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Author Archives: The Voice

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What’s going on in our Parliaments this week?

By The Voice | Mon 16th June 2014 - 10:42 am

What will be on our parliamentarians’ minds this week?

The Senedd

The most important thing from a Liberal Democrat point of view is the ending of the consultation period on Kirsty Williams’ minimum nursing levels bill which she wrote about here in March. If you have something you want to say on this, you have till close of business tomorrow. Here’s the information you need to respond.

Today sees an event to mark Welsh Refugee Week. Later in the week there …

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged scottish parliament, welsh assembly, westminster and what's on in parliament | 6 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 15th June 2014 - 2:45 pm

Many thanks to the 14,800 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Tales from the Federal Executive: The one where we discussed the Elections (228 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Nick and the Sun, a missed opportunity (153 comments0 by Caron Lindsay

Cambridge Lib Dems back Nick Clegg and reject leadership ballot (128 comments) by The Voice

Nick Clegg on the Liberal Democrats’ unique mission (67 comments) by The Voice

LibLink: Jeremy Browne: The Lib Dems must define themselves more clearly (73 comments) …

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

By The Voice | Sat 14th June 2014 - 1:00 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.

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:

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Seven Lib Dems feature in Queen’s Birthday Honours List

By The Voice | Sat 14th June 2014 - 9:10 am

Our congratulations to seven Lib Dems who feature in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

And please forgive us for starting with Mary Reid, one of this site’s volunteer editors. Mary was a Lib Dem councillor from 1997-2010 in Kingston upon Thames, serving on its executive board and as Mayor. She is named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “For political service, particularly in Kingston upon Thames (London)”.

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Posted in News | Tagged howard sykes, mary reid, paul tilsley and queens birthday honours | 8 Comments

Cambridge Liberal Democrats back Nick Clegg and reject leadership ballot

By The Voice | Fri 13th June 2014 - 10:50 pm

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have tonight rejected a resolution calling for a leadership ballot by 45 votes for 32. The Liberal Democrat Constitution makes provision for a leadership contest if 75 local parties vote for one at quorate general meetings.

The Cambridge News has the story:

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have decided to back Nick Clegg’s leadership.

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Posted in News | Tagged cambridge liberal democrats, leadership, nick clegg and special general meetings | 130 Comments

It’s been a while since Liberal Democrats got 25% in a ballot…

By The Voice | Thu 12th June 2014 - 12:45 pm

That got your attention, didn’t it?

Actually, it wasn’t so much a ballot but a great big raffle. This morning the annual draw took place to select twenty MPs to select Private Members’ Bills. Five Liberal Democrats were allotted slots, with the top two places going to Andrew George and Michael Moore. John Hemming, Sarah Teather and Martin Horwood complete our quintet.

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Posted in News | Tagged andrew george, john hemming, martin horwood, Michael Moore, private members bills and sarah teather | 12 Comments

New Liberal Democrat Mayor and Council Leader for Brentwood

By The Voice | Thu 12th June 2014 - 11:16 am

Brentwood Council has a new Liberal Democrat leader and Mayor after all the opposition parties formed an accord to remove the Tories from power. From the Brentwood Gazette:

Barry Aspinell and William Lloyd became leader and deputy leader of Brentwood Borough Council tonight at a packed council meeting, signalling the start of a four-party accord.

The annual council meeting saw the 19 of the 37 councillors present vote for the pair, who are members of the Liberal Democrats and Brentwood First respectively.

They form one half of the parties in “Brentwood Accord”, also

…

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Posted in News | Tagged barry aspinell, brentwood council and karen shelvers | 11 Comments

Willie Rennie MSP: “I need you to get out and make our positive, sunshine case for a stronger Scotland which works together as part of the UK.”

By The Voice | Tue 10th June 2014 - 6:59 pm

Edinburgh Castle, stunning in the morning sun Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie sent this email to party members to spur them into action 100 days ahead of the Independence Referendum.

Dear Friend,

With 100 days until the referendum, Liberal Democrats have a golden opportunity to loudly state our case for home rule for Scotland in a federal United Kingdom.
We know that the majority of people believe Scotland has the best of both worlds as part of the UK family.

