Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

How would you use £600? Last night’s Liberal Democrat Party Election Broadcast

By The Voice | Wed 17th April 2013 - 7:29 am

Last night’s Party Election Broadcast by the Liberal Democrats concentrated on the significant raising of the tax threshold that comes in this month. The “stronger economy in a fairer society enabling everyone to get on in life” mantra was repeated heavily. The work of local Liberal Democrat councillors in creating jobs and protecting services was also mentioned.

The Broadcast had earlier been trailed to members in an email from Elizabeth Jewkes, the party member who had proposed its inclusion in the manifesto. She said:

Just a few years ago, in 2009, I attended our conference in Bournemouth as an ordinary party member

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 9 Comments
The Voice

Simon Hughes says that Lords reform is still on the Liberal Democrat agenda

By The Voice | Mon 15th April 2013 - 2:25 pm

The Financial Times website carries an article suggesting that senior Liberal Democrats are preparing to make the issue of Lords reform a deal breaker in any future coalition negotiations. It quotes Deputy Leader Simon Hughes as saying:

If the time did come for more coalition negotiations, the experience of coalition the first time will be clearly taken on board when we think through what we would do a second time. The constitutional reform agenda and particularly reform of the Lords would have to be a part of the package.

The article goes on to say that sources close to Nick Clegg …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 15 Comments
The Voice

What’s on at Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference this weekend?

By The Voice | Mon 15th April 2013 - 9:55 am

A public service announcement from the Welsh Liberal Democrats follows…

With record numbers of delegates attending and five Lib Dem Government Ministers taking part, the Welsh Liberal Democrat conference taking place this weekend already looks as if it’s going to be a memorable one.

Highlights on the agenda include:

  • Keynote speeches – Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be opening Conference, with speeches later on in the weekend also come from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander and Welsh Liberal Democrat party Leader Kirsty Williams.
  • Gala dinner –Vince Cable MP will be guest speaker at the Conference Dinner. Unsurprisingly, tickets for this

…

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The Voice

Chris Davies MEP reveals how Strasbourg isn’t always good for your health

By The Voice | Sun 14th April 2013 - 1:15 pm

chris daviesChris Davies reveals one of the unexpected problems of the European Parliament shuttling between Brussels and Strasbourg at great expense: bed bugs. Here’s an excerpt from his latest notes:

I went to the medical centre in the European Parliament in Brussels. “I’ve had these itchy spots on my arms and legs for 6 weeks or so,” I told the doctor. “They started off like insect bites but they won’t go away.” She looked at them and asked if any new spots had appeared since the Parliament was

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
The Voice

LibLink: Michael Moore – Scotland is stronger within the United Kingdom

By The Voice | Wed 10th April 2013 - 4:31 pm

michael-moore-mp-secretary-of-state-for-scotlandMichael Moore has been sharing his thoughts on the referendum on the US version of Huffington Post.  He writes:

Scotland is facing an historic decision in 2014: whether to remain as part of the United Kingdom or to leave and go it alone. Scotland’s nationalist First Minister Alex Salmond is in America this week and will seek to persuade Americans that Scots want independence, that it is our destiny and that U.S. relations with Scotland will only improve should it happen. On all counts, I believe that this analysis is flawed.

…

With

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
The Voice

Nick Clegg launches local election campaign

By The Voice | Tue 9th April 2013 - 12:32 pm

Nick-CleggThe launch of our local election campaign yesterday was rather overshadowed by some other news.

Here is an extract from Nick Clegg’s speech:

Next month, in wards across the country, people will be confronted with the same choice. Despite all their stated differences, a vote for Labour or the Tories will be a vote for the same thing.

Their record in local government shows that, even when millions of families are feeling the pinch, they’ll both squander taxpayers’ money on waste, inefficiency and their own vanity projects.

A vote for the Liberal Democrats, on

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 13 Comments
The Voice

Liberal Democrats pay tribute to Lady Thatcher

By The Voice | Mon 8th April 2013 - 4:22 pm

Several senior Liberal Democrats have already shared their thoughts on the passing of Lady Thatcher. We’ll collate further comments on this page as they come in.

