Author Archives: The Voice

Willott and Hunter stand down as Assistant Government Whips, Burt and Brake take over

By The Voice | Tue 4th November 2014 - 1:48 pm

Jenny Willott has stepped down as Assistant Government Whip to free herself up to concentrate on her constituency and to be able to speak in the House of Commons. Here are the letters exchanged between Jenny and Nick Clegg in full:

Posted in News | Tagged jenny willott and nick clegg | 29 Comments

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 2nd November 2014 - 2:53 pm

Many thanks to the 15,700 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

On making LDV more inclusive (100 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Paddy Ashdown on Bosnia and Herzegovina (7 comments) by The Voice

Botswana elections: Liberal Democrats help sister party and “calm revolutionary of our time” (99 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Presidential Candidates’ Emails to party members

By The Voice | Sun 2nd November 2014 - 11:55 am

Last night, emails from all 3 candidates for party president were sent to party members. Ballot papers have started arriving on the doorsteps of the party’s 44,000 members. Members have the choice of either sending their ballot paper back in the reply paid envelope provided or voting online. You can’t do both, obviously. Checks are in place to ensure that people only vote once.

Here are the emails in full with links to the candidates’ websites:

Posted in News | Tagged daisy cooper, liz lynne, presidential election 2014 and sal brinton | 45 Comments

A trio of awards ceremonies for Lynne Featherstone

By The Voice | Sun 2nd November 2014 - 10:25 am

It’s a busy week for Lynne Featherstone. Last Tuesday, she won Pink News’s Ally of the Year award as the Minister responsible for setting the same sex marriage process in motion. She’s responsible for a great deal of happiness. She said of her win:

I’d like to thank Pink News for giving me this award, and everyone who was at the event for the reception they gave me – it’s so heart-warming.

Bringing about this positive social change is one of the greatest achievements of our generation, and I’m so thankful to all the organisations, politicians, civil servants and people who supported the successful campaign for Equal Marriage law from start to finish.

Posted in News | Tagged lynne featherstone and same sex marriage | 3 Comments

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

By The Voice | Sat 1st November 2014 - 4:45 pm

LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you’re reading now. The second is our private members’ forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access.

If you’re a member and want to chat with fellow party members about any issue that’s on your mind, then why not sign up? In addition, you’ll be included in our regular surveys’ of party members’ views.

Here’s some of the most active discussions this past 7 days:

When are the federal election ballots being

…

Posted in Site news | 7 Comments

REMINDER: Helena Morrissey’s call for feedback: reply by 7th November

By The Voice | Sat 1st November 2014 - 3:05 pm

Just a gentle reminder about Helena Morrissey’s call for feedback on progress since her report was published in June last year. She wants your comments by this coming Friday, 7th November. Here’s what she wrote on 13th October:

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured | 5 Comments

Birmingham Post: “MP John Hemming is often a beacon of truth”

By The Voice | Sat 1st November 2014 - 12:05 pm

That’s the glowing verdict of the Birmingham Post’s Jonathan Walker on the city’s Yardley Lib Dem MP, John Hemming:

Let’s give credit where it’s due and celebrate one of the mavericks of the House of Commons. He’s a little eccentric and if he’s blessed with a brain the size of a planet he might just have an ego to match. But he’s frequently championed unfashionable causes – and eventually been proved right.

The trigger for this bout of praise was his role as chairman of a campaign group called Parents Want a …

Posted in News | Tagged birmingham post, birmingham yardley, john hemming and jonathan walker | 2 Comments

Kirsty Williams: For Labour and the Tories, Welsh patients are just collateral damage in NHS War

By The Voice | Tue 28th October 2014 - 3:55 pm

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams emailed Welsh members yesterday about the current war of words over the Welsh NHS. Here’s what she said:

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams, NHS and Wales | 4 Comments

Federal Committee candidate lists announced

By The Voice | Tue 28th October 2014 - 10:25 am

If you are a party member, you might want to head to this thread on our Members’ Forum to see the lists of people standing for the Party Committees. The ballot will be conducted predominantly online with links to the ballot being provided to those Conference Representatives for whom the party has an email address. Those emails will be being despatched imminently. Ballots will be sent by post to those for whom there is no email address. The postie will be struggling up the path with the weight of the mailing – there are over 100 candidates for the 42 places on the three committees.

Posted in News | Tagged federal conference committee, federal executive, federal policy committee, party elections 2014 and party organisation | 13 Comments

Carmichael talks green investment, energy and renewables

By The Voice | Tue 28th October 2014 - 8:55 am

Yesterday, Alistair Carmichael spoke at a Green investment conference in Edinburgh, which is, of course, home to the Green Investment Bank.

It was a strong pitch to persuade those attending that the Liberal Democrats are delivering in Government on policies that are both green and pro-businesss. Here are some of the highlights.

