Category Archives: Op-eds

Can we stop apologising for being in government yet?

By Mark Valladares | Tue 17th April 2012 - 8:22 am

One of the things that has puzzled me most about two years of the Coalition is the very differing approaches to being in power between the two partners, both in the way they look at the world, and in the way that the world looks back.

In many ways, the Conservatives have it far easier. The vast leviathan which is the deficit provides ample justification for doing what Conservatives are expected to do – cut government spending – although it has made cutting taxes for their client base rather more difficult. And, for that proportion of the population who vote Conservative …

Continue reading »

Tagged mark valladares and party strategy | 71 Comments

Tom Brake MP writes…Complex benefit cases must be brought back within the scope of legal aid

By Tom Brake | Mon 16th April 2012 - 4:54 pm

There is a political consensus around the need to reform Legal Aid. Indeed Labour oversaw thirty reviews and consultations on the subject whilst in power.

The UK’s legal aid spend is one of the highest in the world, with many cases coming before the courts which do not necessarily require legal expertise to resolve.

The coalition government’s aim to deliver savings of £350 million from the annual Legal Aid budget by 2015 amounts to a relatively modest saving of 17% against the …

Continue reading »

Tagged legal aid | 5 Comments

Opinion: If rich philanthropists don’t like the idea of a tax exemption limit, they know what they can do

By Paul Walter | Mon 16th April 2012 - 1:54 pm

It is as if George Osborne has got a political death wish. First, there was the botched pensioners’ tax announcement. Then, there was the hilarious pasty tax. Now, the charitable donations tax ememption limit idea is attracting great opprobrium.

But hang on a minute.

There is something in that tax exemption threshold idea.

It is quite wrong that tax exemption is given for donations to “charities” beyond the remit of the Charities Commission. There is rather vague talk of unspecified East European “charities” being used. …

Continue reading »

Tagged charity | 18 Comments

Opinion: What do Charity tax and higher rate pension relief have in common?

By Joe Bourke | Mon 16th April 2012 - 12:24 pm

We have seen much furore over the effects that a restriction on the level of higher rate tax relief for charitable deductions may have on philanthropy. Nine out of ten charities are opposed to such a move and warn that large donations could reduce by as much as 20%. In the Lib Dem 2010 manifesto, we proposed reforming gift aid to operate at a single rate of 23%, giving more money to charity while closing down a loophole for higher rate taxpayers.

The 2010 manifesto also proposed giving tax …

Continue reading »

Tagged charity and pensions | 8 Comments

Opinion: The need to treat asylum seekers with dignity

By Suzanne Fletcher | Mon 16th April 2012 - 10:54 am

At a meeting organised by Thrive last Friday the usually silent and ignored voices of asylum seekers and refugees were heard by those who need to hear.

For some time now those housed under a contract given by the UK Borders Agency (UKBA) to a local private housing provider had been experiencing problems that no decent person in our country would find acceptable. Some had complained to the housing provider, but been met with …

Continue reading »

Tagged asylum | 2 Comments

The weekend debate: Should Boris Johnson get his way on London’s tax take?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 14th April 2012 - 8:50 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

Incumbent Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson has developed plans for Londoners to keep more of the tax revenue generated in the city to spend on better public services. Boris said the capital should be getting a greater return from the tax it contributes to the exchequer.

According to the Evening Standard the equivalent of £2,500 for every Londoner goes to other parts of the UK rather than being spent on public services in the capital.

Boris Johnson said that London should no longer be …

Continue reading »

Also posted in London | Tagged boris johnson and weekend debate | 8 Comments

No need to be a spectator

By George Kendall | Fri 13th April 2012 - 2:07 pm

There’s a battle on across the country, to elect people who will respond to the needs of their local communities, who will fight to protect vital services for vulnerable people.

Liberal Democrats without local elections don’t have to be spectators. If you do travel to campaign in another area, your help is especially valuable.

