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Category Archives: Op-eds

Michael Moore MP writes…Scotland’s Future – my personal view

By Michael Moore | Thu 11th September 2014 - 11:56 am

A week today we will take the most important political decision of our lives.

Across the Borders, in the privacy of the voting booth we will each face the question: should Scotland be an independent country?

It’s the moment of truth as we weigh up what’s best for our families, our communities and our country.

I am proud to be a Borderer; I am proud to be Scottish; and I am proud to be British. For me the answer is straightforward – I want to continue to be a part of this family of nations which we call the United Kingdom, so I will be voting ‘No’.

Looking around me I see families whose stories tell the tale of these great British Isles – parents and children from all corners of the country; life stories of careers down south, up north and all parts in between; shared experiences with others across the UK in our armed forces, on the sports field or in the culture of Coronation Street and the Olympics.

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Tagged Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 19 Comments

Kirsty Williams says Carwyn Jones’ devolution comments will confuse Welsh voters

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 10th September 2014 - 1:30 pm

Yesterday, I saw Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones speak at a Better Together event in Edinburgh. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting that much. Most of what I’ve heard about him comes from the Welsh Liberal Democrats who aren’t, shall we say, completely enamoured at his record in office.

Having said that, he did have some useful things to say. He was very clear that he as Wales’ leader wanted Scotland to stay in the UK:

We want you to stay to work with you to build socially just

…

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Tagged carwyn jones, kirsty williams, Scotland, Scottish independence referendum and Wales | 2 Comments

Opinion: Suicide is preventable: we need a coordinated approach to reduce needless deaths

By Reg Yeates | Wed 10th September 2014 - 10:25 am

The reporting of suicide in the national media usually only occurs when the deceased is rich, famous, or infamous. Yet it is approximated that one person dies from suicide every 40 seconds. A report from the World Health Organisation, Preventing Suicide – A Global Imperative, examines the need for urgent action to reduce suicide rates by 10% within 6 years. A tall task: made difficult as worldwide the stigma attached to mental health and suicide itself, pushes the subject into the background: an ever-growing elephant in the room. In my case an ever growing Black Dog. That according to WHO is 800 000 people a year and an estimated 20 per person who has died has attempted suicide.

In the United Kingdom, it is evident that more males than females commit suicide: in 2012, there were 4360 reported suicides of which 3400 were male, approximately 3 ½ times that of females. There is a strong reluctance with men to discuss their problems whether they be concerned with mental health or other situational circumstances. The highest rates are with men over 30 years old.

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Tagged mental health, suicide and world health organisation | 23 Comments

Opinion: I’ve changed my mind on Scottish independence

By Ian MacFadyen | Wed 10th September 2014 - 8:58 am

I’ve changed my mind over Scottish independence and so on which way I would vote in the referendum on 18 September.

Although a Liberal and Liberal Democrat, I welcomed the SNP’s election progress from the 1967 Hamilton by-election to their first administration in the Scottish Government. As a school and college student, trying to be different, I would talk to girls about Scottish independence. As a chat up technique it was a total failure! Only a few years ago, I wrote in an email about wanting to be on the northern side of the border when Scotland became independent.

I displayed a sham certainty that melted several years ago before the prospect of a referendum after the SNP’s election victories.

In fact all along I was arguing for federalism with a passion that persists.

Why when, Liberal Democrats are jostling to explain why they are voting Yes, have I abandoned my flirtation and do I passionately want a No vote?

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Tagged Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 45 Comments

Opinion: Turn the clock back to 1602?

By Richard Allanach | Tue 9th September 2014 - 3:35 pm

What would happen to people living outside Scotland if Alex Salmond succeeds in turning the clock back to 1602?

The origin of our current state as a successful multi-ethnic, multi-cultural entity owes much to the Union.

Following James VI succeeding to the English (and Welsh and Irish) crown people born in Scotland were no longer aliens before an English court and people born in England, Wales and Ireland were no longer aliens before a Scottish court. James recognised the multi-ethnic nature of his state by joining the Scottish Saltire with the Cross of St George to form the Union Jack.

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Tagged Scottish independence referendum | 46 Comments

Opinion: Scotland voting Yes, surely not!

By Linda Forbes | Tue 9th September 2014 - 2:02 pm

Was Scotland only to be offered a referendum to which the answer would be No? From the press today one would think this was the case. Did the Westminster bubble think Scotland would not dare to cut the apron strings?

