Category Archives: Op-eds

Liberal Scotland in Europe

By Liberal Scotland in Europe team | Mon 12th September 2016 - 11:05 am

In the early hours of the morning of June 24th, everything we understood about the UK’s relationship with the rest of Europe changed.

The European Union and our belief in its goals of peace and economic prosperity is an enormous part of what it is to be a Liberal Democrat. We are internationalist, co-operative, tolerant. And as that reality sank in we realised there was another consequence: What did this mean for our relationship with the rest of the UK?

Scottish Liberal Democrats have spent years campaigning for a strong Scotland within the UK, for a federal UK that pools and shares resources. And in two referendums in the past two years the people of Scotland have agreed with both of those precepts: Remain in the EU and be part of the UK.

Continue reading »

Tagged liberal scotland in europe and Scotland | 15 Comments

Conference Countdown 2016: Caron’s guide to the craziness of Conference – updated for Brighton 2016

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 11th September 2016 - 8:00 pm

Credit: Freefoto.com

Federal Conference is probably the best fun that you will ever have in your life. You will thoroughly enjoy every exhausting moment. If you’re new, it can be a bit overwhelming until you get used to the sensory overload. I had a long break from going to them and when I returned, in 2011, I spent the first day wandering round in a state of wide-eyed amazement, like a child in a toy shop.

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d throw together a fairly random list of tips and hints for getting the best out of the annual cornucopia of Liberal Democracy. If you have any other Conference survival tips, let me know.

1. Plan your days

The Conference day starts with breakfast fringes as early as 7 and goes on until the small hours. There’s a comprehensive training programme alongside the debates in the hall. There are spokespeople Q & As. There are competing fringe choices to be made, even though the overall selection has reduced in recent years. You can guarantee that you will never be bored and that several things you want to see will be on at the same time. If you want to go to the big events like the Matt Forde interview with Tim Farron or the fringe meeting on the book advocating a progressive alliance with Caroline Lucas and Lisa Nandy or the Guardian’s chat with Nick Clegg, you are best advised to get there early because they fill up quickly.

Be aware as well that you can eat quite well for free by choosing the right fringe meetings – look for the refreshments symbol in the directory.

Believe me, it’s much easier if you sort out your diary in advance. The best laid plans will always be subject to a better offer or meeting someone you haven’t seen for years randomly in a corridor, but it’s best to at least try to get some order into the proceedings. The Conference App is a real help for this. You can download it from whichever App store you use on your phone. It allows you to add events to your schedule and is pretty flexible.

Continue reading »

Also posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2016 | 4 Comments

Does “Open, tolerant and united” fully project what the Liberal Democrats are about?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 11th September 2016 - 5:50 pm

“Open, tolerant and united.” It’s the phrase you will hear in many Liberal Democrats speeches and press comments at the moment. It seems to be taking the place of “Stronger Economy, Fairer Society.” But is it what we should be saying right now?

It’s not a bad thing. You wouldn’t have found anyone saying that they actively wanted a weak economy and an unfair society, but here is evidence everywhere that some people want us to be isolated, intolerant and divided. The referendum result gave a massive boost to those malevolent forces who thrive on fear and hatred and brought them from the fringes into the very heart of our political culture. Being openly racist is becoming more acceptable and that’s something we need to be standing up against.

So, it’s ok to have those values at this time. Openness – which to me encompasses co-operation, generosity of spirit, curiosity and willingness to listen. Tolerant means that we accept our differences and let everyone live life as they wish so long as it doesn’t infringe anyone else’s rights. United. Now, that’s a funny one. I don’t want a divided country like we quite obviously have at the moment. I don’t want my country to break up, either, however much I might have wanted to saw England off and cast it into the Atlantic on its own at around 5 in the morning of 24th June. But I’m not sure I absolutely want a united country. That’s a bit too conformist for a free spirit like me. I want a country where everyone lives together peaceably, with common values of freedom and generosity. I’m just not sure united is the right word when it’s our differences that help us learn and explore and succeed.

