Category Archives: Op-eds

Mike Tuffrey

Mike Tuffrey writes… Why I’m serious about London

By Mike Tuffrey | Thu 16th June 2011 - 9:55 am

Yesterday I launched my bid to be our party’s candidate for Mayor of London and I started as I mean to go on: working with a large team of experienced colleagues from across London (see photographs here) and talking about the urgent change our city needs.

As a campaigning party, we must focus – pun intended – on the really big concerns Londoners have about living in this city. And as our candidate, I want to work with our campaigners to get out and listen to those concerns and what must be done.

I believe that it is time for serious solutions to the big challenges we face if London is to remain a great city to live, work and raise a family in over the next decade. With new powers coming from central government, we need a GLA – Mayor and Assembly – that is ambitious for London.

At the launch I issued my five point action plan, based on my experience of eight years serving on the London Assembly. These are priorities than can – and must – be delivered:

  • More, better and cheaper housing
  • Investment in transport to keep London moving
  • Action for jobs and a challenge to big business to pay fair wages
  • Protecting neighbourhood policing and promoting youth opportunities
  • Clean air and a healthy London

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Also posted in London | Tagged and | 16 Comments
Helen Duffett

What has the DPM done for us?

By Helen Duffett | Wed 15th June 2011 - 3:37 pm

Lib Dem blogger Matthew Gibson has blogged Nick Clegg’s achievements as DPM over the past year, as viewed by the mainstream media.

Matthew’s been monitoring the papers for months, noting all the positive stories about the Deputy PM and Lib Dem leader.

He splits these up by the common themes that have emerged: leadership, competence, being principled and standing his ground.

Here’s a taster:

Competence

The Independent praise Nick Clegg’s simple and direct language in his speech at Conference concluding ‘Clegg knows what he is doing – quite unusual for a leader of a party’ (see here).

The Daily Telegraph believe

…

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Tagged , , , and | 2 Comments
Andrew Stunell MP

Andrew Stunell MP writes: Buildings are the key to reducing carbon emissions

By Andrew Stunell MP | Wed 15th June 2011 - 1:53 pm

We risk losing our battle against climate change unless we make the built environment more sustainable. That was the message I gave the audience at a Greening our Homes seminar arranged by the Policy Exchange Think Tank yesterday. It’s a stark message, but is backed up by the facts. Around half of all the carbon emissions the UK produces each year come from buildings, with our homes contributing 27% on their own. By contrast, only 15% come from our cars, so we could reduce our carbon emissions by a greater amount with a two-thirds cut in emissions from the residential sector than by taking all our cars off the road.

Yet, when compared to sustainable transport, like electric cars, or renewable forms of energy, the built environment gets scant mention. But if we’re committed to being the greenest government ever, we need to do it in the most practical and cost-effective way we can. That means buildings.

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Tagged , , and | 11 Comments
Tim Leunig

Opinion: The cap doesn’t fit, so don’t wear it

By Tim Leunig | Wed 15th June 2011 - 10:57 am

This week the £26,000 absolute cap on benefits is back in the news. To many people £26,000 sounds like a lot of money. It is, after all, the average wage. The idea that anyone out of work should get more than the average family appears offensive. That is why this policy plays so well with the public – and make no mistake, it does.

But the claim, repeated by the Department for Work and Pensions, that this policy is needed so that people on benefits do not get more than those on average earnings is a lie. People …

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Tagged | 77 Comments
Ross Chmiel

Opinion: Sign the petition against Brian Souter’s knighthood

By Ross Chmiel | Tue 14th June 2011 - 5:10 pm

Like most people, I enjoy a quick scan of the Birthday Honours to see which celebrities have been given a long overdue award (arise Sir Brucie!) and then get on with my day. Saturday was different.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that the notorious homophobe Brian Souter had been awarded a Knighthood.