Political commentators from south seem not to have recognised that the Yes campaign is not a vote for Eck Salmond and the SNP, nor even for nationalism. It is a positive decision for Scotland and its future. Scotland has substantial natural resources and independence will be our coming-of-age, although some of the commentariat suggest apocalypse will be the only outcome. It’s bound to be a bumpy ride but change also provides new opportunities to embrace. Economists and bankers warn of the currency and economic risks but one can have little faith in powers of prediction so comprehensively undermined by the crash of 2008.

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Tagged Scottish independence referendum | 24 Comments

Opinion: Patience, not paranoia is needed if the UK is to solve the productivity puzzle

By David Thorpe | Tue 9th September 2014 - 12:34 pm

Economist’ brows furrow when they note that midst the generally positive economic data emerging in the UK and the US, wage growth continues to be absent.

On the surface the answer is simple – the participation rate in both economies has fallen. For some, particularly those anxious to play Cassandra to the next crisis, this is a sign that economic growth is a mirage.

In the UK context, wild and dangerous theories are granted fertile ground by some determined that coalition economic policy can’t possibly have achieved growth; suggestions that benefit sanctions are forcing the number claiming jobseekers down, but not wages up, has much traction, but scandalously little merit.

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Tagged economy and wages | 10 Comments

Opinion: Five ways we can focus on winning

By Daisy Cooper MP | Tue 9th September 2014 - 11:32 am

When I announced my candidacy for Lib Dem Party President, I said that my number one priority was for us to ‘focus on winning’. I said that we must use May 2015 as an opportunity for every member to experience winning, gain confidence to campaign on our messages, and develop their campaign skills. That’s how I believe we’ll motivate members to go out and win. A number of people have asked me how we might do this in practice so here are my ideas.

We must first re-assert our commitment to local government in its own right, not just as a stepping-stone for winning Parliamentary seats. We must agree to re-build our local government activist base following the damage of recent years, and we must resolve to start the fight now.

Liberal Youth, Lib Dem Women, LibDem LGBT+ and Ethnic Minority Lib Dems (EMLD) should be recruiting grounds for 2015 Council candidates, and non-target seat PPCs should understand the role they can play to identify new candidates and re-elect existing Councillors. I’ve already suggested that ALDC work with these various groups in order to recruit younger and more diverse council candidates across the country. I’ve also suggested that ALDC work more closely with the Parliamentary Candidates Association. I’m delighted that both of these ideas are being pursued.

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Tagged campaigning and party presidential election 2014 | 15 Comments

The Independent View: Will Liberal Democrats remain the greenest party?

By Matt Hindle | Mon 8th September 2014 - 1:56 pm

Since 2010 it has been clear that energy and the environment are policy areas where the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have distinct views and voices within the coalition. The recent reshuffle of blue ministers, removing one of the Tories’ few true renewable energy supporters in Greg Barker, gave further evidence of this differentiation.

Now, as we look to the next five years, it is time for the parties to be clear on their commitment to a greener economy. The major renewable energy trade associations – representing wind, solar, biogas, hydropower and more – have launched a series of manifesto tests which will determine whether the parties are committed to decarbonising our energy system.

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Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged climate change and environment | 40 Comments

Opinion: A new constitution won’t deliver the social change people think they’ll get with a yes vote

By Stephen Harte | Mon 8th September 2014 - 10:25 am

As a Scottish Liberal and a lawyer, I have been inclined at times to get too involved in the minutiae of constitutional issues. I can explain how to count several forms of PR and I have firm and detailed views on written constitutions. Enduring two years of referendum campaigning in Scotland, however, has woken me up to the dangers of over-emphasising constitutional issues.

When you read much of what comes from the Yes campaign, you are lefd to believe that every social problem – real and perceived – that has ever occurred in Scotland will be solved by changing the constitutional settlement. Scotland will become a land of milk and honey where all social problems melt away (or, at the very least, are showered with unending supplies of healing money) and a raft of social services will be presented as being “free”.

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Tagged constitutional reform, Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 7 Comments

The Independent View: Liberal Democrats back industrial action by midwives

By Cathy Warwick | Mon 8th September 2014 - 8:55 am

Midwives in England are in dispute right now with their employers after the rejection of a 1 per cent pay rise, recommended by the independent NHS pay review body. It is the first time in our 133-year history that the Royal College of Midwives has balloted members over whether or not to take industrial action.