Continue reading »

Tagged slogans and values | 23 Comments

In Full: Kirsty Williams’ challenge to Welsh universities over Brexit

By The Voice | Sun 11th September 2016 - 11:55 am

This week, Kirsty Williams, the Liberal Democrat Welsh Education Secretary, made a speech at Cardiff University about the challenges facing the sector caused by Brexit. She called on universities to strengthen their links to the community at this very difficult time. Here is her speech in full.

Prynhawn da pawb. Good afternoon everyone.

Thank you Colin, and many thanks to colleagues here at Cardiff University for hosting this event today.

It’s great to be here in the Postgraduate Teaching Centre, where professionals from industry and masters students mix and study in the same great location. It is a real state-of –the art facility, one which reflects ambitions to engage strongly with the local and global economy.

One of Cardiff University’s main purposes is to “contribute to the social, cultural and economic development of Wales”. It says so in the university charter (so it must be true…!)

Such civic ambition, in common with our other universities, was the product of a national, political and educational awakening.

As the Aberdare Committee of 1881 noted, there was a “widespread desire for a better education system in Wales” in the second half of the 19th century. The establishment of our own university colleges was central to the fulfilment of that desire.

I know that ambitions for an even better education system in Wales are shared, and demanded, across the country even now. Our national mission is to ensure that all citizens benefit from an equal opportunity to reach the highest standards. I am ambitious, and optimistic, about our collective ability to shape a system that is modern, excellent and innovative.

Universities are critical to that national mission. They should be open and outward-looking, connecting the civic, social and economic.

I want to take the opportunity today to share some thoughts on the role of universities as civic institutions.

 The challenge and necessity of civic engagement following the EU referendum;

 The role of universities as stewards of community, city and country;

 And the importance of innovation, a start-up culture and international links.
Just before I move on, I’d like to congratulate the sector in Wales for achieving it’s highest-ever student satisfaction level in the National Student Survey last month – outperforming England in fact.

Although we don’t take the narrow view of students as just a set of consumers, delivering the best possible student experience is a fundamental priority.

BREXIT NEXT STEPS

Continue reading »

Tagged brexit, higher education, kirsty williams and speeches | 2 Comments

Migrants: Welcome and fear

By Mark Argent | Sun 11th September 2016 - 10:25 am

Recently I was out with some Bishop’s Stortford Liberal Democrats, gathering signatures on a petition for citizens of other EU nations currently in the UK to be allowed to remain in the UK. In a few hours we gathered just over 250 signatures on a not-that-busy street. Some were delighted to sign. Some were relieved that we were not taking the opposite position. Some said their businesses would struggle without people from other parts of the EU.

More worrying was the small minority who disagreed, loudly wanting foreigners to “go home”. A prize for confusion goes to the person who said that, and then added that she wanted to retire to France.

Then came an apparently-xenophobic attack on two Poles in Harlow and Theresa May’s assertion that curbing immigration will take priority over access to the single market in Brexit talks. She must know this is unrealistic: freedom of movement is one of the pillars of the single market and Switzerland’s access to EU programmes was curtailed after they sought to restrict migration.

The sense of farce is heightened by a survey from British Future saying that only a third of people think the government will meet its immigration targets over the next five years and a claim from Boris Johnson that people didn’t vote Leave because of immigration.

Continue reading »

Tagged brexit, eu referendum and migration | 26 Comments

How Mosborough’s mascot motivated an energetic campaign

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 10th September 2016 - 3:59 pm

Every time I hear the word Mosborough, it makes me smile. What a brilliant result. From 14% and 4th place just 4 months ago, the Liberal Democrats took a stunning victory in a local by-election on Thursday night. I’m told Mosborough is a bellweather ward in Sheffield so it may well reflect how voters across the city are feeling.

This takes me back to the 90s when we were routinely winning by-elections against Labour in Sheffield and Chesterfield. Let’s hope that Thursday’s victory is a big leap forward to getting that sort of success again.

The Sheffield Star has some great coverage, including one of returning Cllr Gail Smith and the Lib Dem Leader on Sheffield City Council. Shaffaq Mohammed, looking very pleased. Shaffaq said of Gail’s victory:

In 2008, we actually took control of the council by winning Mosborough. “This is a huge victory, it shows the Lib Dems in Sheffield are back and actually, all those seats we lost during the coalition years are there up for grabs. “This arrogant Labour council has been sent a very strong message that they cannot take the people of Sheffield for granted. “Mosborough has spoken on behalf of Sheffield – well done to the people of Mosborough for electing Gail Smith who is going to be an outstanding councillor.

