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Category Archives: Op-eds

Opinion: End this taxi madness

By Jim Hardaker | Tue 8th April 2014 - 11:33 am

I climb into the driving seat of a taxi to respond to a call.

I pick up my passengers; it’s a school run. Halfway to school the phone rings again. I have an earpiece so I answer it. It’s another job, so I grab the radio and send another driver.

We’re nearly at the school now. The roads are busy. I’m concentrating, but the phone rings again. This time it’s a booking for later today, and I can’t write it down at the moment so I try to keep it in my head.

While I’m trying to make a mental note of those details, I can see another call waiting in the background. I hang up and that call comes through. Someone wants a quote for an airport run, and since I can’t write their number down and get back to them, I try to recall the price from memory as best I can.

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Tagged taxis | 7 Comments

Opinion: The Generation Gap

By Joe Bourke | Mon 7th April 2014 - 2:55 pm

The generation gap used to refer to the differing attitudes of young people and their elders to sex, drugs and rock and roll. For young people today, it has come to mean what the American author of the article linked below describes as “the economic hellhole our parents have handed us.”

Earlier this year, Rolling Stone magazine published an article under the title Five economic reforms millennials should be fighting for.

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Tagged economy, land reform, rolling stone magazine, taxation and welfare reform | 52 Comments

Opinion: Smog and why we need the European Union

By Morwen Millson | Mon 7th April 2014 - 1:46 pm

We have suffered poor air quality across south east England for days. The authorities warned older people and people with cardiovascular problems to stay indoors. Ambulance call-outs in London rose by 14%, and David Cameron abandoned his usual morning jog, describing conditions as, “Unpleasant, but it’s a naturally occurring weather phenomenon.”

Although worse in urban centres, poor air quality has been a concern for years in some villages on major roads in West Sussex; air pollution is widespread.

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged clean air, european union, pollution and smog | 4 Comments

Baroness Sal Brinton writes…Disabled rail travel: We’re not just treated like second class citizens, we’re treated like packages

By Sal Brinton | Mon 7th April 2014 - 11:57 am

When people in wheelchairs meet one another, disabled travel experiences are a frequent topic of conversation. Rail, buses or taxi we have often encountered brilliant helpful staff, but frankly, sometimes appalling service.

My train commuter run to Parliament from Watford Junction to Euston is usually very smooth, with unfailingly helpful London Midland and National Rail assistance staff, but both stations are staffed for as long as trains are running. Unstaffed stations can be really patchy.

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Tagged disability, disability discrimination act 1995, featured, rail travel and transport | 16 Comments

Alison McInnes MSP writes…The Scottish Justice Secretary is wrong to say stop and search is an operational matter

By Alison McInnes MSP | Sun 6th April 2014 - 10:46 am

1^st April 2014 marked the 1^st anniversary of Police Scotland, a single national police force that replaced our 8 regional forces.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats were the only group in the Scottish Parliament to oppose the national force from the outset.

One of the key strengths of Scotland’s policing up until then had been its local foundations. Funded by local councils, managed by local officers and officials, accountable to locally elected representatives, responsive to local needs.

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Tagged civil liberties, featured, justice, Scotland and stop and search | Leave a comment

Norman Lamb MP writes: Ending face down restraint

By Norman Lamb MP | Sun 6th April 2014 - 8:55 am

I am sure that many of you will remember the stories about the Winterbourne View scandal a couple of years ago. Vulnerable residents with autism and learning difficulties were subjected to shocking abuse from those who should have been protecting and caring for them. The review that was carried out into the scandal highlighted the widespread and inappropriate use of physical restraint, including dangerous face-down restraint, at the hospital.

As a Liberal Democrat I am committed to tackling poor quality care, and ensuring that everyone in …

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Tagged care, health and winterbourne view | 1 Comment

Opinion: I will not hide…

By Mathew Hulbert | Sat 5th April 2014 - 3:10 pm

Boy, has this been a tough week. This week I suffered some homophobia. This is tough to write.

It came in the form of an e-mail from someone who should know better, but sadly doesn’t.

Someone who believes their faith gives them the right to put pen to paper (or fingers to keypad) and accuse me of being immoral.

I’ve been lucky since I came out as a gay man, in 2011, in that I’ve faced very little homophobia (at least that …

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Tagged civil rights, equality, homophobia and LGBT | 17 Comments

Opinion: Nick v Nigel – Cheer up Liberal Democrats (and other pro-Europeans)

By Ben Jones | Sat 5th April 2014 - 9:59 am

Some Liberal Democrats, and other pro-Europeans, seem to be rather down about the outcome of the Nick v Nigel debate. Certainly it is depressing to see your fellow citizens support a man who professes admiration for Vladimir Putin. But Nick Clegg really was up against first-class populism on Wednesday night. Farage dropped every conceivable fear or concern about the modern world at the door of the European Union. Would you like an end to war, waste, politicians, people speaking foreign on the train and every problem the outside world bothers …

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged eu and nick v nigel | 37 Comments

Opinion: Lib Dems help end roaming charges, UKIP back higher phone bills

By Giles Goodall | Sat 5th April 2014 - 8:33 am

Another week, another success for Lib Dems in the European Parliament. This week it was hammering the final nails into the coffin of mobile roaming charges in Europe. From the end of next year, the extra fees for using your mobile phone in another EU country – already reduced significantly in recent years – will be scrapped entirely.

