Category Archives: Op-eds

Peter Martin

Fixing the Budget. Are we looking at the problem the right way?


By Peter Martin | Fri 19th February 2016 - 12:12 pm

Whenever we read articles on reducing the government’s budget deficit the underlying assumption is invariably that it needs to spend less and obtain more taxation revenue. This approach is known as economic austerity. We all know from our personal experience that if we have a debt problem we have to spend less and/or earn more to get out of trouble. So that must work. Or must it? All politicians in all parties need to get this one right if nothing else. Any government’s spending and taxation policy impacts just about everything else in its ‘to do’ list.


We saw in the last Parliament that the Coalition ‘reluctantly’ raised VAT to 20% to increase taxation revenues. All spending plans were subject to extreme scrutiny. Various bodies in the Treasury, or the Office of Budget Responsibility had previously been at work and had produced figures to show the extent to which the deficit would shrink over the course of several years. Usually just before the next election, hey presto! We’d have that surplus we were always promised.



It never does work. After a couple of years we see articles and more articles in the press saying that the Chancellor has been ‘blown off course’ by this or that event, and the story is usually that whereas government spending has been kept to plan the taxation receipts have been disappointing and consequently the promised date of a budget surplus is further away than was first predicted. There are lots of articles along these lines for anyone who cares to search them out online. There are never any at all, as far as I know, saying that the situation has turned around better than expected.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 26 Comments
Kathryn Ball

Obituary: Jonathan Webber MBE DL 24th February 1957 – 15th February 2016

By Kathryn Ball | Fri 19th February 2016 - 9:00 am

Jonathan Webber 1Jonathan Webber, the former West Midlands Chair (2011 – 2013) and one of the most popular figures among West Midlands Liberal Democrats, has died after a long battle with cancer, which he had described as “something of a nuisance and an inconvenience.” He was 58 years old and died peacefully at home cared for by his partner Kathryn Ball.

Born in Oxford, Jonathan spent most of his working life in a business environment.  Fluent in Greek he spent 17 years working in Athens and Salonika as a literary agent / publisher, whilst there he founded the “Athens Ramblers’ Cricket Club” and the “Thessaloniki Cricket Club”, he became Chief Executive of the British Greek Chamber of Commerce in Athens and returning to the UK in the ‘90s he joined the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) advising on trade with Greece and the Balkans.

More recently Jonathan was Director of International Trade at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce where he was described as a “real one-off…a maverick.” Former Chamber Chief Executive Jerry Blackett said: “I realised he was never going to respond to traditional management. He was not one for bureaucracy or for rules but he never missed his targets and he got the best out of his team.”

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Rupinder Singh

Is Ukraine lost?

By Rupinder Singh | Thu 18th February 2016 - 7:00 pm

 

Is Ukraine lost? Again? Is the social contract between state and citizens fundamentally flawed?

We are now well past the “honeymoon period” of the post-Maidan street protests that ultimately led to the rather fast departure of the then president Yanikovich, who fled to Russia in 2014.

A spate of ministerial resignations at the start of 2016, an economy in dire straits and with a huge external debt overhang, having lost up to a third of its economic base from the loss of territories and ongoing conflict with Russia and being supported by western-supported international financial institution packages including dollops of soft EU macro-financial assistance, a false dawn with the so-called Orange revolution in 2004 and the Maidan of 2014…so which way reform?

Continue reading »
Tagged | 24 Comments
Iain Donaldson

The counter bias proposed in the All Women Shortlist motion will not in itself be enough to achieve balance

By Iain Donaldson | Thu 18th February 2016 - 3:34 pm

Spring Conference Agenda 2016The membership of the Liberal Democrats is almost 50% male and 50% female (I say almost because we have a number of members who are non-binary (they do not define as male or female) and I will say up front that when I refer to “all women shortlists” this does not mean I am excluding these non-binary candidates, I want and would strongly encourage them to seek selection.

The Liberal Democrats also instinctively seek parity between men and women (it is noticeable that not one man felt he could do a better job than the excellent women candidates who stood for election as Party President in 2014.  This was not out of some arranged plot visited upon us from Lib Dem HQ, it was simply a conclusion that we all reached of our own volition.