Being Scotland, there had to be a bit on the constitution, though, and the Smith Commission:

Posted in News | Tagged Alistair Carmichael, climate change, green investment bank and renewable energy | 4 Comments

LibLink: Ed Davey promises no blackouts this winter

By The Voice | Mon 27th October 2014 - 4:03 pm

Interviewed in the Sunday Telgraph, Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, said that he had asked the energy regulators for extra contingency measures to cut consumption in event of a cold winter or more power station failures.

Emergency plans will be announced tomorrow in which hotels will be paid to turn down refrigerators and factories paid to make staff work overnight to cut energy consumption and prevent blackouts this winter.

Posted in News | Tagged energy and energy security | 34 Comments

LibLink: What Nick Clegg wrote on Mumsnet about shared parental leave – and he didn’t mince his words

By The Voice | Mon 27th October 2014 - 2:31 pm

Let’s bankrupt Britain’s businesses and, once we’re done, burn the buildings to the ground.

This is what you might have thought I’d said last week, if you saw some of the reaction to my plans to increase fathers’ rights when it comes to shared parental leave.

Nick Clegg was writing on Mumsnet at the weekend, dealing with some of the misleading and downright misogynistic claims made in the media about the scheme. As he made clear:

Posted in LibLink | Tagged mumsnet, nick clegg and shared parental leave | 11 Comments

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

By The Voice | Sun 26th October 2014 - 5:00 pm

LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you’re reading now. The second is our private members’ forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access.

Here’s some of the most active discussions this past 7 days:

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Sal Brinton on how Liberal Democrats helped change law on revenge porn

By The Voice | Sun 26th October 2014 - 3:30 pm

If you have half an hour today, make sure you listen to the Week in Westminster, available here on iPlayer.

In it, Tom Brake debates the merits of fixed term Parliaments. The Tory argument against them seems to be more based in self interest and “we are sick fed up of the coalition and these pesky Liberal Democrats” than anything that actually matters.

Sal Brinton is also on talking about revenge porn which was made illegal in moves driven by Liberal Democrats including Sal, Olly Grender, Jonathan Marks and Liz Barker. Presenter Helen Lewis had initially said that the move was part of Chris Grayling’s move to combat internet abuse. Sal put her right, explaining that the impetus actually came from Liberal Democrats on the back of Hannah Thompson’s campaign. She was very diplomatic about the process of getting Government support for the move. You’ll have to listen to see how, in the last few minutes of the programme.

Posted in News | Tagged helen lewis, olly grender, radio 4, revenge porn, sal brinton, tom brake and week at westminster | 8 Comments

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 26th October 2014 - 1:55 pm

Many thanks to the 15,700 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Confused Britain (60 comments) by Scott Stables

Linda Jack drops out of race for party president (58 comments) by Mary Reid

Is this the front page of the next Lib Dem manifesto? (88 comments) by Stephen Tall

10 years on from the Orange Book, what should authentic liberalism look like? (78 comments) by Stephen Tall

“Duraàntezmania: that has legs” and other compliments for Miriam (74 comments) by The Voice

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

In the next month 22 seats will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs

By The Voice | Sat 25th October 2014 - 6:00 pm

Here’s the full list of selection contests in the coming month available for Lib Dems on the approved parliamentary candidates’ list, together with the closing date for applications. They include Taunton Deane, Jeremy Browne’s seat since 2005, and which he held at the last election with a majority of 3,993 (6.9%) over the Conservatves.

The following seats have selections in progress and are currently advertising for candidates:

Posted in Selection news | Tagged general election 2015 and taunton deane | 6 Comments

Paddy Ashdown on Bosnia and Herzegovina: “These are dangerous times; they are very dangerous times indeed”

By The Voice | Sat 25th October 2014 - 3:55 pm

Lord (Paddy) Ashdown, former international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2002 to 2006, led this week’s House of Lords debate on the situation in the country following its recent election. Here’s what he had to say…

Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (LD): My Lords, a few months before the last election in the last months of 2009, my right honourable friend William Hague and I—well, at least he was not my right honourable friend then, but he is today; he was then the shadow Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs—wrote a joint article for the British and foreign press on Bosnia and Herzegovina. We complained bitterly that Bosnia was stuck, that the progress that we had made during the previous 10 years had gone backwards, that the tone of nationalistic rhetoric had risen, that this was dangerous and that Bosnia remained stuck in a mire of dysfunctionality and corruption.

Posted in Europe / International and Parliament | Tagged bosnia herzegovina and paddy ashdown | 9 Comments

Nick Clegg’s message for Diwali 2014

By The Voice | Sat 25th October 2014 - 1:25 pm

Here is Nick Clegg’s message for Diwali. The full transcript is below for those who have difficulty with hearing.

