Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

LibLink: Tim Farron – A party of both competence and compassion is in a unique position in British politics

By The Voice | Sun 6th January 2013 - 12:15 pm

Tim Farron speaking - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsIn today’s Observer, party president Tim Farron begins the year in chipper mood, pointing out that the political pundits are quick to predict the deaths of political parties, including the Lib Dems — yet we’ve endured it all to become now a party of government:

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher’s landslide, after which serious political commentators, including those writing for the Observer, speculated that Labour could never win again.

In March, we will observe the 10th anniversary of

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged | 14 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 4 January 2013

By The Voice | Fri 4th January 2013 - 5:00 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. NEW POLL: Who is your Liberal Voice of the Year? (25 comments) by Stephen Tall
  2. So you think Ukip are the new third party? Let’s have a look at the data… (75 comments) by Stephen Tall
  3. Which Lib Dem minister had the worst year? Here’s what party members think… (9 comments) by Stephen Tall
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The Voice

LibLink… Nick Clegg: Labour need to tell us what they would cut

By The Voice | Wed 2nd January 2013 - 2:41 pm

Nick Clegg has issued a challenge to Labour in today’s Times. Rather than, he says, oppose every single cut the Coalition has made, Labour should be saying what they would cut to pay for their policy priorities. If Labour want benefits to rise at the rate of inflation, then they need to spell out exactly how they would pay for it.

Firstly, he talks about what the Coalition has achieved for economic growth, and how it has been pragmatic on cutting the deficit, changing its plans as the global economic circumstances changed:

Here in the UK we have now paid off around

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged , , , and | 90 Comments
The Voice

The 7 most-read posts of 2012

By The Voice | Mon 31st December 2012 - 5:55 pm

As 2012 draws to a close, here are the 7 most-read posts published on Lib Dem Voice this year. Thank you to the hundreds of thousands of readers who’ve joined us in the last 12 months; we look forward to seeing you again next year.

libdemvoice happy 2013 graphic

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The Voice

Nick Clegg’s New Year’s resolutions 2013

By The Voice | Fri 28th December 2012 - 3:00 pm

Here is Nick’s New Year message:

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The Voice

LibLink: Richard Reeves – Have yourself a merry liberal Christmas

By The Voice | Fri 28th December 2012 - 11:00 am

Over at the CentreForum blog, the liberal think-tank’s associate director, Richard Reeves, takes a look at the “communitarian dream” that is Christmas through a liberal lens:

Christmas combines in one package a number of elements that make us bristle. Religion, especially of an organised variety. Tradition for the sake of itself. The insanity of present buying. And semi-tyrannical familial expectations. … One liberal reaction to all this is to simply grin and bear it. … But bristling and bearing won’t really do. Liberal hostility to faith, family, community and tradition is well founded; they can all inhibit individual freedom. But the

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 5 Comments
The Voice

Happy Christmas!

By The Voice | Tue 25th December 2012 - 8:00 am

christmas

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The Voice

Christmas confessions from the Lib Dem Voice team

By The Voice | Mon 24th December 2012 - 4:53 pm

Confession - Some rights reserved by Lori GreigAs the Christmas sherry loosens us all up a bit, here are some confessions from the Liberal Democrat Voice team.

To turn it into a bit of a quiz, no names appear against each confession. So you’ll have to guess who the confessor is in each instance. By all means use the comments field below to have a stab at the identity of the owner of each revelation.

To make it a bit more interesting, there is an unspecified number of

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The Voice

The political year reviewed by Stephen Tall, Tim Montgomerie and Hopi Sen

By The Voice | Mon 24th December 2012 - 3:53 pm

LibDemVoice co-editor Stephen Tall guested alongside ConservativeHome‘s Tim Montgomerie and Labour blogger Hopi Sen on BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour last night, reviewing the political year with presenter Carolyn Quinn through the rear-view mirror. Issues dissected in the 20-minute discussion included Andrew ‘Gate-gate’ Mitchell, Coalition differentiation, Nick Clegg’s future, welfare reforms and secret courts. You can listen here:

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The Voice

A Christmas Carol, as sketched by Bodz. All 5 Staves Omnibus.

By The Voice | Mon 24th December 2012 - 8:45 am

Over the past five days, LibDemVoice has been delighted to bring you a contemporary updating of Charles Dickens’ classic story, A Christmas Carol, penned for us by Andy Boddington.