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Posted in News | Tagged Scotland, Scottish independence referendum and willie rennie | 4 Comments

LibLink…Paddy Ashdown on the abuse against children in conflict

By The Voice | Tue 10th June 2014 - 4:45 pm

In a powerful article on Huffington Post, Paddy Ashdown writes in support of UNICEF’s campaign to end sexual violence against children in conflict. He writes:

During my years in Bosnia, both during the war and afterwards I heard and saw evidence of horrific stories of mass rape and sexual violence committed during the war. Thousands of women and children suffered terrible abuse and the physical and mental scars could stay with survivors for the rest of their lives.

Years later, sexual violence still remains entrenched in conflict zones around the world and children are often the most vulnerable. Children suffering in conflicts are growing up in a world where they face the daily threat of rape and abuse and sexual violence is considered the ‘norm’.

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged featured and paddy ashdown | 2 Comments

Sebastian Kindersley selected for South Cambridgeshire

By The Voice | Mon 9th June 2014 - 2:54 pm

Congratulations to Sebastian Kindersley who has been selected to fight the South Cambridgeshire constituency.

The selection was undertaken recently in the expectation that Andrew Lansley would be appointed as a European Commissioner, forcing a high profile by-election.

However, rumours today suggest that Lansley may not be appointed after all.

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Posted in Selection news | Tagged Sebastian Kindersley and south cambridgeshire | 2 Comments

Nick Clegg on the Liberal Democrats’ ‘unique mission’

By The Voice | Mon 9th June 2014 - 1:44 pm

This is the full text of the speech given by Nick Clegg today at Bloomberg.

The recent local and European election results were incredibly difficult for the Liberal Democrats. It’s been completely gutting to see good friends, longstanding councillors, outstanding MEPs – people who worked their socks off – lose their seats.

I’ve spent the last two weeks talking to lots of my colleagues in the party, listening to what people say about what we should do next, and I want to take a

…

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Posted in News | Tagged featured and nick clegg | 68 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 8th June 2014 - 11:55 am

Many thanks to the 14,400 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Newark by-election: Tories win well, UKIP falls short, Labour dips, Lib Dems collapse (210 comments) by Stephen Tall

Lib Dems need to take every opportunity to get our message out there (94 comments) by Nick Thornsby

Newark by-election: what I told the BBC’s Daily Politics (80 comments) by Stephen Tall

John Pugh MP writes..Liberals must tackle rising social inequality and improve social cohesion (55 comments) by John Pugh MP

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Posted in Site news | 1 Comment

In the next month 8 seats will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs

By The Voice | Sat 7th June 2014 - 5:40 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.

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

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Posted in Selection news | Tagged general election 2015 | 10 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sat 7th June 2014 - 4:35 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:

Tory Facing Seats: the structure of

…

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Eddie Clein on ‘Falling off the Fence’, his memoir of six decades in Liverpool politics

By The Voice | Sat 7th June 2014 - 2:30 pm

Eddie Clein, a long-standing former Lib Dem councillor and former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, has recently published his memoirs of his six decades’ involvement in the city’s politics – from his first win in 1969 through to his final defeat in 2012, aged 77. Here Eddie tells LDV a little more about his life and what the book covers…

As a key player in Liverpool’s Liberal Democrat administration (1998-2010), I thought it was important to place on record some of the party’s achievements and some of the

…

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Posted in Books | Tagged eddie clein and liverpool | 8 Comments

Ryland’s story – and why it’s important

By The Voice | Wed 4th June 2014 - 9:43 pm

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Posted in News | Tagged LGBT, rylands story and twitter | 53 Comments

Reports from the Newark by-election front line and the Liberal Democrats’ spirited campaign

By The Voice | Mon 2nd June 2014 - 7:00 pm

Spotted in an obscure corner of Facebook this morning was a report from London Lib Dem Julian Heather who’s spending a couple of days at the Newark by-election. It’s reproduced here with his permission:

I’m really impressed with the spirited campaign that our Lib Dem byelection candidate, David Watts, and the rest of the Liberal Democrat team are running here in Newark – it’s what one might call a small, but perfectly formed, campaign, as well as being greatly enjoyable!

