Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

Wlliams: RBS must use profits to help struggling businesses

By The Voice | Sat 7th August 2010 - 12:55 pm

RBS is the latest British bank to return to profit, with the 84% state-owned bank reporting a first-half pre-tax profit of £1.14bn yesterday. This prompted Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Treasury Policy Committee, Stephen Williams, to make call for RBS to make greater efforts to assist UK firms:

RBS is almost entirely owned by the taxpayer, so these huge profits must be used for the national interest and not just to pay massive bonuses to senior staff. There is no excuse for RBS not to loan to good British companies that are struggling to get credit. We cannot simply allow

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The Voice

What Lembit did next

By The Voice | Fri 6th August 2010 - 9:45 pm

First there was the venture into stand-up comedy. Then there was the throwing of his hat into the London mayoralty ring. And now he has a new job: as a presenter on Press TV, a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The Telegraph reports:

The 45-year-old former member for Montgomeryshire is presenting a show called A Simple Question. … “It is necessary for me to work. I don’t see that Press TV is ‘controversial’: that is to pass judgment and it is not for one media organisation to pass judgment

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The Voice

Sarah Teather pays tribute to Lib Dem volunteer killed in lorry accident

By The Voice | Tue 3rd August 2010 - 6:40 pm

The Standard reports:

Children’s minister Sarah Teather today paid tribute to a Liberal Democrat party volunteer who died after he was hit by a lorry near his home.

Library assistant Ismaeel Ebrahimsa, 29, was walking in Cricklewood when he was hit by the vehicle at lunchtime on July 22.

He had been active in local politics for years and helped Ms Teather fight two general election campaigns, most recently for Brent Central in May.

Sarah Teather said,

Ismaeel was a lovely young man who worked hard for his community and really cared about the area where he lived. He was very interested in

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The Voice

“Private sector will build nuclear plants,” says Huhne

By The Voice | Mon 2nd August 2010 - 10:30 am

The BBC reports:

New nuclear plants will be built in the UK as part of the move towards a green economy, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has said.

Mr Huhne told the BBC that breaking the dependence on traditional fossil fuels was vital. The minister said the market would decide which types of low-carbon energy would be used, but he believes nuclear investors are waiting to come forward.

He ruled out specific government subsidies for the new power stations.

Chris was speaking on the BBC1’s Andrew Marr programme, Sunday AM, and confirmed:

My position and my party’s position was always one

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The Voice

LDV readers say: Tax Capital Gains and Income at the same level

By The Voice | Sun 1st August 2010 - 12:25 pm

LDV posed the question last month (even before the Osborne/Alexander austerity emergency budget): Do you believe that as a matter of principle capital gains should generally be taxed at the same level as income?

Here’s what you told us:

    68% (946 votes) – Yes
    27% (371) – No
    6% (80) – Don’t know
    Total Votes: 1397, Poll ran: 10th June – 31st July, 2010

If you missed it at the time, it’s well worth having a read of the comments thread.

Posted in Voice polls | Tagged and | 11 Comments
The Voice

BBC: Coalition faces Lib Dem revolt on free schools

By The Voice | Sat 31st July 2010 - 11:15 am

Michael Crick reported for BBC2’s Newsnight on a potentially controversial debate at this September’s Lib Dem conference:

September’s Lib Dem conference in Liverpool will be a pretty tame affair, I predict, since most Liberal Democrats are still on cloud nine over the fact they are now in government for the first time in 65 years.

The biggest controversy, I reckon, could well be over a motion denouncing Michael Gove’s radical policies on free schools and academies. The resolution has been specifically picked by Lib Dem conference organisers for a substantial debate.

First, it calls for local councils to keep their role in the “oversight” of the provision of state schools. This is quite contrary to Gove’s strategy of greatly reducing local authority involvement in education. And second, the resolution urges Liberal Democrats not to get involved in Michael Gove’s cherished new policy of free schools.

Given how important local councillors are in the structure of the Liberal Democrat Party and the prevalence of teachers in the party, there must be a pretty good chance that the motion will be passed.

You can watch the 5-minute report here:

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The Voice

Ming: Trident must be included in Strategic Defence Review

By The Voice | Fri 30th July 2010 - 3:02 pm

A press release arrives in the Lib Dem Voice in-tray:

Commenting on George Osborne’s announcement that the Ministry of Defence will be responsible for the cost of replacing Trident, Liberal Democrat MP, Sir Menzies Campbell said:

“This confirmation of what had already been predicted makes it essential that the case for like-for-like replacement of Trident should, as the Liberal Democrats have agreed, be part of the Strategic Defence Review.

“How can you possibly take on such a large financial commitment as Trident without considering the military and political implications?