Nick Clegg, currently on a visit to Cornwall, had this to say:

Margaret Thatcher was one of the defining figures in modern British politics. Whatever side of the political debate you stand on, no one can deny that as prime minister she left a unique and lasting imprint on the country she served. She may have divided opinion during her time in politics but everyone will be united today in

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Posted in News | Tagged | 31 Comments
The Voice

RIP Margaret Thatcher

By The Voice | Mon 8th April 2013 - 1:35 pm

margaret-thatcherThe BBC and other outlets are reporting that Margaret Thatcher has died following a stroke. She was Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister and one who changed the political landscape. While we in the Liberal Democrats often have disagreed with her, there is much to reflect on in her lasting legacy.

Our thoughts are with Lady Thatcher’s friends and family at this time. Comments are open below for tributes only, please.

Posted in News | Tagged and | 42 Comments
The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #320

By The Voice | Sun 7th April 2013 - 7:30 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 320th 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 (31 March – 6 April, 2013), 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 | 1 Comment
The Voice

Greg Mulholland to propose “complete separation of state marriage and religious weddings”

By The Voice | Sun 7th April 2013 - 4:00 pm

Greg MulhollandLib Dem MP Greg Mulholland was one of seven Lib Dem MPs to abstain from the vote on same-sex marriage in February. He explained his reasons for doing so here:

I do agree unequivocally that all adults must be treated equally in terms of legal recognition of their relationship and the rights that they convey; the question is how best to deliver that at the same time as protecting freedom of conscience. These are two important rights and must both be delivered simultaneously. The problem is that as currently drafted, the Marriage Bill delivers neither of these. It is a confused and flawed piece of legislation that does not actually deliver equality as it proposes different definitions of marriage for heterosexual and same sex couples; nor does it sufficiently protect freedom of conscience for people with religious and other differing views of marriage. This is why I was unable to support the Bill at second reading, however nor did I want to vote against it or what would be misinterpreted as my being anti equal legal rights, which I am very clearly not.

Greg now has a proposal, though it’s far-reaching legislative changes may not be well-received at Westminster:

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 18 Comments
The Voice

LibLink: Sarah Teather – Grubby Osborne’s crude opportunism is capitalising on fear

By The Voice | Sun 7th April 2013 - 12:35 pm

teather_cleggFormer Lib Dem children’s minister Sarah Teather unleashes something of a broadside not just against the Coalition, but against all three political parties for their policies on the poorest in society, both benefit claimants and also immigrants and asylum-seekers:

There is nothing like insecurity to bring out the temptation to scapegoat. Instead of offering a bit of statesmanlike leadership, Conservative ministers have engaged repeatedly in crude opportunism, capitalising on fear. And so the battle is drawn: good against evil. Those without benefits against those who claim. Strivers against shirkers. The deserving against

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged | 11 Comments
The Voice

Secret Lib Dem-UKIP talks revealed

By The Voice | Mon 1st April 2013 - 10:45 am

farageEven before the Eastleigh result was announced it had become clear that strong Liberal Democrat and UKIP campaigning has the potential to crush Conservative support from both sides. Many Conservative seats throughout England could fall to one party or the other given the right co-ordination of UKIP and Liberal Democrat strategy. Even where the Liberal Democrats could not win, the Conservatives could be sufficiently weakened to hand a seat to UKIP, and vice versa.

While of course UKIP and the Liberal Democrats have big policy differences, most notably on Europe, if there …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 19 Comments
The Voice

LibLink: Danny Alexander – Bedroom blockers and tax dodgers will pay

By The Voice | Sun 31st March 2013 - 4:45 pm

Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander has published a robust defence of the Coalition’s welfare reforms in The Sun on Sunday. Here’s how it starts:

Last week a young woman came to talk to me about her housing situation. Her frustration was obvious. She was working hard in a low-paid job and was stuck in an overcrowded home with a young family and desperately needed to move to a bigger home. She couldn’t understand why she had to wait so long to get a home that was the right size for her and her family. It’s a story

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged , , , , and | 50 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 29 March 2013

By The Voice | Fri 29th March 2013 - 10:15 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock (ahem, ish). Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

  1. Nick Clegg’s illiberal hat-trick: now immigration joins ‘secret courts’ and media regulation on the pyre (134) by Stephen Tall
  2. Boris has a right Mair in live BBC interview (18) by Stephen Tall
  3. Opinion: Taking minimum wage work out of tax would deliver the Living Wage (15) by Adam Corlett
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The Voice

Mike Hancock MP under investigation by Portsmouth City Council

By The Voice | Wed 27th March 2013 - 6:15 pm

The BBC reports that Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth South, also a Councillor on the City’s Council, is being investigated for a breach of the Council’s Code of Conduct.