Why then can we not achieve gender balance in our parliamentary candidates by the same gut instinct?  Well actually we want to but there is disagreement as to how we go about it.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 25 Comments
Henry Foulds

We need a Lib Dem role model for disabled people

By Henry Foulds | Thu 18th February 2016 - 1:25 pm

 

A couple of days ago, I found myself in quite an unusual situation. As a candidate for May’s local elections, I was campaigning in my ward’s town centre when someone flung their arms around me and gave me a great hug.

She told me she’d been watching me and was gobsmacked to see me doing what I was doing. As a visually impaired candidate, people are frequently a bit shocked to see me knocking on their doors. But this was different. She introduced me to her five-year-old daughter, who had just started learning how to use a white cane.

We had a lovely chat. The girl told me her cane was named Dora, after Dora the Explorer, and I explained that my cane had an orange handle, because that’s my favourite colour.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 22 Comments
Nick T

Was Vince Cable proved right on austerity?

By Nick T | Thu 18th February 2016 - 8:42 am

When the histories of the coalition government come to be written, those chapters focussing on the role of Vince Cable will be some of the most fascinating. Vince’s fierce intelligence combined with a (perhaps deliberate) flair for the enigmatic meant he was involved in some of the most interesting of the coalition’s key moments.

One area of particular significance is likely to be the analysis of his views on austerity. Throughout the coalition Vince was often portrayed in the media — and by some Liberal Democrats — as a brave warrior fighting an axe-wielding Tory-Lib-Dem cabal of ideological austerians. Yet this seems to me to be precisely wrong.

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | 20 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Crisis mental health care in the NHS must improve

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th February 2016 - 1:33 pm

I was struck by a blog in my Facebook timeline this morning. It was actually written a year ago today by Becca Plenderleith, who joined the Lib Dems in the wake of the election last year. She’s already contributed so much to the Party, writing for our Scottish members’ newsletter, making thoughtful and insightful contributions on mental health – and she’s also written for LDV, too. We are very lucky to have her.

In the post she shared this morning, she shared her experience of what passes for mental health crisis care in Scotland – and it just simply is not good enough. The experience she had mirrors other people’s experiences. I have heard of Accident and Emergency doctors, who clearly have no training in mental health, berating a shut-down self-harming teenager and tell them that they are wasting their time.  In that example, when the Child and Adolescent Mental Health people got involved, things improved remarkably, but it should never have happened in the first place.

I am horrified that a young person in crisis could be treated in such a callous way. I’m quoting from Becca’s post here with her permission:

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie announces Scottish zero rate tax plan

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th February 2016 - 12:03 pm

Last night in his annual speech to the David Hume Institute, Willie Rennie set out plans for a plan to help low and middle income Scottish earners by introducing a zero rate band of tax to go beyond the raising of the tax threshold. Because he’s also announced a plan to raise income tax by 1p to secure a £475 million investment in education, this new tax plan is going to be revenue neutral.

Both Liberal Democrats and Labour have announced plans for a 1p rise in income tax. However, Liberal Democrats are focusing on what you would get for it – more college places, reversing education cuts, a pupil premium and more nursery education. Labour’s is so complex that everyone is talking about the tax part of it. Fair play to both, though, for actually trying to use the powers we have.

Under Willie’s zero rate plan, Liberal Democrats would build on our record in government when we increased the personal allowance by over £4,000, helping to lift more people on lower incomes out of tax. Tax revenues gained by investing in education and boosting business by closing the skills gap would create a zero-rate tax band.

Willie  contrasted the progressive Liberal Democrat proposals with George Osborne’s commitment to increase the Higher Rate threshold from £43,000 to £50,000 by 2020, giving record-breaking tax cuts to the richest and costing Scotland £400m.

He said:

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Chris Nelson

Keeping Britain in the EU: How reassuring the sceptics should mean more than talk of “sovereignty”

By Chris Nelson | Wed 17th February 2016 - 10:33 am

Over the last few months the political media has been transfixed by David Cameron’s efforts to “renegotiate” Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Whilst Tim Farron quite rightly describes Cameron’s demands as having much more to do with keeping the Conservative Party together than fixing anything more fundamental about the EU, the reasons for making this effort are obvious: reassuring nervous eurosceptics that Britain still has influence in Europe and neutralising fears (however unjustified) that the British voice will be somehow overpowered.

