Author Archives: The Voice

The Voice

David Cameron to host summit on FGM and forced marriage

By The Voice | Sat 8th March 2014 - 6:15 pm

A good story from today’s Times (£) for International Women’s Day:

David Cameron will play host to Britain’s first Girls’ Summit this summer to galvanise efforts to end female genital mutilation and forced marriage.

The Prime Minister will convene the meeting in July, which will focus on tackling the abuse and oppression of women that is embedded in certain cultures, at home and abroad.

At the top of the agenda will be FGM, which threatens tens of thousands of girls and women in the UK, and forced marriage, whereby many British teenagers disappear from the school roll and, in extreme cases, end

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The Voice

Tim Farron and Julian Huppert write: Why we need a Digital Bill of Rights

By The Voice | Sat 8th March 2014 - 4:52 pm

farron huppertLib Dem MPs Tim Farron and Julian Huppert explain why Britain needs a Digital Bill of Rights…

Momentum is a big force in politics; sometimes an unstoppable force. And this week we’ve seen momentum gathering pace for a change to our surveillance state.

On Tuesday, Nick Clegg set out his plans for change, backed up by a full Obama-style review of our outdated and woefully inadequate surveillance legislation and oversight bodies.

On Wednesday we hosted a lively surveillance discussion in Westminster with Alan Rusbridger, Editor-in-chief of the Guardian, MPs, peers, civil …

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The Voice

What the media say about the York conference, part 1

By The Voice | Sat 8th March 2014 - 10:34 am

ITV reports Lib Dems open conference with ‘attack’ over Europe, where you can also watch a video round-up.

The International Business Times has a more sombre assessment: Cable and Clegg Attack Tories and Ukip:

The rally comes against a bleak background for the party as polls and by-elections show they are running fourth and there is the real possibility they will be humiliated in May’s European elections, thus the focus on the issue in York.

Yet delegates are still in an upbeat mood. The majority have come to terms with the realities of coalition and the fact that

…

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Posted in Conference | 13 Comments
The Voice

Jeanne Tarrant describes her first 50 days as Pastoral Care Officer

By The Voice | Thu 6th March 2014 - 8:56 am

In January, Jeanne Tarrant started as the new Pastoral Care Officer at LDHQ. She introduced herself on here.

A little about me:  I previously worked for the Royal College of Midwives as a team manager and a Trade Union Officer.  I have extensive experience in negotiations, supporting members through disciplinary action, grievances, supporting individuals in raising concerns including whistleblowing, developing and maintaining relationships with different groups whilst preserving confidentiality and also developing training for shop stewards on the new equality Act 2010 on understanding and challenging various types of behaviour which may adversely affect others and damage working relationships.  And

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The Voice

Access to Elected Office Fund for disabled people extended to 2015 and annual limit doubled to £40,000

By The Voice | Wed 5th March 2014 - 3:30 pm

Don’t be afraid of what people see or think of you – try and rise above your disability, keep your chin up and do what you can during the election. Be inspired by what people like the late Lord Ashley of Stoke, Anne Begg and David Blunkett did. I have lost many times over the years, but I don’t give up! At the end of the day people will recognise what you have tried to achieve and admire you for the successes you have achieved.

So says Liberal Democrat candidate David Buxton. David is deaf and has been able to take …

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The Voice

#NickvNigel – We have a date

By The Voice | Wed 5th March 2014 - 9:51 am

nick clegg v nigel farageIt’s just been announced – the date we’ve been waiting for, when Nick Clegg will face Nigel Farage to debate whether Britain should be in or out of the EU.

Nick challenged Nigel two weeks ago on his Call Clegg radio show on LBC.

The debate will actually be televised, on BBC2 and will take place on Wednesday 2 April at 7pm.

Julian Huppert has just been on the BBC News Channel saying that he thinks that Nick will do really well, making the positive case for the European Union. On the two largest parties in British politics, he said:

I’m not surprised the other two parties have refused to take part. David Cameron’s party is completely split and Labour don’t quite know where they are on this. We are the only party who wants to be IN Europe, IN work.