It’s another practical, common sense measure which means good news for consumers – despite resistance from the telecoms sector.

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Tagged eu and roaming charges | 32 Comments

Opinion: Crimea/Palestine – unfavourable comparisons

By John Kelly | Fri 4th April 2014 - 3:39 pm

As a Liberal Democrat one is appalled by the heavy handed way that Russia has moved into Crimea with an apology for a referendum. It may be the wish of the majority but this invasion is totally against international law and indeed tears up the post-Soviet treaty between Russia and Ukraine. The criticism of Russia is led by the USA and strongly supported by the rest of Europe. Many in Europe and the Middle East are wondering why the same critics have been so mute in the face of not dissimilar aggression and occupation of Palestine by …

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Tagged friends of palestine (Lib Dem), israel and palestine | 9 Comments

Opinion: Towards a sensible welfare system

By Adam Corlett | Fri 4th April 2014 - 12:23 pm

Where is the development of Lib Dem welfare policy? It’s hard to see any. Even the recent living standards policy paper (pdf) said “we do not believe that this paper is the appropriate place to determine a Liberal Democrat approach to welfare reform. this is an area that needs further debate within the Party.”

We all want a society in which technology, employment, education, high pay, low inequality, progressive taxation and cheap homes reduce the need for means-tested benefits, but this long-term …

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Tagged featured and welfare reform | 12 Comments

Opinion: Our survival lies on the back of moderate Conservatives whether we like it or not

By Caspian Conran | Fri 4th April 2014 - 10:42 am

For many of our voters the Lib Dems have always been a party to the left of British politics. A party who has more in common with Labour than the Tories, and who sees their chief enemy as the Conservatives. However, our survival now rests on winning over the very people who many of us once wrote off as true blue Tories.

The fracture on the right of British politics gives a significant opportunity to unite around a fiscally conservative but socially liberal banner: the same banner which is being …

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87 Comments

Nick v Nigel: What the commentators say – and don’t say

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 3rd April 2014 - 1:12 pm

Well, there’s a surprise. After last week’s largely positive stories, the headlines aren’t so good this week. It’s interesting to see that those who called for Nick to be more passionate and to go less on the detail weren’t satisfied when he did just that. I wonder if last week’s coverage prompted too much of a strategic rethink to an approach that was working fine. In my opinion, the only thing that needed changing from the LBC debate was a stronger answer on the referendum question, especially as it …

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Tagged eu, nick clegg, nickvnigel and nigel farage | 49 Comments

Opinion: The reason an EU Referendum is a bad idea is one that no politician dare utter

By Nick Tyrone | Thu 3rd April 2014 - 12:13 pm

We are constantly told that we “need” a referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union. Here’s the thing: we don’t. We don’t actually need a referendum on anything just now. Referenda are, in general, actually a bad idea.

They are vital every once in a while: the vote happening in Scotland on September 18^th of this year is a good example. The government of Scotland is made up of nationalists who want to make Scotland an independent country. To legislate directly for this would be unthinkable, so …

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Tagged democracy, eu, featured and referenda | 63 Comments

Party gets smart over fundraising

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 3rd April 2014 - 9:19 am

We know that the Obama campaign made great use of micro-fundraising during its two successful campaigns. If you are signed up to the emails, you’ll know the kind of thing. You get an email asking you to donate $5 before midnight to get a chance to have dinner with Obama or some (other) celebrity.

The Liberal Democrats have been experimenting a lot with that sort of thing. During the Eastleigh by-election I had a whole host of emails, with increasingly emotional appeals, designed to get me in my …

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Tagged fundraising, liberal democrats and nick clegg | 12 Comments

Nick v Nigel: the polls call it for Farage. Disappointing, but don’t panic! Here’s 3 reasons why you shouldn’t…

By Stephen Tall | Wed 2nd April 2014 - 10:30 pm

Last week we had one post-debate poll. It showed Farage won overall, but the split was more interesting: Labour and Lib Dem voters went for Nick, Tory and Ukippers for Nigel. As you’d probably expect.

This week we had two post-debate polls, and their results are remarkably similar. ICM says Clegg was reckoned to have won by 31% of viewers, Farage by 69%. YouGov says 27% preferred Clegg, 68% Farage.

