Category Archives: Op-eds

Opinion: the biggest threat to global security

By Joe Bourke | Fri 2nd May 2014 - 1:55 pm

The Arab spring has receded into the nightmare that is Syria today; continuing instability in Libya and Yemen and death penalties by the hundreds in Egypt. We have been shocked by the atrocities of Boko Haram in Nigeria; Al Shabab in Somalia; conflict in the Central African Republic, Mali and Chad.

Tony Blair, in a recent speech reminded us Why the Middle East matters

What is presently happening there, still

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53 Comments

Opinion: Licensing the private sector housing market would be more effective than 3 year tenancies and a rent fix

By Iain Donaldson | Fri 2nd May 2014 - 10:05 am

Much has been said about Ed Miliband’s latest proposal to grant 3 year tenancies and cap rent rises over the three years but it’s not that bad an idea as a part of a package of measures to tackle the housing crisis. The key problem is that Mr Miliband’s solution would have to be regulated and yet Labour has consistently blocked the introduction of regulation for the private sector housing market.

We need to ensure that all rented accommodation (private, social, co-operative, lodging or council) meets standards of service …

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Tagged tenants | 12 Comments

Stephen Williams MP writes… Giving councils more power over betting shops

By Stephen Williams | Thu 1st May 2014 - 12:58 pm

The remit of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is huge. Ministers are responsible for housing, local economic development, planning policy, parking, local government finance, localism and community integration. Often these issues spark controversy. But all CLG ministers are in complete agreement that there is an urgent need to revitalise the Great British High Street, to bring back the bustling centres of retail and leisure which served their communities so well prior to the financial crash. We want high streets and town centres that encourage people to spend a …

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Tagged betting shops | 14 Comments

Opinion: Of driverless cars and passengerless trains

By Adam Corlett | Thu 1st May 2014 - 11:19 am

Driverless cars may not be quite as revolutionary as the 19th century spread of the railway, but there are huge benefits coming into view. The sooner we can deliver them, and the sooner policymakers can take them into account, the better – with mixed results for railways.

To be conservative, let’s imagine it’s 2044 – 30 years from now. We will look back at the idea of people customarily directing 1 tonne cars at speed as madness. Millions

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Tagged driverless cars and rail | 28 Comments

Nigel, Newark and Nostalgia

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 30th April 2014 - 2:50 pm

One of my earliest political memories is the moment when Shirley Williams got up at Bradford in 1981 and announced that she would be a candidate in the Crosby by-election. Her talk of how sometimes in politics it was necessary to take risks, to “scale unscalable heights” gave the 14 year old me goosebumps. It was all very much “stand up for what you believe in, take risks, go and change the world” motivation.

Decades later, Shirley wrote about her decision to stand for Crosby in her excellent autobiography, Climbing the …

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Tagged brian niblett, fiona jones, newark, nigel farage and shirley williams | 17 Comments

Edward Davey MP writes… A better deal for people on ‘pre-payment’ energy meters

By Ed Davey | Wed 30th April 2014 - 1:15 pm

Liberal Democrats in Government are doing everything possible to help consumers with their energy bills. Just last week I announced that by the end of the year energy suppliers will halve the time it takes to switch energy supplier from the current five to two and a half weeks. This is just the first step to achieving my ambition of achieving 24 hour switching.

But there is more that can be done, and I have written to energy suppliers asking them to now focus on …

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Tagged ed davey, energy bills and prepayment meters | 8 Comments

The Independent View: New report from the Electoral Reform Society: Close the Gap – Tackling Europe’s democratic deficit

By Nick Tyrone | Wed 30th April 2014 - 10:53 am

The new report out by the ERS, written by Chris Terry, is one in which the problem of “democratic deficit” in the European Union is explored. This is an issue that pro-Europeans have traditionally shied away from. However, it is the pro-Europeans who must actually take the arguments forward if Britain is to remain in the EU. The Eurosceptics, meanwhile, simply need to hammer home the fact that, from their point of view, there are no answers other than exit.

In the report, twelve recommendations on how to …

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Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged ers and european elections 2014 | 8 Comments

Opinion: Why I joined the Lib Dems 20 years ago – and am still proud to be one

By Giles Goodall | Wed 30th April 2014 - 9:19 am

Next month marks my 20^th anniversary as a Liberal Democrat. Could it really be that I’ve spent two decades – and my entire adult life – as a member of Britain’s (still) third party? And more to the point (as some friends would no doubt ask me), why?

