Category Archives: LibLink

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

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown – ‘I used to think the party of Gladstone would end with Ashdown’

By Helen Duffett | Mon 31st October 2011 - 2:23 pm

Today’s Telegraph has an interview with Paddy Ashdown, timed to promote his new TV documentary The Most Courageous Raid of WWII.

From the BBC:

Lord Ashdown, a former special forces commando, tells the story of the ‘Cockleshell Heroes’, who led one of the most daring and audacious commando raids of World War II… Lord Ashdown recreates parts of the raid and explains how this experience was used in preparing for one of the greatest land invasions in history, D-day.

As well as the documentary, Lord Ashdown’s Telegraph interview covers Europe, the Liberal Democrats and the art of compromise:

When Ashdown became leader

…

Tagged cockleshell heroes, D-day, nick clegg, paddy ashdown, telegraph and william ewart gladstone | Leave a comment

LibLink: Chris Rennard – The Lib Dems’ three-pronged strategy for success

By Nick T | Fri 28th October 2011 - 2:58 pm

In the House Magazine, Lord (Chris) Rennard – campaigns guru and former chief executive of the party – has set out the ‘three- pronged’ approach that he believes the Liberal Democrats should take over the coming years.

Here’s a sample:

The first of them follows on from Nick Clegg’s first-year priority, which was to show that the coalition government was stable and capable of taking tough decisions. So an early task for Nick Clegg was to show that ‘coalition works’. This test required huge self-discipline in agreeing a four-year Comprehensive Spending Review, and some compromises that were unpalatable to many Lib Dems.

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Tagged chris rennard and coalition | 4 Comments

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown – Libya’s path to democracy

By Nick T | Thu 27th October 2011 - 10:28 am

Lord (Paddy) Ashdown recently penned a piece for the Guardian with some thoughts on how Libya should now move towards a functioning democracy following its liberation. The rule of law, in the short term at least, is more important than elections, according to Paddy.

Here’s an extract:

If there is one thing more fraught, more attended by failure and more difficult to do than fighting a war, it is building the peace which follows. Our modern wars are fought in weeks or months – but building the peace is measured in decades. Wars are violent and swift. Building peace is long, painful

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged libya and paddy ashdown | 2 Comments

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown – To be stronger, Europe must give away power

By Nick T | Tue 25th October 2011 - 5:28 pm

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord (Paddy) Ashdown has a piece in today’s Times arguing that the European Union must reform if it is to regain public support and fulfil its original objectives.

Here are a couple of excerpts:

The reasons for European integration are not weaker today than they were when this all started; they are stronger. The EU’s founding fathers saw European integration as a means to avoid repeating our past and as the right response to postward turmoil. We should see it as the best means to assure our future and the right reaction to the global turmoil that we

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged european union and paddy ashdown | 1 Comment

LibLink: Nick Thornsby – A simple change to the tax system could ease Britain’s economic woes

By NewsHound | Mon 24th October 2011 - 10:16 pm

Over on Comment is free, Nick Thornsby is arguing for income tax cuts:

Political leaders in the eurozone must sort out their problems – and there is finally some hope on that front. When it comes to inflation, while George Osborne’s options to tackle the problem itself may be limited, he can certainly take action to negate its effects on the people on whom it impacts most severely. One of the most effective things he could do is to let those on low and middle incomes keep more of the money they earn. The coalition agreement already commits the government to

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Tagged income tax, nick clegg, nick thornsby and tax cuts (Lib Dem) | 2 Comments

LibLink: David Laws – Could do better: how to stop our schools failing

By Nick T | Fri 21st October 2011 - 9:56 am

Earlier this week, Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil and former education spokesman, David Laws, had a piece in the London Evening Standard defending the government’s record on education policy to date, but also urging a more ambitious programme over the coming years.

Here’s what David has to say on what Michael Gove and his Lib Dem colleague Sarah Teather have done so far:

Our qualifications system was also undermined by Labour – which was determined to “prove” that standards were rising, even if this just meant making exams easier. Targets distorted teaching: too few pupils took key subjects.

