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Category Archives: Op-eds

The Independent View: Democracy for Toddlers

By Ellie Levenson | Thu 7th November 2013 - 12:00 pm

One of the things I love most about being a parent is being asked questions that make me think about the world in a new way. Why, my toddler daughter wants to know, don’t we have dessert after breakfast? And why there is a moon? And where the people we can see from the bus window are going? In my household we call in ‘Whying’. I am quite convincing on the first of these questions, and can make a stab at the second. And for the third, about the people on the bus, I make up answers and that does …

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Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged children's books and democracy for toddlers | 7 Comments

We need to embrace Russell Brand – he’s the new political messiah

By Andy Boddington | Wed 6th November 2013 - 3:32 pm

He’s not going to go away. After all, celebs rarely do, even after their stardom has faded. My instinct is to ignore him. But I’ve talked to young friends. And they tell me my instinct is wrong.

They are saying to me that even if I can’t embrace the anarchic politics of Russell Brand, I should at least try to understand why he is so in tune with the next generation of non-voters.

This whole fuss started with Brand editing an edition of the New Statesman, then throwing Paxo into a state of complexity on Newsnight. Our media, bored to its teeth with the professional dullness of today’s politicians, drooled on every rebellious word.

Yesterday, Brand was back on ebullient form in the Guardian:

I’ve had an incredible week since I spoke from the heart, some would say via my arse, on Paxman. I’ve had slaps on the back, fist bumps, cheers and hugs while out and about, cock-eyed offers of political power from well intentioned chancers and some good ol’ fashioned character assassinations in the papers.

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Tagged russell brand | 47 Comments

Opinion: Benefits cap – right or wrong?

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Wed 6th November 2013 - 3:00 pm

There’s a lot in the news about the Benefits Cap following yesterday’s dismissal of the case where three single mothers took forward a legal challenge to the cap on their benefits. They lost, but perhaps we as Liberal Democrats should question the logic behind the benefits cap.

Now, on one hand, when you look at it, £500 per week seems like a lot of money. Even for a family of three. With this in mind, it seems completely legitimate to cap the amount of support families receive to £26,000 per year. With the average earnings in the UK resting at …

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Tagged benefits cap and welfare reform | 57 Comments

Opinion: Liberal Youth Scotland campaigns against SNP cuts to student bursary cuts and college places

By Hannah Bettsworth | Wed 6th November 2013 - 9:50 am

Student finance. Mention those two words to most students and you’ll either get people moaning about the amount of forms they have to fill in, or excited about how rich they are at the beginning of the month.

However, at the end of the day, you have to pay it back. Unless you vote SNP. That was the message they gave graduates in 2007. Strangely enough, I still seem to have a student loan and quite a substantial amount of money to pay back. They knew they couldn’t afford it and scrapped the pledge in their first budget. It was a …

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Tagged liberal youth scotland, Scotland and student finance | 1 Comment

Study shows that UK benefits from immigration from European countries

By Mary Reid | Tue 5th November 2013 - 4:25 pm

Liberal Democrats celebrate the fact that immigrants make a substantial social contribution to UK society, and they have long suspected that immigrants make a net financial contribution as well. That claim is now backed up by a recent study undertaken by University College London, and reported by the BBC.

In a paper for the Centre of Research and Analysis of Migration, authors Christian Dustmann and Tommaso Frattini conclude that:

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Tagged Centre of Research and Analysis of Migration, Christian Dustmann, featured, immigration and Tommaso Frattini | 33 Comments

Andrew Stunell writes … Removing discrimination from electoral campaigns

By Andrew Stunell MP | Tue 5th November 2013 - 3:34 pm

Last week the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Electoral Conduct published its recommendations. The Liberal Democrats played a leading part in this inquiry and we are pleased to report that our approach to tackling discrimination is rightly credited in the findings of the all-party panel.

Electoral campaigning in Britain is, the Inquiry found, generally a positive and democratically enriching process. There are however a number of areas in which better frameworks for action could be introduced which would make Britain not just a responsible democracy but one that is world-leading in facing down discriminatory electoral conduct.

