Category Archives: News

Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem Job Watch

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 24th August 2017 - 5:37 pm

Looking for a job? Fancy working for the Liberal Democrats?  There are plenty opportunities at the moment, but you will need to act quickly, as some of them close tomorrow.

Over at W4MP, there are opportunities available from Edinburgh to York to London

Christine Jardine MP is looking for a Parliamentary Assistant to work in Edinburgh with some travel to London.

This is an exciting opportunity based in the constituency and will require some travel to London. The successful candidate will be someone who enjoys the challenges and flexibility of working in a small team, be organised and have a strong desire to help constituents.

In York, there are two jobs going with our ruling Council group.

Firstly, they want a political assistant to the Lib Dem Group:

The post holder will work closely with the Group Leader who is the Deputy Leader of the Council and members of the Group, including those who are Executive Members. The postholder will be expected to:

  • identify current and forthcoming local, regional and national issues of political relevance;
  • prepare press releases and liaise with the media;
  • understand the role of social media in an age of modern communication;
  • undertake specific research;
  • provide written and oral briefings on emerging issues;

This is a politically restricted post governed by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and Local Government Restrictions Regulations 1990.

An Executive Assistant to the Deputy Leader of the Council is also sought:

Due to the specialist nature of this role you will have a working knowledge and understanding of the Council’s responsibilities and of the role of the Deputy Leader and his Group within the Council. You will be a team player who is highly organised, works well under pressure and have at least two years’ relevant local government experience or of working in a similar role.

You will need to be confident, adaptable and flexible in your attitude and be able to work on your own initiative. You will have proven written and oral communication skills, and an excellent knowledge of IT packages. You will be a highly motivated individual capable of prioritising workloads and able to work to high standards.

If you think you could shape the future of the Liberal Democrats, you have just 24 hours left to apply for the two major jobs in Vince Cable’s team – chief of staff and Press Secretary. I suspect the two who recently lost these jobs in the White House need not bother applying.

Tim moved the Leader’s Office over to Lib Dem HQ but Vince is taking it back into Parliament. The challenge for these post holders will be to stay engaged with the party. You don’t need to be in LDHQ to keep abreast of the party – it’s more about attitude than physical location – but there has to be an acceptance that the party is important.

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Caron Lindsay

Women-only train carriages are a terrible idea

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd August 2017 - 5:10 pm

Almost exactly two years ago, Jeremy Corbyn took a whole load of pain for daring to suggest that women-only train carriages might be part of the solution to combating sexual assaults on public transport.

At the time, I looked at what he actually said and decided against castigating him – although I was and remain convinced that it is a terrible idea.

First of all, it’s pretty good to see a male politician think that the issue of sexual assault on public transport is an important one that we should do something about. Where were the other politicians, including Liberal Democrats, when the statistics showing showing an increase in reported sexual assaults came out last week?

I also gave him credit for at least saying that he needed to consult women to come up with a firm view.

Labour MP Chris Williamson has not been quite as sensitive. He’s waded into the debate, following figures which show a doubling of sexual assaults on public transport.  

He told Politics Home that

I really don’t see how it helps to segregate women rather than concentrate on changing the behaviour of the men who assault them.  Apart from anything else, the sort of low-life who attacks women in this way would be likely to assume that any woman not travelling in a women-only carriage was simply asking for their attention.

A solution which discourages women from sharing the same space as men is not in my view desirable.

I also think that those of us who use public transport should look out for our fellow travellers. We tend to bury ourselves in our now thoughts and resolutely avoid any sort of interaction with the world around us. Keep an eye out for women who look uncomfortable and intervene to help them. If you see someone being groped on a crowded carriage, get up and offer them your seat or your space and report the perpetrator. These people need to be convicted.

If you think this is somehow exaggerated,  have a read of Louise Jones’ post for Bea magazine published back in 2013. It’s a harrowing account of horrendous behaviour.

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John King

Reversing Brexit

By John King | Wed 23rd August 2017 - 9:55 am

Once out, the pin can’t be put back in. Or can it?

Yes it can, so long as the strike lever has not been released. And that is the position we are in with Brexit. In theory, article 50 can be revoked if we act fast, but the clock is ticking. And According to both Emmanuel Macron and Alastair Campbell, editor of the New European, we have little time left. At some point, the EU will go into full self-protective mode and focus on performing a clean amputation. In grenade terms, the strike lever will have been released and the explosion will be inevitable.

That is why we have to move swiftly. According to Campbell, the time window after our August holidays will be slim. “When the political season resumes, we had better have got our act together”, he writes, ”or else this thing is happening”.

