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Category Archives: The Independent View

The Independent View: Clegg’s Pupil Premium could be wasted

By Rick Muir | Tue 15th May 2012 - 8:56 am

Keen to move on from the poor headlines of the last few weeks, Nick Clegg has sought to re-focus attention on his flagship social mobility agenda with a speech on the Pupil Premium.

The Pupil Premium is the government’s main policy for reducing educational inequality in schools, meaning that schools get extra funding for every child on Free School Meals (£488 this year, £600 next year). IPPR has always welcomed the Pupil Premium but have expressed concerns that it will not be spent directly on providing extra support for the children who need it. Under the current model, schools are free to spend it on whatever they like – and the majority of heads say they are using it to plug gaps in existing budgets.

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged EBacc, pupil premium and schools | 15 Comments

The Independent View: Energy Bill – time for Lib Dems to show their true colours

By Andy Atkins | Fri 11th May 2012 - 3:32 pm

Our electricity system is broken – soaring fuel bills, an over-reliance on overseas fossil fuels and an urgent need to tackle climate change highlight the severe energy crisis the nation faces.

So the inclusion of an Energy Bill in this week’s Queen’s speech to overhaul the UK’s failing electricity market was long overdue.

The Bill is a once in a generation opportunity to secure our long-term opportunity to make our power system cleaner, more affordable and less reliant on increasingly imported fossil fuels.

Such a move would be popular, too. A recent YouGov poll Friends of the Earth published to mark the …

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Also posted in News | Tagged ed davey, energy and friends of the earth | 11 Comments

The Independent View: A Queen’s Speech that liberals can get behind

By Tom Frostick | Tue 8th May 2012 - 12:20 pm

ConservativeHome is busy putting out its own version of the Queen’s Speech. The point of the exercise is to map out what the Conservatives’ legislative agenda might have looked like had they won a majority in 2010.

The leading liberal think=tank CentreForum has done something similar. Last week, we came up with nine measures that we would like to see enacted by a big ‘l’ liberal government. I have listed them below, and placed in brackets the government department that each of them would fall under. With the exception of Lords reform, we don’t expect to hear any …

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Tagged centreforum, queen's speech and tim montgomerie | 30 Comments

The True Cost of Energy: why Ed Davey must act

By Reg Platt | Tue 1st May 2012 - 12:22 pm

A poll out yesterday showed that action to address high energy bills is now the top priority for voters, so Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey has a political interest in new research on the True Cost of Energy published by IPPR. The report argues that competition in the energy market is not working and that some consumers are paying higher prices as a result.

IPPR has analysed how much it costs energy companies to supply electricity and gas to UK consumers, finding strong evidence that competition in the market is not in good health.

The UK energy market …

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Also posted in News | Tagged ed davey, energy costs and ippr | 9 Comments

The Independent View: A blueprint for social media intelligence

By Carl Miller | Wed 25th April 2012 - 10:25 am

The controversy over the Government’s plans to legislate for Internet surveillance, the ‘Communications Capabilities Development Programme’, has exposed a deep division within the Coalition. Into the dispute that has simmered since some details were first leaked earlier this month, David Cameron himself has weighed in to say that the proposals are necessary to stop crime, whereas Tim Farron has threatened to kill it “if we think this is a threat to a free and liberal society”.

This rumbling outrage surrounding CCDP testifies to the importance of a principled, publicly argued grounding for any kind of intelligence. It is exactly …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged civil liberties, demos, independent view, intelligence, internet surveillance and social media | 1 Comment

The Independent View: how London Mayoral candidates shape up on cycling and transport

By Eleanor Besley | Tue 24th April 2012 - 2:52 pm

The way that we travel and the places we live in have a massive impact on our lives, going well beyond what’s traditionally considered transport policy. Increased car use is driving up levels of obesity, polluting our cities and leading to more accidents. As London’s population grows, the demands on our transport system make it an ever tougher nut to crack.

Sustrans wants to see a London, and a country, where everyone is able to get around, to work, school, shops and leisure facilities. Making it easier and safer to walk and cycle for our short …

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Also posted in London | Tagged boris johnson, brian paddick, cycling, Jenny jones, ken livingstone and siobhan benita | Leave a comment

The Independent View: A note to the Liberal Democrats on university access and information

By The Voice | Wed 4th April 2012 - 12:50 pm

A child’s fate is often decided very early on in its development. That is why government intervention must happen early. Liberal coalition policies such as parenting classes and the pupil premium will help us move away from what Nick Clegg calls a “closed society” where people’s circumstances at birth haunt them for the rest of their life.

