Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

Ryland’s story – and why it’s important

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

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The Voice

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

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

David Watts and Liz Lynne in NewarkSpotted 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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The Voice

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

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

7 ver 4 fullMany 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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The Voice

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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The Voice

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

ALDC Master Logo (for screen)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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The Voice

++Breaking: Lord Oakeshott resigns from the Liberal Democrats

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

Matthew Oakeshott speaking at Lib Dem conference, Brighton 2007

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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The Voice

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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The Voice

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

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

Vince Cable - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsBusiness 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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The Voice

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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The Voice

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

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

Vince Cable speaking to mediaStatement 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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The Voice

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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The Voice

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 - paul walterPaddy 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:

You can watch the whole interview here.


–> Get Adobe Flash player–>

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The Voice

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

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

7 ver 4 fullMany 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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The Voice

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

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

TypingWe’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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The Voice

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

Sandra Gidley speaking at Lib Dem Conference, Brighton 2007One 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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The Voice

Clegg, Bruce and Tall comment on Liberal Democrat election results

By The Voice | Fri 23rd May 2014 - 12:33 pm

A little smorgasbord of Liberal Democrat commentary from f Nick Clegg, Malcolm Bruce and our co-editor Stephen Tall who have all been on the BBC this morning:

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The Voice

Happy Birthday to Sir Menzies Campbell

By The Voice | Thu 22nd May 2014 - 6:33 pm

image

 

What at does a Liberal Democrat MP do on his birthday?

Come in and phone bank at Scottish Liberal Democrat HQ, of course.

He was rewarded with  cake.

Happy Birthday, Ming.

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The Voice

Edward McMillan-Scott: Yorkshire benefits from access to Single European Market

By The Voice | Wed 21st May 2014 - 1:06 pm

Yorkshire DalesLiberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber Edward McMillan-Scott has been talking to the Yorkshire Post about the benefits staying in the EU brings to the region and asked those who believe in the EU to vote Liberal Democrat tomorrow:

There is no doubt whatsoever that as much as any region this one is benefiting from access to the single European market. The other side of that is inward investment. Siemens would not have committed themselves to Hull (to build a major wind turbine plant) unless they

…

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The Voice

What are Lib Dem MEPs doing for you?

By The Voice | Tue 20th May 2014 - 7:00 pm

We said yesterday that Lib Dem MEPs were too good to lose.

Here’s a short video which was played at the Conference rally at York this Spring which shows some of the excellent work that they do.

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The Voice

Tim Farron says thanks to Liberal Democrat candidates: “Everything you do can and will make a massive difference to the outcome on Thursday”

By The Voice | Tue 20th May 2014 - 1:10 pm

The Party President sends his thanks to the 2,730 Liberal Democrats standing in the local elections.

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The Voice

When Vince Cable warns we should listen

By The Voice | Tue 20th May 2014 - 11:40 am

Vince Cable - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsWhen Vince Cable issues a warning we should all pay heed.

According to the Guardian he was speaking last week at the Resolution Foundation and claimed that booming house prices are destabilising the economy. He said we should all be worried about what will happen when interest rates return to normal.

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The Voice

Nick Clegg in Scotland: Liberal Democrats are guarantors of more powers

By The Voice | Mon 19th May 2014 - 12:59 pm

Forth Railway Bridge at North Queensferry Fife ScotlandNick Clegg is coming to Scotland today to lend his support to George Lyon MEP ahead of Thursday’s European elections. He’s also going to be speaking to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce in Edinburgh.

There has been hardly any mention of actual European issues in this election as politics up here is dominated by the independence referendum. Nick’s remarks will concentrate on the question of more powers for the Scottish Parliament. He’ll say that a no vote is a positive choice and will repeat his …

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The Voice

“Big job but low pay” moans Bristol’s Green Party Assistant Mayor about £32k salary

By The Voice | Mon 19th May 2014 - 10:25 am

SONY DSC£32,000 a year is well above the average wage. Many people earn significantly less. Yet Bristol’s Assistant Mayor Gus Hoyt has been moaning on Twitter about his low pay.