ICM has released the breakdown of its poll. This week, Labour voters split (narrowly) in Farage’s favour, by 57% …

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Also posted in Polls | Tagged european elections 2014, featured and nickvnigel | 56 Comments

Opinion: It’s official – Lib Dems are “most successful and influential” in Europe

By Giles Goodall | Wed 2nd April 2014 - 4:53 pm

Ahead of the second EU debate between Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage this evening, a timely new report has found that Liberal Democrats are the most influential British party in the European Parliament.

The analysis of MEPs’ voting records from VoteWatch Europe over the past five years by think tank Policy Network, finds that Liberal Democrats are the “most successful coalition partner” in the European Parliament and “have played a central role in policy-making in both Westminster and Brussels.”

As …

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Also posted in News | Tagged ALDE, european parliament, european union and mep | 6 Comments

Opinion: Young people benefit from the EU. We need to persuade them to vote for the party of IN

By Ab Brightman | Wed 2nd April 2014 - 10:59 am

Each one of us who was glued to a screen or radio for the Nick vs Nigel EU debate last Wednesday will have our own opinion of who lost and who won as facts, rhetorical points and the affection of the audience were fought over. But I’ll tell you whose affection wasn’t fought over – that of Britain’s young people. And I, along with friends in and outside the party, was disappointed.

The lives of young people in this country – your children, your activists, you …

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Tagged eu, featured, nick clegg, nickvnigel, nigel farage and young people | 9 Comments

Opinion: Lib Dems only party to vote against khat drug ban

By Adam Corlett | Tue 1st April 2014 - 3:19 pm

“To ban, or not to ban, khat is the question”, tweeted Julian Huppert on Monday morning. Unfortunately, Labour MPs later in the day joined their Tory (and DUP) counterparts in a statutory instrument committee to vote in favour of a ban. The two Lib Dem MPs, Huppert and Greg Mulholland, were defeated 16-2 and the khat trade now looks set to be criminalised.

On The Guardian website, Julian writes:

a mild stimulant – roughly on a par with a strong cup of coffee. It is not considered particularly addictive, and there’s no clear evidence that it causes either physical or social harms. It is imported perfectly legally, and taxes are paid on it, to the tune of £12.8m each year.

When the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the government’s expert advisors, were asked to consider khat, they said that it would be “inappropriate and disproportionate” to ban it. The cross-party home affairs select committee, on which I serve, produced a unanimous report opposing a ban. And yet the home secretary plans to do it anyway.

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Tagged julian huppert and khat | 35 Comments

Opinion: Criminals behind bars – do these ads go too far?

By Sam Phripp | Tue 1st April 2014 - 1:15 pm

Have you seen this part of the LibDem website? It went live following the Nick v Nigel debate last week, and gives examples (and pictures) of criminals locked up thanks to the European Arrest Warrant. Like others, I find this page distasteful and discomforting. Yet still, I support it.

I actually missed the debate last Wednesday because I was attending a Parish Council meeting, but what I read on Twitter spoke volumes. Nick won the factual debate, but Farage did well on emotion. I think we need to remember that, because it’s key to the whole issue. As a party, we can win the debate on facts for as long as we like, but it won’t necessarily win us many votes. Why? Because that isn’t how people make decisions.

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Tagged european arrest warrant | 2 Comments

Michael Moore MP’s Road to the Referendum… A Vote for the United Kingdom: A positive Choice

By Michael Moore | Mon 31st March 2014 - 3:57 pm

Making a positive choice for the United Kingdom in the vote on Scotland’s future is as much a matter of the heart as well as the head. Recently, those involved in the argument for Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom have begun to argue more assertively that a vote for the UK is the positive choice.

We have just over five months to decide whether we stay in the United Kingdom family or go it alone. Five months to choose between remaining part of this four-nation partnership that we have built together or to break away and to start again.

I believe in the contribution Scotland has made over the last 300 years along with our friends and families across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – our common effort to create and share something bigger and that serves us all well.

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Tagged Michael Moore, road to the referendum, Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 6 Comments

LDV Debate: Could One Member One Vote work for Liberal Democrat Conference?

By The Voice | Mon 31st March 2014 - 2:20 pm

Sue Doughty and Gareth Epps discuss the issues.

Sue: During the consultation at conference and before conference there were many positive reasons to support this. For example, younger members who may not have a permanent address find it difficult to maintain links with a local party and so don’t get elected as voting reps and sadly some parties didn’t notify HQ of their voting reps. Although conference can be expensive the work by Federal Conference Committee with York Local Party meant that there …

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Tagged featured, gareth epps, internal party democracy, liberal democrat conference and sue doughty | 22 Comments

Opinion: Ukip’s success masks its existential crisis

By Caspian Conran | Sun 30th March 2014 - 3:20 pm

Many of us are deeply worried about what the rise of Ukip means for the future of the United Kingdom. However, take heart, Ukip’s success only makes the way for a more liberal, centralist and moderate future for Britain. For the success of Ukip facilitates one of the great aims of our party: the destruction of the two party system.

