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Category Archives: Op-eds

Our Christmas presents guide

By Mark Pack | Tue 19th October 2010 - 10:26 am

Wondering what to get people for Christmas presents? Here’s a selection of what various Liberal Democrat bloggers suggest:

Jonathan Calder recommends Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain’s Visionary Music by Rob Young: “Anyone with an interest in folk music will find this book engrossing. Young traces the rise of the genre from Cecil Sharp and other Edwardian song collectors like Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth, through the post-war radialism of Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker, to its electronic heyday in the hands of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. He finds the visionary spirit living on in unlikely artists such as …

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Tagged andrew hickey, duncan stott, featured, jennie rigg, jonathan calder, mary reid and stephen tall | 8 Comments

“Loathe this government if you will…” – 4 points following on from Julian Glover’s must-read Guardian article

By Stephen Tall | Mon 18th October 2010 - 7:45 pm

Julian Glover, writing for The Guardian’s Comment Is Free, puts forward a trenchantly pro-Coalition, pro-Clegg line — one that’s guaranteed to attract the ire both of Guardianistas, and of some Voice readers, too. This excerpt offers the substnance of his argument:

Loathe this government if you will, but at least acknowledge that neither side in it got all it wanted at the election and that neither has sold out all of its principles. The strangeness of co-operation exposes its component parts to the easiest of attacks: of promising one thing before an election and doing another after it. But as

…

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Tagged featured, julian glover and mark thompson | 100 Comments

Opinion: our ministers need to communicate better – and fast

By Mark Thompson | Mon 18th October 2010 - 4:02 pm

I have previously been a big supporter of the coalition government.

During the negotiations back in May I wrote that we should take the Tory deal for the good of the country and that it was effectively the only game in town.

I was also supportive of many of the actions taken in the early days of the government including the decision to focus more heavily on reducing the deficit. I broadly accepted the arguments that the government as a whole have used to justify this.

I have not blogged myself since the start of August but have found myself in mid-October …

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Tagged coalition agreement, higher education, nick clegg, tuition fees and universities | 34 Comments

Opinon: the unchallenged global free market

By John Roffey | Mon 18th October 2010 - 1:55 pm

Although the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which completed the UK’s political union with the EU, is a change which significantly disenfranchised the electorate our surrender to the global free market and all that it entails occurred far less obviously and has had a much greater obvious impact.

The promise of this free market is that the whole of the world’s population can share in the affluence which has been, until now, the prerogative of the West. I pointed out in my article concerning the minimum wage that the seeking out of the cheapest labour by the global corporations …

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Tagged economy | 33 Comments

Cyberwarfare: if it’s such a big threat, why…

By Mark Pack | Mon 18th October 2010 - 1:22 pm

Nick Carthew posed the provocative question on Twitter earlier today:

If cyberwarfare is the biggest threat in the 21st century why do we need to renew our nuclear deterrent? http://bit.ly/bNkBXn

There are of course a range of nuances to that question which can’t be squeezed into one tweet, but at its heart is a spot-on observation.

On the one hand, we’re now often told how internet hacking poses one of the biggest threats to our country’s future security and how illegal activities such as the hijacking of computers via bots are widespread and an extremely profitable form of crime.

On …

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Tagged nick carthew | 9 Comments

Opinion: a real Student Premium – the smart solution to the fees conundrum?

By David Allen | Mon 18th October 2010 - 11:55 am

If we want to change Coalition policy, we have to understand why Tories are so keen on high variable fees. It isn’t about the deficit. As usual, that is a smokescreen. It’s about the Tory philosophy of creating a marketplace in education. It is very important to the Tories that they should saddle the student with debt, hung around his or her individual neck. A graduate tax, which feels less threatening, is not good enough for just that reason. If it isn’t hurting, it isn’t working.

