Category Archives: Op-eds

Chris White

The new revolutionaries threaten our constitution

By Chris White | Fri 4th November 2016 - 8:18 am

Yesterday evening I gave an interview to BBC local radio about the High Court judgement. It emerged that the station had been receiving emails from listeners saying it was time to take to the streets to protest.

It would have been easy to dismiss the emails as hysteria from a few right wing extremists but this morning’s tabloids clearly show that the British constitution is under attack from much of the traditional right.

The Daily Mail never ceases, of course, to push the boundaries of the unacceptable, as it has consistently since the 1930s. Today’s headline has the three judges (wigged, of course, but that it how they like to be photographed) over the headline ‘Enemies of the People’.

The Sun attacks the plaintiff as part of a ‘loaded foreign elite’. The Telegraph, which can know better, has ‘The Judges versus the people’.

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Paul Walter

Article 50 ruling follows a monumental misjudgment by Theresa May

By Paul Walter | Thu 3rd November 2016 - 6:30 pm

It is difficult not to see today’s High Court ruling as anything other than a disaster for Theresa May. The first big decision she made as PM turns out to have been a monumental misjudgment. She has been ruled out of order and, unless an appeal is successful, she’ll have to go cap in hand to Parliament.

Mike Smithson of Political Betting put it very well:

Tim Farron commented:

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Paul Walter

We must all examine our consciences regarding mobile phones in cars

By Paul Walter | Thu 3rd November 2016 - 5:30 pm

geograph-3292071-by-david-dixonIt’s a local stretch of the A34 I know well. On August 10th we were all stunned and horrified by the terrible accident which occurred there, as reported by the Guardian:

A lorry driver who killed a woman and three children when his vehicle ploughed into their stationary car while he was scrolling through music on his mobile phone has been jailed for 10 years.

Tracy Houghton, 45, her sons, Ethan, 13, Josh, 11, and stepdaughter, Aimee, 11, died instantly when Tomasz Kroker drove his lorry into their car at 50mph. Their car was shunted underneath the back of a heavy goods vehicle and crushed to a third of its size.

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Paul Walter

Phew! Thank goodness for the High Court ruling

By Paul Walter | Thu 3rd November 2016 - 2:27 pm

Today’s High Court ruling is quite a relief.

Up until now, the government’s approach to Article 50 has been rather like that of a load of drunks in a speeding train carriage, intent on pulling the emergency cord to jump off the train in the middle of nowhere.

To embark on Article 50 without parliamentary consensus, and with a confused government position, would have been disastrous for this country’s interests.

The High Court ruling is based on the key constitutional principle that parliament only decides UK domestic law. By invoking Article 50 via royal prerogative, the government would have been ending all the …

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Mike Bell

Supporting vision rehabilitation

By Mike Bell | Wed 2nd November 2016 - 11:57 am

All councils in England provide a service called vision rehabilitation which offers crucial training and advice to people living with sight loss. Evidence shows that many blind and partially sighted people are failing to receive vital vision rehabilitation support. RNIB’s current campaign, See, Plan and Provide, is calling for improved access to vision rehabilitation assessments and support.

Vision rehabilitation provides crucial training and advice to people experiencing sight loss. This includes support to help them live in their home safely and negotiate the many obstacles and risks in the external environment. It gives people the skills and confidence to maximise …

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Alistair Carmichael MP

Alistair Carmichael writes: for allowing mixed sex couples into civil partnerships

By Alistair Carmichael MP | Tue 1st November 2016 - 2:00 pm

The late great Groucho Marx once said, “Marriage is a wonderful institution – but then, who wants to live in an institution?”

I have no problem in answering “I do” – coincidentally the same words I spoke on September 19th 1987 when my wife and I got married.

Like everyone else, our marriage has had its ups and downs but when we got married I had no doubt that it was the right thing to be doing and I have never doubted it for a second since. I like being married. For us, marriage is a good thing. In fact I …

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Joe Otten

Fighting fun politicians in the age of entertainment news

By Joe Otten | Tue 1st November 2016 - 10:57 am

Yes, this is another “how do we fight back against the politics UKIP/Brexit/Trump” type of article, though I hope a different one to the rest.

I read two articles yesterday, both illuminating, but doubly so when read together. This on the BBC explains a cultural difference between the UK and Germany that may be hobbling diplomatic understanding. British are liable to say “oh no I couldn’t possibly” to mean yes, to which Germans will consider the matter settled at no. Swashbuckling overpromising bluster is far more tolerated in British political culture than in German, which values consistency much more highly and is to our ears extremely dull.