Under

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Tagged david laws, education, michael gove and sarah teather | 10 Comments

LibLink: Mark Pack – Unsolved problems of individual electoral registration

By NewsHound | Thu 20th October 2011 - 10:25 am

Over on the Total Politics blog, Lib Dem Voice’s Mark Pack has been summarising the state of play with plans to move to individual electoral registration:

So far, the planned move from household to individual electoral registration in Great Britain (catching up with the changes made in Northern Ireland several years ago) has generated rather more political heat than light. But after the announcement from Nick Clegg at the last Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions that he is minded to part of the government’s plans, what is the outlook for the proposal?

Mark goes on to outline the three main issues, as you …

Also posted in Election law | Tagged electoral registration and Mark Pack | Leave a comment

LibLink: Nick Clegg – We must stand up to this tyranny on our doorstep

By Nick T | Thu 29th September 2011 - 7:28 pm

Nick Clegg – currently in Poland representing the UK at the EU Eastern Partnership summit – has an op-ed in today’s Independent arguing that more must be done to topple Europe’s last dictator in Belarus. As well as his column, the deputy prime minister will also speak to the people of Belarus over the airwaves via European Radio for Belarus and meet with dissidents and democracy campaigners while in Warsaw.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

Imagine a country where torture and intimidation are reportedly common place. Where peaceful protesters are locked up – sent to maximum security prison colonies – and

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Tagged belarus and nick clegg | 2 Comments

LibLink: Mark Pack advises the party to be more like John Prescott

By NewsHound | Thu 22nd September 2011 - 9:50 am

Writing for the New Statesman, The Voice’s Mark Pack has picked an unusual role model for the Liberal Democrats:

What Prescott managed to do very successfully as a backbencher in the last years of the Labour government was both be a member of a party in power and also be consistently anti-establishment, especially in his attacks on some in the financial sector – and his mobilising of public support behind his campaigns.

For a party such as the Liberal Democrats who have such a strong tradition of anti-establishment ideology and campaigning, pulling off that combination now is all the more important. Or

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Tagged john prescott and Mark Pack | 2 Comments

LibLink | Norman Lamb: Lib Dems are helping to make Britain a fairer country

By NewsHound | Tue 20th September 2011 - 2:05 pm

Norman Lamb, Lib Dem MP for North Norfolk and political advisor to Nick Clegg, writes over at The Guardian about his view of how the party is delivering in government. First he defines the audience he is addressing: open-minded progressives:

For some on the left, the mere act of working with the Conservatives is a sin. We’ll never convince those people driven by hatred of the other tribe. But for progressives willing to examine the facts rationally, it is time to reassess the case. After all, 13 years of Labour government ultimately disappointed.

Norman then identifies two specific policy areas where he …

Tagged norman lamb | 3 Comments

LibLink | Tim Farron: Community is our priority

By NewsHound | Mon 19th September 2011 - 1:52 pm

Over at The Guardian, Lib Dem president Tim Farron acknowledges the bumpy ride of the first 15 months of Coalition, and stresses the centrality of community politics to the party. Here’s an excerpt:

The Lib Dems have led the way in the practice of community politics since, serving local communities across Britain in a way that engages them in the political process. Community politicians immerse themselves in their communities – empowering people to take action over the issues they face rather than the alternative, where politics is “done to” communities. Community politics is not just what liberals do, it’s part of who they are.

Tagged community politics and tim farron | Leave a comment

LibLink | David Laws: The Lib Dems must serve not as the government’s brake, but as its engine

By NewsHound | Mon 19th September 2011 - 12:05 pm

Over at the Guardian, Yeovil MP David Laws sets out his hopes for how the Coalition will be remembered by 2015 — as a movement for fixing the economy and promoting economic change with the Lib Dems in the vanguard of both. Here’s an excerpt:

We must use our precious years in government constructively, to reshape Britain – to sort out the economic mess, tackle Britain’s unfair and broken society, and clean up our environment. Securing growth and reducing bloated borrowing remain top priorities. We helped create “Plan A”, and we will stick with it. Now is not the time for

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Tagged david laws | Leave a comment

LibLink: Mark Pack – Some party rebellions are good for the leader

By NewsHound | Sun 18th September 2011 - 2:34 pm

The Voice’s Mark Pack has been guesting over at the New Statesman again, this time pointing out how there are some party rebels Nick Clegg may rather welcome:

Political pundits go on endlessly about how leaders should have “Clause 4 moments” when they pick a fight with parts of their own parties. In this case, the reluctant have handily offered themselves up in opposition to Nick Clegg and democrats, providing an easy route for the Deputy Prime Minister to garner the benefits of a Clause 4 moment without its usual pains.

