Category Archives: LibLink

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

Caron Lindsay

LibLink… Willie Rennie: The fear in a continental drift

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 5th June 2013 - 3:59 pm

Willie Rennie - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsThe last time I heard the phrase continental drift used was when I was half asleep in a Geography class more years ago than I care to remember.

Willie Rennie uses it in today’s Scotsman to talk about the problems which he thinks would ensue an independent Scotland joined the EU and the rest of the UK left it. I certainly have been susceptible to thoughts that, although far from my first choice, an independent Scotland in the EU would be preferable to a …

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NewsHound

LibLink…Robin McGhee: Can UKIP handle the trials of local government?

By NewsHound | Thu 30th May 2013 - 9:55 am

This article appeared a few weeks ago, but we’ve held it back because its author was standing in the Liberal Youth elections. It is worth sharing, though, because it illustrates accurately the dilemma that UKIP now faces. How does it build a local government base when its councillors are inexperienced, anti politics types who don’t really know who their supporters are.

Robin McGhee is an organiser for the party in Norfolk. He describes the UKIP representatives at the count in Cromer:

Perhaps nine in ten were men, nearly all (very) elderly, and with the same expression of stubborn bafflement as a tortoise

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The Voice

Jo Swinson: Don’t tell your kids they’re beautiful – they’ll get issues

By The Voice | Tue 28th May 2013 - 12:24 pm

jo swinson by paul walterJo Swinson, the Women’s Minister, has been interviewed by the Daily Telegraph anticipating the progress report due today on the Body Confidence campaign.

Her research has shown that 25% of all 11 to 15 year old boys and girls are unhappy about their appearance. 70% of girls think there is too much emphasis on how celebrities look.

She said:

Parents that praise their sons and daughters for looking “beautiful”, wearing a pretty outfit or having a nice hair do risk sending the wrong message to children that looks

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NewsHound

LibLink…Paddy Ashdown: Let us not leave Afghanistan with this final gesture of betrayal and dishonour

By NewsHound | Tue 21st May 2013 - 2:29 pm

Paddy Ashdown has written a hard-hitting article for the Yorkshire Post in which he implores the Government to give Afghan interpreters who have helped UK troops the right to come to the UK.

The interpreters and their families live under threat from the Taliban:

These men are different from our troops in this sense: our troops can be sure that their families are home, secure and safe, in Britain, whereas they cannot.

Their families live, day in and day out, threatened by mortal threat from the Taliban in Afghan society.

Our troops come home every six or nine months, whereas they do not. They

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NewsHound

LibLink: Tim Bale – “The biggest effect of the Lib Dems holding their nerve has been to help the Conservatives lose theirs”

By NewsHound | Sun 19th May 2013 - 3:25 pm

tim baleTim Bale is professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, an an historian of the Conservative party. And this week, to mark the third anniversary of the formation of the Coalition, he’s turned his attention to the Lib Dems.

The article begins by dissecting that ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ verb — compromise — to highlight the problems posed by the Coalition for both its parties: ‘Used actively, it’s a good thing – you want something; I want something different; we talk it over; we come to an arrangement; …

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NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Thornsby – As a Liberal Democrat, I ask, “What are you, our Coalition partners, playing at?”

By NewsHound | Sat 18th May 2013 - 2:15 pm

LibDemVoice’s Nick Thornsby has been on recce behind enemy lines, writing for ConservativeHome on the past week’s Tory implosion over Europe:

It is clear to everyone looking in from the outside that if the Tory Party does not get over itself sharpish, historians will look back at this as the moment the party destined itself to spend another decade, or longer, on the opposition benches. …

As a Liberal Democrat who regrets the passing of the coalition’s early radicalism, and who had hoped that David Cameron and those around him could govern as modern, moderate, sensible Conservatives, this regression is disappointing.

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink…Giles Goodall: LGBT rights in Europe – La vie en Rose?

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 4:10 pm

South East region Euro candidate Giles Goodall has written an article for Pink News for the International Day against homophobia and transphobia looking at LGBT rights across Europe.

He makes the point that 7 EU countries already have equal marriage with 3 more likely plus Britain to do so. However, he makes the point that without the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition, it would be unlikely to happen here. He then points out that the reality of life for LGBT people is not always as rosy as the law would imply:

A major new survey by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency,

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink.. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP: The EU and US must promote human rights worldwide – that includes China

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 3:20 pm

Yorkshire and Humber Liberal Democrat MEP Edward McMillan-Scott has co-written a Guardian article with Chinese human rights activist Chen Guancheng arguing that just because China is becoming a superpower, it must still be challenged on its appalling human rights record:

China, the world’s rising superpower, continues to systematically engage in the political repression and torture of its citizens, with an estimated 7 to 8 million Chinese currently being held in prison or labour camps. From Cameroon to Cuba, Belarus to Bahrain, governments go on torturing and imprisoning those who dare to question their authority. For too many people around the

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged and | 7 Comments
Nick T

LibLink: Ed Davey – Eurosceptic Tories are damaging the national interest – and their chances of winning the next election

By Nick T | Thu 16th May 2013 - 3:54 pm

Over at the New Statesman, Lib Dem energy secretary Ed Davey has a rather perceptive and interesting piece on the Conservative Party’s implosion over Europe.