It all started when someone suggested on Twitter that he might like to go to New York. His reply was that he couldn’t afford it. When his correspondent suggested that was a shame, he replied:

Yeah, Big time. Am in big job but low pay…local government

When Liberal Democrat Councillor Alex Smethurst and his colleague Chris Martin questioned his view of low pay, and …

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat MEPs are far too good to lose

By The Voice | Mon 19th May 2014 - 8:55 am

Screen Shot 2014-03-09 at 08.06.08 Liberal Democrats LibbyOne of the drawbacks of the way we vote for our MEPs is that so few people know who they are. You don’t vote for a person, you vote for a party and the party decides who goes to sit in the European Parliament. I’m not complaining about the PR nature of it, just that one of the drawbacks of the closed list system means that people don’t necessarily have that connection with an individual.

Our MEPs and candidates are all individuals with different things …

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 18th May 2014 - 1:21 pm

7 ver 4 fullMany thanks to the 17,300  visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

New ICM Poll: Do you want the okayish news or the bad news? (48 comments) by Stephen Tall

WATCH: Nigel Farage come a cropper at the hands of LBC’s James O’Brien (37 comments) by Stephen Tall

Opinion: The Bedroom Tax: A great socialist policy (39 comments) by Patrick McAuley

“Label the behaviour not the person”: why we shouldn’t call Ukip a racist party (107 comments) by Stephen Tall

Are the …

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The Voice

North East Liberal Democrat MEP candidate Angelika Schneider follows in the footsteps of women’s rights activists Emily Wilding Davison

By The Voice | Sun 18th May 2014 - 9:11 am

Make sure you have your say in the elections on Thursday. Remember what some sacrificed in order to secure your right to do so.

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sat 17th May 2014 - 6:20 pm

members forum wordleLibDemVoice 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 10 days:

…

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The Voice

Headline of the day: How exactly do you “bloke” a takeover?

By The Voice | Wed 14th May 2014 - 8:41 am

You’ve got to love this headline from the Yorkshire Post:

Vince blokes takeover

In the article, Vince is reported as telling the Commons Business Committee that he and the government were prepared to intervene over Pfizer’s planned takeover of Astra Zeneca, emphasising how important it was to protect the research base in the UK.

He said:

Yes, we work as a team and my colleagues have made very clear that, like me, they want options kept open.

We recognise that we have to keep the options open both in terms of

…

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The Voice

LibLink: Edward Macmillan-Scott on ‘The European Parliament, Human Rights champion’

By The Voice | Tue 13th May 2014 - 2:32 pm

edward mcmillan-scottEdward McMillan-Scott is the Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber , but also the European Parliament’s Vice President for Human Rights. He has written an article for the latest edition of  the European Parliament’s monthly magazine, EP Today, to mark Europe Day. He writes:

Despite the profound changes the world has undergone since the fall of the Berlin wall, torture, unlawful imprisonment and genocide still haunt us.

That is why the end of the European Parliament’s mandate is an opportunity to review the vital work done by the EU ensure the promotion and protection of human rights and democracy worldwide.

He then lists many projects and initiatives by the EU in the field of human rights and concludes:

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The Voice

Bath Liberal Democrats select Steve Bradley as candidate to replace Don Foster

By The Voice | Mon 12th May 2014 - 9:55 am

Steve BradleyAt the weekend, Bath Liberal Democrats selected Steve Bradley as their parliamentary candidate in place of Don Foster who  has been the city’s Liberal Democrat MP for 22 years.

From the Bath Chronicle:

More than 180 local party members met yesterday afternoon at the Salvation Army hall in James Street West to debate, discuss and vote from a shortlist of six contenders.

After a lengthy five-hour event they selected Mr Bradley, who is a a former Lib Dem councillor in Lambeth.

Mr Bradley, who first moved to the city in 1991 as a student at the University of Bath, said: “I am immensely proud and humbled to have been selected by local Liberal Democrat members as their candidate for the 2015 General Election.

“Don Foster has been a tremendous champion for this city for 22 years. I look forward to working closely with him in his remaining year as our MP.

“And I hope the people of Bath will place their faith in me to continue Don’s hard work in parliament on their behalf.”

Don Foster MP said:

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