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Category Archives: Op-eds

Ming Campbell MP writes… Why I support the Justice and Security Bill

By Ming Campbell MP | Fri 8th March 2013 - 8:50 pm

Last September in Brighton, the Conference voted to remove part 2 of the Justice and Security Bill. That Bill is now completing its final stages in Parliament. But let me assure you, that because of Liberal Democrat pressure, the Bill is now radically different. Amendments have been made such as unfettered discretion for the judge and increased safeguards in order to meet previously raised objections.

The Bill is no longer the one that was before Conference last September and I believe it is now right …

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Tagged closed material proceedings, featured, justice and security bill and public interest immunity certificates | 22 Comments

Opinion: Why we’re rocking the boat in Brighton this weekend

By James Shaddock | Fri 8th March 2013 - 3:36 pm

I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership in relation to the party over the past few weeks in the wake of the allegations about the conduct of Lord Rennard, which he denies.

Why did no one tackle this effectively at the time? Why did it take several brave women talking to the media for us to finally deal with such a serious problem?

Credit where credit is due, Tim Gordon, the party’s Chief Executive has been impressive so far but is it enough?

Not for me or other Liberal Democrats members. That is why we set up

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Tagged equality, Rock the boat and sexual harassment | Leave a comment

The state of the party as we head to Brighton for Spring Conference

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 8th March 2013 - 7:55 am

By the time you read this, I’ll be in London, no doubt bleary eyed after a night on the sleeper, on my way to Spring Conference in Brighton. I’ve been thinking about how we are as we gather at the seaside. It’s been an eventful six months but has the good outweighed the bad?

Things to smile about

Since we met in Brighton, our ministers in the Coalition Government have done some excellent things. Here’s just a selection:

Plans for shared parental leave announced;
Equal (ish) marriage Bill unveiled;
Stopping the Tories capping Child Benefit at 2 children and taking Housing Benefit off

…

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Also posted in Conference | Tagged liberal democrat conference and spring conference 2013 | 3 Comments

Ian Swales MP writes…The crucial role of education in a manufacturing revival

By Ian Swales | Thu 7th March 2013 - 12:29 pm

The Lib Dem Spring Conference will debate the motion: Creating a strong manufacturing sector in a stronger economy. Part 3 of the motion calls for: ‘Government to continue its commitment to apprenticeships, and, additionally, to promote science education in schools and science and engineering degrees at universities – these are essential for building the skills sets necessary to support a strong manufacturing sector.’

Science and engineering education is an issue close to my heart as I actually graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Manchester University. My science based degree opened up many doors to me, leading to a career …

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Tagged #ldconf, ian swales and liberal democrat campaign for manufacturing | 2 Comments

Opinion: Who’s been hit hardest by the coalition’s cuts?

By Adam Corlett | Thu 7th March 2013 - 10:44 am

The budget on March 20th is likely to concentrate on growth, on avoiding an ‘omnishambles’, and on fighting the notion that Osborne has taken the country from triple A to triple dip. But it’s also the time to take stock of who’s bearing the brunt of (attempted) deficit reduction. This graph shows the combined effect of all the coalition’s tax and welfare changes, as modelled by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It doesn’t look good.

Impact of modelled tax and benefit reforms since Jan 2010, by income decile group (Copyright of the IFS*)

The blue …

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Tagged institute for fiscal studies and spending cuts | 15 Comments

Opinion: Breaking the mould

By Lucy Care | Thu 7th March 2013 - 9:07 am

Being a woman in a man’s world can be a lonely existence.

As an engineer, working on a manufacturing site in the 1980s, for the majority of the time I was the only woman in the whole of the engineering function – apart from the boss’s secretary. Engineers, technicians, tradesmen and labourers were all men, apart from me.

Technically and professionally this wasn’t a problem. I was at least as competent as the next engineer and respected for this.

But socially there definitely were differences. In my year in industry and at university I socialised with my fellow student engineers, among others. But …

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7 Comments

Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece writes…

By Meral Ece | Wed 6th March 2013 - 3:00 pm

On Monday 4 March, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, a renowned and respected disability rights campaigner, tabled an amendment, to which I included my name and support, opposing the Government’s proposal to repeal the ‘General Duty’ of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, arguing that doing so will fundamentally change the purpose, role and scope for the only equality and human rights statutory organisation in the UK.