Here’s Ed’s take:

The Conservative Party hasn’t won a general election for over two decades and its latest infighting on Europe suggests that this trick may get repeated. Internal divisions on Europe haven’t been the sole cause of the Tories’ poor record. A big reason has been the growth of multiparty politics: Liberal Democrats in government in Westminster; the Scottish National Party in power in Holyrood. And with Ukip moving from a single issue party to a

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NewsHound

LibLink…Fiona Hall MEP: Lawson’s EU lunacy is a recipe for economic disaster

By NewsHound | Fri 10th May 2013 - 8:55 am

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament Fiona Hall has responded to former Chancellor Nigel Lawson’s call for Britain to leave the EU.

Writing in the Independent, she spelled out some of the economic consequences of such a move:

We are currently on the cusp of a game-changing trade deal between the EU and the US, which will bring billions of pounds to the British economy and create tens of thousands of jobs. The US has also made it quite clear that our ‘special relationship’ would cease to be special were the UK outside the EU. Major trade agreements with India and

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged , , and | 29 Comments
Nick T

LibLink: Richard Marbrow – Ukip is essentially a ‘party of the south east’ despite gains

By Nick T | Thu 9th May 2013 - 3:33 pm

Writing for Public Service Europe, Lib Dem campaigner Richard Marbrow has an interesting piece on the distinctly geographical ‘success’ of Ukip.

Here’s an excerpt:

For those of us who ply our politics in the north or the west of the United Kingdom, the inability of the British press to understand the existence of parts of the country more than an hour from London is a source of never ending frustration. The game changer of UKIP gains in the county council elections is a phenomenon largely contained in the South and East of England. Their breakthrough did not even extend into the South

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NewsHound

LibLink: 160mph Vince Cable stands in for Jeremy Clarkson

By NewsHound | Mon 6th May 2013 - 6:55 pm

Vince Cable - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsYesterday’s Sunday Times carried a treat for those of us who are Liberal Democrats and petrolheads. Jeremy Clarkson being “away” is seen by some as a treat in itself, but his replacement for this week was our Vince Cable.

Vince took an £150,000 Aston Martin Rapide S for a test drive during which he reached 160 mph. His criticism was as follows:

The car was more capable and felt quicker than my favourite Aston — the DB9 — although I was disappointed that it didn’t have

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NewsHound

LibLink: Mark Pack – Parliamentary predictions on the Queen’s Speech

By NewsHound | Sun 5th May 2013 - 11:35 am

Over at The House Magazine, Mark Pack (formerly of this parish) previews the upcoming Queen’s Speech — and applauds the fact that it may be rather thinner than we’ve grown used to:

Far too often ministers have confused volume of legislation sent through Parliament with being a good minister. It is an oh-so-tempting trap to fall into, as shown by some of the daft criticisms of the last Queen’s Speech – seeking to equate the Government’s seriousness about economic policies with the number of Bills on the subject.

Thankfully, however, at least the Liberal Democrat part of the Government is sticking to

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink…Nick Thornsby: The snooper’s charter has reminded Nick Clegg, finally, he is a liberal

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 25th April 2013 - 6:55 pm

Yes, I know, it is Snoopers’ Charter Central here on Liberal Democrat Voice today. I hope you will forgive us for being relieved and delighted that Nick Clegg has made sure that the Government will not be bringing forward an illiberal, unnecessary and intrusive measure.

Over at the Guardian’s Comment is Free, our Nick Thornsby has given his take on the issue, going back through the events of the past year since the idea first emerged. At that point the Party was furious that we could even contemplate such a thing:

 Their anger was such that a hastily arranged conference call with

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NewsHound

LibLink…Lynne Featherstone writes on World Malaria Day

By NewsHound | Thu 25th April 2013 - 1:43 pm

Over at the Huffington Post, Lib Dem international development minister Lynne Featherstone has been talking about the importance of World Malaria Day.

Here’s an excerpt:

Malaria affects over half the world’s population, with a child dying every minute from the disease. In the worst-affected countries malaria has a devastating impact on health systems and economies. When faced with these stark facts it can often seem like there’s no hope.

