Category Archives: LibLink

For highlighting articles by Lib Dems that have appeared elsewhere in the media.

Sad news in the Liberal Democrat family

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th June 2014 - 8:28 pm

The Liberal Democrats are a family that does politics. We fight like cat and dog at times, but when push comes to shove, the ties that bind us together are strong. That’s why it’s so difficult to factionalise us.

The last 24 hours have brought some really awful news about the health of two Liberal Democrats, both of whom are seriously ill tonight. The first I won’t name, but many of you will have seen the details on Facebook. Call me old fashioned, but I …

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Tagged liberal democrat family and simon titley | 12 Comments

“The Lib Dems are setting out plans as if they may have to deliver them”. Giles Wilkes on Clegg’s economic plans

By Stephen Tall | Thu 12th June 2014 - 5:05 pm

Giles Wilkes was, until recently, special advisor to Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable. He was the SpAd who famously slapped down News International’s advances when they were looking to lobby in favour of their proposed takeover of BSkyB. Before that, he was the chief economist at liberal think-tank CenteForum, where he was author of the award-winning pamphlet, ‘A balancing act: fair solutions to a modern debt crisis’, about which he wrote on LDV.

His Free-thinking Economist blog is a must-read, especially today as Giles covers …

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Also posted in News | Tagged giles wilkes and nick clegg | 31 Comments

LibLink: Norman Lamb: Volunteers play a key role in the health care system

By NewsHound | Thu 12th June 2014 - 2:15 pm

Norman Lamb has been writing for the Eastern Daily Press about the importance of volunteering. He looks at the sorts of things people can do and the difference it makes. He sees spending time with others as a very important part of keeping people healthy.

Last Friday I set off from my constituency office in North Walsham to visit an elderly lady I met through a local volunteering scheme. My job is to take her books from the

…

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Tagged eastern daily press, health, norman lamb and volunteering | Leave a comment

LibLink…Paddy Ashdown on the abuse against children in conflict

By The Voice | Tue 10th June 2014 - 4:45 pm

In a powerful article on Huffington Post, Paddy Ashdown writes in support of UNICEF’s campaign to end sexual violence against children in conflict. He writes:

During my years in Bosnia, both during the war and afterwards I heard and saw evidence of horrific stories of mass rape and sexual violence committed during the war. Thousands of women and children suffered terrible abuse and the physical and mental scars could stay with survivors for the rest of their lives.

Years later, sexual violence still remains entrenched in conflict zones around the world and children are often the most vulnerable. Children suffering in conflicts are growing up in a world where they face the daily threat of rape and abuse and sexual violence is considered the ‘norm’.

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Tagged featured and paddy ashdown | 2 Comments

LibLink: Jeremy Browne – The Lib Dems must define themselves more clearly

By NewsHound | Sun 8th June 2014 - 8:16 am

Former Lib Dem minister, Jeremy Browne, fresh from publishing a book calling for the party to return to ‘authentic liberalism’, has issued a further plea in The Spectator for Lib Dems to get distinctive ahead of the 2015 election. Here’s an excerpt:

The Liberal Democrats will struggle to command support in this marketplace without having a sharp definition. The appeal of cautious centrism is limited. …

Where is the demand for a tepid Milibandism or a watered-down Cameronism? Why buy the low calorie version when the full-flavour

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Tagged jeremy browne and the spectator | 72 Comments

LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott: Proud to have served our region in Europe

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 5th June 2014 - 2:21 pm

In a valedictory article for the Yorkshire Post, outgoing Liberal Democrat MEP talked about his time in the Parliament, reviewed the election results and looked forward to the challenges this Parliament will face. Although people across Europe might have thought they had a free hit in the elections to punish their governments, their choices could affect their daily lives.

He started by looking back at his 30 years of service:

It has been a great privilege to serve this region for 30 years, to have played a role in encouraging

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Tagged edward mcmillan-scott, eu and yorkshire post | 4 Comments

LibLink: Sam Ghibaldan: Clegg needs to be assertive

By NewsHound | Wed 4th June 2014 - 5:51 pm

I’m not going to lie, I bet a lot of you are thinking Sam who? Chances are if you live in Scotland, you’ll be less curious because you will know that he was a Senior Special Adviser to Scottish Liberal Democrat Deputy First Ministers Jim Wallace and Nicol Stephen. As such, his perspective on who the Liberal Democrats should proceed in the run up to the General Election is highly relevant. In a recent Scotsman column, he said that Nick Clegg needs to get out there and shout about our core beliefs.