Nigel Farage responded by calling Cameron’s deal “a slap in the face for Britain”. So far, so predictable.  Yet right at the core of eurosceptic complaints is so often the insidious, sometimes devious suggestion that nothing we hear from Brussels can be trusted. When Blair got an opt-out from the Euro, the sceptics said we’d be forced in anyway. When Brown got an opt-out from the Fundamental Charter of Fundamental Rights, the sceptics claimed the European Court of Justice would simply ignore it. Cameron says we have protection from being overrun by the Eurozone? The sceptics claim it isn’t worth the paper it is written on.

In their deluded yet strangely persuasive form of paranoia, the Kippers argue that, even if it all seems reasonable on the surface, we can never trust the EU to keep their word and that our courts and our Parliament will be (supposedly) powerless to stop them.

Continue reading »
Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged and | 41 Comments
Santosh Dass

Lord Avebury was a giant in the struggle to outlaw Caste-based discrimination in the UK

By Santosh Dass | Tue 16th February 2016 - 10:25 am

This article is rather longer than usual but offers a different perspective on Eric Avebury and his commitment to international human rights. The author is Vice Chair of the Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance (ACDA), and the President of the Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK (FABO UK).

Eric-Avebury-March-2013

Lord Eric Avebury at an Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance-led protest outside Parliament on 4 March 2013 supporting legislation to outlaw Caste-based discrimination in the UK

I first met Lord Eric Avebury on 11 November 2009 at the official launch of the Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance (ACDA)’s report Hidden Apartheid – A voice of the Community that he willingly hosted for us in the House of Lords. He was the first parliamentarian to respond to ACDA. That report and that historic meeting would help shape Parliamentary consciousness to do with Caste-based Discrimination (CBD) and legislation during the following, critical months.

Continue reading »
Also posted in Obituaries | Tagged | 3 Comments
Mark Williams MP

Britain must once again become a great humanitarian nation

By Mark Williams MP | Tue 16th February 2016 - 8:49 am

A few weeks ago I visited the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais to see first-hand the tragic situation right on our doorstep.

Television cannot capture the full desperation of the Calais camp. My visit met my worst fears: 5,500 people; 60% of them young men, and many children too, are living in miserable conditions in shanty towns resembling some of the worst parts of the Nairobi slums I visited last year; the difference being that in the ‘Jungle’ we were less than 2 hours from Central London.

Continue reading »
17 Comments
The Voice

Watch: Catherine Bearder explains why we have to win this Referendum

By The Voice | Mon 15th February 2016 - 4:26 pm

Catherine tells us that she is not lonely in Europe because she is part of a vibrant Liberal group. And tells us how the European Union protects birds of prey.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 5 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Who are your LGBT heroes?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 14th February 2016 - 10:25 am

February is LGBT History Month so I thought it might be a good idea to talk about our LGBT heroes. Let us know in the comments who you admire and why.

Here are three of mine to start us off.

First of all, Dr Meg John Barker, who is an academic specialising in gender identity, sexuality and relationships. From their Open University profile:

Meg John is a senior lecturer in psychology at the Open University and has published many academic books and papers on topics including non-monogamous relationships, sadomasochism, counselling, and mindfulness, as well as co-editing the journal Psychology & Sexuality. They were the lead author of The Bisexuality Report – which has informed UK policy and practice around bisexuality. They are involved in running many public events on sexuality and relationships, including Sense about Sex, Critical Sexology, and Gender & Sexuality Talks. Meg John is also a UKCP accredited therapist working with gender and sexually diverse clients. Meg John’s 2013 book Rewriting the Rules is a friendly guide love, sex and relationships

I find their blog, Rewriting the Rules, a really useful learning resource, written in an engaging and interesting way.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 12 Comments
The Voice

Watch: Highlights from the Lib Dem In campaign launch

By The Voice | Sat 13th February 2016 - 11:55 am

Here are the highlights of the Lib Dem In campaign launch from earlier this week. Who do you recognise?

#INtogether

This is Britain's time to lead, not leave. See the highlights from our #INtogether launch, and join our campaign!

