Category Archives: Op-eds

How can we tell we don’t live in a truly liberal Britain?

By Joey Dunlop | Thu 17th March 2016 - 10:28 am

Often with questions like these, people use their own experiences to illustrate the lack of (in this case) liberalism in the country. I’m going to do the opposite. This won’t be an answer with figures and alternative models behind it, but it’s this personal experience that motivates me to fight for the Liberal Democrats.

I was brought up in a regular middle class household; both my parents had secure jobs and owned their own house (albeit with a mortgage). My parents were from working class families who struggled to make ends meet, but they were classic examples of showing hard work pays by securing places at university and then respectable careers as a classical musician and in the civil service.

Because of this stability and complimentary working hours, they were both able to encourage my intellectual interests and support me in my work. This meant I secured a place at a great state secondary school in London, and then a place at Oxford University.

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Tagged your liberal britain | 3 Comments

Why a culture change is a necessary pre-requisite to gender balance

By Rachel Edwards | Thu 17th March 2016 - 8:55 am

I’m glad to be in a party where sexual harassment is taken seriously, and I don’t doubt that everybody has good intentions. Let me explain why that isn’t nearly enough.

A man walks into a bar. He buys a drink. He chats with a friend about the policy debate they’ve both come from, and they have a lively disagreement. He contemplates getting food. He gets talking to a young woman who he finds attractive, but she doesn’t seem interested so he doesn’t push it. He gets another drink.

A woman walks into the same bar. A strange man twice her age hits on her. She goes up to the bar to buy a drink, where a man she kind-of-knows hits on her. She’s talking to her friend about a policy debate, and another man she’s never met comes up, joins in the debate in an extraordinarily condescending manner, and she can’t quite tell if he’s hitting on her but she wishes he would take the hint and leave. She goes back up to the bar, where a drunk stranger makes a pass at her.

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76 Comments

Still waiting for true diversity

By Jonathan Hunt | Wed 16th March 2016 - 7:59 pm

Conference must be congratulated on passing the Diversity motion on Sunday. But contentious issues and some mysteries remain. One is why have we taken 14 years to get round to all-women short-lists for constituency selections, when they became the law of the land in the 2002 Sex Discrimination Act?

In theory, any local party could have operated all-female short-lists at any of the three general elections since then, safe in the knowledge they were legal, passed by Parliament. Had that happened, the battle for all-BME (now BaME) lists could have begun at least a decade ago.

Perhaps before Parmjit Singth Gill, only our second ethnic minority MP in 120 years, could have been given proper support in the general election of 2005. The party gave the impression of not giving a tuppeny bowel movement about full diversity or wanting BAME MPs. They hung him out to dry, with the self-fulfilling prophesy that he would lose.

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Tagged bame representation, diversity and electing diverse mps motion | 13 Comments

Caroline Pidgeon writes…This is a “microwave” budget from Osborne

By Caroline Pidgeon | Wed 16th March 2016 - 5:14 pm

This is a ‘microwave’ budget from George Osborne. He has just re-heated many announcements already made.

Some announcements can be welcomed – albeit cautiously at this stage as we haven’t seen the precise detail. Devolution of Business Rates and the proposals for financing infrastructure projects from land value increases are things the Liberal Democrats have long argued for.

Those of us in London had already been told last week that Crossrail 2 was going ahead and that there would be a need for Londoners to match fund the development costs. The increase in the share of business rates retained by London will help fund this vital new project, but a £1.9billion cut in TfL funds, as a result of Sadiq Khan’s fares policy, puts at risk important investment in London’s future transport needs.

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Tagged budget 2016 and london | 5 Comments

Lib Dems should be criticising SNP as well as Labour over failure to oppose Snoopers’ Charter

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 16th March 2016 - 11:47 am

The Party has produced a couple of graphic quite rightly having a go at Labour over their abstention on the IP Bill.

and

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Tagged snoopers charter and snp | 11 Comments

The science behind diverse shortlists

By Belinda Brooks Gordon | Wed 16th March 2016 - 10:29 am

During the debate on diversity the speeches on all sides were so moving that I felt compelled to share some of the science behind WHY we needed this motion and why I am so proud of everyone who spoke in that debate.