I signed up in the dying days of John Major’s government, shortly before we won our first ever MEPs at the 1994 European elections – as well as the first …

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Tagged featured | 51 Comments

Rebecca Taylor writes … the benefits of the Erasmus+ programme for young Brits

By Rebecca Taylor | Tue 29th April 2014 - 5:24 pm

Yesterday the European Union increased its commitment to providing learning and development opportunities for young people right here in Britain, through the launch of the revamped Erasmus+ programme.

The new revamped Erasmus+ programme has a total budget of £12 billion, with £100 million already earmarked for the UK in 2014 alone. Along with my Liberal Democrat colleagues in Brussels we pushed for a bigger Erasmus budget than the previous scheme and were successful in obtaining a 40% increase at a time when the overall EU budget was cut. Grants will now be made available for education, training, youth and sport. In total it’s estimated that nearly a quarter of a million students, apprentices, teachers and youth workers will benefit from the EU grants.

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Tagged erasmus and eu | 7 Comments

Is the SNP’s latest European Election Broadcast even legal?

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 29th April 2014 - 12:45 pm

Last week, the SNP’s first broadcast for the European Elections was broadcast. It bore a remarkable similarity to the broadcasts that they have been putting out since the end of last year which were all aimed at persuading people to vote Yes in the independence referendum. It interspersed colourful footage of children talking about how wonderful and independent Scotland with black and white starkness portraying a vision of hellish Westminster rule.

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Tagged european elections, ofcom, party election broadcasts and snp | 6 Comments

Opinion: What are the Lords Spiritual for?

By Matt Gallagher | Mon 28th April 2014 - 3:41 pm

In a week when the Prime Minister has been stung, twice – once by a malevolent jellyfish and then by public reaction to his observation “Britain is a Christian country,” there has been much analysis of polling and census data in support or denunciation of his statement.

Cameron supporters point to the 2011 census, where 59% ticked the box to describe themselves as ‘Christian,’ while his detractors preferred a YouGov poll where the question, “are you religious?” saw only 29% of respondents answer in the affirmative.

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Tagged christianity, lords spiritual and ukip | 6 Comments

Nick Clegg: I won’t prop up a minority government without a coalition

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 28th April 2014 - 12:50 pm

In an interview with Anne McEvoy in yesterday’s Sunday Times (£), Nick Clegg makes it clear that he has no interest in the Liberal Democrats keeping a minority government in office with out a full coalition after the next election:

For the first time, Clegg is explicitly ruling out any kind of loose-pact arrangement, like the short-lived Lib-Lab one in the 1970s or variants on “confidence and supply” arrangements, a political anoraks’ phrase, whereby a smaller party provides support

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30 Comments

Ukip examined: who they are, what they stand for, and what it all means for British politics

By Stephen Tall | Mon 28th April 2014 - 8:00 am

I’ve just finished reading Revolt on the Right, Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin’s fascinating book analysing the rise of Ukip and what makes the party and its voters tick. Mark Pack has already written a very good review for LibDemVoice here. Here’s my take on some of its key insights.

Who votes for Ukip? The ‘left behind’

For a start, it debunks the myth that Ukip is a party of disaffected, well-to-do, shire-Tories obsessed by Europe and upset by David Cameron’s mild social liberalism on same-sex marriage. Yes, there are some Ukip voters like that, but they tend to be its peripheral voters, the ones most likely to give the Tories a kick in the Euros next month then return to their traditional True Blue ways in time for the general election. Ukip’s core vote in reality is made up of what the authors define as ‘left behind’ voters, overwhelmingly comprising older white working class males with no formal educational qualifications.

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Also posted in Books | Tagged featured, Mark Pack, matthew goodwin, revolt on the right, robert ford, SDP and ukip | 85 Comments

Jenny Willott to become the first female Liberal Democrat minister to attend Cabinet

By The Voice | Sun 27th April 2014 - 2:17 pm

There are many people in the party who would like to see the Liberal Democrats with at least one female Cabinet Minister on a permanent basis. There are plenty strong candidates, not least Jenny Willott and Jo Swinson.

We will have to wait a little longer for that, but this week, Jenny Willott will be there to make a presentation on Coalition efforts to close the gender pay gap. She will also attend future meetings when issues affecting women are discussed. The Independent has the story:

In her new role secured

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Also posted in News | Tagged cabinet, gender balance, jenny willott and Jo Swinson | 4 Comments

Opinion: I’m voting Lib Dem in spite of, not because of, our ‘Party of IN’ campaign

By Mark Dimmock | Sat 26th April 2014 - 11:00 am

If you believe the messages sent out from ‘The Party Of In’ during this Euro-election campaign, then you might think that my current political position is logically confused and that I simply misunderstand the options before me on May 22nd. However, I intend to vote Lib Dem in the Euro-elections in spite, not because, of our on-going commitment to remaining in the European Union.