The other was this at the Washington Post expressing bemusement at the “corrupt Clinton” narrative that exists, when “Trump’s history of corruption is mind-boggling.” A list of Trump’s corrupt activities is given. Each has been reported and then we move on. Journalists shrug. The Florida attorney general takes a donation from Trump and drops an investigation into his “university”. Hillary, meanwhile is investigated to within an inch of her life, and even when nothing is found, the investigation is used to support a narrative of guilt.

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Mary Reid

Ten questions about the Richmond Park by-election

By Mary Reid | Mon 31st October 2016 - 1:05 pm

 

1. What is the correct name for the constituency? That question we can answer. The constituency is called Richmond Park. But all the parties seem to refer to it locally as Richmond Park and North Kingston, because it is easy to forget that four of its wards lie within Kingston Borough rather than Richmond Borough.

2. How posh is Richmond Park? Well someone did have the task of delivering our tabloid to a certain Royal elector who actually lives inside the park – you can’t get much posher than that. But the constituency also includes council-owned estates and relatively modest housing in well-established communities, as well as large secluded private houses.  In Richmond itself the average house price is not far short of £900k.

3. Zac Goldsmith has resigned as an MP, as he had promised to do if the Government backed the expansion of Heathrow. Has he resigned from the Conservative party as well? No-one seems to know.

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Jamie Dalzell

The Ebola crisis – we need to hear about the heroes

By Jamie Dalzell | Sun 30th October 2016 - 9:25 am

Two years ago, I was quarantined. Following a trip to Nigeria (and the privilege of working with the DFID funded ESSPIN programme), I returned feeling a little unwell and, before I knew it, people in biohazard suits were bundling me into an ambulance. Fortunately it was not Ebola and, in fact, just a slightly embarrassing case of man-flu. However, I was still extremely grateful for a responsive NHS keeping me safe.

At the time, the Ebola epidemic was a terrifying prospect with a wide range of possible outcomes. One of the worst scenarios I heard was that the largest annual gathering of people in the world, two million Muslims (including many from West Africa) attending the Hajj, could have become a focal point for a sudden and rapid spread of this deadly disease.

Fortunately, this did not happen and we have been blessed to see the Ebola epidemic contained, controlled and eradicated, with the MSF closing their final projects (supporting survivors) earlier this month. We were lucky, but it was not by chance that a pandemic was prevented; it was due to the bravery, commitment and skill of the medics and military who risked their own lives to prevent a disaster. 

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Katharine Pindar

Oppose Brexit – it’s bad for the country

By Katharine Pindar | Sat 29th October 2016 - 11:45 am

Why do we accept that leaving the EU is going to happen, when we believe that doing so is harmful to our country? Why do we pussy-foot about, saying that we want a referendum on the terms of our leaving, when we could say, if the people who want to stay in are perceived to be becoming a majority, then there should be another referendum? And there are plenty of reasons to suggest that sufficient leave voters could change their minds in the next few months.

We know that misleading and untruthful information was knowingly peddled by Leave leaders, such as the claim that much of the money currently paid by Britain to the EU could go to the NHS if we leave. In fact, those funds are being promised widely elsewhere now.

We know that Scotland and Northern Ireland had majorities for Remain, and their leaders along with the Welsh are demanding a say in the terms of leaving. Nicola Sturgeon insists that Scotland must keep access to the EU’s single market.

We know that the country’s economic prosperity is threatened by leaving, that Theresa May herself saw the dangers of doing so and the advantages of staying, and that price rises which will hit the poorest first can be expected soon. Staying in the single market seems vital for our economy.

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Caron Lindsay

Dear Readers, Please be patient

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 29th October 2016 - 9:27 am

As you know, this site is run by a team of dedicated volunteers who fit in responding to submissions, comments, occasionally, to hilarious effect, spam and other correspondence. It takes some effort to keep LDV on the go.

At the moment, I am having to take a lot of time away from the site. My husband is still seriously ill in hospital and the next couple of weeks are going to be intense, particularly when he is moved from a hospital five minutes down the road to one an hour away. Before anyone says it for me,  I know that’s not that far. Back in the 80s, my Dad had surgery in Aberdeen when we lived in Wick and my Mum just got to see him at the weekends. The travelling time, however, will impact on the time I have to work on the site.

That effectively means that if you email me on a day I’m editing the site after midday, I’m not going to get to it till the next day.

The rest of the team have been fantastic in covering for me over the past month and I so appreciate their help. If it hadn’t been for them, the site would have been very sparse. Inevitably, though, there are going to be greater delays. Similarly, comments may take longer to be moderated. That’s inevitable and at this time, there is not a lot we can do about it.