There are formidable difficulties facing us. Though we see tantalising signs of a national change of heart, a lot of energy has built up behind the Brexit juggernaut which means that simply aborting it is well nigh impossible.

Disarming the grenade

Brexit has been aptly described as an act of national self-harm, and self harm has a considerable cathartic value. It is like a wave which rears up before crashing and dissipating its energy on the beach. Anyone who has ever been distressed enough to think of harming themself will tell you that it is not much use being told “forget it, and just carry on as normal”.

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NewsHound

The Press Pack: A round-up of Lib Dem media comments – 22 August 2017

By NewsHound | Tue 22nd August 2017 - 8:18 pm

Here’s a roundup of  media comments made by Lib Dem parliamentarians and spokespeople today.

GP numbers

Norman Lamb slammed the Government for failing to deliver more GPs:

The government’s promise to recruit 5,000 more GPs by 2020 lies in tatters, with fewer GPs now than when this pledge was first made.

“The pitiful increase we have seen in recent months is nowhere near enough to cope with rising patient demand.

“This failure to recruit enough doctors will inevitably have a damaging impact on the ability of patients to access the healthcare they need.

“We are already close to breaking point, with people in many parts of the country struggling to get appointments with their GP.

“More doctors are urgently needed to guarantee a fully-staffed NHS that provides everyone with the care they need.

Swinson criticises UK support for Trump Afghanistan move

The government didn’t really get round to condemning Donald Trump’s appalling remarks in the wake of Charlottesville, but they were quick off the mark to support him sending more troops to Afghanistan. Jo Swinson said:

For once, sense seems to have prevailed in the White House.

“But to succeed in Afghanistan will require winning the hearts and minds of its people and working closely with neighbouring countries.

“On that front, Donald Trump has already done untold damage through his proposed refugee ban, Islamophobic comments and cack-handed approach to foreign affairs.

“The government’s rapid statement of support for Trump today contrasts with its failure to swiftly condemn his divisive views and actions in the past.

“Simply pouring more troops into Afghanistan will not work without a broader strategy involving careful diplomacy and redoubled efforts to build a stable government.”

Even Brussels must be tired of this waffle

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Oliver Craven

Is failure to use technology to enhance learning failing school pupils?

By Oliver Craven | Mon 21st August 2017 - 10:55 am

The format of education hasn’t really changed since Victorian times. Students are still packed into a classroom with a teacher who spends most of their time doing some variation of lecturing to the students, before they then apply whatever they’ve just heard to some real examples. This system treats everyone equally by treating pretty much everyone the same, using the same techniques and the same curriculum for everyone, regardless of their differences. Liberal Democrats tend to challenge traditional policies, and should challenge the current educational system too. We also tend to look solely to teachers for educational policy but it is also worth listening to the perspective of students.

Technology promised a revolution in classrooms, with very little change in the techniques in the publicly funded and conservative education sector. Technology has changed the way in which the teacher delivers the information to the class, allowing a little more interactivity but keeping the key parts of the teacher lecturing to the students on masse. Technology could, and should, be causing a more revolutionary change to education, like a number of charter schools are in the United States.

One charter school chain, called Summit Public Schools, has used technology to revolutionise their teaching. Students mainly learn from online courses and doing project work, supported by a teacher who moves from more authoritarian current role to a mentor, supporting students in their learning and explaining more difficult concepts. These schools save teachers a significant amount of time on marking, allowing teachers to support their students more and removing a significant source of stress. The school still requires students to cover a broad curriculum using a personal learning plan, though they are free to learn at their own pace and choose their topic at the time. 

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Joe Bourke

The Philosophy of Henry George

By Joe Bourke | Mon 21st August 2017 - 8:55 am

Liberal economic philosophy has its roots in land reform and economic justice. John Locke said that “God gave the world in common to all mankind….” Thomas Paine stated that “men did not make the earth… It is the value of the improvements only, and not the earth itself, that is individual property.”

John Stuart Mill wrote: “When the ‘sacredness’ of property is talked of, it should be remembered that any such sacredness does not belong in the same degree to landed property.” Mill also wrote: “The increase in the value of land, arising as it does from the efforts of an entire community, should belong to the community and not to the individual who might hold title.”

In a free market capitalist economy markets allocate resources through the price mechanism. An increase in demand raises price and businesses produce more goods or services, but they cannot produce more land.  The quantity of products consumed by people depends on their income, but rising income translates to increased land rents when supply is static.

John Maynard Keynes challenged the idea that free markets would automatically provide full employment. He instead argued that aggregate demand determined the overall level of economic activity and that inadequate aggregate demand could lead to prolonged periods of high unemployment. Keynes advocated the use of fiscal and monetary policies to mitigate the adverse effects of economic recessions and depressions.

