Category Archives: Op-eds

Zoe Swanwick

The Independent View: “The Rising Price of Freedom”

By Zoe Swanwick | Thu 7th November 2024 - 12:44 pm

In 2011, Paddy Ashdown made a critical observation:

We are all now deeply, deeply, deeply interconnected… the idea of a nation state acting alone, not connected with others, not working with others, is no longer a viable proposition. Because the actions of a nation state are neither confined to itself, nor is it sufficient for the nation state itself to control its own territory, because the effects outside the nation state are now beginning to affect what happens inside them.

This led Ashdown to a deep commitment to multilateral cooperation, one which is at the heart of Liberal Democrat values—liberty, equality, democracy, community, human rights, internationalism, and environmentalism. Liberal internationalism, rooted in these values, has shaped the party’s support for open markets, cooperative security, and strong global institutions. It’s no surprise, then, that the Liberal Democrats remain steadfast advocates for EU membership and a proactive global role for the UK.

This liberal internationalist outlook has defined the Liberal Democrats for generations, and with 72 MPs in Parliament, it’s time to drive a more active, collaborative UK foreign policy.

As Labour unveiled its first Autumn Statement this year, however, the UK’s foreign policy prospects look bleak.

Continue reading »
Also posted in The Independent View | Tagged | 4 Comments
Ken Westmoreland

Don’t blame us for Trump

By Ken Westmoreland | Thu 7th November 2024 - 11:04 am

A friend of mine in Florida, who only recently became an American decades after marrying one, cast her vote for Kamala Harris early, to keep Donald Trump (or the ‘orange stain’, as she calls him) out of the White House. However, four million US nationals will have had no say in the matter; while all US citizens are nationals, not all US nationals are citizens, disenfranchising them further.

When Trump-supporting comedian Tony Hinchcliffe described Puerto Rico as ‘a floating island of garbage’, it was a particularly low blow given that its residents have no vote in the presidential election, despite being US citizens, and its only representation in Congress is a non-voting Resident Commissioner in the House of Representatives, with none in the Senate.

Historically, before being admitted to the Union, many states, then territories, elected non-voting delegates to the House as a first step to achieving statehood, but since Hawaii in 1959, no territory has been admitted. Puerto Rico, the most populous of them, is divided on the issue, with some favouring statehood, others independence, and others the status quo, while in the US itself, Republicans are lukewarm, dreading an increased number of Democrats on Capitol Hill.

In my innocence, I thought that the reason for this limited political representation was because Puerto Rico, along with the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Marianas and American Samoa, was because they weren’t subject to federal taxes, a case of no representation without taxation, but there are more unsavoury reasons, hence them being ‘foreign in a domestic sense’.

When most of them were acquired following the Spanish-American War, there was a Supreme Court ruling that they were inhabited by ‘alien races’ unable to be governed by ‘Anglo-Saxon principles’, and therefore the Constitution didn’t have to apply there, and by extension, nor did voting rights. Despite only being supposed to apply ‘for a time’, it does so to this day, having been extended to the formerly Danish US Virgin Islands, the formerly German American Samoa, and the Japanese Northern Marianas, which only have non-voting delegates in Congress.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 2 Comments
Andy Daer

There are ways to achieve peace in the Middle East

By Andy Daer | Thu 7th November 2024 - 9:33 am

Many Israelis think they face ‘annihilation’ by Iran and their proxies, and that this means their wars in Gaza and Lebanon fall outside the boundaries set by the international rules of war.  The fear of annihilation didn’t come out of nowhere, but although there has been some fiery rhetoric about Israel’s right to exist over the years, Iran doesn’t seriously believe it could destroy Israel, especially given that it’s backed by the US.  The ‘existential’ distress Israelis feel is more likely an expression of the deep insecurity affecting many Jews around the world, and it originates not from their treatment by Arabs or Iranians, but from centuries of racial abuse and persecution in Europe.  Understanding and accepting this as the underlying cause of the unrestrained assaults on Gaza and Lebanon ought to be fundamental to the peace process.

As things stand, Israel’s Prime Minister won’t listen to calls for restraint, even from the UN or international courts, not because he is mad, or is fighting to stave off corruption charges, or is bent on destroying hopes for a two-state solution, but because he knows that many Israelis think they are in fight for their survival, which on their view means all the normal rules go out of the window.

The fear of annihilation touches a deep place in the human psyche.  When psychoanalysts discuss the war in Gaza they speak of paranoia brought on by Israelis never being allowed to forget the Holocaust, and how that can make them seek refuge in feelings of omnipotence.  The feeling of omnipotence is a delusional state of mind, but it must have been a very seductive delusion to fall back on after the  horrific Hamas attack on October 7 last year.

Most outside observers judge the Israeli response to the threat from Hamas as having been wildly disproportionate, and think it has strayed far beyond its initial purpose – retaliation (or perhaps revenge) for the killing of so many Israeli civilians.  To most of us it’s clear that Netanyahu could end the war in Gaza and Lebanon and get the remaining hostages back simply by giving up on the idea of an enlarged ‘Greater Israel’ and conceding that the Palestinians have a right to their homeland in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.  Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah have all said as much – that they would stop attacking Israel if it agreed to end the Occupation.  Jordan’s envoy to the UN has gone further and said the Arab states of the Middle East would guarantee Israel’s security if it ended the bombardment of Gaza and backed the two-state solution.

