Category Archives: Op-eds

Opinion: Nelson Mandela: A personal tribute

By Parmjit Singh Gill | Fri 6th December 2013 - 5:15 pm

Nelson Mandela commanded an enormous degree of respect from leaders across the world and will be a great loss to us all. He truly was one of the great souls of the last century along with Mahatma Gandhi who he credited with being a major source of inspiration in his life, especially with his philosophy of non-violence. Both Gandhi and Mandela were leaders who were imprisoned for years by oppressive regimes and now their statues share a place on Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, South Africa.

While Gandhi influenced Mandela, a young Gandhi himself was mentored by Dadabhai Naoroji who was the …

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Tagged leicester south by-election 2004 and nelson mandela | 9 Comments

Opinion: The inspiration of Nelson Mandela

By Issan Ghazni | Fri 6th December 2013 - 3:56 pm

The passing of Nelson Mandela is a moment in history which has touched almost everyone as we reflect on the momentous achievements of the great man and compare them to his engagingly humble personality.

His belief in peace, non-violence and reconciliation mark him out in the same bracket as Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jnr and Mahatma Gandhi. His role as a freedom fighter and international symbol of resistance of Apartheid show an uncompromising spirit.

Mandela was a hero to most and his fight inspired many to get involved in the political process, perhaps more in the Liberals than any other British …

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Tagged nelson mandela | 8 Comments

Opinion: Do you love this country?

By David Gray | Fri 6th December 2013 - 12:14 pm

One question asked by the Home Affairs Select Committee to Alan Rusbridger over the Snowden leaks should be of great concern to us all. During the often heated exchanges, Keith Vaz asked:

Do you love this country?

If we were told that in, for example, Russia, a committee of MPs were grilling a newspaper editor over his patriotic credentials, we would rightly condemn it as a worrying level of state pressure on the press. Just what were Vaz’s intentions behind that question? Would it have been held against Rusbridger if he had said ‘no’? We can only speculate. But, whether or …

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Tagged alan rusbridger, keith vaz, Parliament and patriotism | 32 Comments

Opinion: Cash in your pocket or green fields on your doorstep?

By Andy Boddington | Fri 6th December 2013 - 10:48 am

Cash in your pocket or green fields on your doorstep?

Does anyone think the planning system is working? I don’t and neither do many communities and local councils. Ministers certainly don’t think so. Buried in the National Infrastructure Plan published on Tuesday are proposals for more planning reform (pdf). They are bad proposals.

One plan is to set up a specialist court to deal with planning disputes. That’s a good idea, but as with so much legislation under this government, the detail undermines the principle (for example, the Lobbying and Antisocial Behaviour bills). What the government is really aiming for here …

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Tagged planning and rural affairs | 21 Comments

Nelson Mandela – the long walk is over

By Mary Reid | Fri 6th December 2013 - 7:18 am

Barack Obama described Nelson Mandela as ‘a hero for the world’ and it is difficult to think of another politician who was as admired globally as he was. Perhaps the only comparable figure is Mahatma Gandhi, who also began his public life as a lawyer working for the civil rights of South Africans.

However, while Gandhi practised non-violent civil disobediance throughout his life, Mandela moved towards militant opposition to apartheid. His transition in public perception from terrorist to saint has been unique.

In 1996 Mandela was granted the Freedom of the City of London. I was very privileged to be present at the event in London’s Guildhall.

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Also posted in Obituaries | Tagged featured and nelson mandela | 15 Comments

Autumn statement – 5 quick thoughts from me

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 5th December 2013 - 2:54 pm

I don’t pretend to be an economist so don’t expect any commentary on debts or deficits from me. I want to take a very quick look at some of the practical aspects of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. You can read Stephen Tall’s take on it here.

