Category Archives: Op-eds

Baroness Kishwer Falkner writes: We should not repeat previous failures in Iraq in the hope that we might succeed this time

By Kishwer Falkner | Thu 25th September 2014 - 12:59 pm

Every year, as the long summer recess approaches, those of us who cover foreign affairs speculate as to which international crisis will precipitate a recall of Parliament. This year we were spoilt for choice with Russia, Syria and Gaza dominating. However when the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) overran Mosul, the lack of any obvious course of action prevented a recall. But now as a US strategy has been revealed, there are some clear pointers about what the UK needs to consider in its response. We need to be clear about the implications of our action and its implications.

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Tagged foreign affairs, house magazine, international, isil, kishwer falconer and middle east | 36 Comments

Why talking about global poverty reduction without talking about economic growth is a mistake

By Nick T | Thu 25th September 2014 - 11:58 am

Between 1990 and 2010, the proportion of those living in extreme poverty around the world halved (from 43% to 21%), despite significant increases in the global population. Approaching one billion fewer people are living in extreme poverty now than two decades ago. One of the key United Nations Millennium Development Goals was met 5 years early.

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Tagged autumn conference 2014, featured, millennium development goals and poverty | 25 Comments

Do you support British involvement in air strikes against Islamic State?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th September 2014 - 9:38 am

It looks as though Parliament will be recalled this Friday to discuss British involvement in air strikes against Islamic State. I thought it might be a good idea to see what you, our readers, thought about this.

I don’t often approve of military action, but I might be open to the possibility on humanitarian grounds alone. I certainly was ok with the airstrikes on Libya in 2011. On IS, we cannot have these people being allowed to chase whole communities up mountains and leave them to starve. We can’t have people being summarily executed for refusing to convert to a particular religion. Standing by and doing nothing while that is going on is not an option. However, we can’t just go wading in there. Air strikes alone will do little more than contain IS. We need a long term solution.

Legality is important and international law professor Philippe Sands has said that strikes on Syria may not comply with international law. It’s less problematic in Iraq because their government are likely to formally request our help.

Of course any military action is likely to lead to more murders of hostages. We don’t know how many British hostages they have, although Newsweek reports that they have potentially thousands of hostages from across the region including 186 Kurdish schoolgirls taken around the same time as the Boko Haram kidnappings of 20o girls in Nigeria.

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Tagged islamic state, menzies campbell and paddy ashdown | 91 Comments

No wow factor from Ed Miliband as he forgets part of his speech

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 23rd September 2014 - 10:16 pm

Joe Otten has already given you his inimitable take on Ed Miliband’s speech. I do love it when he gets cheeky.

I thought I’d stick my oar in as well with a few not quite so witty observations.

Six days ago, I was lucky enough to see Gordon Brown make one of the most incredible speeches I have ever heard. It had some welly behind it. It was absolutely superb. Close to the top of the list of things I never thought I’d say is that Gordon gave me goosebumps, but it really was electric. It had the melody that the Better Together campaign had been lacking, although it was definitely more Motorhead than Idina Menzel. Maybe it spooked Ed, because yesterday he forgot to thank Gordon for the role he’d played in the campaign to keep the country together.

Now Ed, shall we say, doesn’t quite pack the same punch. Today he spoke for far too long. It was all very earnest and it had a theme of Together that kind of worked, but it had no energy behind it. It had all the passion of the slogan of this year’s conference, the stultifying “Labour’s Plan for Britain’s Future”. I mean, 8 months out from an election you would assume they had one. Although Ed Balls seemed to spend half his speech yesterday apologising for everything from the 10p tax rate to their failure to regulate the banks – and now they’re asking for another 10 years to fix the country?