This is a man who funded one of the most hurtful and bigoted campaigns in recent times. The Keep The Clause Campaign was a shameful period in Scotland’s history and I was amazed that the man behind it should be recognised by the Palace and …

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Tagged and | 13 Comments
John Alderdice

Lord Alderdice writes: The NHS Bill is substantially improved

By John Alderdice | Tue 14th June 2011 - 4:24 pm

As Liberal Democrats we are reformist by instinct and as in every other area of our community life we want to see reform of the NHS, not only to enable it to deal with the major resource and demographic challenges of the next twenty years, but also to ensure that it is more clinician-led, patient-centred and outcome-focussed than it has ever been before. That is why our MPs supported the principles of the Secretary of State’s original NHS Bill when it came to 2nd Reading in the House of Commons.

Our very public concerns have centred round whether the precise organizational …

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Tagged and | 25 Comments
Cllr Terry Stacy

Opinion: The ‘democratic filter’ disempowers tenants

By Cllr Terry Stacy | Tue 14th June 2011 - 10:42 am

As Liberal Democrats we should be very welcoming of the Localism Bill. The measures included in it to bring power back to local communities have been at the heart of our politics for many years, and will give people a real say in local decision making. Empowering people was key to me becoming active in the tenant’s movement in the 80’s, why I joined the Liberal Party back then and cut my teeth in politics in Tower Hamlets, and why I stood for Council in Islington years later.

Empowering people is key to being a Liberal Democrat, Indeed, Andrew Stunell …

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Tagged , and | 6 Comments
John Russell

Opinion: The death of affordable Outdoor Education?

By John Russell | Mon 13th June 2011 - 4:13 pm

The BBC has reported that 95% of all local council-funded outdoor education centres have had their entire funding cut. A third of all the council-funded out door centres now feel their future is uncertain. 12 outdoor education centres are set to shut, in addition to all those that have already closed over the years.

I can not think of another national, educational service that has suffered a 95% cut in the latest rounds of budgets and been expected to survive.

The Liberal Democrats should be championing outdoor education.

Affordable high quality outdoor education which is available …

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Tagged , and | 6 Comments
Iain Roberts

A challenge to Community Politics

By Iain Roberts | Mon 13th June 2011 - 2:21 pm

Community Politics is an ideology beloved of many Liberal Democrats, even if not all are quite sure what it is. As Mark Pack points out, “Community Politics” is distinctively Lib Dem, and Mark contrasts it to Labour “localism” and the Conservative “Big Society”.

But is it right?

No ideology is completely correct – all have faults where they fail to capture certain facets and nuances of our complex human behaviour. Few are complete nonsense either – most ideologies have elements that capture something important, and it’s a foolish person indeed who dismisses any ideology completely.

Some are better than others, …

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Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

Our lost phrase: community politics

By Mark Pack | Sat 11th June 2011 - 12:28 pm

On a hunch, earlier this year I did a little research ahead of writing a blog post for Liberal Democrat Voice: how often is the phrase “community politics” used by the party’s national spokespeople since the May 2010 election?

The answer was far worse than I’d feared. Looking through all of Nick Clegg’s major speeches, all the news release from him and also all those from others issued via the Liberal Democrat press team, I could only find one use of “community politics” – by Paul Burstow. Andrew Stunell deserves an honourable mention for using it in an LGA pamphlet …

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Peter Black

Opinion: A guide to fighting list seats

By Peter Black | Sat 11th June 2011 - 8:54 am

In writing this article I do not claim any great wisdom in how to fight list elections. In fact the fact I survived the latest Welsh Assembly poll has more to do with the decline in the Plaid Cymru vote than anything I did, though the amount of effort and targeted work we put in must have had some significance in securing a 54 vote majority.

This is what I did. It may not be appropriate in other areas and it may be fairly obvious to any experienced campaigner. Inevitably there were things I could have done better or did not …

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Also posted in Wales | Tagged | 4 Comments
Nick T

Opinion: Time for that Lib Dem tax cut in full?

By Nick T | Fri 10th June 2011 - 10:55 am

“Under a Liberal Democrat government, you will not have to pay any income tax on the first £10,000 you earn.”

So said the manifesto on which we fought last year’s election. And while we didn’t get a Liberal Democrat government, we did get the policy.

The coalition agreement commits the government to making real terms steps each year towards the target of £10,000, kicked off by an initial increase of £1000, benefiting the low paid by £200 this year.