Studies show that from birth, girls lose out to boys. In the ‘Baby X’ trials where a baby is referred to as ‘Dana’ or ‘David, or dressed in pink or blue irrespective of their gender, adults treat the babies differently.

At the age of 11 months, in studies where mothers are asked to estimate their infants’ crawling ability on a sloped walkway, mothers of boys over estimate and mothers of girls under estimate how well their child will do. Parents’ beliefs about what their child is capable of influences what parents expect of their children.

The reason for this, according to Professor Virginia Valian in her book ‘Why so Slow‘ is due to gender schemas and the accumulation of advantage. Gender schemas are cognitive constructs that lead to over-valuations of men and under-valuations of women.This misevaluation occurs despite the intention to measure actual achievement. Most people sincerely mean to be meritocratic, and ignore gender, ethnicity, or disability, when making judgments. But the data suggest people overrate some groups and underrate others.

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Tagged diversity and electing diverse mps motion | 38 Comments

Postcard from Orlando: Hillary sweeps the board with big wins in Florida and Ohio

By Simon Foster | Wed 16th March 2016 - 9:08 am

Hillary Florida GOTV

What do Florida, North Carolina and Ohio have in common? They’re AWS, which means All Winning States on this side of the pond. As I write (0515!GMT) Hillary appears to have won Illinois and Missouri by a margin that would have any agent worth their salt screaming “Recount,” at the top of their lungs.

Whilst Florida was always polling strongly for Hillary, the big prize tonight was Ohio for her campaign. After the shock loss of Michigan last week, Hillary’s campaign needed a big win in the rust belt. In Ohio, she got it.

The two states are significant. Ohio is the ultimate swing state, crucial to Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012. Florida has even more of a history since George W Bush’s controversial “win” in 2000. At a rally for his wife on Monday, former President Bill Clinton said “You don’t need to explain to Floridians the importance of voting.”

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Tagged bernie sanders, donald trump, hillary clinton, marco rubio, primaries and us | 28 Comments

100 Days to go to secure our place in Europe

By Catherine Bearder | Tue 15th March 2016 - 4:39 pm

There are now just 100 days to secure Britain’s place in Europe. There is so much at stake. If we leave, the country faces a future of uncertainty, isolation and diminished influence in the world. If we stay we will secure opportunity, prosperity and security for future generations and we can lead the way in shaping a better, more liberal Europe.

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7 Comments

Tim Farron MP writes…The liberal challenge on immigration

By Tim Farron MP | Tue 15th March 2016 - 11:55 am

It’s not often that regional elections in other European countries get much attention in our press, let alone become headline news. The fact that elections yesterday in a handful of German states made front pages here today demonstrates the unusual situation Britain and Europe find itself in. It also highlights the growing need for strong, liberal voices across our continent.

Those of you who heard my speech on Sunday, or in fact have heard me speak since I became leader, will hopefully have a sense of my beliefs on the refugee crisis and on the wider issue of immigration. Our government has tended to bury its head in the sand, but with no short term end to the conflicts scarring the Middle East and climate migration on the rise, we cannot let a policy of ignorance be maintained.

More than ever, it is our responsibility as liberals to stop the immigration debate descending into hard line, xenophobic rhetoric that sets community against community. The relative success of Alternative fur Deutschland in these German elections shows how challenging that can be. Especially when the “pro-immigration” parties in Germany still vastly outweigh the anti, just one story makes better headlines than the other. Similarly, here in the UK, we would be foolish to think the decline of UKIP will see an end to the blaming of the other.

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Tagged featured, immigration and tim farron | 34 Comments

A Fresh Homecoming

By Mark Moore | Tue 15th March 2016 - 9:53 am

Yesterday I watched in awe as Tim Farron delivered, what I believe was, a passionate heartfelt speech to round off the Liberal Democrat conference in York. It was the a speech that confirmed to me all the reasons as to why just a week earlier I had joined the Liberal Democrat party after much soul searching.

My Liberal journey began, in many ways, when I was in my early teens in the mid 90’s when the nation was getting swept up in New Labour. Having been raised in an era of Tory rule, Thatchers Britain, and my parents having somewhat radical right wing views New Labour were a breath of political fresh air.

