Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

Trouble for Labour in Rochdale as former mayor quits party

By The Voice | Thu 24th September 2009 - 12:20 pm

Rochdale Labour party is in turmoil this week, after seven Labour members were disciplined for bringing the party into disrepute for calling for an investigation into allegations of domestic abuse by their parliamentary candidate, Simon Danczuk. The former mayor of Rochdale, Robin Parker, has now quit the party in protest at what he regards as a miscarriage of justice, describing the position of Mr Danczuk as Labour’s candidate as “untenable”.

Here’s an excerpt from the in-depth report at Rochdale Online:

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
The Voice

RIP Tom Blumenau

By The Voice | Wed 23rd September 2009 - 6:22 pm

From the Guardian’s obituary:

Tom had a strong social conscience and a feeling of moral obligation towards both individuals and the wider community. He was a magistrate for 15 years, a founder member of the Social Democratic party (SDP) and active in the constituency party for the SDP and later for the Liberal Democrats. Arguably his most fulfilling work was with Amnesty International (of which, together with his wife, Eva, he was a founder member) and with its offspring, the Prisoner of Conscience Fund. He set up and later became the chairman of the St John’s Wood, London, branch of

…

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The Voice

Daily View 2×2: 23 September 2009

By The Voice | Wed 23rd September 2009 - 9:00 am

2 Big Stories

Clegg faces frontbench dissent on cuts

The Independent reports:

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg faced a major test of his authority tonight as his own frontbenchers stepped up criticism of his plans for public spending cuts.

One senior Lib Dem MP even suggested Mr Clegg had still to prove himself as leader and needed to listen more to activists’ concerns.

French police clear Calais “Jungle”

The Times says:

French police moved to clear migrants out of their makeshift camp in Calais today amid screams, tears and fights with protesters.

Scuffles broke out as the camp, known as “the Jungle”, was emptied in

…

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Posted in Daily View | 12 Comments
The Voice

BBC report: “Clegg ‘to axe tuition fee pledge'”

By The Voice | Sat 19th September 2009 - 8:01 pm

The BBC is reporting that the party will drop its pledge to axe tuition fees.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg says he may be forced to scrap the party’s flagship policy of abolishing university tuition fees in England and Wales.

Mr Clegg will tell his party’s annual conference he has to be “realistic” about whether it is affordable given the country’s mountain of debt.

His analysis is backed up by the following quotes from Nick:

“I believe tuition fees are wrong, I believe they need to be abolished, I want to do it as soon as possible,” Mr Clegg will tell a rally

…

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Posted in News | 21 Comments
The Voice

Clegg: Labour insiders have asked us to fall in line

By The Voice | Fri 18th September 2009 - 11:05 pm

More material for Libdemologists, from the Telegraph:

The Lib Dem leader said that members of the Labour Party had approached his party looking for help in preventing the Tories taking power after the next election…

Mr Clegg, whose party begins its annual conference on Saturday in Bournemouth, said he will not take part in any alliance with Labour.

Read the full story here

Posted in News | Tagged | 1 Comment
The Voice

Nick Clegg: angry liberal

By The Voice | Fri 18th September 2009 - 7:25 pm

Drama and political passion over at the Jewish Chronicle, where Nick Clegg vows to Martin Bright that he will not silence controverial Lib Dem peer Baroness (Jenny) Tonge, whose outspoken comments on the Israeli-Palestine conflict have in the past landed her in hot water.

Nick Clegg is angry. No, it’s beyond angry. Incandescent almost gets it, but that still doesn’t capture the full fury of the man as he leans forward from his chair in the Liberal Democrat leader’s office in the House of Commons.

The accusation that Mr Clegg had failed to honour his commitment to act against the pro-Palestinian Lib

…

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , , , and | 5 Comments
The Voice

Ladbrokes: “all the early money” goes on Lib Dems’ Dave Hodgson in Bedford mayoral election

By The Voice | Tue 15th September 2009 - 11:45 pm

An email drops into the Voice’s inbox from Ladbrokes to let us know their latest odds for the by-election for the directly-elected position of Mayor of Bedford. The betting firm has made the Tories favourites at 1/2, but the Lib Dems’ Dave Hodgson is a close second at odds of 2/1 – and Ladbrokes note:

your man Hodgson is attracting all the early money in Bedford!

Labour and the Independent candidates are also-rans in this election. So, guess what, folks? It’s a 2-horse race!

