Author Archives: The Voice

“Speaking rights only” for unelected peers – Hames

By The Voice | Tue 28th June 2011 - 12:27 pm

Another barnstorming speech on Lords reform, this time by Duncan Hames MP in last night’s Commons debate.

Duncan reiterates the suggestion he made earlier in the debate, that unelected peers should have speaking rights only:

Does the right hon. Gentleman think that bishops voting in the House of Lords adds in any way to the expertise they are able to offer through what they say in that Chamber, and might they find it easier to remain in that Chamber if they were to desist from taking part in Divisions?

The speech in full:

It is a privilege to follow Rory Stewart, not

…

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #227

By The Voice | Sun 26th June 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 227th 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 (19-25 June, 2011), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

The LDV Friday Five: 24 June 2011

By The Voice | Fri 24th June 2011 - 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

Opinion: Taxpayer foots £6.7m NO 2 AV leaflet bill (26 comments) by Stuart Bonar
Thank you EARS, but the VAN is coming (52 comments) by Iain Roberts
“It was a virtuoso performance” – Viscount Astor on Lord Ashdown on Lords reform (14 comments) by Helen Duffett
LibLink | Danny Alexander: Make no mistake: we will reform public sector pensions (52 comments) by Helen Duffett
What’s the difference between Ryan Giggs and Ed Miliband? Nick Clegg tells all… (16 comments) by Stephen Tall

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(24th June, 2007-10)

At last…a Welsh Prime Minister (13 comments) by Iain Roberts, from 2010
How solid is the Tories’ ‘extreme and ragbag’ Euro grouping? (8 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2009
Sir Cyril Smith on his 80th! (1 comment) by David Hennigan, from 2008
Opinion: It’s deja vu all over again (0 comments) by Chris Keating, from 2007
Harman beats Johnson to Labour Deputy spot (23 comments) by Richard Huzzey, from 2007

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #226

By The Voice | Sun 19th June 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 226th 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 (12-18 June, 2011), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

Top Cornwall Conservative councillor defects to Lib Dems

By The Voice | Sat 18th June 2011 - 4:25 pm

Jeremy Rowe’s blog has the news:

Jan Powell, the widely respected Chair of Cornwall Council’s Health Committee, has joined the Liberal Democrat Group at County Hall. This has been as a result of the continuing disintegration of the Tory-led administration at the Council and also the work the Lib Dems have been doing locally and nationally to protect the NHS from Andrew Lansley’s controversial ‘reforms’.

Jeremy reproduces Jan’s letter explaining her decision, which concludes:

There has to be openness and transparency in everything we do and consultation must mean exactly that. Over the last 12 months there has been a marked contrast

…

Posted in Local government | Tagged cornwall, defections, jan powell and jeremy rowe | 2 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 17 June 2011

By The Voice | Fri 17th June 2011 - 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

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

LibLink | Danny Alexander: Make no mistake: we will reform public sector pensions

By The Voice | Fri 17th June 2011 - 10:22 am

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander writes in the Telegraph today on public sector pensions reform, calling the Government’s offer “by far the best that is likely to be on the table for years to come”:

This debate is often polarised between two extremes. There are some trade unions who seem to believe that pensions for public service workers should not change. Then there are those equally misguided voices who seem to think that the public services should be the front-runner in a race to the bottom.

Between these two, I believe there is an indisputable case for reforming public

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged Danny Alexander, pensions, trade unions and tuc | 53 Comments

LibLink | Shirley Williams: Lib Dems should take credit for thwarting Lansley

By The Voice | Mon 13th June 2011 - 10:19 am

Shirley Williams, writing today in the Independent, says that the Liberal Democrats can be proud of their influence on NHS reforms:

Liberal Democrats, from our party’s grassroots to its leadership, can be proud of the influence we have exerted to change the Government’s NHS plans. It is clear now that the proposals that will be taken forward are dramatically different to those originally proposed.