The market achieves two key Tory goals. It forces weak universities to improve …

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Tagged higher education, tuition fees and universities | 16 Comments

Our ministers can’t always follow party policy

By Iain Roberts | Mon 18th October 2010 - 8:10 am

The issue of tuition fees has raised a more general challenge the party needs to get its head round. This one’s been bubbling away quietly since the Lib Dems entered the Coalition and we seem no closer to an answer now than we were then.

Are our Government ministers bound by party policy?

When one of our ministers is formulating what the UK Government should do on a specific issue, or setting out the Lib Dem bargaining position to get the best final deal, how far should that minister be reaching for a party policy document rather than using their own …

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Also posted in News | Tagged federal policy committee, higher education, nick clegg, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 38 Comments

Opinion: revisit economic theory before cutting the real economy

By Geoff Crocker | Sun 17th October 2010 - 4:31 pm

The UK is now in a great rush to reduce GDP in order to reduce the financial deficit. But before we frame economic policy, we need to revisit economic theory, in particular the theory of money and macroeconomic demand theory.

On the theory of money

Money is an artefact, not a real physical commodity. It does not obey the laws of thermodynamics – it can be created and destroyed. The idea that macroeconomic budgets have to be balanced is a category error. It takes a microeconomic simplicity, that individuals or firms have to balance their budgets, and falsely transfers this to macroeconomics. …

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Tagged economy and keynesianism | 43 Comments

Opinion: What the US midterms do (and don’t) mean for the Liberal Democrats

By Fred Carver | Sun 17th October 2010 - 2:44 pm

I’ve heard a few Liberal Democrats express concern about the mid-term election results. The fear, as it has been expressed to me, is that Cleggmania had a lot of superficial similarities to Obamamania – it was a campaign based on hope, by a progressive liberal who offered something new, and it led to the formation of a government. Seeing Obamamania apparently swept away in a surge of vehemently conservative tea-partyers, several Lib Dems fear that the same fate could befall them at the next election.
I think this is simplistic.

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Also posted in LDVUSA | Tagged barack obama | 9 Comments

Opinion: pots and kettles – names and games and a journey towards political maturity

By Ed Randall | Sun 17th October 2010 - 1:11 pm

Michael Collins, a lecturer in twentieth century British history at UCL, has predicted at Open Democracy–Tuition fees just the beginning of Lib Dem troubles that the “SDP contingent” in the Liberal Democrats faces an existential battle with “coalition Liberals” over the future of the party.

Collins’ fantasy Lib Dem politics isn’t very convincing but there are a growing number of matching accounts, which mirror his portrayal of Liberal Democrat division, include accusations of unprincipled behaviour and go on to predict the party’s demise. It seems reasonable to respond to Collins’ account of ‘Lib Dem troubles’ with a little history and …

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Tagged higher education, nick clegg, SDP, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 17 Comments

Opinion: in favour of the Browne report

By Simon Kaye | Sun 17th October 2010 - 10:43 am

Back in 2004, when New Labour reformed higher education funding, most Liberal Democrats opposed the changes. I favoured them. ‘Top-up fees’ were, and still are, a liberal solution to higher education funding. Lord Browne’s recommendations don’t change that. Liberal Democrats should think twice before opposing whatever package of reforms is presented to us in the coming weeks.

The central principle – retrospective fee-payment – is, to my mind, a small work of genius. Liberals are always poised between the principles of freedom (self-ownership and personal rights), and fairness (universal equality of opportunity as a very minimum). Higher education is thus a …

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Tagged higher education, tuition fees and universities | 38 Comments

Opinion: an alternative to cuts? Be careful what you wish for

By Matt Gallagher | Sat 16th October 2010 - 5:03 pm

While canvassing in South Manchester I have met a number of people who do not accept that cuts are necessary on the scale suggested by the government. The common mantra is that the banks who caused the collapse should be made to pay, not the taxpayer, or, by implication, the poor who rely on the taxpayer.