Posted in News | Tagged diwali 2014 and nick clegg | 2 Comments

A powerful message from Canada’s Liberal leader in response to Wednesday’s shootings

By The Voice | Fri 24th October 2014 - 1:33 pm

What would you want a liberal to say in the wake of shocking and violent events in your country? It must be something pretty close to Justin Trudeau’s words, full of dignity, wisdom and empathy.

Watch the video and see the excerpt below:

Posted in News | Tagged canada, international and Justin Trudeau | 11 Comments

Roundtable talks on new mental health waiting time standards

By The Voice | Fri 24th October 2014 - 12:01 pm

Today Nick Clegg and Norman Lamb held roundtable talks on mental health services in Sheffield.

Representatives from the local NHS discussed the impact of mental health conditions being brought into line with other NHS services, with the introduction of the first ever waiting time standards.

For the first time, from April 2015, most patients needing talking therapies – for conditions like depression – will be guaranteed the treatment they need in as little as six weeks, with a maximum wait of 18 weeks.

Posted in News | Tagged mental health | 1 Comment

Clare Campion-Smith Selected as Lib Dem PPC for Bristol North West

By The Voice | Fri 24th October 2014 - 8:49 am

At a well-attended meeting in St Edyth’s Hall, Sea Mills, Liberal Democrats selected Cllr Clare Campion-Smith to be their prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for the Bristol North West parliamentary seat.

Cllr Campion-Smith was first elected to represent the Henleaze ward in May 2006. She was re-elected earlier this year, beating her nearest rival by over 500 votes. From February 2009 to November 2012, Clare was the lead member for Children’s Services and she is now the Vice-Chair of the Business Change & Resources Scrutiny Committee. She has previously worked as a mathematics teacher and currently lives with her husband in Redland. They have two children, one daughter-in-law and one grandson.

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Horwood and Burstow take part in Westminster Dog of the Year

By The Voice | Thu 23rd October 2014 - 10:02 am

This year’s Westminster Dog of the Year gets underway shortly. The aim is to celebrate that great bond between dog and human and to promote responsible dog ownership.

Last year, the Liberal Democrats were represented by Tessa Munt and Poppy. This year Paul Burstow and Martin Horwood are taking part.

Paul takes part with his dog Indy, who came to them as a rescue dog 4 years ago:

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged martin horwood, paul burstow and westminster dog of the year | Leave a comment

Kirsty Williams questions Welsh First Minister on “lack of ambition” for young people

By The Voice | Wed 22nd October 2014 - 4:52 pm

Kirsty Williams seemed choked with the cold when she questioned First Minister Carwyn Jones yesterday but her fighting spirit was undiminished as she took him to task for what she called his government’s aspiration towards mediocrity rather than excellence in the wake of the annual Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission report which said that poorer children in Wales were significantly less likely to obtain 5 GCSE’s including Maths and English. Even at the age of 3, children in Wales were falling behind those in England and Scotland in terms of vocabulary. While children in England caught up with those in Scotland by the age of 5, children in Wales fell further behind.

In his response, Mr Jones had to point to the “Pupil Deprivation Grant” as being part of the solution.

Posted in News | Tagged kirsty williams and welsh liberal democrats | 1 Comment

LDVideo: Vikki Slade on Free School Meals in action

By The Voice | Wed 22nd October 2014 - 8:47 am

In Channel 4’s Political Slot this week, Lib Dem candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole Vikki Slade finds out how the party’s policy of free school meals for 4-7 year olds is having a huge impact locally. You can watch it here.

Posted in YouTube | Tagged free school meals, mid dorset and north poole and vikki slade | 2 Comments

Conference Speeches: Vince Cable: Liberal Democrats have brought compassion, common sense and competence to Government

By The Voice | Sun 19th October 2014 - 2:45 pm

Continuing our series of Conference speeches, today it’s the turn of Vince Cable. He announced an increase in pay for apprentices, talked about the benefits of migration and spelled out the difference between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. He talked about what the Liberal Democrats have brought to the Government and exhorted us to be proud about it.

You can watch here, and the text is below:

Posted in News | Tagged conference speeches and vince cable | 7 Comments

“Durántezmania – that has legs” and other compliments for Miriam

By The Voice | Sun 19th October 2014 - 1:15 pm

It seems that Miriam González Durántez’s interview the other day has impressed a couple of Fleet Street columnists.

In the Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff says Miriam is “electrifying.”:

I’ve seen Miriam talking to girls at an Essex comp about raising their sights. She was electrifying. In a world where successful women are regularly portrayed as ball-breakers, lonely, or just underdressed, she makes working motherhood look thrillingly fun and achievable, if not easy. (She’s big on graft). And for teenage girls, she explodes the myth that men won’t want you if you’re clever. She doesn’t rush, surrendered wife-style, to kiss Clegg for the cameras after a party conference speech: she waits for him to come to her – and he does.