It’s not just the help you’ll be giving: knocking on doors and delivering leaflets. Morale is important in a campaign. If you offer help from outside, you’ll give them a real boost. Just by coming and helping, you will make things happen that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.

You are …

Continue reading »

Tagged campaigning | Leave a comment

Lynne Featherstone writes… Banning, or rather not banning, crosses at work

By Lynne Featherstone | Fri 13th April 2012 - 9:50 am

Home Office minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one, looking at the legal action over people wearing crosses at work.

I was walking down Crescent Road in my constituency the other day when a woman came up to me and said something to the effect of, ‘I think you are a fantastic MP – but I am so upset that you are banning people from wearing the cross’.

So – from the mischievous misinformation from the pages of our print …

Continue reading »

Tagged featured and religion | 28 Comments

A question for the Coalition: Would Lib Dems and Tories support the Charity Tax if Labour had proposed it?

By Stephen Tall | Fri 13th April 2012 - 8:05 am

One of the aspects of the furore over the Coalition’s Charity Tax that has struck me is that charity is a more divisive issue than I’d realised.

Those of us who work in the charity sector probably take for granted that our organisations provide a public good, that the aggregated generosity of donors and the endeavours of staff make for a better society. That’s probably a majority view among the wider public, but it clearly isn’t a universal attitude.

Look at the reader comments on major news …

Continue reading »

Tagged big society, budget 2012, charity, featured, fundraising, nick aldridge and tax | 23 Comments

Opinion: Why are we waiting?

By David Allen | Thu 12th April 2012 - 2:55 pm

We have played the waiting game before. It didn’t work in the 1980s, and it won’t work now.

In the 1983 Election, the Alliance reached a high water mark with a 26% vote. But there was discord. The Liberals, who won most seats, felt they should take the lead. The SDP, with their heavyweight experience, saw things differently. Problems grew when Owen took over, refused to collaborate properly, and set out to undermine theAlliancefrom within. A stalemate developed, and a waiting game began.

The Alliance announced to a stunned public that two-headed leadership was the new future. Their slogan “Not Left, Not …

Continue reading »

Tagged 1983 election, 1987 election, david owen, david steel, liberal party and SDP | 65 Comments

Andrew George MP writes: Liberal Democrats are champions of green economy

By Andrew George | Thu 12th April 2012 - 12:55 pm

Yesterday Nick Clegg set out the Government’s agenda on energy efficiency and the role of a green economy in delivering growth. Important announcements on energy efficiency, tackling fuel poverty and helping consumers find the best tariffs all caught the media’s attention. But for me the real story is that the Liberal Democrats remain the champions of plans to build a green economy.

Nick was right to attack those who say that there is a zero sum game between economic growth and protecting the environment. As the Liberal Democrats have argued for decades, it isn’t about choosing – the two go …

Continue reading »

Tagged economic growth, energy efficiency, environment, green economy and nick clegg | Leave a comment

Free schools: what should the party’s policy be in 2015?

By Mark Pack | Thu 12th April 2012 - 11:25 am

News that the National Autistic Society is planning to set up a free school highlights an impending policy dilemma. Currently, the party’s policy is officially one of opposition to free schools. However if, by the time of the 2015 general election, free schools started by popular and worthy organisations such as the National Autistic Society are up and running, would it be either sensible education policy or practical politics simply to say, ‘we don’t like free schools; they have got to go’?

A different option would be …

Continue reading »

Tagged education, featured, free schools, michael gove and nick clegg | 59 Comments

Labour’s not-so-very-local election broadcast shows how unimportant local decision-making is to Ed Miliband’s party

By Stephen Tall | Wed 11th April 2012 - 7:58 pm

Tonight’s Labour local election broadcast, starring telly’s very own Lord (Robert) Winston, climaxes with the rallying cry:

On Thursday May 3rd, vote NHS, vote Labour

Exactly how voting Labour then will help the NHS isn’t explored — not surprisingly, because it won’t. There’s a reason these elections are called local elections, after all.