Telling people on the doorstep about the Banking Levy meets with the response that this has not stopped bankers receiving enormous bonuses. Reminding them that 50% of these bonuses end up in the treasury is just as ineffective. The public seem to want more. They …

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Tagged spending cuts | 32 Comments

Opinion: a broken pledge, but we knew how bad it was back in March

By Hywel Morgan | Sat 16th October 2010 - 3:00 pm

Sorry Nick. Sorry Vince, I can’t find the figures that back you up

Both Nick and Vince have claimed that there was no option but to reverse their pledges on tuition fees. The public sector finances were in a far worse state than they expected and they had no option.

That would be a justification that would be just about sellable to people. A promise made in good faith which became unsustainable due to information not known about at the time could be legitimately broken.

The problem is, I can’t really find much that backs that claim up.

My starting point …

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Tagged alistair darling, george osborne, higher education, nick clegg, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 54 Comments

Opinion: why we should support students from state schools going to university

By Alex White | Sat 16th October 2010 - 1:23 pm

Perhaps one of the biggest issues in Britain today is education and having heard various members of my family rant on about it, it’s one of the most emotive subjects I’ve come by. This week we have had all the talk of university tuition fees and I’ve been listening very carefully as it does affect me, but whatever level whether it be primary, secondary or further education, the Lib Dems are the people who usually stand up for our pupils and students.

In Dunfermline at the Scottish Liberal Democrat’s conference I (a very nervous young first timer) got up on the …

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Tagged higher education, tuition fees and universities | 14 Comments

Opinion: educating Mr Cable

By Adam Bell | Sat 16th October 2010 - 11:28 am

Vince Cable is, if you’ll pardon the pun, deep in the Browne stuff. Lord Browne’s proposed reforms to higher education funding – and overall rise in tuition fees they represent – have quite understandably upset a significant portion of the party. Cable’s whole-hearted endorsement of them has led to the accusation that we’ve gone back on one of our core principles in the name of political expediency. This accusation is not without merit, but let’s map out the situation as best we can.

Significant cuts are in the pipeline for higher education. Already this year restrictions have been placed on the …

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Tagged higher education, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 8 Comments

Opinion: an open letter to MPs – say NO to Browne

By Sophie Bertrand | Fri 15th October 2010 - 4:56 pm

The publication of the Browne report earlier this week has received a lot of backlash from the public but what angered me and many other members the most was the positive response it got from Nick Clegg and Vince Cable.

Although the report does contain some positive points, there are a few dangerous suggestions which threaten the futures of thousands of prospective students. One such suggestion was to get rid of the cap on fees. This will inevitably lead to many courses costing around £7,000 per year with some so-called ‘elite courses’ possibly costing up to £36,000 for …

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Tagged higher education, nick clegg, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 35 Comments

Andrew Stunell writes…Open Government is Better Government

By Andrew Stunell MP | Fri 15th October 2010 - 3:21 pm

Earlier in the year, my colleague Eric Pickles announced that local authorities would be required to publish details of all of their spending above £500. This reform will go hand in hand with a requirement from November for central government departments to publish monthly details of all spending over £25,000. The Department for Communities and Local Government, however, have decided to go one better, and join our local government colleagues and publish everything over £500.

Why is this important, I hear you ask? Won’t it just provide the opposition, and for that matter, organisations like the Tax Payers Alliance with greater …

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Tagged andrew stunell and open government | 17 Comments

Opinion: education is worth more than any price tag

By Sarah Harding | Fri 15th October 2010 - 2:21 pm

Labour failed a generation of young people and students in this country. They left them with debt, with unemployment, and with a deficit worth £25,000 to each person. But in their final months they did do something to help.

Commissioning the Browne Review in Higher Education Funding reopened the debate on education in this country; it allowed those interested to have their say, and more importantly be listened to. It gave the Coalition Government the chance to reform the education system.