To find out more about Dave Hodgson’s campaign to become Lib Dem Mayor of Bedford click here. …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 3 Comments
The Voice

CommentIsLinked@LDV… Nick Clegg: Scotland needs to dare to be different

By The Voice | Mon 14th September 2009 - 1:20 pm

Over at Scotland on Sunday, Nick Clegg has an article arguing that “It’s the Liberal Democrats who have the record, the strength and the vision to change politics for good”. Here’s an excerpt:

It’s liberals who invented the state pension and the NHS, liberals who were first to campaign to protect the environment and liberals who first put concern for human rights into our foreign affairs. The Liberal Democrats are a pioneering party – the party of Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell, who stood up against jeers and derision to campaign against the illegal invasion of Iraq. We led calls for

…

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Posted in LibLink and Scotland | Tagged | 1 Comment
The Voice

Paul Twigger selected for Lib Dems in West Derby

By The Voice | Sun 13th September 2009 - 12:00 pm

ClickLiverpool.com has the story:

Cllr Paul Twigger has been unanimously selected by the Liberal Democrats to fight the next General election for the West Derby constituency. At 28, Paul Twigger will be one of the youngest prospective candidates to stand for the Lib Dems. Mr Twigger will go head to head with Labour’s Stephen Twigg in 2010 for the Parliamentary seat. … As well as being the city’s youngest councillor, Paul Twigger also works as a Field Officer for the charity Age Concern Liverpool, looking after some of Liverpool’s most vulnerable citizens.

Cllr Twigger said: “I am delighted to have been

…

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Posted in Selection news | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
The Voice

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Mon 7th September 2009 - 5:35 pm

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

The Indy’s Q&A with Lembit

By The Voice | Mon 7th September 2009 - 2:15 pm

Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik is the subject of The Independent’s ‘You ask the questions’ feature today. In it he tells readers:

  • about his leadership aspirations (he has none);
  • how he thinks Nick Clegg is doing better as leader than Lembit thought he would be doing;
  • describes the Liberal brand as “public-service orientated, slightly left-leaning and suspicious of authority. We’re sort of courteously anti-establishment.”
  • his views on the Megrahi realease;
  • he favours research on the legalisation of the prescription of hard drugs;
  • he’s pleased to have the chance to write a politicla column for the Daily Sport.


    • You can read the     …

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    Posted in News | Tagged | 3 Comments
    The Voice

    Farron blasts as “ridiculous” Tory council’s refusal to protect allotments from vandals

    By The Voice | Sat 5th September 2009 - 5:45 pm

    The Mirror has the story:

    Gardeners are so furious with their council they feel like throwing in their trowels. The growers have been banned from using barbed wire to deter allotment vandals – in case they hurt themselves.

    Property at the Muddy Bottom East Allotment is being damaged up to three times a week. In one attack 15 sheds were smashed, water butts were overturned and taps were left running.

    But when allotment holders asked Southampton council to put up the wire, it said no for fear of being sued. … Lib Dem environment spokesman Tim Farron said the decision was “ridiculous”.

    Bizarrely,

    …

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    Posted in Local government and News | Tagged and | 8 Comments
    The Voice

    Nick and Paddy on Afghanistan

    By The Voice | Sat 5th September 2009 - 4:55 pm

    Yesterday saw Gordon Brown’s statement on the UK’s continuing involvement in Afghanistan, in which he defended the government’s strategy, and maintained its goals were “realistic and achievable”. It earned short shrift from Nick Clegg:

    The situation in Afghanistan is on a knife-edge. Yet today we have heard little in the way of fresh, new thinking from Gordon Brown. After pursuing an overambitious and under-resourced strategy for eight years it’s hard to believe that increasing the training of the Afghan police and army will now do the trick. We need a bolder change of strategy to turn things around. When it comes to Afghanistan, we need to do things properly or not at all.

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

    Video: Don’t let the Tories airbrush history

    By The Voice | Fri 4th September 2009 - 4:35 pm

    Last week the Conservatives produced a video about their history and “greatest achievements.”

    Now the Liberal Democrats have rebutted their “progressive” claims with: “Don’t let the Tories airbrush history” – pointing out a few things they missed.

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    Posted in Lib Dem TV | Tagged and | 7 Comments
    The Voice

    Our Shirl on how Ted Kennedy inspired the UK’s minimum wage

    By The Voice | Fri 4th September 2009 - 11:15 am

    Lib Dem peer Shirley Williams has a letter in today’s Times looking at the role of Democratic senator Edward Kennedy – and herself – in promoting a national minimum wage in the UK:

    I knew Ted Kennedy well as the chairman of the Senior Advisory Committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government … In 1989 and 1990 I was acting director of the institute. … The Senator and his staff had done a good deal of research into the minimum wage, research that showed conclusively that in the US it had not damaged employment

    …

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    Posted in News | Tagged and | 3 Comments
    The Voice

    Nick and Ming speak out on Megrahi

    By The Voice | Wed 2nd September 2009 - 11:15 pm

    Nick Clegg, who has publicly opposed the Scottish executive’s decision to release convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Al Megrahi, today responded to the news that Gordon Brown – who has remained silent about the case until today – let it be known to the Libyan authorities via his foreign office ministers that the Prime Minister did not want Mr Al Megrahi to die in prison:

    The Foreign Secretary has now admitted that the British Government made its position on Megrahi’s release clear to the Libyans.