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Paul Walter

Nissan announcement – did May promise any cash for Qashqais?

By Paul Walter | Fri 28th October 2016 - 1:55 pm

At the end of the day, we’re all Brits together. I rejoice that Nissan have announced the production of the new Qashqai and X-Trails at Sunderland.

Tim Farron has commented:

The commitment to Sunderland by Nissan is obviously very welcome. Ensuring that jobs are protected at the plant is vital for Sunderland and our economy.

However, it is utterly ridiculous that Theresa May is having to give special assurances to key manufacturers in order to deal with the Brexit fallout her government is creating.

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Leon Duveen

How can Lib Dems support the movements for peace for the people of Palestine & Israel?

By Leon Duveen | Fri 28th October 2016 - 11:00 am

Israeli children visit Palestinian village of Tuwani and participate in bilingual activities together - Some rights reserved by delayed gratficationThe departure of Jenny Tonge from the party will not come as a surprise to many nor, if I am honest, will there be many tears shed over it. She has, at best, been semi-detached for some time after resigning the Party Whip in the House of Lords.

However, her departure has made me think about the best way forward for the Liberal Democrats to support a peaceful resolution of the Palestine/Israel conflict.

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Chris Key

Reasons to doubt Zac Goldsmith will be re-elected

By Chris Key | Thu 27th October 2016 - 2:53 pm

So we have the first by-election test in London for the Prime Minister who wants a country that works for everyone. How does Zac Goldsmith stack up against this mantra (even if not the official Tory candidate)?

Firstly he voted to cut disability benefits by £30 a week, resulting in him being dumped by a local disabled charity.

Secondly he has never railed against the lack of affordable housing in his own area as Richmond Council allows more and more luxury flats to be built in a form of Bosnian style ethic cleansing as his friend Boris described the London housing crisis. He also supported the sale of precious social housing stock.

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Phil Aisthorpe

Brexit is a war already lost

By Phil Aisthorpe | Thu 27th October 2016 - 1:23 pm

Is she or isn’t she? Since her accession, the public has been puzzled by Theresa May’s stance on Brexit. Was her lukewarm support for Remain merely self-preservation, just wanting to keep out of the fray? Was she a closet Leaver? Well now we know. The Guardian suggests that she is indeed a Remainer, but not just any old Remainer, but a Tory Remainer and so quite happy to switch sides. Paddy Ashdown summed it up in this Tweet.


But what does this tell us about the Tory mind? Well it tells me that the Conservatives are a party unencumbered by the constraints of values and principles, a party where politics is merely a game to be won or lost. Not for the Tory are there any of the questions of morality or conscience that exercise the minds of other parties. The Tory has become Nietzsche’s Übermensch, the self-mastered individual contemptuous of namby-pamby liberalism.

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Lester Holloway

In the mayoral election, why did Zac Goldsmith get such a low vote in his own backyard?

By Lester Holloway | Thu 27th October 2016 - 10:23 am

Zac Goldsmith’s bid to become London mayor was memorably described as a “dog whistle campaign in a city with no dogs.” And few places in the capital demonstrate that better than Richmond Park itself.

As the local MP you would have thought his personal vote would make it a walkover. First preference mayoral votes, a good indicator of popularity, in Richmond Park shows that Boris Johnson won his second term in 2012 by a greater share in all but one of the constituency’s eleven wards compared to Zac in 2016.

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Tim Gordon

Tim Gordon writes….Reminder that nominations close for party internal elections on 2 November

By Tim Gordon | Thu 27th October 2016 - 9:00 am

From one by-election we run straight into another, with Richmond Park getting off the ground as a result of the Government’s decision on Heathrow expansion. It is absolutely vital that we all contribute to the campaign as early as we possibly can to keep up the momentum from Witney.

In the midst of the excitement for a second by-election in a matter of weeks you may however have missed that the deadline for nominations for internal elections to our Party’s Committees is fast approaching. Nominations close on Wednesday 2 November at 12 noon.

As a reminder there are four committees up for election: the Federal Board, the Federal Conference Committee, the Federal Policy Committee and the Federal International Relations Committee. In addition, a number of spaces are available for members to represent the party within our Delegation to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). The position of Party President is also up for election this year. 

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Paul Carroll

It beggars belief that Brexit has escaped basic parliamentary democracy

By Paul Carroll | Wed 26th October 2016 - 2:37 pm

I thought that in the UK, we had a parliamentary democracy. We elect representatives to tackle, understand, debate and ultimately enact legislation in order to build a cohesive, fair and prosperous society.