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Tagged discrimination and electoral conduct | 10 Comments

Opinion: Labour’s Living Wage really means the State taxes the poor more

By Alisdair Calder McGregor | Tue 5th November 2013 - 2:38 pm

This is – according to the Labour Party – the start of “Living Wage week”, a soundbite policy of the kind we’re now used to hearing from Labour.

Superficially, the idea of the Living Wage is simple and tempting. Figure out how much it costs to live, and force employers to pay that much.

Labour’s chosen method of doing this is to offer employers tax breaks – for a year – if they comply with the Living Wage rather than the national minimum wage. However, as pointed out by the Adam Smith Institute, what we are actually dealing with is …

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Tagged adam smith institute and living wage | 33 Comments

Julian Huppert writes … Immigration Bill: Update

By Julian Huppert | Tue 5th November 2013 - 10:44 am

I thought it might be useful to let you all know where we’ve reached with the Immigration Bill. Today, we start to discuss each clause in detail in the Bill Committee, which I’m serving on.

I’ve tabled a whole series of amendments, to try to move the Bill back towards the sort of thing that we would like to see.

I’ll be suggesting that students shouldn’t pay the NHS levy – they already contribute to our economy by coming here to study, and we don’t want to drive them away to countries we compete with. I’ll also argue that people who’ve been …

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Tagged child detention, immigration bill and NHS levy | 4 Comments

Opinion: The Case for Community Banking

By Selwyn Runnett | Tue 5th November 2013 - 8:57 am

There are signs that the banking crisis may be coming to an end. The old TSB has re-emerged, Lloyds may be returned wholly to the private sector. William & Glyn’s may also re-emerge with investment, from amongst others, the Church Commissioners for England.

So, if we ignore RBS, the banking sector looks like it can get back to solid day-to-day retail banking, can’t it? Well, not quite. Retail banking is now disappearing from our local communities with only local credit unions filling the gap.

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Tagged banking | 9 Comments

Opinion: You don’t have to wear a red poppy

By Richard Church | Mon 4th November 2013 - 6:42 pm

This week there is a bit more pressure on all of us to conform. You would think, watching the telly, that wearing a poppy is compulsory, it isn’t. Of course, the expectation to conform by wearing a symbol in a lapel is nothing to the expectation placed on young men 100 years ago.

This year I discovered a letter from my great grandfather, Wesley Church, published in his local paper, the Northampton Echo, in 1917, condemning people for throwing stones at a conscientious objector who was on his way to attend a tribunal. He wrote: ‘There are hundreds who are …

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30 Comments

Why do so many Liberal Democrat MPs not claim for energy costs?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd November 2013 - 3:49 pm

There’s a new expenses scandal in the offing. Today’s Sunday Mirror headline screams that 340 MPs are getting their second home energy bills paid. Yes, energy bills are a hot topic at the moment but let’s look behind the hyperbole.

Of course, MPs are paying their own energy bills in their homes out of their salaries. What is being paid by the public purse is the cost of their accommodation in either their constituency or London. If you’re going to do the job of an MP properly, you need two bases. It stands to reason, therefore, that the second base …

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Tagged mps expenses | 48 Comments

Opinion: We need to grab our current luck and champion the Lib Dems

By Liz Leffman | Sun 3rd November 2013 - 10:03 am

Far too often, information about the work our ministers are doing reaches us, and the general public, through a cloud of white noise created by the media. The information that we local activists get from Lib Dem HQ can be drowned out by what we read and hear elsewhere. It’s often difficult to tease out our ministers’ achievements in government from the work of the government as a whole. But in the past few weeks we seem to have found a way of dispersing our uncertainty and showing the public that we stand for something tangibly different from our coalition partners.

The discussion about energy policy offers a way of unlocking the conundrum we have faced for the past two and a half years. How do we remain constructive partners in coalition, while reassuring voters that we are different from the Tories?

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Tagged 2015 general election and grassroots activism | 8 Comments

The Independent View: What’s wrong with HS2?