Posted by Liberal Democrats on Friday, 12 February 2016

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 16 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Watch: Shirley Williams on retirement and how the government’s attitude to junior doctors could break NHS

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 13th February 2016 - 8:55 am

Shirley on Victoria DerbyshireOn Thursday, her last day in the House of Lords before her retirement, Shirley Williams spent 20 minutes talking to Victoria Derbyshire.

You can watch the conversation, which covered women in politics, social media (she thinks that “the cruellest people in society” shouldn’t be given a voice), how some were bemused by her specialism in fields not traditionally done by women, such as nuclear proliferation, how we should take thousands of refugee children and relived the previous struggle over Ugandan refugees in the 70s when she stuck to her guns.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 10 Comments
Simon Thorley

Local Government doing less to achieve more

By Simon Thorley | Fri 12th February 2016 - 1:30 pm

Darlington Borough Council is skint. One of the smallest local authorities in the country, Darlington was created as a Unitary Authority in 1997. Since then, it has been governed (like many Northern councils) exclusively by Labour, and it now stands on the verge of bankruptcy (the two facts may not be unrelated).

Specifically, the Council have calculated the need for £12.5m in spending cuts over the next four years. To go: Darlington’s historic indoor market, the public library (both of which were donated to the town by the Pease family), the town centre’s Christmas lights and floral displays, several children’s centres, and multiple other social, environmental and cultural services. Streets will be swept less frequently. Charges will be introduced for blue badge holders.

Are these cuts to local services best blamed on central government, with its reduction in funding for local authorities, or on incompetent and profligate local councils? Certainly, cuts in central government funding have been made, with the provision of local services affected; certainly, other local authorities facing similar cuts are not broke. The truth of the matter is probably somewhere between the two!

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 11 Comments
ALDC

Let ALDC know if you are a candidate

By ALDC | Fri 12th February 2016 - 11:55 am

ALDC campaigning photoALDC (the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors) wants to help your campaign but in order to do the best job that we can, we need to know who your candidates are for the forthcoming elections on the 5th May.

We are gathering relevant information about local elections across the country and helping co-ordinate various types of support that are available for candidates and groups in different seats.

The team at ALDC would be really grateful if you could fill in this short form here with the details of any currently selected candidates in your area, and come back whenever there is new information to share.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | Leave a comment
Bradley Hillier-Smith

Lib Dems deliver vital aid to Dunkirk Refugee Camp

By Bradley Hillier-Smith | Fri 12th February 2016 - 10:25 am

Brad HS Dunkirk 1Throughout last week Baroness Shas Sheehan and I have been collecting vital items needed in the camp in Dunkirk. From a list of items approved by volunteers on the ground we asked Lib Dems and local residents to come together and purchase what they could. The list included brand new sleeping bags, tents, blankets, food, gas, warm and waterproof clothes as well as sturdy, waterproof shoes. We were overwhelmed with the response and managed to fill a van to the brim with these essential donations.

On Sunday, we drove the van across to northern France to the camp in Dunkirk. The conditions in Dunkirk are in many ways worse than in Calais. The mud is particularly problematic for the 2,500 mainly Kurdish refugees living there. Local authorities are disallowing any construction of more sturdy wooden shelters so most people live in tents. This does not offer much protection and makes the weather a real problem with high winds, cold temperatures and large rainfall, especially in the last few days. It is also the case that there are more families and children in this camp.

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Full Spring Conference Agenda out now

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 11th February 2016 - 9:57 pm

Spring Conference Agenda 2016The full agenda and directory for the Spring Conference in York is out now.

All the details of motions, training and fringe meetings are inside.