The Council’s lawyer is quoted as saying:

A sub-committee of Portsmouth City Council today decided to refer a complaint against councillor Mike Hancock for investigation.

I will now appoint an independent lawyer to carry out an investigation.

If a breach is proved against a councillor, they can be censured for their conduct.

A spokesman for Mike Hancock said:

The allegations have previously been investigated by the police but no further action was taken.”

Mike Hancock will co-operate

…

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Posted in News | 1 Comment
The Voice

Make sure your nomination is not invalid

By The Voice | Tue 26th March 2013 - 4:15 pm

Are you standing in the local elections in May?

If so, you need to be aware of a change in the guidance about nominations and the new nomination form. If you do not return the form correctly you may be disqualified.

The regulation is:

a candidate must return the entire consent to nomination form which includes copies of the relevant legislation by the close of nominations for their nomination to be valid

So when you return your nomination form you must send back the 5 pages of legislation, as well as the consent form.

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Posted in Election law and News | Tagged | Leave a comment
The Voice

LDV Caption Competition: Where we plough, we win

By The Voice | Sat 23rd March 2013 - 12:52 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader…
teamcleggsnow
(Photo by Ian Turgoose)

An action day this morning in Sheffield Hallam became an impromptu canvassing and snow clearing session. We know what Nick was saying while this photo was being taken, but what do you think could have been said that would have been even wittier?

And the winner of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, “Knowing Me” Nick Clegg, “Knowing You” Steve Coogan Edition.

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Posted in Caption Comp | Tagged , and | 12 Comments
The Voice

Nick Clegg’s statement to the Commons on press regulation

By The Voice | Tue 19th March 2013 - 7:57 am

clegg on levesonLast night we published Nick Clegg’s email to supporters setting out his views on press regulation. Here’s the text of his full statement in the Commons yesterday:

Mr Speaker, when Lord Justice Leveson published his recommendations, the Liberal Democrats supported them. I agreed with his basic model of a new, independent self-regulatory body for the press…
With a new recognition body authorised to check, periodically, that the system is working properly.

Given the importance of the relationships between politicians, the public and the press… I said at the outset

…

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged and | 1 Comment
The Voice

Nick Clegg writes… Press regulation: a liberal solution

By The Voice | Mon 18th March 2013 - 9:35 pm

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has written to party supporters tonight…

Having been in face to face negotiations till nearly midnight last night – followed by calls, texts and emails for many hours afterwards – I am delighted to have stood up this afternoon in the House of Commons to welcome the cross-party agreement on implementing the Leveson Report. It wasn’t easy but after a lot of hard work – led on our side by the tireless Jim Wallace, we have got there.

The Leveson Inquiry was established after public revulsion at the phone hacking scandal. So, when Lord Justice Leveson published

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 22 Comments
The Voice

Royal Charter deal struck on press self-regulation

By The Voice | Mon 18th March 2013 - 4:55 pm

The BBC reports:

A deal has been struck between the three main political parties on measures to regulate the press in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal. An independent regulator will be set up by royal charter, but views vary over whether it would be underpinned by law. Labour leader Ed Miliband and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said this would be the case, but the prime minister denied it. …

Mr Clegg said he had worked “flat out” to get the deal, and was “delighted” with the cross-party agreement.

“We’ve secured the cherished principle of freedom of the press, which

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Posted in News | 3 Comments
The Voice

Hoggart on Webb: “He understands it so you don’t have to! Thank heavens!”

By The Voice | Sun 17th March 2013 - 4:55 pm

steve webbThe Guardian’s Simon Hoggart has been collecting examples of impenetrable jargon. This week, Lib Dem pensions minister Steve Webb features:

Thanks for the many examples of jargon you’ve sent in, and we’ll have a proper look at it all soon. In the meantime, there are examples which are actually quite helpful.

Take work and pensions, which is without a doubt the most difficult of all government departments. Yet the Liberal Democrat minister Steve Webb actually seems to know exactly what he is talking about. He may be alone. See if you

…

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Posted in Humour | Tagged and | 5 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 15 March 2013

By The Voice | Fri 15th March 2013 - 5:45 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

  1. Jo Shaw quits Lib Dems in protest at leadership’s pro-secret courts position (25) by Stephen Tall
  2. Losing one of our best….an appreciation of Jo Shaw (91) by Caron Lindsay
  3. Vince Cable on Labour’s opposition day debate on Mansion tax (62) by Helen Duffett
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The Voice

Scottish Liberal Democrats launch new Facebook page

By The Voice | Thu 14th March 2013 - 3:55 pm

Ahead of Scottish Conference in Dundee this weekend, Scottish Liberal Democrats have launched a new Facebook page for news, views, infographics and pictures about the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Their picture of today is a head shot of leader Willie Rennie with all the nice things that journalists keep saying about him.