The implications of Andrew Lansley’s massive health proposals, setting England’s health system on the path to a market in health care rather than a public service, were very slow to sink in. The complex, extensive and sometimes almost

…

Posted in News | Tagged andrew lansley, NHS and shirley williams | 13 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #225

By The Voice | Sun 12th June 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 225th 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 (5-12 June, 2011), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

Mike Tuffrey says he will run for Mayor of London

By The Voice | Sun 12th June 2011 - 5:37 pm

Interviewed by the BBC today, London Assembly member Mike Tuffrey said he is throwing his hat into the ring to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor:

Posted in London | Tagged mike tuffrey | 21 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 10 June 2011

By The Voice | Fri 10th June 2011 - 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

Andrew Reeves passes away (37 comments) by Mark Pack
Response: Chair of Federal Conference Committee on increased security measures (153 comments) by Andrew Wiseman
Opinion: Why you should be taking Lembit Opik seriously (57 comments) by Richard Clare
Opinion: The problem with Lib Dem conference security arrangements (27 comments) by Dave Page
The perils of projecting the impact of boundary changes from previous election results (12 comments) by Mark Pack

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(10th June, 2007-10)

Nick Clegg declares “Ich bin ein Berliner” (10 comments) by The Voice, from 2010
The results of the other Lib Dem Parliamentary contest – Lords Dholakia and Alderdice elected (4 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2010
Judgement Day for Boris Johnson’s first year in office (3 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2009
NEW POLL: should the Lib Dems support AV? (36 comments) by Stephen Tall , from 2009
Key communications staff to leave Lib Dems (0 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2008

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

LibLink | Paul Tyler: Lords’ Question Time is a “farcical free-for-all”

By The Voice | Tue 7th June 2011 - 12:42 pm

Lord Tyler writes over at e-Politix today about the way Question Time is conducted in the Lords:

As the House’s membership has increased in recent months, Question Time has become an ever more farcical free-for-all. There are a large number of Members who wish to contribute at any one time. Newcomers are rightly mystified by the absurd way in which one has to jockey for the opportunity to speak. You have to pop up and start bellowing, ‘My Lords’, in the hope that your bellow will be more thundersome than those of competing Members, or that some Lordly recognition

…

Posted in LibLink and Parliament | Tagged epolitix, house of lords, parliamentary reform and paul tyler | Leave a comment

Lib Dems outperform Labour on private donations, notes the FT

By The Voice | Mon 6th June 2011 - 5:55 pm

Good to see a bit of media recognition today which overtly acknowledges our now consistent out-performing of Labour on private fundraising efforts. The Financial Times reports:

Private and company donations to Labour have plummeted to a 10th of their pre-election average in the first six months of Ed Miliband’s leadership, according to research by the Financial Times.

Many former donors have turned their backs on the opposition party, leaving it increasingly reliant on unions, which provide the bulk of its private income.

Labour’s corporate and individual donations of £248,577 for the half-year to March were dwarfed even by those to the Liberal

…

Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged donations (Lib Dem), electoral commission, financial times and party funding | 11 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #224

By The Voice | Sun 5th June 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 224th 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 (29 May – 4 June), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Sun 5th June 2011 - 10:53 am

The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that’s fine, we’re grateful for people taking the time to read the site.

You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways:

1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there’s something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you’re an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or you’ve seen …

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

LDVideo: Preview of “Nicked – the Musical”

By The Voice | Sat 4th June 2011 - 11:59 am

As we reported in February:

A hip-hop musical based on Nick Clegg’s role in forming the Coalition government is to be staged later this year.

The show (working title: “Nicked”) also features David Cameron in a “rap-off” with his backbenchers as well as the student demonstrations and the run-up to the AV referendum.

Here’s a preview of one of the numbers: Tinderbox, featuring “Nick Clegg” and “David Cameron” singing about AV. (Don’t miss “Ed Miliband” beatboxing in the background.)