Before highlighting Labour’s misleading tactics I thought I should first check out the Lib Dem record on fighting local elections. I have to say I was expecting to find comparable examples, times when the party leadership had called …

Continue reading »

Tagged charles kennedy, ed davey, featured, labour party, local elections, Ming Campbell, NHS, nick clegg and robert winston | 23 Comments

Opinion: Let’s talk about Corruption

By Tom Smith | Wed 11th April 2012 - 1:55 pm

The latest cash for access scandal may well have highlighted yet again the murky world of party financing and lobbying but overall the UK can pride itself on not being corrupt; Transparency International places it in the least 20 corrupt nations in the World. How does this tally with opinion polls showing that almost three quarters of the British public think corruption is a serious problem in the UK that many consider has got worse in recent years?

Whether the public perception is wrong, there is a profound gap between public and expert definitions of corruption or if there really …

Continue reading »

Tagged corruption | 3 Comments

Opinion: Time for the Party to propose the Citizen’s Income

By Joe Bourke | Wed 11th April 2012 - 10:55 am

The Centre Forum paper Taxing Decisions discusses the pros and cons of tax credits and tax allowances. The report reviews tax options for tackling the income and wealth disparities which have become a feature of British society in recent decades.

Reducing the level of inequality benefits everyone in society, rich and poor alike. I would argue that in an inclusive and more equal society, all citizens should pay tax on their income. Means tested benefits have not delivered for us. Child poverty, and unemployment are entrenched with the resulting societal breakdown. The way out of poverty is work. The best …

Continue reading »

Tagged centre forum, citizens income and tax | 20 Comments

Why election candidates shouldn’t have to publish their tax returns

By Mark Pack | Wed 11th April 2012 - 9:25 am

Remember all the stuff Liberal Democrats such as Vince Cable have been saying for years about how our tax system catches too much income and not enough wealth? You know what – I believe that, and I haven’t suddenly forgotten it in the last few days.

So the idea that somehow getting people to publish their tax returns really gives you a sense of how well-off they are is as flawed as the idea that the tax system those returns illustrate manages to catch how well-off you are. For the same reason that the tax system is out of kilter, so …

Continue reading »

Tagged ken livingstone, tax and vince cable | 9 Comments

Academisation: Is this the equivalent of the FE sector’s 1993 moment?

By Helen Flynn | Tue 10th April 2012 - 2:24 pm

Academies are opening at an exponential rate. But there’s nothing new under the sun, as the saying goes—we have been here before, if we would all but look. A useful lesson can be learned from the FE sector and begs the questions: how long before all our schools are classified as being in the private sector? And what should we as Liberal Democrats feel and do about that?

Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 (which took effect in April 1993), colleges were “incorporated”, ie they were given full financial independence, together with full powers to own assets, employ staff, …

Continue reading »

Tagged academies and education | 9 Comments

Opinion: Police Commissioner elections – the Lib Dem candidate won’t spy on you

By Antony Hook | Tue 10th April 2012 - 11:23 am

As a campaigner with a strong interest in the European Elections, I am really happy to see a number of counties moving towards selection of a Liberal Democrat candidate for the Police Commissioner elections in November.

This is because in the European Elections an important message for Liberal Democrats is that we are effective on crime. Crime crosses state borders within Europe. We need co-operation and integration to ensure that our police’s powers to bring criminals to justice, the rule of law, and important civil liberties cross borders too. The other parties won’t make the commitment that we will to tackle …

Continue reading »

Tagged elected police commissioners | 24 Comments

Mary Ann Sieghart socks it to Quentin Letts for his “witheringly misogynistic” assault on Lynne Featherstone

By Stephen Tall | Mon 9th April 2012 - 1:55 pm

I try as hard as possible not to link to the Daily Mail — it’s my small and admittedly token gesture not to encourage them. And Quentin Letts is the Mail at its most unpleasantly execrable, slavering to stick his pen-knife into anyone he cares to disdain, especially if they’re female or have a funny accent or some other personal tic to pick on.