For Liberal Youth, our primary aim is to represent our membership, to do our best for them, and as such we …

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Tagged browne report, higher education, tuition fees and universities | 16 Comments

Opinion: Cable may do enough to deserve our support

By Ben Johnson | Fri 15th October 2010 - 12:31 pm

The coalition government is busy reading through Lord Browne’s report into higher education funding. He has recommended lifting the cap on fees, currently set at £3290 per year. All Liberal Democrat MPs were elected on the understanding that they opposed any rise in fees. But is the level of fee the critical issue here? And why is a graduate tax more popular?

I joined the Liberal Democrats back in 2001, whilst an undergraduate at the University of Warwick. I joined because of opposition to tuition fees. Back then, the tuition fees I opposed were set …

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Tagged browne, higher education, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 58 Comments

Clegg secures £7 billion extra to fund education for the most disadvantaged – from pre-school through to university

By Mark Pack | Fri 15th October 2010 - 6:25 am

Just as plays have a classic three-act structure, so too do tricky political decisions: first you rule out a potentially popular alternative, then you put out the bad news and finally you sweeten the pill as you try to avert people’s worst fears.

Last weekend saw act one on the tuition fees message, with Vince Cable taking to email to rule out a graduate tax – and trying to pre-empt Labour support for it by emphasising that party’s own previous opposition to the idea. (Given the subsequent news of now Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson’s continued opposition to a …

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Also posted in News | Tagged featured, higher education, nick clegg, pupil premium, tuition fees, universities and vince cable | 32 Comments

Opinion: How we transformed council housing in Perth and Kinross

By Peter Barrett | Thu 14th October 2010 - 10:10 pm

Cllr Peter Barrett is Perth and Kinross Council’s Housing and Health Convenor. He was once described in the local newspaper as the “Saviour of Tay Street” after defeating a previous administration’s car parking plans. Here he describes how he has transformed the housing service for the better. I’ve always thought that housing is one of the most important issues to sort. In fact, I’d say that there’s little point in the Pupil Premium if the kids it’s there to support don’t have warm, dry, comfortable homes to live in and enough food to eat. It’s hard to learn if you’re …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged guest editor, housing and perth and kinross council | 1 Comment

George Lyon: Our high hopes for the Scottish Parliament elections

By George Lyon MEP | Thu 14th October 2010 - 5:55 pm

George Lyon MEP is Chair of the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ Election Group. He was elected in 2009 and details of his campaigns on subjects such as fair deal for rural drivers, disabilities, food labelling and can be found on his website www.georgelyon.org.uk. Here he writes about the Party’s prospects and priorities in next year’s election.

What a year it has been for Liberal Democrats.

This time last year, I don’t think anyone in their heart of hearts believed that Liberals would form part of the government for the first time since 1945.

But this time last year we did have the right …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged guest editor | 3 Comments

Opinion: We should be ambitious in our campaigning

By Katy Gordon | Thu 14th October 2010 - 4:55 pm

Katy Gordon fought Glasgow North in the General Election in May and is now the top candidate on the Glasgow Regional list for the Holyrood elections in May. In this inspiring article, she shows how her team’s “yes we can” attitude paid dividends, increasing membership by 150%.

When I started campaigning in June 2007 as PPC for the target seat of Glasgow North, I had very little idea of how to go about it. All I knew was I was fed up with Labour taking the people of Glasgow for granted, that the Lib Dems had real potential to grow in …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged guest editor, hugh waterfield, jamie mchale and vince cable | 16 Comments

Opinion: The day the Northern Irish came to Scottish Conference

By Stephen Glenn | Thu 14th October 2010 - 4:25 pm

For many years now I have attended Scottish Liberal Democrat conference as a Northern Irish person. I’m not alone as there are many familiar accents scattered across the Scottish parties of other Northern Irish born members.

However, last weekend was the first time I attended as a Northern Irish local party member, but again I was not alone. I’d travelled over with the local party chair Michael Carchrie Campbell and one of our youth members Stephen McFarland had travelled down with the rest of the Aberdeen University crew.