By Penny Gaines | Fri 1st November 2013 - 4:14 pm

High speed 2 easily cleared its first parliamentary hurdle yesterday, with just 34 MPs voting against the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill – 350 voted in favour. Here Penny Gaines argues the case against HS2 is still strong.

High Speed 2 will cost £50bn, including the trains. But it is an environmentally damaging vanity project, with a constantly shifting rationale for building it.

The current argument is that speed is irrelevant for the case for HS2, but that our existing railways are nearly full and the only option is to build a new high speed railway. This argument does not stand up to scrutiny.

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Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged high speed 2 | 46 Comments

Opinion: A liberal approach to affordable childcare

By Richard Shaw | Fri 1st November 2013 - 10:15 am

Childcare in the UK is expensive.

In 2011 the OECD reported the UK having the second highest costs of childcare for any OECD country in terms of average family incomes. According to the Daycare Trust, full-time nursery care costs parents an £11,000 per year on average and around £4,000 for care for two school-age children around the start and end of the school day.

Many parents have to choose between leaving work to care for their kids, sacrificing much needed income or continuing in work and struggling with the costs of childcare. If they’re lucky their household earnings are enough that either option doesn’t cause any considerable hardship.

But it’s not the cost of childcare that’s the problem – it’s the way we pay for it.

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Tagged childcare | 6 Comments

Opinion: Reform of the Duchy of Cornwall – on the cards?

By Michael Hall | Thu 31st October 2013 - 3:58 pm

Lord Berkeley’s “Rights of the Sovereign and Duchy of Cornwall Bill” is due to have its second reading in the Lords on 8 November. He has been quoted as saying he wants to “provoke a debate”, and it may be supposed that Bill is likely to be defeated at its second reading. As it would affect the Prince’s private interests, it would require his consent in order to progress. He has given his consent to several bills in the past, according to the Parliament website. It is surprising how many bills require his consent. This is

…

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Tagged duchy of cornwall, lord berkeley and monarchy | 11 Comments

Jo Swinson MP writes… Liberal Democrat aim of transparent company ownership becomes a reality

By Jo Swinson MP | Thu 31st October 2013 - 1:48 pm

Today the Prime Minister announced the very welcome news that the UK will have an open public register of beneficial ownership – something Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for. By making business more transparent, so that anyone can find out who really owns and controls a company, we strengthen the image of the UK as a clean and trusted place to do business.

As it stands UK companies currently have a register which lists who directly holds their shares but you can’t always tell who the ultimate beneficial owner is. With no duty for companies to hold this information individuals can …

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Tagged business, companies, liberal democrat achievements in government and transparency | 7 Comments

The biggest urban myth: the Tories have a birthright to the Shires

By Andy Boddington | Thu 31st October 2013 - 1:30 pm

Champions of the Countryside Alliance boast that it is the voice of rural Britain. I disagree. It is just one voice within rural Britain. It’s like saying that the Tories are the voice of the Home Counties and Labour is the voice of the Industrial North. That’s just lousy stereotypical language. There are many different voices within rural England.

I am forever angry that the London press, especially the right leaning press, routinely trots out stereotypes about life in our rural areas. They seem to believe that “Escape to the Country” is something authentic. It’s a reality show, no more.

One reason why rural areas get such a bad deal in public policy is that London journalists rely on urban myths about the countryside rather than trying to understand rural reality. This reality game is not without victims. The media’s glib characterisations of country life distort discussions of pressing issues like rural funding, schooling and a working landscape. And most of all, the need for jobs and decent housing in rural areas.

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Tagged media and rural | 4 Comments

Opinion: It’s time to say Yes to Homes

By Patrick Murray | Thu 31st October 2013 - 12:53 pm

Britain is in the grip of a housing crisis. There are 1.8m households on waiting lists for affordable homes, totalling over 4.5m people. Millions of young people are priced out of the housing market, unlikely to ever be able to afford to buy their own home. Poor quality, overcrowded accommodation impacts significantly on the health and well-being of its residents. It is undoubtedly one of the great social crises of my generation.