“If fierce cuts are to be made in Britain’s conventional forces, surely we have

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The Voice

Total Politics best blog poll 2010: voting ends tomorrow!

By The Voice | Fri 30th July 2010 - 1:51 pm

A final reminder that time is running out: voting ends tomorrow in the Total Politics Blog Award… We hope readers may be inclined to list Lib Dem Voice somewhere, alongside many of the other fabulous Lib Dem blogging talent listed on Ryan Cullen’s Aggregator.

It’s that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. This is the fifth year of the poll. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2010-11, which will be published in September. For the second year running, …

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The Voice

Hughes attacks Labour’s “naked opportunism” in opposing vote reform bill

By The Voice | Wed 28th July 2010 - 4:10 pm

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes has not minced his words in decrying Labour’s decision to vote against the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which would allow a referendum on electoral reform:

This is staggering hypocrisy from Labour. Labour’s shadow cabinet decision is not about principle, it is about naked opportunism. With most of their leadership contenders claiming to back AV for a fairer voting system, it is astonishing they now wish to block the legislation to make that happen.

“Each and every Labour MP campaigned on a manifesto committing to a referendum. Now they have the opportunity to make

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The Voice

Farron: “damning” evidence that Labour neglected Armed Forces

By The Voice | Tue 27th July 2010 - 6:25 pm

A memo released by the Iraq Inquiry today by Lieutenant General Sir Nicholas Houghton, then-Chief of Joint Operations at the military’s Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) to Ministers, shows that Labour ministers were formally warned that the military needed an alternative to the Snatch Land Rover in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tim Farron, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs & Defence, comments:

This is yet another damning sign that the Labour Government ignored advice from its top military officials on their equipment needs. “As we long suspected, generals told ministers that they needed better equipment to protect

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The Voice

Total Politics Best Blog Poll 2010: last week to vote!

By The Voice | Mon 26th July 2010 - 7:45 am

A gentle reminder to our readers of the fast-approaching deadline … We hope readers may be inclined to list Lib Dem Voice somewhere, alongside many of the other fabulous Lib Dem blogging talent listed on Ryan Cullen’s Aggregator.

It’s that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. This is the fifth year of the poll. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2010-11, which will be published in September. For the second year running, the poll is being promoted/sponsored by …

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The Voice

Clegg: I’m not apologising for calling the Iraq war illegal

By The Voice | Sat 24th July 2010 - 5:45 pm

Nick Clegg has hit back at attacks on the coalition and media suggestions that he ‘gaffed’ by terming the Iraq war illegal during Prime Minister’s Questions this week.

In an interview for Channel 4 News following his ‘Nick Clegg meets’ session in Oxfordshire this afternoon, Nick comments on the coalition:

… when you do something new, in politics as much as in any other walk of life, of course people are going to react against it and say: ‘I prefer the old way, I think this isn’t going to work’. And of course you get that in both parties, Conservative and Liberal Democrat. I think it would be more suprising if there was not a ripple of anxiety across both parties. People will always come up with interesting ways to describe the coalition – some flattering and some not so. Of course it’s important in any colaiton that the people at the top know how to work together, but it’s a partnership government.”

And has this to say about his labelling of the Iraq war as illegal:

It was quite obvious to anyone outside the slightly odd world of Westminster that what I was doing was repeating something about which I have strong personal views in a way that wasn’t binding on the government as a whole.

You can watch the interview here:

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The Voice

Mark Valladares’s day as guest editor

By The Voice | Fri 23rd July 2010 - 12:07 am

A big thanks goes from all at The Voice to Mark Valladares for commissioning and writing all of today’s content on the theme of the House of Lords.

For posterity, here is a list of the posts that featured today as a result:

…

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The Voice

Lib Dem Tim Farron leads campaign for charities VAT exemption

By The Voice | Wed 21st July 2010 - 11:12 pm

Third Sector reports:

A Liberal Democrat MP is campaigning to win exemptions from fuel tax and VAT for mountain and cave rescue teams. Tim Farron, the party’s MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, wants the coalition government to provide rescue teams with a VAT refund each year – a policy that was part of the Liberal Democrat manifesto.

“We’re hopeful,” said a spokesman for Farron. “We’re still awaiting a response from the Treasury, but this is something we can make a strong case for. These are emergency services, and they should be treated differently.”

Andy Simpson, a volunteer with Mountain Rescue, said that

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The Voice

Labour misled Britain over Iraq role in terror threat – Farron

By The Voice | Tue 20th July 2010 - 6:38 pm

A party news release hits The Voice’s inbox:

Commenting on Eliza Manningham-Buller’s evidence to the Chilcot Inquiry, in which she said the conflict in Iraq ‘substantially’ increased the threat to the UK from international terrorism, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, Tim Farron said:

“This is a shattering blow for Labour’s claim that the Iraq war did not increase the terrorist threat to Britain.