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Lord William Wallace

Defending Liberalism in a Trumpian world

By Lord William Wallace | Wed 6th November 2024 - 6:36 pm

World politics is going to be rough in the next few years – and British politics will be increasingly difficult, too.  Trump’s victory means that the USA’s role in global affairs will be highly unpredictable.  But we can predict that American influence will not be constructive on a range of global issues, from combatting climate change to managing the world economy and containing conflicts, and is unlikely to be affected by consideration for British or European concerns.  So how do we respond?

Ed Davey’s first response to Trump’s victory was spot on.  We need to defend and promote liberal values and prioritise rebuilding closer relations with our European neighbours.  Neither of those are easy.  Illiberal movements are gaining ground in many democratic countries, including within the EU.  Liberal democracy gains most support when economies are growing, societies are stable and international relations are peaceful.  Even without the added complications of an incoherent and unfriendly US Administration, the challenges of preventing catastrophic climate change, of coping with the mass movement of people that climate change and regional conflicts are already driving, of moving towards a sustainable global economy and resisting Chinese and Russian expansionism would be hard to manage – and harder to persuade the British electorate to share the cost.

There will no doubt be a flood of analyses of why a majority of American voters supported Trump.  But discontent at the economic and social disruption of their lives, and disillusion with the ‘elites’ who – as they see it – allowed disruptive change to sweep from outside through their communities, were major factors.  Those discontents are widespread in Britain as well.  The ‘left behind’ in northern and coastal towns feel similarly abandoned by educated elites and multinational corporations.  You Gov tracker polls show that the answer to the question ‘Are members of Parliament in touch with the public or not?’ has consistently shown around 70% answering ‘out of touch’ and 10-12% ‘in touch’ over the past five years.  Those in the Brexit Referendum who were saying ‘I want my country back’ were expressing a similar sense of loss to Trump supporters who want to ‘Make America Great Again.’

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 32 Comments
Paul Walter

The lamp beside the golden door has dimmed a little

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 8:35 am

After a surprisingly good sleep, I’ve woken up. I’ve done a quick review of the latest on CNN and the web.

Then I switched over to an excellent BBC documentary called “Scotland – The New Wild”. It is remarkable. It has some excellent footage of basking sharks.

In the past, I have looked to USA for vicarious inspiration. While UK domestic politics has been rather depressing, USA has provided a refreshing relief – some
inkling of a better approach for civic life.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Pennsylvania exit polls suggest a different climate than in the south

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 12:54 am

The CNN exit polls for Pennsylvania show higher responses for voters being concerned about reproductive rights and the state of democracy, compared to the numbers in Georgia and North Carolina.

Indications are that Philadelphia has seen higher than expected turnout, particularly in areas with high populations of those of Puerto Rican heritage.

Tagged | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

First results not encouraging for Harris

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 12:19 am

I’m watching Election night on CNN, which provides a very pithy, statistical coverage of the results.

My first takeaways are not encouraging for Kamala Harris. Mind you we are very short of tea leaves to read so far.

A Florida county which Biden won by several points is showing Harris trailing Biden’s number.

In Georgia, it’s very early in the counting process. Independents, which make up 31% of the electorate, are going clearly for Trump, whereas Biden won the independents in 2020.

Continue reading »
Leave a comment
Paul Walter

Kemi Badenoch starts in denial about partygate

By Paul Walter | Tue 5th November 2024 - 11:30 am

Embed from Getty Images

It is very encouraging to see a black woman leading a British political party for the first time. However, the Guardian reports on Kemi Badenoch’s initial interview as leader, on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme:

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 4 Comments
Paul Walter

US election – be ready for a long wait

By Paul Walter | Tue 5th November 2024 - 8:15 am

Liberal Democrat Voice will be covering the US election results tonight and during subsequent days, giving you the chance to add your comments as the results unfold.

Concerning the US presidential and congressional elections, there are two things I can be relatively sure of:

1. The initial vote counts (because unlike the UK, the USA vote counts are released on the web as they are counted and before a state result) are likely to show that Trump is winning. This is because the postal votes (or “absentee ballots”) are generally counted after election day ballots, and they tend to favour the Democrats. Conversely, electyion day ballots tend to favour the Republicans. So the election day ballots, which tend to be counted first, could show Trump ahead.

2. Donald Trump will come out very early, perhaps as early as an hour after polls close, and declare that he has won, and say that if the count shows that he has lost then there has been Democrat fiddling with the results. Worryingly, this sets the scene for potential street violence.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 3 Comments
Christine Morrissey

Care Leaver Status as a Protected Characteristic

By Christine Morrissey | Mon 4th November 2024 - 3:01 pm

Following recommendations from the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care headed by Josh McCallister of the Local Government Association, our Corporate Parent Advisory Committee (CPAC) decided to raise the issue of care experience in Newcastle, and were grateful for the original lead by the Redcar and Cleveland Lib Dem Group, which we adopted to present as a Cross Party Motion to full Council on 2 October.

Making care experience a protected characteristic is a National Issue which broadens corporate parenting responsibilities across a wider set of public bodies and organisations. It could motivate employers, businesses, public services, and policy makers to develop policies and programmes promoting better outcomes for care experienced people. It would also make the UK the first country in the world to recognise care experienced people in this way.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 3 Comments
Stephen Harte

Janey Godley’s passing and lessons in political tribalism

By Stephen Harte | Mon 4th November 2024 - 11:25 am

As many readers will have seen in mainstream and social media, we lost the much loved Scottish comedian Janey Godley to cancer on Saturday (2 November 2024). Janey has been open on social media about her struggles with cancer and everyone knew that she was in her final days. Across public life in Scotland and the wider UK, figures from the world of entertainment and politics were quick to post glowing, and very fitting, tributes.