Yet for all the statistics, case studies and figures there are two that really stand out – 98,280 and 240,000. The first is the number of new homes built last …

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Tagged housing, national housing federation and planning | 5 Comments

Lewis Baston’s election 2015 forecast: Labour 36%, Conservatives 34%, Lib Dems 16%

By Stephen Tall | Thu 31st October 2013 - 12:05 pm

Lewis Baston, a research associate at Democratic Audit who is perhaps the nearest the UK comes to a Nate Silver, has published a pamphlet called Swing Seats: The key battlegrounds of the 2015 election (not available online yet). It’s a forensic analysis of the constituencies that will decide the next election, and digs much deeper than the national polls on which so much political commentary relies.

I was on a panel – together with ConservativeHome’s Paul Goodman and the Fabian Society’s Marcus Roberts – to discuss its findings yesterday. Below are 10 points I jotted down from …

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Tagged democratic audit, fabian society, lewis baston, marcus roberts and paul goodman | 21 Comments

Opinion: Conservative run Shropshire takes independence away from disabled and elderly

By Ian Griffiths | Thu 31st October 2013 - 11:35 am

A month ago, we heard from Matt who wrote bravely about how he feels denigrated by Conservatives attacking welfare claimants. Today, Ian – a disabled bus user in Shropshire living in sheltered accommodation – writes about problems with transport as his Conservative council slashes bus services.

I am writing this article because I am campaigning on behalf of registered users from Three Crosses, Clee Hill near Ludlow and other scheme managers, users and their carers in South Shropshire. We were users of Shropshire Link, a regular, bookable bus service that served all the rural areas.

We have lost our independence thanks to the Conservative Cabinet member for Highways and Transport, Claire Wilde, who abolished the Link service as of 8 October. It has been replaced with a community bus service.

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Tagged disabled people, elderly and transport | 8 Comments

Lynne Featherstone writes… Bonuses for Homes for Haringey staff are sickening when tenants need repairs and there aren’t enough homes

By Lynne Featherstone | Thu 31st October 2013 - 10:25 am

International Development minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one…..

Social housing in Haringey is in high demand. There are currently over 10,000 individuals and families stuck on the waiting list – and many will not have the chance to bid for a property in the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, people are often in cramped conditions in the private sector, or waiting in low quality ‘temporary’ accommodation. This has a detrimental effect on both the children and adults in these situations.

And once families are given social housing in Haringey, it’s …

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1 Comment

Opinion: Sexist Labour needs All Women Shortlists, the Liberal Democrats can change without them

By Sarah Brown | Wed 30th October 2013 - 6:57 pm

The Independent reported on Sunday that Nick Clegg 2ould consider imposing all women shortlists for the 2020 general election if the party did not select enough women in winnable seats.

I defected from Labour earlier this year and I want to share my experiences of a party that needs to use all women shortlists to select female candidates for parliament and councils.

Earlier this year, Mark Fergusonrightly pointed out on Labourlist that no women had been selected in open shortlists since before the general election. It pointed out that when local labour parties had the choice between a man and …

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Tagged all-women shortlists, featured and labour | 47 Comments

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 30th October 2013 - 2:30 pm

Liberal Democrat MP Michael Moore writes a regular column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition.

As local MP, I am determined to do as much as possible to boost job opportunities for young people here in the Borders. I believe that apprenticeships offer a great opportunity for businesses and young people. They are not just for the traditional trades but can be in anything from marketing to business administration and customer service. Apprenticeships help businesses reduce recruitment costs, lower staff turnover and improve productivity.

Over the last few months, I have been campaigning to encourage local businesses …

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Also posted in Parliament and Scotland | Tagged Michael Moore and Westminster Notes | 1 Comment

Opinion: The National Rail Conference and the strategic case for HS2

By Paul Rowen | Wed 30th October 2013 - 11:58 am

The last few months have not been easy for supporters of HS2. Attending a meeting at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in September I was taken aback at the rising level of opposition to this keynote Coalition Project.

The opportunity therefore to attend the National Rail Conference at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on the day that the Department for Transport published it Strategic Case for HS2 provided an opportunity to hear first-hand why this project was so important.

