Category Archives: Op-eds

Julian Huppert MP writes… Libel reform is an admirable prize for Liberal Democrats

By Julian Huppert | Fri 22nd June 2012 - 11:53 am

In my experience, Second Reading debates are often lengthy affairs. Everyone wants to say their piece; few have something new to contribute.

The second reading of the Defamation Bill last week was no exception. We even heard the odd diatribe against threatening behaviour and internet trolls; some of which belied a complete misunderstanding of what we were actually debating.

But, for once, there was some clear consensus. In the words of John Kampfner, the chief executive of Index on Censorship:

When we launched the Libel Reform Campaign in 2009, only the Liberal Democrats backed change. Now the cause has cross party support.

Campaigned …

Opinion: Finally lost it….

By Helen Flynn | Thu 21st June 2012 - 5:00 pm

If there was ever any doubt as to the credibility and effectiveness of Michael Gove as Education Secretary, that has now been dispelled by the recent announcement via the Daily Mail about bringing back ‘O’ Levels.

Some I know have discarded this as not being serious, more an opportunity for Gove to act the Tory whilst his colleague flails around, making his opportunity for anything other than a one-term stint as Prime Minister highly unlikely.

Maybe it is a political move to manoeuvre himself into a prime position as custodian of the right wing, but the idea that he would use …

Also posted in News | Tagged education and schools | 62 Comments

Opinion: Should we be selling state assets to reduce debt and create jobs?

By Paul Reynolds | Thu 21st June 2012 - 2:28 pm

One of the unexpected by-products of the controversial privatisations of the 1980s was the discovery of shockingly poor real estate management by state bodies – a rare glimpse of a problem only brought to the surface when the need for proper balance sheets arose.

UK government departments and agencies have since been shown to exhibit appalling asset management, as any sweep through Public Accounts Committee (PAC) or National Audit Office (NAO) reports will demonstrate – stories of unused land & buildings, ‘forgotten’ landholdings, leases on punitive terms, opaque sale of land at below market prices. Government departments also own very large …

Tagged government property unit, national audit office and public accounts committee | 6 Comments

Opinion: 3 reasons why the Earth Summit matters for Liberal Democrats

By Ben Wood | Thu 21st June 2012 - 12:26 pm

In mid-June 1992, over one hundred heads of state came together in Rio de Janeiro to establish groundbreaking and legally binding agreements which put sustainable development on the global agenda and urged the world to start living within its means.

Twenty years on, sustainable development appears to have lost its way. The global financial crisis and ongoing problems in the Eurozone have led some (including many in the Conservative Party) to turn a blind eye to environmental issues.

Such has been the lack of media coverage, in fact, that you could be forgiven for failing to realise that this week’s Earth Summit, …

Tagged liberal sustainability network and Rio+20 summit | 2 Comments

Opinion: Changing demand without changing supply puts prostitutes at risk

By Ewan Hoyle | Wed 20th June 2012 - 11:57 am

It is with some concern that I read of proposals to criminalise paying for sex in Scotland.

Prostitution is a catch-all term that describes arrangements that should make the state very concerned indeed – trafficking of children for brutal sexual exploitation for example. There are also arrangements that the state has no business interfering in – the work of a self-employed, financially comfortable escort making very good money to supplement another income in an environment over which he or she has control.

Changing demand by criminalising the purchase of sex will have a number of unintended and undesirable consequences.

Firstly, we should consider …

Tagged drugs, holyrood, prostitution and Scotland | 9 Comments

Opinion: Nothing to fear but fear itself

By Mike Tuffrey | Wed 20th June 2012 - 10:55 am

Mike Tuffrey seeks inspiration from Roosevelt in advocating a four point plan for a sustainable economic recovery.

With all the depressing news about the economy, I can recommend a re-reading of the inaugural address of newly-elected President Franklin D Roosevelt, given in the depths of the Depression on March 4, 1933. Aside from his well-known call to arms against fear itself, he did a nice (and topical) line in banker-bashing too: “Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men”.

Also posted in London | Tagged franklin roosevelt | 7 Comments

Lord Jim Wallace writes… We want to enhance scrutiny of the security services, not evade it

By Jim Wallace | Tue 19th June 2012 - 12:53 pm

Let’s be clear: the original proposals in the Justice and Security Green Paper were too broad. The Government has listened and, as Tom Brake wrote last month, has ensured that the Bill before the House of Lords now is much narrower and more focussed on the problem at hand.