The General Duty says that the EHRC ‘shall discharge its functions with a view to encouraging and supporting a society in which:

.. people’s ability to achieve their potential is not limited by prejudice or discrimination,

…

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Also posted in News | Tagged equality, equality act and house of lords | 8 Comments

Opinion: Worst past the post? Debating electoral reform for local government

By Nick Tyrone | Wed 6th March 2013 - 1:56 pm

Last year in May, Scottish voters were given the chance to vote using the Single Transferable Vote to select their local councillors for the second time since the introduction of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act of 2004. The Bill owes its life to the Liberal Democrats; it was a key demand for us entering into the Lib-Lab coalition government in Scotland. Almost ten years on from when the Bill became law, STV has done what it says on the tin. It has produced almost proportional results (exact proportionality is pretty much impossible under any system), it has almost doubled the …

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Tagged aldc, electoral reform, electoral reform society, liberal democrat conference fringe and Scotland | 8 Comments

Lord Greaves writes…We must do more for wage-earners below income tax threshold

By Tony Greaves | Wed 6th March 2013 - 11:59 am

I have tabled an oral question in the Lords to ask the government what measures they will take to ensure that wage-earners who are below the income tax threshold will benefit from any future increases in the personal allowance.

In a little-noticed debate last September the Liberal Democrat conference debated social and economic inequality. Inequality, the conference decided in the obscure language motion-writers use, “is an obstacle to individuals determining their own destinies and reduces aspirations”.

The resolution also, equally clumsily, said that inequality “prevents talent from fulfilling its potential to the detriment of the economy and society”. And, more accessibly, that …

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Tagged inequality and tax | 23 Comments

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 6th March 2013 - 8:55 am

Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP, writes a column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition.

Fairtrade fortnight

Fairtrade fortnight is now drawing to a close and it has been a great couple of weeks of raising awareness of the brand across the UK to inspire more people to buy Fairtrade. The theme of the fortnight was ‘Go Further’ to encourage people to try new Fairtrade products. I know that many Borderers already buy Fairtrade coffee, tea and bananas, but there are now so many more products available that are definitely worth …

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Also posted in Parliament and Scotland | Tagged fairtrade, fishing, Michael Moore, michael moore mp, veterans and Westminster Notes | Leave a comment

Opinion: Lo-Tax for the Lib Dems

By Tony Vickers | Tue 5th March 2013 - 2:32 pm

Raising the tax-free personal allowance is the Lib Dems’ headline contribution to this Government – so popular that the Tories are trying to claim it as theirs! But when Danny Alexander said that our next manifesto should include a promise to raise and peg the personal allowance to the National Minimum Wage (almost £13,000) he was setting his tax policy working group a challenge: to find £12bn a year from elsewhere.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies this isn’t progressive. Highest earners and others benefit, while …

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Tagged ALTER, land value tax and lo-tax | 38 Comments

Secret Courts..what does the party do now?

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 5th March 2013 - 2:02 pm

Its’s not been the easiest 24 hours to be a Liberal Democrat. It was very hard to watch the majority of our MPs vote to remove the right to a fair trial in civil cases where national security is deemed to be a factor. Just seven MPs voted in favour of amendments advised by the Joint Committee on Human Rights. The fact that the JCHR had a different view from the Government should surely have raised a huge red flag. An even bigger signal that our MPs were on the wrong course was the fact that Labour were voting in …

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Also posted in News | Tagged civil liberties, human rights, julian huppert, justice and security bill and secret courts | 100 Comments

Opinion: Making MORE in Britain with the Lib Dem Campaign for Manufacturing

By Gordon Birtwistle MP | Tue 5th March 2013 - 1:07 pm

The Lib Dem Campaign for Manufacturing had a hugely successful start, with the first campaign aim being implemented in the Autumn Statement. Our proposal on capital allowances saw the Chancellor increase the annual investment allowance from £25,000 to £250,000 for a two year period. This move by the Treasury will help businesses invest in plant and machinery and I am already seeing the difference in Burnley with a number of firms taking advantage of the …

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Tagged liberal democrat campaign for manufacturing and manufacturing | 1 Comment

Opinion: Funding defence

By Gareth Jones | Tue 5th March 2013 - 10:29 am

Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond has made headlines by suggesting the MOD and the armed forces should be spared any more significant cuts in the future spending review, instead suggesting the cuts should come from the social welfare budget instead.

The problem is… I partially agree with him; the defence budget is already the bare minimum required to meet the UK’s international commitments. It has not only received its share of austerity cuts under the Coalition but was underfunded under Blair and Brown leading …

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Tagged defence and trident | 10 Comments

Opinion: Dear David Ward – drop it, please

By Paul Walter | Mon 4th March 2013 - 4:10 pm

On his website, David Ward MP carries an article from his local Telegraph and Argus which begins:

David Ward has lashed out at his Liberal Democrat bosses – accusing them of wrongly claiming he has been ordered to attend “language classes”.
The Bradford East MP insisted no such punishment had been imposed, following his controversial comments about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
Mr Ward also said it was his understanding that any disciplinary process was now over – despite the Lib Dem chief whip stating it was merely “adjourned”.
And he spoke

…

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Tagged david ward | 51 Comments

Opinion: Where do we go from Eastleigh?