LDV scrooge story

If you missed any, or simply want to sit back in a comfy chair with a glass of mulled wine and enjoy the whole saga again from start to finish, here are all five staves of the story as sketched by Bodz. God bless them, every one…

Stave One: Mensch’s Ghost;

Stave Two: The Ghost of …

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The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 21 December 2012

By The Voice | Fri 21st December 2012 - 5:00 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. A Christmas Carol. Stave One: Mensch’s Ghost (5 comments) by Andy Boddington
  2. Y’know those stories about the death of the Lib Dems? Turns out, they might’ve been exaggerated… (57 comments) by Stephen Tall
  3. Did you know the Lib Dems have lost half a million voters to Ukip? Here’s what I think it means. (48 comments) by Stephen Tall
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The Voice

A Christmas message from the President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe

By The Voice | Fri 21st December 2012 - 9:48 am

It is that time of year when Christmas messages start appearing, and here at Liberal Democrat Voice, we are no exception. And so, for your delight, here is a message from Sir Graham Watson, Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West, and President of ALDE…

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged and | 11 Comments
The Voice

LibLink: Richard Reeves on stepping away from the Tories

By The Voice | Mon 17th December 2012 - 5:47 pm

David-Cameron-and-Nick-CleggOn Comments is Free, Richard Reeves argues that, in 2013, Nick Clegg needs to establish a more assertive identity and win voters over for bold, new reasons:

The coalition will be a play in two acts. Act one had the parties acting largely in tandem – reforming public services, reversing Labour’s

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The Voice

Nick Clegg’s speech: Governing Britain from the centre ground: building a stronger economy in a fairer society

By The Voice | Mon 17th December 2012 - 11:25 am

Nick Clegg at rallyNick Clegg gave a keynote speech at the Royal Commonwealth Society on the eve of his 5th anniversary of his election as Liberal Democrat leader. This is what he had to say:

I don’t suppose it’s exactly controversial to suggest that I and my party have changed over that period. Today I will argue that we’ve changed for the better.
Because my purpose here today is to explain, clearly and simply, what the Liberal Democrats offer the people of
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The Voice

LibLink: Nick Clegg declares the ‘war on drugs’ lost

By The Voice | Fri 14th December 2012 - 12:51 pm

It’s unlikely that many of our readers also take The Sun, but it’s probably equally unlikely that a Liberal Democrat would ever give an interview to it in which they spoke so freely about drug policy.

So, today’s headline in the Sun, “Nick Clegg: time to re-think drugs” will be an unexpected one, made more so by the rather supportive polling carried out by YouGov for it and the general tenor of the piece.

Here’s a snippet from the article;

If you

…

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Posted in LibLink and News | Tagged and | 8 Comments
The Voice

In other news…

By The Voice | Sun 9th December 2012 - 6:30 pm

Simon HughesLiberal Democrat Simon Hughes faces probe over donation (BBC News)

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is to consider whether the MP breached rules by failing to fully declare a £10,000 donation received by his local party in south London. Mr Hughes’s spokesman said the money, from a scrap metal firm, was registered with the Electoral Commission. There is no suggestion that Mr Hughes benefited personally from the donation.

Lib Dem leader stands down (ThisIsBristol)

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The Voice

Councillors’ home attacked and death threats – all because of a flag

By The Voice | Sat 8th December 2012 - 11:35 am

ITV reports:

Two Alliance councillors in Bangor, Northern Ireland have spoken of their shock after their front window was smashed following a controversial vote on future of the Union flag at Belfast City Council.

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Posted in News | 47 Comments
The Voice

Rather better day at Black Rock… and Vale of White Horse, Brentwood, Sutton…

By The Voice | Fri 7th December 2012 - 10:43 am

We keep being told that, where we work, we can win. And it’s still true, no matter how gloomy the opinion polls are, as this week’s by-election results demonstrate.

The Liberal Democrats have gained two seats from the Conservatives in a stunning by-election win in Oxford West & Abingdon constituency. Elizabeth Miles and Val Shaw won on a 17% swing from the Tories in Sunningwell & Wootton ward, and their double victory reduced the Conservative majority on the Vale of White Horse District Council to just three.

Speaking after …

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Posted in Local government and News | Tagged , , and | 12 Comments
The Voice

Danny Alexander: “We are delivering on our number one election pledge”

By The Voice | Wed 5th December 2012 - 3:12 pm

Danny Alexander has just emailed Liberal Democrat members about the Autumn Statement, emphasising that the Liberal Democrats have delivered on their key election pledge, to raise the tax threshold to £10,000. From next April, workers will be able to keep the first £9440 they earn, meaning that someone on the minimum wage has had their tax bill halved by the Liberal Democrats.

Danny asks members to share the picture on your right on Facebook. Already the Voice’s timeline is full of them.

The Autumn Statement set out the tough decisions Liberal Democrats are taking in government to build a stronger economy and fairer society.

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The Voice

Danny Alexander: Your money, back where it belongs, in your pocket

By The Voice | Wed 28th November 2012 - 4:56 pm

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The Voice

Cyril Smith: The decision made in 1970 would not be made today

By The Voice | Wed 28th November 2012 - 10:11 am

On 13th November Lib Dem Voice covered an article by Paul Waugh in the Spectator which publicised allegations of child abuse against the former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith.