It was a good conference for us all to get to, even though Michael …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged guest editor, michael carchrie campbell and stephen mcfarland | Leave a comment

A snapshot of a first class debate – a Scottish persepective on higher education

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 14th October 2010 - 3:24 pm

This week has seen Vince Cable and Nick Clegg adopt a position on tuition fees which is at odds with long held and much loved Party Policy. It remains to be seen how many of our MPs will go along with any recommendations to increase tuition fees. Already, MPs like Greg Mulholland, Julian Huppert, Tim Farron, Ming Campbell and Charles Kennedy have already stated that they will honour the pledge they signed during the Election campaign to oppose any increase.

In Scotland last weekend the positions were almost reversed, with the Holyrood Front Bench anxious to support our policy of free …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged guest editor, higher education, tuition fees and universities | 7 Comments

Opinion: Delivering a bright new future for Edinburgh

By Jenny Dawe | Thu 14th October 2010 - 12:55 pm

“I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”, wrote the outgoing Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury in May this year.

Reel back three years to the May 2007 Scottish local elections. The Liberal Democrats had become the largest party in the City of Edinburgh Council after 23 years of Labour control. A new Lib Dem led coalition with the SNP was beginning to look eagerly at how to change the city. We didn’t get a note. Instead, we got a stark warning from the Director of Finance that reserves were perilously low and the Council was heading for a …

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Also posted in Local government and Scotland | Tagged edinburgh and guest editor | 8 Comments

Opinion: We are a party founded on the principle of free education

By Callum Leslie | Thu 14th October 2010 - 10:55 am

Liberal Youth Scotland has made a huge impact in the last few years. They have fought for equalities, demonstrated against the homophobic Westboro Baptist Church when they threatened to come to Edinburgh, produced many excellent motions to our Conference where their Quiz/Debate evenings have become the place to be. Their VP-Communications tells us what LYS has been up to and how it feels about the Browne Report.

Liberal Youth Scotland is one of the fastest growing movements in the Liberal Democrats today. Since April, our membership has gone up by over 60%. Over the past two years, we have succeeded in …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged browne report, guest editor, higher education, kristian chapman, tuition fees and universities | 8 Comments

Opinion: A first timer’s guide to Scottish Lib Dem Conference 2010

By Paul Freeman | Thu 14th October 2010 - 9:55 am

Saturday’s Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference was the first conference I’d been to, and aside from a local hustings at the general election, the very first political event I’d ever been to. I was very much a newbie and a little bit nervous and uncertain about what to expect from the day. I even had to ask what it was best to wear, although that was really to stop my wife insisting I go in a suit. I wouldn’t have looked out of place in a suit, but if I’d turned up in a pair of green wellies I wouldn’t have been the only one …

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Also posted in Scotland | Tagged alexandra white, guest editor and tim farron | Leave a comment

Opinion: Higher Education should be like the NHS, free at the point of use

By Richard Davis | Wed 13th October 2010 - 4:53 pm

Higher Education should be freely available to all, however in its current state it is not. Only those who are academically able can enter the current system of HE. We need more technical colleges and alternative further education institutions.

Tony Blair aimed to get 50% of people into university, by the end of Labour’s term they had achieved 45%, Lord Browne wants to go another 10% further. These are admirable aims. Admirable, but in my opinion wrong. We should aim to have much more of the population complete some type of higher education, but it should not necessarily …

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Tagged browne report, higher education, tuition fees and universities | 24 Comments

The Independent View: Political Innovation No.6 – Citizen control of personal data

By The Voice | Wed 13th October 2010 - 3:43 pm

This is a cross-post by William Heath – originally posted on the Political Innovation site here.

If the big political innovation of the moment is to give power back to people, then a good place to do it is with personal data.

Whose data is it anyway? Whose health, whose education, whose identity, whose shopping history, bank details, travel plans, creditworthiness? Yet all these personal details, which affect us, are stored on hundreds of state and private-sector databases.

If I said there were 50bn personal records for …

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Also posted in The Independent View | 2 Comments

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