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Shortlists and Privilege

By Helen Belcher | Mon 14th March 2016 - 7:11 pm

On Sunday, Conference voted for all-women shortlists. As part of the debate, I gave a speech outlining how my experience showed that lots of men simply aren’t aware of the privilege they have. I was surprised that this speech would immediately precede the rare event of a leader’s speech in a debate. Tim – I hope I set them up all right for you!

For the first 40 years of my life I lived as male. Transitioning to female in 2004, and starting my own software company at the same time, showed me what I had anticipated – that I had to work much harder to be treated as worth listening to. It didn’t come as a shock to me, as I’d observed this since childhood – in fact, it was one of the reasons I used to delay transition. But I know other trans women who have been surprised by this side-effect.

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Tagged all-women shortlists and diversity | 23 Comments

What would a truly Liberal Britain look like and what improvements would it bring to people’s lives?

By Dick Newby | Mon 14th March 2016 - 5:51 pm

A truly Liberal Britain would be based on the concept of freedom of the individual and the understanding that this freedom can only be fully realised if everyone is supported to maximise their potential.

So.

It would celebrate diversity rather than stigmatising it. This would enable everyone to develop without suffering from the fears, frustrations and indignities which discrimination brings.

It would continue to skew spending on education towards poorer pupils, improve support for childcare and make it easier for children from modest backgrounds to get the best possible higher education or vocational training. This would give the best chance for every individual to fulfil their potential not just in terms of their career but also as participating members of society.

It would have comprehensive public health programmes and treat everybody needing medical help equally. This would reduce the life expectancy gap between rich and poor and, for example, greatly improved support for people with mental illnesses.

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Tagged your liberal britain | 10 Comments

Liberal Britain is a country where vocational education is taken seriously

By Thomas Liebers | Mon 14th March 2016 - 4:29 pm

Embed from Getty Images

‘Good for Youth, Good for Business’ is the title of a publication by the European Alliance for Apprenticeships that contains a small selection of organisations, examples and projects linked to apprenticeships in the EU, including examples from Britain.

What makes this relevant to a truly Liberal Britain?

In my view you can tell we don’t yet live in a truly Liberal Britain because:

Apprenticeships are still seen as “second class” in relation to a conventional degree.

Why does it matter?

The word liberal is often associated with freedom of choice, with tolerance, with personal liberties.

I believe strongly that young people in particular should feel free to choose an educational and career path that provides them with fulfilment in line with their interests and talents. In a truly Liberal Britain there are no occupations that are more respectable than others.

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Tagged apprenticeships, vocational education and your liberal britain | 7 Comments

My personal reflections on York

By Tobie Abel | Mon 14th March 2016 - 1:00 pm

Spring conference ended on a beautiful afternoon here in York, and whilst colleagues were journeying back to their own constituencies, as a local resident of the city I thought I’d spend the time saved in the commute to jot down some personal highlights.

The rally on Friday served up some great speeches from new Lib Dem members, notably from broadcaster/ army officer/ junior doctor Saleyha Ahsan who spoke passionately in defence of her profession (the medical one) but conflated the junior doctors pay strike and privatisation of the NHS.

Saturday was mostly fringe for me, and I attended the Private Renters event hosted by ‘Generation Rent’ intending to vent my spleen about the older generation treating property as a pension investment. Lots of other attendees were landlords keen to point out the impracticalities of rent controls or the unfair nature of existing regulations. Bah, try raising a family in a flat with one month tenancy notice mate! This issue is clearly going to be back at conference soon.

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Tagged liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 11 Comments

After the diversity debate: the hard part

By Gareth Epps | Mon 14th March 2016 - 11:47 am

Note: you can view the debate here, about 44 minutes in. The agenda for the conference is here and the Conference Dailies which include the amendments for Sunday are here.

On an issue where it is entirely possible to be on either side of the argument holding a position that is Liberal, it is time for all concerned to be respectful of that fact and to acknowledge that the real hard work on diversity is yet to be done.

Like a number of other people, I found myself supporting the Conference motion that included all-women shortlists despite my not supporting all-women shortlists . I had drafted Amendment 2 to refocus the debate on the entirety of the party’s colossal diversity problem and ensure it wasn’t portrayed solely as a gender problem.