However, in the recent media furore about Nick Clegg’s red lines and changes to the Bill, I feel that a proper discussion about what this problem actually is has been lost.

So let me set out clearly the problem that we need to solve. At the moment, judges cannot hear evidence gathered …

Tagged justice and security bill | 2 Comments

Opinion: We can kick start the economy… and might just save the planet too

By Joel Kenrick | Tue 19th June 2012 - 8:45 am

With all eyes on the elections in Greece and the future of the Eurozone, the Earth Summit in Rio is unlikely to be headline news. But it should be. As Nick Clegg wrote on LDV last week 'sustainability and growth go hand in hand, and it's for us as Liberal Democrats to make that case loud and clear.'

As Liberal Democrats we have been making the case for decades, and over the last two years Liberal Democrat Cabinet Ministers have been forceful advocates around the Cabinet table and around the world. We may know that tackling climate change is essential ...

Tagged climate change, energy efficiency, featured and Rio+20 summit | 15 Comments

Opinion: Criminal laws are freezing out freedom of speech

By Ben Boult | Mon 18th June 2012 - 2:54 pm

Much has been made of the “chilling effect” of British defamation laws on public debate in recent years. Given that backdrop, the lack of furore over our criminal, as opposed to civil, regulations of speech is rather difficult to understand.

Quite arguably, the chilling effect of these so-called ‘speech offences’ has been even more pervasive, akin to a Siberian winter at times, due to the woefully inadequate safeguards and catch-all wording that characterises almost each and every one of …

Tagged free speech | 13 Comments

The New Depression: Richard Duncan’s prognosis of our economic ills and the answer to them

By Mark Pack | Mon 18th June 2012 - 1:54 pm

A slight change from the usual in my day job at MHP Communications has come courtesy of our client Richard Duncan and his new book, The New Depression, which is primarily about the US but with lessons that are very applicable to the UK.

In a nutshell, his case is half-Austrian. Or indeed half-Keynesian. That is because whilst Duncan’s diagnosis of the current economic ills is very much in the Austrian school of economics, with its emphasis on the role of credit, his prescription for fixing the economy is large-scale borrowing to fund infrastructure work, all of which sounds rather Keynesian.

Also posted in Books | Tagged economy and richard duncan | 17 Comments

Opinion: Nick Clegg – the Great Communicator

By Chris White | Mon 18th June 2012 - 12:23 pm

There is a strand in the Party which says that it’s all Clegg’s fault: ‘I don’t agree with Nick’. If only he would move on, all would become well electorally.

This misses many points: first, the Party is not a one man band; nor is the Government.

Tagged nick clegg | 37 Comments

Opinion: Trident coalition split or positive move to safeguard British expertise?

By Lucy Care | Mon 18th June 2012 - 9:54 am

The Government announces investment in Rolls-Royce to safeguard technology for nuclear propulsion, and the BBC’s angle, is “Is this another Coalition split?”

Let’s get this right.

Take aircraft engines. Rolls-Royce made its name back in World War Two by developing the gas turbine to power military aircraft. It was earth-shattering stuff, but had nothing to do with the development of munitions.

20 Comments

The 5 myths about the UK economy which it suits everyone to perpetuate

By Stephen Tall | Mon 18th June 2012 - 8:11 am

The economy is the big issue: it was at the last general election, it has dominated and will dominate this parliament, and it will be the big issue at the 2015 general election. Yet trying to get behind the political rhetoric to discover the economic reality is surprisingly tricky. The purpose of this post is to look at what I see as the top five myths currently being perpetuated about the economy, and to explain why I think our current debate is misleading the public and diverting us from finding proper answers.

Myth 1: UK public spending is reducing

So keen has been the Coalition and Labour (for their own different reasons) to talk up the extent of the Government’s spending cuts that the reality has been forgotten. Public spending is going up year-on-year under the Coalition, rising from £690bn in 2010-11 to £744bn (+8%) by 2014-15. If we allow for inflation, there will be a modest reduction: from £690bn to £668bn (-3%) by 2014-15.

Also posted in News | Tagged economy and featured | 59 Comments

Opinion: A Progress-ive Moment?

By Zadok Day | Sun 17th June 2012 - 2:20 pm

They say history never repeats itself, but when the Labour party is involved, you can be at least sure that it’ll rhyme. And once again, the far left of the party is indulging itself in an ideological battle. The target this time is the Blairite thinktank Progress, the GMB union having submitted a rule amendment to outlaw it as a part of the Labour party.