A few points to note:

  • The Exhibition, which had originally been cut, has been reinstated. Leave.EU and the Lib Dem InTogether campaign will be no doubt glowering atmospherically at each other across the room.
  • The photos of the Federal Executive were supposed to be in the agenda, but seem to have been left out for some reason. People should know who their federal representatives are. However, there will be an FE help desk so please come and talk to us if you have any questions about the overall strategy of the party.
  • The number of what appear to be all-male panels at fringe meetings is more than a little annoying. And much as I love Tim, Vince and Jim Wallace, surely to goodness they could have found women for the main business reception too. After all, Jo Swinson as Business Minister did loads for women entrepreneurs and Lorely Burt is our go-to person for women in business. (UPDATE: it appears Sharon Bowles will be attending this now, which is good.)
  • The Saturday afternoon session goes on till 7pm with a consultation session on the Governance Review after the close of official business. This is really important as the outcome will determine the way the party is run and where power lies within it. An hour is barely time to scratch the surface of the issues. However, do take time to read the document now and submit your ideas to the team even if you are not going to Conference. The consultation is open until the end of March.
  • York is a city where we Lib Dems are in the Council administration. We should hear from Council Deputy Leader Cllr Keith Aspden at some point during the weekend.
Continue reading »
Also posted in Conference | Tagged | 14 Comments
Paul Strasburger

Lord Paul Strasburger writes…Report shows that nobody thinks Home Office is right on investigatory powers

By Paul Strasburger | Thu 11th February 2016 - 12:37 pm

Today the Joint Committee published its report on the draft Investigatory Powers Bill. This follows hot on the heels of the Intelligence and Security Committee report which was surprisingly critical of the serious shortcomings of the Bill given its previous rather relaxed approach – what a difference a new Chair makes, you could say.
 
I was the only member of the Joint Committee that also sat on the Committee that looked at Theresa May’s last attempt to legislate on surveillance powers – the ill-fated draft Communications Data Bill. The previous committee had twice as long to look at the Bill than we’ve had this time round, despite the fact that this Bill is far bigger. The Home Secretary promised Parliament and the public that this process wouldn’t be rushed, that is not the reality.
 
As the only Liberal Democrat on the committee I knew it would be tough, and I think it will come as no surprise to anyone to learn that from the committee was heavily weighted in favour of the Home Office. It was a hard slog but as always with the Lib Dems, we managed to punch above our weight. If you flick to the back of the report you’ll see that on a whole range of issues I forced votes – sometimes I got others on side and we won, others were more lonely.

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 2 Comments
David Thorpe

With his Trident stance Corbyn shows himself to be no fan of ‘new politics’

By David Thorpe | Thu 11th February 2016 - 10:01 am

Few words stir the heart of the politically interested than ‘a new politics’, and quite right too, for who on earth wants the status quo?

But the utterer of that rather normative phrase is immediately pitched a political challenge, to keep on board those who are the bedrock of their support, while also delivering something challenging enough to be new.

Jeremy Corbyn is a man with far less personal ambition than he has integrity and honour, and that may be ‘new’ for a politician in the UK right now, but it is not enough to qualify as ‘new politics’.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 13 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems disagree on EU referendum date

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 10th February 2016 - 4:15 pm

There is a bit of a disagreement amongst Liberal Democrats about the date of a referendum. Of course, no date has been yet set, and if David Cameron can’t get a cast-iron deal on his renegotiation, it can’t be on the Government’s first choice date of 23 June.

Yesterday, DUP leader Nigel Dodds led an Opposition Day debate in the Commons arguing that:

Some Members who support our motion hold different views on EU membership and, indeed, on whether we should have a referendum at all. However, whatever side of the argument we are ultimately on, we agree that, when the referendum is finally held, there must be the fullest, most comprehensive debate possible, which does not overlap with, or otherwise become enmeshed in, the election campaigns in May for the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland and Welsh Assemblies, and indeed for that matter, for the London Mayor, and other local elections.

Our Mark Williams, MP for Ceredigion, intervened to say that all the leaders in the Welsh Assembly, including Kirsty Williams, were in favour of a delay beyond June:

Continue reading »
Tagged | 18 Comments

Political disconnect in Calais and Dunkirk

By Office of Lord Roberts | Wed 10th February 2016 - 1:20 pm

Screen Shot 2016-02-10 at 10.30.54It is not surprising that media reports focus on the appalling conditions in the Calais and Dunkirk camps. On a recent trip Lord Roberts’ team saw for themselves how men, women and children live in knee-high mud, and brave the winter weather with little more than flimsy tents to keep the wind and rain at bay. In response to accusations that the British government are neglecting their humanitarian responsibilities, the Prime Minister champions the fact that under the Dublin Regulations, the UK has to allow family members of British people to claim asylum in the UK.