I’m not taking any marriage tax break

If Liberal Democrats hadn’t allowed the Tories their awful marriage tax break, we’d have been breaking the Coalition Agreement in the same way as the Tories did over Lords Reform. I would have preferred we hadn’t agreed to it in the first place. We won’t be voting for …

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Tagged autumn statement 2013 | 28 Comments

Autumn statement: George is jubilant, Ed blusters and Danny breathes a sigh of relief

By Stephen Tall | Thu 5th December 2013 - 1:50 pm

“A lot done, a lot left to do.” It’s the slogan that adorns many re-election campaigns and it’s the one George Osborne adopted in his autumn statement today. He was cautiously jubilant. Growth has returned with the OBR seemingly struggling to get its forecasts to keep up. Borrowing will fall – slower than the Chancellor forecast, true, but a cash surplus is expected within five years.

This gave the Coalition the wriggle room it needed for an assortment of giveaways… Free school meals for 5-7 year-olds, the personal income tax allowance to rise to £10k then be pegged to inflation, …

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Also posted in News | Tagged autumn statement 2013 and featured | 9 Comments

The Autumn Statement and the unreal economic debate in which everyone pretends the Coalition stuck to ‘Plan A’

By Stephen Tall | Thu 5th December 2013 - 10:15 am

It’s autumn statement day. George Osborne will stand at the despatch box of the House of Commons this afternoon and present his pre-budget report. The Guardian’s Martin Kettle sums up what it’s all about:

For the Conservatives, today is about redefining themselves – in the face of a run of seriously disappointing polls – as the party that feels the voters’ pain over energy prices, house price inflation, wind farms or payday loans – while still, boosted by yesterday’s strong economic surveys and the possible return of the UK’s AAA rating, managing a recovering economy more soundly than Labour. For

…

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Tagged Danny Alexander, economic policy, ed balls, george osborne and jonathan portes | 13 Comments

Gordon Birtwistle MP writes… Careers advice should reflect the value of apprenticeships

By Gordon Birtwistle MP | Wed 4th December 2013 - 3:17 pm

Apprenticeships are just a valuable as degrees – careers advice is vital to ensure this message is heard.

As Government Apprenticeship Ambassador to Business, my job is to advocate and promote apprenticeships to businesses, young people and schools across the country; working closely with the National Apprenticeship Service and BIS.

Over the next two years (and in the upcoming months) I will be visiting more schools, training providers, businesses including small and medium enterprises and apprentices to hear from a range of people and to establish how the Government can improve on apprenticeships.

So far we have been up and down the country …

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Tagged apprenticeships, BIS and national apprenticeship service | 9 Comments

Opinion: Parental equality: a step, and only a step in the right direction

By Name Withheld | Wed 4th December 2013 - 2:30 pm

I heard the announcement by Nick Clegg regarding shared parental leave and I am pleased that the party is moving the arrangements into the 21st century and away from the 1950’s. I do though still have an internal sigh when I hear the debate only being framed as a “mummy and daddy” debate, when it is reported in the media.

Hearing this language personally annoys me, as it reinforces the view that a family is only correct if it is for one mother and one father. This is patent nonsense in the 21st century and causes subconscious bias towards parenting …

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Tagged LGBT rights and shared parental leave | 3 Comments

The Independent View: Help, don’t judge – better uses for the £700 million marriage tax break cash

By Jenny Allen | Wed 4th December 2013 - 11:58 am

Another Westminster set piece, another piece of the jigsaw for David Cameron’s marriage tax allowance. This Thursday the Chancellor gives his Autumn Statement. With the economic upturn shaky at best we can expect little in the way of good news and plenty more squeezing of budgets. Except, that is, for the little matter of the £700m the Conservatives are gearing up to spend on giving tax breaks for married couples. The Chancellor is expected to give more detail on this policy, which even its supporters believe is only of symbolic value.

With …

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Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged don't judge my family, featured and marriage tax break | 7 Comments

Christmas present ideas from the LDV team and friends – Day 3

By The Voice | Tue 3rd December 2013 - 2:45 pm

Welcome to Day 3 of our series of Christmas present ideas. Today it’s the turn of Mary Reid.