Eighty per cent of the British public would support giving NHS staff the 1 per cent rise, according to a ComRes poll we commissioned to gauge public opinion. Opposition stands at just 9 per cent (11 per cent answered “don’t know”). Despite this, the recommendation has so far been rejected by NHS employers. Full details of the poll’s findings, including data tables, are available at the ComRes website.

Regardless of how one divides up those who took part in the poll – by gender, age group, whether they work in the public or private sector, which party they support, or which region they live in – there is an absolute majority in favour of the recommended 1 per cent pay rise for NHS staff being implemented.

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Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged industrial action and royal college of midwives | 18 Comments

Liberal Youth Elections 2014… Policy Officer: Ryan Mercer

By Ryan Mercer | Sat 6th September 2014 - 3:30 pm

Liberal Youth policy matters. It’s how we, as young Liberal Democrats, can make a clear and credible case for change on the issues we care about. The disengagement from politics by so many young people has made it easy for the views of our generation to be overlooked. Despite this, the Liberal Democrats have long been the strongest advocates in both tackling the challenges young people face and building the future society in which we want to live. The unique perspective Liberal Youth provides can help to ensure the party will continue to listen to young people and be that advocate for our generation.

In May, I stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in a Norwich City Council Ward formerly held by Norman Lamb MP. The ward has a young population and standing gave me a real insight into how big a challenge we face showing other young people what we stand for and that we’re on their side.

I’m standing as a candidate for Liberal Youth Policy Officer partly because I believe in the essential role that Liberal Youth policy needs to play, but also because I believe more has to be done to engage our members in our policy making. With more young members adding their voices our policies will be better informed and have the support behind them to be taken seriously.

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Also posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged #lyelects, liberal youth and liberal youth elections 2014 | Leave a comment

Liberal Youth Elections 2014… Membership Development Officer: Naomi Farhi

By Naomi Farhi | Sat 6th September 2014 - 2:30 pm

Voter apathy has never been higher among students and young people.

Liberal Youth should be a clear voice in a political wilderness.

To the disillusioned youth, politics appears to be a static and increasingly wearisome battlefield, with each side wasting a lot of time and gaining very little ground. Many cannot see the progress that is being made by groups just like Liberal Youth.

It is my vision to make this progress clear.

I joined the Liberal Democrats in 2013 because I was fed up of entrusting the way my country is run to ‘people who knew better than me.’ Young people are the future and Liberal Youth is the voice of a future where equality and fair treatment is achievable for all. I am willing to invest my time and energy in ensuring this will happen – but we need others to do this too.

That is why I am running for Membership Development Officer. As a previously politically apathetic young person, I understand why so many are feeling left out of the picture and I believe I know how to make them feel included. I am now Press and Publicity Officer for the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats and currently organising our representation at the Freshers’ Fair, which means appealing to over 15,000 students. As such, I am accustomed to dealing with a wide pool of potential members.

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Also posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged #lyelects, liberal youth and liberal youth elections 2014 | Leave a comment

Farron name checks Liberal Democrat PPCs Julie Pörksen and Vikki Slade in Commons Bedroom Tax speech

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th September 2014 - 10:30 am

During the debate on Andrew George’s Affordable Homes Bill yesterday, Tim Farron name-checked the two Liberal Democrat candidates whose motion on the Bedroom Tax was passed with just one vote against at Party Conference last year. Julie Pörksen, PPC for Berwick and Vikki Slade, PPC for Mid Poole and Dorset North, argued strongly for the sort of reform to the policy that has now appeared in Andrew’s Bill.

Here’s what Tim had to say:

I am proud of my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives for bringing this Bill forward, and I am proud of my party for pushing us all collectively to reflect on the proposals before us today. I would like to mention Vikki Slade and Julie Pörksen, who proposed at our conference a year ago that we look again at this policy. Frankly, Members of all parties would do well to admit that, on reflection, things could have been done better. Given that we were put in this economic crisis in the first place, it would be lovely to see from Opposition Members a change of heart and an admission that things did not go as well as they could have done.

He then looked at the practical reasons why the Bill should be passed. It should be noted that it’s not all about the Bedroom Tax. It’s also about the wider issue of the lack of housing which drives rents and consequently Housing Benefit up.

