Our place to talk – an independent website for supporters of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK.

The most-read independent website by and for Lib Dem supporters. Not paid for by trade unions or millionaires.

Advert

Category Archives: Op-eds

Opinion: Localism is dead – what hope for Local Government ?

By Rabi Martins | Mon 8th December 2014 - 9:26 am

The Localism Act was introduced in November 2011 on a promise of new freedoms and flexibilities for local government, new rights and powers for communities and individuals, and a guarantee to make the planning system more democratic so as to ensure decisions about housing reflect local community wishes. Even the most ardent supporters of this coalition government will be hard pushed to provide evidence that localism has done anything of the sort.

Instead, what we have witnessed in the past four years is a constant reduction of local government budgets …

Continue reading »

Tagged featured, Local government, localism and localism act | 31 Comments

Scottish Liberal Democrats announce their list selections – and for the second time in a row manage to put one of their best MSPs in a more challenging position

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th December 2014 - 3:26 pm

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have been holding their regional list selections for 2016 Scottish Parliament elections and yesterday announced the top 3 in each region* .

Willie Rennie said on the team announced:

We are first off the mark with our candidate selection and this is a clear statement of intent. We have a team of passionate, dedicated campaigners who are up for the fight and will be working hard for their regions every day between now and the next Holyrood elections.

Our list candidates offer a mix of youth and experience that gives people right across Scotland the opportunity to elect a strong liberal voice to represent them at Holyrood. The new Home Rule powers Liberal Democrats are helping deliver for the Scottish Parliament mean it is more important than ever that we have a team of MSPs who will always stand up for their local area.

With the SNP taking their eye off the ball with the referendum it was Liberal Democrats challenging Scottish Government ministers over the pressure facing our NHS. We led opposition to damaging college cuts and helped families by expanding free childcare.

Continue reading »

Tagged parliamentary selections, Scotland and scottish parliament elections 2014 | 19 Comments

Michael Moore 1 Tory Game Players 0 – International Aid bill clears the Commons despite Tory shenanigans

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th December 2014 - 12:34 pm

It all got a bit nail-biting yesterday. The House of Commons was going to shut at 2:30 no matter what and a few determined Tories were planning on making sure that Michael Moore’s Bill to shrine the 0.7% of GDP international aid target into law died a death just like Sarah Teather’s on revenge evictions did last week.

In the end, a couple of enterprising Tories tried to talk it out but there were more than enough MPs who supported the Bill to put an end to their parliamentary games and the Bill passed the last of its Commons stages. It now goes to the Lords where our Liberal Democrat Minister Lindsay Northover will be one of those piloting it through.

Continue reading »

3 Comments

Norman Lamb writes… Better care for eating disorders is a top priority

By Norman Lamb MP | Fri 5th December 2014 - 3:35 pm

Charlotte Robinson was an incredibly bright, energetic, and well-liked young woman. She was working towards her A-levels, and hoping to attend Cambridge University. But days before her results arrived, Charlotte died. An eating disorder had left her dangerously weak, and she lost her fight with a sudden bout of pneumonia. When her A-level results arrived, she had achieved four As.

The inquest heard it had taken five weeks between Charlotte seeing her GP and an assessment being carried out by a mental health nurse, and it then took another month for any help to start. …

Continue reading »

Tagged eating disorders | 27 Comments

Ed Davey MP writes…An Autumn Statement for more green energy and more help to keep energy bills down.

By Ed Davey | Thu 4th December 2014 - 7:00 pm

Liberal Democrats in Government already have a record of green energy delivery to be proud of. Renewable electricity generation and investment have both more than doubled since 2010 and our reforms will create 250,000 low carbon jobs by the end of the decade. Britain is ranked No.1 in the world for offshore wind investment, onshore wind now produces around 5% of the UK’s electricity and solar generating capacity increased by 60% last year.

But is that where the story ends? No, and our ambition outlined in the Autumn Statement proves it. The Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project is something I asked my Department to look into some time ago. We’ve now announced the initial talks we’ve had with the Swansea team will be stepped up a gear and it’s possible formal negotiations could start as early as next month.