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The Voice

Nick Clegg: “I have to drag the Tories kicking and screaming” to raise tax threshold”

By The Voice | Wed 5th March 2014 - 8:41 am

Nick Clegg took questions from journalists after yesterday’s speech on security and privacy. One of them was on tax, after the reports in the press over the weekend that the Tories were cheekily trying to claim credit for lowering the tax threshold.

Let’s hope that some nice cartoonist has some fun with his comment that he’s had to drag the Tories kicking and screaming into every set of talks on lowering taxes for those on low and middle incomes.

He also said that his recent plea for an extra £500 workers’ bonus had received a frosty reception from the Conservatives.

He said:

And it

…

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The Voice

In the next month 33 seats in Scotland and Wales will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs

By The Voice | Mon 3rd March 2014 - 2:35 pm

Lib Dems winning hereHere’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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The Voice

LDVideo: The ladder, the elephant and the bird that flies to the left

By The Voice | Sun 2nd March 2014 - 4:30 pm

Today’s Sunday Politics featured three parliamentarians putting forward new ideas for their party logos. We wonder if they actually tried to find an MP, or whether the BBC  just went to Matthew Oakeshott to give him the chance to do his traditional “Let’s get rid of Nick Clegg” pre-Conference spiel.

Anyway, here are the efforts they came up with. I actually think Halfon’s had the best rationale, although I expect a health and safety adviser would have had something to say about unsafe working practices.

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 2nd March 2014 - 1:45 pm

Many thanks to the 12,781 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Andrew Rawnsley: “The real reason Nick threw the gauntlet down to Nigel” (19 comments) by The Voice

Shirley Williams: “A separate Scotland would be a diminished Scotland, leaving behind a diminished United Kingdom” (46 comments) by The Voice

Two Liberal Democrats on holiday together? They must be plotting to overthrow Nick Clegg.(16 comments) by Newsmoggie

Cameron “to rule out second Coalition” piece in Telegraph. It may be a bluff, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be forced to do it (36 comments) …

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sat 1st March 2014 - 8:23 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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The Voice

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Fri 28th February 2014 - 10:25 am

The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that’s fine, we’re grateful for people taking the time to read the site.

You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways:

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Posted in Site news | 9 Comments
The Voice

Photo of the Day: Merkel addresses Parliament in German

By The Voice | Thu 27th February 2014 - 10:00 pm

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, today delivered an historic address to both Houses of Parliament, hailing Germany’s “close partnership” with the UK, and making it clear she wants Britain to remain a strong voice in Europe.

Here’s the official photo of Clegg meeting Merkel:

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The Voice

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone: In praise of civil servants

By The Voice | Thu 27th February 2014 - 4:39 pm

Lynne Featherstone, writing on her own blog, has given us a very interesting insight into the mechanics of Government and is full of praise and appreciation for the people who have brought about her two key acts as a minister, equal marriage, and the fight against the abhorrent practice of female genital mutilation.

She described receiving invaluable tips from Michael Heseltine and Andrew Adonis when she first became a Minister. It’s interesting that just a short time after Adonis left office himself, he was providing sensible advice for the newbies. Politics is a lot more civilised behind the scenes than you …

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The Voice

Julian Huppert on making sure the end of child detention is underpinned in law

By The Voice | Wed 26th February 2014 - 10:38 am

Julian Huppert MP has written over at the Party’s shiny new website about moves he has made to ensure that child detention has gone for good. One of the very first things the Coalition did, at the instigation of the Liberal Democrats, was to change policy so that children were not detained in horrible places like Yarl’s Wood and Dungavel for immigration purposes. That has now been put on a statutory footing, again thanks to the Liberal Democrats:

Working closely with Norman Baker in the Home Office I was able to secure a commitment from the Home Secretary that the

…

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The Voice

Nick Clegg describes Ugandan law as ‘abhorrent’

By The Voice | Tue 25th February 2014 - 3:32 pm

Pink News reports Nick Clegg’s tweet about Uganda’s anti-gay law which was signed off yesterday by President Museveni.

The report includes more detail, but in summary:

The new law punishes first-time offenders with 14 years in jail, and allows life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of “aggravated homosexuality”.

It also makes it a crime not to report gay people to the authorities. Lesbians are covered by the bill for the first time.