And it’s that experience you get whenever

…

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Posted in News | Tagged david watts, julian heather and newark by-election | 16 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 1st June 2014 - 3:03 pm

Many thanks to the 30,400 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

European Election Results open thread (290 comments) by The Voice

Some quick questions for LibDems4Change (151 comments) by Caron Lindsay

EXCLUSIVE POLL: 54% of party members want Nick Clegg to stay as leader (125 comments) by Stephen Tall

Why I was persuaded to back Lib Dems 4 Change (335 comments) by George Potter

Breaking: Lord Oakeshott resigns from the Liberal Democrats (95 comments) by The Voice

Research on impact …

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Posted in Op-eds and Site news | Leave a comment

Lord Rennard issues apology to four women: “regret for any harm or embarrassment caused to them”

By The Voice | Fri 30th May 2014 - 7:41 am

Channel 4 News last night revealed that Lib Dem peer and former chief executive Lord (Chris) Rennard has issued a written apology to four of the women who accused him of sexual impropriety. You can read it in full below.

Read the Lord Rennard Letter in full by Channel4News

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Posted in News | Tagged alistair webster and chris rennard | 37 Comments

Tim Pickstone: This is a rough time, but we need to get back out on the doorsteps this Summer

By The Voice | Thu 29th May 2014 - 2:45 pm

We’ve been searching for inspiring and helpful post-election emails this week. We covered Willie Rennie’s and Maajid Nawaz’s earlier. Here is what ALDC Chief Executive Tim Pickstone sent to members:

This has been, and remains, a tough few days to be a Liberal Democrat.

Losing elections is always tough. But in the last few days every single one of us has lost an election, and a good number of us have lost two.

Again we have had to lose too many hard working Liberal Democrat councillors. In too many cases now wards which were hard fought and won over many years or decades no longer have Lib Dem representation. There are council groups who have played a huge role in our Lib Dem family that either don’t exist now, or are down to a handful of members. Our MEP team that played such a huge role in our success across Britain are no longer with us bar one.

I know just how hard so many people worked and still didn’t win. I know many people will be feeling rough and we need to support each other.

We should, of course, congratulate the 407 Liberal Democrat Councillors (plus one Mayor and one MEP) who have won seats on Thursday. The vast majority of you are ALDC members. Winning anywhere is an achievement in current circumstances. so very well done.

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Posted in News | Tagged aldc, local elections 2014 and tim pickstone | 27 Comments

++Breaking: Lord Oakeshott resigns from the Liberal Democrats

By The Voice | Wed 28th May 2014 - 12:30 pm

The Guardian reports that Lord Oakeshott has dramatically resigned from the Liberal Democrats. Here is his resignation statement:

I am today taking leave of absence from the House of Lords and resigning as a member of the Liberal Democrats. I am sure the Party is heading for disaster if it keeps Nick Clegg; and I must not get in the way of the many brave Liberal Democrats fighting for change.

I leave, with a heavy heart, the party I helped to found with such high hopes

…

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Posted in News | Tagged Lord oakeshott and vince cable | 95 Comments

LDVideo: Nick Clegg – It’s time to come together and focus on 2015

By The Voice | Tue 27th May 2014 - 8:07 pm

Nick Clegg has recorded the following video, which has just been emailed to party members:

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Posted in News | Tagged european elections 2014, local election results 2014 and nick clegg | 58 Comments

Cable: “Lord Oakeshott’s actions are totally inexcusable”

By The Voice | Tue 27th May 2014 - 5:57 pm

Business secretary Vince Cable has released the following statement in the last few moments:

Lord Oakeshott’s actions are totally inexcusable and unacceptable. I have made it very clear repeatedly that he does not speak or act for me.

Commissioning and publishing polls without the consent of the Member of Parliament, as in the case of Sheffield Hallam, is utterly reprehensible.

There are undoubtedly raw feelings in the wake of poor local and European election results. We need to respond in a measured way. Public speculation about the leadership is an unwelcome distraction and as I made absolutely clear yesterday there is no leadership issue as far as I’m concerned.

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Posted in News | Tagged matthew oakeshott and vince cable | 51 Comments

WATCH: Clegg – “the easiest thing in politics is just to walk away. I’m not going to do that”

By The Voice | Mon 26th May 2014 - 8:20 pm

A shattered-looking Nick Clegg has spoken today of the “gutting and heart breaking” European election results, but said he would not “walk away” from the leadership nor from the Coalition. You can read the full transcript of his interview with the BBC’s Vicki Young below.