I do not pretend to be an expert on European matters – and I do not claim to be …

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged european elections 2014, European referendum, european union and featured | 29 Comments

Edward McMillan-Scott MEP writes… 100 years on from World War I, let’s remember the EU’s role in spreading peace and democracy

By Edward McMillan-Scott | Fri 25th April 2014 - 8:00 pm

Today is Anzac Day, when we remember those Australians and New Zealanders who fell fighting during the First World War side by side with British soldiers, and the senseless sacrifices of millions of men and women who died across Europe and the rest of the world.

This year will see the one hundredth year anniversary of the First World War and it should give us time to pause and reflect on the tragedies of the first half of the twentieth-century.

As we do …

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Tagged anzac day, australia, eu, europe, first world war and new zealand | 31 Comments

Opinion: As everyone looks to keep Scotland in the Union is the coalition doing enough to keep Wales in?

By Russell Deacon | Fri 25th April 2014 - 1:45 pm

In 1889 Lloyd George saw the way that Wales was bring treated by his fellow Liberals, over home, rule as being like prize giving at a country fayre:

Excellent little Wales’ and all that. At horse shows we sometimes see a first prize of £10 given to one, £5 to another, while the third is ‘Highly Commended’. That is the way that Wales is treated by the Liberal Party. Ireland deservedly gets the first prize (a series of splendid measures). Scotland take second prize. Wales, like a Welsh mountain pony, is

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Tagged Scotland, Scottish independence referendum, Wales and welsh devolution | 12 Comments

Opinion: In coalition, more than ever, our leadership must listen to party members

By Gareth Wilson | Fri 25th April 2014 - 12:15 pm

The Maria Miller furore has recently highlighted how voters between elections are powerless to change their MP, once they’re ‘in’ that’s it – you have to wait another five years to give your judgement on how they’ve performed.

In our ‘always on’ modern culture this is unusual. People can cancel utility contracts or switch broadband suppliers within days if they’re unhappy with the level of service, or give instant feedback online or over the phone which is listened to and actioned. Shouldn’t we be able to …

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Tagged coalition, internal party organisation and liberal democrat membership | 18 Comments

Opinion: Support teachers’ right to strike, but not the NUT strikes in June

By Patrick McAuley | Fri 25th April 2014 - 10:46 am

It’s no secret to readers of Liberal Democrat Voice that when I write an article, education professionals tend to get it in the neck. At least I’m consistent.

So why should the June strike bother me? Jerry Glazier highlights the issue of teachers’ workload that it is now up to 55 to 60 hours a week on average. This angered me because while youth unemployment stands at just under 1 million a qualified teacher in primary or secondary will start on £21,000 and on average …

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Tagged education, nut, strike action and teachers | 114 Comments

Opinion: Never mind ‘One Nation’; let’s bring back National Efficiency

By Stephen Howse | Thu 24th April 2014 - 3:04 pm

There is a rule in British politics – non-codified, but always there, like the British constitution – that long-forgotten ideas will at some point come back into fashion. Witness Ed Miliband’s stuttering ‘One Nation’ pitch and the Tories’ tentative return to a hotchpotch of local relief schemes as a means of providing welfare.

There is one such Liberal concept which I believe could be updated and refocused as a thoroughly Liberal alternative to the New Right’s turbocharged capitalism and the New Left’s corporate-bashing fury: …

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Tagged national efficiency and one nation | 8 Comments

Opinion: Russia and the Great Illusion

By Joe Bourke | Thu 24th April 2014 - 10:42 am

In 1910, British journalist Norman Angell published “The Great Illusion”, arguing that the integration of the global economy was so all-embracing and irreversible that future wars were all but impossible. Released shortly before the outbreak of the Great War, the idea that humans had outgrown their propensity to mass slaughter did not stand the test of time for long.

We face today a similar dichotomy in Putin’s Russia. Europe and Russia are intertwined in mutual trade dependency and the major oil companies – BP and Shell among them – are increasing …

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Tagged russia and ukraine | 15 Comments

Jenny Willott MP writes…Cracking down on copycat websites

By Jenny Willott | Wed 23rd April 2014 - 11:53 am

The internet has made life a lot easier in many ways for many people – I can hardly imagine a time when I wasn’t able to make online bank transfers, get a grocery shop delivered or book a holiday online. However, as we all spend more time online and use the internet to do increasing numbers of things, new problems and challenges arise which we have to address.

People deserve the same protection online as they get offline, and we need to make sure that we have the ability and resources to ensure this is the case.