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Tagged ed miliband and labour conference 2014 | 35 Comments

Let’s get some action on votes at 16

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 23rd September 2014 - 1:37 pm

As I said on Friday, one of the best sights of the Independence Referendum was seeing enthusiastic 16 and 17 year olds heading to vote. They were so engaged in the process and it seems so unfair to take it from them now. Votes at 16 has been our party policy for a long time. It was our Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore who, along with Nicola Sturgeon, made it happen for the Referendum. It may not be practical to implement before next May, but we should at least try to get legislation passed this Parliament if we can.

Funnily enough, there is a Bill being debated in the House of Lords, a Private Members Bill brought in by our Paul Tyler. It was introduced on his behalf by Alison Suttie in June. It needs the Government to give up some time for it. This is something that we could make happen.

Unsurprsingly, Alistair Carmichael says it’s a matter of when, not if, 16 year olds get the vote:

The energy and enthusiasm of young people in the referendum campaign is something of which Scotland should be proud.

I have always believed that young people are much more politically engaged than they are given credit for. Never has that been clearer than during the referendum campaign. One of the most active volunteers for Better Together Orkney was in fact fifteen year old Jack Norquoy of Birsay. Jack spoke at a packed meeting in Kirkwall Town Hall alongside Shirley Williams. He made a powerful and compelling case for what he believed in.

Our young voters were given the opportunity and seized it with both hands. I believe that it is now only a matter of time until we see votes at 16 rolled out across the UK. That time should be now.

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Tagged alison suttie, Alistair Carmichael, kirsty williams roger roberts, paul tyler and votes at 16 | 42 Comments

Salmond’s bizarre public dig at critical commentator Torrance shows Scotland had a lucky escape

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 23rd September 2014 - 11:51 am

A couple of weeks ago, Alex Salmond picked a fight with the BBC’s Nick Robinson. Cue a mob descending on the BBC’s shiny new Pacific Quay HQ in Glasgow demanding that the journalist be sacked. In fact, much as it pains me to admit it, Robinson was actually in the right on that occasion. Salmond hadn’t answered a question he’d asked. He’d spent several minutes giving a rambling answer about the first part of his question before lambasting the BBC for publishing a story that the Royal Bank of Scotland would move its HQ from Scotland in the event of a Yes vote. It was quite bizarre to see hundreds of people demand that a news station takes the Government line. Where else would you see that?

Yesterday, political commentator David Torrance, who is probably one of the most fair minded people around, wrote a pretty critical but in my view accurate article about Salmond for the Herald. Torrance had written a well-received biography of the First Minister some years ago. This is what he had to say yesterday:

But then blatant hypocrisy never seemed to bother Mr Salmond. The Liberal Democrats, another party which wasn’t spared his tribal warfare, were pilloried for reneging on their no-tuition-fees promise after the 2010 General Election, yet three years previously Mr Salmond had ditched a manifesto pledge to eradicate all student debt, even though it had arguably captured a significant chunk of the student vote.

And in spite of lofty rhetoric about being “positive”, divide and rule was a hallmark of his style, as was phoney outrage.

Anyone not perceived as a threat was treated with charm and thoughtfulness, but for those who fell outside that category condescension, pettiness and often downright rudeness were the order of the day.

I can think of no other politician who behaved as badly as often and, more or less, got away with it.

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Tagged alex salmond, david torrance, herald and Scotland | 24 Comments

Opinion: A constitutional convention: If not now, when?

By Linda Jack | Tue 23rd September 2014 - 10:25 am

As a Jack I owe my life and heritage to Scotland. I totally understood why so many Scots voted yes, but the thought of losing Scotland also filled me with dread. However, whichever side of the debate you sat, I hope we can all agree that the positive outcomes for all of us have been the revitalising of politics in Scotland and the reopening of the question of how as a United Kingdom we should constitute ourselves. We saw graphically the power of having a say in something that really matters. No, the electorate are not apathetic, they are disillusioned and cynical. I don’t think I have ever been out canvassing without at least one comment of “you’re all the same” – to which my reply is generally “if we were all the same why on earth would I be in the Lib Dems?” We now have a great opportunity to demonstrate that difference, to lead the debate in response to the events of last week.