William Beveridge set out the framework for the modern welfare state to tackle poverty, health, housing, education and unemployment.  Following the principles of Keynes, the post-war government took control of key industries. Under this managed economy tax money could be used to keep an industry afloat, even if it faced economic difficulties and maintain full-employment.

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The Voice

Brake: Cabinet can’t even agree amongst themselves, let alone win concessions from EU

By The Voice | Sun 20th August 2017 - 12:44 pm

Now that David Davis is re-opening the EU talks timetable again, Lib Dem Brexit spokesperson Tom Brake has this to say on the paucity of the Government’s performance in the EU negotiations:

David Davis promised us ‘the row of the summer’ over the Brexit timetable, only to capitulate weeks later to the EU’s preferred timetable after a disastrous general election for his party which vastly undermined their negotiating position.

To be now, a couple of months down the line, trying to reopen the issue reeks of desperation at an approaching economic storm and a cabinet who don’t have a clue.

Constant reports of cabinet spats show our government cannot even agree a position between themselves, let alone win concessions from EU negotiating teams in our country’s best interests.

Davis certainly seems to be picking fights on simplistic binary issues to hide the enormous complexity of Brexit and the disaster it is likely to bring for our businesses, our economy and, consequently, for our poorest.

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Caron Lindsay

WATCH: Vince Cable’s Edinburgh Q & A

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 19th August 2017 - 11:02 am

Vince Cable came to Edinburgh yesterday on his tour of the country taking questions from members.

For 90 minutes, he answered questions on such varying subjects as tackling extremism, Brexit, freedom of movement, the triple lock, opportunities for young people and the fight against climate change.

He was particularly strong on tackling inter-generational unfairness and I was heartened to see him continue to keep social justice and reducing inequality as top priorities.

He talked about the need to curb some of the privileges pensioners get – such as wealthier people over state pension age who are still earning not paying National Insurance. He said it was important to maintain the triple lock, though, because we don’t want to go back to the days when so many pensioners lived in poverty.

I was really pleased to meet so many people who had recently joined the party – some who had specifically joined because Vince was leader.

Watch most of it in the next two video clips. Don’t be put off by the sound interference at the beginning of the first one. It sorts itself out.

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Caron Lindsay

Jamie Stone, the ferret and the pantomime dame

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 18th August 2017 - 11:15 am

That’s a headline I never thought I’d write.

Online TV channel Core TV has been interviewing new MPs. It’s not a traditional political interview and is meant to be a light-hearted introduction to our new law makers.

Our Jamie Stone’s effort will make your mind boggle. It’s hilarious and has to be seen to be believed. Enjoy.

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Caron Lindsay

No, Vince Cable will not be launching new anti-Brexit party with former Mail Political Editor

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 16th August 2017 - 5:33 pm

You do have to wonder if the @jameschappers Twitter account is a parody or has been taken over by the Brexiteers who are tweeting from some holiday bar for fun. It’s doing some seriously weird stuff at the moment, including suggesting that Vince Cable is going to be launching Chapman’s new anti Brexit Party on 9th September. Seriously.

No, he isn’t. It is that simple.

Jim Waterson of Buzzfeed has chapter and verse:

He quotes a Liberal Democrat spokesperson as saying:

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Caron Lindsay

Vince: Trump state visit would be “completely wrong” after Charlottesville comments

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 16th August 2017 - 2:44 pm

“Fine people on both sides” said Donald Trump of the horrific events in Charlottesville at the weekend. I suspect most of you reading this site will, like me, utterly reject the notion that you can go to a demo, stand on the same side as people carrying swastikas and dressing kids up in KKK costume and be a “fine person.”

Vince Cable has condemned Trump’s remarks and has renewed Liberal Democrat calls for the offer of a State visit to be withdrawn.

He said:

The events of the last few days have shocked and appalled the entire world.

Images of Nazis, marching in American streets, terrorist attacks on peaceful protestors. Every world leader should be able to condemn that.

Donald Trump’s response to these tragic events has been shocking.

He has shown that he is unable to detach himself from the extreme-right and racial supremacists.

The fact he remains highly dependent on White House advisors from the extreme-right shows he is firmly anchored in this detestable worldview.

It would be completely wrong to have this man visit the UK on a State Visit.

The government should be following the far more prudent example to relations with the US President set by Angela Merkel in Germany.

Tim Farron first called for the State visit offer to be withdrawn in the wake of Trump’s first attempt at a travel ban the week after he entered the White House.