You can read Mark’s post about Lib Dem conference …

Tagged constitutional reform, house of lords, lords reform, Mark Pack, nick clegg and nick thornsby | Leave a comment

LibLink: Simon Hughes – It’s our job to rein in the ruthless Tories

By NewsHound | Sun 18th September 2011 - 9:55 am

Today’s Observer carries an interview with Simon Hughes:

At a time when the Tory right is pressing David Cameron ever harder to follow its agenda and trample on the Lib Dems, Hughes is acting as his party’s, and the coalition’s, left-wing brake. “I think the useful role I can play is to be a guardian of the policy and traditions of the left of the party,” he says…

Hughes has a strong message for such Tories as they demand a more eurosceptic agenda and the end of the 50p rate of tax for those earning more than £150,000. He describes them as

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Tagged simon hughes | 5 Comments

LibLink: Rennard and Webb in the Saturday papers

By NewsHound | Sat 17th September 2011 - 4:36 pm

A double dose of LibLink love with two pieces to highlight.

First, an op-ed from (Lord) Chris Rennard for The Guardian with a lesson from history for the Liberal Democrats:

leaves the Liberal Democrats shaken by the drop in poll support but not entirely surprised by it. My view is that the drop in support should not be regarded as inevitable on polling day in 2015. In December 1996, the Lib Dems were suffering from too close an association with Labour and a poll rating below 10%. Analysis of the new parliamentary boundaries showed that the Lib Dems were down to

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Tagged chris rennard and steve webb | 1 Comment

LibLink: David Laws – We must tackle the economy and mend our broken society

By Nick T | Fri 16th September 2011 - 3:27 pm

In today’s Sun, David Laws has an op-ed urging Liberal Democrats to resist becoming an internal opposition, and instead maintain our role as “constructive front-seat drivers”, tackling the country’s economic and social problems.

Here’s a sample of what David has to say:

In its first year, the Coalition focus was on unity — agreeing an economic plan and proving to a sceptical country that coalition could work. We have passed both tests.

In its second year, the relationship between the parties has matured.

We don’t pretend that we agree on every dot and comma. There have been differences, including on the NHS.

Lib Dem voters

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Tagged david laws | 11 Comments

LibLink: Mark Pack – How the health bill will be handled at conference

By NewsHound | Mon 12th September 2011 - 6:21 pm

Over on his work blog, The Voice’s Mark Pack has written about how the health issue is likely to be handled at party conference:

The plan for the party’s autumn conference was straight-forward: talk up the party’s achievements in getting the Health and Social Care Bill changed, have a question & answer session to let people discuss but not disrupt the revised legislation and move on to talk about other issues.

That plan has been under assault, however, from health rebels within the Liberal Democrats who do not believe the changes have gone far enough.

You can read Mark’s post here.

Also posted in Conference | Tagged Mark Pack and NHS | 13 Comments

LibLink: Shirley Williams – Why this flawed bill threatens the very future of the NHS

By NewsHound | Sun 4th September 2011 - 6:32 pm

Writing in today’s Observer, Liberal Democrat peer Shirley Williams says:

As the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill has ground on, the doubts and questions that accompany it have become ever more difficult to address. This is a bill that has been subjected to a listening exercise, extensive consultation and a report by Steve Field, chairman of the Future Forum, redrafting by Parliament, more than 100 hours of debate, and dedicated efforts by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, and the Liberal Democrat minister of state for social care, Paul Burstow, to amend it to meet the worries Lib

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Tagged andrew lansley, NHS and shirley williams | 10 Comments

LibLink: Mark Pack – The missing ingredient from Liberal Democrat conference

By NewsHound | Thu 1st September 2011 - 9:28 am

The Voice’s Mark Pack has been guesting over on the Huffington Post again, this time writing about what he thinks is missing from the Birmingham conference agenda:

There are many weighty issues on the agenda for the Liberal Democrat autumn conference in Birmingham, as well as some potentially significant debates overthe party’s medium term strategy and policy outlook. There is also, however, a curious omission: tax.