Elsewhere, just like the losing team on the Apprentice, Labour are sobbing into their tea and kicking lumps out of each other. I saw on social media yesterday that some of them were saying that the candidate wasn’t a Corbyn backer, which is why the local Corbynista were to be found phoning for Corbyn, not their candidate on polling day. The voters, of course, didn’t know the candidate wasn’t a Corbyn fan so she was, they said, caught between a rock and a hard place. The Sheffield Star reports on that angle and on Sheffield MP Angela Smith blaming Corbyn for the terrible result. Isn’t it funny how none of them blame their awful local council?

Continue reading »

Tagged charlie, mosborough by-election and shaffaq mohammed | 7 Comments

Farron: Heathrow free vote would be farcical

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 10th September 2016 - 3:07 pm

Dearie me. Twice in a week, the government has been caught on the hop a top secret documents have been photographed and have appeared in the press. Unless, of course, it was planned that way. You never know, these days. Perhaps people think The Thick of It was a documentary or something. First it was grammar schools and now it’s the possibility of a free vote on Heathrow expansion as Channel 4 news revealed:

In the second security breach of its kind in a week, a London Underground passenger filmed a very senior Cabinet Office civil servant holding a paper that discussed “potential waiving of collective responsibility” ahead of “the forthcoming decision around airport capacity”.

The document discusses the possibility of “allowing Ministers to speak against the government’s position in the House” as they did in the EU referendum campaign.

If the vote goes ahead it could end decades of bitter argument over the best way to increase capacity in southeast England.

Tim Farron was unimpressed at this development. He said:

The suggestion that there might be a free vote on Heathrow is farcical – this is a huge decision and the Conservative government has to make a collective decision and take full responsibility. If people disagree they can resign.

Liberal Democrats are the only party consistently opposed to a third runway at Heathrow and we will fight any plans to allow it to be built.

Two questions arise. The first, of course, is how Zac Goldsmith feels about all of this. He has long opposed a third runway and threatened to resign as MP and cause a by-election if the Tories gave the third runway the go-ahead. He said he regrets this pledge but will honour it.

Continue reading »

Also posted in News | Tagged heathrow airport, heathrow expansion and tim farron | 5 Comments

Was Michael Gove right?

By Jamie Dalzell | Sat 10th September 2016 - 1:23 pm

On 3^rd June 2016, Michael Gove drew ridicule when he stated “People in this country have had enough of experts”. However, Theresa May’s announcement that her government are now seeking to actively support¹ the reintroduction of selective schools goes against all evidence-based expert opinion.

We mocked Mr Gove but the reintroduction of selective schools may well prove he was right. There appears to widespread support across the right-wing press and the Telegraph website is currently indicating 77% of their readership support the policy.

To make such an argument, I accept that I do need to present credible evidence undermining the case for selective schools. As noted by Branwen Jeffreys, the BBC Education Editor:

Many thought the debate about grammars had become almost irrelevant.

and it is therefore not surprising that recent academic research regarding the impact of selective school’s has been limited. Ironically, I suspect that this may have allowed such an antiquated policy to get its foot in the door.

Continue reading »

Tagged education and grammar schools | 39 Comments

Party like it’s 1981

By John Death | Sat 10th September 2016 - 11:55 am

Imagine that, alongside Michael Foot as leader, Tony Benn had won the deputy leadership of the Labour Party in 1981; it almost happened. Would the creation of the SDP then seem wrong even to Labour loyalists and even today? There is certainly a view within the Labour Party, shared with The Guardian editorial writers, that a way must be found to keep the current party together rather than face the alternative: “No one who remembers or knows about past divisions, notably the breakaway of the Social Democratic party in 1981, should want a return to that.”

The argument runs that the SDP split the Left, enabling Thatcherism to run riot in the Eighties without a strong, electable opposition. With many moderates leaving Labour, the hard Left almost triumphed and Neil Kinnock needed a monumental effort of will to turn the party around into something more, though still not quite, electable.