So, as the call is growing stronger for a Constitutional Convention, I firmly believe this is an issue we as a party should and must take a lead on. Unlock Democracy, the Electoral Reform Society and others including the Labour and Green parties, are calling for a citizen led convention. In my view such a convention must tackle not only the relationship between our four nations and devolution of power from the centre, but also electoral and Lords reform. This is our bread and butter – our opportunity to kill more than a few birds with one stone! For too long reform has been slow and piecemeal. Despite the clear disaffection of so many, the political elite continue to drag their collective ‘vested interest’ hobnail boots. Remember the man in his 70s who was voting for the first time in Scotland?Despite the clear interest and engagement of the people when they have the chance to vote for something that really matters, the threat that this always poses to those who already have power limits progress.

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Tagged constitutional convention | 42 Comments

Opinion: The Immigration Premium: A positive approach to immigration

By Drew Durning | Tue 23rd September 2014 - 8:55 am

This concept of an Immigration Premium was developed after watching Nick Clegg struggle to counter Nigel Farage on the subject of immigration in the European election debates. The UKIP leader is correctly able to state that we have an open door policy to European Immigration and hundreds of thousands of people arrive year after year, putting immense strains on housing, education, healthcare and other infrastructure elements.

The Immigration Premium turns this problem on its head. New immigrants (identifiable by NI number) have high levels of employment and through sheer weight of numbers make a major contribution to the exchequer both through direct taxes and indirect spending. In fact, immigration is a major factor in the economy’s return to growth. The Immigration Premium identifies additional tax revenues generated by immigration and directs additional funds to the geographic areas and services most directly affected by sudden influxes of large numbers of new people.

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Tagged david laws, immigration and manifesto | 43 Comments

Opinion: Simple, liberal ideas for London

By Anthony Fairclough | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 5:05 pm

London is widely regarded as a liberal city. It is not, however, a Liberal Democrat city.

The party now controls just one council and has only 6% of the councillors, as well as 2 London Assembly members. And yet, at least anecdotally, London should be our city. It’s diverse and often cosmopolitan.

One of the most striking aspects of the 2014 British Social Attitudes survey was that over half of Londoners welcomed immigration as good for the economy – almost double the number of people who did so in the rest of the UK. In Merton, a losing UKIP councillor blamed the “more media-savvy and educated” Londoners for her party’s lack of success. Although she was widely mocked for this statement, the results would suggest that large parts of London are not natural UKIP territory.

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Tagged liberal reform and london | 35 Comments

Stand up against the politics of bullets and threats

By Ed Fordham | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 4:19 pm

Politics is macho at the best of times – strength and power, even clarity is used in a ruthless context. All too often there are militaristic metaphors: “I intend to march my troops towards the sound of gunfire” (Joe Grimond 1963).

Indeed, it has always been my experience as a campaigner, member of staff for the Party and as candidate, that macho effort is often valued above more subtle contribution. You often hear Conference bar boasting about the number of by-elections attended (usually citing the first exciting one that we won, forgetting the less sexy ones: Ogmore or Bootle 2), the number of nights, days, weeks and indeed months (in the case of Brent East) spent at said by-election, and the first by-election attended (often Christchurch or Eastbourne, being a direct reference to the decades of perceived thankless service!).

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Tagged alliance party | 4 Comments

Opinion: English devolution – with maps

By George Potter | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 3:39 pm

Being very much a politics geek, the renewed discussion on English Devolution following the pledge of home rule for Scotland by all three major party leaders, prompted me to start considering what England might look like if the same powers were devolved to it.

Two well known options for English devolution are those of either a devolved English Parliament or devolved regional assemblies for the regions used in European elections. To my mind the former (as a result of covering 53 million people) would continue over-centralisation in England while the latter is hindered by the regions lacking cohesive identities and being …

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Tagged english devolution | 97 Comments

The English devolution battleground

By Joe Otten | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 2:11 pm

The prospect of more devolution to Scotland has, rightly enough, ignited the debate in England over devolution. The country has been alive with this, and the party seems to me at times a microcosm of this with some pulling in the direction of English Votes on English Laws and others in the direction of a constitutional convention and devolution to the regions of England.

