Caron Lindsay

Who needs human rights?

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th December 2014 - 3:58 pm

Last week, in the run-up to Human Rights Day tomorrow,  the Scottish Parliament debated the Scottish National Action Plan on human rights. This aims to ensure that every citizen can realise these internationally recognised rights.

Alison McInnes led for the Liberal Democrats and she went through the SNP Government like a dose of salts for its dreadful stance on stop and search. She highlighted how any one of us might need these rights to protect us one day should we find ourselves sick or vulnerable. If you read the Daily Mail, it’ll tell you that human rights are nasty things that let terrorists off the hook. Well, actually, they  protect all of us from abuse by the state in all sorts of ways.

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Caron Lindsay

A day for Liberal Democrats to speak out for Justice?

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th December 2014 - 2:35 pm

It’s not a comfortable day to be a Liberal Democrat today.

The House of Lords is debating the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill. Will it overturn the Commons’ rejection of its amendment protecting the right to Judicial Review? Jonathan Marks wrote of his concerns about this provision earlier this year. When it was last discussed, 17 Liberal Democrats supported the rebel amendment and 43 supported the Government position. You have to ask serious questions when even Lord Carlile thinks the Government is going too far.

It was a Judicial Review that ruled the appalling Prisoner Book ban unlawful last week. The state has more than enough power and screws things up, or at the very least pushes the boundaries all the time. It is vital that citizens have the chance to challenge government decisions in the courts. It’s a vital check on power that should not be being mucked around with.

How can citizens take the government on if the government throws all the tools at their disposal in the bin?

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Stephen Tall

Reasons to be careful about new analysis suggesting Lib Dems “set to lose several more seats than national polls with uniform swing would predict”

By Stephen Tall | Tue 9th December 2014 - 1:13 pm

A new analysis by Oxford academic Stephen Fisher (a member of the team which was behind the scarily accurate BBC/ITN exit poll at the 2010 election) douses the comfort blanket to which many of us Lib Dems have been clinging, suggesting as it does that the Lib Dems are losing more votes in our strongest seats:

The most significant factor affecting party performance at the constituency level is prior Liberal Democrat strength. … the Liberal Democrats are clearly loosing most in the seats where they started strongest and losing least where they started weakest. Partly this is inevitable. There are over 100 seats where the Lib Dems got less than 16% of the vote in 2010 and so their vote share cannot fall by this much. Moreover it is unlikely that the party will fall exactly to zero even where it does very badly. So if the GB polls are right overall, the Liberal Democrats must be falling more where they started stronger, and the BES data suggest the drop is broadly proportional to their prior strength. This mirrors the pattern of change at the local authority level at the European Parliament elections this year, adding confidence that the effect is real. The implications for Liberal Democrat seats are straightforward. If they are indeed losing most heavily in the seats they are defending they are set to lose several more seats than national polls with uniform swing would predict.

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Paul Burstow

Paul Burstow MP writes…We need urgent action on home care

By Paul Burstow | Tue 9th December 2014 - 11:58 am

Care in the home Some rights reserved by British Red CrossThe extra £2 billion for health care services announced in the Autumn Statement last week is fantastic news. It is testament to Norman Lamb’s effective and high profile campaigning for urgent funding for the NHS, as well as the hard work behind the scenes by many colleagues making the case.

But in reality these additional funds will not be enough to put the NHS on a sustainable footing. As many of us know only too well, social care is in crisis, and with an ageing population, the existing strain can only become greater. If we don’t address this issue urgently, we risk creating a wholly avoidable additional burden on the NHS which would put its stability entirely out of reach.

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The Voice

Liam McArthur highlights Swinson’s and Featherstone’s work and supports ambition action on violence against women

By The Voice | Tue 9th December 2014 - 10:40 am

Last week the Scottish Parliament debated violence against women during the 16 days of action between the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and International Human Rights day. Liam McArthur led for the Liberal Democrats. He noted that in the ninety minutes of the debate, 9 women would face violence at the hands of their partners.

It was a sensible, consensual debate which you can read here.  Liam’s speech in full is published below:

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Caron Lindsay

Vince Cable marks 2 million apprenticeships in 4 years – how that story could be told a bit better

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th December 2014 - 9:12 am

Over at the party website, there’s a piece today marking the fact that the coalition government or, let’s not kid ourselves, Vince Cable, has created 2 million apprenticeships.