This represents a real chance for Lib Dems to realign the centre, a process which has already began with the Coalition, and liberal-leaning Cameronite Conservatives becoming closer to we Liberal Democrats than the right-wing fringes …

28 Comments

Opinion: Latest Bank of England liquidity policies not an effective substitute for government action

By David Thorpe | Sun 17th June 2012 - 9:10 am

With every turn of the wheel which drives the Eurozone deeper into crisis, the uncertainty which clouds the UK’s economic prospects grows more pronounced. As events in Spain and Greece, in particular, consign the Eurozone to a state of paralysis, UK consumers, banks and businesses can but bide their time and await the final fallout.

In those circumstances, measures which help to create certainty and boost economic confidence should be welcomed.
But the measures announced by the Bank of England on Thursday, will not achieve their purpose to any significant extent, and should not be treated as a substitute for real policy …

4 Comments

Mandatory work: if we believe in evidence-based policy it’s probably best to pay attention to the evidence

By Stephen Tall | Sat 16th June 2012 - 4:10 pm

Four months ago, when the political row over ‘workfare’ was at its peak, I wrote here on LibDemVoice that liberals needed to progress the debate beyond ‘the simple and simplistic ‘left/right’ attitudes currently on display, and start grappling with how best we can empower the individual to make the best of their own lives — including, and especially, those who appear to have settled for a life on benefits, and reject all other offers of help.’

Avoiding dogma, embracing evidence

Key to this, I suggested, would be avoiding the dogmatic approaches of the Tories — who appear to believe that every …

Tagged chris grayling, evidence-based policy, featured, jonathan portes, work and workfare | 16 Comments

An 8th reason why the Interception of Communications Commissioner should go

By Mark Pack | Sat 16th June 2012 - 10:25 am

I’ve previously blogged about the catastrophic failure of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, giving seven different failures, any one of which would be damning but cumulatively make the post a good entrant for ‘most failed regulator’.

They included such failures as ignoring warning signs of widespread law breaking:

Tagged featured and Interception of Communications Commissioner | 1 Comment

Lynne Featherstone writes… In the summertime

By Lynne Featherstone | Fri 15th June 2012 - 9:35 am

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one, on that very British subject of the weather.

In the summertime, when the weather is hot… is how the song goes – but as I put on heavy stockings and boots to go to a community picnic on the day I am writing this column, with the wind howling and rain predicted for the next several days yet again, summer and hot do not seem to go together!

Tagged featured | 2 Comments

Politicians are not mere pawns in the hands of journalists

By Mark Pack | Fri 15th June 2012 - 7:20 am

Understandably the Leveson Inquiry has concentrated on the misdeeds of journalists and the behaviour of newspaper owners. However, the appearance of a series of figures this week at Leveson could – indeed should – have highlighted how often the power lies with politicians, not the media. We had three figures appear who all, in their own very different ways, showed that despite all the talk of politicians been cowed by the media, it is far from uncommon for politicians to have far too much power over the media.

Tagged gordon brown, john major, journalism, leveson inquiry, new statesman, nick clegg and phil cowley | 6 Comments

Opinion: The lottery winner who would be King or Queen

By Adam Corlett | Thu 14th June 2012 - 5:48 pm

Hereditary monarchy has no place in a “fair, free and open society” but royalists and republicans seem to be talking different languages. To bridge the divide we need to choose our head of state by lottery. I agree with William Summers who recently wrote herethat he “cannot support a system of monarchy whereby power is inherited and all but one family is excluded from being head of state.” This is on top of questions of transparency, corruption and political influence, or of historical connotation. But republicans have failed to make the case for any alternative. Arguments from principle

…

Tagged monarchy | 15 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes… Communications data: we have to get this right

By Julian Huppert | Thu 14th June 2012 - 12:40 pm

Many years ago my father gave me some advice: ‘don’t get it right, get it written’. If you want to do something properly you need to have a draft. That way you can go back and improve it.

Today sees the publication of the Draft Communications Data Bill. It is a first version, not a final text, and one which will be given the time and proper processes to change. It’s hard to overemphasise how different that is to the usual Parliamentary process.

A special Select Committee will go through the issues raised in the Bill, and make suggestions on how to improve it. I’ll be on that Committee, and between now and November we will be asking experts and members of the public to comment on it, and suggest where it needs to be changed.