It is pretty awful to have a Government that is so dependent on the hope of a trade deal that they won’t condemn the way he has reacted. We’ve spent the last 70 years at the heart of an organisation that has fought for human rights and democracy across the world. Now we are going to be entering a period of excessive pandering to all sorts of dodgy characters because we need their trade and will probably have to take it on whatever terms they demand. It will be a far cry from the days when we could roll up with 27 of our mates and tell them to get lost with their chlorinated chicken. 

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Kirsten Johnson

Notes from a new Councillor: Taking Action

By Kirsten Johnson | Wed 16th August 2017 - 12:30 pm

Many residents have contacted me with road concerns. I was warned before the election that roads would take a lot of my time! The list goes on and on: potholes, drainage, dips in the road, worn surfaces, pavements, kerbs, broken bollards, street-lighting, etc.

Is it worth my time? Yes. Getting a pavement cleared so that a mum with a pushchair can get through makes a difference. Getting a cycle route tidied of overgrown hedge keeps cyclists on the cycle path and safe. Working for new street-lighting protects young people as they walk home from school in the winter months. Improving drainage means people can access a recreation ground rather than walking through standing water to the gate.

I think I underestimated how much little things can have a big impact on people’s lives. And how, by sending an email or meeting with a county officer on a particular issue, not only will it improve the situation for one resident, but for many.

One reason I got involved in politics a couple of years ago was because of inequality. I think what I like most about being a county councillor is giving local people a voice. Listening to their concerns, hearing their concerns, and representing them. We live in an unequal world at many levels, socially, economically, educationally, opportunity.

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The Voice

Vince’s six questions for David Davis on the customs union

By The Voice | Wed 16th August 2017 - 10:29 am

Vince Cable has set out six questions the Government must answer after the “constructive ambiguity” in its document published yesterday told us not a huge amount. The questions seem designed to reveal whether the government’s position is actually based on any evidence about the impact of its options or whether the options are just a fig leaf to cover up the deep divisions in the Cabinet.

Vince said:

The government is offering two ways forward but won’t tell us which it prefers. That’s no doubt because cabinet ministers can’t even agree amongst themselves.

These plans are more concerned with papering over the cracks within the Conservative party than protecting our economy.

All those industries that depend on membership of the customs union, from the car industry to aerospace, still have no clear idea what is coming down the track.

All they know is that instead of jumping off a cliff in 18 months, the government now wants to do so in a few years’ time.

The government must come clean over the real costs of these plans for British businesses and consumers.

And on to the six questions:

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ALDC

Could you be a future leader?

By ALDC | Wed 16th August 2017 - 8:55 am
ALDC are recruiting the 2017 group for the ALDC’s Future Leaders programme at our November Kickstart and are asking could you be a leader in your area?
Whether you are standing for election next May, a key member of the core campaign team in your local constituency and ultimately looking to be a leader in your area, this could be the ideal opportunity for you.

This is an excellent training and development programme for Liberal Democrat activist and Councillors who are hopefully going to be the stars of the future.

It’s a free programme (including transport, accommodation and food) thanks to G8 funding based at ALDC’s residential Kickstart weekend on the 24th-26th November 2017 in Stone.

The group have a chance to undertake training and development for themselves in their progression as key activists in their areas, potential ‘leaders’ of local campaigning. This year the programme has a particular emphasis on young campaigners (under 30 years of age) and BAME campaigners.

If there are people on your local party who would benefit please encourage them to apply.

To apply for one of the bursaries, please send in evidence of current campaign activity (such as what you already do to help your local party) along with 200 words about why you want to be considered for one of these coveted places to [email protected].

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Martin Roche

The combination of food and politics can bring seismic change

By Martin Roche | Mon 14th August 2017 - 8:45 am
What do the the French Revolution, the Irish famines of the 19th century, the Boston Tea Party and Gulliver’s Travels all have in common? I suspect you have grasped my point already. They all have food at the centre of their stories. The ancient Lilliputian dispute between big-enders and little-enders (over which end to open a boiled egg), led to, “six rebellions…wherein one Emperor lost his life and another his crown.”
 
Swift was parodying and satirising the British state of George l. Marie Antoinette told her people that if they had no bread they should eat cake. Down came a tumbling the ancien regime. In Ireland, the enormity of the deaths from hunger and the mass emigration in the wake of the famines fueled the resentment that saw Ireland eventually rise up against Britain and create the sovereign Irish state we know today.  In 1773 in Boston harbour the idea of a tax on tea being levied without the consent of those paying the tax sparked the American revolution.  
 
