Our place to talk – an independent website for supporters of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK.

The most-read independent website by and for Lib Dem supporters. Not paid for by trade unions or millionaires.

Advert

Category Archives: Op-eds

Why Liberal Left?

By Linda Jack | Wed 15th February 2012 - 12:56 pm

My good pal Gareth Epps asked the question last week………..so I thought I would answer it for him. We are at a hugely important juncture as a party – nearly two years in – with little prospect of the Coalition not continuing until 2015 and what appears to be the start of the leadership’s “differentiation” campaign. Nick Clegg and his aides are spinning the line more and more that we are a “centrist” party – a clear desire to move us from the centre left position we have erstwhile held and which has served us well

…

Continue reading »

Tagged gareth epps and Liberal Left | 88 Comments

Opinion: time to talk about things that don’t matter

By Chris White | Tue 14th February 2012 - 2:53 pm

Now, before I start, let me be clear: I am not an atheist and in fact find atheism’s certainties as puzzling as those of fundamentalists – the latter are certain that God exists and the former that he does not. Quite how, after centuries of Enlightenment philosophy, there are adherents to either point of view is beyond me.

Anyway: I go to Church, have doubts, fall far short of my ideals. Sorry.

Last week there was a High Court judgment against Bideford Town Council. In a nutshell it said that prayers should not form part of a council meeting.

I belong to two …

Continue reading »

Also posted in Local government | Tagged Local government and religion | 19 Comments

A postcard from… Valladolid

By Ruben Arbaizar | Tue 14th February 2012 - 1:22 pm

It seems that this idea is catching on, as Liberal Democrat Voice has received its first unsolicited postcard. So, without further ado…

It is generally assumed that the Mediterranean countries do not have a strong liberal, democratic strand to their politics. Indeed, the two members of the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) Group in the European Parliament are the nationalist parties of two Regions, Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (Catalonia) and Partido Nacionalista Vasco (the Basque Country).

However, there are liberal democrats in Spanish politics, awaiting discovery by …

Continue reading »

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged a postcard from, europe and spain | 12 Comments

Opinion: Crime, transport and the battle for London Mayor

By Paul Haydon | Fri 10th February 2012 - 11:30 am

Just six months ago today London was emerging from its third night of rioting, with a semblance of order only just beginning to take hold as a massive police presence descended on the city. The fear in the streets was palpable. We had been given a brief and terrifying glimpse of what sheer anarchy looked like, the rage and shameless opportunism of London’s marginalised youth provoking deep existential questions about what was wrong with our society.

Yet, as the contest for London Mayor begins to build up momentum, Ken and Boris’ campaigns continue to revolve around the same old topic …

Continue reading »

Tagged brian paddick, crime, london mayoral election and riots | 4 Comments

Political clichés I dislike #2: ideological

By Mark Pack | Fri 10th February 2012 - 10:25 am

I’ve previously written about my dislike of that venerable clichéd demand for “government to send a strong signal”. Government isn’t a bloody semaphore team, thank you very much.

Not even I’m willing to believe it was the power of that blog post alone (plus natty diagram) which cowed the political classes into giving up semaphoring addiction. Yet the phrase does seem to crop up rather less often now, perhaps because of a change from the Labour government’s love of telling people what to do?

But we have not arrived in a happy new post-Brown cliché free world.

Instead, the one that now has …

Continue reading »

35 Comments

Opinion: The good, the bad and the ugly of the Lib Dems

By Scott Hill | Fri 10th February 2012 - 9:41 am

This week has been something of a mixed bag for the Liberal Democrats. Aside from getting over the fact we have lost one of our most respected and feared heavyweights in Chris Huhne, we have been forced to accept that a serious reassessment of our position within government is required and necessary.

Needless to say, the ceaseless commentariat and Westminster gossips are not helping matters. There have been three stories – all different in topic and angle – that have focused attention on the junior coalition partner in recent …

Continue reading »

Tagged chris huhne, Liberal Left and parliamentary boundary review | 41 Comments

Ed Davey MP writes… Solar power for the many, not the few

By Ed Davey | Thu 9th February 2012 - 4:27 pm

Some things in politics are symbolic. For dyed-in-the-wool environmentalists like the Liberal Democrats, solar power is one of these things – indisputably clean, green and cutting edge technology. The sort of thing Liberal Democrats in a government that aims to be the greenest ever should be unequivocally behind.

Our commitment to the environment was why I joined the party in the first place.