But should we be moving faster?

Recent economic growth has, of course, been weaker than expected – no surprise given the circumstances. The events of …

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Tagged , and | 45 Comments
Sarah Teather

Sarah Teather MP writes: Share your views on the Bailey Report

By Sarah Teather | Thu 9th June 2011 - 4:24 pm

You may well have seen the press coverage of Reg Bailey’s report on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children, published earlier this week. While some of the coverage was the sort you’d expect from the conservative-leaning press, most of it was more balanced and thoughtful.
 
As Minister for Children and Families, I’ve been closely involved in this work and I’m really pleased with what he’s come up with. It demonstrates Liberal Democrat values and approaches, and has already started to make a difference in practice – which is what matters.  
 
As we all do when we are out campaigning, he …

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Tagged , and | 47 Comments
James Sandbach

Opinion: Access to justice – why Liberal Democrats should not sit on the sidelines

By James Sandbach | Thu 9th June 2011 - 1:21 pm

Next week the Government will announce legislation to reform legal aid, following a Green Paper published last November to which the Ministry of Justice received an unprecedented 5,000 responses. Whilst “legal aid reform” was in the Coalition Agreement, the scale of proposed changes has taken many aback – in order to cut the legal aid budget by £350million, Justice Ministers propose taking whole categories of law related problems out legal aid entitlement – housing and debt problems, welfare benefit issues, employment law issues, immigration cases, consumer law problems, education cases and private family law issues (eg divorce and …

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Dave Raval

Opinion: The environment starts at home

By Dave Raval | Thu 9th June 2011 - 10:53 am

When I was selected as PPC for Hackney South and Shoreditch ahead of the last General Election, I promised to move into the constituency. Since I believe passionately in the environment, I chose to buy a Victorian solid-brick house in Hackney and with the aim of making it into an ecohouse. Solid brick properties are the so-called “Hard to treat houses”, and exactly the focus of the Coalition Government’s Green Deal.

Prior to the renovation, my house was an environmental disaster zone. In the winter it was cold no matter how high the heating was set, as all the heat …

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Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

Please send the deregulation hit squad: all I want is some double-glazing

By Mark Pack | Thu 9th June 2011 - 6:44 am

Getting double-glazing fitted at home seemed such a good idea to begin with.

It then got better when I had the fun of watching of Ricky Gervais type character doing acrobatics on the hinge of a sample double-glazing unit to demonstrate its strength. I may now know that the hinge can take the full weight of a fully grown man, though I must admit I’m still not quite sure why I’d want to know thiat.

But then came sorting out the administration.

Five different pieces of legal authorisation are required. Plus two maps. With all the charges put together adding an extra 25% …

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Tagged | 19 Comments
Rob Blackie

Opinion: How can we build a liberal movement?

By Rob Blackie | Wed 8th June 2011 - 5:27 pm

Like a lot of Liberal Democrat friends, I was inspired by Barack Obama’s determination to build a long term movement for change across America. And for a couple of years I’ve been trying to copy his volunteer led approach to political organising, with some success.*

One element that is crucial to motivating volunteers is to have superb candidates, who are themselves heroes to their communities. This, of course, is a large element of good traditional community campaigning.

So I was delighted to see that in Peckham we are using our candidate’s amazing life story as the main motivator of volunteers on …

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Tagged , and | 10 Comments
Dan Falchikov

Forgotten Liberal heroes: Richard Lillicrap

By Dan Falchikov | Wed 8th June 2011 - 4:23 pm

Richard Lillicrap was probably too little known in Lib Dem circles in the first place to be forgotten, but for hundreds (if not thousands) of committed football fans who are closely involved in running supporters’ trusts or indeed football clubs themselves – like AFC Wimbledon – he was an inspiration.

Richard was a key player in the supporters’ movement, helping dozens of football (and other sports) supporters to organise themselves and take action in their communities to protect their teams from avaricious and uninterested owners.