Many ordinary people posted tributes to social media too. I was one of them. In posting to Twitter (it will always be Twitter even after Musk finally forces me to give up using it), I noticed that I was quick to point out that that our “politics didn’t always coincide”. While true, I have been thinking since why I felt it necessary to use this form of words.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 2 Comments
Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 4 November 2024 – “I’ve got a ticket to ride”

By Mark Valladares | Mon 4th November 2024 - 7:30 am

I found myself enjoying some free bus rides yesterday. And no, I don’t have a concessionary bus pass – I’m not that old… yet – but our local Transport Museum here in Ipswich was having a vintage running day, with a collection of vintage buses operating three routes around the town. It all seemed somehow appropriate given the controversy over bus fares this week.

In choosing to freeze fuel duty whilst partially removing the fare cap on bus journeys, Rachel Reeves made a curious choice. Whilst yes, it will be popular with motorists, cheaper bus fares have been a boon to those outside major cities where the fare cap had little or no impact – in London, for example, the flat fare is £1.75. And, by shifting the financial incentives further towards cars, it hardly sends out a message that the Government is taking Net Zero seriously.

But it’s just another clumsy move by a a government which seems capable of little else, at least as far as the media are concerned. Even setting aside the inherent bias of much of the mainstream media though, an administration which came into power offering competence and integrity has burnt through quite a lot of credibility remarkably early in the piece. And, whilst the levels of incompetence and “sleaze” are minor compared to the chaotic shambles that was the Conservative government post-2019, expectations were rather higher.

Continue reading »
5 Comments
Caron Lindsay

A scary week ahead

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 3rd November 2024 - 11:59 am

American presidential elections in days of yore were pretty simple. We all went to bed at our usual time and then when we woke up in the morning, we knew who was going to be President.

And then Bush v Gore 2000 happened and it all took a bit longer as we learned about things like “Hanging Chads” and how they affected the vote counts in Florida. It took until 12 December until the Supreme Court stopped the recount and Gore conceded the next day.

In 2020, we spent four long nights and three and a half long days constantly refreshing CNN and agonising in WhatsApp chats before it was clear to everyone except Donald Trump and his followers that Joe Biden had won.

This year I’m not sure I have a big enough cushion to hide behind as the results come in. But before we get too absorbed in the details, take a minute to have a good laugh at Kamala’s appearance on last night’s Saturday Night Live. Pitch perfect:

We are probably not going to know for a while after the polls close whether the US will have a President who will respect women’s rights, put more money back in the hands of the poorest and grow the economy, or someone who will give to his billionaire mates, pursue policies that see more women die because they can’t get medical treatment if they have a miscarriage, and threaten US democracy itself.

The conventional wisdom amongst commentators at the moment is that Donald Trump will get his second term in the White House. Let’s hope they have it as wrong as they had it in 2016 when they all thought Hillary was going to win. We have to remember that part of the reason for the Democrats losing back then was because they were so convinced they were going to win that they stopped spending money in the swing states while Donald Trump spent a fortune on wall to wall advertising.

The Democrats are not making that mistake again. The Harris/Walz campaign has been concentrating on the swing states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. The election will likely be decided on tens of thousands of votes in those places. It’s a bit like how our elections are decided in 100 or so marginal seats across the country except on a bigger scale.

She’s had some help in the past week from Scottish Lib Dem Leader who went out there with some friends (at their own expense) to knock on doors. It’s not the first time he has been out. He turned out to be a good luck charm for Obama in Virginia in 2008. He made some observations on Twitter this week about his trip an the prospects in the election:

The field campaign team there are exceptional but they are utterly exhausted and driving hard for the finish line, I’m proud to know them. They certainly put me to work in getting out the vote.

With over 1k doors knocked across 9 communities in Lackawanna county, PA, I got to see a lot of the Scranton area in stunning autumnal beauty. These are warm, resilient communities, but in many ways they have cause to feel left behind.

This is an exceptionally tight election, everyone knows that, but I’ve never seen tribalism run quite so deep before. Those houses without partisan lawn signs are in the minority and this election is dividing communities and even families, like never before.

A standout highlight for me was getting to meet Tim Walz in person, but above that I will never forget the warmth of the people I met on the doors of Pennsylvania.

My assessment? She can absolutely do it, but turnout is everything.

Continue reading »
Tagged , , , and | 4 Comments
Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 3rd November 2024 - 9:36 am

Georgia

If you have a fortune of $5 billion-plus in a country with a GDP of £$24.6 billion you will be a whale in a puddle. Such is the fate of Georgia Dream Party founder and chief backer Bidzina Ivanishvili.

And, if you are willing to part with some of your fortune, you can bend the political structure and electoral systems to your will. Ivanishvili is accused of doing just that in the recent Georgian parliamentary elections which the Dream Party won with 53 percent of the vote,

Bidshina Ivanishvili was born into humble beginnings in 1958 but when the Soviet Union collapsed he moved to Russia to grab what he could in the great Russian carve-up. He ended up with a multinational conglomerate encompassing banking, real estate and heavy industry. He returned to Georgia and in 2011 decided to try his hand at politics by forming the centrist, pro-EU Georgia Dream Party.