Amendment 2 commits the party to set out to local parties how to use the Equality Act. It enables winnable seats to choose between candidates of equal merit in favour of those from an under-represented group. It also commits the party to present the bizarre effect of the Act in not allowing ‘diversity shortlists’ – a concept many liberals would support.

So what next? Two points have been made by people who opposed AWS that should be acknowledged and acted on, just as the points made forcefully in the debate by speakers from Liberal Youth about wider culture change in the party.

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Tagged diversity and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 13 Comments

All women shortlists

By Iain Donaldson | Mon 14th March 2016 - 10:39 am

At Liberal Democrat Conference in York this weekend I have been told by a number of women that they would not want to be the candidate for a seat that selected from an all women shortlist. I have some news for them, most of them won’t be. The motion passed means that of the around 580 seats that the Liberal Democrats will contend 8 must have all women shortlists.

I will now issue a direct challenge to those women, don’t walk away from the party but instead as there are up to 572 seats not selecting on all women shortlists so choose one of those seats and get selected as a Parliamentary Candidate. However, my challenge goes much further than that because right now we only have enough approved candidates who are women to fill a quarter of those seats so at the same time convince another woman who is capable of standing for parliament to do the same.

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Tagged diversity and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 32 Comments

My response to the debate on motion F7 (Regulation of cannabis)

By Harry Hayfield | Mon 14th March 2016 - 9:09 am

Embed from Getty Images

Note: you can view the debate here, about 2 hours 48 minutes in.

First of all, kudos to our party. Who else would not only discuss an issue that is usually swept under the carpet, but broadcast that debate live on the Internet and then keep it there for everyone to watch / listen to. As a result, I shall summarise my thoughts on each of the speeches.

Norman Lamb MP (Norfolk North) is of course, absolutely correct. Reports of this nature take a long time to compile and the panel who came up with this report should be applauded for their efforts. He is also right to bring up the fact that several members of the current Cabinet, through public statements, have admitted using cannabis and therefore are guilty of hypocrisy. Therefore, in conclusion what Norman said is entirely correct, we need to have a debate, and a debate is precisely what I applaud.

Lee Dargue (Birmingham, Edgbaston) who summed up his amendment by saying “What Norman said” which is succinct and to the point, and he is right. We started the conversation about the mental health of this nation and I have to admit that conversation seems to have come to a bit of a grinding halt post general election. However, whilst recognizing that “fourteen year olds are having sex” and that “fourteen year olds are doing drugs”, I would like to counter that when I was fourteen I was not doing drugs nor having sex and I put that down wholly to being brought up by my grandparents and therefore believe that closer family discussions on these subjects would be an avenue to explore.

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Tagged cannabis, liberal democrat spring conference 2016 and norman lamb | 25 Comments

Spring Conference highlights

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 13th March 2016 - 10:26 pm

I’m home from York, having had about 7 hours’ sleep in the last two days. That’s not entirely due to hanging round in bars late at night with lovely people. When you are making the most controversial speech of the entire Conference, that tends to dominate.

For the second time in two years, I arrived in York to brilliant sunshine. Sadly, I didn’t get to enjoy any of the city at all. In an ideal world, I would have gone down on Thursday, had some dinner with friends and spent Friday sightseeing. One of these days I will get myself organised so that I’m not still writing speeches and doing all my pre-conference prep right up until the very last minute.

If I find myself in York again, I am definitely going back to the Barbican Guest House. Two minutes’ walk from the Conference Centre, spotlessly clean, comfortable, wonderful breakfast and a dog to pet. What more could anyone possibly want? How about a crystal decanter of sherry in the room? I am not kidding.

Here are some of my best bits of the weekend:

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Tagged liberal democrats spring conference 2016 | 19 Comments

Discussing electoral reform in York

By Denis Mollison | Sat 12th March 2016 - 8:55 am

Five years after the Liberal Democrats comprehensively messed up on electoral reform, the ludicrously disproportional 2015 general election result has put it back on the agenda.