OK, our politicians have seen fit on a few occasions, to gauge the mood of the country and seek ‘advice’ from the electorate on a singular matter of importance, via a referendum. Surely, under these circumstances, that received advice should then be subject to the normal process of parliamentary understanding , debate and action as parliament sees fit. In this way the factors of cohesion, fairness and prosperity are woven into our democratic process.

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Jenny Randerson

Baroness Jenny Randerson writes: Heathrow expansion is bad economics, bad for the environment and bad for residents.

By Jenny Randerson | Wed 26th October 2016 - 1:10 pm

Pidgeon and Randerson no to Heathrow expansionYesterday’s announcement has confirmed what we have long suspected. That Theresa May would bow down to external pressures from big business and the foreign owners of Heathrow Airport to give expansion the green light – disregarding her own constituents and MPs in the process.

This is a green light that will see 800 homes and parts of the M25 demolished to make way for a development that even in its current form exceeds EU laws on emissions and is the cause of 28% …

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Liberals need to reclaim patriotism

By Ian Thomas | Tue 25th October 2016 - 12:07 pm

On 4th August 2012 I sat, like so many other millions of Brits, and watched our country’s achieve its best ever athletic session of a summer Olympic Games as Great Britain won three gold medals in the space of an hour to make a total of six gold medals that day, soon dubbed ‘Super Saturday’ by the press.

While the run up to the games was marred by our country’s somewhat infamous national pessimism of such events such doubts were soon cast away in favour of awe at the game’s show-stopping opening ceremony. From Shakespeare to the internet, from rolling …

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Katharine Pindar

Impressions – from a very small cog in the Witney wheel

By Katharine Pindar | Mon 24th October 2016 - 5:56 pm

Purposeful efficiency at the Corn Street headquarters, a fair-sized room full of people moving about. Friendly greeting from the man with the large-shelved bookcase stuffed with leaflets and letters, whisked to the registration desk with people busy at computers behind it, more friendly smiles plus tea and cake.

It was the middle of Tuesday afternoon. And there was the candidate, Liz Leffman, pausing between trips out, pleased to meet another Cumbrian volunteer. I had just missed Tim, apparently, now on his way back to London after his fourth, penultimate, visit. (How had he managed four? I’d heard him address the North-West Lib Dems’ conference in Lancaster the previous Saturday afternoon.)

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Mark Argent

Witney could be a turning point for the Lib Dems

By Mark Argent | Mon 24th October 2016 - 9:33 am

The result in the Witney by-election was a substantial swing to the LibDems, jumping from fourth place on 6.8% to second place on 30.2%. Liz Leffman and her team did an outstanding job, and the party was clearly ready to rally to the cause.

Over the next few days there were speculations about what that would mean if replicated at a General Election, with estimates of the number of seats likely to switch from Tory to LibDem put between 26 and 51. The statistician in me is wary of those extrapolations: there are lots of unknowns at by-elections, and British politics is especially turbulent at the moment.

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Paul Walter

Gary Lineker – a welcome voice of humanity

By Paul Walter | Sun 23rd October 2016 - 9:45 am


Gary Lineker has taken a bit of stick this week for comments (such as the one above) on Twitter. The Sun went to town on him and there were calls for him to be sacked from the BBC.

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Paul Walter

The American people will not take kindly to being kept “in suspense” by Donald Trump

By Paul Walter | Fri 21st October 2016 - 12:15 pm

Hillary Clinton has apparently had “psychology experts” advising her on how, among other things, to “needle” Donald Trump in the Presidential debates. Those experts deserve a medal for services to the USA. Clinton’s debate strategy has been a masterclass which will be written about for decades. Those experts have helped smoke out Donald Trump’s true colours in the debate theatre, rather than leaving it to when he might have become President.

The fact that in Wednesday evening’s debate he was reduced to saying “Such a nasty woman” and “You’re the puppet! …No you’re the puppet” betokens game, set and match to Clinton, I suggest.

The universally-headlined exchange from the debate (see transcript) was this one:

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Suzanne Fletcher

Shas Sheehan challenges the government over Calais refugee crisis

By Suzanne Fletcher | Thu 20th October 2016 - 1:09 pm

Baroness Shas Sheehan is no stranger to the refugee camps in northern France, and especially those in Calais. She has been making visits there for a year now, collecting and taking much needed supplies for those stranded there, and finding out for herself exactly what the facts are, what the problems are, and what needs to be done to remedy them.