In person she’s funny, frank, mischievous, and enviably fearless. She doesn’t care how people judge her: she simply can’t see why she can’t have what men have, professionally and personally (which is of course why a certain kind of man hates her).

Posted in News | Tagged miriam gonzalez durante | 74 Comments

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 19th October 2014 - 12:30 pm

Many thanks to the 15,700 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

++Jeremy Browne to stand down as Lib Dem MP in 2015 (110 comments) by The Voice

Opinion: Generation Y: Why don’t they vote Lib Dem? (114 comments) by Simon McGrath

Opinion: Jeremy Browne deserves our thanks (46 comments) by Ed Fordham

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Conference Speeches: Lynne Featherstone: I have been able to do über-Liberal things in Government

By The Voice | Sat 18th October 2014 - 3:25 pm

Conference may have been a week or so ago but we still have some keynote speeches to post. Lynne Featherstone spoke about the work she had done to help the most vulnerable people across the world with great humility. She said she had been able to introduce über-liberal policies but was also keen to pay tribute to Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg for getting the economy on track.

She spoke powerfully about what she’s dong to protect women and girls around the globe and talked with great humility, saying that whenever she meets people in desperate circumstances she’s very aware that that could have been her. “I didn’t choose where I was born” she said. Here is the video and the text is below:

Posted in News | Tagged conference speeches, equality, international development, LGBT rights, liberal democrat conference 2014, lynne featherstone and women | 4 Comments

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

By The Voice | Sat 18th October 2014 - 1:55 pm

LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you’re reading now. The second is our private members’ forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access.

Here’s some of the most active discussions this past 7 days:

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Massive swing from Labour as Liberal Democrat Andrew Waller regains Council seat in York

By The Voice | Fri 17th October 2014 - 11:38 am

There’s some really good news from York today. In a by-election, former Liberal Democrat Group Leader, who lost his seat in the City’s Westfield ward in 2011, regained it in spectacular style, with a 24.8% swing from Labour.

The result in full is:

Posted in News | 20 Comments

Op-eds

ALDC by-election report – 5 November (Charles Quinn)
Tom Arms’ World Review (Tom Arms)
Observations of an Expat: Post Election Worries (Tom Arms)
How Liberal Democrats can ride Britain’s youth wave on the pro-EU shift (Rupinder Singh)
Just growth by lowering deadweight losses through tax (Tony Vickers)

Advert

Chris Coghlan: put children with complex needs at centre of SEND reforms

SNP Govt defeated on Lib Dem motion

Vince Cable writes: A budget of small things

Chadwick launches leadership bid

Author Archives: The Voice

Willott and Hunter stand down as Assistant Government Whips, Burt and Brake take over

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

Presidential Candidates’ Emails to party members

A trio of awards ceremonies for Lynne Featherstone

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

REMINDER: Helena Morrissey’s call for feedback: reply by 7th November

Birmingham Post: “MP John Hemming is often a beacon of truth”

Kirsty Williams: For Labour and the Tories, Welsh patients are just collateral damage in NHS War

Federal Committee candidate lists announced

Carmichael talks green investment, energy and renewables

LibLink: Ed Davey promises no blackouts this winter

LibLink: What Nick Clegg wrote on Mumsnet about shared parental leave – and he didn’t mince his words

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

Sal Brinton on how Liberal Democrats helped change law on revenge porn

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

In the next month 22 seats will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs

Paddy Ashdown on Bosnia and Herzegovina: “These are dangerous times; they are very dangerous times indeed”

Nick Clegg’s message for Diwali 2014

A powerful message from Canada’s Liberal leader in response to Wednesday’s shootings

Roundtable talks on new mental health waiting time standards

Clare Campion-Smith Selected as Lib Dem PPC for Bristol North West

Horwood and Burstow take part in Westminster Dog of the Year

Kirsty Williams questions Welsh First Minister on “lack of ambition” for young people

LDVideo: Vikki Slade on Free School Meals in action

Conference Speeches: Vince Cable: Liberal Democrats have brought compassion, common sense and competence to Government

“Durántezmania – that has legs” and other compliments for Miriam

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

Conference Speeches: Lynne Featherstone: I have been able to do über-Liberal things in Government

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

Massive swing from Labour as Liberal Democrat Andrew Waller regains Council seat in York

Most Read

Op-eds

Recent Comments

Chris Coghlan: put children with complex needs at centre of SEND reforms

SNP Govt defeated on Lib Dem motion

Vince Cable writes: A budget of small things

Chadwick launches leadership bid

Author Archives: The Voice

Subscribe

Most Read

Search

Op-eds

Recent Comments