There will be two related fringes at York, organised by Pro-PR (1-2 p.m. Saturday, Hilton) on the idea of an electoral pact for 2020, and by the Electoral Reform Society (6.15-7.15 p.m. Saturday, Novotel) on the idea of a Constitutional Convention.

Electoral reform is about more than fairness (avoiding disproportionality, safe seats and the need for tactical voting). As Ed Straw sets out in his recent Treaty for Government, our present voting system of FPTP distorts the fabric of politics, leading to wasteful `zigzag government’. Getting politicians to allow change in how they are elected is always a difficult matter, as the long struggles for voting rights illustrate. FPTP is defended by the two parties that benefit from it; perhaps the greatest current hope lies in Labour’s recognising how difficult it is going to be for them to win a majority in the foreseeable future.

Opportunities for reform in Scotland came with Labour’s rush to devolution in 1997, and the Liberal Democrats’ successful coalition negotiation with Labour in 2003.

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Also posted in Conference | Tagged electoral reform and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 9 Comments

Jo Swinson writes…Been there, got the t-shirt

By Jo Swinson MP | Sat 12th March 2016 - 7:26 am

As part of the Committee for the fabulous WOW Festival at the Southbank Centre, I find myself in London this weekend, which means I’ll miss the diversity motion in York.

Passions run high on this issue, and I hope the debate will unfold with respect and kindness on both sides. Whichever side of the debate we are on, we should acknowledge that our aim is the same – a party where every individual can feel supported and welcome, with many more elected representatives at all levels, reflecting the diversity of our society in all ways, and making a positive impact on our communities.

In 2001, I took to the conference platform in Bournemouth, summating an amendment to a similar motion, in much the same vein as this weekend’s amendment submitted by the East Midlands. Liberal Youth have also voiced their opposition to all-women shortlists. The group of us campaigning on this issue had t-shirts specially printed for the occasion, declaring “I am not a token woman. Say No to all-women shortlists.” Our amendment was successful, and the Gender Balance Task Force was formed, now the Campaign for Gender Balance.

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Also posted in Conference | Tagged diversity, electing diverse mps motion, featured and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 23 Comments

Baroness Lynne Featherstone writes…We must be an anti fracking party

By Lynne Featherstone | Fri 11th March 2016 - 4:15 pm

This weekend we have an opportunity to change our position on fracking. I believe we should take it.Since becoming party spokesperson for energy and climate change, I have spent many hours listening to party activists, experts and public reaction. It is clear to me that it is time for change.

We need energy security. We need sustainable energy. We need to meet our legally binding targets. Fracking will not deliver any of these. But it will deliver greenhouse gases.

It is not logical or sensible to develop fracking at the very moment we have signed up to the Paris agreement on climate …

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Tagged featured, fracking and liberal democrat soring conference | 18 Comments

Faith values in politics can be a force for good?

By Shoaib Bajwa | Fri 11th March 2016 - 2:55 pm

You don’t need to be a church going person to learn and practice positive faith values in the society. The separation of church and state is a phrase that’s often used in reference to politics in the context of religious faith. In the US, the distinction between religion and politics is often blurred – you only have to listen to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio addressing party loyalists to see just how intertwined the two are. But here in the UK there’s something of a taboo about conflating the two. In fact faith values in politics can be an immense force for good, just as they can outside politics.

Here in the UK, unlike our cousins across the Atlantic, we have an established church and our head of state is also the head of this church. This dual rule has been much reduced since the days of Henry VIII. There was once a time when the UK politics was presided over by a monarch who was both president and pope. Gradually their role faded, and religion was replaced by political philosophy as the driving force behind British political ideology. It has led to something of an institutional silence by our political leaders to use the language of faith in political discourse. Think of the reaction that Prime Minister David Cameron received when he stated that he was prepared to ‘do God’ and take his faith into account when carrying out his duties. He was lauded and criticised in almost equal measure. But ‘doing God’ – or allowing your religious beliefs to impact upon your political outlook – does not need to be a negative thing. In fact, faith can be an immensely positive in politics and the society as long you interpret it correctly and of course you don’t try to force it on others.

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Tagged faith and politics | 10 Comments

What would a truly liberal Britain look like?