    “It is now clear that Gordon Brown felt able to share his feelings with a power-crazed

    …

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    Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
    The Voice

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… Peter Black: Wales needs a holistic approach to mental health

    By The Voice | Mon 31st August 2009 - 2:45 pm

    Over at Wales Online, Lib Dem Welsh assembly member Peter Black, the party’s health spokesman, explains why an holistic approach to health-care is so vital. Here’s an excerpt:

    Mental health and wellbeing services have historically been under-resourced in Wales and throughout the UK. Such a position is surprising given the incidence of debilitating mental health problems among the population. The figures are striking – one in four of us will suffer from a mental illness at some point in our lives, and one in seven will suffer to a sufficient degree to warrant therapeutic intervention at some level.

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    The Voice

    Sandra Gidley: sofa, so good?

    By The Voice | Mon 31st August 2009 - 1:34 pm

    Old school, analogue politics demanded that constituents turn up to their MPs’ offices for surgeries if they were seeking their Parliamentarian’s help. Then came street surgeries, when elected representatives turned up their residents’ doorsteps to solicit casework.

    But Lib Dem Romsey MP Sandra Gidley has taken mobile surgery to a whole new level of comfort:

    The Sofa will be travelling around the Romsey and Southampton North constituency with Sandra Gidley MP. Come to one of Sandra’s Sofa Surgeries, Sit on the Sofa with Sandra, and sign the I’ve Sat on Sandra’s Sofa visitor book.

    Sandra’s sofa even has a website:

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    Posted in News | Tagged | 1 Comment
    The Voice

    Nick Clegg publishes his message for Ramadan

    By The Voice | Sun 30th August 2009 - 2:45 pm

    You can find it as Muslim News – here’s an excerpt:

    We in the Liberal Democrats have always championed religious tolerance, and we are proud of the diverse traditions in our country. We recognise the importance of the principle of Zakat to Muslims, especially at this time, and I deeply regret that Islam can be unfairly portrayed in many parts of the media especially when Muslim communities in this country do so much excellent charitable work.

    The full article is here.

    Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 17 Comments
    The Voice

    When Potholes Attack!

    By The Voice | Sat 29th August 2009 - 2:45 pm

    My thanks to LDV reader Andrew Harrison (with a hit-tip to b3ta) for bringing The Voice’s attention to the Glum Councillors website, which is dedicated to “doggedly collate images of councillors looking glum whilst pointing at holes in the road, wearing hard hats or presenting oversized cheques.”

    We can take pride in the fact, sort of, that so many Lib Dems are prominently represented. As Andrew notes, pavement politics at its finest.

    Posted in Humour and Local government | Tagged , and | Leave a comment
    The Voice

    Gordon Seekings steps down as councillor

    By The Voice | Wed 26th August 2009 - 6:11 pm

    Lib Dem Voice doesn’t note the resignations of all councillors, but Gordon Seekings – for 22 years Lib Dem councillor for Northgate in Crawley – will be well known to many from the party’s membership services. Here’s how Crawley News reports it:

    Cllr Gordon Seekings, who represented Northgate for 22 years, cited “personal reasons” for his departure. He left his Crawley Borough Council post immediately after the announcement, meaning Northgate will be missing one councillor until the by-election. …

    Cllr David Shreeves, deputy leader of the council’s Labour group, added: “Gordon’s efforts as a councillor have been very valuable to the

    …

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    Posted in Local government | Tagged and | 1 Comment
    The Voice

    New link to Lib Dem Blogs

    By The Voice | Sat 22nd August 2009 - 5:50 pm

    A small housekeeping announcement: when we revamped this site, we removed the list of links to the latest blog posts on Lib Dem Blogs as the list was slow to load, took up a lot  of space and only showed posts for a very short period of time (given the volume of posts over on Lib Dem Blogs).

    Many readers have said though that they appreciated the convenient links through to other Liberal Democrat blogs, so we are testing out a Lib Dem Blogs button in the right-hand column, just under the latest poll. This gives you a clickable pop …

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    Posted in Site news | 11 Comments
    The Voice

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… Vince Cable: Banks pay up for their ‘crimes’, so why not rapists?