The most effective intervention happens before the age of 11, but this mustn’t be where it ends. A lack of decent careers advice and university guidance at some secondary state schools means that many talented pupils are failing to meet their potential.

Just as worrying …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged education | 11 Comments

The Independent View: Why the Lib Dems should put cycling at the heart of their transport policy

By Donnachadh McCarthy | Tue 3rd April 2012 - 11:06 am

More motorways, airports and cities, cried the leader of the “greenest” government ever. The Prime Minister is absolutely right that we need new infrastructure but what we need is not ever wider motorways but a modern cycling infrastructure, to get the ridiculous 50% of journeys under 5km that are currently taken by car, out of the way of essential business traffic.

Millions of UK citizens are too old, young, poor or eco-conscious to own a car. In countries from Denmark to Japan, their governments provide safe cycle-paths. Our roads however are not fit for purpose, as …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged cycling and transport | 21 Comments

The Independent View: Budget lifts a million people out of Income Tax

By Ben Norman | Wed 21st March 2012 - 7:33 pm

The news that the UK’s February borrowing figures were the worst on record did not exactly provide the Budget mood music the Chancellor was hoping for. Then again, the stark reminder that the UK is living well beyond its means serves to buttress his arguments about the need to control spending. There is no money to spend, and even with the current deficit-cutting fervour from Number 11 the UK remains at the whim of global bond markets.

So how did George do? The stamp-duty increase on homes worth more than £2 million is eminently sensible, but must be accompanied by the …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged budget, economy and tax | 21 Comments

The Independent View: Taxing decisions – the debate between tax credits and tax allowances

By Tom Brooks | Tue 20th March 2012 - 6:55 pm

As debate ahead of the Budget rages on about the merits of tax allowances and tax credits, a CentreForum report published this week provides new, detailed analysis of both.

The media has focused on the plight of the ‘squeezed middle’, Ed Miliband wants to help the “squeezed middle” and Nick Clegg is concerned for “alarm clock Britain”. But ‘Taxing decisions: the debate between tax credits and personal allowances’ uses modelling to illustrate the implications of tax allowances more rigorously and objectively than the day-to-day analysis of Fleet Street or Westminster.

The report’s authors, Thomas Brooks and Chris Nicholson of CentreForum, and …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged centreforum, tax and tax credits | 16 Comments

The Independent View: How should Liberal Democrats respond to the views of their voters on Europe

By Pawel Swidlicki | Thu 15th March 2012 - 12:25 pm

In the polarised and often exaggeratedUKdebate on the EU, the Lib Dems have often been caricaturised by much of the press and Tory MPs as being unreservedly in favour of greater EU integration or even an ‘EU super state’. The truth is of course far more nuanced.

That’s why a new YouGov/Cambridge cross-country poll out today is so interesting. It shows that a majority of UK voters (53%) support either no further EU integration or a looser arrangement. Only 14% said they wanted more integration. These attitudes span the political divide, with 50% of Lib Dem voters saying they …

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Also posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | 15 Comments

The Independent View: Dropping the bomb

By Kate Hudson | Fri 9th March 2012 - 4:25 pm

A report launched this week caught the headlines by describing the replacement of Trident as “nonsensical”.

“Replacing Trident makes no sense” said the BBC, while the Guardian led with “Trident nuclear deterrent upgrade ‘nonsensical’”.

But they were not quoting the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament or any other campaigning organisation. Rather, they were quoting the liberal thinktank CentreForum, which David Cameron has previously commended “for their excellent work”.

Nick Clegg has also indicated the policy significance of CentreForum: “Many of the policy areas my party is implementing in government were developed, tested and refined through dialogue with the CentreForum team.”

The …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged centreforum, cnd and trident | 5 Comments

Opinion: It’s time to scrap Trident

By Toby Fenwick | Thu 8th March 2012 - 11:56 am

The world is a better place because of the role Britain plays internationally through aid, diplomacy and, when necessary, using force sanctioned by international law. It is worth remembering the many Libyans and Sierra Leoneans who are alive today because of the actions of Britain’s forces.