Continue reading »

Tagged autumn statement 2015 and climate change | 8 Comments

Opinion: The firm hand of the state where you least want it

By Laura Willoughby | Thu 4th December 2014 - 6:00 pm

A government with Liberals in it has banned spanking on film. Who would have thought it? I was hoping for a society where the state at least kept pace with social attitudes. Instead we find that through obscure bits of legislation we are continuing a move towards controlling people more and more that was started by the Labour party.

Porn made in the UK can no longer include sexual acts such as facesitting, spanking, caning, fisting and female ejaculation thanks to the Audiovisual Media Services Regulations 2014 . There are many reasons why these changes are bad, 10 of them are here in an article by Emily Dubberly. It includes the fact that they are arbitrary, sexist and infringe civil liberties.

Continue reading »

Tagged civil liberties and pornography | 18 Comments

Baroness Floella Benjamin writes…Tax break for children’s programmes is great news

By Floella Benjamin | Thu 4th December 2014 - 3:05 pm

I am overjoyed with the wonderful news that the Chancellor has extended tax breaks to children’s television productions. This is something I have campaigned on for years as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children’s Media and the Arts. I have asked questions and spoken on this issue in the House of Lords, supported by Pact (Producers Alliance for Cinema & Television) and the Children’s Media Foundation.

I always say, ‘Childhood lasts a lifetime’ and we can all remember our favourite children’s television programme, they hold fond memories, which are part of our formative years.

But even though children’s programmes are much loved, they are often undervalued and those who contribute to this sector of the creative industries are rarely credited.

Continue reading »

Tagged Autumn Statement 2012, children's programmes, featured, media and television | 3 Comments

The Independent View: A reformed Prevent could tackle extremism more effectively

By Jonathan Russell | Thu 4th December 2014 - 1:22 pm

The government’s counter-extremism strategy, Prevent, is often criticised. Some say it acts like a thought-police, criminalises Islam and over-securitises places like schools. Others claim there is not enough buy in from Muslim communities, that it funds non-violent Islamists to tackle jihadists, or that it is not the government’s job to challenge ideology. Neither criticism is absolutely fair, but as criticised as Prevent is, it undoubtedly serves an important function and is here to stay.

While all terrorists are extremists, the vast majority of extremists do not use terrorism as a viable strategy, and a liberal and democratic nation cannot and should not deal with all extremists in the same way as it deals with terrorists. But catching terrorists who “love death as you love life” is a difficult proposition for the police or the security services when they’re keen to go down fighting and cause as much destruction as possible while they do it. Only dealing with extremism once it becomes violent and illegal is a high stakes game where the penalty for losing is the death of large numbers of innocent civilians. Tackling extremism of all kinds before it becomes violent can reduce the civilian casualties, reduce the number of violent extremists that have to be dealt with, and has the secondary benefit of challenging non-violent behaviour that nonetheless has a negative impact on British society.

Continue reading »

Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged counter-terrorism, prevent and quilliam foundation | 10 Comments

Opinion: Getting ambitious on renewable energy

By William Hobhouse | Thu 4th December 2014 - 11:59 am

The debate on fracking and renewables is warming up. Ed Davey’s LDV article on renewables set the scene, Norman Baker contrasts renewables and fracking, and my article from August – Renewables not Fracking — remains relevant.

There are some Lib Dems who support fracking. In response to that, I set out here a vision for sustainable energy in the UK, a vision that, in the long term, does not include any fossil fuels.

Renewables currently supply about 15% of UK electricity supply. By 2020, Ed Davey’s aspiration is 30%. With a clear political vision, electricity from renewables can grow by 3 – 4% a year and there is no obvious plateau point.

This means 30% electricity from renewables in 2020, 60% electricity from renewables in 2030, 90% in 2040, 120% in 2050, and 150% in 2060.

Continue reading »

Tagged renewable energy | 37 Comments

Lord Ken MacDonald writes… For Liberal Democrats, civil liberties belong to every age

By Lord Ken Macdonald | Thu 4th December 2014 - 10:10 am

The closer we get to the election, the louder the question resonates: what have Liberal Democrats brought to government? In all the compromises and stresses of coalition, has our difference made it all worthwhile?