Backed with Ivanishvili’s fortune, the Georgia Dream Party won a landslide victory in 2012 elections and Ivanishvili became prime minister. He stepped down a year later saying that he had achieved all his goals and wanted to private life.

But Ivanishvili’s money insured that he remained the power behind the throne. And from that position he subtly tilted the Dream Party towards Russia. At the same time he sought membership with the EU. His behind the scenes influence led critics to brand Ivanishvili the “shadow leader.”

As the years passed it became increasingly difficult to walk the political tightrope between the goal of EU membership and the looming shadow of the bear. To keep Russia happy Georgia Dream introduced anti LGBTQ laws and a Foreign Agents Act. Both laws closely mirrored Russia’s laws on both issues. They also breached EU human rights provisions. As a result the EU broke off negotiations with Georgia.

Georgia Dream’s tilt to Russia was unpopular. Polls showed that 80 percent of Georgians wanted to move closer to the EU as protection from Moscow. All the indications. All the opinion polls, were that after three terms in office, Georgia Dream Party, would lose last week’s election, especially when they campaigned on a promise to ban opposition parties.

They won with 54 percent of the vote. The Opposition, EU election observers, President Biden, and even Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, called foul. They claimed that Ivanishvili’s Dream Party was guilty of “bribery, intimidation and ballot-stuffing.”

The allegations were rejected by Ivanishvili and Dream Party Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. They were welcomed by Hungary’s Vilktor Orban who hopes that eventually Georgia will become another “illiberal democratic” member of the EU. And the Russian bear? It stopped being silent and cheered.

Japan

Japan is a different democratic country. That is the reason for the lack of excitement in the wake of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s failure to win a majority in the recent election.

The Japanese political system did not evolve over centuries like its Western counterparts. It was imposed on a socially conservative society with a strong respect for traditions, authority and seniority.

The result is a deeply Japanese political foundation with a democratic veneer, but a veneer which Japanese have come to treasure as much as their traditions.

The big word in Japanese politics is “wan” which is defined as being focused on consensus building and group harmony. It contrasts with the adversarial nature of Western politics

The electoral system reflects this consensus building nature. It is a mixed first past the post constituency-based system and proportional representation. The result is that quite often elections lead to a disparity between percentage of votes received and the percentage of seats in the Diet (the Japanese parliament).

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Tom Arms

Observations of an Expat: Foreign Policy Impact of US elections

By Tom Arms | Sat 2nd November 2024 - 10:02 am

A Kamala Harris win this week is not good news for the UK and Europe. A Trump win is much, much worse.

Trump’s “America First” campaigns has fed a latent US isolationism which has forced the Democrats to adopt some of his policies, because, like it or not, America is a democracy and the president elected to represent all Americans.

According to one poll, only 22 percent of young Americans support involvement in the Middle East. Half of Republicans think that the US is supplying too much aid to Ukraine and only 44 percent of Republicans think that the US should play a leading role in the world. Democrats are more internationally minded with 65 percent in favour of an active foreign policy. The good news is that NATO has popular support with a bipartisan 70 percent approval rating. The fact is, however, that America is moving into its shell at one of the most dangerous periods for the world since the end of World War Two.

America’s diplomatic corps would be hard put to meet expectations even if there was a swell of opinion in favour of increased global involvement. It is still reeling from the Trump years when budgets were cut by 30 percent, ambassadorial posts were left empty and 60% of the diplomatic corps left either in protest or cutbacks. Biden has increased budgets but the damage done by Donald Trump will take years to repair.

Trump, of course, regularly threatens to withdraw from NATO. Biden and Kamala Harris have recommitted to the alliance but it was a Democratic president—Barack Obama—who first attacked NATO allies for failing to spend at least two percent of their GDP on defense. He also unveiled the “Asia Pivot” which shifts the military focus from Europe and the Middle East to East Asia. Trump, Biden and Harris have embraced the Asia Pivot.

Defense costs money and the policies of Trump, Biden and Harris are undermining the economies of UK and Europe. Trump, again is the worst. His tariffs on all imports—possibly as much as 20 percent on British and EU exports will hit exports. It will, of course, also lead to a tit for tat tariff war in which everybody loses—especially the consumer.

Kamala Harris will continue Biden’s $738 billion Inflation Reduction Act” which is peppered with isolationist policies. The IRA includes such things as a $7,500 handout for the purchase of US-made-only electric vehicles, and tax credits only for products made in America. The EU has protested and threatened to take America to the World Trade Organisation. But the WTO has been rendered useless by America’s 7-year refusal to agree to new judges for its appellate body.

Continue reading »
Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Jack Wilkin

A fairer budget is needed to protect family farms and keep them out of the hands of corporations

By Jack Wilkin | Fri 1st November 2024 - 2:21 pm

I want to start on a positive. The new budget has some good stuff. The cut to draft duty on beers in pubs, the implication of 10-year financial forecasts to end short-termism, boast to defence spending and support for Ukraine against a fascist invasion, and more small businesses are now exempt from NI will help rejuvenate the economy. Likewise, many of the proposals in Rayner’s worker’s rights bill are positive.

However, I do have some concerns regarding the budget and its potential impact on farming communities.

I understand that large corporations and wealthy individuals purchase farmland to avoid taxes, which is an issue that needs addressing. However, Reeve’s comment about setting a £1 million limit to protect small farmers may be effective in areas with lower agricultural land prices. Unfortunately, farmland in Cornwall, especially in the Truro-Falmouth area, is very expensive. Implementing this price limit based on a “federal” standard will significantly harm rural communities where land prices are higher.