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Tagged affordable homes bill, andrew george, bedroom tax, julie pörksen, tim farron and vikki slade | 4 Comments

Opinion: Why I’m voting “Yes Scotland” on September 18

By Simon Horner | Sat 6th September 2014 - 9:00 am

I have recently returned to Scotland after 27 years working for the European Commission in Brussels. After 18 September, I plan to campaign hard for the Scottish Lib Dems, irrespective of the outcome of the independence vote.

At the moment, though, I am in something of a limbo, finding myself on the “wrong” side of the referendum debate vis-a-vis my own party. As I am half-English and half-Scots, with family in Devon, I might be expected to vote “No”, but after a lot of soul-searching, I realise that it has to be a “Yes”. There are three key reasons for this.

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Tagged Scottish independence referendum | 36 Comments

Opinion: The Lib Dems should make open primaries a coalition demand

By Robin McGhee | Fri 5th September 2014 - 4:18 pm

The Liberal Democrats are likely to make proportional representation for local government elections a red line in 2015 coalition negotiations. Needless to say, for any liberal this is a thoroughly good and idea that will transform local government. Given neither party is likely to budge on national PR, it is a good way to implement radical reforms which might actually be accepted by either of the other main parties.

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Tagged open primaries | 28 Comments

Opinion: Our seaside towns and the challenge of UKIP

By Cara Jenkinson | Fri 5th September 2014 - 2:36 pm

It now looks set that Duncan Carswell will win the forthcoming by-election in Clacton and become the first UKIP MP. Whilst enjoying the Tory discomfort, I’ve been thinking a lot about what we need to do to counter UKIP and their simplistic appeal.

In a poll last weekend, immigration was identified as the top concern by 57% of people who intend to vote for UKIP in Clacton. As with many of UKIP’s other target seats the number of immigrants living in Clacton is actually very low – just 4%. What there is in Clacton though is a struggling local economy, high unemployment, low pay, former B & Bs being used by the Council for temporary accommodation and poor educational achievement.

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Tagged ukip | 28 Comments

Opinion: Time to consider all-women shortlists?

By Rob Parsons | Thu 4th September 2014 - 2:12 pm

I find myself changing my mind on the subject of all-women shortlists. I’ve always been somewhere between agnostic and sceptical on the basis that it’s fairer to have open candidacies in which the best person gets chosen. If the playing ground needs to be levelled, it is best to do it in training and support rather than fixing the rules for appointments. I based this partly on my now shaken belief that, whatever happens in the other parties, the Lib Dems are nice, our hearts are in the right place, so self evidently good choices will be made.

But three things have shaken that belief. Firstly the Rennard affair, and not just the issue itself but the number of people vigorously defending the status quo; secondly, the endemic sexism still visible in society at large, catalogued in visceral detail at Everyday Sexism; and thirdly, the two separate reports published recently on the shape of the elite in our society – still overwhelmingly male. Patriarchy remains alive and in rude good health, in the party as well as in society at large. The playing field remains permanently tilted against women (as well as against BAME people), and the only way in which we can be fair about that situation is to tilt it back. And niceness won’t cut it. All women shortlisting seems a crude tool but I know of no better one at the moment.

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Tagged all-women shortlists | 58 Comments

Former Clacton UKIP candidate ousted by Douglas Carswell resigns and backs local Liberal Democrat Councillor

By The Voice | Wed 3rd September 2014 - 2:03 pm

This time last week, Roger Lord was looking forward to facing Conservative MP Douglas Carswell in the General Election next May. He might not have expected to trouble his majority too much but he was secure in his position.

That didn’t turn out so well for him when he heard that he was being ousted as candidate in the same way that we all did.

He’s not very happy about it and has quit his Council seat. He has given his rather unexpected backing for the ensuing by-election to Liberal Democrat District Councillor Gary Scott whom he described as a “genuine person”. Gary is not putting himself forward for the by-election.

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Tagged gary scott, roger lord and ukip | 31 Comments

Opinion: Charles Kennedy asks “What should we tell the Scots?”

By Matt Gallagher | Wed 3rd September 2014 - 9:20 am

On Monday I received an e-mail from Charles Kennedy and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. It asked Lib Dems across the UK to help the No campaign by completing a brief survey entitled,”What do you think we should be telling voters in Scotland?” The survey was indeed brief (3 questions), and the answers were pre-loaded, so I thought that I would compose my own response to my fellow Scots.