By Andy May | Mon 4th March 2013 - 2:23 pm

After a superb Eastleigh result, many Lib Dems will be rightly patting themselves on the back for what was a mammoth effort under the most difficult of circumstances. Happy memories came flooding back of the time we used to win by-elections. My first was volunteering in Dunfermline, winning a Labour heartland seat with a 16.2% swing.

After an unprecedented beating, the Tories will clearly take a long hard look at themselves – and hopefully draw all the wrong conclusions, as to why they are in such dire straits in the popularity stakes, by lurching to the right. However drawing all the wrong

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Tagged eastleigh by-election | 26 Comments

Opinion: You’re not from round here are you?

By Ruth Bright | Mon 4th March 2013 - 12:53 pm

Was “local”, I wonder, the most overused word in the Eastleigh by-election? Of all the terms in the Lib Dem lexicon “local” is surely our favourite.

A few years ago when the party had one of its periodic embarrassments, it looked like there would have to be a by-election in Winchester. I had a week-old baby at the time and was barely out of hospital when the phone calls started – “Why don’t you stand?”, “Hampshire bred”, “You got a great result in the next

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Tagged local | 21 Comments

116 Liberal Democrats write to the Daily Mail opposing secret courts

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 4th March 2013 - 11:55 am

Today’s Daily Mail contains a letter from 116 Liberal Democrats asking MPs to vote down Part 2 of the Justice and Security Bill. The signatories include a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, an MEP, 5 members of the Federal Executive, 2 members of the Federal Policy Committee, 6 past and present members of the Liberal Democrat Voice editorial team and a number of parliamentary candidates. The letter says:

We are writing to urge all MPs to do the right thing by voting against Part II of the Justice and Security Bill when it has its Report stage in

…

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Tagged charlotte henry, daily mail, jo shaw, julian huppert, justice and security bill and secret courts | 17 Comments

Opinion: Making MORE in Britain with the Regional Growth Fund

By William Hobhouse | Mon 4th March 2013 - 11:23 am

The Spring Conference will debate the motion on creating a strong manufacturing sector in a strong economy. In Vince Cable, the coalition government has a powerful voice for manufacturing. Significant progress is being made in building a more resilient, diverse and balanced economy. Lib Dems are also becoming confident in charting an interventionist industrial strategy that avoids the twin failures of laissez faire and state support for ailing companies – the two positions characterised by historic Conservative and Labour thinking.

The Conference motion says that government funds made available through the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) has led to the creation and/or safeguarding of over 550,000 jobs

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Tagged manufacturing and regional growth fund | 9 Comments

Opinion: Part of the solution is that we need more male feminists

By Lee Dargue | Mon 4th March 2013 - 10:23 am

I’ve had enough.

I’ve had enough of women being seen by far too many people in society as second class citizens. I’ve had enough of working in the private sector and seeing women patronised for their ideas with a “oh that’s a good idea, love” attitude. I’ve had enough of women having to fight for the right to be heard and then being granted a voice, because it’s time to ‘let the woman talk’. I’ve had enough of a pervasive society, which for centuries has degraded women to being the pretty ones who are meant to serve men. I’ve had enough of women being pressurised

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Tagged role of women | 9 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes…..The Preamble, 25 years on

By Julian Huppert | Sun 3rd March 2013 - 3:30 pm

25 years ago, our party agreed its new constitution – and the preamble to that constitution, setting out our core values and vision.

Many of us will know some of it – ‘The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, … in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance, or conformity’.

This extract – the bit that appears on membership cards – is in my view truly poetic, and captures brilliantly what we are trying to do. We are concerned about people, and empowering them to do what they can and want to do. …

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Tagged conservative party, constitution, labour party and liberal democrats | 54 Comments

Eastleigh shows why the Tories and Labour should now support PR in local elections

By Stephen Tall | Sun 3rd March 2013 - 2:15 pm

If only, if only… Instead of holding out for a referendum on the Alternative Vote the Lib Dem negotiators had secured proportional representation for all local council elections instead.

Hindsight’s easy, I know. At the time of negotiating the Coalition Agreement, electoral reform at Westminster was the party’s deal-breaker. The Lib Dem vote had gone up by a million, our number of MPs down by five. The public were in favour, or so the polls said. It’s possible the party wouldn’t even have approved entering the Coalition if the Westminster voting system had been left untouched.

