that as long as Lord Rennard refuses the very reasonable request from Alistair Webster QC to apologise that it is inappropriate for him to rejoin the Liberal Democrat group in the House of Lords. Nick has communicated this to the Chief Whip and Leader of the House of Lords group.

In addition, a growing number of party members have come forward to make representations to the party that Lord Rennard’s refusal to apologise in itself brings the party into disrepute.

The Lords Chief Whip and Leader of the

…

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The Voice

Coalition minister calls for minimum wage increase (that’s Vince, 4 months ago, in case you were wondering)

By The Voice | Fri 17th January 2014 - 3:39 pm

Here’s the Lib Dems’ Vince Cable on 14 September 2013:

vince min wage - sept 2013

And here’s the Tories’ George Osborne – four months later – on 10 January 2014:

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The Voice

Statement from Liberal Democrat Women

By The Voice | Wed 15th January 2014 - 2:55 pm

Liberal Democrat Women is whole heartedly against sexual harassment and unwanted indecent or sexually inappropriate advances of any kind.  This includes within the workplace and throughout our Party at every level.

We believe strongly that positions of power should never be abused.

We need to trust that there was a thorough and impartial investigation. Whilst our Party has made mistakes in the past we need to look to the future and ensure that the culture in the Party continues to change following the suite of measures implemented following the Morrissey Review and those measures are remain under constant review.

We expect an apology from Lord …

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The Voice

Statement by Lord Rennard

By The Voice | Wed 15th January 2014 - 1:54 pm

I am pleased that this brings to an end all investigations concerning allegations made against me on Channel 4 News last February.

The Metropolitan Police also investigated the allegations thoroughly and over several months and found that there was no case to proceed.

My wife Ann and I are very grateful to our families and many friends both inside and outside the Liberal Democrats who have shown unwavering support throughout.

We are particularly grateful to Alex Carlile QC, who helped us to ensure that justice was eventually done, and to Richard Cannon of Janes Solicitors who guided us through the police processes.I now …

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The Voice

Internal investigation into allegations against Lord Rennard

By The Voice | Wed 15th January 2014 - 1:36 pm

Statement of Alistair Webster QC’s conclusions
Following allegations made in a Channel 4 documentary early in 2013 I was appointed under Rule 7.6 of the English Party’s membership rules to investigate and determine whether or not it was appropriate to charge Lord Rennard with acting in a way that had brought the party into disrepute. The charge, if proved, might warrant his expulsion from the Liberal Democrats or other sanction under the Party’s rules.

Let me be clear from the outset that the evidence suggests that Lord Rennard’s behaviour has caused distress to a number of women, so much so that they came forward several years after the events in question.

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The Voice

Michael Moore appointed as EU Business Adviser to Nick Clegg

By The Voice | Wed 15th January 2014 - 9:03 am

Nick Clegg has asked former Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore to be his Adviser on European business affairs. The unpaid role will see Michael working with businesses across the UK to understand the key trade, investment and regulatory issue affecting their dealings in the European Union.

He will carry out a review of the issues and report to Nick Clegg by the Summer.

Michael Moore said:

Britain’s engagement with the rest of Europe is fundamental to our future economic well-being. At this crucial moment in the development of the UK’s relationship with the EU, I am delighted to take on this

…

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The Voice

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 12th January 2014 - 10:45 am

Many thanks to the 14,800  visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

What’s with the Nick Clegg/Ed Balls love in? (18 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Opinion: Foodbanks: Are there more hungry people than a decade ago? (25 comments) by Iain Roberts

Don Foster MP to stand down in 2015 (12 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Opinion: The Immigration Trap (76 comments) by David Allen

Should MPs be allowed to take their babies into the voting lobby? (26 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Lorely Burt to stand for Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader (19 comments) by The …

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat Voice Roll of Honour 2013 – Part 6

By The Voice | Sat 11th January 2014 - 8:55 am

We wanted to honour those Liberal Democrats that our readers felt were true stars of 2013. Over the past few days, we have sought out  nominations and now have a rather impressive list, of which this is the final part, that we’ve been publishing in instalments over the past week. Here is the final  part. Their names come with the comments made about the contribution they have made. Some are parliamentarians, some are councillors, most are grassroots activists. Let’s celebrate them and the many others who are fighting for Liberal Democrat values and victory. These are our Liberal Democrat stars of 2013.

You can read part 1 here, part 2 here part 3 here,  part 4 here and part 5 here.

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat Voice Roll of Honour 2013 – Part 5

By The Voice | Fri 10th January 2014 - 2:30 pm

We wanted to honour those Liberal Democrats that our readers felt were true stars of 2013. We sought out  nominations and now have a rather impressive list that we’ve been publishing in instalments during this week. Here is the penultimate part. Their names come with the comments made about the contribution they have made. Some are parliamentarians, some are councillors, most are grassroots activists. Let’s celebrate them and the many others who are fighting for Liberal Democrat values and victory. These are our Liberal Democrat stars of 2013.

You can read part 1 here, part 2 here part 3 here and part 4 here.

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat Voice Roll of Honour 2013 – Part 4

By The Voice | Thu 9th January 2014 - 2:27 pm

We wanted to honour those Liberal Democrats that our readers felt were true stars of 2013. We sought out  nominations and  have a rather impressive list that we’ve been publishing in instalments during this week. Here is the fourth part. Their names come with the comments made about the contribution they have made. Some are parliamentarians, some are councillors, most are grassroots activists. Let’s celebrate them and the many others who are fighting for Liberal Democrat values and victory. These are our Liberal Democrat stars of 2013.

You can read part 1 here, part 2 here and part 3 here.

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat Voice Roll of Honour 2013 – Part 3

By The Voice | Wed 8th January 2014 - 2:24 pm

We wanted to honour those Liberal Democrats that our readers felt were true stars of 2013. We sought out  nominations and now have a rather impressive list that we’ve been  publishing in instalments during this week. Here is the third part. Their names come with the comments made about the contribution they have made. Some are parliamentarians, some are councillors, most are grassroots activists. Let’s celebrate them and the many others who are fighting for Liberal Democrat values and victory. These are our Liberal Democrat stars of 2013.

You can read part 1 here, and Part 2 here.

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The Voice

+++ Lorely Burt to stand for Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader

By The Voice | Tue 7th January 2014 - 5:59 pm

lorely-outside-parliament-1Solihull MP Lorely Burt has announced that she is to stand for the Deputy Leadership of the Liberal Democrats. The post became vacant when previous incumbent Simon Hughes became a Minister last month.

Lorely has secured the nominations of 24 of the required 29 MPs.

Lorely has a background in business and is described as having broken many glass ceilings during her career, including being the first women to chair the Liberal Democrats’ Parliamentary Party.

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