Posted in News | Tagged , and | 22 Comments
The Voice

Video: Stonewall says thank you on equal marriage

By The Voice | Mon 24th February 2014 - 11:18 am

Four weeks on Saturday, the first same sex marriages will take place in England. Scotland will have to wait a bit longer, till the Autumn.

You’ll remember the emotions of the parliamentary debates on this. In order to say thank you to all the parliamentarians who contributed, as well as to all the people who campaigned for equal marriage, Stonewall have released this video which shows highlights of some of the best parliamentary speeches made by lesbian, gay and bisexual parliamentarians. Our own  Liz Barker, Stephen Gilbert and Stephen Williams are featured. It made us smile and is just the thing to brighten up a February Monday. Enjoy.

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The Voice

Andrew Rawnsley: “The real reasons why Nick threw down the gauntlet to Nigel”

By The Voice | Sun 23rd February 2014 - 11:34 am

Andrew Rawnsley has made some interesting comments in today’s Observer on Nick Clegg’s debate challenge to Nigel Farage.

He makes the obligatory point that the party’s poor position in the polls and concern over the consequences of a bad result for Clegg’s leadership  but makes the point that it only takes a relatively small shift to protect the position of Liberal Democrat MEPs.

Senior Lib Dems privately confide that their goal is quite modest: to lift their vote share by three to four points above their current poll ratings. When you are bumping along at low levels of support, just a

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 23rd February 2014 - 10:39 am

Many thanks to the  13,600 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Apres Nick: Which Lib Dem MPs are best placed to become the next leader? (53 comments) by Stephen Tall 

Yes, food poverty is real, but the situation is complex and solutions are not straightforward (97 comments) by Nick Thornsby.

Clegg v Farage: Why Nick needs Nigel (33 comments) by Stephen Tall

Coalition with Labour on “if they don’t break the bank” (44 comments) by Joe Otten

Nobody else will speak up for liberalism so our manifesto has to be brimming …

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The Voice

Shirley Williams: “A separate Scotland would be a diminished Scotland, leaving behind a diminished United Kingdom”

By The Voice | Sun 23rd February 2014 - 8:49 am

Shirley WilliamsLast night, Shirley Williams spoke at the East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrats’ Annual Dinner. Someone has slipped us a copy of her speech. She joins David Bowie in calling for Scotland to stay within the UK but had a little more substance to her argument. She made the point that both Scotland and the rest of the UK lose out if we leave. She talked of the opportunities Scotland’s had and the contributions its politicians have made internationally. Here is her speech in full:

It is a privilege for me to be asked to speak at your annual Liberal Democrat dinner, a privilege not just to be here in Scotland when the huge question of your future is being discussed, but also because you have an outstanding young MP in Jo Swinson, widely recognised as a rising star and now a mother as well.

She holds her constituency, as you know, by a very narrow margin. She is already one of the most respected women in Parliament.  And for me, after fifty years in politics – I was first elected in 1964 – it is marvellous to see the emergence of a new young generation of women MPs. In the devolved parliaments of Scotland and Wales, a much higher proportion of members are women than is the case in Westminster.

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sat 22nd February 2014 - 2:23 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:

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The Voice

Why would Alistair Carmichael stop going to a supermarket?

By The Voice | Sat 22nd February 2014 - 12:30 pm

Alistair Carmichael speech Jan 2014Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael was on last night’s Any Questions from Tiverton in Devon, just about as far away as you can get from his Orkney home.

He told the Tory Nadim Zahawi off for raising the idea of capping child benefit at the second child, dismissing it as “not one of your better ideas.”

It was inevitable that there would be a question on food banks and I think that he tackled it quite well and thoughtfully. He said that the key to tackling poverty was to get more people into work and to let those on the lowest wages keep more of what they earn. He added that people who used food banks may not be on benefits but might be suffering from chaotic events in their lives. He added as well that our incomes weren’t as resilient as once they might have been. Because we have such a high level of personal debt, which has to be serviced, we aren’t able to save so we have something to fall back on.

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The Voice

“Labour is going for a coalition with the Lib Dems come what may.”

By The Voice | Wed 19th February 2014 - 8:40 pm

That’s the view over at Labour Uncut, where editor Atul Hatwal reckons Labour is scaling back its key seat targeting strategy to an extent which means that – even if it works – Ed Miliband will only be able to govern with the backing of the Lib Dems.