“We already knew that this was a disastrous war for our own brave service personnel and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Now we have the head of MI5 at the time saying …

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The Voice

Tessa Munt denies council tax claims from Mail on Sunday

By The Voice | Mon 19th July 2010 - 10:07 pm

The BBC reports:

Wells MP Tessa Munt has denied any wrongdoing after a national newspaper reported allegations that she falsely claimed a council tax discount.

It is alleged that the Liberal Democrat MP was sharing her home with broadcaster Andy Kershaw and a GP while claiming the discount for living alone.

Ms Munt said: “Neither of these two people were living with me.” …

Ms Munt said that the Mail on Sunday newspaper had “muddled the difference between council tax and electoral registration”.

She said both Mr Kershaw and the GP, John Laband, were registered to vote at her address as they did not

…

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The Voice

Can you help Dr Huppert improve Lib Dem policy on IT & the Internet

By The Voice | Fri 16th July 2010 - 2:59 pm

The Federal Policy Committee is setting up a Policy Working Group on Information Technology and Intellectual Property, to be chaired by Dr Julian Huppert MP.

The working group will review all aspects of policy on IT and the internet. It will be necessary to give significant attention to intellectual property issues, with particular attention to their application to the digital economy.

The group will take forward the issues raised by the conference motion Freedom, Creativity and the Internet adopted by the Spring Conference 2010.

Party members interested in joining the group should contact Debbie Enever on [email protected] for more details. …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged and | 3 Comments
The Voice

Vince Cable’s speech on higher education funding

By The Voice | Thu 15th July 2010 - 6:24 pm

Vince Cable, Lib Dem secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, today delivered his much-trailed speech on higher education funding. The full text was published on the department’s website, and is reproduced below. A shorter version appears on the Lib Dems’ website here.

This is my first attempt to set out my views on the university, and wider, HE sector and my aspirations for it. The background is a very sombre and difficult one, financially. Without doubt the most serious within living memory. David Willetts and I are working together to find a way of dealing with it.

Much

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The Voice

Lord Ashdown to lead review of emergency aid

By The Voice | Wed 14th July 2010 - 8:55 pm

The party website reports the news:

A review of how the Government responds to disasters such as the Haiti earthquake will be led by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown, it was announced today.

Lord Ashdown will lead a taskforce of humanitarian experts from inside and outside Government to review all aspects of how the UK Government responds to disasters and work with the international community to speed up the delivery of aid.

The review will also look at how the UK can best work with international bodies and UN agencies in emergency situations and to ensure that the global response to

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The Voice

Rhondda Lib Dem parliamentary candidate quits to stand as independent for council

By The Voice | Tue 13th July 2010 - 7:50 pm

So Wales Online reports:

A WELSH Liberal Democrat candidate in the recent General Election has quit the party and is now standing as an Independent for his local council.

Paul Wasley, 60, polled 3,309 votes in the Rhondda constituency, coming third with 10.7% of the turnout. The seat was retained by Labour’s Chris Bryant.

Next week, however, Mr Wasley is seeking election as an Independent to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council in a by-election. The ward – Cymmer – has no Liberal Democrat candidate.

A spokesman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “Our membership services department say he is no longer a member but

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The Voice

Lib Dem MPs nominated to serve on Commons Select Committees

By The Voice | Mon 12th July 2010 - 5:50 pm

The party has today announced the list of Liberal Democrat MPs have been nominated to serve on Select Committees:

    Business, Innovation and Skills – David Ward
    Communities and Local Government – Stephen Gilbert
    Culture, Media & Sport – Adrian Sanders
    Defence – Mike Hancock
    Education – Tessa Munt
    Energy and Climate Change – Sir Robert Smith
    Environmental Audit Committee – Simon Wright
    Environment Food and Rural Affairs – Dan Rogerson
    Foreign Affairs – Menzies Campbell
    Health – Andrew George
    Home Affairs – Julian Huppert
    International Development – Malcolm Bruce
    Justice – Sir Alan Beith
    Procedure Committee – John

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Posted in Parliament and Party policy and internal matters | 5 Comments
The Voice

Opinion: The Government approach to sex education must be liberal, not conservative

By The Voice | Sun 11th July 2010 - 4:15 pm

A comprehensive program of sex education is desperately needed across the British schooling system. The current efforts to amend the embarrassing lack of effective classes in our schools are simply not good enough, and we are allowing young people to be educated not by qualified teachers in a safe teaching environment, but on the internet, where young people now have unparalleled access to pornographic material.