Yet at a time when the government is preparing to spend at least £25 billion on replacing our Trident nuclear weapons, it is making cuts to the conventional forces that make such interventions possible. There have been £74 billion of defence cuts to date, with another £3-5 billion due to be announced before the Easter …

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Tagged centreforum, toby fenwick and trident | 20 Comments

The Independent View: The Last Chance Saloon for Access to Justice?

By Des Hudson | Thu 8th March 2012 - 9:22 am

At the Liberal Democrat Conference last Autumn, Nick Clegg delivered a passionate defence of a liberal justice system. He concluded his speech by arguing that, although these were not easy times for the country, ‘our party has fought for liberal values for a century and a half: justice, optimism, freedom. We’re not about to give up now’.

Yet in its haste to cut 23% from the budget of the Ministry of Justice and tackle the perception of a compensation culture (a perception some members of the Government and parts of the media are only too ready to cultivate) the Government has …

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Also posted in News and Parliament | Tagged legal aid | Leave a comment

The Independent View: how Liberal Democrats can provide Clegg’s “gear shift” in infrastructure spending

By Richard Carr | Wed 7th March 2012 - 11:25 am

As Nick Clegg has recently noted, there needs to be a ‘gear shift’ in infrastructure spending. Whilst George Osborne dots the i’s and crosses the t’s on his third budget, it is worth considering how such a ‘gear shift’ may be enacted. Localis has undertaken just such an analysis, and this week launched Credit Where Credit’s Due – produced in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group – that illustrates how local government can help deliver a step-change of this type from the bottom-up. Though our report alights on many policy areas, from increasing the powers of LEPs to astute asset management …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged george osborne, green investment bank, infrastructure spending, Local government, localis and nick clegg | 3 Comments

The Independent View: Do us all a favour and drop the NHS Bill

By Suresh Chauhan | Tue 6th March 2012 - 3:44 pm

About 2 weeks ago, Shirley Williams rightly claimed that the whole competition chapter of the Bill would need to be removed before it could be passed. However, the amendments that Nick Clegg has proposed, as indicated in his letter of 28th February, just do not match up to her reasonable demand. The competition chapter contains clauses 70 to 81. The Clegg amendments only affect clauses 78, 79 and 80. So, clauses 70 to 77 remain unchanged. Hence, a lot of the Lansley ‘nasties’ remain and if the Bill is passed, these ‘nasties’ will become law of our land.

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged NHS and nick clegg | 40 Comments

The Independent View: Budget corporate tax changes could cost developing countries billions

By Martin Hearson | Tue 6th March 2012 - 12:34 pm

Ahead of the most important austerity budget in a generation, the government plans to open up a huge new tax loophole that will cost ordinary people around the world billions warns ActionAid in a new report ‘Collateral Damage’

The international development charity has revealed that this loophole will allow UK based multinationals to avoid an estimated £4 billion worth of taxes in developing countries and will also cost the UK Treasury £1 billion.

Until now, the UK’s anti-tax haven rules have provided a deterrent to companies seeking to avoid paying taxes in Britain and poor countries alike. The proposed changes …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged international development and tax | 9 Comments

The Independent View: If I were in your shoes…views from the other side of the Coalition

By Tim Montgomerie | Tue 6th March 2012 - 10:20 am

At Stephen Tall’s suggestion I’m giving advice to Lib Dems on what I’d do if I were in your shoes and, in return, he’s giving electoral advice to my ConservativeHome readers. You can read Stephen’s piece here

My first recommendation is to stay the course. There is no advantage for the Liberal Democrats in pulling out of the Coalition anytime soon. You’ll get the blame for having got into bed with horrible Conservatives like me but little of the credit if the economy does show signs of perkiness by the end of the parliament. I think it is to …

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Also posted in Op-eds | 44 Comments

The Independent View: The major environmental tests facing the Liberal Democrats in 2012 Part 2

By Joss Garman | Wed 29th February 2012 - 2:53 pm

In my last post, I looked at the most significant environmental decisions facing the Liberal Democrats here at home in 2012. In this follow up blog, I’ll look at what Nick Clegg and his team can do on the global stage to clean up our economies and help curb the emissions driving dangerous shifts in our climate. As Nick Clegg has said, “Because we are leading by example, we can make stronger demands of the international community.”