Despite the Dublin Regulations, the reality is that virtually no one can access this legal route. Many asylum seekers do not fully understand the unnecessarily complex system, and are unaware of exactly what their rights are; there are even reports of British passport holders unable to enter the UK from the camps. Despite government claims that British officials are present in the camp, these visits are occasional at best and offer no means of beginning an asylum claim. So although many asylum seekers in Calais and Dunkirk (as well as across Europe) have a legitimate legal right to claim asylum in the UK, it is incredibly difficult to access in practice. 

Continue reading »
Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged , , , and | 2 Comments

Don’t be left voiceless

By A Liberal in Leeds | Wed 10th February 2016 - 10:30 am

Last year’s election was brutal. It was a disaster for the country and it made us all realise that politics needs to change.

I’m not talking about the Lib Dems’ electoral defeat. I’m not even talking about the Tory majority. Last year’s election made a mockery of British democracy. 1 in 4 voters voted Lib Dem, Green or UKIP, but have just 10 MPs to represent them. That is appalling.

Why then do the Westminster elite stand up for this broken system? Pure selfishness. I’m afraid that is the only answer I can think of. So many Labour and Tory MPs think they should be elected not because they have the most support, but merely because that is the way it has always been. MPs aren’t elected to protect their positions at all costs. They are elected to represent the people. Without proportional representation (PR) they are failing to do that spectacularly.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 38 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Dunfermline: 10 years on

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th February 2016 - 7:25 pm

I know exactly what I was doing 10 years ago tonight – knocking up in Rosyth, getting people to the polls in the Dunfermline by-election. There was a really good feeling in the air. Earlier in the afternoon, I’d been out and about in Dunfermline and people were beeping at us as they drove by, or giving us thumbs up signs. It started to feel as though we might pull off an historic victory in Gordon Brown’s back yard. The BBC certainly didn’t. When they initially announced the result, their graphic said “Labour hold” around a live feed of Willie Rennie talking about the political earthquake that the voters of Dunfermline brought about.

Willie has put a video on Facebook showing some images of the night:

Ten years ago today I won the Dunfermline and West Fife By-election. A surprise but wonderful victory. Inspiration for the battles ahead. Here's a little trip down memory lane.

Posted by Willie Rennie on Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Continue reading »
Tagged , , , and | 12 Comments

Silenced Voices: The Desperate Situation in Calais and Dunkirk

By Annie Curie | Tue 9th February 2016 - 1:20 pm

Dunkirk refugee campAs a child in school, I remember learning about human failings throughout history and wondering repeatedly: how did so many people effectively neglect the problems they faced? So many years later, I still have the same question swirling around in the recesses in my mind. Last week simply brought this to the forefront of all I think about, thanks to the rude awakening that was our office’s fact-finding mission in Calais and Dunkirk. These failings of humanity to pay attention to and help fellow human beings in a humanitarian crisis are still prevalent today. What’s worse? This problem is right in our backyard. With this horrific realisation, I am left wondering once more: how do we fix it?

When we took up our posts, Lord Roberts asked us to try and address the refugee crisis which Europe was just beginning to recognise. None of us could have possibly understood the immensity of the problem when we first began research. It seemed like something in another place, another time, so distant and far removed from us that its tangibility faded to nothingness. Then, we began speaking to those people who had been working tirelessly on the ground to try and stem the seriousness before it escalated out of control. Meetings between our office and NGOs helped to uncover greater barriers to solutions than any of us could have ever imagined.

A few months later, after countless briefings, questions, and attempts to put greater pressure on Her Majesty’s Government to act, it became apparent that our office needed to explore the situation on the ground for ourselves. We arranged travel to Calais and Dunkirk with a grassroots organisation and an international non-governmental organisation, both of whom took us around the camps and provided insights from their differing perspectives.