Nick Clegg speaking earlier reasserted the idea that groups of local authorities should have the right to demand powers are devolved to them, while nodding at the McKay commission on English and England-and-Wales votes in the Commons.

There may be a danger here that we, England, fight ourselves to exhaustion over which solution we want to the West Lothian Question (WLQ) and end up with none of them.

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41 Comments

Opinion: Lib Dems believe in local policing; should they also support a return to local courts?

By John Howson | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 12:33 pm

Over the past two decades summary justice has been transformed in England and Wales. Part of the change has been a loss of local visibility for the justice system. The police and Crown Prosecution Service has acquired new authority to sentence those admitting to crimes through use of Conditional Cautions and the expansion of fixed penalty and exclusion notices. In this they have been aided by new powers gained by local authorities.

On the other hand, local magistrates’ courts have disappeared from many towns and the suburbs of …

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Tagged featured and magistrates courts | 4 Comments

Can moderate public engagement be a good thing?

By Paul Walter | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 10:55 am

While I was a governor at a primary school, we had a yearly dilemma. By law, we had to hold an annual meeting with parents. About a dozen usually turned up. Normally the same faces. Interested and engaged, they gave us good feedback and a nice time was had by all. Soft drinks and nibbles supplied.

But a dozen parents for a school with several hundred pupils was considered low. So, annually, we considered ways of increasing parental attendance, only to be frustrated. After several attempts, I jokingly suggested that the only way to increase attendance was to announce that, at the next meeting, we would be showing a preview of an experimental Swedish sex education video which we were considering showing to pupils.

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Tagged general election, lord ashcroft, school and Scottish independence referendum | 8 Comments

Opinion: A once in a generation chance for democracy

By Wayne Chadburn | Mon 22nd September 2014 - 9:20 am

I wrote an opinion piece for LibDem Voice on 26^th August arguing for devolution for the regions. My piece elicited a mixed response. The events of the last few days, in my opinion, have made this viewpoint more mainstream and catapulted this issue up the political agenda. We have a once in a lifetime chance to change the way we are governed in this country for the better and repair the damage done by scandal, expenses and the notion that we are governed by a small number of people from the same socio-economic background. We have an opportunity to re-invent a truly democratic model of governance at a national and local level.

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Tagged devolution | 23 Comments

Caron’s Sunday Selection: Must-read articles from the Sunday papers

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st September 2014 - 12:59 pm

Here’s my selection of stories to infuriate, inform and inspire from today’s Sunday papers. I can’t pick all the stories, so please add your favourites in the comments.

Obviously the fallout rom the Scottish independence referendum dominates. Don’t blame me. Blame David Cameron for using the occasion to pick a fight with Ed Miliband to try and make him out to be anti-English ahead of the General Electiona and, more immediately, the Labour conference. Labour wanted the week to plug their platform for the election. No such luck, it seems. It’s very annoying that Scotland has been caught in the crossfire.

The Independent on Sunday quotes Nick Harvey, Bob Maclennan and Paul Tyler on what they see as the way ahead. Nick Clegg is urged by Harvey to do a deal with Cameron and implement it before the election:

Sir Nick Harvey MP, a defence minister for the first two years of the coalition, said that Lib Dems should agree to support Tory calls for English votes for English laws in exchange for regional reforms. Sir Nick said that this could include more powers for local councils or city regions.

The Lib Dems have long called for decentralisation of political power, and in their 2010 general election manifesto even pledged to help develop regional stock exchanges. Lib Dems complain that the UK is one of the most centralised western states in the world – but whatever the prize, many activists do not want to see another deal with the Tories.

