Category Archives: Op-eds

Principle and Realpolitik: why the Lib Dems should back an EU in/out referendum

By Stephen Tall | Wed 18th June 2014 - 4:30 pm

My co-editor Caron Lindsay has asked the following question, amid reports senior Lib Dems want the party to commit to an in/out EU referendum in the next parliament: “What do you think? Stay as we are or shift our position?”

My own view is the party has nothing to lose by offering a referendum in the 2015 manifesto. As I’ve pointed out before, the Lib Dem line on an EU referendum has been remarkably consistent over the last few years – far more so than the Tories (remember David Cameron’s cast-iron guarantee?) or Labour (remember 2004 EU referendum U-turn prior to their 2008 U-turn?).

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged caron lindsay and eu referendum | 42 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Democrats’ principled decision gives civil servants continued workplace protection they need

By Janice Turner | Wed 18th June 2014 - 3:43 pm

One of the announcements at Nick Clegg’s press conference on Monday was his categorical rejection of Tory ministers’ attempts to abolish check-off across government.

What’s check-off? This isn’t a Michael Gove attempt to ban a celebrated Russian playwright, it’s a mundane administrative convenience which allows members of trade unions to pay their union subscription by getting their employer to deduct it from their wage packet and send it on for them.

Union members like check-off because it’s the easiest way to keep their subs up to date. Trade unions like it because …

Tagged check-off, Danny Alexander, nick clegg, simon hughes, trade unions and vince cable | 6 Comments

Is Nick Clegg about to change position on an EU Referendum?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 18th June 2014 - 1:37 pm

Today’s Times reports that Nick Clegg may be about to change his position on the circumstances on which a referendum on EU membership could be held. The Coalition has legislated for a referendum if there is any further Treaty change. The Times (£) suggests that this could be altered to a “material change”:

Liberal Democrat MPs were due to meet last night to discuss whether to shift their position of holding a vote only if there is a “material change”

…

Tagged eu referendum | 33 Comments

Opinion: A radical, liberal vision

By Michael Berwick-Gooding | Wed 18th June 2014 - 11:59 am

Nick Clegg has set out his Liberal vision and I think it is inadequate as I see his vision as mainly about pursuing less pure liberal economic policies and education. Education policy has been a big part of our appeal. A penny on income tax for improvements to education was a good policy. It resulted in the Labour government putting a penny on National Insurance to pay for improvements to education. The pupil premium in 2010 has been implemented by the Coalition government. However we shouldn’t reply on education policy …

Tagged citizens income and future strategy | 20 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes: We need effective action on knife crime

By Julian Huppert | Wed 18th June 2014 - 10:30 am

There is a problem with knife crime. Too many of our fellow citizens suffer from knife attacks, and even more live in fear of being attacked with a knife. Even though fewer people are carrying knives, too many still are.

The Tory response to this, backed by Labour, has been to rush into legislation forcing judges to impose a mandatory jail sentence for anyone who is found in possession of a knife twice.

To deal effectively with the problem we should try to understand why people are carrying them.

Most of …

Tagged knife crime | 7 Comments

Opinion: Cabinet Collective Responsibility and why we need to reform it

By Daniel Henry | Tue 17th June 2014 - 5:05 pm

A lot has been written over the last few weeks about the coalition, how it has damaged our poll ratings and what we need to do to turn things around. I’d like to put the spotlight on Cabinet Collective Responsibility and how it’s not only damaged our party’s identity but has also helped damage the public’s view of coalitions in general.

Cabinet Collective Responsibility is the convention that members of the government, i.e. ministers, all have to suspend their own opinions and collectively hold the government line. If they want to publicly disagree with the government then they’re expected to resign. This may have made sense when one party ran the government but with a government formed from two different parties, with very differing views and identities, this has predictably caused a number of problems.