So I understand why many of you were confused and disappointed when the Government appeared to scale back the Feed in Tariffs that allow people to install solar panels in their homes and businesses, not least when our decision …

Continue reading »

Tagged department of energy and climate change, feed-in tariffs, renewable energy and solar power | 28 Comments

Opinion – Twitter: powerful campaign tool or waste of effort?

By Alan Muhammed | Thu 9th February 2012 - 2:55 pm

The simple tweet “F*ck” at 10am with the reply “Agreed” last Friday was the only source and all the evidence I required to know that Chris Huhne had been charged. Two words tied emotion with cognition. I followed Nick Clegg’s tax cut speech live through the medium of 140 character paraphrase: a sort of Focus-speak reduction I can only imagine would have the speech-writers crying. The utterance “Borgen – Danish West Wing” was all the persuasion necessary to watch it religiously.

Twitter is free, fast and tragic. And if it wasn’t powerful in facilitating the fall of …

Continue reading »

Also posted in Online politics | Tagged connect, jamie matthews, julian huppert, tim farron, twitter and victor chamberlain | 3 Comments

Opinion: Labour’s embracing of economic liberalism is to be welcomed

By David Thorpe | Thu 9th February 2012 - 9:28 am

The first sign that man is moving from the reckless abandon of late youth to the windswept comfort of early maturity can be found in his reaction to the sight of falling snow. Where once it would have been an excuse to declare the days schedule defunct, this year it signalled only the onset of boredom.

Consequently I dusted down my new year’s resolution to ‘laugh a lot more’ and began thinking about Labour’s attitude to economics. I propose to look at the Labour leadership’s deeper economic instincts to provide a guide as to how they might actually run the economy.

Ed Balls

Continue reading »

Tagged economic liberalism, economy, ed balls, ed miliband, orange book and vince cable | 21 Comments

Opinion: Jenny Willott is wrong on the Welfare Reform Bill

By George Potter | Tue 7th February 2012 - 7:03 pm

On Sunday Jenny Willott wrote an article on LDV explaining the reasons behing Lib Dem MPs voting to reject the Lords amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill. However, I’m afraid that, as someone who has been campaigning on this for several months, I am not satisfied with her explanation and think that there are several flaws in her justifications.

For example, to put what Jenny said another way, 4 in 10 people affected by the time limit will lose ESA completely. That’ll be 280,000 people with long term illness or disability that prevents them from working. Those who lose it …

Continue reading »

Tagged welfare reform | 36 Comments

Opinion: Calm Down, Dears!

By Zadok Day | Tue 7th February 2012 - 4:57 pm

It’s a great shame that so many Liberal Democrats have reacted to the political downfall of Chris Huhne by bashing his successor. Ed Davey is an immensely capable minister and will do a wonderful job in his new position. Sadly, some have chosen this news to complain because a woman wasn’t promoted instead of a man. Gender balance is an issue that seems to divide opinion a great deal in the online world, for some reason, despite being hardly as controversial in the real world, where the principle is generally accepted that talent should be rewarded rather than the accident …

Continue reading »

Tagged chris huhne, david cameron, edward davey and gender | 47 Comments

Opinion: Federal Policy Committee to the left of me, Tories to the right, where are the Parliamentary Parties? Stuck in the Middle with whom?

By Mark Valladares | Tue 7th February 2012 - 11:18 am

Perhaps Stealers Wheel had it right… so it’s time to speak my mind, isn’t it?

I have been following the debate on internal party democracy with first interest, then frustration, and now a degree of numbing disbelief, as the Parliamentary Parties have taken significant flak from a cross-section of Party members and activists.

And yet, from my perspective of a reporter on events in the Lords, a very different story emerges to the increasingly popular one of rogue Parliamentary Parties trashing Liberal Democrat policy in an entirely unaccountable way. But let me tell you a story…

Once upon a time, a small, …

Continue reading »

Tagged fpc | 59 Comments

Opinion: Gove’s message – “vocational” = “worthless”

By Lucy Care | Tue 7th February 2012 - 9:09 am

Secretary of State for Education, Conservative Michael Gove, has downgraded the value of nearly all 14-16 vocational qualifications at a stroke. I felt angry when I heard this. However, it did little to reduce my respect for Mr Gove; I had very little anyway after ‘free’ schools, and his arrogant disregard of the role of Local Authorities to support ‘failing’ schools.

But having thought about this a little more, I am left perplexed by Gove’s decision. The impact goes against so much I thought was accepted wisdom.