I believe a fairer solution would be to redefine what constitutes a “small farm.” Instead of basing this definition on land value, which is influenced by geography and external market forces beyond the control of individual agribusinesses, it should focus on the amount of money the farm/business makes. For example, a farm that earned an average of £1.5 million in profits (some of the larger corporate-owned ones do) over the previous 5 years could pay 20% above £1million. At least then you’ll be protecting genuine small businesses.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 14 Comments
Mo Waqas

A Vision for Change: embracing the political middle ground

By Mo Waqas | Fri 1st November 2024 - 9:52 am

In today’s political landscape, many feel disillusioned. Labour seems unable to fulfill its promises, while the Conservative Party’s long tenure has left a bitter taste. This climate presents a unique opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to step forward and appeal to those who feel politically homeless.

Our approach must prioritize practical, common-sense policies that harness the power of logic over divisive rhetoric. We must address the pressing concerns facing the UK today—ones that impact the everyday lives of the working class. From the increasing cost of living to the scarcity of high-quality jobs, we need to offer solutions that resonate with those who feel left behind by the political establishment. It’s crucial that we don’t simply offer critiques of other parties but provide a grounded, realistic alternative that people can truly believe in.

Addressing the Rise of Far-Right Sentiment

Across Europe and the US, we’ve seen the dangers of far-right movements gaining traction by preying on people’s frustrations. Far-right ideologies often thrive in environments where individuals feel their voices aren’t heard, especially as they contend with economic hardship or lack of opportunities. In the UK, recent protests and social movements indicate a rising frustration and a void in representation for moderate and rational perspectives.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 20 Comments
John Armah

The Commonwealth, reparations and a Liberal Democrat approach

By John Armah | Thu 31st October 2024 - 12:00 pm

As we come to the end of Black History Month, it seems an appropriate time to discuss our party’s policy on the Commonwealth, reparations and the Climate Emergency. With the election of Ghana’s Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as the new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth,the subject of reparations has risen to the top of the agenda. We should take this time to think about what a Liberal Democrat policy should be.

We should vigorously and vociferously make the case for the Commonwealth.This is personal, my late father served as Ghana’s High Commissioner (Ambassador) to the UK and was charged with removing the newly declared republic from the Commonwealth. He like many others then and now viewed it as a colonial hangover. However, he was persuaded by the Indian Prime Minister and Pakistani President that the body was the only forum where the West and Global South met as equals.

He was persuaded and went on to persuade newly independent countries across the West Indies, Asia and Africa of the merits of joining. He became a leading advocate, opening the Commonwealth Institute in London with the late Queen and co-founding the Africa Centre. It influenced his thinking when he helped establish the African Union. If a man born in a British Colony, who’s grandparents could remember being subjects of an Asante and then a British Emperor believed in the potential of the Commonwealth, we need to think about what it should look like in the twenty-first century.

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 14 Comments
Ken Westmoreland

Falling between two stools: the British Overseas Territories

By Ken Westmoreland | Thu 31st October 2024 - 9:59 am

Unlike the Conservatives and Labour, which both made mention of the British Overseas Territories (BOTs) in their recent election manifestos, the Liberal Democrats made none at all in theirs.

The last time they were mentioned in any detail in a policy document was in 2019, and only then as two pages in ‘Modernising the relationship between Britain and its citizens living abroad’, a symptom of how they fall between two stools, under British sovereignty, unlike the wider British diaspora, but outside the United Kingdom, despite often being called a part of a ‘UK family’.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 4 Comments
Vince Cable

Vince Cable on the budget: manifesto folly

By Vince Cable | Tue 29th October 2024 - 10:59 am

Embed from Getty Images

‘Read my lips: no new taxes’; ‘we will reduce net immigration to the tens of thousands’; ‘we pledge not to increase tuition fees’. Promises easily made in an election campaign. A source of endless regret in government.

There will be endless regret from Labour’s manifesto commitment not to raise tax rates on taxes accounting for three quarters of tax revenue.  There is an urgent and compelling need to raise taxes in the coming budget for reasons of fiscal prudence and to stem the decline in public services. Yet, despite having an enormous parliamentary majority, the government has denied itself a mandate properly to address these fundamental problems.

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 16 Comments
Tom Sutton

It’s not about moving left or right; it’s about sticking to our Liberal values: A reply to Buddy Anderson

By Tom Sutton | Mon 28th October 2024 - 12:48 pm

As much as I disagreed with it, I actually read Buddy Anderson’s recent article with significant intrigue. I am glad that the conversation of “Where do we go now?” has appeared so suddenly after the election, cementing our position now rather than to fight the next election and all preceding contests in local government on the proverbial hop. I am also glad that we can do this with respect and candour, as it shows our better nature as a party. So, now I have had time to think about it, I wanted to respond with my opinion that a tacit suggestion of moving the fiscal dial one or two notches to the right would be a misstep, both nationally and locally for our party. It’s not what the electorate wants of us, and it would not do us much good, and I shall seek to explain why.

What led to the reward of 72 seats, mostly at Conservative expense, and most crucially how do we continue that into the future? That is the main question of this debate. Ultimately the 2024 manifesto was quite “economics-lite” to criticism from some quarters, but what was there was unquestionably progressive: shifting the tax burden from workers onto wealth and big business, meaningful action on the cost of living and the same on green investment. We are a party of market economics, yes. But I am reminded of something Tim Farron told John Harris from The Guardian in 2010: “No market is genuinely free unless it’s fair”. I don’t really see that as a centre-right statement, but it sums up the essence of our philosophy.