Tagged collective cabinet responsibility and nick clegg | 14 Comments

Mike Storey writes: Qualified teachers and a national curriculum

By Mike Storey | Tue 17th June 2014 - 3:08 pm

“We are, and always will, be the party of education”. So Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, said in his speech at Bloomberg last Monday. This is indeed what the Liberal Democrats stand for, and it’s not just an empty sound bite. The policies we pledge to adopt will be to ensure that school pupils will have the right to be taught by qualified teachers and taught a core curriculum – a truly national curriculum.

The recent ‘Trojan Horse’ controversy has shocked the national conscience. It highlighted that some schools ran a risk of depriving children of an all-rounded and fair education. Academies and free schools are based on the concept of autonomy, but this should not mean that children should suffer because of particular interests. Some schools that did have discretion over their curriculum were abusing that by stripping back the curriculum and narrowing the experience of schooling for every young child. Action needs to be taken to ensure children’s futures are not put at risk.

Tagged education, national curriculum, parental guarantee, schools and teachers | 48 Comments

Opinion: Sending more weapons to the Middle East is not the answer

By David Gray | Tue 17th June 2014 - 2:11 pm

It is truly saddening to read of recent events in Iraq. Seeing the horrific images that have been all over the media for the last few days, it is impossible for your heart not to go out to the millions of people in the region who have suffered for many years at the hands of oppressive governments, violent rebels and misguided Western intervention.

It is therefore maddening to see politicians in both the US and the UK suggesting that we should assist them with military aid including both troops on the …

Tagged featured and iraq | 11 Comments

The Independent View: Smart policy is backing smart energy

By Sacha Deshmukh | Tue 17th June 2014 - 10:32 am

Energy policy continues to be central to the political agenda and on consumers’ minds, with the average energy bill now topping £1300 and more than 2 million homes living in fuel poverty.

Research published this week by the Smart Meter Central Delivery Body shows the extent of current dissatisfaction with the way we buy energy. More than half of the 10,000 respondents to our independent survey said they do not trust any energy supplier, while 41% think they are paying for more energy that they consume.

Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged energy and smart meters | 6 Comments

Opinion: What do we get from the EU for £33 million a day?

By Richard Dean | Tue 17th June 2014 - 8:50 am

UKIP claim that we pay £55 million per day to be a member of the EU. My UKIP neighbours ask what we get back for that money. What should I tell them?

First off, it seems we get about £22 million a day back in cash, in the form of grants and subsidies. But even UKIP neighbours can do simple arithmetic. That leaves a net cost of about £33 million per day, or about 50p per day on average for every man, woman, and child in the UK. What do …

Tagged eu and ukip | 117 Comments

Would you blow £10 million of public money on the basis of a wee chat?

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 16th June 2014 - 6:43 pm

I think sometimes we might make too much of our claims that we’ve been cleaning up Labour’s economic mess for the last four years. It’s true they didn’t fix the roof when the sun shone, but there was this global recession thingy that, frankly, I didn’t mind them spending a fortune to bail us out of.

But they don’t help their reputation for financial incompetence. We know that they left the City of Edinburgh Council brassic with not much in the reserves . Now, it transpires, Rhodri Morgan, when …

Tagged eluned parrott, rhodri morgan and Wales | 11 Comments

Baroness Lindsay Northover writes…Global recognition of need to tackle sexual violence must lead to action

By Lindsay Northover | Mon 16th June 2014 - 11:59 am

If you had told me twenty or even ten years ago that there would be Global Summit on combatting sexual violence against women, attended by the majority of the world’s countries, as well numerous individuals and organisations, I would not have believed you.

For ever, it has seemed, sexual violence against (mainly) women and girls has been seen as simply inevitable. Especially in time of war. “War, rape and pillage” just went together.

But just as in the 20^th century, when genocide gave …

Tagged featured, Lindsay Northover, lynne featherstone and sexual violence | 5 Comments

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

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th June 2014 - 10:44 am

Here’s today’s picks, guaranteed to inspire, infuriate and amuse you. The first one will make you cry, though.