Last week, he laid into Lib Dem equalities minister Lynne Featherstone. It was classic play-the-woman-I’ve-got-no-balls Letts:

Though aged 60 (and counting), she teeters up to the Despatch Box in high heels, grinning girlishly at the Opposition benches before

…

Continue reading »

Tagged daily mail, featured, lynne featherstone, mary ann sieghart and quentin letts | 21 Comments

Demos: “Religious people are more likely to be politically progressive”

By Mary Reid | Sun 8th April 2012 - 3:55 pm

It seems appropriate on Easter Day to report the findings of the report entitled Faithful Citizens by the think tank Demos.

I have been embarrassed and saddened by the portrayal of “the church” as bigoted and homophobic recently, and this research helps to counterbalance that impression. Demos’ report implies that people of faith are more likely to share Liberal Democrat values than to hold the conservative fundamentalist views often described in the media.

13% of citizens claim to belong to a church or other religious organisation, so these findings refer to believers across all the faiths in the UK, although Christians are …

Continue reading »

Tagged easter and religion | 25 Comments

Opinion: Good borrowing and bad borrowing

By Joe Bourke | Sun 8th April 2012 - 2:35 pm

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” So says Lord Polonius to his son Laertes in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Good advice for young people starting out in life, but the modern economy of the 21st century depends on the constant circulation of money and credit. We all need to borrow to buy a house, for University etc. Firms need to borrow for investment in equipment and working capital. Government needs to borrow to finance infrastructure. That’s good borrowing.

If, however, debt is being racked up to buy imported tack or fund boozy nights out, we would think of that as bad borrowing.

There …

Continue reading »

25 Comments

Opinion: Why parts of the government want to store your entire internet history

By Robbie Simpson | Sun 8th April 2012 - 9:50 am

On Monday I arrived back in the United Kingdom after a visit to Georgia – a beautiful country, but one with an authoritarian government. Imagine my surprise when I picked up a newspaper at Heathrow and read claims that the government was proposing to monitor and store all internet communications in the country.

We have since attempted to play down the scale of this proposal, but I am incredibly concerned that it would be far wider than is generally believed – and this is because of the technical difficulties of interception.

A key distinction that has been put forward is that these …

Continue reading »

Tagged interception modernisation programme | 20 Comments

Why RIPA is flawed

By Mark Pack | Sat 7th April 2012 - 11:15 am

Greg Callus’s excellent post dissects in documented detail some of the problems with the RIPA regulatory mechanism – and why therefore simply extending the range of data that can be accessed under RIPA would be extending the range of data that can be accessed without proper control.

In particular:

Sometimes, there isn’t time for a written request because of an imminent threat to life and limb, and so the Urgent Oral procedure kicks in – the SPoC will normally be rudely awoken by a police officer explaining they have (eg) an urgent terrorism/kidnapping situation, and they need a notification to be

…

Continue reading »

Tagged greg callus, interception modernisation programme and ripa | 4 Comments

The Weekend Debate: Should election candidates have to declare their tax records?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th April 2012 - 8:45 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The race to be London mayor took a fresh twist this week when the leading candidates pledged on BBC Newsnight to release their tax records. Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick declared himself very happy to publish full details, which appear here on his website:

Brian Paddick has nothing to hide and is very happy to be open and transparent about his income and tax returns as a registered sole trader. His figures show he has never attempted to use any complex

…

Continue reading »

Tagged boris johnson, brian paddick, ken livingstone and london mayoral election | 17 Comments

The Independent View: Should G8 leaders be making a new commitment to reduce hunger?