In the area of civil liberties, so important to us as a party, the answer must be a resounding ‘yes’. Of course not all the coalition battles around freedom have taken place in public, but they have been fiercely fought nonetheless- sustained, difficult struggles against the Tories and parts of the Whitehall machine, to keep our country loyal to its most enduring values in the face of terrorism and risk.

Continue reading »

Tagged civil liberties, counter terrorism bill and ken macdonald | 6 Comments

Lord (Archy) Kirkwood writes… the challenge of financial inclusion

By Lord (Archie) Kirkwood | Wed 3rd December 2014 - 4:34 pm

It is a stark fact that while we are a global leader in financial services, financial exclusion is still rife: some two million adults in the UK don’t have a bank account and an estimated two million people took out a high-cost loan in 2012 as they were unable to access any other form of credit. Nine million have no access to mainstream credit, either because they are unbanked or are not able to access credit facilities through their bank. Meanwhile, the level of unsecured consumer credit has tripled in the past 20 years, reaching a staggering £160.4 billion in 2014 while only 41% of households have savings that could tide them over a period of crisis in their finances.

Continue reading »

Tagged personal debt and universal credit | 7 Comments

Opinion: Council tax reform is better than the Mansion Tax

By Stephen Phillips | Wed 3rd December 2014 - 1:54 pm

The November 2014 AdLib makes interesting reading. Amongst other issues, it set me thinking about the Mansion Tax. It is axiomatic of any decent society that those most able to pay should contribute the greatest amount towards the cost of maintaining it; especially in respect of social costs.

This seems to be an unpopular concept with many on the right of politics, who would presumably see themselves as paying more; while those on the left may be tempted to adopt it as an unthinking mantra, without considering the practical implications. Nevertheless, we must find fair ways of making the better off pay their fair share.

Continue reading »

Tagged council tax and mansion tax | 17 Comments

Opinion: Stop state sponsorship of sweat shops

By David Allen | Wed 3rd December 2014 - 11:54 am

BBC News reports:

Outlining proposed restrictions on tax credits and child benefits, Mr Cameron said a migrant in work with two children was getting £700 a month on average in support from the state, twice the amount paid in Germany and three times as much as in France.

Let’s forget about migrants for a moment. Britain’s “generous” in-work benefits are payable to all. Should we be proud of our “generosity”?

Continue reading »

Tagged david cameron and employment | 28 Comments

Nick Clegg announces £150 million to help young people with eating disorders

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd December 2014 - 9:32 pm

Yesterday, Nick Clegg and Norman Lamb visited a youth centre in Brent where they announced £150 million was being invested in services to help young people with eating disorders. From the BBC:

Mr Clegg will say he wants to see services transformed, with the focus shifted from expensive institutional care to targeted community-based provision.

Eating disorders cost the NHS around £200m a year, and the bill for in-patient care averages out at £98,750 per admission.

From 2012 to 2013, there were 2,560 hospital admissions for eating disorders in England – a rise of 8% on the previous year.

One in five of those taken into hospital with an eating disorder was admitted and discharged on the same day.

But one in 17 stayed in hospital for longer than six months.

Continue reading »

Tagged eating disorders, mental health, nick clegg, norman lamb and young people | 4 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Democrats must prioritise skills development

By Cara Jenkinson | Tue 2nd December 2014 - 3:38 pm

One of the depressing facts that came out from last week’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on poverty is that only 1 in 5 of low paid employees have left low paid work completely ten years later. Also in the news recently were reports of severe staffing shortages of skilled staff in several sectors including construction and health/social care, leading to major recruitment drives overseas. There is a real problem with skills development in the UK.

There are several reasons for this. Since the recession companies have cut back on investment, and that includes training. The increase in outsourcing in our public services has had an impact; some private providers have good long term training programmes, whereas others take a much more short term approach, particularly if they are fighting to win government contracts on cost. Another cause is the rise in self-employment – 15% of the UK working population is now self-employed compared to 13% in 2008. Many of these self-employed are rehired to their original organisations but without many of the benefits including a training budget.