International leadership on climate change and the green economy

Chris Huhne wrote in his resignation letter to the Deputy Prime Minister, “Climate …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged climate change, environment and greenpace | 10 Comments

The Independent View: Participatory democracy and the People’s Budget

By Phil Teece | Wed 29th February 2012 - 12:27 pm

It’s budget season and here’s a question ….

Is it an exaggeration to claim that there is a crisis in our system of democracy? When so many people don’t bother to vote and there are communities in the UK which no longer have any faith in the willingness of parliament and local government to address their needs and concerns, to actually represent their interests, then I think not. However, the direction of the coalition government’s policy is avowedly towards greater accountability and a stronger role for local people in decisions about local services.

The reality is that, despite the rhetoric about localism …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged budget, community, democracy and Local government | 3 Comments

The Independent View: The major environmental tests facing the Liberal Democrats in 2012 (Part 1)

By Joss Garman | Wed 22nd February 2012 - 1:50 pm

The Liberal Democrats have long been seen as the greenest of the biggest three political parties. Now in government, the party is facing tough decisions with huge implications both for our country’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and for wider protection of the natural world.

During his time in office Lib Dem Climate Secretary Chris Huhne won a couple of significant battles with Cabinet colleagues. Most notably, despite opposition from the Chancellor, he won the backing of David Cameron to put into law tough new carbon targets for the 2020s that were recommended by their independent advisers the Committee on …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged chris huhne, climate change, ed davey, environment, greenpeace, nick clegg, the independent view and wildlife | 6 Comments

The Independent View: Lib Dems crucial in preventing further welfare reform injustice

By Gingerbread | Wed 25th January 2012 - 2:55 pm

Child maintenance is a life-line for many single parent families, whose children are twice as likely to live in poverty as those of couple families. The Government’s proposals to attach charges to access the Child Support Agency will see vulnerable families with no option but to seek state help to gain maintenance pushed further into financial distress – with their children ultimately footing the bill.

After a week of turmoil in the House of Lords where crossbench alliances have proven crucial, this evening attention will turn to the Government’s child maintenance proposals – and the possibility of another government defeat of the …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged child maintenance, fiona weir, gingerbread, lord mackay of clashfern, the independent view and welfare reform | 4 Comments

The Independent View: The benefits cap policy is based on myths

By Alison Garnham | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 5:35 pm

The benefit cap was announced by George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference in October 2010. It means families will not be able to receive more than a total of £500 in benefits each week – regardless of local rental values or how many children are in the household. As the crucial votes on the cap take in the House of Lords on Monday, it’s important that the myths on which the cap policy is based are exposed.

Myth 1: The cap is just for out of work claimants of benefits

Ministers fostered the impression that this is about ensuring working families …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged benefits and welfare reform | 31 Comments

The Independent View: FIT for purpose

By Liz Hutchins | Tue 20th December 2011 - 3:53 pm

Every day the economic storm clouds get darker and darker as the recession deepens and unemployment soars. Over the past two years one new sector has offered a glimmer of hope: the UK solar industry. But Government cuts to solar payments this month are set to devastate a home-grown economic success story and pull the plug on tens of thousands of clean energy jobs.

Today Friends of the Earth and two solar firms are taking the Government to court. Ministers are slashing cash-back for generating green energy through solar panels, ahead of plan.

Pulling the funding rug from under …

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Tagged feed-in tariffs | 10 Comments

The Independent View: The banking sector needs radical reform but too many cures will kill the patient

By Ben Norman | Mon 19th December 2011 - 6:58 pm

For seven days before Christmas it has been an incredibly busy day for the financial services sector. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Draft Financial Services Bill has produced its wide-ranging report into regulatory reform; the FSA has published its Mortgage Market Review consultation; and, last but not least, the Treasury has published the Government’s response to the Independent Commission on Banking.

At least the latter was well leaked – what isn’t these days? – and gave me time to think about the ICB.

The ICB is actually something quite amazing, not to mention something entirely Lib Dem.

Sir John Vickers was given …

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Also posted in Op-eds | Tagged banking, independent commission on banking and john vickers | 2 Comments

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