Nothing is of greater annoyance than canvassing a resident who, whilst admitting she broadly agrees with our message and policies, could not possibly vote Lib Dem. Why? Because her mother always …

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Tagged ukip | 40 Comments

Time for Nick Clegg to ditch the “Great Britain not Little England” line

By Stephen Tall | Sun 30th March 2014 - 11:45 am

“Great Britain not little England” – it was a line Nick Clegg used in his recent Spring conference speech, setting up the new political dividing lines between those who are optimistic, outward-looking, progressive pro-Europeans and those who are gloomy, isolationst, reactionary anti-Europeans.

It’s a line he used again in this week’s Nick v Nigel debate. “Great Britain, not Little England” was the subject line, too, of the party’s immediate post-debate email to supporters.

Clearly it’s a line the party believes encapsulates the main fault-line in British politics right now. …

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Tagged british future, england, featured, ippr, nick clegg, nickvnigel and sunder katwala | 37 Comments

Annette Brooke MP writes… This Mothering Sunday let’s commit to making preventable newborn deaths a thing of the past

By Annette Brooke MP | Sat 29th March 2014 - 10:45 am

Like many mothers and grandmothers in my constituency and around the UK, I’m looking forward to Mother’s Day on Sunday. Not just because it’s welcome time spent with the family, but also because it reminds me of the years of joy I’ve had watching my children and now my grand-daughter grow up.

It is however, a sad time for many in this country who have suffered bereavements. And we also think of the millions of mothers around the world who have not had the chance to watch their children grow …

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Tagged bangladesh, children, overseas aid and save the children | 2 Comments

Fraser Nelson is wrong: Cameron’s supposed EU re-negotiation allies are set on a very different path

By Henk van Klaveren | Fri 28th March 2014 - 1:00 pm

Like so many Eurosceptics, Fraser Nelson was at it again this morning in the Telegraph: taking a couple of things they heard from foreign politicians and adding it all up to make something that matches exactly what they want: less Brussels.

Nelson was continuing his theme from the Spectator a couple of weeks ago, describing a Northern Alliance Cameron had been building to reform the European Union in his image. There is one problem with all that: it simply is not true.

In the UK, the Dutch are …

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged david cameron, europe, european commission, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Frans Timmermans, fraser nelson, Mark Rutte and netherlands | 8 Comments

Opinion: Mind the gap

By Joe Bourke | Fri 28th March 2014 - 8:38 am

With the economy showing strong signs of a recovery and budget projections forecasting a period of healthy growth seven years on from the start of the financial crisis – have we now reached the ‘escape velocity’ required to run clear of this long slump?

The answer to this questions relies on judgements of an indicator that has proved almost impossible to gauge i.e. the output gap or measures of spare capacity in the economy. Most economists believe that the UK economy still boasts plenty of spare capacity, by which they mean that …

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23 Comments

Tim Farron MP writes…Tales from the Spin Room

By Tim Farron MP | Thu 27th March 2014 - 7:19 pm

Last night I was in the spin room doing my job as President, walking around and saying Nick had won. It wasn’t hard to appear convincing, because he was brilliant. It was certainly easier than when I have to speak to the media after some by-elections!

I thought Nick won last night on both style and substance. Though of course as a Lib Dem, I would say that. As a party we like facts and evidence. Watching last night, those things were very light on the UKIP side of the …

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Tagged eu, nickvnigel, nigel farage and ukraine | 32 Comments

Lord Mike German writes…ATOS contract scrapped, two requests for its replacement

By Mike German | Thu 27th March 2014 - 4:05 pm

The previous Labour Government’s 2005 contract awarded to Atos Healthcare has been a long term thorn in the side of the policy of fairly assessing people on Invalidity Benefit for transferring to Employment and Support Allowance. The contract has been dogged by decisions taken which have been overturned on appeal, and longer and longer queues as people wait for their assessments.

At the root of the problem was Labour’s decision to award the contract to a single supplier for the whole of Great Britain. Now, we know Labour loves monopolies and centralising …

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Tagged ATOS and dwp | 12 Comments

Steve Webb MP writes…Tackling rip-offs, standing up for savers

By Steve Webb MP | Thu 27th March 2014 - 1:15 pm

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of announcing in the House of Commons a raft of new measures designed to make sure that when people save for a pension they get value for money.

One of the Coalition’s most successful policies, for which I have had lead responsibility, is the introduction of ‘automatic enrolment’ into workplace pensions. Starting with the biggest firms in October 2012, and reaching the smallest ones by 2017, employers now have a legal duty to put their workers in a pension scheme and to make an employer …

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Tagged featured and pensions | 15 Comments