As we know little notice has been taken of the forceful and informed pressure put on by her and the many voluntary organisations, and other individuals and groups that are doing sterling work out there. The issues have been constantly raised in the House of Lords by Shas and her colleagues, Lord Roger Roberts and Baroness Sally Hamwee in particular. Receiving only bland assurances, they have kept on pressing the case.

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Ciaran McGonagle

Lessons for Syria on post-conflict reconstruction

By Ciaran McGonagle | Thu 20th October 2016 - 10:51 am

As the war in Syria enters its 7th year, one wonders how this nation, so broken by almost a decade of internecine and global proxy warfare, might ever hope to emerge from the resultant chaos and destruction and become a functional society again. It is a process likely to take decades, if it is even achievable at all.

At some point, once some form of settlement is reached, the issue of justice and reconciliation among the various, warring groups must be addressed. As part of a multi-lateral, internationalist response to the atrocities committed by various actors, it is worth considering the role of international criminal justice.

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Caron Lindsay

Independent: “The Lib Dems could steal David Cameron’s seat tomorrow”

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 19th October 2016 - 11:10 pm

Liz LeffmanQuite a story in the Independent:

The Liberal Democrats came fourth last year with just 7 per cent of the vote, but could now leapfrog Labour and Ukip into second place. Normally there are no prizes for political runners-up, but if the Lib Dem candidate Liz Leffman comes a strong second it would give some credence to the “Lib Dem fightback” messages that activists send to each other to keep their spirits up after their crushing defeat in 2015.

It seems that they have noticed the effectiveness of Liz Leffman’s energetic campaign which has firmly established her as the main challenger to the Tories in Witney. Labour are nowhere in the seat – their vote is doing the snow off a dyke thing.

What the Conservatives want more than anything is for people to vote Labour or Green. You can tell this from the almost identically  misleading stories in the Express and the Telegraph.  They give prominent position to a poll putting the Tories 17 points ahead of Labour – but it’s the national monthly ICM poll which has no bearing on what’s happening on the ground in Witney. You have to wonder why they were bothering, given that they expect the by-election to be such an easy Conservative hold.

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Jonathan Ferguson

We Must Understand the Terrifying Logic of Theresa May’s ‘Right-Wing Socialism’

By Jonathan Ferguson | Tue 18th October 2016 - 5:20 pm

We are in dangerous times.

Theresa May rails against wealth and privilege, but she will only make the most minimal and tokenistic reforms to ensure very slight improvements in economic equality.

In the meantime, she will weaponize the economic anger and resentment she is stoking up; these negative popular sentiments, in turn, will interact with other prejudices, frustrations and resentments, in a kind of multiplier effect.

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Joe Otten

Rage or reason? Two reviews from Miranda Green

By Joe Otten | Tue 18th October 2016 - 2:22 pm

Over at Prospect Magazine there is a thoughtful review from Miranda Green of Politics: Between the Extremes by Nick Clegg, alongside The Death of Liberal Democracy? by David Boyle and Joe Zammit-Lucia.

clegg-book

The result, in this book , is a mix of avowed optimism—that a liberal worldview can and must survive—with a hugely gloomy analysis of British political culture. Politics: Between the Extremes is part memoir of the Coalition years, part meditation on the rebellious spirit of the post-crash period (to call it an age seems premature). Its balance can be uneasy, but Clegg’s book is a necessary contribution to a pressing current debate: how much and for what reason are liberal values, in the broad sense, at bay? And can any moderate politician find a way to turn the tide of resentment against the political system and its practitioners?

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Alistair Carmichael MP

Alistair Carmichael MP writes…Sometimes it is not a bad thing to be an elitist!

By Alistair Carmichael MP | Mon 17th October 2016 - 6:50 pm

Now that I have your attention let me explain what I mean.  In 1982 I was part of an “elite squad” of Liberals and Social Democrats who campaigned in the Queens Park by-election.   It was not the most fertile of territory and despite having an excellent candidate (one Graham Watson, sorry Sir Graham) we finished, I think, a “good fourth”.

For me it was the first taste of what was to become a minor obsession, namely campaigning in parliamentary by-elections.  Since then I have seen the good, the bad and the indifferent.  A “good by-election” is like nothing else.   If Theresa May had realised how stimulating and addictive by-election campaigning can be for Liberal Democrats then she would have found a way to bring it within the Psychoactive Substances Act.

Last Thursday and Friday I joined our excellent candidate, Liz Leffman and her awesome team in Witney.

Let me tell you – Witney is a GOOD by-election.

In fact, it is good and getting better and heading for being excellent.

What can make the difference between good and excellent?  You can.

Bluntly the party needs you to get to Witney tomorrow and on Wednesday and again on Thursday.  You can have your life back again on Friday.

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