Richard was also a committed Liberal and saw fan and community ownership of football as the obvious expression of liberalism and community politics in the sporting sphere. He was also a Liberal Democrat councillor for Canbury Ward in Kingston from 1994-98 and a key part of the first ever majority Lib Dem administration that devolved its decisions to seven neighbourhood committees – even thought it meant giving up control in four of these to opposition parties.

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Prateek Buch

Opinion: We don’t need Labour’s Plan B – we need a Lib Dem Plan C

By Prateek Buch | Wed 8th June 2011 - 10:44 am

Senior economists have expressed alarm at the Coalition Government’s economic strategy – coinciding with the publication of gloomy figures, criticism came from sources as varied as the likes of David Blanchflower, to Sunday’s warning over the direction of travel from a wide array of experts in the Observer. As we ponder the need for alternatives to the Coalition’s policies, a Plan B, let’s recap how Plan A came about.

The Conservative party have always equated this crisis with the government’s budget deficit. Their economic narrative, unchanged since well before the election, has been clear; public profligacy under Labour …

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Tagged and | 23 Comments
Mark Pack

How do you pick an expert? The flawed argument against Lords reform

By Mark Pack | Wed 8th June 2011 - 8:43 am

You need an expert. What do you do? There are plenty of different ways of going about finding one, I’m sure.

But I bet you don’t dig out the books from 20 years ago, look who was an expert back then, place the names in the hat and then pick out a name or two at random.

That, however, is how the House of Lords works – and that’s why I am unconvinced by those who argue that democracy has no place in one half of Parliament because ‘we need experts’.

Certainly there are some experts in the Lords. Just as there are …

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Tagged , , , and | 9 Comments
Chris White

Chris White writes: What do you want for your birthday?

By Chris White | Tue 7th June 2011 - 2:12 pm

I am fifty tomorrow. Relatives sometimes ask me what I would like for my birthday and I reply with things like ‘ties, jacket, Ipad, North American art…’. The usual.

This year, though, a real treat: a meeting with Eric Pickles. I have already given the standard response to the organisers: ‘You shouldn’t have….It’s what I’ve always wanted…’

They have even arranged for a large posse of other Lib Dem group leaders to join me to make the hour go swimmingly.
Apparently there is no agenda as such. Just an opportunity to put across some messages.

But what, in a single hour?

Clearly we …

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Tagged , and | 7 Comments
Mark Pack

Trial and error is the most successful problem solving technique

By Mark Pack | Tue 7th June 2011 - 6:54 am

So said Tim Harford (known to many as the presenter of Radio 4’s More or Less as well as a distinguished economics writer) last night at the Royal Society of Arts. Harford was kicking-off a week long series of talks to promote his new book, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure and was making the point that the modern world is too complex for us to hope to solve many problems by simply getting the best brains to think up the one answer. A far better route to take is to experiment with many different solutions and see …

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Tagged , and | 8 Comments

Opinion: Talking about my generation

By Anonymous Lib Dem | Mon 6th June 2011 - 2:48 pm

Today something a little bit interesting will happen to me. I will become a member of a new generation of Liberal Democrats. Because from today, I will have spent longer as a member of the Liberal Democrats while they have been in Government than when they were simply the ignored party in opposition. When I first became involved in April 2009, a Liberal Democrat Government was unthinkable. Today it is reality. And it is a reality that some of us are now getting used to.

Many of the older members of the Liberal Democrats will have spent decades being ignored and …

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Tagged | 29 Comments
Willie Rennie

Willie Rennie MSP writes: Time for radical action on alcohol misuse in Scotland

By Willie Rennie | Mon 6th June 2011 - 1:57 pm

Alcohol misuse continues to blight the whole of Scottish society, wrecking individual lives and harming families and communities. I have seen and heard the impact when I am talking to people on doorsteps. From damaging public health, through crime in local neighbourhoods, to dependence pulling families apart, we all suffer. I believe that radical action is needed and will therefore support moves to introduce a minimum unit pricing mechanism in Scotland.