The first puts all the others into perspective. The Independence Referendum is the only game in Scotland at the moment, with dedicated people working their socks off on both sides. One of the key players in the Better Together campaign, Gordon Aikman, has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He writes in Scotland on Sunday about how he has coped with this shocking and terminal diagnosis. It’s a real, candid and moving piece.

…

Continue reading »

6 Comments

Opinion: Nick Clegg’s fiscal target – splitting the difference

By Adam Corlett | Sat 14th June 2014 - 10:15 am

Stephen Tall writes that “in terms of policies, there wasn’t much that was new” in Nick Clegg’s Bloomberg speech. Giles Wilkes and others have suggested that, on the contrary, Nick’s fiscal targets are a welcome change from the excessive deficit reduction the Coalition has pencilled in for the next parliament.

These commentators think that Nick’s deficit target (below) is a continuation of Labour and current Coalition policy – to balance the budget excluding capital spending. My understanding, however, is that what Nick said …

Tagged economy, giles wlkes, infrastructure spending, nick clegg and stephen tall | 17 Comments

Maajid Nawaz writes… We, as Lib Dems, must seek to liberalise

By Maajid Nawaz | Sat 14th June 2014 - 8:30 am

There’s no question that my party – the Liberal Democrats – took a battering in last month’s local and EU elections. Even my own prospective constituency, London’s Hampstead and Kilburn, was left shaken.

The Liberals Democrats are currently fair game across all sectors of society. But it is important for the public, and for party members, to know that it will not always be like this. Liberalism not only can, but must survive this.

It must survive because nobody wants a return to the pendulum years of Thatcher for three terms …

54 Comments

Opinion: Ontario Liberals show real Grit, win a fourth term and make history with the first elected LGBT Head of Government in the Commonwealth!

By Mathew Hulbert | Fri 13th June 2014 - 2:45 pm

Congratulations to our cousins in the Ontario Liberal Party in Canada who, overnight, have won a remarkable fourth term of provincial government and, at the same time, have made history with leader Kathleen Wynne becoming the first elected LGBT Head of Government in the Commonwealth!

Going into the election, the Liberals had been in a period of minority government and Wynne had taken over-a year ago from the by-then unpopular Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The party has been in Government in Ontario since 2003 and some pundits had predicted that the opposition Progressive Conservatives (I know, what an oxymoron, right?) would return to Government for the first time in over a decade…but Wynne and her team had other ideas!

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged canada, international, kathleen wynne and LGBT | 21 Comments

Opinion: Thoughts about Europe

By Steve Coltman | Fri 13th June 2014 - 11:42 am

All political parties have their blind spots. When policies are not particularly close to their hearts, parties can afford to be critical – examining, debating and ‘stress-testing’ those policies before approving them. But some policies are too close to the heart; they are ‘Articles of Faith’, not to be questioned or examined too closely. Articles of Faith sometimes do not get exposed to critical examination, and when contrary evidence is unearthed, it can be pushed aside. It is not surprising that when ‘Articles of Faith’ are put under the spotlight, …

Tagged european union | 38 Comments

Nick and The Sun – a missed opportunity

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 12th June 2014 - 11:25 pm

I know I am coming late to this, having been out and about for most of the day. It’s only a few minutes since I logged on to Facebook and saw a picture of the leader of my party holding up The Sun. It was not a good idea for him to do this, especially given the renewed pain that relatives of those who died at Hillsborough are going through with the new inquests taking place at the moment. Nick’s picture can only be seen as a support for their unprecedented marketing initiative in delivering a free copy to every home in England at the start of the World Cup.

Now I don’t think for a moment that Nick Clegg has anything to prove when it comes to standing up to Rupert Murdoch. Let’s be clear about that. He instinctively did the right thing on press regulation. He has pandered to nobody unlike some others I could mention. Nothing can take away from that.