The preamble to the Liberal Democrat Federal Constitution states that ‘we look forward to a world in which all people share the same basic rights, in which they live together in peace and in which their different cultures will be able to develop freely.’

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Tagged charles kennedy and Scottish independence referendum | 13 Comments

Opinion: Cherish the independence of elected members

By Matt Burrows | Tue 2nd September 2014 - 4:38 pm

I was alarmed initially by the title of Mark Pack´s piece “Lessons from Rennard #4: who gets the party whip is a matter for the whole party”. As it turns out I find myself in agreement with much of it.

Rightly he points out that the smaller the group the more disproportionate influence one person will have. I like his suggestion of referring decisions of removal of the whip to the Federal Appeals Panel. Some scrutiny of the decision from outside parliament will be beneficial to Party and the individual. If adopted, I hope this would apply only to cases of personal misconduct.

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Tagged Parliament and whip | 8 Comments

Opinion: If an NHS Tax is a step too far, let taxpayers make an optional “NHS Donation”

By Mohsin Khan | Tue 2nd September 2014 - 9:09 am

Liberal Democrats have committed to protecting the NHS Budget in the next Parliament. But over the next 6 years, we will need to fill a £30 billion deficit to maintain the level of quality we expect from our NHS. Social care faces a £7 billion shortfall.

There have been recent reports that senior party figures are looking at a hypothecated “NHS Tax”.

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Tagged national insurance and NHS | 23 Comments

An email on counter-terrorism measures from a Liberal Democrat should not make me despair…

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 1st September 2014 - 10:03 pm

Nick Clegg has sent the following email to party members this evening about the new counter terrorism measures taken by the Government. There is no doubt that had he not been constrained by Liberal Democrats, David Cameron would have gone much, much further and what has emerged is as liberal as it is likely to get. But I don’t have to like it. Here is what Nick said:

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Tagged civil liberties and terrorism | 112 Comments

Opinion: Why I rejoined the Liberal Democrats

By Anthony Vaughan | Mon 1st September 2014 - 4:18 pm

I sit here having just rejoined the Liberal Democrats. I was previously a member and considered getting active in my local area. I left because I felt dismayed by the type of politics that I was seeing happening around the country. UKIP were making gains in the European elections, every politician I hear or representative blamed other parties for the failures of the past. In 2010 I was very active within my personal capacity to do so. I delivered campaign material on the doors in all weathers. I had conversations with lifelong Conservative voters in an attempt to highlight the reasons why more Liberal Democrats in Parliament would be good for society. However, since then it seemed that even 4 years on everyone blames someone else for things not getting better.

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Tagged liberal democrats and membership | 18 Comments

Opinion: How about some real fairness in our tax system?

By Iain Donaldson | Mon 1st September 2014 - 10:15 am

On 27th August as a party of the new Liberal Democrat media strategy of Manifesto by a Thousand Statements, in the name of the party it was announced that The Liberal Democrats have set out plans to introduce a trio of wealth taxes which will help to cut the deficit whilst ensuring fairness in our tax system. I fully understand the need to wipe out the deficit, and the need for the wealthiest to bear the greatest burden in achieving that, but let us not confuse that with making our tax system fairer.

National Insurance is a tax on income. It is paid at a rate of 11% on earnings between £7,956 per year and £ 41,865 per year above which it drops to just 2%. Surely integrating NI into Income Tax, thereby raising the basic threshold to the proposed £12,500 and reducing the rate of payment substantially (we are always told that the richest 10% pay the highest burden in tax) would be a way of ensuring fairness in our tax system. This is a measure that would have a direct impact on the daily lives of the majority of our citizens, rather than just playing to the politics of envy.

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Tagged liberal democrat manifesto 2015 and tax | 29 Comments

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

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 31st August 2014 - 9:47 am

It’s almost September, and, let’s face it, now that the X Factor’s back, tithe countdown to Christmas has begun, so I should probably forget all these leisurely Sunday morning lie-ins and actually start having a look at what’s in the papers again.

When terror threats are raised, for me the first question is not “Is something awful going to happen on our streets?” It’s “Which of our precious freedoms are the Government planning to take from us?” With Liberal Democrats in Government that anxiety is considerably less than it would be if there were none, but it is still there. Scotland on Sunday tells us how David Cameron and Nick Clegg are having talks today to finalise the Government’s response. The Observer reports that Paddy Ashdown warns against knee jerk reactions, which is a good sign. We’ll cover that separately.