By Ben Midgley | Fri 11th March 2016 - 12:55 pm

Well, let’s begin with this, it won’t be heaven on earth, but it certainly wouldn’t be hell on earth either. Liberalism is not in my view, utopian, it is pragmatic and ethical, stemming from a set of principles for governance that tend towards the capacity for any society to thrive.

Britain is class ridden, and economically and socially divided, naturally these groups collude and come into conflict, a Liberal Britain would prevent these special interest groups from overpowering the rights and responsibilities of each and every citizen in law and opportunity. Harnessing to the greater good, the productive capacity of competition through regulation, rather than allowing conflicts to simmer into a demoralising morass through indifference or monopolies.

The different endowments in society suffer if political representation is skewed away from something which reflects the situation on the ground, and that in turn chokes our capacity to thrive, it turns people towards authoritarian solutions. So, a Liberal Britain would have an accessible political system that proportionally represents the will of the people, lives with the compromises that it produces and engenders something more tolerant than we now see. It rests on good will, rather than the desperate and often immoral striving for self assertion.

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Tagged your liberal britain | 4 Comments

A morning at the White House

By Alex Paul Shantz | Fri 11th March 2016 - 10:55 am

Embed from Getty Images

A frisson of expectation sweeps the crowd as the tannoy crackles to life and the announcer declares “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.” The honour guard comes to attention, the band strikes up Hail to the Chief and the most powerful leader in the world emerges. And when moments later, a black SUV sweeps round the drive and stops in front of the White House to deposit Justin Trudeau, the new Canadian Prime Minister… well, perhaps only a visit from the Queen herself would top Washington DC’s current level of excitement.

This was the scene on the South Lawn of the White House as President Barack Obama welcomed his Canadian counterpart to the capital of the United States yesterday. Clutching my ticket, I had joined the great and good of Washington in a line that stretched halfway round the block, excited to be part of the occasion. Three ID and security checks later and I was in.

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Tagged barack obama, canada, featured, Justin Trudeau and us | 6 Comments

One Liberal Democrat man’s view of International Woman’s Day

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 11th March 2016 - 9:55 am

Austin Rathe, formerly Head of Membership at LDHQ, posted this as his Facebook status on Tuesday, International Women’s Day. I thought it was worth reposting here, with his permission of course. .

So, guys, I’ve seen a couple of you post today asking why there isn’t an International Men’s Day*.

OK, I get it, it’s supposed to be about equality right? So why do we have something for women we don’t have for men?

I’ll explain why, but before we begin I’d like you to stop, look up from your desk (or other place of work) towards a female college. Don’t stare, but just imagine for a few moments that you’re not you, you’re that woman who you know, probably respect and hopefully care about.

Ok. So let’s go.

Now you’re a woman, your pay just got cut by 24%. Put that into pounds and pence and think how pissed off you are. You should be, it’s outrageous that because you just switched gender you’re getting paid less, but that’s what happens. And it adds up. Over your life as a woman you’re going to earn on average £300,000 less than you would have done as a man. Now we’re all proud of our penises, but I don’t think any of us would claim that it makes us 24% more productive at work. If yours does, please post tips in the comments.

Let’s head outside for a bit to calm down. Maybe a bit of shopping over lunch? Well, get ready for the double whammy, because not only do you have a lot less cash now, but you have to pay more for the same stuff. That’s right, on average the female versions of products (for example clothes) cost 7% more than the male ones. And of course, from now, your going to have to buy sanitary products once a month whether you like or not. And they’re a luxury, so you pay VAT on them as well. Lucky you.

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Tagged austin rathe and international women's day | 25 Comments

Data: If we’d won more seats in 2015, our Commons team would still have been over-whelmingly white and male

By Paul Walter | Fri 11th March 2016 - 8:33 am

If you don’t already get Mark Pack’s Liberal Democrat Newswire, it’s worth signing up to it. I’ve also heard he’s co-written a book on how to win elections.

In this month’s Liberal Democrat Newswire, which is number 77, Mark presents some very clear statistics on a key point which has come up in the diversity debate:

One comment often made is that the party’s current all male, all white line-up in the House of Commons is due to the party having only 8 MPs – and that if they party had done better at the last election, it would have been more diverse.