… it is the scale of reprioritisation which effectively means Labour has abandoned thoughts of governing alone and is now aiming for coalition with Lib Dems.

Labour’s struggle in the south in particular is crippling the party’s ability to push for a clear majority. … One seasoned campaign professional with knowledge of

…

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The Voice

Nick Clegg: “Don’t put mentally ill kids in cell”

By The Voice | Tue 18th February 2014 - 8:52 am

One of the many horrible injustices faced by people in the throes of a mental health crisis is that, rather than get the medical help they need, they’re locked up in a police cell.

Norman Lamb and Nick Clegg have been doing something to ensure that these people have better care. A new Crisis Care Concordat between Police, paramedics and health services should deliver important changes:

  • Health-based places of safety and beds are available 24/7 in case someone experiences a mental health crisis
  • Police custody should not be used because mental health services are not available and police vehicles should also not be

…

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 16th February 2014 - 2:45 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 10 days:

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 16th February 2014 - 1:25 pm

Many thanks to the  15,300 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election: Labour win easily, UKIP beat Tories into second, Lib Dems lose deposit (100 comments) by Stephen Tall

Must-read analysis from Peter Kellner on where the 5 million missing 2010 Lib Dem voters have gone  (39 comments) by Stephen Tall

Statement by Lord Rennard (29 comments) by The Voice

Legal action to be launched by Lord Rennard unless membership suspension lifted (34 comments) by The Voice

Men, is your behaviour driving women out of politics? (56 comments) by Caron Lindsay

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The Voice

A longer read for the weekend: Nick Harvey on how “the whole model of local Government funding is now fundamentally broken”

By The Voice | Sat 15th February 2014 - 2:30 pm

There was a mini-Lib Dem rebellion this week, when five MPs – Tim Farron, Nick Harvey, Andrew George, Stephen Gilbert and Adrian Sanders – all voted against this year’s funding settlement between the Treasury and local government.

As the New Statesman’s George Eaton points out here, “By the end of 2015-16, the budget of the Department for Communities and Local Government will have been reduced by a remarkable 60.6 per cent, with several years of austerity still ahead.” But Whitehall will have been emboldened by this recent ICM poll highlighted by the BBC showing 60% of the public …

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Posted in Local government and Parliament | Tagged , , , and | 9 Comments
The Voice

Lib Dem MP Stephen Gilbert diagnosed with Bell’s palsy

By The Voice | Sat 15th February 2014 - 10:45 am

steve gilbertOur sympathies and best wishes to Stephen Gilbert, Lib Dem MP for St Austell and Newquay, who put out the following statement on his website this week:

Stephen Gilbert, the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for St Austell & Newquay has been diagnosed with “Bell’s Palsy”; a viral infection of the facial nerve that has led to temporary paralysis of the muscles in the right-hand side of his face.

Stephen was diagnosed on Wednesday 5th February 2014 at the Accident & Emergency department of St Thomas’ Hospital in London, following the

…

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The Voice

Lib Dem donor arrested as part of Serious Fraud Office investigation

By The Voice | Fri 14th February 2014 - 7:15 pm

The Financial Times reports:

A prominent Indian backer of the UK Liberal Democrat party and his son were the two suspects arrested earlier this week in connection with an investigation into allegations of bribery by Rolls-Royce. Sudhir Choudhrie and his son Bhanu were arrested on Wednesday as part of the Serious Fraud Office’s investigation into alleged bribery in Indonesia and China by the engine and turbine maker. …

A spokesman for the Choudhries confirmed that the pair had been arrested. The pair deny all wrongdoing and are co-operating fully with the investigation, he said. They were granted bail without conditions

…

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The Voice

Danny Alexander: currency union would create unacceptable risks for Scotland and the UK

By The Voice | Thu 13th February 2014 - 11:29 am

Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury, Danny Alexander, released the following statement commenting on the Treasury’s analysis of a proposed currency union were Scotland to vote for independence:

Today the Treasury has published further analysis of the SNP’s proposed currency union in the event of Scotland voting for separation.

This analysis is crystal clear – a currency union would create unacceptable risks both for Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

For Scotland separation would already be the riskiest and most uncertain step our country has ever taken. To take that step and then give up control over interest rates, exchange

…

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