The word tax is not completely absent from the agenda, but aside from a reference in one motion calling for the party to look at its tax policy as part of a big policy review, there

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Also posted in Conference | Tagged #ldconf and Mark Pack | 7 Comments

LibLink | Nick Clegg: “Human beings need human rights – in Britain as well as Libya”

By Helen Duffett | Thu 25th August 2011 - 10:05 pm

Nick Clegg writes this evening at Comment is Free on the need for the British government to uphold human rights at home as well as abroad. He describes the strengths of British human rights laws, and reminds that the Liberal Democrats will continue to support them in the face of the Tories’ rhetoric or moves to renegotiate them.

Britain has a proud history of international leadership on human rights. It was our political leadership and legal expertise that led to the creation of the European convention on human rights in 1950, a convention modelled on centuries of English law.

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Tagged european convention on human rights, human rights, human rights act and nick clegg | 16 Comments

Shirley Williams revisits her childhood haunts

By Helen Duffett | Mon 22nd August 2011 - 8:48 am

BBC Radio 4’s latest series of “The House I Grew up In” (which revisits the childhood neighbourhoods of influential Britons) includes an episode featuring Liberal Democrat Peer, Shirley Williams.

Shirley Williams, now Baroness Williams, returns to her childhood homes in London’s Chelsea and the New Forest. Her mother was the writer, Vera Brittain, whose most famous novel – Testament of Youth – was a best-seller when Shirley was a child in the 1930s. Her father, George Catlin, was an academic and and an instinctive feminist whose own mother had been an early suffragette, ostracised by Victorian society. He was a

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Tagged bbc radio 4, george catlin, shirley williams and vera brittain | 1 Comment

LibLink: Simon Hughes – Profits must no longer go to the few at the top

By Nick T | Tue 16th August 2011 - 6:27 pm

Over the weekend, Liberal Democrat deputy leader, Simon Hughes, penned a piece for the Guardian’s Comment Is Free site arguing that Britain needs to become a more equal place both in terms of the distribution of wealth and of opportunity.

Here’s a sample:

We must now focus on the redistribution of wealth. But this will not succeed by means of greater hand-outs. Financial benefits must seek to engage people positively. The redistribution of hope and opportunity means the redistribution as well as the creation of work. Co-operative and mutual businesses and social enterprise should be prioritised. The private sector, like the public

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Tagged #ukriots, inequality and simon hughes | 16 Comments

LibLink: Mark Pack – What to watch out for at Liberal Democrat conference

By Nick T | Sun 14th August 2011 - 12:54 pm

Mark Pack has been going through his conference documents and over on the MHP blog he has highlighted the bits that are likely to be most controversial and/or interesting.

Here’s just a sample of what Mark has picked out:

An early chance to catch the mood of the party will be the session on Saturday morning looking back on May’s elections and AV referendum. Unhappiness is to be expected. What to watch out for is who speaks out and where their comments are directed.

A common theme is likely to be the need for the party to present itself as distinct from the

…

Tagged #ldconf and Mark Pack | 8 Comments

LibLink | Tom Brake MP: Yes, we are bringing an end to the detention of child refugees

By NewsHound | Thu 11th August 2011 - 1:30 pm

One of the Lib Dems’ key 2010 election manifesto pledges was that child detention in immigration centres would be ended. A year after Tom Brake MP welcomed this Lib Dem policy being adopted by the Coalition government, he has written for The Guardian to highlight how the policy is improving the lives of those young and innocent victims who were treated so disgracefully by the Labour government:

The current practices with regard to children awaiting deportation cannot be – and should not be – in any way compared to the shameful past. Children are no longer held for weeks,

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Tagged child detention and tom brake | 1 Comment

LibLink | Brian Paddick: Police must show there is no bias against black people

By NewsHound | Wed 10th August 2011 - 2:55 pm

Former deputy assistant commissioner of the Metroplolitan police, and current contender to become the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London, Brian Paddick has written for The Independent on the need for our law-enforcers to re-earn the trust of the capital’s balck community. Recounting his own experiences of policing London on the front-line over the decades, Brian writes:

I was a sergeant on the streets during the 1981 Brixton riots. Together with 10 officers hiding behind our plastic shields, we became the focus for community hatred, pelted with bricks and broken paving slabs. The police and the community tried to rebuild some kind of relationship – it took a long time. Twenty years later I became the police commander there. After 15 months, when I was moved out of Brixton, there were protests – it had been quite a turnaround from 1981. Do the people of Tottenham have to wait 20 years for the weekend’s scars to heal?