Though generally supportive for the principle of HS2 as “good for the north” …

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Tagged featured, high-speed rail, HS2, national rail conference and patrick mcloughlin | 33 Comments

How accessible is Federal Conference?

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Wed 30th October 2013 - 10:14 am

For those who are regular attendees at Federal Conference, you will know that over the last few years, the venues have changed significantly. Being in Government, we’ve seen a shift from open door policy to armed police.

And with this added security, many of us with access needs have found problems. Walking distances have increased, check points have increased and venues seemingly expand every year in colour, size and choice of experience.

When you suffer from a long term condition, it’s often overlooked by those who don’t that such needs can have an impact on your ability to enjoy and make the …

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Tagged accessibility, federal conference and federal conference committee | 10 Comments

Lynne Featherstone writes … My visit to Uganda: “Disability is not inability”

By Lynne Featherstone | Tue 29th October 2013 - 5:40 pm

More than one billion people worldwide – that’s 1 in 7 people – live with a disability. And last year’s Paralympics reminded us that people with disabilities can achieve incredible feats. But for every disabled person celebrated for their achievements, there are millions more in the developing world who are treated as sub-human, hidden from view and forgotten. They are the great neglect in international development and I am determined to right this wrong.

Last week, UK Paralympic wheelchair basketball star Ade Adepitan travelled with me to Uganda with …

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Tagged ade adepitan, disability and uganda | 1 Comment

Opinion: What is with the Lib Dem love affair with leaflets?

By Former Organiser | Tue 29th October 2013 - 10:43 am

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and am convinced that I am the only Liberal Democrat to feel this way. Nonetheless, I have to share my feelings with a group of people that will understand, perhaps in the declining, yet desperate hope that I will find someone else who feels this way. Therefore, I must ask exactly what is with the Liberal Democrat love affair with leaflets?

I haven’t always hated the things. I remember happily putting yellow leaflets through doors as a 4 year old with my parents, but since growing up I’ve developed an intense hatred of the things. From printing them, to pulling paper out of a jammed Riso, then folding them, and finally delivering them in the mist, and rain.

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Tagged campaigning and connect | 43 Comments

Paul Burstow writes… The care bill must deliver for carers

By Paul Burstow | Mon 28th October 2013 - 5:25 pm

Across the country today, almost a million people are selflessly caring for friends and family with cancer. Their work is incredible and inspiring, and not only means the world to those they care for, but makes a massive contribution to our society. For far too long their role has been overlooked. It is why while I was Care Minister I made sure that the Care Bill enshrines new rights for carers in England.

The Bill rightly puts carers at the centre of care – as equal partners in care planning who, for the first time, will have clear …

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Tagged carers | 1 Comment

Opinion: It’s not just about Nuclear, it’s about Finance

By Steve Coltman | Mon 28th October 2013 - 2:39 pm

It’s been a week since Ed Davey announced the deal to build a new nuclear power station. After a week’s reflection the financing of this deal, especially by the Chinese, has become the biggest talking point. The cheapest way to generate electricity is with coal-fired power stations fuelled with open-cast coal from North America. Cheap, that is, if you ignore the environmental cost. …

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Tagged foreign direct investment and nuclear power | 12 Comments

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What can the Liberal Democrats learn from New Zealand’s Opportunity Party? (Daniel Duggan)
Is the NHS still safe enough – and if not, what needs to change? (Judy Abel)
Ed Davey quizzed on EU, slavery reparations and Lib Dem relevance (Caron Lindsay)
Scottish Lib Dems defeat SNP on Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill (Caron Lindsay)

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Mick Taylor
@DavidRaw. To be strictly accurate, the Church in Wales and the Church in Scotland play no state role since they were disestablished by the 1906-14 Liberal Gove...
Jonah Weisz
Hi Paul, I thought you might be interested to know that we have an ME/LC Lib Dems group where we discuss and coordinate our advocacy efforts - just drop me a li...
Judy Abel
@Geoff thank you for your comments. Unfortunately those experiences sound familiar. Because the NHS is free at the point of use we maybe don’t think we can ex...
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