Author Archives: The Voice

The US Presidential election maybe, perhaps diverted attention away from this post on Lib Dem Voice on Tuesday night, highlighting the three Tory councillors in South Norfolk who have, independently of each other, ended up with criminal convictions.

The incident did, however, inspire one local Lib Dem, Terry Gilbert, to compose some verse to commemorate the occasion. It’s well worth reading in full at his blog, Averse to the Right, but here’s a teaser:

So, what of their commitment
To fight anti-social crime?
Well, it might be better if
They kept themselves in line!

No fewer than three Councillors,
All Tories (one this week),
Have

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Via the BBC:

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has warned of an “epidemic of mental distress” if Britain is plunged into a recession.

It could “dramatically increase” the numbers of people suffering stress and depression, he said in a speech.

Mr Clegg said mentally ill people should be allowed to limit their own access to bank loans to prevent themselves getting into debt.

He says people should be able to take action when well so they cannot acquire new loans when they are ill.

More on Nick Clegg’s website, including the full speech.

Via The Guardian:

Barclays is raising up to £7.3bn, mainly from Middle East investors, who could end up owning nearly a third of the UK’s second largest bank.

The deal allows Barclays to strengthen its balance sheet without getting help from the taxpayer, but its terms, which are seen as generous to its new investors, drew fierce criticism today from Liberal Democrat deputy leader and Treasury spokesman Vince Cable.

“This is a scandal of mammoth proportions,” he said. “Here is a bank which relies on the taxpayer to bail it out if the going gets rough but which has offered Middle Eastern

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Thanks to The Times’ Sam Coates’ Red Box blog for drawing attention to this pithy comment from Danny Alexander, the Lib Dems’ Manifesto Group chair:

In the space of 24 hours we have seen the end of 42-day detention, the scrapping of plans for secret inquests and now the abolition of Key Stage Three tests. Just as banks are desperate to offload their toxic loans, the Government is swiftly ditching its toxic policies. As there are still several days of the week left there should be plenty of time for ministers to add ID Cards, Council Tax and Britain’s

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Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg – following on from his Independent article last wek – has once again spoken up for the need for the Government to put the needs of ordinary people to the fore. Here’s how PoliticsHome reports Nick’s appearance on BBC Radio 4’s The World At One at lunch-time:

Mr Clegg responded to the news that the government is seeking a promise from the banks to ease lending to small businesses. He said: “Anything that stops loans being called in against small and medium-size enterprises is welcome.”

He also argued that similar guarantees should be obtained in the

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Readers of Lib Dem Voice will well recall the story of Ian Oakely, the Conservative candidate for Watford and Hillingdon councillor*, who appeared in court and pleaded guilty in August to five charges of criminal damage and two of harrasment – LDV covered it here, and Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Watford Sal Brinton wrote about it here.

Mr Oakley today appeared before Central Herts Magistrates Court in St Albans, where he received an 18-week jail sentence suspended for 12 months. The BBC.co.uk report gives further details:

At August’s hearing the court heard Oakley had terrorised Liberal Democrat rivals

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The Lib Dem deputy leader and shadow chancellor Vince Cable has penned an article for the Mail looking on the bright side of the current economic crisis. It’s worth reading in full if you want to cheer yourselves up on a gloomy Monday morning, but here are some extracts:

Today, with the collapse of the vast global pyramid-selling scheme created by international financiers, many people will be experiencing similar emotions. There are potentially millions of victims – those whose pensions depend on share values, those who bought houses on large mortgages at the peak of the housing boom, small businesses

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Or so says the Telegraph this morning.

The Lib Dem leader was speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme this morning amidst the news of continuing market turmoil. You can hear the interview in full here. And PoliticsHome has a brief transcript here:

The short-term need is for the G7 to show they can work together on the international level, we need global interest rates cuts – and the international leaders must develop a global programme to prevent this from happening again.

“We have to realise we are not talking about a one off adjustment about the way bonuses are being paid – we are entering a

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It’s not just ID cards that Lib Dem MPs are battling – they’re also taking the fight to the EU to stop the introduction of a new system for the electronic tagging of sheep which farmers fear could cost thousands of pounds. The Voice’s favourite read FarmingUK.com has more:

The Westminster debate will give MPs the opportunity to quiz a DEFRA Minister on the plans. A delay in the implementation of the proposals has been secured but electronic identification will be introduced from January 2010.

Commenting, Mark Williams said:

“These plans will be deeply damaging to farmers, and I hope this

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The Lib Dem leader has an article in today’s Independent making clear that the party policy of tax cuts is part of the solution to the current economic crisis. Here’s an excerpt:

These are extraordinary times. Dramatic, even heavy-handed, action is right. It is right to go far beyond what I, as a liberal politician, would dream of proposing in the ordinary course of events. This is a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. It needs once-in-a-lifetime action. …

But, outside the financial markets, British families still need the excesses of central government to be reined in. As every family tightens its belt, government must

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The BBC website has the story:

British courts should refuse to act on an EU arrest warrant requesting the extradition of an alleged Holocaust denier, a senior Lib Dem has said. Australian citizen Dr Gerald Toben was remanded in custody after his arrest by British Police at Heathrow Airport. German authorities allege Dr Toben published material online “of an anti-semitic and/or revisionist nature”.

But home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said holocaust denial is not a crime in the UK and he should not be extradited. … The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), acting for the German authorities, argues that agreements signed

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Interviewed for BBC News, the Lib Dem deputy leader and shadow chancellor Vince Cable was asked if the UK is now in recession:

“It does look like it. The figures on manufacturing are particularly worrying. The fact that they are declining shows that we’ve got a serious real economic fall out. We do have a lot of recessionary trends coming into the economy.”

He said that whilst economic slowdown would inevitable lead to arise in unemployment, the impact had so far been cushioned by migrant workers leaving the country, and added that, “unemployment is not such a big issue as it was

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