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Last chance to vote in Liberal Youth elections

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st September 2014 - 10:02 am

Voting closes in the Liberal Youth annual elections tomorrow at noon. All members of the party under 26 are eligible to vote. Those members for whom we have an email address should have received a ballot paper from Opavote. If you haven’t received one, check your spam to make sure isn’t in there, then email me on [email protected] with proof of age and Liberal Democrat membership.

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Strong language from Nick Clegg on more powers for Scotland: This opportunity cannot be hijacked

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 21st September 2014 - 8:45 am

I had a sneak preview of an article Nick Clegg wrote for today’s Sunday Post. I was a bit disappointed in its blandness. We needed more robust language, I felt. Why? Well, when Cameron had just had almost half of Scots who voted tell him they wanted out of the Union, his main message in response was to pick a fight with Labour on the so-called “West Lothian Question.” Really, Dave, is that what you take from all of this? By making more powers for Scotland seem contingent on resolving the English votes for English laws issues, he exacerbated tensions up here.

Yes supporters were already, entirely understandably, devastated. I only need to think of the anxiety I’ve felt over the last couple of weeks to understand entirely how it feels for them. The last thing these people needed to do was to find themselves in the middle of a scrap between the Tories and Labour over something that was irrelevant to them. There needed to be a very clear message that the powers would be delivered on time. If they aren’t, then, frankly, the three pro-UK parties are completely stuffed. As Ming Campbell memorably put it on the BBC News Channel on Friday night, you might as well hand out free membership of the SNP.

Rather than use his resignation statement to bring people together and soothe people’s emotions, Alex Salmond sought to raise tensions by suggesting that David Cameron had reneged on a commitment to have the Second Reading of the new Scotland Bill by 27th March. That was never part of the deal. As an MP of 20 years’ standing, Salmond should know that even if it had had its second reading by then, it would have fallen as Parliament is due to be dissolved days later. The commitment was to have a Bill ready to be debated by the next Parliament immediately after the election. That’s what the Better Together election poster explicitly said:

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Tagged constitution, devolution, england, gordon brown, nick clegg, Scotland and Wales | 39 Comments

Paul Tyler writes… Pledge in haste, repent at leisure

By Paul Tyler | Sat 20th September 2014 - 9:15 am

Having the scars on my back from attempts to reform the Lords, I know how inclined people are to declare constitutional reform ‘not thought through’. In the case of Lords Reform, this was patently ridiculous since introducing elections to the House has been the subject of more self-interested cogitation and political procrastination than just about any other subject.

Proposals for “devo-max” to Scotland are not ill-considered either. Our own redoubtable Menzies Campbell has produced two formidable reports on “Home Rule All Round”, setting out a federal future for the UK. Lord Strathclyde has produced a not dissimilar report on the subject for the Conservatives. Labour have their own similar (though moderately less ambitious) proposals. Even arch anti-devolutionist Michael Forsyth told the BBC he favours a federal solution now!

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Catherine Bearder writes… Now the referendum is over, we need a unifying vision for Britain

By Catherine Bearder | Fri 19th September 2014 - 5:28 pm

Now that the people of Scotland have voted to remain a part of the UK, discussions over what further devolution of powers for Scotland will take place – as well as for the other British nations and regions – will inevitably dominate public debate. However, a big risk facing us as a country is that we become too introspective, turning in on ourselves rather than looking at the wider picture.

That’s because as well as a new constitutional arrangement, we desperately need a unifying vision of Britain and its place in the world. Indeed, it’s the lack of such a vision that has been one of the key factors fuelling Scottish separatism and the nationalism that feeds UKIP.

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28 Comments

Opinion: The West Lothian Question has left Ed Miliband in a deep hole

By Richard Church | Fri 19th September 2014 - 2:01 pm

Ed Miliband has to concede that home rule for Scotland must mean that Scottish MP’s should no longer vote on English only matters. Not to do so would be unreasonable, unfair, and also deeply unpopular in England. It would give the Tories the biggest stick they could wish for to beat Labour with up and down England in May next year.