Willie's press compliments

 

The Conference has its fair share of controversy – debates on secret courts, snaring and smacking over the next three days.

There will be keynote speeches from Vince Cable, Nick Clegg, Jo Swinson, Michael Moore and Malcolm Bruce as well as …

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The Voice

Nick Clegg on Leveson: “I want a free and fair press”

By The Voice | Thu 14th March 2013 - 3:00 pm

cameron clegg miliband 2Nick Clegg has emailed Lib Dem members today to set out his view on David Cameron’s decision to pull the plug on cross-party talks seeking to find an agreed way forward on the Leveson Report’s recommendations for self-regulation of the press underpinned by statute:

As you may have seen this morning the Prime Minister has decided to call off the cross-party talks on implementing the Leveson proposals on press regulation.

Throughout the talks I have sought to defend a free press while making sure ordinary people can be protected

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
The Voice

LDVideo: Lib Dem spring conference round-up (2)

By The Voice | Mon 11th March 2013 - 12:45 pm

Missed the Lib Dems’ spring conference this weekend? Here are three clips to help you catch-up, or re-live, some of what happened… (You can see part 1 of our round-up here.)

Nick Clegg criticises Theresa May’s Human Rights Convention comments

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The Voice

Caron Lindsay previews Nick Clegg’s speech on Radio 5 Live

By The Voice | Mon 11th March 2013 - 8:08 am

Yesterday morning, at a ridiculously early hour, as some Conference goers were only just going to bed, Lib Dem Voice Co-Editor Caron Lindsay spoke to Radio 5 Live about Conference in general and Nick Clegg’s speech in particular. You can judge for yourself how accurate her predictions were by listening here from about 8 minutes in.

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The Voice

LDVideo: Lib Dem spring conference round-up (1)

By The Voice | Mon 11th March 2013 - 8:05 am

Missed the Lib Dems’ spring conference this weekend? Here are three clips to help you catch-up, or re-live, some of what happened…

“Where we work we win” says Nick Clegg

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Posted in Conference and YouTube | Tagged , , and | 2 Comments
The Voice

Text of Nick Clegg’s speech to the Lib Dems’ spring party conference

By The Voice | Sun 10th March 2013 - 12:40 pm

Here’s the text of Nick Clegg’s speech to the Lib Dems’ spring conference in Brighton today:

Eastleigh. Conference, I have never seen anything like it. Thousands and thousands of activists flooding in from every part of the UK. Young people arriving in their droves. Hitting the pavements, the phones, Facebook, Twitter, email – finding any and every way to drive our message home. I want to thank you all – you were just brilliant.

They said we’d never win it. The same critics who try to write us off time and time again. But, you know what? The naysayers can tear

…

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Posted in Conference and News | Tagged and | 15 Comments
The Voice

Paddy: “You’ve heard the saying it’s not the winning that matters, it’s the taking part. That’s b*****ks.”

By The Voice | Sat 9th March 2013 - 11:00 am

Paddy Ashdown video screenshotPaddy Ashdown, Chair of the Liberal Democrat General Election Campaign, is about to speak to the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference. Here’s what he’ll say:

You know, making this speech today gives me a strong sense of déjà vu. I gave a speech at the Conference here in Brighton, right after the last time we won a by election in Eastleigh!

Some things haven’t changed. Orange diamonds. Fighting against the odds, Simon Hughes. But one big thing has changed. We were a Party of Opposition then. We’re a party

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Posted in Conference | Tagged , and | 22 Comments
The Voice

Jo Swinson talks directly to Lib Dem members about her role in the Chris Rennard allegations

By The Voice | Sat 9th March 2013 - 10:45 am

jo swinson Alex Folkes/Fishnik PhotographyLast night, Danny Alexander wrote this post for LibDemVoice explaining his role in the allegations concerning Lord Rennard, confirming he spoke directly to the party’s then chief executive to make clear any future conduct would have consequences: “These were not easy conversations, nor should they have been.”

Jo Swinson, whose only previous public statement on the issue was posted here on LibDemVoice, took to the stage at last night’s party conference rally to talk directly to members about how she’d handled the allegations which were …

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Posted in Conference | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
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