Posted in YouTube | Tagged av referendum and nicked | 8 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 3 June 2011

By The Voice | Fri 3rd June 2011 - 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

Opinion: The need for a radical manifesto (43 comments) by George Potter
Lib Dems appoint three senior Campaigns heads (15 comments) by Helen Duffett
Chris Huhne’s election expenses: once again, nothing to see here, move along (59 comments) by Mark Pack
Better news for Chris Huhne; more bad news for Guido (15 comments) by Nick Thornsby
What Guido Fawkes didn’t tell you about the Eastleigh meeting last night (38 comments) by Mark Pack

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(3rd June, 2006-10)

What does the Deputy Prime Minister do? Nick Clegg’s new responsibilities (6 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2010
Deputy leadership contest: Hughes “backed by more than 50% of Lib Dem MPs” (12 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2010
Vince Cable tops popularity poll; Clegg ahead of Cameron (0 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2010
Who’s winning the expectations battle? (6 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2009
Official: Tory councils cost you more (6 comments) by The Voice, from 2009

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

Site news: comments in reversal

By The Voice | Tue 31st May 2011 - 7:26 pm

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, nor is your computer upside down. We’re experimenting with reversing the order of comments so the most recent appears top of the list under each post rather than the oldest. That’s a popular choice on other sites though by no means universal. Do let us know what you think of our experiment.

Posted in Site news | 47 Comments

Former Conservative peer Lord Taylor sentenced to 12 months for expenses fraud

By The Voice | Tue 31st May 2011 - 12:03 pm

From the BBC:

Ex-Tory peer Lord Taylor of Warwick has been jailed for 12 months for falsely claiming £11,277 in parliamentary expenses.

The 58-year-old claimed travel costs between his Oxford home and Westminster, as well as subsistence for staying in London.

He said he had made the false claims “in lieu of a salary”, and had been acting on the advice of colleagues.

Lord Taylor pleaded not guilty to the charges, but was convicted in January.

Read the full story at the BBC News website.

Posted in News | Tagged lord taylor of warwick and mps expenses | 5 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #223

By The Voice | Sun 29th May 2011 - 9:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 223rd 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 (22nd-28th May, 2011), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

The LDV Friday Five: 27 May 2011

By The Voice | Fri 27th May 2011 - 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

Opinion: However unfair it is, Chris Huhne should step down (100 comments) by Simon McGrath
Chris Huhne’s election expenses: once again, nothing to see here, move along (54 comments) by Mark Pack
Dealing with the political weather: three lessons to learn (15 comments) by Mark Pack
Revealed: The Liberal Democrats’ new HQ (26 comments) by Helen Duffett
Tim Farron writes: Enough doom and gloom, we have the greatest opportunity in the history of our party (42 comments) by Tim Farron

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

5 from the LDV archive

(27th May, 2006-09)

Clegg unveils 100-day plan to abolish Lords and reform voting (20 comments) by The Voice, from 2009
Lib Dems tackle UKIP head on (3 comments) by Alex Foster, from 2009
Why Liberal Democrats should change their tune on elected mayors (25 comments) by Dorothy Thornhill, from 2008
Opinion: Margaret Hodge should go (9 comments) by Steve Cooke, from 2007
Opinion: It’s only a boat (3 comments) by Laurence Boyce, from 2007

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

LibLink | Vince Cable: “I can see another financial bomb going off”

By The Voice | Fri 27th May 2011 - 10:53 am

The New Statesman published an interview with Business Secretary Vince Cable yesterday, in which he talks about the current economic situation, the banks’ reluctance to lend, his political influences and his working relationship with Tory ministers.

Here’s an excerpt:

“If you’re trying to design a system from scratch,” he says, “what you probably want is a Danish-type model, which relates tax to property values. Council tax doesn’t work anymore . The link is broken. There are all kinds of technical problems about valuations; how you concentrate it at the top end with the bottom end. Those are the things we should

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged vince cable | 9 Comments

“Chris Huhne has achieved more in a year than most top politicians manage in a lifetime”

By The Voice | Wed 25th May 2011 - 9:48 pm

High praise from the Telegraph for Chris Huhne, and deservedly so. Environmental correspondent Geoffrey Lean says Huhne “has been playing a blinder” through the introduction of the Green Investment Bank and the fourth Carbon Budget:

Over the last two weeks, as the crisis he faces steadily deepened, he has been the driving force behind two of the most momentous decisions any administration has taken, ones that could shape Britain’s economic development for the rest of the century, and beyond.