This line of reasoning is obviously flawed. In the Eighties, Benn did not defeat either Denis Healey for the deputy leadership or Kinnock for the leadership. Jeremy Corbyn (Foot without the charisma) and the hard Left already control the Labour Party. Good luck to Owen Smith trying to do a Kinnock, but if, as seems likely, he fails, what then? The Guardian suggests that the answer is Shadow Cabinet elections.

Continue reading »

Tagged 1981, labour and SDP | 16 Comments

Migration myths and unravelling of Brexit promises

By James Lindsay | Sat 10th September 2016 - 8:55 am

The recent increase in hate crimes against Eastern Europeans in the UK has rightly been met with condemnation from across the political spectrum. Some dismiss this is a post-referendum spasm which will quickly ebb away. I fear that may not be the case and the Brexit decision may cause long-term damage to community cohesion and open a Pandora’s box of nasty populist politics. Let me explain why.

Brexiteer leaders – Farage, Fox, Johnson – made promises which are already unravelling. They told voters that leaving the EU would lead to better NHS services, improved job prospects and smaller class sizes. Those promises were largely based on migration myths which, unfortunately, many people believed.

Voters were promised that leaving the EU would lead to an improved NHS. Migrants were (wrongly) blamed as a drain on scarce NHS resources and that the UK cash contribution to the EU would be redirected to the NHS.

The reality is that the NHS is struggling because people are living longer, but often with multiple medical conditions and there has been a huge increase in conditions resulting from lifestyle choices. Neither of these is related to migration – these are home-grown problems – so leaving the EU will not resolve them and may make matters worse as it could discourage medical professionals from coming to work in the UK.

Continue reading »

Tagged brexit, eu and migration | 18 Comments

Conference Countdown 2016: Five things to do this weekend to prepare for Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 9th September 2016 - 3:21 pm

This time next week, many of us will be heading down to Conference in Brighton. I won’t be as I have the particular joy of the 6:25 am flight from Edinburgh to look forward to on Saturday morning.

Here are some top tips for pre-conference preparation which will help you get the best out of the event. Once you are in the fast moving frenzy of our four days in Brighton, it’s difficult to find the space to take stock and plan. Putting the time in now to work out what you want to do will pay dividends.

So, here are a few things you can do this weekend to make sure you are properly prepared. In no particular order…

Get your ticket for the Lib Dem Disco

Cambridge Lib Dems have captured the Saturday evening conference market with their annual disco. It is hilarious, with guest DJs competing against each other. Last year Jo Swinson triumphed in spectacular style. Buzzfeed were there to report it all and take video, so don’t be under any misapprehension that what happens at Lib Dem Disco stays at Lib Dem Disco.

I came second to Alistair Carmichael in the DJ competition 2 years ago. I went slightly off-message with the Disco theme as we were in Scotland. I thought it might be a really good idea to get lots of people who may have had the odd wee drink doing the Gay Gordons at 11 o’clock at night. When I suggested this to the organisers, they replied: “Your proposal for carnage is appealing.”

In the end it was pretty civilised and, thanks to Paul Walter, there is video.

Continue reading »

Also posted in Conference | Tagged featured | 5 Comments

WATCH: Nick Clegg on the rise of populist parties and READ his paper on European trade

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 8th September 2016 - 9:25 pm

Nick Clegg is everywhere in the media at the moment as he publicises his book which is published next week.

Tonight he was on Channel 4 News talking about the challenge to reasonable, moderate politics posed by populists parties who use the politics of fear and blame.

Watch the interview below:

He linked this to the fact that Parliament may have to leave the Palace of Westminster while repairs are carried out to this. He reckons leaving the “rat-infested, asbestos ridden” place might help to drag our democracy into the 21st century.

Continue reading »

Tagged brexit, channel 4 news, eu referendum and nick clegg | 7 Comments

Why Liberals should be concerned about the closure of Fabric

By Elizabeth Adams | Thu 8th September 2016 - 11:14 am

The number one priority of the Liberal Democrats is currently trying to do all we can to keep the UK in the European Union. However, if there is one other campaign that Liberal Democrats across the UK should be rallying behind, it is the fight to try and keep the iconic London club Fabric from closing.