Continue reading »

Tagged employment, low pay, skills development and trade unions | 19 Comments

Stephen Knight AM writes…Putting the car first in urban areas comes with a huge cost to human life and health

By Stephen Knight | Tue 2nd December 2014 - 10:59 am

Lying on a cold and damp pavement in central London as part of a ‘“die in”protest to highlight the level of deaths facing pedestrians and cyclists might not be everyone’s idea of a fun Saturday afternoon, but a couple of weekends ago that is exactly what I was doing.

The reason why?

Because the current level of road deaths – let alone serious injuries – is something we can’t continue to accept as being “inevitable”.

Continue reading »

Tagged cycling, featured and london | 14 Comments

Nick Clegg on the “utter nonsense” of Tory spending plans

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd December 2014 - 9:29 am

In another strong demonstration of the differences between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, Nick Clegg went on the Today programme yesterday to talk about deficit reduction and fiscal policy in the next parliament. While the Tories want to reduce the deficit by cutting spending alone, Liberal Democrats want to raise taxes on the wealthy.

From the Guardian:

Nick Clegg insisted taxes would have to rise in the next parliament. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “What the Conservatives are saying is a complete and utter nonsense. There is not a single developed economy anywhere in the world that has balanced the books and only done so on the backs of the working-age poor, which Osborne has now confirmed several times he wants to do.”

As he set out his party’s plans to remove tax breaks for wealthy pensioners, Clegg also accepted that the public finances were not improving as fast as planned due to tax receipts failing to match forecasts, but he refused to say if this would require the coalition to put back its deficit plans.

He said: “If tax receipts are not as buoyant as predicted then of course that has an effect. Time will tell if that is a semi-permanent effect or a temporary blip, but it means it comes down a little less than predicted.”

Continue reading »

Tagged deficit reduction, economy, nick clegg and taxation | 39 Comments

The graph which shows why the Lib Dem policy of raising the personal allowance is the wrong priority

By Stephen Tall | Tue 2nd December 2014 - 7:55 am

Here’s a graph which should make Lib Dems who continue to advocate increasing the personal allowance as an effective way to help low- and middle-income earners sit up and pay attention.

It’s from the Resolution Foundation’s report, Missing the target: tax cuts and low to middle income Britain, published yesterday.

What it shows is which households gain from the party’s policy to increase the threshold at which income tax is payable to £12,500 over the course of the next parliament. As you can see, those households which benefit most are at the wealthier end of the spectrum; the poorest 20% benefit least.

Continue reading »

Tagged Danny Alexander, income tax, national insurance, resolution foundation and tax cuts (Lib Dem) | 46 Comments

Sir Malcolm Bruce writes…Creating liberal policies to change the political agenda

By Malcolm Bruce | Mon 1st December 2014 - 7:30 pm

I was delighted on Tuesday to be elected as chair of the Federal Policy Committee, for the period up until the general election when I will stand down after 32 years as an MP. With the election now only a few months away it will be a busy and exciting time for the committee as we look to finalise the manifesto and the offer we will take to voters on May the 7^th. I’m confident the new committee is up to the challenge and I cannot think of a more talented or committed group of people to work with over the coming months.

Continue reading »

Tagged federal policy committee | 10 Comments

Liberal Democrats of the Month

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 1st December 2014 - 2:55 pm

On Saturday afternoon when every Liberal Democrat on Twitter was pretending not to care whilst refreshing @LibDemPress every 3 seconds to see if we had a result in the Presidential Election, I whiled away the time by asking who they would nominate to be their Liberal Democrats of the Month. It was, frankly, a more constructive use of time than yet another turf war between @LDFriendsofCake and @LibDemBiscuits.

Here is what they came up with:

Josh Dixon nominated Kavya Kaushik for making it on to the Federal Executive. She resolutely refused to reciprocate, but I think they are both fabulous so I will nominate Josh. Having two such talented young people with such great ideas for reforming our party at its heart is a Very Good Thing.

Continue reading »

3 Comments

Opinion: Towards an ethical trade policy

By Trevor Stables | Mon 1st December 2014 - 12:02 pm

As a Liberal Democrat for almost all of my adult life, I am often bemused that other citizens are yet to share my enthusiasm for our long held belief in a dynamic European Union.