Tagged brian paddick and policing | 12 Comments

LibLink: Simon Hughes – Make university an option for all

By Nick T | Tue 2nd August 2011 - 1:54 pm

Simon Hughes, Lib Dem deputy leader and author of The Hughes Report on access to higher education, recently had an op-ed in the Daily Express outlining the thoughts he sets out in that report.

Here’s a sample:

Last week I submitted my report to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, with more than 30 recommendations on what can be done to improve access to higher education.

These do not focus only on university admissions but on what can be done to encourage young people to think about university from an early age.

This is crucial because from the age of 13 children

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Tagged higher education, simon hughes, tuition fees and universities | 16 Comments

LibLink | Stephen Tall: Would you hire someone without interviewing them?

By NewsHound | Thu 28th July 2011 - 2:55 pm

Stephen Tall has an article over at Dale & Co on the Hughes Report on Access to Higher Education, which he previously outlined here on Lib Dem Voice.

Stephen comments:

However, there is one recommendation in ‘The Hughes Report’ with which I take issue:

It is my firm view that interviews which are conducted by an academic who will end up teaching that particular student are too subjective. … interviews should be conducted by trained admissions personnel who will not have face to face teaching responsibilities for the interviewee. (p.33)

It’s an odd comment for two reasons. First, it

…

Tagged Dale & Co, higher education, hughes report, simon hughes and stephen tall | 13 Comments

LibLink | Vince Cable: My brush with the Murdochs – and the lessons I learned

By Helen Duffett | Sun 24th July 2011 - 10:23 am

Business Secretary Vince Cable writes today at the Mail on Sunday on his own reaction to the “Murdoch mania” press coverage and his experiences of News International during his first year as a Cabinet Minister:

My own direct experience was as the Minister with responsibility for competition and takeovers.
I had to take a decision on whether to approve or refer the bid from News International to acquire the remaining (just over 60 per cent) shares in BSkyB that it did not already own.

My involvement started with a courtesy call from James Murdoch last summer telling me of the bid

…

Tagged news international, rupert murdoch, strictly come dancing and vince cable | Leave a comment

Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Category Archives: LibLink

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown – ‘I used to think the party of Gladstone would end with Ashdown’

LibLink: Chris Rennard – The Lib Dems’ three-pronged strategy for success

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown – Libya’s path to democracy

LibLink: Paddy Ashdown – To be stronger, Europe must give away power

LibLink: Nick Thornsby – A simple change to the tax system could ease Britain’s economic woes

LibLink: David Laws – Could do better: how to stop our schools failing

LibLink: Mark Pack – Unsolved problems of individual electoral registration

LibLink: Nick Clegg – We must stand up to this tyranny on our doorstep

LibLink: Mark Pack advises the party to be more like John Prescott

LibLink | Norman Lamb: Lib Dems are helping to make Britain a fairer country

LibLink | Tim Farron: Community is our priority

LibLink | David Laws: The Lib Dems must serve not as the government’s brake, but as its engine

LibLink: Mark Pack – Some party rebellions are good for the leader

LibLink: Simon Hughes – It’s our job to rein in the ruthless Tories

LibLink: Rennard and Webb in the Saturday papers

LibLink: David Laws – We must tackle the economy and mend our broken society

LibLink: Mark Pack – How the health bill will be handled at conference

LibLink: Shirley Williams – Why this flawed bill threatens the very future of the NHS

LibLink: Mark Pack – The missing ingredient from Liberal Democrat conference

LibLink | Nick Clegg: “Human beings need human rights – in Britain as well as Libya”

Shirley Williams revisits her childhood haunts

LibLink: Simon Hughes – Profits must no longer go to the few at the top

LibLink: Mark Pack – What to watch out for at Liberal Democrat conference

LibLink | Tom Brake MP: Yes, we are bringing an end to the detention of child refugees

LibLink | Brian Paddick: Police must show there is no bias against black people

LibLink: Simon Hughes – Make university an option for all

LibLink | Stephen Tall: Would you hire someone without interviewing them?

LibLink | Vince Cable: My brush with the Murdochs – and the lessons I learned

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Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

Alison Suttie writes: Thank you to our volunteers

What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Category Archives: LibLink

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