Some of the headlines faced by Nick Clegg were also seen in Scotland:

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Tagged coalition government, jim wallace, liberal democrats, nick clegg, sam ghibaldan and scotsman | 28 Comments

LibLink: Giles Goodall’s open letter to Polish people in Britain

By Newsmoggie | Wed 21st May 2014 - 5:33 pm

Over at the Huffington Post, Giles Goodall, Liberal Democrat South East Euro candidate has written an open letter to Polish people in this country to let them know how welcome they are here and how it’s important to protect that freedom of movement around Europe.

For ten years, Britain has welcomed you as workers, entrepreneurs, friends and neighbours. The Poles I know are open, flexible and ambitious. They work hard, often with too little recognition. Some have been elected as local councillors, and I know another who works

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9 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg: UKIP would pull the rug out from under the City

By NewsHound | Wed 21st May 2014 - 11:47 am

In Monday’s Evening Standard, Nick Clegg had this to say about how the diverse, modern capital would be affected if Nigel Farage and UKIP got their way. While Farage’s party offers change, it’s not the sort of change that we want:

But don’t be fooled: it’s change of the worst kind. Behind the crowd-pleasing, pint-swilling banter is a party that wants to turn the clock back. Ukip’s only answer to the complexities of the modern world is pulling up the drawbridge, shunning the outside world and hankering for some

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Tagged london, nick clegg, sarah ludford and the evening standard | 5 Comments

LibLink: Giles Goodall: UKIP’s disgraceful record on gay rights

By NewsHound | Wed 21st May 2014 - 8:55 am

South east Euro Candidate Giles Goodall has compared and contrasted the voting records of the Liberal Democrats and UKIP on LGBT rights in an article for Pink News.

It will come as no surprise to anybody that the Liberal Democrats have supported LGBT at every single stage:

In contrast, Liberal Democrat MEPs have systematically supported LGBT rights, with the European liberal group coming out with the best record in the European Parliament, alongside socialists and greens.

Let’s look at some of the things UKIP …

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Tagged european elections 2014, giles goodall, LGBT rights, pink news and ukip | 3 Comments

LibLink: Stephen Tall: Why my heart won’t be too heavy this week when I vote Conservative (in a manner of speaking)

By NewsHound | Tue 20th May 2014 - 2:38 pm

There was much spluttering at LDV Towers this morning when we saw THAT headline. There was Earl Grey everywhere. Eventually, though, we managed to calm down and keep reading. In fact, our Stephen was messing with the heads of the readers of Conservative Home, as he does every few weeks or so.

In fact, his own vote for the fabulous Liberal Democrat team in the South East is secure. He is talking, though, about how he’s casting a proxy vote for a friend of his who has decided to vote …

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Tagged conservative home, eu and stephen tall | 23 Comments

Huppert on Astra Zeneca takeover’s threat to jobs, the European elections and the living wage

By Newsmoggie | Sat 17th May 2014 - 12:55 pm

Julian Huppert has been talking to Cambridge student magazine Varsity.

Not surprisingly, the subject of Pfizer’s proposed takeover of Astra Zeneca came up. Why should students be bothered?

It will have a direct impact on the prospects for people in particular disciplines, and will be a longer term issue about the future of Britain”, he replies. “This matters for students who work in STEM subjects, natscis, chem-eng, all of those subjects, because this could be their employment – even if you don’t work directly

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Tagged astra-zeneca, julian huppert, living wage, ukip and varsity magazine | 1 Comment

LibLink: Nick Clegg: UKIP would rather turn the clock back on LGBT rights

By NewsHound | Sat 17th May 2014 - 11:13 am

In an article to mark today’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Nick Clegg has told readers of Pink News what the Liberal Democrat MEPs have done for LGBT rights both within Europe and globally:

Your Liberal Democrat MEPs have already been fighting for the rights of the LGBT community in Europe. For example, they have supported a European Parliament campaign for the recognition of equal marriage, civil partnerships and cohabitation in EU countries, as well as for

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Tagged european elections 2014, homophobia, idaho day, lgbt equality, transphobia and ukip | 12 Comments

LibLink: Mark Pack: There’s rather more to the story of “Police call on someone who tweeted criticism of UKIP”

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 15th May 2014 - 2:00 pm

There’s been a fair bit of discussion online about the incident last weekend when two Cambridgeshire Police Officers visited Green Party member Michael Abberton over a tweet which contained his edited, fact checked version of an anti-UKIP poster designed by someone else.

10 Great Reasons to vote #UKIP. I don’t know who made it – so I referenced it from official #UKIP websites pic.twitter.com/GXnikZ3Blg

— Michael Abberton (@MichaelAbberton) May 5, 2014

He told the whole story on his Axe of Reason blog.