Continue reading »
Tagged | 13 Comments
Samuel Jackson

Could sortition help to address voter apathy and public distrust in politics?

By Samuel Jackson | Mon 28th October 2024 - 10:12 am

The theme of the 2024 General Election was meant to be change. Apart from the end of the chaotic Conservative government and its replacement by a Labour one, the course seems to have been stayed in many ways. Labour is pursuing austerity measures similar to those carried out by the Conservatives, and seems to have become mired in scandal, notably over freebies such as football and concert tickets. And Starmer has abandoned many positions which he endorsed as a Labour leadership candidate now that he is Prime Minister.

The 2024 General Election proved to be one of the most disproportionate in UK history. Voter turnout fell below 60%, Labour won over 400 seats with a lower share of the vote than they won at the two previous elections, and the two major parties won their lowest combined vote share since 1918. Such election outcomes and such behaviour by politicians have brought public trust in politics to record lows. This and resulting voter apathy can create a negative feedback loop where lower turnout can diminish the legitimacy of decision-making, leading to great distrust in politics.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 8 Comments
Tom Arms

Tom Arms’ World Review

By Tom Arms | Sun 27th October 2024 - 9:23 am

North Korea at al

China is unhappy. So is Belarus. Both countries are worried about North Korea sending troops to Russia in the middle of the Ukraine war.

President Xi Jinping is worried that the move will de-stabilise the Korean Peninsula, escalate and complicate the Ukraine War, increase Russian influence in the Far East and potentially drag China into a head-on conflict with NATO.

Alexander Lukashenko is concerned that the appearance of non-Russian troops in Ukraine will increase pressure on him to send Belarussian soldiers in support of the Kremlin.

Xi hates uncertainty. He likes his foreign policy to run along diplomatic railway lines painted bright red so that others know not to cross them. If there are going to be any spanners to be thrown, he wants to toss them and control their flight and consequences.

He does not like North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. He is uneasy about the hereditary communist dictator’s nuclear arsenal. He supplies the regime with just enough aid and trade to keep them going, but not enough to threaten the status quo. This is because for the past 74 years one of the chief aims of China is to keep Korea divided and to maintain North Korea as a buffer state between the Chinese border and 25,000 American soldiers in South Korea. Anything which threatens to disrupt that policy is bad news in Beijing.

The bromance between Vladimir Putin and Kim threatens to upset this delicately balanced apple cart. Kim will want something in return for his troops. It will almost certainly include Russian military help which will embolden the mercurial North Korean leader and increase the threat to South Korea and Japan.

Belarus is on the frontline in the Ukraine War. The initial attack in 2022 was launched from its territory. Lukashenko is closely allied with Russia and continues to provide bases and logistical support. But Lukashenko knows he is unpopular. He clings to power with the help of the Belarussian KGB (yes, they retained the name of the old Soviet organisation). Committing his small military force of 50,000 to the Ukraine War would be unpopular and threaten his rule.

By the way, just everyone else is also unhappy about North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine.  It adds a new and dangerous dimension by internationalising the conflict.

Russia

Russia is unhappy too. The recent referendum in Moldova on closer ties with the European Union did not go the way the Kremlin wanted. It was extremely close: 50.46 percent in favour of closer ties and 49.54 percent against.

The Russians did everything they could to push the vote the other way. They played fast and loose with bribery, intimidation and misinformation. A BBC reporter was filmed being approached by a voter asking for the payment she had been promised.

The misinformation focused on an expensive advertising campaign which claimed the EU planned to brainwash Moldovan children to turn gay or transgender. The gay community is generally unpopular throughout Eastern Europe.

Continue reading »
Tagged , , , , and | 5 Comments
Michael Berwick-Gooding

What a Liberal Democrat budget could look like

By Michael Berwick-Gooding | Fri 25th October 2024 - 1:57 pm

The budget less than a week away will be a Labour budget, but what would a Liberal Democrat budget look like?

Jeremy Hunt’s last budget was expansionary (£13.875 billion) with cuts to national insurance contributions to boost the economy, as was his earlier financial statement (£13.73 billion) which also included cuts to national insurance contributions. These measures to some extent did work with growth of 0.7% January to March and 0.6% April to June. But growth has fallen away with no growth in July and only 0.2% in August. There is therefore a need for an expansionary budget.

A Liberal Democrat Chancellor of the Exchequer should start with reversing the cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment (costing £1.4bn), followed by ending the two-child benefit cap (costing about £3.4bn).

During the General Election we talked about the cost-of-living crisis. Therefore, we should provide financial assistance for pensioners and people on benefits as the Conservative Government had done. The Energy Cap from October is £100 less than last year, so the cost-of-living payments should be set at £200 which would be a one-off cost of about £3bn.

We also talked about the Conservatives putting up taxes for struggling families and pensioners by freezing income tax thresholds. Does this mean that we should expect a Liberal Democrat Chancellor of the Exchequer to unfreeze the income tax and national insurance thresholds by the rate of inflation (costing about £3bn)?

It was reported on Channel 4 News that according to the JRF households on benefits are £690 a year worse off in August this year compared to January 2021. We might expect that a Liberal Democrat Chancellor of the Exchequer would increase Universal Credit and the legacy benefits by £20 a week (costing about £7 billion over a full year), to begin to implement our policy ending deep poverty within a decade, but as it didn’t appear in the Manifesto this is unlikely in the present circumstances. However, a Liberal Democrat Chancellor might well implement our policies on Carer’s Allowance including increasing it by £20 a week (costing £1.45bn).