It’s thanks to Lib Dem pressure that we now have a vital opportunity to get this right. If left to itself, the Home Office would simply have announced this Bill – or something worse – as a fait accompli, and whipped people to support it. Nick Clegg intervened to stop that from happening.

And already the Draft Bill is better than the one the Home Office proposed, as revealed a few months ago. Already there are more safeguards than there were going to be – but we are not there yet.

Tagged draft communications data bill and ripa | 26 Comments

Eric Lubbock: From Orpington Man to Buddhist Monk?

By Mark Pack | Thu 14th June 2012 - 10:25 am

For many years Adrian Slade has interviewed prominent Liberal Democrats. To mark his recent decision to make his archive of the interview recordings available to researchers and other interested parties, Lib Dem Voice is running a selection of his write-ups of interviews from over the years. The latest is from 2002 and is with Lord Avebury, formerly Eric Lubbock – victor of the 1962 Orpington by-election, MP for eight years and chair of the parliamentary human right s group from 1976 to 1997.

For a few astonishing days in March 1962, the Liberal Party led the Conservative and Labour parties in the opinion polls, the only time it had ever done so since polls were invented.

Tagged adrian slade, eric lubbock, featured, history, jeremy thorpe, jo grimond, lord avebury and orpington | 1 Comment

Alex Salmond holds court at Leveson with added fun and games

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th June 2012 - 9:07 pm

Tonight the Olympic Torch arrived at Edinburgh Castle. There was one person who was unusually absent from such a significant gathering. I don’t know how much say Leveson witnesses get in choosing the date that they appear, but I can’t imagine our First Minister Alex Salmond would have deliberately chosen a court date in London over a major event at home in Scotland.

He didn’t look so disappointed, though. He had the manner of someone who was enjoying the experience far more than could be considered decent. Alex Salmond always loves going south of the border and holding court. He charmed …

Tagged alex salmond, leveson inquiry and willie rennie | 8 Comments

Adrian Sanders MP writes: Hunt vote – we need to save our energy for the battles that really matter

By Adrian Sanders | Wed 13th June 2012 - 12:53 pm

The vote in the Commons today is the latest highlight of the long running Phone hacking-BSkyB-Leveson saga. It has been billed as an explosive vote that will tear the coalition asunder. The Parliamentary party has unanimously decided to abstain, a position I strongly support for very good reasons. We may well see traditional anti-Lib Dem rent-a-quotes like Peter Bone slamming us for betrayal but this is almost certainly a sign that we are doing the right thing. Indeed, given our rather shaky performance in how we conduct Government to date, this is a refreshing sign that we might be back …

Tagged bskyb, jeremy hunt, ministerial code, murdoch and sir alex allan | 49 Comments

How leaflets used to look: a 1920s Liberal attack leaflet

By Mark Pack | Wed 13th June 2012 - 10:50 am

Earlier this week I blogged about the skilful presentation of the Liberal Party’s economic plan in a 1929 leaflet, but what about leaflets having a go at other parties? Here is how the Liberals of the time attacked Labour’s Land Policy:

Tagged history and how leaflets used to look | Leave a comment

Whether you regard Jeremy Hunt as guilty or innocent, an investigation is a must

By Mark Valladares | Wed 13th June 2012 - 7:51 am

The news that Liberal Democrat MPs are to abstain on a Labour motion calling upon David Cameron to refer Jeremy Hunt’s conduct to Sir Alex Allan is a disappointment. To be blunt, it is all very well letting it be known via ‘sources’ that we do not approve of the failure to refer the ‘Hunt Affair’, but then to stand aside when an opportunity to press the matter arises will not be understood by anyone outside the Westminster bubble.

Indeed, I would suggest that, if Jeremy Hunt wants to be anything other than a lame duck Secretary of State, he should …

Also posted in Parliament | Tagged jeremy hunt and murdoch | 33 Comments

Why Gordon Brown should be voting for Jeremy Hunt tomorrow

By Mark Pack | Tue 12th June 2012 - 7:31 pm

Yesterday, at the Leveson Inquiry, Gordon Brown declined to take responsibility for the activities of his special advisers.

Tomorrow, Parliament debates whether Jeremy Hunt should take responsibility for the activities of one of his special advisers.

So I think we can work out which way Gordon Brown will be voting tomorrow, can’t we?