But why? Why is this of vital importance to all liberals across the nation?

The possible ‘targeting’ of Fabric and the disgusting treatment that the club’s owners have received by the authorities is something that every Liberal should be very worried about.

Continue reading »

44 Comments

“We are not going to let them anywhere near power again” – a PM too comfortable with power

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 7th September 2016 - 7:11 pm

Theresa May has not even been Prime Minister for two months. However, she is already displaying a complacency in power that is quite chilling.

At only her second Prime Minister’s Questions, she had this to say to Jeremy Corbyn:

What we do know is that, whoever wins the Labour party leadership, we are not going to let them anywhere near power again.

These are not the words of a Prime Minister who believes that power comes from the people.

You could dismiss that as banter if the Tories were not trying to stitch up the entire political system in their favour. Lib Dem Peer Paul Tyler warned of a crisis of legitimacy in parliamentary democracy if the boundary changes were allowed to go through:

Reducing the number of MPs without also reducing the size of the Executive is a mistake. With the pay-roll vote approaching half the membership of the government side of the Commons, the power of government to control Parliament is increased. And with no prospect of democratic reform of the Lords, we are edging towards a dangerous lack of democratic legitimacy in parliament.

The Conservatives are blatantly attempting to fix the system to keep themselves in power.

Individual electoral registration means that young people who move around a lot are unlikely to be on the electoral register – and they would be more likely not to vote Conservative. In April this year, a report, Missing Millions, outlined why this matters:

Continue reading »

Tagged democracy and individual electoral registration | 15 Comments

Federal Policy Committee Report – 6 September 2016

By Geoff Payne | Wed 7th September 2016 - 10:25 am

After a hiatus in meetings over the summer, the Federal Policy Committee met for the first time on 6^th September 2016.

This was a very lengthy meeting. It commenced at 14:30 and went on well into the evening. There were only two items on the agenda.

Snap General Election Manifesto

The Federal Policy Committee is responsible for the preparation of the General Election manifestoes for the party. Earlier in the year, following the turmoil surrounding the Brexit vote, the change in party leadership in the Tories and the extreme instability in Labour, it looked like there might be a snap General Election this Autumn. Under those circumstances, the committee wanted to have a manifesto draft available in the event that one was called. It would have taken far too long to prepare a document at that stage and we would have started on the back foot.

As regular readers of this report will know, a Working Group was set up to actually write the document. That group was chaired by Dick Newby. It worked very hard throughout the summer to prepare the first draft. There was also a consultation exercise in which 8,000 members of the party responded. Those responses were considered and many of them were incorporated.

Continue reading »

Tagged committee reports and federal policy committee | 2 Comments

Catherine Bearder MEP writes: Churchill and Mandela would have been with us on the March for Europe

By Catherine Bearder | Tue 6th September 2016 - 11:57 am

As thousands of Brits marched across the uk to show their support for our continued EU membership relationship I was with Liberal Democrat president Sal Brinton, past MEP Sarah Ludford and many other activists, PPCs, councillors, new and old members and others who wanted to be with the Liberal Democrats in our fight to get the best for our country post the referendum result.

The organisers were initially determined not to allow any elected political speakers on to the platform. It seems the phrase ‘cross party’ had again been confused with ‘no party’, despite the speakers from the world of entertainment and media clearly having political affiliations. However, sense and justice prevailed and I was allowed to speak to the assembled crowds. It seemed only fair as the Liberal Democrats formed a major part of the March, and for that I must say thank you to Kelly-Marie Blundell and her team for organising us all and making sure our voice is heard across the country.

This then is the gist of what I said….

For every one who is marching to day, not just here in London, but right across the country, there are hundreds who are not on a march, but are with us in spirit. They know as you do that this campaign was fought on lies and untruths and the question was simplistic. The result cannot therefore be allowed to stand. Reasons for voters supporting leave were varied, and we now know that what they were asked to vote on – Brexit – is a total unknown. No one knows what it is. Even the Brexiteers still don’t know what they want.