Continue reading »
Tagged | 16 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Daisy’s PMQs Debut

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd October 2024 - 8:12 pm

With Keir Starmer out of the country, it was down to the deputies to take the stage at Prime Minister’s Questions. Angela Rayner and Daisy Cooper put in their first appearance of the new Parliament in their new roles. For Conservative Oliver Dowden, it was his last in the role. There was very funny love in with menaces between him and Rayner in their exchanges. It was a bit like a seaside comedy show. The serious stuff came when Daisy asked her two questions.

 

May I associate myself and the Liberal Democrats with the Deputy Prime Minister’s remarks about Chris Hoy, and about all those involved in the train crash?

Our NHS is bracing itself for a winter crisis. One of the causes of the winter crisis every year is that there are thousands of people in hospitals who are fit to go home, but who cannot be discharged because there are not the care workers in place to enable people to recover at home or in a care home. Will the Deputy Prime Minister consider the Liberal Democrats’ idea of an NHS winter taskforce to winter-proof our NHS, end the cycle of the winter crisis, and put to an end the scandal of hospital patients paying the price of the social care crisis left by the Conservatives?

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments, and I share her desire to ensure that care workers are given the respect and importance that they deserve. They are critical to solving the problems in our national health service. The Labour party will create a national care service, and we are launching our first ever fair pay agreement for care professionals to boost recruitment and retention. We must get the NHS back on its feet after the disaster of the Conservatives, and my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will have more to say on that in the Budget.

Daisy kept to the same theme for the second question, talking of the dangers to the care sector of increasing employers’ National Insurance contributions, something she had mentioned in her Sky News interview on Sunday:

I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for her answer. We stand ready, as a party of constructive opposition, to work with the Government to fix our social care system. However, a measure that could make it harder for us to keep the carers that we so desperately need would be an increase in employers’ national insurance contributions. Were that measure to go ahead, it would affect millions of small businesses, including 18,000 small care providers. Will the Deputy Prime Minister assure the House that nothing in the Budget will make it harder for vulnerable people to access the care workers and the care that they desperately need?

A bit of flannel from Rayner in return, but at least the job of setting out our position had been done:

Again, I will not speculate on the Budget, not least with the Chancellor sat beside me. To reiterate what the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have said, this Budget will recognise that working people of this country and enterprise in this country have been hard-hit by 14 years of the Conservatives. We will rebuild Britain, and we will grow our economy to pay for our public services.

Rayner had to face another three Lib Dems in the session. This is great to see, and likely to be more commonplace now that we make up more than 10% of the House.

First up was Monica Harding who had a heartbreaking story of a young boy in her constituency who has been out of school for a year because they don’t have the right special needs provision for him.

Charlie from my constituency is an eight-year-old boy with an autism diagnosis who has been out of school for almost a year. He is one of 1,800 children in Surrey missing school because of a lack of appropriate special educational needs provision. Will the Government commit to ending this scandal by properly funding special educational needs provision in next week’s Budget, so that children like Charlie, in my constituency of Esher and Walton and beyond, are no longer let down?

Angela Rayner was sympathetic but had nothing concrete to offer:

Continue reading »
Also posted in News and Parliament | Tagged , , , , and | Leave a comment
Lord William Wallace

Are we ready for US election chaos, or for President Trump?

By Lord William Wallace | Wed 23rd October 2024 - 2:22 pm

Liberal Democrats will be hoping that the nightmare of the US presidential campaign will be over on November 5th, with a clear win for Kamala Harris, accepted by Donald Trump, leading Republicans and state and federal courts.  But at present that looks the least likely outcome.  More likely by far will be either a contested result, after chaotic events during the voting and state counts, or a narrow Trump victory with chaotic consequences for US politics and foreign policy.  Either will have major implications for British politics and foreign policy.

The continuing rumble of opinion polls suggests a virtual tie between Harris and Trump, with the outcome dependent on who turns out among the small minority of undecideds.  Challenges to names on voting registers are under way in several states.  Counting may well be disrupted; there were some assaults on election counts four years ago, and the atmosphere has become more fraught since then.  Republican local organisations are ready to use the courts to challenge any contestable declaration or hint of malpractice.  We may not be sure who has won for some time.  And the consequences of a Trump win are as uncertain as the candidate’s utterances have become.  So how should we react to what will be an assault on the principles of liberal democracy and on the transatlantic partnership which has been at the core of the UK’s position in the world since 1941?   

One Liberal Democratic theme, I suggest, must be to remind disillusioned citizens in this country of the importance of constitutional institutions and limited government, and the dangers of sliding down the road towards populist rule.  Britain has just emerged from several years of chaotic government, with a populist prime minister attempting to prevent Parliament from returning from a recess when he had been in office himself for only s few months.  We have witnessed right-wing attacks on our supreme court, an Elections Act that lifted constraints on political donations and restricted the autonomy of the Electoral Commission, and Conservative ministers supporting conspiracy theories about ‘liberal elites’.  We now have a Labour government which has won the most disproportional parliamentary majority since 1832: 63.4% of MPs from 33.7% of the votes cast, on a worryingly low turnout of 58%.  Public trust in ‘Westminster politics’ has sunk to the lowest recorded point since opinion surveys began.  The potential for an anti-democratic backlash, if this government fails to improve both economic growth and public services, is high.