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan has written another masterful novel, set in the murky world of MI5 in the 1970s. The outcome is actually given away in the first paragraph, but the final chapter is still surprising and revelatory. In between, we follow a young and seemingly ill-prepared recruit to the service as she is given the task of subverting a novelist. She had herself been introduced to MI5 by an older …

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Tagged christmas present ideas and mary reid | 6 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes…Tackling child abuse online: Doing what works

By Julian Huppert | Tue 3rd December 2013 - 1:10 pm

Thanks to a number of national police forces, led by the Canadians, working together 341 child abusers have been arrested and almost 400 children being held as sex slaves have been freed in recent months. That is fantastic news.

However, not one of those was in Britain.

2,345 British suspects had been identified by the authorities in Toronto, some of whom are feared to have regular contact with children, and these were passed to CEOP, the specialist police centre, but astonishingly, no action was taken on our side for 18 months.

It appears that whilst the Prime Minister has a number of great …

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Tagged ceop, child protection, featured and internet filters | 1 Comment

Martin Horwood MP writes…Putting people with disabilities into the international development picture

By Martin Horwood | Tue 3rd December 2013 - 11:59 am

One year after her appointment as the first ever Liberal Democrat minister at the Department for International Development (DfID), Lynne Featherstone has already earned a reputation for picking up difficult subjects and setting ambitious goals. In her first year, she put the issue of female genital mutilation on the national and international agenda and famously declared that she wanted to see it gone within a generation and then started to take the practical steps to make that happen.

Now Lynne has taken up another challenge for some of the world’s most vulnerable people: to champion the inclusion of people with disabilities. …

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Tagged dfid, disability, international development, lynne featherstone and Sightsavers | 1 Comment

Opinion: Child taken from womb by social services. Really?

By Evan Harris | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 7:43 pm

Yesterday Caron Lindsay blogged on the case of what some are describing as the “Forced Caesarian and Child Abduction” case. In her article she reached certain judgments that I think displayed a degree of unjustified faith in accuracy of newspaper reports.

This is especially unwise in cases where those who are criticised can not answer back due to medical confidentiality and/or legal restrictions designed to protect the privacy of a child (and possibly the patient).

I felt the quickest way to “put the other side” is to look at and respond to some of the points made by Caron in her post. In …

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144 Comments

Opinion: Liberalism is radicalism

By Anonymous Liberal | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 5:42 pm

Though cheered by Nick Clegg’s letter on Liberal principles, I balked at being “slap, bang in the liberal centre”.

Though not his intention, “centre” always suggests equidistance between left and right. It implies reasonableness. And everyone knows politics is a contest for the centre ground. We live there. We win.
Except this conflates two unhelpful metaphors.

When Labour and Conservatives contest the centre ground it doesn’t make them Liberals. Rather they’re engaging with popular (often illiberal) sentiment, metaphorically located somewhere between them, in order to succeed electorally. If strong, they cajole that sentiment towards a programme. If weak, they appease it.

Our supposed …

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30 Comments

Opinion: The Opportunity Costs of HS2

By John Whitehouse | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 4:21 pm

Today’s publication (pdf) by the Liberal think tank Centre Forum, “Build the infrastructure: bin the wish list”, ought to make every Liberal Democrat stop and think again about the wisdom of spending £50 billion on HS2.

The report concludes that “projects must be prioritised with full consideration of opportunity costs”, saying:

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Tagged HS2 and infrastructure spending | 23 Comments

Christmas present ideas from the LDV team and friends – Day 2

By The Voice | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 2:45 pm

On this Mega Monday, here are two Christmas present suggestions from our own Nick Thornsby.