And yet, and yet… Proportional representation at a local council level would’ve been a far more transformational way of shifting the power dynamics in this country, of introducing genuine electoral competition into contests up and down the country. Eastleigh shows us how.

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Also posted in Local government | Tagged eastleigh by-election, electoral reform, featured and proportional representation | 27 Comments

The View from the Dutch Social Liberals: Lib Dem Phoenix rises above Tory Ashes!

By Bernard Aris | Sun 3rd March 2013 - 12:00 pm

“Men of Harleigh, ye whose action
Put to rout the Tory faction
In their ranks spread wild distraction
Vanquished all their bands.
(…)
Shoulder press to shoulder
Onwards march and bolder
Triumphs more we yet shall see
Before we get much older.
“Peace, Reform and Liberation”
Be our triune aspiration
Till we win them for the nation
And our land be free!”

That was the hymn I hummed all day on Friday when I heard the news from Eastleigh!

We, the Dutch Social-Liberals from D66, know that (in Dutch coalition government politics) “Regeren is halveren”: every time D66 joins a government coalition, we risk getting halved (or worse) in our proportional electoral system …

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Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged eastleigh by-election | 3 Comments

A response to Julian Huppert’s analysis on the Justice and Security Bill

By Jo Shaw | Sat 2nd March 2013 - 7:00 pm

A response to Julian Huppert’s analysis of the Justice and Security Bill

We learned on Wednesday this week that the Justice and Security Bill is being rushed into Report Stage in the Commons. The government has now published its latest proposed amendments to the Justice and Security Bill. Astonishingly I have been told that Conservatives are saying the Bill has been moved forward to conclude in the Commons on 7^th March to avoid a further motion at our Spring Conference.

Julian Huppert and Mike Crockart worked very hard during the Committee stage of the debate, and voted (supported by Labour) to defeat secret …

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Tagged featured, julian huppert, justice and security bill and secret courts | 66 Comments

Opinion: Dead parrot bites back – again

By Giles Goodall | Sat 2nd March 2013 - 5:20 pm

At the Conservative Party conference in Bournemouth in 1990, Margaret Thatcher famously used Monty Python’s ‘dead parrot’ sketch to mock the Liberal Democrats’ newly-designed bird of liberty. After a series of name changes and a derisory 6% of the vote at the European elections in 1989, the Lib Dems had been virtually written off. But the Eastbourne by-election gave the party the opportunity it needed to defy its media critics and get back into the game. This week, the dead parrot bit back – again.

Mike Thornton’s stunning …

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Tagged eastleigh by-election | 16 Comments

Saturday Forum: The bread-and-butter issue

By Joe Otten | Sat 2nd March 2013 - 1:53 pm

One line in David Cameron’s response to his party’s third place in the Eastleigh by-election caught my eye:

I would like us to do far more to focus on the bread-and-butter issue of cost of living. I think living standards are declining. We talk about only a protest vote. One of the reasons why people feel inclined to protest is because they are hurting in their pocket.

Yes, dead right. If you can keep prices down relative to wages, then people are better off. Spikes in food or energy prices can force some very tough decisions in the household budget.

I hope this …

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Tagged featured | 26 Comments

Three things the Liberal Democrats must learn from Eastleigh

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 1st March 2013 - 12:03 pm

Liberal Democrats are entitled to a weekend of being incredibly pleased with ourselves. I have never been as proud of this party as I am now. The way we calmly and professionally got on with delivering a brilliant campaign on the ground was astonishingly good. Activists put their lives on hold and dedicated themselves to Eastleigh for three weeks. My eternal regret will be that I never made it there, due to a horrendous Flu and its lingering aftermath. However, Team Scotland and many others across the country phonebanked their hearts out. Yesterday in Edinburgh, we even had to have …

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Tagged eastleigh by-election, featured and party organisation | 50 Comments

My Eastleigh experiences

By Paul Walter | Fri 1st March 2013 - 9:36 am

This month marked my twentieth year of helping the Lib Dems in by-elections.

My first by-election was at Newbury in 1993. My wife and I threw ourselves into the campaign on our home turf, after losing our son Toby to meningitis aged 16 months (he died just three days after Judith Chaplin, the former MP whose sad demise caused the by-election). It was a bitter sweet time, but we were truly delighted to host Paddy at our home three times during the campaign, once accompanied by Jane and their dog, Luke. Paddy was and is a shining inspiration in the Lib …

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Tagged eastleigh by-election | 15 Comments

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