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Tagged diversity and electing diverse mps motion | 13 Comments

The myth of “the best candidate”

By Michael Taylor | Thu 10th March 2016 - 6:28 pm

I think it is time to debunk the myth of ‘the best candidate’.

Many people in these various threads on the diversity motion say we would end up not selecting this mythical person if we were to allow AWS.

Leaving aside for the moment the aspersion this casts on women candidates, let’s have a look at the best candidate argument and see if it holds water.

The first thing we need to consider is what wins elections at a parliamentary level? Is it the candidate or is it the campaign? I would argue strongly that it’s the campaign that is built around the candidate and the work that is put in by the team around the candidate that is most important. Of course a personable and hard working candidate is also an asset, but a new PPC will have almost zero personal vote and incumbency doesn’t kick in at all until someone has been elected more than once. Even if a local candidate has been an active councillor this will at best be in 10-15% of the seat and there is scant evidence that this transfers to the parliamentary contest. On this I speak with personal knowledge having been in just that position in 2001, where having been elected as a councillor is 1998 AND 1999, my vote in the 2001 GE was not much different in my ward than anywhere else in the constituency.

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Tagged diversity, electing diverse mps motion and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 35 Comments

Person X supports the legalisation of cannabis

By Lee Dargue | Thu 10th March 2016 - 5:02 pm

Embed from Getty Images

“Person X supports the legalisation of cannabis” is quite a headline. For that person to be a sports star or celebrity generates some interest. For it to be a user of cannabis, it often generates derision.

If X is the leader of a political party, or a former government health minister, it surely is big news. This is why I joined, and have stayed a member, of the Liberal Democrats: to have radical, evidence-based policies which strike out as making us distinctive and pleased Norman Lamb has put a motion forward to conference for this policy, and please Tim Farron has supported it.

When it comes to policy-making, we are the party that prides itself most on having an evidence base. Some parties go for populism over evidence, whereas we often prefer radical policies. And some parties go on mainly grabbing headlines. These three elements are often at odds and one usually wins over the other.

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Tagged cannabis, liberal democrat spring conference 2016 and liberal youth | 38 Comments

My personal thoughts on Motion F7

By Harry Hayfield | Thu 10th March 2016 - 3:04 pm

Embed from Getty Images

I have lived with my grandparents all my life and as a result, especially since 2005 as I have been their registered carer, I have moved wherever and whenever they have moved and this means that since I became a Liberal Democrat in 1992, I have been all over the place.

However, there is one small downside to this and that is being able to get to big Lib Dem events. In those 24 years I have only managed to attend one regional conference, three Welsh conferences and no federal conferences or special conferences, which brings me to the reason for this (as the Americans would say) op-ed: Motion F7 at the conference in York discussing the paper launched a few days ago entitled “A Framework for a Regulated Market for Cannabis in the United Kingdom“.

Now, let me make this clear from the get go, having read the report I agree with a large number of things. For instance, “Each year, criminal gangs generate billions of pounds from the illegal drug trade – money which in turn funds organised crime. And each year thousands of people receive convictions for drug possession which will harm their education and employment prospects for the rest of their lives” is absolutely true. Similarly “Liberal Democrats argue that we need an evidence based approach to drugs law, one which is based on independent and scientific advice, rather than fear and prejudice” is a statement I think we can all agree on.

However, I have to draw the line at the conclusion of the report that cannabis should be legalised and distributed via dedicated retail outlets, social clubs and via home growing.

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Tagged cannabis and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 9 Comments

A former candidate reflects on the diversity motion

By Alex Meredith | Thu 10th March 2016 - 1:55 pm

As a white, straight, able-bodied, British man who was a candidate last May and has aspirations to run again, I wanted to offer the perspective of one of the ‘over-represented’ as we approach Sunday’s diversity debate.

When I saw the text, the realisation that the motion would have significant consequences for me and my ilk was unavoidable. The motion promises us training and support and that we will be ‘valued’. But along with positive discrimination in general election selections we are also promised proposals on wider party diversity including in party structures and local government. The feeling I experienced on reading the motion must be akin to turkey being offered training and support in the run up to a gender-neutral, multi-faith Winter festival.

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Tagged diversity and liberal democrat conference spring 2016 | 18 Comments