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Posted in YouTube | 45 Comments

++ Breaking.. Vince Cable: There is no leadership issue

By The Voice | Mon 26th May 2014 - 4:46 pm

Statement from Vince Cable who’s away in China on Government business:

These were exceptionally disappointing results for the party. Many hard working Liberal Democrats, who gave this fight everything they had and then lost their seats, are feeling frustrated and disheartened and we all understand that.

Nick did a bold thing in standing up to the eurosceptic wave which has engulfed much of continental Europe. We are the only party to have taken that on and he personally deserves tremendous credit for that. There is no leadership issue. We

…

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Posted in News | Tagged european elections 2014, nick clegg and vince cable | 36 Comments

European Election Results: Open Thread

By The Voice | Sun 25th May 2014 - 9:32 pm

Caron Lindsay 9:25pm

I am not sure how long I will last tonight, but I thought I’d at least start an open thread to bring news and views as things unfold tonight. It’s not, I fear, going to be a very good night, hence the large box of tissues next to me and cushions to hide behind. There’s emergency malt whisky in the cupboard, too, if I need it.

I’m starting off this Election Results night listening to Iain Dale and Duncan Barks on LBC. Tim Farron has already been on saying much as he did this morning, that he’s proud of …

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Posted in News | Tagged european elections 2014 and results | 290 Comments

Paddy Ashdown: This is moment we need to campaign through Summer and get good message out for the General Election

By The Voice | Sun 25th May 2014 - 5:59 pm

Paddy Ashdown, not surprisingly, came out strongly in Nick Clegg’s defence on the Sunday Politics this morning.

He said that we had a good message to proudly proclaim in the run up to the General Election.

Ditching Nick now would irreparably damage the party, he said, as it would show that we can’t hack being in Government.

He reminded us of his drubbing 25 years ago at the first European elections the party fought where we ended up as an asterisk.

He has upset some of the people who are unhappy at the moment by appearing to trivialise their concerns by suggesting that more people had signed up to Lib Dem Friends of Cake than had signed the letter. However, he later clarified on Twitter that he thought they were wrong but respected them:

@lordbonkers @caronmlindsay Unfair. I fully respected the sincerity of the critics. Its their proposal I think wrong, not their intention.

— Paddy Ashdown (@paddyashdown) May 25, 2014

You can watch the whole interview here.

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Posted in News | Tagged andrew neil, leadership, nick clegg, paddy ashdown and sunday politics | 8 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 25th May 2014 - 3:38 pm

Many thanks to the 33,765 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Not everything you read on the internet about UKIP and Nigel Farage is true (28 comments) by Caron Lindsay

About that UKIP earthquake…Farage’s party national vote share DOWN on 2013 (39 comments) by Stephen Tall

Local Elections: Overnight results roundup (updated) (73 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Opinion: Why I was persuaded to back Lib Dems 4 Change (298 comments) by George Potter

Local Elections 2014: Friday afternoon Roundup (Updated) …

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Nick Clegg’s leadership: What are Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? (updated)

By The Voice | Sun 25th May 2014 - 1:47 pm

We’ve heard what the papers have had to say about Nick Clegg’s future, and we’ve had some reports of tv interviews with senior party figures. But what’s the Liberal Democrat blogosphere say? As you might expect, there is a wide range of opinion. Here are some snippets.

Senior Liverpool councillor Richard Kemp, who gave one of the best speeches at Federal Conference last Autumn against the Bedroom Tax, says that Nick should stay:

I believe that Nick Clegg is a thoroughly decent man who has made the best of a bad deal for

…

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Posted in News | Tagged featured and liberal democrat bloggers | 39 Comments

Sandra Gidley: “We can’t make our case because Nick is associated with negative aspects of coalition”

By The Voice | Sun 25th May 2014 - 12:14 pm

One of the most prominent party figures yet to sign the letter calling for Nick Clegg to step down as party leader, Sandra Gidley, former MP for Romsey, was interviewed on the Murnaghan programme on Sky News this morning. She said that Nick was holding us back from being able to make our case.

This is not about pros or cons of the coalition, it’s more about howe we’ve handled it and how we should be making more of a case about the good

…

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Posted in News | Tagged murnaghan and sandra gidley | 21 Comments