In the Observer, Catherine Bennett cites the recent dire Better Together commercial and Austin Mitchell’s comments to argue that it really is time for All Women Shortlists:

Without Labour’s all-women lists, parliament would resound, indefinitely, to the grunts of its Mitchells, Soameses and Fabricants. Unrecorded in the YouGov poll are people who dislike all-women shortlists but dislike yet more the reason for their continued existence: the very culture that just created the execrable, the relentlessly mocked Woman Who Made up Her Mind.

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Tagged press review | 23 Comments

What if… David Davis had won the Tory leadership contest in 2005?

By Stephen Tall | Sun 31st August 2014 - 8:18 am

What-ifs are, as Peter Snow would say, just a bit of fun: a counter-factual parlour game for historians. It is impossible to know exactly how one event ricocheting off in a different direction would have altered the subsequent reality.

This one does genuinely intrigue me, though: What if David Davis had won the Tory leadership contest in 2005, rather than David Cameron? Davis did, after all, begin as favourite. His disastrous 2005 party conference – a dud photo-op and a lacklustre speech – coupled with David “let sunshine win the day” Cameron’s triumph meant his second leadership attempt sank without trace. He was trounced 68%-32% in the all-member ballot that followed.

But what if he’d won? Would David Davis have been a more effective leader of the Tories than David Cameron has turned out to be?

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Tagged david cameron, david davis and featured | 12 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Democrat Fairtrade Future welcomes hospital food announcement

By Mathew Hulbert | Sat 30th August 2014 - 3:30 pm

One of the things that makes me proud to be a Liberal Democrat is our belief in fairness.

The very first line in the preamble to our Party’s Constitution states ‘The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a free, fair and open society…’

I also love that we are an internationalist party.

Indeed the preamble goes on to state, ‘We look forward to a World in which all people share the same basic rights…’

For me these two elements of our founding principles come together the Fairtrade movement which I’ve long since championed.

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Tagged fairtrade and tim farron | 3 Comments

Reflections on Rotherham (4): Lessons were not learnt before. They cannot be ignored again.

By Colin Ross | Sat 30th August 2014 - 10:15 am

The report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham issued this week makes tragic reading. It highlights the collective failure of the authorities to take robust action over a number of years. It is a matter of astonishment that the findings of no less than three reports were either dismissed or treated as exaggerating the situation. How many fewer victims would there have been if a more aggressive approach had been taken at an earlier stage?

Let us not forget that the real villains in this are the perpetrators of these crimes, who have committed unspeakable acts of violence and abuse on …

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Tagged rotherham | 26 Comments

Opinion: Time for change. Time for a Liberal Revival: my manifesto for Party President

By Daisy Cooper MP | Sat 30th August 2014 - 9:00 am

I joined this party because I believe in the power of every individual to take power and use it – use it to shape their own lives and communities and to help change the world.

I joined this party because I’ve seen brave people face down threats from large powerful corporations, from their own governments, and from conformity – everything for which we stand.

And I joined this party because ours is the only political philosophy that believes in trusting, enabling and freeing people. We want to lift people out of poverty and ignorance. We want them to have a safety net so they have the confidence to take risks, to innovate and make bold decisions. And we want to create a system of governance that serves people and communities, from the grass-roots up.

We were right to adopt community politics as an ideology of social transformation in the 1970s, and we were right to re-state our commitment to it in 2011. But as I said then – to the nodding heads of Paddy Ashdown and Tim Farron – it must once again become the foundation of our identify and our approach. In 2011, Conference agreed “A renewed strategic emphasis on ‘community politics’: our role as political activists is to help organise people in communities to take and use power, to use our political skills to redress grievances, and to represent people at all levels of the political structure.”

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Tagged daisy cooper, party presidency and party presidential election 2014 | 25 Comments

Most Read

Op-eds

Politics at School (Geoff Reid)
Zack Polanski on the Fringe (Caron Lindsay)
Enough is enough: Women and girls deserve better (Lib Dem Women)
To paraphrase Shakespeare’ ‘something is rotten in the state of Britain’ (Judy Abel)
Born to be a Refugee… (Dalila Henniche Maali)

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