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 7 Comments
Harriet Shone

Africa Liberal Network becomes largest liberal network outside Europe

By Harriet Shone | Tue 9th February 2016 - 9:55 am

International Office_with textSupported by the Liberal Democrats International Office, the Africa Liberal Network (ALN) has grown to become the largest network of liberal parties outside Europe, with 47 member parties from across 30 African nations. Taking place from 27 – 31 January 2016, the ALN held its 12th General Assembly in Johannesburg, South Africa, hosted by South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

With the theme of “Winning elections: the strategies, policies and solutions for success”, the General Assembly brought together nearly 80 delegates from 30 countries across the continent to discuss strategies to win elections and champion liberalism in their home countries. Through sharing techniques and approaches to campaign strategy, policy development and youth mobilisation, the ALN focused its efforts on helping member parties to win elections, emerge out of opposition and make liberal government a reality across Africa. Olivier Kamitatu, the ALN President, said in his opening speech:

ALN GA 1

The ALN has grown because Africa is at a crossroads and needs a liberal offering now more than ever. Our goal now must be to win elections across Africa in 2016-17.

Continue reading »
Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged | 1 Comment
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems: Lambing here

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th February 2016 - 8:00 pm

We’re kind of used to invitations to Lib Dem action days containing a hint of a reward for turning up to help. I’ve seen organisers promising all sorts of things to motivate people to deliver that extra 100 leaflets or knock on more doors. I certainly have some interesting photos of a particular candidate to release as a treat for spectacular action day performance. There have been promises of chilli (Tom Utting’s in Edinburgh Western is legendary), cake and all manner of treats to keep the army marching on its stomach.

I have to say that candidate for the Welsh Assembly seat of Montgomeryshire, Jane Dodds, has come up with the mother of all action day fun: a visit to a hill-top farm for food and frolic with little lambs.

Montgomeryshire Action Weekend

It would be great if you could join us for campaigning (and frolics with lambs) at the Montgomeryshire Action Weekend in Welshpool -On Friday 4th and Saturday 5th March – If you can make it please let me know by RSVP'ing to the event here -https://www.facebook.com/events/769949056466276/Thank you!

Posted by Jane Dodds for Montgomeryshire on Monday, 8 February 2016

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

Do you agree with Kirsty and Tim about banning Delilah?

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th February 2016 - 6:00 pm

Kirsty Williams and Tim Farron have wandered into the controversy over the singing of the Tom Jones song Delilah by Welsh rugby fans.

Labour MP Chris Bryant thinks it shouldn’t be sung on account of its account of the murder of its eponymous heroine.

I had never really paid too much attention to the lyrics before but they are certainly pretty chilling. Having said that, if you banned every reference in literature or music to violence, and particularly violence against women, there wouldn’t be much left. You certainly wouldn’t be able to study Othello for your GCSEs or A Level, for example.

It does seem strange to have a song that’s basically about a man hunting down and murdering a woman as a rugby anthem, especially when it’s sung with such ceremony by choirs and Tom Jones himself. I’d love to know how that happened. I’m told that it’s been used since at least the early 1970s.

Kirsty and Tim took a more pragmatic approach to the issue than Chris Bryant. Kirsty said, according to Wales Online that a ban wasn’t realistic, but that more could and should be done to tackle the correlation between domestic violence and certain sports:

Continue reading »
Tagged , , , and | 42 Comments
Paul Walter

Is there a chance that the new Top Gear will be very entertaining but not (borderline) offensive?

By Paul Walter | Mon 8th February 2016 - 2:20 pm

The list of past Top Gear controversies is long. There have been allegations of homophobia and criticism of the mockery of Argentines, Mexicans, Germans and Romanians.

I have great respect for Jeremy Clarkson as a motoring and general writer. But he presents a persona to the public which teeters on the brink of controversy and often falls over the edge.

Continue reading »
Also posted in The Arts | Tagged , , , and | 40 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Chloe
    Nigel; Every single factory my parents and their families worked in - in my home town has gone . Only to be replaced by low pay , low skill warehouse work on th...
  • Judy Abel
    And yes Brexit took the breaks off the worst excesses of neoliberalism with weaker consumer regulation and less scrutiny of public procurement for example....
  • Judy Abel
    @NigelHunter I agree with every word. Money is leaking out of the economy to narrow private business interests like water through a collander....
  • nigel hunter
    Thatcherism, Reagonomics sold to the public as a way to own shares in their countries industries etc .The little people. Things progressed with no serious prob...
  • nigel hunter
    Everything is being privatised. The PROFIT motive is everything. Prices will be controlled for profit and shareholders,nothing else. Debt is thrown onto the com...