Julian Huppert, as you can imagine, expressed concern about the and …

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Tagged axe of reason, digital campaigning, electoral law, julian huppert, Mark Pack, michael abberton and twitter | 8 Comments

LibLink: Lord Wallace – EU membership is essential for Britain’s national security

By Nick T | Thu 15th May 2014 - 9:34 am

Writing on the European Movement UK blog, Lord (William) Wallace has some interesting thoughts on the importance of European cooperation to Britain’s strategic and security interests.

Here’s a snippet:

The 2010 National Security Strategy stood out from its predecessors by its inclusion of a number of non-military threats among the most serious it sees as facing Britain: global epidemics, organised crime and cross-border terrorism , the impact of climate change, and cyber-attack.

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Tagged europe, jim wallace and national security | 6 Comments

LibLink: Norman Lamb: Dementia, loneliness and how we can help

By NewsHound | Wed 14th May 2014 - 11:29 am

In Sunday’s Observer, Norman Lamb wrote about the importance of the Dementia Friends initiative. He starts by describing a situation that’s becoming all to common for people with Dementia and their carers:

It is four o’clock in the morning. A man has been roused from an already fitful sleep by his wife. She is upset and confused. And she has wet the bed. He has to comfort her and change the sheets at the same time. Eventually he is able to return to bed and get a little bit of rest

…

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Tagged dementia, loneliness and norman lamb | 2 Comments

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Britain must remain at the core of the European Project

By NewsHound | Sat 10th May 2014 - 12:14 pm

In an article for the Euro Blog marking Europe Day yesterday, Charles Kennedy wrote of the need for Britain to stay at the heart of Europe.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the jobs and the trade and the money, but Charles starts with the principles of peace and the common good:

9 May marks the beginning of a process of cooperation, which intended to make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. We call it Europe Day The process that was set in motion that day was based on principles like democracy, open markets,

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Tagged charles kennedy, eu, euroblog, european movement and featured | 6 Comments

LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott: EU values are in stark contrast to Putin’s

By NewsHound | Thu 8th May 2014 - 8:30 pm

Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber Edward McMilan-Scott, who is also the European Parliament’s Vice President for Human Rights, has been writing in the Yorkshire Post about the contest between the values of the EU and those of Vladimir Putin. The EU is built on democracy and liberal values while Putin seeks to build a Eurasian alliance built on homophobia and nationalism.

To understand what is happening in the Ukraine, we have to know something of President Putin’s Eurasian dream that is steering events. This involves the

…

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Tagged edward mcmillan-scott, eu, nationalism, putin, russia and yorkshire post | 13 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg: This knife crime law won’t work

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 8th May 2014 - 8:55 am

On Monday, I wrote about the reported Coalition tension over Tory plans to bring in mandatory 6 month jail sentences for carrying a knife. I said that:

It’s important that Liberal Democrats stay in this debate and make the evidence-based case. Nobody else will do it for us. We may not be able to stop a bad law being passed, but we need to oppose it calmly, clearly and without rancour.

I would not suggest for a minute that the two events …

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Tagged featured, knife crime, mandatory sentencing, nick clegg and the guardian | 6 Comments

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown: Alex Salmond should apologise for his poor call over Vladimir Putin

By NewsHound | Sun 4th May 2014 - 10:55 am

“Lib Dem Statesman Paddy Ashdown”. That’s how the headline in Paddy’s Sunday Mail article describes him.

Paddy is writing in response to Alex Salmond’s comments on Vladimir Putin . As a reminder, this is what Salmond said:

Obviously, I don’t approve of a range of Russian actions, but I think Putin’s more effective than the press he gets, I would have thought, and you can see why he carries support in Russia.

“He’s restored a substantial part of Russian pride and that must be a good thing. There are aspects of Russian constitutionality and the intermesh with business and politics that are obviously difficult to admire. Russians are fantastic people, incidentally; they are lovely people.

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Tagged alex salmond, paddy ashdown, sunday mail, ukraine and vladimir putin | Leave a comment

Lib Link: Paul Tyler on establishment of the church

By Joe Otten | Fri 2nd May 2014 - 3:29 pm

Our own Stephen Tall broke the story last Slownewsday that disestablishment of the Church of England is a longer-term project than the Times and Telegraph might have realised.

Now Paul Tyler in Lords of the Blog, addresses the reasons for the historical presence of Bishops in the House of Lords as ‘Money, not Morals’.

