Author Archives: The Voice

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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The Voice

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

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

7 ver 4 fullMany 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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The Voice

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

Stay Well At Home Service, Evesham, Britain

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The Voice

Clegg: Pro-Europeans are the real reformers now

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

european union starsSpeaking 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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The Voice

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

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

Haringey's special roundaboutLabour’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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The Voice

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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The Voice

Phil Bennion MEP wins Clean Air award

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

Phil Bennion MEP at the European Parliament

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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The Voice

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.

Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 06.31.09CentreForum 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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The Voice

Nick Clegg unveils Council waste and incompetence

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

wasteToday 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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The Voice

Scottish Liberal Democrats launch their European Election campaign – IN Britain, IN Europe, IN Work

By The Voice | Mon 5th May 2014 - 2:47 pm

Given the illustrious collection of single malts that there is in Scottish Party HQ, it’s hardly surprising that the party decided to launch its campaign of for the European elections in a distillery near Edinburgh. Alistair Carmichael, Willie Rennie and George Lyon checked out the products as they outlined the campaign themes.

Rennie, Carmichael and Lyon

There are no local elections in Scotland this year, but there is an added dimension with the approaching independence referendum. The Party of IN arguments apply just as much to Scotland staying in the UK as they do to the UK staying in Europe.

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 4th May 2014 - 2:40 pm

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

UKIP examined, who they are, what they stand for and what does it mean for British politics? (79 comments) by Stephen Tall

Latest Euro-election polls: UKIP take the lead but what about the Lib Dems (43 comments) by Stephen Tall

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sat 3rd May 2014 - 2:03 pm

forum1LibDemVoice 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 week:

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The Voice

Lynne Featherstone on the need for clean cookstoves to transform the lives of women and girls

By The Voice | Sat 3rd May 2014 - 12:23 pm

Dr. Kalpana Balakrishnan tells Secretary Clinton more about the clean cookstoves effort in South India.Earlier this week we told you of Paddy Ashdown’s visit to Bangladesh to raise awareness of the need for clean stoves. This is also an area where Liberal Democrat International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone has been working and on Thursday, she spoke at a Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves conference in London. This issue is important because the World Health Organisation estimates that 4.3 million people lost their lives through being exposed to household air …

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The Voice

Norman Lamb: Ensuring good quality care is essential to Lib Dem mission for fairer society

By The Voice | Sat 3rd May 2014 - 10:57 am

Stay Well At Home Service, Evesham, BritainThe BBC reports that those seeking to work in care homes will have to have a certificate before being allowed to look after people without supervision.

New care workers will have to earn a training certificate within 12 weeks of starting a job in a hospital or care home, the BBC has learned.

The initiative comes in from March next year in England for staff including hospital healthcare assistants.

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The Voice

LibLink: Catherine Bearder MEP – UKIP’s utter contempt for the electorate

By The Voice | Thu 1st May 2014 - 2:32 pm

Nigel Farage, Leader, UK Independence Party (UKIP)Following Nigel Farage’s eventual decision not to run in the Newark by-election, Lib Dem MEP for the South-East of England Catherine Bearder shared her thoughts on UKIP’s approach to holding public office, over at the Huffington Post:

Following hours of umming and ahing, Nigel Farage finally declared that he won’t stand for election in the upcoming by-election in Newark, desperately insisting that he is still “a fighter”. It is remarkable that the very man who claims he is not your typical politician, that he

…

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The Voice

Nick Clegg to host live Twitter Q & A at 2:30 pm today

By The Voice | Thu 1st May 2014 - 12:30 pm

Nick Clegg will be taking to his keyboard for what he described as a “Twitter Town Hall” at 2:30 pm this afternoon.

We’ll bring you the highlights later, but if you want to ask him something, it couldn’t be simpler. Why not take a few minutes out of your lunch hour to send him a question?

 

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The Voice

David Steel responds to Cyril Smith allegations: “Idle gossip is not a basis for any inquiry at all”

By The Voice | Tue 29th April 2014 - 2:54 pm

Former Liberal leader Lord (David) Steel has responded on today’s BBC Radio 4 World at One to accusations that he failed to take seriously allegations levelled in 1979 by Private Eye magazine that Cyril Smith abused boys at a Rochdale hostel. You can listen to Martha Kearney’s interview with him here:

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The Voice

Lib Dems pay tribute to Oliver Thomas

By The Voice | Tue 29th April 2014 - 9:37 am

logo_lg new Liberal Democrat logoFive people lost their lives in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan last week.  Amongst them, sadly, was 26 year old Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas from Brecon, who had worked as a researcher for Roger Williams in his Westminster office.

Tributes have been paid by a number of leading Liberal Democrats.

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The Voice

LibLink: Tim Farron: Let’s extend the pupil premium to young carers

By The Voice | Mon 28th April 2014 - 11:57 am

imageOn his recent column on the ALDC Members’ website, Tim Farron has made the case for the Pupil Premium to be extended to young carers:

One of the biggest Lib Dem wins of this Coalition Government has been the Pupil Premium. The Pupil Premium was designed as extra support for kids in our schools who need a little extra help to get the best start in life.

I don’t need to tell you about it; you’ve supported it from an idea in our manifesto to its implementation. I’m preaching to the converted. It’s

…

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 27th April 2014 - 3:36 pm

7 ver 4 fullMany thanks to the 17,100 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Jeremy Browne MP responds to LDV debate about his book (71 comments) by Jeremy Browne MP

On Sarah Wollaston’s naming and shaming in the Times of “very aggressive male bloggers” (12 comments) by Stephen Tall

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The Voice

Jenny Willott to become the first female Liberal Democrat minister to attend Cabinet

By The Voice | Sun 27th April 2014 - 2:17 pm

jenny willottThere are many people in the party who would like to see the Liberal Democrats with at least one female Cabinet Minister on a permanent basis. There are plenty strong candidates, not least Jenny Willott and Jo Swinson.

We will have to wait a little longer for that, but this week, Jenny Willott will be there to make a presentation on Coalition efforts to close the gender pay gap. She will also attend future meetings when issues affecting women are discussed.  The Independent has the story:

In her new role secured

…

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The Voice

Coincidence or not? Ukip put candidate named House to take on Eastleigh’s Lib Dem council leader Keith House

By The Voice | Sun 27th April 2014 - 12:45 pm

keith houseThe Eastleigh News reports what might be accident or might be design – Ukip’s decision to put up a candidate called House against the Lib Dems’ long-standing council leader, Keith House:

Eastleigh’s ruling Lib Dem leader Keith House faces an unusual challenger in next month’s local elections – the Ukip candidate shares the same surname and is alphabetically listed above the Lib Dem by one letter.

John House comes from Chandler’s Ford, some way away from Hedge End’s Wildern ward, which raises the possibility that this is a tactical move by

…

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