The latest issue of Liberator magazine (issue no.351 – February 2012) has just been mailed to subscribers. For those of you who are not yet subscribers, here’s a summary of the contents:
- The editorial column Commentary asks who will take over Chris Huhne’s role as the government minister most willing to challenge the Tories publicly. There is also a rebuke to Liberal Democrat MPs who helped to vote down the Lords’ amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill.
- The insider gossip column Radical Bulletin begins with a look at what went on behind the Lords’ rebellion on the benefit ‘cap’.
- ‘Lib Dem left hand’ – Simon Hebditch (a founder of Liberal Left) explains the formation of Liberal Left to rally opponents of the coalition within the party.
- ‘How Cameron blew it in Brussels’ – The prime minister has destroyed Britain’s influence in Europe. Dirk Hazell (secretary of the Liberal International British Group and a member of the Liberal Democrat International Relations Committee) wonders why the Liberal Democrats’ response was so pathetic.
- ‘The only way is ethics’ – Simon Titley (a member of the Liberator Collective) says that Liberals will always be on weak ground if they argue for liberty and freedom in purely abstract terms.
- ‘More valuable than money’ – Claire Tyler (a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords) says that measuring and promoting wellbeing is not a distraction from the economic crisis; it’s more important now than ever.
- ‘The human element’ – Faceless and formulaic management techniques such as targets and standardisation have made public services worse. David Boyle (a fellow of the New Economics Foundation and the author of a new book ‘The Human Element: Ten new rules to kick-start our failing organisations’) explains why we need to rediscover human beings.
- ‘Tug on the heartstrings’ – Caron Lindsay (a Scottish Liberal Democrat member who blogs at Caron’s Musings) says that the Liberal Democrats must argue from their hearts as well as heads to have any traction in Scotland’s independence referendum.
- ‘Bereft of ideas’ – Trevor Smith (a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords) says that the response to the banking crash needs people with ideas, not technocratic ‘experts’.
- Letters.
- Book reviews – including a review of the new Thatcher biopic ‘The Iron Lady’.
- Lord Bonkers’ Diary – Lord Bonkers (Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10) returns with more news from Bonkers Hall in Rutland.
If you missed any of our previous editions, they are available online here. You can subscribe to Liberator here.
Liberator welcomes your articles, letters and book reviews. Please read our style guide before submitting any copy. The Liberator Collective may be e-mailed at: [email protected].
Finally, Liberator has recently revamped its links page to create The Really Useful Links Page. Liberals everywhere will find it fascinating and useful – do visit and browse.