So many people and European flags flying is good to see, but there are two other people in this square with us who would be joining us if they could, one is Winston Churchill, the other is Nelson Mandela. They both recognised that working together across borders is the best way to deliver peace and prosperity for all. They would be horrified to think there is a possibility of the UK leaving the best and biggest club on the planet. We have to do all we can to stop that, and if we can’t we must make sure that we get the best deal possible – and then put that deal to the voters in the UK.

Continue reading »

Tagged brexit negotiations, eu referendum, featured and march for europe | 14 Comments

How FPTP caused the catastrophic vote to leave the EU

By Crispin Allard | Tue 6th September 2016 - 8:53 am

The EU Referendum demonstrated the extent to which the “First-Past-The-Post” (FPTP) system has allowed politicians to become distanced from the people they purport to represent and has contributed to a sense of powerlessness amongst large sections of the UK population.

Three key effects of FPTP were at work:

Safe Seats
Distorted election results
Distorted politics

1. Safe seats:
Under FPTP, safe seats (where a change in the party holding the seat would only happen in very unusual circumstances) account for the majority of parliamentary constituencies.

An MP in a safe seat does not need to worry about getting re-elected; he or she does not have to listen to …

Continue reading »

Tagged electoral reform | 33 Comments

Brexit: Government’s first rumblings are encouraging

By Paul Walter | Mon 5th September 2016 - 7:54 pm

Embed from Getty Images

At long last we have had some statements from the government concerning Brexit. If anything, they are revealing through what they don’t say, but I find Theresa May’s first rumblings encouraging.

First of all, via Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC’s political editor, we learnt that the Prime Minister has ruled out a “points system” for EU immigration.

Continue reading »

19 Comments

What the Electoral Reform Society Report on the Referendum missed out

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 5th September 2016 - 5:15 pm

Recently, the Electoral Reform Society published its report on the EU Referendum. It’s an interesting read.

It’s main recommendations include:

greater pre-legislative scrutiny of a Referendum Bill
a more deliberative approach
a body which can rule on the veracity of claims

In the immediate aftermath of the referendum, ERS conducted a poll to find out the key influencers of and perceptions about the campaign.

This graphic, showing where people got their information from, sums up how well the Leave campaign hit its target market and how completely rubbish the Remain campaign was.

Continue reading »

Tagged electoral reform society and eu referendum | 27 Comments

How computer-driven cars are likely to transform planning in your town

By Iain Roberts | Mon 5th September 2016 - 3:31 pm

Embed from Getty Images

It’s 2026 and you’re heading to your local town with the family. Not owning a car, you tap your phone and within a few minutes a self-driving taxi pulls up. You relax in comfort as it drives to your destination, then drops you off by the shops and heads off for its next fare.

Your neighbour is heading to the shops too. She prefers to own and drive her own car. Having got to her destination, she taps a button and her car drives itself off to park in in out-of-town car park, where it waits for her to call it back to meet her.

The technology to do all of this not only exists today, but is in use on public roads. Uber has been testing self-drive taxis on the streets of Pittsburgh for months and Tesla and Google have self-drive cars on the roads. Right now a driver has to sit at the wheel, ready to take over if something goes wrong. That won’t be the case for long. Tech giants like Google, Apple and Uber along with traditional car makers like Ford are investing billions to bring genuine self-drive cars to our roads.

Continue reading »

Tagged Local government, planning and self-driving cars | 10 Comments

LDV interview: Chris Bowers talks about The Alternative

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 5th September 2016 - 1:30 pm

Last week, Chris Bowers wrote about The Alternative, the book exploring the potential of a progressive alliance he has co-edited with Green co-leader Caroline Lucas and Labour MP Lisa Nandy.

I have really enjoyed reading the book. After a referendum campaign filled with divisiveness and nastiness, it’s good for the soul to read about how progressive ideas on the economy, immigration, public services could improve our society and our democracy.

While the book offers a vision of what life could be like, it doesn’t, nor does it claim to, provide a roadmap for getting there. Too many barriers and obstacles stand in the way and more work has to be done to overcome them – if the political will exists.

So, my first question to Chris was basically, how realistic is all of this?

Politics is in disrepute so co-operation is paramount and we need to start out on a path of exploration to see what is possible.

People didn’t vote Tory or for Brexit because of a passion for them. We need to look at ways of making politics more relevant to their lives.