Yesterday the Crown Prosecution Service issued a statement about Cyril Smith.

It begins by describing decisions that were made in 1970 about a file of evidence handed to the Crown Prosecution Service.

The file, from Lancashire Constabulary, contained allegations made by eight men that they had been subjected to indecent assaults by Cyril Smith as teenagers. The allegations were very similar in nature, and were allegedly conducted on the pretexts of either

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 28 Comments
The Voice

In other news… Teather’s non-defection, Mulholland on beer price-fixing & MEPs on Irish abortion law

By The Voice | Sun 25th November 2012 - 5:00 pm

Sarah Teather Would Rather ‘Poke Her Eyes Out’ Than Join Labour (Huffington Post)

Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather would rather “poke her eyes out” than defect to the Labour Party despite being sacked from the government, according to the party’s chief enforcer. After the New Statesman noticed Teather had voted against the coalition plans to cap benefits, a policy she decried as “immoral and divisive”, rumours swirled that this meant she was about to defect to Labour. However the speculation was shut down by Lib Dem whip Alastair Carmichael, who tweeted: “I just asked her, says she would rather poke

…

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The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 23 November 2012

By The Voice | Fri 23rd November 2012 - 5:00 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. Ed Balls: My starting point is we are going to have keep all the cuts (32 comments) by Mark Pack
  2. My ‘Super Thursday’ Lib Dem post mortem (61 comments) by Stephen Tall
  3. The other local elections: Lib Dems gain five and hold three (28 comments) by Helen Duffett
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The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #300

By The Voice | Sun 18th November 2012 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 300th 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 (11-17 November, 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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The Voice

LDVideo: Stephen Tall on the Coalition at the half-way point

By The Voice | Sun 18th November 2012 - 5:20 pm

LibDemVoice Co-Editor Stephen Tall reflected on the state of the Coalition at its mid-way point in an event jointly hosted by CentreForum and the Institute for Government, Half-Time Oranges (and Blues): How to renew the Coalition while Preparing for the Next Election. You can watch his 10-minute verdict on where the Lib Dems are at and where we should go next here:

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The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 16 November 2012

By The Voice | Fri 16th November 2012 - 5:00 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. ++ SHOCK! HORROR! LIB DEM MP CAUGHT UP IN NEW EXPENSES ROW! (22 comments) by Stephen Tall
  2. Federal Committee Election results 2012 (20 comments) by Helen Duffett
  3. Majority of Lib Dems support ‘No more page 3’ campaign (but big differences between women/men’s views on issue) (26 comments) by Stephen Tall
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The Voice

PCC elections & Corby by-election results open thread…

By The Voice | Fri 16th November 2012 - 3:45 pm

Well, I think we can safely predict today won’t go down in the annals of Lib Dem history as our finest ever electoral performance… (Though the party has done much better in this week’s local elections, as Helen Duffett reports here.)

Police and Crime Commissioner elections:

Andrew Sparrow’s Guardian live-blog reports the national picture in England and Wales (but not London):

Labour is winning on the basis of the share of the votes counted. Labour is on 33.29%, according to the most recent figures, and the Conservatives are on 29.5%. Independent candidates have won 19.13%, Ukip 7.78% and the Lib Dems

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 51 Comments
The Voice

From today’s Lib Dem News

By The Voice | Fri 16th November 2012 - 1:00 pm

By Howard of Lib Dem News

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The Voice

PoliticsHome: ‘New Cyril Smith abuse claims’

By The Voice | Tue 13th November 2012 - 11:28 am

Paul Waugh at PoliticsHome has published an in-depth article publicising allegations of child abuse against former Liberal MP Sir Cyril Smith:

Sir Cyril Smith became the latest public figure to be accused of abuse today after residents at a boys’ hostel described how he made youngsters strip, fondled them and smacked their bare bottoms for punishment.

Two former residents of Cambridge House hostel in Rochdale have gone on the record for the first time to tell PoliticsHome.com how former Liberal MP Smith treated them as teenagers in the 1960s.

Barry Fitton, who was 15 at the time, said that the former Rochdale MP

…

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

The Independent View: Hope yet for parity esteem for mental health issues

By The Voice | Mon 12th November 2012 - 1:23 pm

Mihir Magudia is Head of Strategy & Public Affairs for St Andrew’s Healthcare, the UK’s largest mental health charity that provides more services to the NHS than any other charity. On his blog, Spotlight, he praises Norman Lamb for signalling “parity of esteem” between mental health and physical health treatment at a recent conference:

…Norman Lamb went further than his predecessors. After rightly pointing out that people with mental health problems suffer from an institutional disadvantage in the health system (mentioning how they have been ignored by the reforms on waiting times, choice and payment by results) he went on to call

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged and | 1 Comment
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