If Ed does agree to withdraw Scottish (and Welsh) Mp’s from English legislation though, any future non Conservative UK government might be paralysed by a Conservative majority of English MP’s elected on a minority of the English vote. Labour would be unable to deliver on the NHS, on Education, on welfare and on a whole host of key priorities. Worse, without an English executive there would be gridlock. Labour, even with Lib Dem support, wouldn’t even be able to deliver devolution to English Regions with an English Tory veto.

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81 Comments

The post-independence referendum to do list

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 19th September 2014 - 12:01 pm

I am so relieved this morning. I don’t think I have ever been as scared and anxious about any political event in my life as I was about the result of the referendum on independence. I really do think that a win for Yes would not have brought the help for the most vulnerable in society that was promised.

I don’t feel any great sense of victory. I know that many of my friends, who have the same values and want the same things for our society as I do, are feeling distraught this morning. I’ve been on the receiving end of defeat enough times to know its pain. These are good people and I feel for them.

I need desperately to sleep but before I do, and while I wait for Salmond to make his statement at 10 am, I thought I’d jot down a bit of a to do list for a whole variety of people. It’s ambitious.

1. Deliver on the more powers pledge – putting something like Liberal Democrat policy into practice.

The result was not a massive vote of confidence in the UK as it stands. The union has been put on probation. If people are not given signifiant new powers that make a difference, we’ll be back here in 5 years’ time. Do it quickly and inclusively.

2. Develop a strategy for tackling poverty and inequality at UK and Scottish level

In some ways the “more powers” thing was a bit of a red herring. People wanted more powers but they also wanted to make life better for the most vulnerable people in society. We need a bit of vision on delivering better housing and getting people out of poverty. That will really give the 84% of people who turned out yesterday a reason to do so again.

3. No excuses, no delay: we need votes at 16 now

One of the best sight of yesterday was seeing 16 and 17 year olds heading to the polling station for the first time in a UK election. It worked. They shouldn’t have that vote taken away from them now. Is it possible to implement it for the General Election next May? There is no reason it couldn’t be rushed through Parliament, surely. No taxation without representation, after all.

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Tagged Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 26 Comments

Opinion: Federation is necessary

By Mike Green | Fri 19th September 2014 - 10:41 am

I think we Lib Dems can all be happy about the turnout in the referendum, and the result it gave us. It truly showed that if you give people the democratic opportunity to have a voice, they will seize it. While that very specific question is answered there are many more that remain.

While it’s early days yet, all it seems we’ve been offered by Cameron is English votes on English issues within the present structure. At the risk of being cynical, the simple barring of non-English MPs seems to serve to retain FPTP in a legislature that will serve both the union and England. It would lend the Tories a permanent electoral advantage in the English sub-section of Westminister. One must also consider the impracticality of operating a Parliament within a Parliament, and particularly sharing an executive. How can (assuming the vast majority of issues are now devolved) a government that exists because of a majority in the union Parliament decide the ministerial positions that exercise power only over England? This is not an acceptable option.

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Must do better, UK

By Joe Otten | Fri 19th September 2014 - 1:45 am

Whatever the outcome of Scotland’s independence referendum, we should all be shocked at the magnitude of the Yes vote. Surely we should never expect more than a few percent of any population to wish to renounce their citizenship due to dissatisfaction with their government and country, and opt instead for some smaller, weaker, largely untested and unknown alternative. That around half of a population may wish to do this might be expected in Iraq or Syria, but not in one of the more stable, peaceful, prosperous and free parts of the world.

How, then, has it come to this? Yes, there …

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Also posted in News | 24 Comments

Opinion: What to do in the event of Scottish independence

By George Potter | Thu 18th September 2014 - 7:28 pm

At the time of writing people across Scotland are voting in the independence referendum to decide whether to stay in the UK or leave. The polls all seem to indicate a narrow lead for a No vote to independence and I personally expect that will be the outcome as well.