    By The Voice | Mon 3rd August 2009 - 5:15 pm

    Over at the Daily Mail, Lib Dem deputy leader Vince Cable argues that Britain’s system of compensation awards is “mad”. Here’s an excerpt:

    … The real scandal, however, is the meanness of the criminal injuries and military compensation system. The Armed Forces scheme is now being, belatedly, reviewed. But criminal injury awards seem likely to remain not only pitifully small but severely restricted and tardy. I had to write angry letters to the Government agency dealing with criminal injuries when a constituent – an innocent bystander who had been attacked by gangsters throwing acid in a pub – had been waiting

    …

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    The Voice

    How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

    By The Voice | Mon 3rd August 2009 - 10:20 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 …

    Continue reading »
    Posted in Site news | 1 Comment
    The Voice

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… Nick Clegg: If they drag McKinnon to America, he will never come back

    By The Voice | Sat 1st August 2009 - 5:30 pm

    Over at the Daily Mail, Nick Clegg mounts an impassioned attack against the decision to allow Gary McKinnon – the man with Asperger’s Syndrome who has admitted to being an amateur computer-hacker – to be extradited to the USA. Here’s an excerpt:

    If he boards the plane to the U.S., it is almost certain he will never set foot on British soil again, doomed to pass out the rest of his days in shackles on a foreign shore. This is nothing short of a disgrace – and yet there is still one tiny glimmer of hope. Even now the courts have

    …

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    Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 4 Comments
    The Voice

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… Nick Clegg: Don’t leave the Liberal Democrats out of it

    By The Voice | Fri 31st July 2009 - 5:45 pm

    Over at The Independent, Nick Clegg (under a slightly unfortunately whiny headline not of his creating) puts the case for a televised debate between the leaders of the main political parties. Here’s an excerpt:

    A debate wouldn’t advantage a party; it would advantage the people. It would be the voters’ opportunity to see the leaders competing to be Prime Minister promoting their policies and answering difficult questions about how they’d change the country. It would bring in a wider audience than leaders could reach otherwise, giving more people the opportunity to make up their own minds based on the facts.

    If Gordon

    …

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    Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 7 Comments
    The Voice

    Clegg on Chilcot: Blair and Brown must not escape Iraq inquiry spotlight

    By The Voice | Thu 30th July 2009 - 5:15 pm

    The man charged with heading the inquiry into the UK’s decision to go to war with Iraq, Sir John Chilcot, has today held a press conferenece to explain the timescales and the process under which it will operate:

    The “huge job” of going through vast amounts of material and evidence means the Iraq inquiry could continue into 2011 says chairman Sir John Chilcot.

    Launching the inquiry he said it would be “as open as possible” with hearings televised and streamed online. But he said some hearings would be held in private for national security reasons or to allow “more candour”. Sir John said Tony Blair would be among those asked to give evidence and he did not expect anyone to refuse to do so.

    There have been complaints that the inquiry, which will cover events from the summer of 2001 to the end of July 2009, will not report back before the next general election.

    Nick Clegg wrote to Sir john Chilcot last month setting out the Lib Dems’ wishes for the inquiry, and has reponded to today’s announcement:

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    Posted in News | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
    The Voice

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… Greg Stone: It’s time for the next Great Reform Act

    By The Voice | Thu 30th July 2009 - 4:00 pm

    Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free’s ‘A New Politics’ strand, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Newcastle East Greg Stone argues that we need to restore the health of our democracy by delivering fair voting to those dispossessed by a rotten system. You can read an excerpt here:

    … while there may not be fevered discussion about AV+, STV, or d’Hondt, there is an almost universal cry for political change from the voters I speak to. The view that two-party politics and a winner-takes-all electoral system are a fundamental part of the problem is at last becoming widespread. …

    Electoral reform would

    …

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    Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 1 Comment
    The Voice

    Teather: “We need a massive increase in the number of social homes”

    By The Voice | Wed 29th July 2009 - 9:00 pm

    Here are the facts, as reported by The Guardian based on this research by housing charity Shelter:

    More than one million children in England now live in overcrowded homes, a rise of 54,000 in the last two years, a charity warned today. New figures released by Shelter highlight the record number of under-15-year-olds living in cramped conditions, with one in 10 children in overcrowded housing.

    The figures, calculated from the government’s annual Survey of English Housing, reveal the problem is particularly acute in London and among those living in social housing. One in five (331,000) children in London and one

    …

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

    CommentIsLinked@LDV… James Graham: We need a harder line on voting reform

    By The Voice | Wed 29th July 2009 - 8:10 pm

    Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free’s ‘A New Politics’ strand Lib Dem blogger James Graham argues that if Gordon Brown is serious about electoral reform Lib Dems should support him – but we must be wary of any proposed referendum. Here’s an excerpt:

    Moving to the alternative vote system might be an improvement but it is a baby step, hardly worth having a referendum over at all. Even the Jenkins-designed alternative vote plus is not without its problems. Developed 10 years ago in a failed attempt to appease Tony Blair, it is a classic example of triangulation politics. As such

    …

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    Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | Leave a comment
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