Food matters. It matters for reasons so fundamental that I won’t patronise readers by articulating them. Jonathan Swift knew his history and his politics. He knew that food shortages and the cultural importance societies attach to given foods can have profound political consequences.
 

Rebellion in Russia and India

 
Food riots helped propagate the Russian revolution. In British India, locally engaged Hindu and Muslim soldiers serving the Crown rebelled in 1857 when they heard that the cartridges for the new Enfield rifle were coated with cow and pig fat, thus offending both religions. Things might not have got out of hand were it not necessary for soldiers to tear open the cartridges with their teeth (hence “bite the bullet”), thus forcing Hindus to eat the fat of cows, which they hold sacred and never to be eaten. Muslims were being asked to put pig fat in their mouths. It is a central canon of Muslim faith that pigs are unclean and unfit for human consumption. Many thousands died before the British restored order, though the event surely marked the beginning of the long, slow, disengagement of Britain from India. As has been so often the case with political turmoil, the matter of food unlocked seething anger at some of the many insensitive behaviours of the colonial power.
 
And now we have Brexit. Now we have Dr Liam Fox leaping and scurrying about in bovine bowing and scrapping at the feet of Donald Trump. A free trade deal with the USA makes Brexit Tories salivate at its very prospect. It’s more than trade and jobs and Britain’s place in the world for them. For them it represents a fixed link – a permanent bridge – between the very rich and very powerful economic and social conservatives of the American Right and creating a British world of red in tooth and claw capitalism, mindless xenophobia and the rolling back of employment rights and the great triumphs won to build a socially liberal Britain. A free trade deal with the USA is for the hard Right Tories the economic equivalent of the foreign policy and defence super glue of Trident.  
 

Pandora’s Box

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NewsHound

LibLink: Vince Cable: It’s time to tackle the UK’s dangerous addiction to debt

By NewsHound | Sun 13th August 2017 - 12:00 pm

One of Vince Cable’s claim to fame is that he accurately predicted the 2007 financial crash. Ten years on, he recently wrote an article for City AM in which he said that our economy was again at risk because of high debt levels.

Debt, in itself, isn’t bad. He talks about his own experience:

Indeed, my own youthful borrowing included buying my late wife a grand piano on an overdraft, a decision that underpinned 33 years of happy marriage. (And I paid off the debt after a struggle.)

The issue with debt is one of limits and sustainability, for both the individual and the wider financial system. The same, clearly, applies to government debt and corporate and financial sector leverage.

What the 2008 financial crisis and its aftershocks have taught us is that those limits may be closer than we think – and, once crossed, can lead to rapid and painful corrections.

He looks at the current situation in which we are seeing high levels of personal debt again:

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The Voice

New Lib Dem digital initiative – The week in politics

By The Voice | Sun 13th August 2017 - 9:00 am

Those creative digital types at LDHQ have come up with a good idea – a Twitter summary of key Lib Dem activities over the past week called The Week in Politics.

It covers everything from Vince’s article on how the young have been shafted by Brexit to Lorely Burt’s period poverty action to our contingent at Leeds Pride.

It’s good that it looks beyond the activities of the parliamentary party, …

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Caron Lindsay

LISTEN: Ming Campbell on North Korea, an anti-Brexit party, gender equality and what he ate before a big race

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 12th August 2017 - 8:21 pm

When something goes awry in the world, I always want to hear what two people think of it – Paddy and Ming. I don’t always agree with them, but what they have to say is always worth hearing.

Last night Ming Campbell was on Any Questions. He had his own alliterative response to Trump’s “fire and fury” and “locked and loaded” – inexperienced, incompetent and incoherent. He said that the UK should work with the UN to sort this situation out and warned against any sort of military engagement. He said that the world was in a very dangerous situation.

Other issues raised included whether there should be a new centrist anti-Brexit party. Ming said, quite correctly, that there was one and there was no time to faff about creating another. The fallout from the Google memo was also discussed.

But you’ll have to listen to the end to find out what Ming used to eat before a big race in his running days when he held British records and stuff. It certainly wasn’t the sort of tailored, scientific approach we see with elite athletes today.

I was also surprised that he came out in favour of the sacking of James Damore from Google. He was pretty clear. What he’d said was wholly inappropriate and he had to go. I kind of agree with him – but on the other hand, I am very aware that Damore worked for a company in a country which has next to no employment rights. I suspect that firing him will make him a vast amount of money and will make him a bit of a celeb in alt-right circles. A disciplinary process that told him off might have been a better way of dealing with the situation.