Industry has for many years had a

…

Continue reading »

Tagged academies, michael gove and vocational | 23 Comments

Opinion: Tories’ onshore wind farm opposition is based on a fallacy

By Terence Darby | Mon 6th February 2012 - 3:24 pm

Only three days into the job and Ed Davey’s first political challenge has arisen – a demand from the unreconstructed Tory back benches for a halt to onshore wind farm development. The Tories are taking aim at the subsidies onshore wind farm receive to enable them to compete with fossil fuel, claiming that they’re unaffordable in a time of austerity – and in this, I’m sorry to say, they’ve been joined by two of our Welsh MPs, Roger Williams and Mark Williams.

While one expects the Tories to be at their most equivocal on green issues, it’s a bit worrying …

Continue reading »

Tagged wind turbines | 24 Comments

Opinion: LibDems are the natural home for Blairites

By Luke Tyson | Mon 6th February 2012 - 12:24 pm

There have been some high profile (if not high level) Blairite defections to the Tories. While there are some similarities between the Blair legacy and our coalition partners, the defectees seem to have overlooked or discarded one idea – joining the Liberal Democrats.

As Jonathan Powell says in his book, The New Machiavelli, and as was evident during his time in office, Tony Blair was strongly pro-Europe. He understood, as we do, that a) the largest common market in the world is something that we should be actively engaging with and leading, and b) there are threats and issues …

Continue reading »

Tagged liberal democrats and tony blair | 30 Comments

Opinion: 2012 – Time for an Arms Trade treaty that will really save lives

By Issan Ghazni | Mon 6th February 2012 - 10:54 am

This February marks the final United Nations (UN) Preparatory Committee session before the deciding negotiations in July 2012 for a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). As this critical moment approaches, we need to call on our Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to support the strongest possible Treaty.

The historic decision made in 2009 to negotiate a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) by the UN was predicated on calls from more than a million people across the world. They argued for the arms trade to be brought under control and for governments to take their responsibility …

Continue reading »

Tagged arms trade | 3 Comments

Opinion: Chris Huhne – innocent or guilty doesn’t seem to matter

By Rebecca Taylor | Mon 6th February 2012 - 9:54 am

Chris Huhne’s resignation last week not only deprives the Government of a strong voice for Liberalism, but also this country and the international community of a voice for the common good, in the fight against climate change. We are treading the weary road of a political resignation got over ahead of time, to save even more trouble later.

Such ‘pre-emptive resignations’ are a slur on the legal system. They render its actions useless, by defying the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’. This principle can be abused by criminals anxious to escape justice, but it is a cornerstone of the law …

Continue reading »

Tagged chris huhne | 19 Comments

Jenny Willott MP writes… The Welfare Reform Bill – What’s happened on ESA?

By Jenny Willott | Sun 5th February 2012 - 8:06 pm

Benefits are not an easy subject to get your head around: we have a benefits system with enough acronyms, assessments, taper rates and tax credits to make your head spin. That’s why this Government is finally undertaking a hugely important and long-overdue reform of benefits.

Universal Credit will replace the complicated mix of tax credits, JSA, ESA, Housing Benefit and so on with one simple benefit. And the Universal Credit is why the Welfare Reform Bill is so crucial. It will revolutionise the way we support those who are unemployed, disabled, sick or caring for a loved …

Continue reading »

Tagged universal credit and welfare reform bill | 53 Comments

Opinion: Lib Dem Cabinet Ministers – surely we can do better than this?

By Robin McGhee | Sun 5th February 2012 - 9:25 am

When the great British public look at their leaders, what do they think? In the unlikely event it’s anything other than ‘what have we done?’, it’s probably indifference or, occasionally, murder. The current crop of Lib Dem Cabinet Ministers do nothing to dispel these opinions. Chris Huhne’s sadly justified resignation provided an opportunity to change our public image for the better. This opportunity was not taken.

As has been pointed out, Ed Davey’s appointment as Huhne’s replacement has removed a ‘big beast’ from Cabinet: someone who can stand up for a broader range of party opinion. However, his appointment …

Continue reading »

Tagged diversity and ed davey | 58 Comments

The weekend debate: When should an MP rebel against their party?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 4th February 2012 - 9:25 am

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

In the Australian system even a single rebellion against your party can mean the whip is withdrawn but in the UK we’re much more used to MPs ‘crossing the floor’ and voting against their party.

In fact there’s been a fair amount of coverage on Lib Dem Voice of Mark Pack’s research on the number of backbench Lib Dem MPs who have rebelled against the government since the last election.

One could argue that MPs have a duty to vote with the party …

Continue reading »

Tagged edmund burke and weekend debate | 17 Comments

Chris White writes: The next local elections after May this year will be in November.