Last week the government adopted the world-beating goal of cutting carbon emissions to half 1990 levels by 2025. No other

…

Posted in News | Tagged carbon budget, chris huhne, daily telegraph, david cameron, geoffrey lean, green investment bank, nick clegg and vince cable | 12 Comments

Liberal Democrats setting the pace on the green agenda – Simon Hughes updates party members

By The Voice | Wed 25th May 2011 - 6:26 pm

Lib Dem Deputy Leader Simon Hughes has emailed party members to update them on the party’s influence in government, in promoting the green agenda. He highlights the Energy Bill, the fourth Carbon Budget, and the Green Investment Bank, detailed this week by Nick Clegg and Vince Cable.

It’s been a great month for Liberal Democrats, who are setting the pace on the green agenda!

Two weeks ago, Chris Huhne, as Energy and Climate Change Secretary, led for the government when his Department’s Energy Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons. This creates the framework for the Green Deal,

…

Posted in News | Tagged chris huhne, green investment bank, nick clegg, simon hughes and vince cable | 8 Comments

Lord Stoneham defends Goodwin disclosure

By The Voice | Tue 24th May 2011 - 9:16 am

The Liberal Democrat peer who disclosed that former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Sir Fred Goodwin had a relationship with a senior colleague defended his action last night.

Using Parliamentary privilege, Lord Stoneham of Droxford told peers last Thursday:

Every taxpayer has a direct public interest in the events leading up to the collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, so how can it be right for a super-injunction to hide the alleged relationship between Sir Fred Goodwin and a senior colleague?

If true, it would be a serious breach of corporate governance and not even the Financial Services Authority would be

…

Posted in Parliament | Tagged ben stoneham, matthew oakeshott and william wallace | 2 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #222

By The Voice | Sun 22nd May 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 222nd 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 (15-21 May, 2011), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

We’re back…

By The Voice | Sat 21st May 2011 - 11:06 am

Apologies for the problems in accessing our site over the last few days. We are now up and running on a new server, with a new hosting company. Everything should be working fine but if you spot any problems do let us know. Thanks for your patience.

Posted in Site news | 7 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #221

By The Voice | Sun 15th May 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 221st 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 (8-14 May, 2011), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | 1 Comment

Statement from David Laws

By The Voice | Thu 12th May 2011 - 11:30 am

From a party news release:

David Laws, MP for Yeovil, today commented on the conclusion of the Inquiry by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and the Standards and Privileges Committee.

The Inquiry identified a number of breaches of rules, in particular it found that Mr. Laws was in breach of the partner rule, and should have designated his constituency home as his main home from 2004/05, on the basis of the nights spent test.

However, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards accepted that Mr. Laws’ motivation was privacy and not financial benefit, and both the Commissioner and the Committee accept that his claims would …

Posted in News | Tagged david laws, mps expenses, parliamentary commissioner for standards and standards and privileges committee | 63 Comments

PCC rules against Daily Telegraph’s sting operation

By The Voice | Tue 10th May 2011 - 8:19 am

Via the BBC:

A newspaper’s decision to secretly tape Liberal Democrat MPs breached press rules on “subterfuge”, a watchdog says.

The Press Complaints Commission said the Daily Telegraph had produced material “in the public interest”.

But it said the paper had not had enough evidence to justify what it called “a fishing expedition”.

Among those taped by reporters posing as constituents was Business Secretary Vince Cable, who was recorded saying he had “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch…

The PCC ruled the newspaper launched the “disproportionately intrusive attention” without sufficient reasons and said it would issue fresh guidance over the acceptable use of subterfuge.

Liberal Democrat …

Posted in News | Tagged daily telegraph, journalism, press complaints commission, tim farron and vince cable | 5 Comments

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Author Archives: The Voice

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