Those who argue that sex education erodes childhood innocence are clearly blind to the sad reality; if we allow ourselves to ignore this issue because of our own embarrassment, the generations of the future will …

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Posted in Op-eds | 19 Comments
The Voice

Kennedy urges coalition to mitigate impact of immigration cap on universities

By The Voice | Sat 10th July 2010 - 1:35 pm

The Press Association reports:

Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has urged the Government to look at ways of “mitigating” the impact of an immigration cap on universities. Mr Kennedy, rector of Glasgow University, challenged universities minister David Willetts over the policy at question time.

“Given the Government’s policy on a cap on immigration, you will be aware Universities UK and many others right across the sector are worried about the impact this will have,” he said. “Ten per cent of university staff across the UK are non-EU nationals – 2,500 staff at the Scottish universities alone.

“What can you do with

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The Voice

Police drop charges against Wrekin Lib Dem candidate who faced sex abuse claims

By The Voice | Sat 10th July 2010 - 12:25 pm

Three months ago Lib Dem Voice reported that David Murray had withdrawn as Lib Dem candidate for the Shropshire seat of The Wrekin as the result of an on-going police investigation.

The BBC reports the outcome of the case:

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him and no further action should be taken.

Mr Murray had denied the claims and said he was pleased with the outcome. He said the claims had been made to damage his chances at the election.

“It came out of the blue. It was supposed to have happened nine

…

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The Voice

Clegg’s verdict on Labour in opposition: “Collective bile is not a political strategy”

By The Voice | Fri 9th July 2010 - 11:45 pm

There’s an in-depth, wide-ranging and pretty frank interview with Nick Clegg in The Guardian today, in which he defends the coalition, assures those Lib Dem activists worried by the budget cuts that they are “not driven by some ideological zeal”, and attacks Labour for its failure to recognise that coalitions are here to stay: “Something very, very big is happening in politics.”

Here are some of the juiciest Clegg-bites:

On the coalition:

is not an aberration, but a natural consequence of what has been happening for years, which is a loosening of the old tribal ties between the old parties and

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The Voice

Huhne to end ban on councils selling green electricity

By The Voice | Wed 7th July 2010 - 7:30 pm

A news release says…

A ban on councils selling green electricity into the national grid is to be overturned, Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne said today as the carbon footprint of every local council in England was published.

In a speech to today’s Local Government Association annual conference, Mr Huhne will say that he wants local councils to be allowed to sell electricity they produce from renewables to the national electricity grid.

Mr Huhne said:

“It’s ridiculous that the 1976 Local Government Act prevents councils from selling electricity from local wind turbines, or from anaerobic digestion.

“I want to see this repealed and by the …

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The Voice

Lib Dems announce MPs and Peers to co-chair backbench policy committees

By The Voice | Tue 6th July 2010 - 7:25 pm

The Lib Dems have today announced the names of the MPs and members of the House of Lords who will act as Co-Chairs of the party’s new backbench policy committees.

These committees are intended to ensure distinctive Lib Dem policy-making continues while the party serves in the Coalition Government, promoting effective linkages between those Lib Dems serving ion government, their colleagues in the Parliamentary Party, and the party’s own democratic policy-making bodies.

The full list is set out below:

Committee:Work & Pensions
Commons Co-Chair: Jenny Willott
Lords Co-Chair(s): TBC

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Posted in Parliament and Party policy and internal matters | 4 Comments
The Voice

Coalition Government’s torture inquiry keeps Lib Dem manifesto pledge, spells “end to Labour’s shameful legacy on human rights”

By The Voice | Tue 6th July 2010 - 6:15 pm

The Guardian reports:

David Cameron today announced a judicial inquiry into Britain’s role in torture and rendition since the al-Qaida attacks of September 2001. … it would be expected to conclude its investigations with 12 months. …

A three-person inquiry panel will be headed by Sir Peter Gibson, a former appeal court judge who is currently commissioner for the intelligence services. He will be assisted by Dame Janet Paraskeva, the head of the civil service commissioners, and Peter Riddell, the former Times political commentator who is now a senior fellow at the Institute for Government.

Most of the inquiry will be held

…

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The Voice

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Mon 5th July 2010 - 11:20 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 three 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 …

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The Voice

Tessa Munt MP’s maiden speech

By The Voice | Sat 3rd July 2010 - 8:29 pm

LDV is continuing the tradition started on Cix of re-posting maiden speeches of new Lib Dem MPs for the delectation and comment of our own community. You can catch up on those published to date here. Today is Tessa Munt’s turn …

It is an honour to follow Jim Shannon and to address the House for the first time on behalf of the people of Wells, the most beautiful constituency in the country. Yes it is.

First, I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor, David Heathcoat-Amory, who sat in the House for 27 years, a longer period of

…

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