Continue reading »
Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged , , and | 8 Comments
Ben Wood

What we need is not constant ‘growth’ or complete ‘degrowth’ but intelligent economic development

By Ben Wood | Tue 22nd October 2024 - 5:21 pm

In his recent article, John Hills offers some helpful reflections about the political future of the LibDems. As John writes: ‘It is necessary to go beyond individual policies and good ideas, to find our narrative; not just of what we believe, but more tangibly, what we stand for.’ I couldn’t agree more. The most intriguing aspect of John’s piece is his suggestion that while we have recently focused on disillusioned Conservatives, we would be wise to reach out to other political tribes, particularly Green-facing voters. John is right to say that LibDems continue to tell a good story about the environment (see our recent campaigning on the state of the UK’s rivers). He is also right that we should focus on what is distinctive in our offering; a kind of pivot and diverge strategy. But we have to be careful concerning the divergence aspect of the equation.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 15 Comments
Leon Duveen

Assisted Dying and Palliative Care; it isn’t a choice, we need both.

By Leon Duveen | Mon 21st October 2024 - 11:04 am

With Kim Leadbeater’s Private Members Bill on Assisted Dying comes up for its Second Reading at the end of next month, now is a good time for us to be talking about the issues involved and why it should never be a choice for those facing a diagnosis of a fatal illness between giving them a choice when and how they die if they wish or providing them the best quality palliative care to allow them to live as long as possible. Both are needed and the debate about the bill must not be about choosing between the two.

Much is spoken about how palliative care can and does help those with a terminal illness deal with physical pain during their illness. In hospitals, in hospices and at home, helping those facing death live their life as fully as possible. Such care also helps those close to the patient by sharing the support needed, both physical & psychologically.

Continue reading »
Tagged and | 22 Comments
Mark Valladares

Welcome to my day: 21 October 2024 – you’d wonder why anyone would be a councillor…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 21st October 2024 - 7:24 am

As I may have noted before, I’m a parish councillor in a small, but perfectly-formed, village in Suffolk’s Gipping Valley. And, generally, the role isn’t that stressful. After all, my council provides no services of a life or death nature, nor do we provide services which impact hugely on people’s lives, like education, social care or housing. But, even here, there can be contentious issues which impact on us. Planning applications for example, and whilst we have no decision making powers there either, as a statutory consultee, our residents expect us to represent their views to the powers that be. They believe, not unreasonably, that the powers that be must listen to us – if only that were true. And discussions can get a bit heated, even when party politics isn’t in play.

But I’ve been, on the whole, pretty lucky. I’ve received very little hassle, and all of that has come from outsiders. But I was reminded at the weekend that, that is increasingly not true of my fellow councillors at all tiers of local government. A report issued by the Local Government Association on Saturday noted that, in a survey of its members, 22% of respondents stated that they had received death threats or threats of violence against them.

And it’s not just the public who can make life difficult or impossible for an individual councillor. Opposition councillors and, even more depressingly, members of your own Party can be the source of behaviour that is designed to humiliate, embarrass or even frighten you. Too many of us have witnessed that, or been the victim of it.

Continue reading »
Also posted in Local government | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Jack Carter

Are we still the party of Beveridge?

By Jack Carter | Sun 20th October 2024 - 12:24 pm

The Liberal Democrats, ran on a manifesto focusing on health and social care. However upon reading it on the day of its release I was disappointed – because it actually said very little about reforming welfare. To put this in blunt terms, approximately 24 percent of the United Kingdom’s population is disabled – we had, in our manifesto, three insubstantial commitments on welfare reform for disabled people. That is not nearly good enough.

As Rachel Reeves’ first budget approaches, with new announcements on welfare “reforms” being made – including £3 billion in welfare cuts, it is a scary time to be a disabled person reliant upon the welfare state. With “workfare” being put before healthcare, it is estimated up to 500,000 people suffering from long-term sickness will be forced back into work, just so HMRC can drum up some more tax revenue. We must stand firmly against this cacophony of harmful policies, one of which includes putting job coaches on mental health wards, where vulnerable patients are receiving care for often severe mental health conditions. The Labour Party also wants to cut benefits for mentally ill people, which would imply they do not view mental health conditions to be valid as disabilities – an ableist notion.

So, I put to you, the reader, the first of two simple yet blunt questions; where is our opposition to these harmful policies which will disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable in our society? I have looked at our party’s social media pages, I have looked at the social media pages of our Members of Parliament, and I must say I am bitterly disappointed. Make no mistake, our party has not done nearly enough to regain the trust of disabled people, and I say that as someone who disabled. We have not been a voice for the disabled community, we have not stood with them nor have we acknowledged our responsibility for the policies which harmed them, during the 2010-2015 coalition government.

Continue reading »
Tagged , and | 25 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • paul barker
    I have seen figures suggesting that Data Centres currently planned would triple UK Electricity consumption, that is not remotely comparable with slowing our con...
  • Nonconformistradical
    Seconded...
  • Big Tall Tim
    Good article Kobe...
  • David Allen
    "the long-hoped-for replacement of (the Conservative Party) as the British Centre Right Party by the Lib Dems" Hoped for by whom, pray? Hoped for by those...
  • cim
    @David Allen Given that we haven't drifted that far out of regulatory alignment we could probably do it in 5-10 rather than 10-20, but that's still a "needs ...