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Author Archives: The Voice

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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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Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

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

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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Posted in News | 18 Comments

Happy Birthday to Sir Menzies Campbell

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

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.

Posted in News | Tagged sir menzies campbell | 1 Comment

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

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

Liberal 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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Posted in News | Tagged carl minns, edward mcmillan-scott, european elections 2014 and local elections 2014 | 1 Comment

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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Posted in News | Tagged european elections 2014, featured and liberal democrats | 1 Comment

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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Posted in News | Tagged local elections and tim farron | 2 Comments

When Vince Cable warns we should listen

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

When 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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Posted in News | Tagged economy, housing and vince cable | 15 Comments

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

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

Nick 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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Posted in News | Tagged nick clegg, Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 7 Comments

“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

£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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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged Alex Smethurst, Bristol City Council and Gus Hoyt | 41 Comments

Liberal Democrat MEPs are far too good to lose

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

One 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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Posted in News | Tagged european elections 2014, featured and Liberal Democrat MEPs | 17 Comments

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

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

Many 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

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

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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Posted in News | Tagged angelika schneider, emily wilding davison and european elections 2014 | Leave a comment

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

By The Voice | Sat 17th May 2014 - 6:20 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 10 days:

Labour on housing, landlords and tenants

…

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Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

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:

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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Posted in News | Tagged astra zeneca julian huppert, pfizer and vince cable | 4 Comments

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

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

Edward 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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Posted in News | Tagged edward mcmillan-scott, eu, european parliament and human rights | 1 Comment

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

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

At 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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Posted in News | Tagged bath, don foster, general election 2015, liberal democrat ppcs and steve bradley | 25 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 11th May 2014 - 4:09 pm

Many thanks to the 16300 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Opinion: We are still living with the consequences of nationalised railways today. Turning back the clock will make matters worse. (117 comments) by Alisdair Calder McGregor

Labour VAT attack backfires badly (43 comments) by Joe Otten

Nick Clegg unveils council waste and incompetence (71 comments) by The Voice

An open letter to UKIP voters (106 comments) by Paul Reynolds

Latest Euro election polls: Ukip take the lead, but what about …

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Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Devo 15: 15 great achievements in 15 years of the Scottish Parliament

By The Voice | Sun 11th May 2014 - 8:43 am

Tomorrow, it’s 15 years since the first meeting of the Scottish Parliament established after may years of work and campaigning by the Scottish Constitutional Convention. In that first decade and a half, it’s done some groundbreaking and pioneering things. It has a lot to be proud of. Here are some of Holyrood’s highlights.

1. Free personal care for the elderly – Enabling older people to live at home for as long as possible

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Posted in News | Tagged devolution, holyrood, Scotland and scottish parliament | Leave a comment

Clegg: Pro-Europeans are the real reformers now

By The Voice | Fri 9th May 2014 - 12:30 pm

Speaking at a Reuter’s Newsmaker event this morning Nick Clegg argued the case for reforming the EU, and for the Liberal Democrats to lead this charge.

The economic rationale for being in Europe should speak for itself, but making the case for IN isn’t easy. The Eurosceptic establishment has gone unchallenged for decades and before you even get to the real issues at the heart of this debate, you have to penetrate a wall of assumptions and myths.

…

Or the biggest myth of all – the idea that

…

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Posted in News | Tagged europe | 22 Comments

Former Tory candidate urges Haringey residents to vote Liberal Democrat in local elections

By The Voice | Thu 8th May 2014 - 7:29 pm

Labour’s record in running the Council in Haringey is not what you would call impressive. Despite charging the fifth highest Council Tax in the City, the Audit Commission marked it as the worst in London. Despite massively overspending its schools budget, its primaries schools were described as “the worst and going backwards” and they send folk off on luxury yacht trips at taxpayers’ expense.

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Posted in News | 2 Comments

Guy Verhofstadt joins fellow Commission presidency candidates for first TV debate

By The Voice | Thu 8th May 2014 - 3:03 pm

Guy Verhofstadt, former Belgian prime minister and Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party nominee for the presidency of the European Commission, joined the three other main contenders for the job — Jean-Claude Juncker (European People’s Party), Martin Schultz (Party of European Socialists) and Ska Keller (European Green Party) — for the first ever televised debate between Commission presidency candidates.

You can watch a video of the debate, which was hosted by Euro News, below:

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Posted in News | Tagged european commission and guy verhofstadt | 4 Comments

Phil Bennion MEP wins Clean Air award

By The Voice | Wed 7th May 2014 - 8:05 pm

Liberal Democrat MEP and European Transport Spokesman Phil Bennion has won an award for his work in improving air quality in cities across the UK, after a successful campaign to cut deadly pollution including from diesel-powered vehicles.

Phil was given the “Clean Air in Cities Award” by campaigning group Clean Air in London after he successfully campaigned to ensure tailpipe exhaust checks are included in MOT tests under EU law. This will help detect harmful emissions and ensure that newer diesel-powered vehicles remain fitted with exhaust filters that prevent deadly particulate pollution being released into the air.

Around a quarter of pollution in the atmosphere in the UK comes from diesel engines, contributing to an estimated 7,000 of the 29,000 premature deaths caused by air pollution each year.

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Posted in News | Tagged clean air, environment, eu, phil bennion, pollution and transport | 1 Comment

Calling all writers – two essay competitions on liberalism and liberty coming up soon

By The Voice | Wed 7th May 2014 - 8:55 am

We bring you news of two essay competitions which may have escaped your attention.

CentreForum marks the 10th anniversary of the Orange Book

Can you believe it’s 10 years since the Orange Book? That publication is celebrated by some, reviled by others within the Liberal Democrats. It can never be accused of being boring though. It stimulated one of the biggest policy debates in the history of the party. It was also much maligned as some sort of right wing credo but people forget that Steve Webb wrote for …

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Posted in News | Tagged centreforum, competitions, liberty and orange book | 5 Comments

Nick Clegg unveils Council waste and incompetence

By The Voice | Tue 6th May 2014 - 12:10 pm

Today Nick Clegg launches the Liberal Democrats’ local election campaign with a fascinating round-up of Tory and Labour ‘achievements’. As he writes:

If you want to understand a political party’s values, look at one thing: when they are in power, how do they spend your money?

Here is a sample of the worst or daftest excesses:

Labour Councils

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Posted in News | Tagged local election campaign and nick clegg | 71 Comments

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