I am a practising Anglican (trying to improve) but I have been firmly committed to disestablishment for over 50 years, for the sake of both church and state. The muddled

…

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Tagged disestablishment | 6 Comments

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

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

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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Tagged catherine bearded, european elections 2014 and ukip | 11 Comments

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown in Bangladesh: Stoves that save children’s lives

By NewsHound | Wed 30th April 2014 - 12:15 pm

Paddy Ashdown has been writing over at UNICEF’s blog about his recent visit to Bangladesh. There, he saw the benefits of an initiative, supported by Marks and Spencer, to provide better ventilated, safer, fuel efficient stoves to 40,000 homes.

First of all, he outlines how dangerous simply cooking dinner could be:

I have just returned from a visit to the country and even in the tiny village of Daccope, children are exposed to potentially deadly air pollution in their own home every day. This dangerous mix of chemicals, including carbon monoxide,

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Tagged bangaldesh, marks and spencer, paddy ashdown and unicef | 2 Comments

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

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

On 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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Tagged aldc, pupil premium, tim farron and young carers | Leave a comment

LibLink: Tim Farron: European Parliament makes it easier for you to know what’s in the medicines you are taking

By NewsHound | Sat 26th April 2014 - 12:55 pm

Roughly a third of people take part in the European elections. That turnout reflects that people don’t necessarily feel engaged with the European Parliament. Yet this body, whether it be on e-cigarettes, abolishing (with Liberal Democrat support) mobile phone roaming charges or even the medicines your doctor prescribes, makes laws that affect our daily lives. Tim Farron has been highlighting its important work in this medical field in an article over at the Huffington Post.

First of all, he outlines the problem:

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Tagged drugs, eu, european parliament, huffington post and tim farron | 3 Comments

LibLink: Where would you rather live – Great Britain or little England?

By The Voice | Tue 22nd April 2014 - 9:46 am

Nick Clegg asked this question in The Guardian yesterday, and robustly attacked Ukip’s position:

The isolationists have been allowed to peddle their myths unchallenged for decades. Of all Nigel Farage’s far-fetched claims – and there are many – the most outlandish is the idea that Ukip’s call for an exit is the insurgents’ battle cry. European withdrawal is presented as a great revolutionary promise, held in stark contrast to the status quo upheld by a homogeneous political elite.

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Tagged nick clegg, nigel farage and ukip | 24 Comments

LibLink: Martin Horwood – Lib Dems clamping down on the arms trade

By NewsHound | Thu 17th April 2014 - 9:07 am

Over at the Lib Dems’ website, Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has welcomed today’s announcement that Vince Cable has put out a call for evidence on a new register of arms brokers, introducing tougher regulations on the arms trade. Here’s an excerpt:

Arms brokers act as intermediaries in many arms deals by bringing together potential buyers and sellers in return for a cut of the transaction. Currently UK companies require a license before they can export military goods, but brokers are somewhat of an unknown entity. Under the proposals all brokers will

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Tagged arms trade, martin horwood and vince cable | 10 Comments

LibLink: Tim Farron – In 2010, we promised to deliver the Pupil Premium. In 2015, I want us to promise to deliver the Student Premium

By NewsHound | Wed 16th April 2014 - 3:01 pm

Lib Dem party president Tim Farron has given his personal backing to the Lib Dems promising a Student Premium – modelled on the well-received Pupil Premium – at the next election. First proposed by his colleague Stephen Williams, Tim writes the Student Premium “could potentially change the game in terms of student uptake, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds”. Here’s an excerpt of his article for the April issue of the magazine, Politics First:

The Pupil Premium is being delivered only because the Liberal

…

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Tagged education, higher education, liberal reform, pupil premium, stephen williams, student premium, tim farron and universities | 53 Comments

LibLink: Sir Robert Smith – We must not turn our back on Afghanistan

By NewsHound | Sat 12th April 2014 - 2:15 pm

Sir Robert Smith, Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afghanistan, has written this week about the need for Britain, as our direct military involvement comes to an end, to ensure we keep our promise to maintain support for a developing Afghanistan.

… the attacks of September the 11th brought home the fact that what happened in that far away country made a difference back here.

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Tagged afghanistan, featured, helmand province, iraq and sir robert smith | 8 Comments

LibLink: Alistair Carmichael: Let’s cut out referendum tension and concentrate on historical significance of referendum vote

By NewsHound | Thu 10th April 2014 - 10:30 am

Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael has written for the Daily Record about the need to conduct the independence referendum in a more respectful tone, citing examples of attacks from independence supporters on those who want to stay in the UK:

Cybernats – or internet trolls, to give them their proper name – wish Eddie Izzard serious harm simply because he has the cheek to disagree with them.

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Tagged Alistair Carmichael, daily record, Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 3 Comments