​There is no quick fix to Scotland’s alcohol problem. The scale and complexity of the challenge requires a fundamental change to our culture of drinking to excess. Over the last few years we have seen significant changes to licensing law and many positive new powers have been put in place. A Licensing Act came into force in 2009, banning happy hours and irresponsible promotions in pubs and clubs. More recently the 2010 Alcohol Act bans multi-buy promotions in shops and supermarkets, restricts promotional material on display in shops and requires all retailers to operate the ‘Challenge 25’ scheme to tackle underage sales.

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12 Comments
Richard Clare

Opinion: Why you should be taking Lembit Opik seriously

By Richard Clare | Sun 5th June 2011 - 3:15 pm

It’s hard to raise the subject of Lembit Opik without somebody cracking a joke. He’s certainly not loved by our own party’s leadership and many see him as more of a celebrity than a politician. I can, however, name two other people who are hated by their party’s leadership and seem to be two parts celebrity, one part politician, and they’ve both held the position of Mayor of London.

Lembit has great recognition among people. My own unscientific polling leads me to believe that he isn’t far behind Ken and Boris in who knows who he is, which is quite a …

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Also posted in London | Tagged , , and | 63 Comments
Merlene Emerson

Merlene Emerson writes: Reflections on Media Freedom in China

By Merlene Emerson | Sat 4th June 2011 - 1:23 pm

I am writing this on the 22nd anniversary of ‘Six Four’ (the codename for the Tian An Men incident that occurred on 4th of June 1989). Perhaps no better day to reflect on the subject of media censorship in China and to question the role of international broadcasters?

Only yesterday I was with some 200 people at a talk organised by BBC Chinese Service at Chatham House. To my amazement even the English panel speakers such as Dr Kerry Brown (Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House), Madeline Earp (Research Associate at the Committee to Protect Journalists) and Prof Hugo de Burgh (Director, China Media Centre) all managed to deliver their speeches in Mandarin. Sadly no interpretations were provided at this over-subscribed event.

I attempt here to disseminate some of the content (Chatham House rules have officially been suspended).

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Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

Headline tax rates: down and down

By Mark Pack | Sat 4th June 2011 - 9:54 am

Two graphs for your Saturday enlightenment:

20 Comments
Andrew Wiseman

Response: Chair of Federal Conference Committee on increased security measures

By Andrew Wiseman | Fri 3rd June 2011 - 12:53 pm

We have just announced arrangements for registering for our autumn conference, including some new security arrangements which will apply for the first time this year. Some concerns have been raised about them so I wanted to set out what exactly the new arrangements are, and why the Federal Conference Committee has decided that it is necessary this year to increase security – something that we have been very reluctant to do.

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Also posted in Conference and Party policy and internal matters | 153 Comments
George Potter

Opinion: Pay, pensions and pupils

By George Potter | Fri 3rd June 2011 - 10:23 am

At the moment we have a communication problem. Every one of us knows that we’ve done brilliant things in government and have had a positive influence in almost every area. But tell people that and they don’t believe you.

The problem is that, whilst we’re getting stuff done in government, we’ve generally been pretty poor at letting the public know that. Our 2010 manifesto was put across to people rather effectively, and I’m fairly sure that we’ll be able to do the same in our 2015 manifesto – but that doesn’t help us in the meantime.

In the past, we’ve always …

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15 Comments
Dave Page

Opinion: The problem with Lib Dem conference security arrangements

By Dave Page | Fri 3rd June 2011 - 9:35 am

With the opening of registration for the Autumn Liberal Democrat conference this week, the first details have emerged of registrants needing to provide information to the police for “security checks”.

Looking at the Lib Dem blogosphere this morning, it’s clear that people are deeply unhappy with the requirements. I’m going to try to explain what the problem is, how it’s come about and what we might do about it.

What Information Is Required?

The pass application guidelines make it clear what is needed. First off, an up-to-date photo compliant with the new passport guidelines (which exist to make automated facial biometric recognition easier) for your conference pass.

Secondly, either your passport number, driving licence number or National Insurance number. If you don’t have any of the latter, it seems to be possible to come to some kind of arrangement with Greater Manchester Police (who are doing the checks on behalf of Birmingham’s West Midlands Police).

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Also posted in Conference | Tagged | 28 Comments
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