He went on to talk about the article written by Uffe Elbœk one of the founders of The Alternative movement in Denmark:

Continue reading »

Tagged biteback publishing and the alternative | 9 Comments

Is austerity working? And do all debts have to be paid?

By Steve Trevethan | Mon 5th September 2016 - 9:32 am

Embed from Getty Images

These questions invite binary “Yes” or “No” responses. More considered approaches exist. We need to consider the economic consequences of debt repayment, structural and attitudinal causes and contributions, responsibility for debts both particular and general, beneficiaries and losers, and, how they may be prevented in the future. Also, can such enormous debts be paid?

This requires analysis and accurate, accessible language. In Economics and Finance, that which has different labels is sometimes not significantly different and that which is under one label has significant differences. For example, money consists mainly of credit creation since loans create deposits and loans are debts.

Debt is a form of relationship: financial activity connects and affects people.

Continue reading »

Tagged austerity and economy | 35 Comments

A whole world of sexist fail in today’s Sunday Times

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 4th September 2016 - 4:35 pm

It’s hard to imagine how today’s Sunday Times could possibly have got it more wrong.

It trailed that it had a “tantalising secret” about Nicola Sturgeon’s private life.

That turned out to be the fact that, five years ago, she had a miscarriage. What a crass way to headline an intensely painful experience.

And to add insult to injury, the paper accompanied the article with a panel featuring childless politicians. All of them were female.

As ever, women are judged by different standards. The excellent Women 50/50 campaign group made the point visually:

Picture on the left – in today's press. Picture on the right – never appeared in any media. Ever. #everydaysexism pic.twitter.com/8SD3W7Vfve

— Women 50:50 (@Women5050) September 4, 2016

It was the Sunday Times sister paper, The Times, which published that interview when Andrea Leadsom suggested that being a mum meant that she “had a real stake in the future of this country.” Some culture change in that organisation is urgently required.

Continue reading »

Tagged nicola sturgeon, sexism, the sunday times and the times | 16 Comments

Lib Dems march for Europe

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Sun 4th September 2016 - 12:40 pm

Thousands of people across the UK Marched for Europe yesterday, with demonstrations in London, Bristol, Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge plus many more.

In London we put on a huge Lib Dem splash, with more than 300 Lib Dems joining us at the start in Marble Arch. An army of volunteers distributed placards, balloons and flyers. There were so many of us, police escorted us down to the main march on Park Lane!

President Sal Brinton fronted the march, leading a rally of Lib Dems from a banner at the front, flanked by Catherine Bearder MEP and Baroness Sarah Ludford as well as Parliamentary Candidate for St Albans Daisy Cooper and some of our Newbie members Ukonu Obasi and Elizabeth Barnard.

The march took on quite a pace, leading us down Picadilly and on to Trafalgur Square before ending at Parliament Square. Along the route we were chanting ‘We love you EU, we do’ and ‘We don’t want no Brexit’ with the use of a small megaphone and Bradley Hiller-Smith’s melodic tones!

Continue reading »

Tagged liberal democrats and march for europe | 23 Comments

Clegg in the Guardian: “Why on earth would you not want to try and do s**t?”

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 3rd September 2016 - 11:08 am

We’re going to be hearing quite a lot from Nick Clegg over the next couple of weeks in the run up to his book being published on 15 September.

Today he has a long interview with the Guardian in which he talks at length about some of the key moments of the Coalition. Just to get this over with. I come from the Highlands of Scotland. If any journalist had written about some of the villages I love in the same patronising way that Clegg’s interviewer, Simon Hattenstone, did about Miriam’s home town in Spain, I’d be furious.

Whilst I have often disagreed with decisions that Nick took during the Coalition years, I stand by my long held view that he was often unfairly criticised, too. We can see with ever-increasing clarity that he brought a lot of common sense and stability to government. The minute he and the Liberal Democrats vacated Whitehall, everything started to fall apart. We are suffering the consequences of an arrogant Tory party governing exclusively in its own interests.