Tagged england, nick clegg, the sun and world cup | 160 Comments

Opinion: Don’t Spy On Us — a Lib Dem call to action

By Ed Long | Thu 12th June 2014 - 9:45 am

Last weekend the Don’t Spy On Us coalition (a grouping comprising the Open Rights Group, Big Brother Watch, English PEN, Liberty, Article 19 and Privacy International) held a day of action seeking to lay practical groundwork for a stronger international movement to protect digital civil liberties. Jenny Woods, one of our party’s most active campaigners in this area, and I attended the afternoon, which had some important take-away messages for the Lib Dems.

Tagged civil liberties, digital rights and don't spy on us | 8 Comments

Greg Mulholland MP writes…We made it! From the summit of Cotopaxi

By Greg Mulholland MP | Wed 11th June 2014 - 4:15 pm

There could hardly be a greater contrast than the one I experienced recently- from the hustle and bustle of the local and European election campaigns to scaling volcanoes in Ecuador to raise money for the Royal British Legion’s Battle Back Centre.

Our challenge to climb Cotopaxi, a 19,347ft active volcano, was almost derailed due to bad weather and the mountain being closed the days prior to our climb. However, our successful Cotopaxi summit attempt was carried out despite fresh snow and treacherous conditions; I knew this was the only chance to climb

Tagged charity, cotopaxi, greg mulholland and royal british legion | 4 Comments

Opinion: Autism – challenges on entering the workplace

By Matthew Casey | Wed 11th June 2014 - 9:12 am

Being diagnosed as having High Functioning Autism can come across as a bolt from the blue. However, a few weeks ago I was told that I have the condition at the ripe old age of 24. I am not alone in the country facing this issue; across the country there has been an increase in the number of people diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum Disorder range.

Until around 18 months ago the Government provided funding to the National Autistic Society to allow them to assist people with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Tagged autism and national autistic society | 10 Comments

“What should the political parties promise on education in 2015?” – What I told Policy Exchange…

By Stephen Tall | Wed 11th June 2014 - 8:15 am

I was one of the speakers at this weekend’s Policy Exchange conference which posed the question, ‘What should the political parties promise on education in 2015?’

Though I work in the education sector, I was there in a personal capacity to offer a Lib Dem perspective; very kindly Policy Exchange had invited Michael Gove and Tristram Hunt as warm-up acts for my seven minutes. You can watch what I had to say in the video at the foot of this post, starting at 2 mins in, or just read on… (If you check against delivery you’ll see I’ve tidied up some of my sentences, such as self-censoring my request to the

Tagged education, michael gove, policy exchange and tristram hunt | 12 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Democrat messages

By Mike Biden | Tue 10th June 2014 - 3:19 pm

Congratulations to Ryan Coetzee and his team for giving us the official new Government policy of a ‘Stronger Economy and a Fairer Society’.

The problem with a really good line like that and similar advertising slogans such as “It’s Good to Talk” is that they become not just commonly accepted and universally recognised but they also become generic. As such they completely lose their power to influence choice or differentiate one product from another. “It’s Good to Talk” ended up not only promoting BT but also selling a lot of mobile phones for their competitors. I know – it was my budget as the Sales & Marketing Director that paid for the campaign.

Tagged ryan coetzee and Stronger Economy and a Fairer Society | 30 Comments

Opinion: Does our party’s structure and constitution need an overhaul?

By George Potter | Tue 10th June 2014 - 12:32 pm

There are many issues facing the Liberal Democrats at the moment and there has been much discussion about these issues. But one which has been overlooked, in my opinion, is the need to apply our traditional enthusiasm for constitutional reform to ourselves

At the moment the structure of the party is essentially a replica of a national political system. We have constituencies of local parties whose members (the voters) elect a local government in the form of a party executive and who also elect voting representatives (MPs) by proportional representation to send to conference (parliament) where they in turn elect the Federal Executive and the Federal Policy and Conference

Also posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged internal party organisation | 35 Comments

Some questions on those Trojan Horse Ofsted inspections

By Mary Reid | Tue 10th June 2014 - 8:57 am

Yesterday a commenter on Lib Dem Voice asked why the party had not responded to the Trojan Horse allegations about schools in Birmingham. Now I make no claim to any knowledge about the affair, apart from what I read in a decidedly partisan press, but I can at least raise some questions.