But amongst the gloom there are genuine signs that we may finally be winning the battle against malaria. Across the world malaria is on the decline. Over the past decade governments, NGOs and multilaterals

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The Voice

LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott – End the European Parliament’s “travelling circus”

By The Voice | Tue 23rd April 2013 - 3:14 pm

EU Parliament Brussels - Some rights reserved by PoetografieEdward McMillan-Scott MEP is the only British Vice-President of the European Parliament and has been leading the campaign for a single seat for the European Parliament. On the British Influence website he writes:

For four days each month, the European Parliament leaves its working base in Brussels, the EU’s political capital, and descends on Strasbourg, its official ‘Seat’ for debates and votes. In addition, half of the Parliament’s staff work in Luxembourg. This arrangement costs €180 million and 19,000 tonnes of C02 every

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The Voice

LibLink: Greg Mulholland – A day to celebrate England, Englishness, and all things English

By The Voice | Tue 23rd April 2013 - 11:58 am

st georgeToday is St George’s Day, and Greg Mulholland has marked the occasion with an article in Endeavour Public Affairs.  He writes:

St George’s Day is an occasion when we should celebrate England, Englishness, and all things English.  Yet how many English people actually take the time to celebrate, to commemorate the event, even by that most English of pastimes, by popping for a pint of England’s national drink, beer, in one of our most distinctive of English institutions, the public house?

It often seems to me, surely strangely, that the answer is fewer than the number of people who live in England and celebrate St Patrick’s Day.  It is not only the Irish Diaspora communities who celebrate this, so why is it that not more English residents, whether born and bred or not, choose to celebrate our national day?

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NewsHound

LibLink… Danny Alexander: Coalition tackling housing crisis

By NewsHound | Wed 17th April 2013 - 3:27 pm

Danny Alexander writes in today’s Scotsman about the benefit reduction which has become colloquially known as the Bedroom Tax.

He argues that the Coalition had to take action after Labour mismanagement and failure to build houses:

However, they may not know that Labour also left a legacy whereby hundreds of thousands of families in Scotland are waiting for a house that is big enough for their family to live in. The government has a responsibility to make sure that we change housing benefit rules in a careful, sensitive and managed way. But we also have a responsibility to those families.

Housing benefit is

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NewsHound

LibLink… Nick Clegg…Human rights: we won’t be silent

By NewsHound | Mon 15th April 2013 - 10:55 am

Over at the Guardian’s Comment is Free, Nick Clegg marks the publication of the Foreign Office’s 2012 Human Rights and Democracy report with an article stating that promoting human rights has never been more important.

He writes that many countries choose authoritarian capitalism over liberal democracy and this represents the “most serious challenge to our values since the end of the Cold War,”  especially as power transfers from west to east.

But, he says, younger populations and easily available technology make people more aware of their rights and less likely to accept authoritarian rule:

In the Middle East two-thirds of the population are

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Lynne Featherstone

Lynne Featherstone writes… Fairer tax for low earners and part time workers

By Lynne Featherstone | Sun 14th April 2013 - 3:25 pm

International Development minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one…

Week after week, I meet local residents at my constituency advice surgeries. Many are working hard in full or part time jobs, but still struggling to make ends meet due to the current economic climate.

The unemployed and part timers often tell me they want to work more but also keep more of the money they earn.

The Lib Dems have known this for a long time. And from now, the amount you can earn before being taxed has risen to £9,440. …

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The Voice

LibLink: Michael Moore – Scotland is stronger within the United Kingdom

By The Voice | Wed 10th April 2013 - 4:31 pm

michael-moore-mp-secretary-of-state-for-scotlandMichael Moore has been sharing his thoughts on the referendum on the US version of Huffington Post.  He writes:

Scotland is facing an historic decision in 2014: whether to remain as part of the United Kingdom or to leave and go it alone. Scotland’s nationalist First Minister Alex Salmond is in America this week and will seek to persuade Americans that Scots want independence, that it is our destiny and that U.S. relations with Scotland will only improve should it happen. On all counts, I believe that this analysis is flawed.

…

With

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The Voice

LibLink: Sarah Teather – Grubby Osborne’s crude opportunism is capitalising on fear

By The Voice | Sun 7th April 2013 - 12:35 pm

teather_cleggFormer Lib Dem children’s minister Sarah Teather unleashes something of a broadside not just against the Coalition, but against all three political parties for their policies on the poorest in society, both benefit claimants and also immigrants and asylum-seekers:

There is nothing like insecurity to bring out the temptation to scapegoat. Instead of offering a bit of statesmanlike leadership, Conservative ministers have engaged repeatedly in crude opportunism, capitalising on fear. And so the battle is drawn: good against evil. Those without benefits against those who claim. Strivers against shirkers. The deserving against

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NewsHound

LibLink: Danny Alexander – The rich are paying more in tax under the Coalition, than under Labour