Tagged gordon brown and jeremy hunt | 5 Comments

A letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury: have we read the same history books?

By Mark Pack | Tue 12th June 2012 - 1:15 pm

Your Grace,

I certainly don’t except us to agree on everything when it comes to religion. After all, you believe in God and I don’t.

But I am surprised how different the view of our country’s history seems to be. You and your colleagues talk about the prospect of equal marriage – a prospect it is worth remembering that other strands of the Christian family are welcoming, not to mention many members of the Church of England – as if it is one of the greatest threats to the Church of England in the last 500 years.

Really?

Tagged archbishop of canterbury and equal marriage | 23 Comments

Does mislaying your child really make you a bad parent?

By Sara Bedford | Tue 12th June 2012 - 11:55 am

As soon as Eric Pickles announced his ‘Back to Basics’ crackdown on ‘troubled’ families, it was odds on that a Conservative minister would oblige by executing his own family faux pas. How many would have placed their bets in the culprit being the Prime Minister himself, who with model mum Samantha appears to have chillaxed a little too much after Sunday lunch at the pub, leaving their daughter Nancy in the Ladies.

The uncomfortable end to Nancy’s comfort break apparently happened ‘a couple of months ago’, according to a Downing Street spokesman, but conveniently surfaced in the press as soon as …

Tagged childcare and david cameron | 26 Comments

Opinion: what’s wrong with Personal Independence Payments?

By Yusuf Osman | Tue 12th June 2012 - 9:21 am

I joined the Lib Dems only a couple of months ago after being a long time voter. In fact, I first voted Lib Dem back in 2001 at my very first election. I decided to join now because I wanted to become more politically active and because I was deeply unhappy with some of the policies of the Government. I’m totally blind, have been since the age of 5 and am extremely disturbed by the removal of Disability Living Allowance and its replacement by Personal Independence Payments.

There’s a great deal I could say about the current proposals and how they …

Tagged disability living allowance and personal independence payment | 10 Comments

William Wallace writes: What do Liberal Democrats have to offer the…

“Build, baby, build” but don’t lower our ambitions on…

Actually, this Summer of Strategy could be quite good…

Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

Category Archives: Op-eds

Julian Huppert MP writes… Libel reform is an admirable prize for Liberal Democrats

Opinion: Finally lost it….

Opinion: Should we be selling state assets to reduce debt and create jobs?

Opinion: 3 reasons why the Earth Summit matters for Liberal Democrats

Opinion: Changing demand without changing supply puts prostitutes at risk

Opinion: Nothing to fear but fear itself

Lord Jim Wallace writes… We want to enhance scrutiny of the security services, not evade it

Opinion: We can kick start the economy… and might just save the planet too

Opinion: Criminal laws are freezing out freedom of speech

The New Depression: Richard Duncan’s prognosis of our economic ills and the answer to them

Opinion: Nick Clegg – the Great Communicator

Opinion: Trident coalition split or positive move to safeguard British expertise?

The 5 myths about the UK economy which it suits everyone to perpetuate

Myth 1: UK public spending is reducing

Opinion: A Progress-ive Moment?

Opinion: Latest Bank of England liquidity policies not an effective substitute for government action

Mandatory work: if we believe in evidence-based policy it’s probably best to pay attention to the evidence

Avoiding dogma, embracing evidence

An 8th reason why the Interception of Communications Commissioner should go

Lynne Featherstone writes… In the summertime

Politicians are not mere pawns in the hands of journalists

Opinion: The lottery winner who would be King or Queen

Julian Huppert MP writes… Communications data: we have to get this right

Eric Lubbock: From Orpington Man to Buddhist Monk?

Alex Salmond holds court at Leveson with added fun and games

Adrian Sanders MP writes: Hunt vote – we need to save our energy for the battles that really matter

How leaflets used to look: a 1920s Liberal attack leaflet

Whether you regard Jeremy Hunt as guilty or innocent, an investigation is a must

Why Gordon Brown should be voting for Jeremy Hunt tomorrow

A letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury: have we read the same history books?

Does mislaying your child really make you a bad parent?

Opinion: what’s wrong with Personal Independence Payments?

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William Wallace writes: What do Liberal Democrats have to offer the…

“Build, baby, build” but don’t lower our ambitions on…

Actually, this Summer of Strategy could be quite good…

Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

Category Archives: Op-eds

Myth 1: UK public spending is reducing

Avoiding dogma, embracing evidence

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