However, in the event of a Yes vote then practically everything in politics will change as Scotland and the rest of the UK are committed to (at least) two years of negotiations followed by independence. So, here’s a handy guide on what Liberal Democrats should do in the event of a …

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8 Comments

Opinion: Getting serious about localism

By Chris White | Thu 18th September 2014 - 10:50 am

Local growth deals are a good thing. Of course they are. How could they not be? Now what are they again?

The mechanics of government finance never cease to amaze or bore. But we do need to care because when it comes to devolution, it’s a question of ‘follow the money’.

There are in fact, according to a Local Government Association report last week, 124 funding streams for local growth and regeneration. These are spread across 20 Government departments and agencies and account for a total of £22 billion, all to be spent in your local area on your local things.

So when the Government announces it is devolving £2 billion on LGFs, context becomes rather significant. As does the essentially pointless complexity, worthy of an abbey full of medieval theologians.

Those in the know are fully on top of the difference between the Custom Build fund, the Community Right to Build fund, the Beds in Sheds fund, the New Homes Bonus and the Decent Homes fund. And the difference between the Linking Places fund, the Local Pinch Point fund, the Local Sustainable Transport fund and the Better Bus Areas fund. I could go on. But I promise I won’t.

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Tagged devolution, Local government and localism | 17 Comments

Scotland votes today: 8 things that have struck me about the independence campaign

By Stephen Tall | Thu 18th September 2014 - 7:50 am

My own position remains unchanged from February:

“If I were a Scot with a vote in September, I’m not sure which side I would favour. I see no reason why an independent Scotland wouldn’t do quite well out of new arrangements, but it would of course be a risky venture into the unknown (which is why I don’t think the SNP’s bid will succeed). As that great liberal Ludovic Kennedy once rhetorically asked, “I still believe that if Denmark can run its own affairs, why can’t Scotland?””

The debate has been depressing:

I don’t actually mean the acrimony between the …

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32 Comments

Opinion: More powers are not on the ballot paper

By Denis Mollison | Wed 17th September 2014 - 5:29 pm

The three unionist parties – and, yes, that seems to include us – have united to promise more powers if Scotland votes No tomorrow.

But what are they offering, and is it “guaranteed”? I don’t question Ming’s sincerity when he claims that federalism is within touching distance but I seriously question his optimism.

Our own party has its plans for fairly radical change (though calling it federalism is stretching a point, and our policy is now entangled with plans for devolution on demand in the rest of the UK). Two and a half years ago we had the opportunity to have our version of federalism on the ballot paper. While not constitutionally definitive, the likely large majority this option could have won would have given it strong political traction. But our Inverness conference rejected it in a nasty wave of anti-SNP rhetoric.

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Tagged devolution, federalism and Scottish independence referendum | 30 Comments

Opinion: I sat on the fence for a long time

By Rebecca Hanson | Wed 17th September 2014 - 2:00 pm

In history independence (or partition) often leads to a rise in racism, disaffection, poverty, hatred and instability. I was looking for evidence that Scottish independence wouldn’t do that.

I was looking for intelligent leadership with a coherent vision which would unite Scotland to reassure me that the positives of independence (which would include faster and more sensitive feedback loops for Scottish policy) would outweigh the negatives. In the early stages of the campaign I saw signs of what I was looking for.

My first …

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Tagged alex salmond and Scottish independence referendum | 58 Comments

Race equality survey of presidential candidates

By Lester Holloway | Wed 17th September 2014 - 11:05 am

What do the candidates to be president of the Lib Dems think should be done to make the party more racially-diverse? I sent them a short six-question survey to find out.

The full survey results can be found on my blog here. Sal Brinton, Daisy Cooper, Linda Jack and Liz Lynne all agreed on many issues, with Sal and Linda proving the boldest in embracing new solutions to increase BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) diversity, Liz being the most cautious and Daisy somewhere in between. But there wasn’t a whole lot to pick between them.

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Tagged daisy cooper, featured, linda jack, liz lynne, party presidential election 2014, race equality and sal brinton | 27 Comments