I was struck this morning by an article in the Guardian by the assistant principal on one of the schools that has been downgraded from Outstanding to Inadequate.

Lee Donaghy writes under a headline ‘Ofsted’s slur on the Muslim community of Park View School‘:

78 Comments

Opinion: We aimed high, we didn’t deliver, we got punished!

By Richard Rowles | Mon 9th June 2014 - 4:14 pm

For over one hundred years now Liberals have been striving to improve the standard of living for regular folk. Before the Labour movement even existed, we fought hard for workers’ rights and then free trade to keep food prices low.

Now, as a party of government, we can be proud about the positive effect we have had on pensions, taxation and apprenticeships. But in the modern world this simply isn’t enough. We are still not winning the public vote. As a party, we talk about needing better leadership – but is it as simple as that? Don’t we need to know where we’ve gone wrong?

52 Comments

Setting up a Network of Experience

By Liz Lynne | Mon 9th June 2014 - 12:30 pm

We have so many people in the party that have held office of one sort or another over the years. We must make sure that we find a way of retaining their expertise and at the same time give them the support that they need.

I have been thinking about setting up this new network for sometime but I think now, more than ever, it is the right time to do it. For too long many elected members who have lost their seats feel that their contribution to the party hasn’t been properly appreciated.

Tagged candidates, councillors and network of experience | 15 Comments

Opinion: The most positive change for private sector pensions in half a century

By Janice Turner | Mon 9th June 2014 - 11:10 am

The announcement in the Queen’s Speech of a new ‘Collective Defined Contribution’ pension is an historic achievement on the part of Lib Dem Pensions Minister Steve Webb, which shows that pensions are only safe in Liberal hands. It will bring about better quality pensions for millions in the private sector workforce. It’s taken him four years to arrive at this historic moment which starts to rectify the damage the Tories and Labour wrought on the retirement hopes of ordinary private sector workers.

Tagged featured, pensions, queen's speech 2014 and steve webb | 5 Comments

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Category Archives: Op-eds

Principle and Realpolitik: why the Lib Dems should back an EU in/out referendum

Opinion: Liberal Democrats’ principled decision gives civil servants continued workplace protection they need

Is Nick Clegg about to change position on an EU Referendum?

Opinion: A radical, liberal vision

Julian Huppert MP writes: We need effective action on knife crime

Opinion: Cabinet Collective Responsibility and why we need to reform it

Mike Storey writes: Qualified teachers and a national curriculum

Opinion: Sending more weapons to the Middle East is not the answer

The Independent View: Smart policy is backing smart energy

Opinion: What do we get from the EU for £33 million a day?

Would you blow £10 million of public money on the basis of a wee chat?

Baroness Lindsay Northover writes…Global recognition of need to tackle sexual violence must lead to action

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

Opinion: Nick Clegg’s fiscal target – splitting the difference

Maajid Nawaz writes… We, as Lib Dems, must seek to liberalise

Opinion: Ontario Liberals show real Grit, win a fourth term and make history with the first elected LGBT Head of Government in the Commonwealth!

Opinion: Thoughts about Europe

Nick and The Sun – a missed opportunity

Opinion: Don’t Spy On Us — a Lib Dem call to action

Greg Mulholland MP writes…We made it! From the summit of Cotopaxi

Opinion: Autism – challenges on entering the workplace

“What should the political parties promise on education in 2015?” – What I told Policy Exchange…

Opinion: Liberal Democrat messages

Opinion: Does our party’s structure and constitution need an overhaul?

Some questions on those Trojan Horse Ofsted inspections

Opinion: We aimed high, we didn’t deliver, we got punished!

Setting up a Network of Experience

Opinion: The most positive change for private sector pensions in half a century

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