The prevailing phenomena of Euroscepticism is not purely a UK problem. We only have to look at France and to a lesser extent Germany to see similar. Why?

In my view the failure is in not articulating the needs of and connecting with European citizens. People have felt marginalised by the closure of traditional industries and a sense of lack of power to change or alter what is happening to them in this brave new world. Far Right Parties have been quick to make the most of this.

Continue reading »

Tagged eu and trade | 22 Comments

The Independent View: Why Liberal Democrat MPs should reject Government’s power-grabbing judicial review proposals

By Sara Ogilvie | Mon 1st December 2014 - 10:25 am

Undemocratic, unnecessary and unfair, over the past eleven months the Government’s crude attempts to curtail judicial review have been the subject of intense parliamentary debate. And yet today, as MPs are once again called to vote on the proposals, the government is attempting to pull off an unusual parliamentary feat: disregarding fierce cross-party criticism to make its proposals worse, rather than better.

Judicial review is the legal mechanism by which individuals and organisations can ask a court to check whether a public authority has acted lawfully. The powers of the court in a judicial review are limited, but in a modern democracy, where great power is concentrated in the hands of the executive, it is one of the great and vital levelers.

Continue reading »

Also posted in The Independent View | 16 Comments

The Independent View: Liberal Democrat MPs should vote against secure colleges which would put younger children and girls at risk

By Penelope Gibbs | Mon 1st December 2014 - 8:55 am

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails” said Nelson Mandela. Well, what would it reveal about the state of our nation if we were to hold our youngest children and some of the country’s most vulnerable girls in unsafe conditions where they felt fearful, intimidated and isolated?

On Monday, Liberal Democrat MPs will cast the deciding votes on whether this becomes a reality.

The Commons will consider an amendment made by the House of Lords to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on “secure colleges” – the new form of child custody introduced by the Bill. These will be very large institutions (there’ll be 320 beds in the first one) which Chris Grayling, the Tory Justice Secretary, is adamant must hold girls and boys between 12 and 17 years of age.

Continue reading »

Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged justice and youth justice | 5 Comments

A longer read for the weekend… David Laws on ‘Education: Lessons from this parliament and directions for the next’

By The Voice | Sat 29th November 2014 - 10:00 am

David Laws, Lib Dem minister for schools, delivered a keynote speech at CentreForum this week, ‘Education: Lessons from this parliament and directions for the next’.

As the title suggests, it was a reflection on the Coalition’s policies, and in particular the Lib Dems’ achievements. But also a look forward to what he sees as the major educational issues and what Lib Dems should be seeking to do in the next parliament.

You can read the full text over at CentreForum’s site here. But here’s an excerpt in which David looks to the challenges of the five years to come…

Continue reading »

Tagged centreforum, david laws, education and schools | 27 Comments

Lord (Dick) Taverne writes… Cameron heads for Brexit

By Dick Taverne | Fri 28th November 2014 - 4:20 pm

If Mr Cameron becomes Prime Minister again after May, he is likely to be the Prime Minister who will lead the UK out of the European Union.

From time to time Mr Cameron has expressed enthusiasm for Britain being at the heart of the EU. In his Bloomberg speech in January last year, he declared:

“I believe something very deeply, that Britain’s national interest is best served in a flexible, adaptable and open European Union and that such a Union is best with Britain in it….There is no doubt that we are more powerful in Washington, in Beijing, in Delhi because we are a powerful player in the European Union. That matters for British jobs and British security.”

Continue reading »

Tagged brexit, david cameron, european union, featured and immigration | 20 Comments

Opinion: US analysis of how to beat “far right” UKIP – be consistent

By Antony Hook | Fri 28th November 2014 - 10:22 am

Washington DC based think tank, The Marshall Fund, which promotes understanding between North America and Europe, has produced a new research paper: “The Unstoppable Far Right?” that looks at UKIP in Britain and similar parties in Germany (Afd) and the Netherlands (PVV).

The paper compares “euro-sceptical right-populist” parties in these countries and concludes that what mainstream political parties say and do has a big impact on whether people vote for these parties. The “rise” of these parties is by no means inevitable: the PVV went significantly backwards at the 2014 European elections.