By Chris White | Fri 3rd February 2012 - 4:35 pm

It is likely that a number of our cities will, by Government diktat, be holding referendums in May as to whether to move to a mayoral system. Some of these will give the go-ahead and Liverpool is anyway likely to jump straight to a mayoral system by use of a council resolution. The mayoral contests will be on the same day as those for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs).

There are still some who, in relation to PCCs, are fondly imagining that Liberal Democrat candidates won’t be needed. This is despite the fact that it abundantly clear that the Conservative and …

Continue reading »

Also posted in Local government | Tagged chris white, elected police commissioners and mayoral referendum | 9 Comments

Opinion: both private and public sector pensions need improving

By Janice Turner | Fri 3rd February 2012 - 2:00 pm

There are two fundamental problems with the analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies of the current negotiations on public sector pensions.

Firstly, the IFS compares public sector pension provision with that of the private sector and implies that the inevitable disparity has to be rebalanced by cutting the public sector rather than improving private sector provision.

Secondly, they choose to ignore the approximately £100 billion saved by moving from RPI to CPI and then says that if you exclude £100 billion and the fact that retired public sector workers’ pensions are going to have lower increases than before, they are better off.

But this …

Continue reading »

Tagged institute for fiscal studies and pensions | 14 Comments

Opinion: What price democracy in the Lib Dems?

By Linda Jack | Thu 2nd February 2012 - 6:02 pm

Over the past 21 months I have had many moments when I have felt close to despair about the behaviour of our parliamentarians. Sometimes, like voting in favour of tuition fees, they can rightly point to the Coalition Agreement – endorsed overwhelmingly – as Nick Clegg observed at the time – by a North Korean like Special Conference. Other times, like voting against party policy on Legal Aid and Welfare Reform – there is no such defence. Last night calls into question the fundamental values and principles of our party, not just in terms of flying in the face of …

Continue reading »

Tagged benefits, federal policy committee, gareth epps, Joan Walmsley, legal aid, meral ece, Ming Campbell, paddy ashdown and welfare reform bill | 133 Comments

The IFS’s verdict on Labour’s deficit argument is in – and it ain’t pretty

By Nick T | Thu 2nd February 2012 - 3:54 pm

Yesterday saw the publication by the Institute for Fiscal Studies of its annual ‘Green Budget‘, which looks generally at the global and UK economic picture as well providing a detailed analysis of the UK fiscal position. The document is fascinating in many respects, but one of the parts that particularly caught my eye was its devastating take on Labour’s position on the deficit.

Since the Autumn Statement, when figures for the estimated size of the budget deficit in future years were revised upwards, one of Labour’s main arguments has been that by cutting “too far, too fast” the government has …

Continue reading »

Tagged economy, ed balls, ed miliband, featured, IFS and labour party | 7 Comments

Opinion: No economic growth? Here’s what to do

By Paul Reynolds | Thu 2nd February 2012 - 12:57 pm

To summarise the current UK position, ‘demand management’ is out (no money left and anyway it didn’t work), so growth must come from supply-side measures (excluding subsidies or protectionism), and from ‘natural’ private sector growth (born of financial stability and debt reduction).

With the peculiar separation in the UK which has evolved between the ‘real economy’ and the civil service, media & political elites, this has left the political system scratching its head over how to achieve ‘fiscally sustainable quality growth’. The result has been a series of ad-hoc programmes – some designed to substitute for an ailing banking sector (growth funds, loan guarantees), some …

Continue reading »

Tagged economy | 5 Comments

Most Read

Op-eds

Somerset’s farmers are on the front line of climate change (Sarah Dyke)
Mathew on Monday: Local Government Reorganisation review welcome (Mathew Hulbert)
Reform is winning because liberal Britain is not listening to its own society (Michal Simon)
Tom Arms’ World Review (Tom Arms)
Why Holborn and St Pancras deserves our all (Rosemary Runswick)

Advert

Recent Comments

David Evans
Mick, While acknowledging that you successfully retrained as a primary school teacher and that on another occasion you taught, probably very successfully in...
Mick Taylor
I requalified as a primary school teacher from being a secondary teacher. There were, and may still be, one year courses for this purpose and I imagine that cou...
Jana
“ One practical solution would be to make it much easier for primary school teachers to requalify and go to work in our secondary schools” Really? Most p...
Michael BG
Peter Davies, In the report the IPPR suggest that the 2% could start being paid by pensioners from the personal allowance (£12,570) level. From this income ...
Michal Simon
@Sarah Dyke You have highlighted an important problem. Climate change is already hitting farmers in practical ways: wetter winters, flooded fields, longer drou...