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NewsHound

LibLink: Lorely Burt: The Government must act now to end period poverty

By NewsHound | Sat 12th August 2017 - 10:09 am

This week Lib Dem Peer Lorely Burt called on the Government to do more to end period poverty. Earlier this year it was revealed that some girls were missing school when they had their periods because they couldn’t afford tampons or towels. In an article for the Huffington Post, she said:

The simple truth is period poverty is a hidden problem; if it wasn’t for teachers and those volunteering at food banks reporting that this was a real issue, we probably would still be oblivious to it. Tragically we simply don’t know how many young girls it affects because embarrassment stops them from seeking help. Anecdotal evidence tells us that young girls who can’t afford sanitary products often end up using tissues, old socks and other totally inappropriate items. Shockingly this is happening up and down the UK – a prosperous and compassionate country.

Before the election, Lorely and others had extracted assurances from the Government that they would look at doing something about this but precious little has happened:

This week I wrote to Justine Greening asking for an update at very least. It seems that this Government thinks it can wash its hands of the problem and leave businesses like Bodyform and Boots, along with charities such as Freedom4Girls and In-Kind Direct, to pick up the pieces. Bodyform for example has promised to donate 200,000 packs of sanitary products by 2020, whilst Boots have placed donation boxes in their stores for customers to donate sanitary products to be distributed to girls in need.

We can’t get away from the fact that often these young girls and their families don’t have the money to purchase these vital hygiene products, thanks to cruel Conservative austerity measures that hit the poorest hardest. It is a scathing indictment of this government that girls in our country are suffering like this. Conservative ministers shouldn’t be allowed to just turn a blind eye and hope the issue goes away.

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ALDC

Kickstart: ALDC’s campaign training weekend – 24-26 November 2017

By ALDC | Fri 11th August 2017 - 1:48 pm

If you want to take advantage of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors and Campaigners’ (ALDC) early-bird ticket rates for their Autumn Kickstart 2017 campaign training weekend (24-26 November), then you need to act fast as they’re currently available on a first come first served basis.

If you’ve been before you’ll know all about the weekend’s benefits. And if you’ve not, you should go along to get tailored, professional advice; training and bespoke mentoring for your campaign team from experienced Liberal Democrat campaigners and councillors.

There’s something on offer for everyone; whatever your role in a campaign and regardless of your experience. You’ll go away having improved your campaigning skills and with a well-developed campaign plan ready for your next set of elections. If you want to win, Kickstart is the boot camp you need to win.

If you’re an ALDC member, you’re currently able to book to attend for £150 for a single room (usual price is £270) and £120 for a double room per person (usual price is £240).

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Kirsten Johnson

Notes from a new Councillor: The beginning

By Kirsten Johnson | Fri 11th August 2017 - 11:55 am

I was elected as Oxfordshire County Councillor in the May elections, my first time ever being elected to public office. What a whirlwind the first two months have been! Complicated by the small matter of being a parliamentary candidate in the GE for the first month of being County Councillor.

Would I recommend being a councillor? Yes!

For any of you out there thinking about putting yourself forward for next May’s local elections, do have a go. I have always felt passionately that politics is about a range of people getting involved, with various backgrounds and expertise to bring to the role. I’m a musician – and yes, we need more politicians from the arts. We need people of all ages and interests to take part in order to have true representation in democratic decision making.

What’s great about the job is the difference you can make in people’s lives. One of my first successes was supporting a family who had made an application for their child’s Special Educational Needs placement back in November. They still hadn’t heard back by June where their child would be starting school in September 2017. I got onto the case, made a phone call, sent some emails, and found out what was holding up the situation. It was sorted, and the family was given their answer, within a week of my asking. That has made a huge difference to this family. They can now enjoy the summer holidays with the assurance of knowing where their child is going to school in September.

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Bernard Aris

Cable, not Corbyn, is right on Venezuela

By Bernard Aris | Fri 11th August 2017 - 10:25 am

The most famous example is in the 1960’s: the Cuba of Fidel Castro turned dictatorial after he let the Soviet Union take over training domestic policing and his secret service (in exchange for buying up his sugar an most of Cuban cigars; see Tad Szulcs biography of Fidel).

But also in the 1980’s the regime of Robert Mugabe over Zimbabwe appeared to start out in 1980 as a better alternative to South African Apartheid, but there the instant imposition and eternal prolongation of the State of Emergency, the role of the North Korean (guaranteed Stalinist) military training mission, their Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade pupils and their Gukurahundi 1983-7 offensive  suppressing Nkomo’s democratic opposition, disillusioned many supporters very fast. When in 1987 the presidency got real executive powers and Nkomo’s party was absorbed in Mugabe’s regime, things turned sour “for keeps”, resulting in misrule, murderous peasant evictions, clobbering opposition leaders to a pulp, and hyperinflation.