Continue reading »

Tagged ukip and vvd | 16 Comments

Vow Max? Has the Smith Commission delivered for Scotland? And what next for Yorkshire and the north?

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 27th November 2014 - 4:10 pm

In the febrile pre-referendum atmosphere, the Daily Record put together a “Vow” signed by all 3 UK party leaders to deliver “extensive” powers for Scotland in the event of a No vote. There would always have been further devolution. This “Vow” just put the inevitable on a more detailed timetable.

A Commission under Lord Smith of Kelvin was put together to deliver on that timetable and has done a power of work in just over two months. They have consulted widely, taking submissions from the five main political parties and many civic organisations and individuals. I managed to get my own submission in at 2 minutes to the deadline.

In the august surroundings of the National Museum of Scotland, Smith and the 10 members of the Commission unveiled the consensus they had reached. I have to say that I have been a little sceptical about this process. I knew that in the interests of self preservation it would have to deliver something credible or we’d be back facing another referendum before we could blink.

Continue reading »

Tagged constitutional reform, devolution, Michael Moore and smith commission | 17 Comments

Opinion: Media misunderstanding on Lib Dem immigration policy

By Suzanne Fletcher | Thu 27th November 2014 - 9:43 am

When will the BBC begin to do its job properly, and understand what it is talking about? I woke up yesterday to a news bulletin telling me that Nick Clegg was considering raising the time limit for someone from an EU country to claim benefits. It was suggested that it would be 6 months. It then ended by saying that the Liberal Democrats were now joining other parties in concern about EU migration.

Continue reading »

Tagged immigration | 17 Comments

Simon Hughes writes… Counter-terrorism bill – the Liberal Democrats are on the right track

By Simon Hughes MP | Wed 26th November 2014 - 4:20 pm

The rise of the so-called Islamic State in Syria and Iraq is one of the most serious and dangerous issues we have had to face since we came into Government. Whatever we call this organisation – IS, ISIL or Da’ish – we can’t ignore their brutal activity. The graphic and disturbing images of violence coming from Syria and Iraq show the barbaric way this extremist group has perverted the Muslim faith.

We also need to face up to the reality that this group has publicly announced its desire to bring its murderous ideology to the streets of Britain. The murder of Drummer Lee Rigby is a stark example of the potential threat from extremist ideologues. It is estimated that around 500 British citizens have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIL and other military groups. Around half have returned and others will continue to do so. This presents a new and unique challenge to the UK security services and police, and earlier this year the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, run by MI5, raised the threat level from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’. This means that an attack in the UK by violent extremists is highly likely.

Continue reading »

Tagged counter-terrorism and simon hughes | 23 Comments

Gulags in the UK? – “no” says Simon Hughes

By Paul Walter | Wed 26th November 2014 - 12:45 pm

#56684896 / gettyimages.com

On Monday, Theresa May introduced some new counter-terrorism measures to Parliament.

Let’s take two specifics which were mentioned:

Requiring ISPs to retain and disclose user IP address details

May announced:

Continue reading »

Tagged anti-terrorist legislation and theresa may | 5 Comments

Most Read

Op-eds

Could Andy Burnham rival William Beveridge in impact? (Katharine Pindar)
World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th September (Ron Aitken)
What can we really do to influence the situation in the West Bank? (Alan Juriansz)
Welcome to Lib Dem Friends of Gaelic Language and Culture (Caron Lindsay)
Going for four in a row in Scotland (Grant Toghill)

Advert

Recent Comments

Chloe
Govt borrowing is £115 billion plus - just to service the debt. Gilts are over 5% , higher than Truss calamitous tenure. As each day passes it must surely be t...
Katharine Pindar
Thanks, Mick. I should have remembered, having once joined a canvassing party for Andrew IN St Ives! I was delighted to read about his bill, "to make provision ...
Mick Taylor
Andrew George is MP for St Ives, not Truro...
Simon
@Alex Macfie we might not have won the London Mayoralty in 2004 (the year after Brent East) but i was still our best ever result and we elected 5 assembly membe...
Toby
If we truly believed in a two-state solution and empowering moderates over extremists, shouldn't Liberal Democrat councils twin with both Israeli towns and citi...