The letters of Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

Edited by his two sons, this collection of Arthur Schlesinger’s letters gives a fascinating insight into many of the key events in 20th century American history. And unlike most historians, Schlesinger often found himself mixed up in those events, particularly where they involved the Democratic party. He famously spent time working as an adviser in the JFK White House, so there is interesting material from before, during and …

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Tagged christmas present ideas and nick thornsby | Leave a comment

Ed Davey writes… Lower energy bills – with good deal for the fuel poor, green energy and the green deal

By Ed Davey | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 12:44 pm

Energy bills are a hot political topic. Since 2005, energy bills have almost doubled at a time when many people’s incomes have barely risen. The cause of these rises has been almost entirely rising wholesale gas prices on international markets. Yet despite that and even though the cost of government policies only represents 9% on the average bill, it is right the Government has closely scrutinised our policy costs, and found a way to reduce them, to deliver an average saving of £50.

The fact we have done so whilst protecting …

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Tagged energy bills, energy companies, energy efficiency, fuel poverty and green deal | 29 Comments

Opinion: Demonstrations in Ukraine demonstrates the importance of European unity

By Paul Stocker | Mon 2nd December 2013 - 10:33 am

Within the confines of our islands, during the protracted debates over Britain’s relationship with the EU, it is perfectly easy to forget what is patently obvious to the majority of continental Europe – European unity matters. As Ian Traynor at the Guardian has pointed out, the mass demonstrations in Ukraine show that the EU still offers hope to many on the peripheries of the continent. Indeed, it is probably extremely difficult for Nigel Farage or indeed any British Eurosceptic to understand the waving of the EU flag as an act promoting national self-determination …

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Tagged eu and ukraine | 10 Comments

Christmas present ideas from the LDV team and friends…Day 1

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 1st December 2013 - 2:15 pm

We are very strict at LDV Towers. There must be no mention of Christmas before 1st December, but now that we’re here, the holly, baubles and tinsel are being dusted off. Rumours that we were going to have a lights display spelling out Stronger Economy, Fairer Society have proved wide of the mark, though.

We thought we might help you with some of your Christmas shopping with a few suggestions. The first suggestion comes from Stephen Tall:

Book: An officer and a spy, by Robert Harris available here.

This …

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Tagged christmas present ideas and stephen tall | 3 Comments

Botched deportation of dying man highlights need for humanitarian overhaul of asylum system

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 1st December 2013 - 10:05 am

On Wednesday, Roger Roberts wrote an extremely moving article about the fate of Isa Muaza, a Nigerian asylum seeker who had been on hunger strike for 90 days in protest at the conditions in which he was being kept at an immigration detention centre. His removal from the UK, even in his frail, close to death condition, was planned for Friday morning.

Through Thursday, many of our readers signed the petition asking for Theresa May to reconsider her decision to deport Muaza. Huge effort was put in by Liberal Democrats including Sarah Teather, Julian Huppert and Tim Farron as well …

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Tagged asylum, immigration, julian huppert, nick clegg, roger roberts, sarah teather and tim farron | 11 Comments

Baroness Claire Tyler writes…A victory for public health (and cross-party working)

By Claire Tyler | Sun 1st December 2013 - 9:00 am

Moving amendments to legislation in the Lords can often feel like an interesting and worthy – but ultimately pointless – activity as often nothing changes. Not so this week!. I was one of the cross party group of peers who moved an amendment to the Children and Families Bill last week to introduce powers to bring in regulations on standard packaging for cigarettes. My fellow peers were Ilora Finlay (crossbench), Richard Faulkner (Labour), and Ian McColl (Conservative). In the Commons it has also been genuinely cross party endeavour, the campaign being led by MPs including Paul Burstow and Stephen Williams …

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Tagged cigarette packaging and health | 1 Comment

Opinion: Pro-Europeans should not fear an EU Referendum

By Paul Stocker | Sat 30th November 2013 - 10:30 am

James Wharton’s EU referendum bill finally passed through the Commons on Friday. Whilst this is seen as a significant victory for the Conservative Party and indeed all Eurosceptics, there is still some way to go before a 2017 EU referendum is enshrined in law. The bill must now get through the Lords, and even Wharton seemed unconvinced that it would pass, at least not without significant amendment. However, the Tory MP for Stockton South warned the Lords, ominously stating “For an unelected House to deny the British people a say on a bill which has been passed by the …

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Tagged eu, eu referendum and james wharton | 27 Comments

Rebecca Taylor MEP writes…Can you help me campaign against e-cigs being regulated as medicines?