The 1979 Sandinista revolt in Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega kept on the democratic, progressive path during the 1980’s, but after losing the 1990’s election Ortega forced social democratic party veterans like Ernesto Cardenal and novelist Sergio Ramírez out, becoming  more autocratic. Ortega and his clique in 1990 kept the nationalized enterprises as their property, and after returning to government in 2006, Ortega was illegally re-elected president in 2011. Ortega, having fought the Roman Catholic hierarchy up to 1990, co-operated with the orthodox wing of that church (archbishop Obando) after returning to government in 2006, banning abortion in all circumstances (his main campaign issue and that of the “liberals”. Human Rights Watch since reported that bleeding pregnant women don’t get treated for fear of breaking that ban, and the Health Ministry ignores complaints about pre- and postnatal care.

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NewsHound

Trees unite Nick Clegg and Michael Gove

By NewsHound | Thu 10th August 2017 - 9:45 pm

Nick Clegg really didn’t get on that well with Michael Gove when they served in the Cabinet together and Gove’s position as a key Brexiteer merely exacerbated the antipathy between them. There was even less love lost between Nick and Gove’s former special adviser Dominic Cumming who went on to run the leave campaign.

So it is quite amusing to see the two men on the same side of an argument – over those trees in Sheffield that the Council insists on chopping down, against the wishes of local residents. Last year Nick compared the Police reaction to protests to Putin’s Russia.

In scenes you’d expect to see in Putin’s Russia, rather than a Sheffield suburb, council contractors and police descended on Rustlings Road under the cover of darkness, dragged people out of bed to move their cars and detained peaceful protesters – all to chop down eight trees. The battle to save the Rustlings Road trees has been long and hard-fought and I am impressed with the tenacity of local people and their peaceful, well-articulated, reasoned opposition.

Now Environment Secretary Gove has come out against the tree-felling as reported in the Guardian:

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The Voice

WATCH: Vince talking about the financial crash

By The Voice | Thu 10th August 2017 - 8:58 pm

Here’s Vince on Good Morning Britain talking about the 10th anniversary of the financial crash. Could it all happen again? What does he think about the current state of our economy?

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The Voice

Sal Brinton’s email to party members on Tim Gordon – and what happens next

By The Voice | Thu 10th August 2017 - 8:06 pm

Party President Sal Brinton has tonight written to party members about the resignation of Tim Gordon. She reported that the Federal Board is making arrangements to appoint his successor.

Sal said:

Yesterday Tim Gordon announced that he was resigning as Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats, after five years service. On behalf of the party I want to place on record a huge thank you to Tim for his all his amazing hard work over what have been some often very gruelling years.

He has run the party machine during extremely demanding times with the Liberal Democrats in coalition government, then two general elections and the EU Referendum.

After the setback of the 2015 General Election, Tim immediately set out to make sure that the party’s finances were secured, and provided the structures that have allowed the party to recover.

In the last two years our membership has doubled, we have won many council by elections and the Richmond Park by-election and in June this year increased our MPs. He leaves at a time when the Liberal Democrat fightback is well-underway and we wish him the very best. You can find Tim’s statement on the party website here.

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NewsHound

Want to meet European liberals? Applications open for the ALDE Party Congress delegation

By NewsHound | Thu 10th August 2017 - 11:19 am

The 38th ALDE Party Congress will take place from 1 to 3 December 2017 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Preliminary information about the programme, political deadlines, venues and logistics will soon be available on the ALDE Party website, here.

The UK Liberal Democrats are currently one of the largest voting blocs in the ALDE Party, with strong representation on the Bureau, in the Council and at the Congress. The Congress is the largest event of the year for ALDE and it is a policy-making event, with policy motions submitted by member parties for debate and voted on during the Congress.

The ALDE Party …

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Helen Flynn

Latest Social Liberal Forum publication: Universal Basic Income as a tool for tax and benefit reform

By Helen Flynn | Thu 10th August 2017 - 8:52 am

At the recent SLF Annual Conference in July, a well-attended fringe session discussed the benefits and drawbacks of Basic Income.

My contention, as Chair of this session, was that we now need to be looking more closely at Basic Income, given increasing robotisation and technological change that will massively shake up conventional work, and given that our welfare system is creaking and needs modernisation. Basic Income is a policy that seems fundamentally socially liberal, and so it seems to naturally deserve attention from the SLF and all who are socially liberal.

Therefore the SLF is very pleased …

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem Chief Executive Tim Gordon steps down

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 9th August 2017 - 8:22 pm

Tim Gordon has stepped down as the Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats.