By NewsHound | Sun 7th April 2013 - 11:15 am

Over at the Telegraph, Danny Alexander follows up his piece in last week’s Sun on Sunday defending the Coalition’s benefits and tax changes — Bedroom blockers and tax dodgers will pay — but this time in less tabloid terms:

… cleaning up the mess left by Labour involves difficult decisions everyday that impact on people’s lives up and down the country. Few more so than some of the changes to our tax and welfare system that have come in this week. The welfare changes this week are difficult, but right and necessary to ensure that people are always better off

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Mark Valladares

LibLink: Guy Verhofstadt, still taking it to UKIP…

By Mark Valladares | Fri 5th April 2013 - 4:21 pm

Guy VerhofstadtIn November, we reported on Guy Verhofstadt’s attack on Nigel Farage in the European Parliament. In yesterday’s Independent, the Leader of the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats in the European Parliament, gave his views on European migration policy and its effect on the United Kingdom. In a piece notable for its calmness of tone, he points out some of the flipside of the debate, pointing out the benefits of freedom of movement within the European Union, and nailing some of the misleading claims of UKIP leaders and activists.

Given …

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink: David Steel…New type of Union needed

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 4th April 2013 - 2:36 pm

The Scotsman carries an extract from David Steel’s Presidential Address to the David Hume institute in which he talks about the need for constitutional reform of the whole UK to give real power to its constituent parts. I was particularly struck by this passage where he talks about distribution, not devolution, of power:

Many of my former constituents would quite comfortably consider themselves a Borderer first and then a Scotsman. And the same incidentally applies for Borderers born south of the Tweed in Northumberland in relation to Englishness. Politicians at their peril dictate identity and culture. People can quite comfortably consider

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The Voice

LibLink: Danny Alexander – Bedroom blockers and tax dodgers will pay

By The Voice | Sun 31st March 2013 - 4:45 pm

Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander has published a robust defence of the Coalition’s welfare reforms in The Sun on Sunday. Here’s how it starts:

Last week a young woman came to talk to me about her housing situation. Her frustration was obvious. She was working hard in a low-paid job and was stuck in an overcrowded home with a young family and desperately needed to move to a bigger home. She couldn’t understand why she had to wait so long to get a home that was the right size for her and her family. It’s a story

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink…Christine Jardine: Referendum drowns out more pressing issues

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th March 2013 - 10:58 am

Former Downing Street insider Christine Jardine, now back in Scotland and selected as a Liberal Democrat Euro-candidate, highlights in the Scotsman how more urgent problems are being forgotten as Scotland gears up for the Independence Referendum.

While all the attention is on 18th September 2014, Christine reminds us that there is some serious stuff going on now:

Traditionally, conferences, like the SNP’s recent gathering in Inverness, are where policy announcements are made, government plans set out and ministers take the opportunity to highlight their successes in the full glare of the media spotlight. But not this time. This time I waited in

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Joe Otten

Lib Link: Immigration speech … an opportunity missed

By Joe Otten | Sat 23rd March 2013 - 11:24 am

Nick Thornsby, of this parish, adds his voice to the criticism of Nick Clegg’s speech on immigration, over at the Indepedendent.

Immigration is another area where the party has not just the opportunity but also a duty to shift the balance away from the negative rhetoric of the other parties and much of the media. Liberal immigration policies might not be politically popular, but it is the fate of liberals to be frequent holders of minority opinions, and we should do so proudly.

In a globalised world economy, where prosperity depends on succeeding in a global competition for

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NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Clegg – If Iraq taught us anything, it’s this…

By NewsHound | Mon 18th March 2013 - 10:45 am

This week marks the 10th anniversary of the invasion by the USA and the UK of Iraq. In an article published in The Independent, Nick Clegg reflects on the decisions made by the last Labour government and the lessons to be drawn. Here’s an excerpt:

The pretext given by the Blair government for the invasion – Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction – proved false. The intervention led to years of instability, sectarian violence and religious extremism within Iraq and beyond. It strengthened Iran’s ability to destabilise its neighbours and it undermined the credibility of the United Nations.

The

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Caron Lindsay

LibLink…Tavish Scott MSP: Eastleigh could be a fresh start

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th March 2013 - 12:48 pm

In the post Eastleigh celebratory glow, Shetland MSP used his Scotsman column to issue a sharp challenge on the economy and welfare reform to Liberal Democrat MPs.

First, he praised the party for the way we had come together to win against the odds.

 A personal party scandal was badly handled from beginning to end. The Tory press scented blood and threw themselves at the Lib Dems.

But the Lib Dem by-election machine still has a kick. A win was needed and secured. Morale is on the up and belief returns. This will grow if Lib Dem Westminster MPs now get really stuck

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