Naivety

Any feeling that we might have had that we could have been a lot better prepared for the realities of government is confirmed by the interview. However, the caveat is, of course, that we onlookers have the benefit of hindsight now and detachment at the time. Nick does admit to what appears to be astonishing naivety. It perhaps underlines the fact that he should maybe have had more people around him who had spent years fighting the Tories and knew first hand what they were capable of.

Continue reading »

Also posted in News | Tagged featured, nick clegg and the guardian | 151 Comments

Don’t stand a candidate

By William Hobhouse | Fri 2nd September 2016 - 12:14 pm

I have wondered many times in the last few years whether Lib Dems really want PR. And the reason for this scepticism is that we keep propping up First Past The Post (FPTP) in the way we campaign and act politically – with disastrous results for our political success, our influence within government and for liberalism across the UK.

The arguments for a change in the electoral system are well known – for every million votes cast for a party at the 2015 general election , the Greens won one seat, UKIP won a quarter of a seat, the Lib Dems won 3, Labour 25, Conservatives 29 and the SNP 39. The figures might change a little from election to election, but the unfairness won’t.

For a generation, Lib Dems have worked to win within FPTP by targeting individual wards or constituencies, and this has been a successful strategy compared to other smaller parties. But it has never achieved democratic parity with Labour or the Conservatives. For example, at our high point of national vote in the general election of 2010, it took 120,000 votes to elect a Lib Dem MP and 35,000 to elect a Conservative. Our leaders accepted the reality of FPTP and we took our place in government based not on our national vote but on our number of MPs. We have all seen the consequences, and they are not pleasant for our party, however optimistic we all like to be.

Continue reading »

Tagged party strategy and proportional representation | 33 Comments

Let’s get tough on the causes of eurosceptism

By John Bland | Thu 1st September 2016 - 9:12 am

At the very outset of the referendum campaign both Norman Lamb and Anna Soubry took part in a BBC Radio 4 Any Questions programme broadcast from Spalding. During that debate a North Lincolnshire farmer appearing on the panel alongside Kate Hoey for the leave side said he wanted free movement of labour to remain, because he would be unable to recruit workers without it. He also made positive remarks about the diverse nature of shops in the town. Both remarks resulted in audible boos from the audience, showing the strength of feeling in the hall. Frankly you would not have heard a stauncher defender of the EU than Anna and Norman that evening. Just what the Remain campaign was up against became very clear.

Continue reading »

62 Comments

Young, disabled and believed in

By Matthew Clark | Wed 31st August 2016 - 1:30 pm

I am young and partially sighted (registered blind so far as law is concerned). At times it can feel as if these factors make me fairly insignificant in economic and political society.

Factually, I have far less economic potential than my parents. What little savings are in my name have been scuppered to get through university. My peers and I face harsher economic prospects with less opportunity to buy and control our own destinies than our parents.

Politically, I am part of a demographic that isn’t valued or represented by the quintessential modern politician, who learning from trends set by 1980s Conservatives (and followed still by that party today) seeks victory based on cold statistics and media spin. It helps them win in a First Past The Post system, but that comes at cost of developing best policy for, including engagement with, and seeking to represent, young people. So many of us cannot vote for being too young, and by voting age not enough young people do vote. So we do not entice this winning obsessive type politician. The system is biased against the future generation, and broken.

Continue reading »

Tagged conference access fund | 6 Comments

Baroness Jenny Randerson writes…Consumer rights should cover train franchises

By Jenny Randerson | Wed 31st August 2016 - 11:55 am

The recent poor performance of the Southern rail franchise, operated by Govia Thameslink Railway, have cast concern at the Government’s decision to exclude rail from the 2015 Consumer Rights Act. An Act which allows customers to be adequately compensated for any excessive disruption. In addition, passengers being forced to travel in cramped conditions when ironically, there are tight regulations preventing the overcrowding of animals when they are transported by train, but no similar rules relate to people.

Recent news headlines have been filled with these chaotic tales and the genuine distress of travellers, but what is more worrying is that this relentless and overwhelmingly negative impact appears to have no end in sight despite the recent reinstatement of 119 services. Both Tim and I have provided numerous comments on how the Government should and must intervene in a situation that is completely and utterly out of hand, and we share the exasperation of GTR’s customers.

Continue reading »

Tagged consumer rights, rail franchises and transport | 21 Comments