In a statement today, he said:

It has been an honour to work for the Party for the past half decade. These have not been easy years but I am proud to have worked with both Nick Clegg and Tim Farron who so clearly and eloquently articulated the Liberal voice that Britain needs.

We now have a great new leader and deputy in place and after the challenges of the past few years this feels like an appropriate moment for a change. There are other opportunities that I have delayed pursuing for long enough and I want to give my successor as much time as possible to prepare before what could be yet another snap General Election.

I am extremely proud of what my team has delivered. After decades of decline we are now well in to our fifth consecutive year of membership growth and are on track for our fifth consecutive year of fundraising growth, beating Labour’s non-union donations in most sets of quarterly returns. Both have benefited from our investment in new systems and digital communications; online fundraising has increased over 40-fold. HQ’s diversity has improved: both the director team and salary levels are now gender-balanced. Critically, we are again winning electoral battles – even if there remains much to do. I am incredibly grateful and frequently humbled by all those across the Party who have worked so hard for the fightback that is now underway.

The Party under Vince Cable is now well positioned to move forward. We have the right approach to Brexit for both party and country. And I intend to keep on helping the Party in the ways that I have always done: knocking on doors and delivering the odd leaflet.

Senior figures thanked him for his five years at the helm of the party:

Sal Brinton, our Party President said:

On behalf of the party I want to place on record a huge thank you to Tim for his all his amazing hard work over nearly five often gruelling years.

He has run the party machine during extremely demanding times, with the Liberal Democrats in coalition government, then two general elections and the EU Referendum.

After the setback of the 2015 general election, Tim immediately set out to make sure that the party’s finances were secured, and provided the structures that have allowed the party to recover. In the last two years our membership has doubled, we have won many council by elections and the Richmond Park parliamentary by-election and in June this year increased our MPs. He leaves at a time when the Liberal Democrat fightback is well-underway and we wish him the very best.

Vince Cable added:

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Mark Valladares

Venezuela – a failure wrought by paranoia and a cause without much principle

By Mark Valladares | Wed 9th August 2017 - 1:58 pm

It is noticeable that Venezuela is prominent in the British media at the moment. To be honest, the chaos of a typical Latin American banana republic seldom causes such interest, but given the links between the Venezuelan Government and Jeremy Corbyn, its failure is a convenient stick to beat him with.

And let’s be honest, things are bad there. I had the opportunity to go to Caracas in December 2015, when things were already falling apart, inflation was spiralling and the bolivar was on its way to toilet paper status. At that point, the government had stopped publishing most economic data – it was pretty meaningless anyway – and had acknowledged its exchange rate difficulties by offering an alternative exchange rate for tourists.

The official rate was six bolivars to the dollar. As a tourist, you could legally get two hundred bolivars to the dollar. The black market, usually a fair judge of reality, was offering eight hundred bolivars to the dollar. And, as the largest bank note in circulation was a one hundred bolivar note, you can easily imagine what that meant in terms of carrying money.

So, why are things so bad in Venezuela? Firstly, the economy is almost entirely underpinned by oil exports (which represented 96% of total exports) and when the price of crude fell, GDP fell catastrophically. A market economy can adjust to that, albeit painfully. Sadly for the Venezuelan people, they have a government which not only doesn’t believe in markets, it doesn’t appear to understand them either.

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Also posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged and | 31 Comments
Keith Aspden

Cllr Keith Aspden writes…Tackling homelessness in York

By Keith Aspden | Tue 8th August 2017 - 2:45 pm

Last week the York Liberal Democrats were delighted to welcome Sir Vince Cable for a flying visit to his home city.

Vince was born and brought up in York and many local members have fond memories of the two energetic general election campaigns we fought when Vince was Parliamentary Candidate for the old York constituency in 1983 and 1987.

York is an interesting city politically in that the three main parties each have roughly the same number of councillors. Since 2015 the Liberal Democrat Group has formed part of the joint administration running the Council.

One area in which we can take pride in the Council’s record is homelessness. York’s services for preventing and managing homelessness have been awarded the National Practitioner Support Service’s Gold Standard award. At the time of the award we were only the third local authority to have achieved this. Gold Standard requires the service to have a focus on early intervention and prevention of homelessness at its core.

On Sunday 30 July Vince joined our Executive Member for Adult Social Care, Councillor Carol Runciman, and myself for a tour of the Peasholme Centre on Fishergate. Many members will be familiar with this part of the city since it is very close to the Novotel and the Barbican Centre where the party has held three successful Spring Conferences.

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