By Rebecca Taylor | Sat 30th November 2013 - 9:02 am

The EU is currently deciding how best to regulate e-cigarettes. Opinion is divided, with many public health organisations and most national governments – including the UK – pushing for the regulation of e-cigarettes as medicinal products, while consumers, manufacturers, along with some doctors and public health experts asking for a less stringent approach.

The European Parliament also voted against medicines regulation, adopting instead a Liberal amendment drafted by Frédérique Ries, myself and Chris Davies which aims to guarantee essential safeguards without resorting to medicines licensing.

E-cigarettes are a new and increasingly popular product used almost entirely by existing or former smokers (see …

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Tagged e-cigarettes, eu and european parliament | 55 Comments

Norman Lamb MP writes…My view on cigarette standardised packaging

By Norman Lamb MP | Fri 29th November 2013 - 1:45 pm

Yesterday the Government announced that it is launching an independent review of the public health evidence on standardised packaging for cigarettes.

As a Liberal I will always defend an individual’s right to smoke when they can do so without this having an impact on those around them, but I have made clear in the past my personal view that we should introduce standardised packaging.

This is a product, after all, which kills something in the region of 100,000 people a year. Is it really that unreasonable to argue that, given this death-rate, we should be able to restrict, in all ways, the …

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Tagged cigarette packaging and health | 35 Comments

Paul Burstow MP writes…Standardised cigarette packaging – reviewing the evidence, or just kicking the can down the road?

By Paul Burstow | Thu 28th November 2013 - 4:13 pm

The news today that the Coalition Government is launching an independent review of the evidence for standardised packaging is welcome. It marks an important shift from the position Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt took in July that he would wait until the “emerging impact of the decision in Australia can be measured”. Australia of course led the world when the previous Government, with all Party support, introduced standardised packaging in December last year.

More welcome still is that news that the Government will take the legal powers to introduce standardised packaging in the Children and Families Bill

A four month review …

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Tagged plain packaging | 9 Comments

John Pugh MP writes…Lessons from Bulgaria

By John Pugh | Thu 28th November 2013 - 11:46 am

There is something strange happening. This week we have seen the British Prime Minister question whether the free movement of labour is necessarily a good thing. The prospect of potentially socially disruptive Bulgarian and Rumanian immigration is concentrating his mind while all across the EU pray devoutly that the worst of tabloid fears will not come to pass.

The banking collapse in 2009 made all of us question whether the unfettered, free movement of capital was invariably a good thing. Currently the merits of the free movement of capital and labour are up for debate.

What we are seeing is the collapse …

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Tagged europe and immigration | 41 Comments

Sir Graham Watson MEP writes…Welcoming ALDE Party Congress to London

By Graham Watson | Thu 28th November 2013 - 9:54 am

This week the Liberal Democrats are playing host to the wider European Liberal family – the ALDE Party’s big annual congress, which is taking place in London on today, Friday and Saturday.

Over 900 Liberals from across the EU and beyond will gather in Canary Wharf to draw up the common manifesto for the 2014 European Parliament elections and consider nominees for the Liberal candidate for European Commission President.

The European Liberal family includes three current Prime Ministers: Mark Rutte of the Netherlands, Andris Ansip of Estonia and Alenka Bratušek of Slovenia, and they will soon be joined by Xavier Bettel in …

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Tagged ALDE | 9 Comments