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Also posted in News | Tagged consumer protection, consumer rights and internet | 1 Comment

Opinion: Manufacturing is a growing sector in the UK and EU membership is vital

By Liz Lynne | Wed 23rd April 2014 - 10:43 am

Manufacturing has been something I have been passionate about for years now. When I was MP for Rochdale I helped to set up the all party manufacturing group in the House of Commons and then when I became MEP for the West Midlands region I jointly set up the Manufacturing Forum in the European Parliament. I have represented two areas where manufacturing has been so important. In my view, it is even more relevant today in helping to rebalance the economy and …

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Tagged eu and manufacturing | 2 Comments

There are way too many elephants in Lib Dem Members’ survey

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd April 2014 - 9:39 am

Yesterday, I was delighted to receive the latest Liberal Democrat members’ survey and I quickly completed it. Once I actually read the questions, though, some things made me snort with rage. I would be very surprised if they were able to glean any meaningful data from what they asked. Yes, they may well get a few decent press releases out of “Lib Dem Members’ favourite achievements in Government” or favourite things that we have stopped the Tories doing that will be covered only …

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Tagged ldhq and members' surveys | 46 Comments

Opinion: Britain needs jobs, not UKIP/Tory insults

By Antony Hook | Wed 23rd April 2014 - 8:55 am

Over 4 million British jobs depend on exports to the Single Market.

Those are the words of the Centre for Economic and Business Research regarding their recent report into British Jobs and the Single Market.

When we talk about this issue UKIP and the Tory Right throw around words like “liar”. When people do that it usually means they have lost the argument.

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Tagged conservatives, eu and ukip | 14 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Democrat support in minority and other communities

By John Kelly | Tue 22nd April 2014 - 3:30 pm

Liberal Democrats are thought to have benefited considerably from support in Muslim communities at the 2010 General Election.

This can be attributed both to the Lib Dems being the only party to oppose the invasion of Iraq in 1993, and also to Nick Clegg being the only party leader to consistently criticise Israel for its policies towards Palestinians in the years leading up to the Election. This has caused some concern in the party that we may be losing Jewish votes. During the period of the coalition government there has been much more …

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Tagged friends of palestine (Lib Dem) and israel | 19 Comments

Jeremy Browne, South Korea and ‘Race Plan’

By Mark Pack | Tue 22nd April 2014 - 11:37 am

Is Jeremy Browne really a secret lover of state intervention and a sceptic of free markets, believing in big state spending, government economic planning and regular intervention in the market? For all of the veneer of free marketeering in his book Race Plan, not to mention his choice of Reform as the publisher, it’s a question that comes to mind because in-between praising specific free market, small state policies, Browne regularly praises the results of governments such as the Chinese and the South Koreans, who are anything but.

It’s his praise of South Korea that is the most intriguing, for China can simply be put to one side as dramatic but its own unique case (though, as Stephen Tall has said, it is still an odd example for Jeremy Browne to trumpet).

South Korea is, as Browne rightly points out, seen by many developing countries as the one to emulate, transforming itself from a poor dictatorship to a wealthy democracy with globally successful industries in less than half of one person’s life time.

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Also posted in Books | Tagged jeremy browne and race plan | 17 Comments

Indiscriminate and insensitive overuse of benefit sanctions needs to be tackled by Liberal Democrat ministers

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 21st April 2014 - 4:02 pm

I came across this article about some of the circumstances which had led to sanctions being imposed on benefit claimants. Everything in the article is sourced, but I also take it seriously because it resonates with real life examples that I have heard about.

The coalition has dramatically increased the scale of withdrawal of benefit for infringing rules. A claimant can be sanctioned for not apparently looking hard enough for work, for not attending job centre interviews or for turning down job offers. The minimum period you can lose your benefit …

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Tagged benefits, featured and welfare | 44 Comments

Ed Davey MP writes… An onshore wind cap makes no sense

By Ed Davey | Fri 18th April 2014 - 9:00 am

Rarely a week goes by without an onshore wind story appearing in the media – normally negative, with some Conservative source trying to undermine this important source of renewable energy. The past few weeks have been no different.

First, let’s set the record straight. Liberal Democrats in Government will not accept a cap on onshore wind. Of course what other parties choose to put in their manifestos is a matter for them. But this Coalition Government is not changing tack on onshore wind or renewables and we will not …

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Tagged energy, energy security, featured, renewable energy and wind power | 25 Comments

Michael Moore MP writes… Scotland’s place in the world

By Michael Moore | Thu 17th April 2014 - 7:34 pm

It is the duty of the government of any state to safeguard national security and to protect its people, territory, economy and interests from internal and external threats.

If Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom in September, there is no doubt that there would be major challenges for the national security of both Scotland and the rest of the UK.

The size and scale of our armed forces means the UK is considered a partner of choice by many countries around the world, delivering a geopolitical influence that few states …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged defence, NATO and trident | 30 Comments