By Natasha Adams | Fri 6th April 2012 - 3:30 pm

There are close to a billion people going hungry every day. I find the scale of this hard to imagine, but if I’m honest even the personal experience of going hungry for a day is something I can’t easily relate to. I’m lucky enough to have never really experienced hunger, living as I do in a relatively wealthy country, where even if I were unwell or unemployed the state would support me with basic social protection.

The worst thing about global hunger is that it is an unnecessary injustice. We actually produce enough globally to feed everyone, but people don’t have …

Continue reading »

Tagged Concern, G8 and hunger | 2 Comments

Listen: Baroness Williams on her moral and religious beliefs

By Helen Duffett | Fri 6th April 2012 - 2:53 pm

There’s still time to listen to Shirley Williams on this week’s edition of Belief on BBC Radio 3:

The new Easter series of Belief opens with a conversation between two baronesses: Joan Bakewell and Shirley Williams.

Shirley Williams was born in 1930. Her father, the philosopher and political scientist George Catlin, was a great influence. He bought young Shirley a copy of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets when she was two years old. He also introduced her to the Roman Catholic Church. She has also been greatly influenced by the moral and political convictions of her mother the feminist and pacifist writer,

…

Continue reading »

Tagged joan bakewell and shirley williams | 1 Comment

An open letter to Lib Dem party president, Tim Farron: Concerns over our liberal identity and mission in government

By The Voice | Fri 6th April 2012 - 1:55 pm

The following letter, written by Martin Eakins a Lib Dem councillor in Manchester and co-signed by more than 150 fellow party members, has been sent to party president Tim Farron:

Dear Tim,

We understand that the leaked policy on RIPA internet surveillance is now being reviewed more thoroughly, rather than rushed into the Queen’s speech. As such we would like you, as our president, to convey the following thoughts to appropriate Liberal Democrat ministers.

The Home Secretary wrote in the Sun on Tuesday that “Only suspected terrorists, paedophiles or serious criminals will be investigated.” This is akin to saying “if you’ve

…

Continue reading »

Tagged interception modernisation programme and ripa | 48 Comments

Opinion: Time to take back the initiative

By Sam Barnett | Fri 6th April 2012 - 10:55 am

The hard part of coalition is over. As the result in Bradford shows, three things are now true. Our Conservative colleagues have finally overreached themselves. Labour is now known to be as ineffective as it really is. And there is a howling void of dissatisfaction where our support used to be. The country has changed since 2010, and we must move to capture the mood, or we are done. Key to this is winning the votes of students, the young, and the disenfranchised.

We have, however we colour it, had a hard time. Most of our policy ‘wins’, like the …

Continue reading »

17 Comments

Opinion: Support for emerging democracies – we’ll do it our way

By Issan Ghazni | Fri 6th April 2012 - 8:57 am

Speaking at the recent Munich Security Conference, US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said “Americans and Europeans must send a clear and common message to despots that they must respect the rights of their people….America and Europe stand shoulder to shoulder.”

However, the UK role in encouraging emerging democracies must be determined through a process of working closer with the EU and by identifying limited areas in which tangible gains can be made through shared resources. That is to say that we do what we can with our European partners to achieve the best results within our areas of influence. Continually …

Continue reading »

Tagged afghanistan, democracy, hillary clinton, russia and serbia | 1 Comment

Opinion: Does control of search warrants matter to you? Then become a magistrate

By Antony Hook | Thu 5th April 2012 - 11:25 am

In recent days Liberal Democrats have united against reported Home Office plans for the state to acquire unprecedented power to search private online communications. As Mark Pack noted, resistance to this has even won Nick Clegg rare praise from the Daily Mail.

Many Liberal Democrats have the necessary habit of not just debating how society ought to be, but carrying liberal values into effect in daily life. Many Lib Dems who are passionate about education, including myself, serve as school governors. Likewise, party members volunteer as neighbourhood watch coordinators, Citizens Advice …

Continue reading »

2 Comments