To mark the occasion, Vince met the two millionth apprentice, Paige McConville in Oxford. Paige, aged 16, started her Advanced Apprenticeship in Engineering Manufacture with high-tech engineering firm FMB Oxford in August.

Paige took Vince on a tour around FMB Oxford, explaining how her apprenticeship with the firm is giving her the skills she needs to begin her career as an engineer.

All young people should have the opportunity to get on in life, and apprenticeships are a great way to achieve that. That’s why the Liberal Democrats have prioritised creating jobs and apprenticeships in this Government.

Commenting on the good news, Vince Cable said:

“Reaching the 2 millionth apprenticeship is testament to this Government’s commitment to apprenticeships. Paige and her employer are a shining example of how apprenticeships give young people the chance to start a career and give businesses the talent to grow.

“This isn’t just about numbers. From space engineering, to TV production, to legal services, apprenticeships are the ticket to a great job and a route employers trust to access the skills they need.

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Andrew Haldane

Opinion: Could PEVEL help to secure the triumph of good over EVEL?

By Andrew Haldane | Mon 8th December 2014 - 5:14 pm

england-flagEvery time a Tory mentions English Votes for English Laws they have a certain daemonic glint in their eyes. The power junkies think they are about to get the keys to the pharmacy. They say nature abhors a vacuum, but the Tories can hardly conceal their delight at the vacuum created by the meteoric rise up the political agenda of the West Lothian Question (which they and their friends in the media have helped to propagate). In 2010 they gained 56% of English MPs with 40% of the English vote. Implementing overdue boundary revisions and reducing MP numbers would tilt the balance further in their favour. Requiring a good deal less than 40%, they could gain a majority of English MPs for the foreseeable future if historic voting patterns persist.

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Mathew Hulbert

Michael Moore MP named as MP of the Year by Liberal Democrat Fairtrade Future

By Mathew Hulbert | Mon 8th December 2014 - 4:21 pm

michael-moore-mp-secretary-of-state-for-scotlandMatt Whittles and I, as the co-founders of Liberal Democrat Fairtrade Future (LDFF), are delighted to announce that we’re awarding our first ever MP of the Year award to Michael Moore, the MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

We’re awarding him this honour in recognition of all of the hard work he’s put in to his Private Members Bill – currently working its way through Parliament – which will enshrine into law the UK’s promise to spend 0.7% of the UK’s gross national income on International Aid.

We couldn’t be more proud that it is a Lib Dem MP who has brought this Bill before Parliament and we fervently hope it gets signed on to the Statute Books.

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Stephen Phillips

Opinion: Is the centre ground disappearing from British politics?

By Stephen Phillips | Mon 8th December 2014 - 3:28 pm

Ballot boxIs it just me, or has something recently changed in British politics? In fact, this apparent move towards what some might see as extremism may also be a characteristic of the political scene in Europe and further afield, too. It is almost akin to the frenzy that seems to hit societies at the end of each century, but manifesting itself a decade and a half late.

What the opinion polls appear to show is that the centre ground, represented primarily by the Liberal Democrats, has lost ground in favour of a …

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David Faggiani

Douglas Carswell: Free Liberal – How it might have been (pt. 3)

By David Faggiani | Mon 8th December 2014 - 2:19 pm

This is the concluding part of a trilogy of counterfactual pieces previously published on LDV.

For Part 1 and Part 2, including the full results of the by-elections in Clacton and Heywood & Middleton in this continuity, please click the links.

…while some on principles baptized/To strict party platforms ties/
Social clubs in drag disguise/Outsiders they can freely criticize/
Tell nothing except who to idolize….”

-‘It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’, Bob Dylan

The dual results in in Clacton and Heywood & Middleton on 9th October threw UK Politics into complete disarray.

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Tad Jones

Opinion: A step forward in reforming the UN

By Tad Jones | Mon 8th December 2014 - 12:10 pm

United Nations complexWe Liberal Democrats do like a challenge. From taking on Labour/Conservatives in entrenched local authorities to being the smaller party in an austerity coalition, we’ve fought the good fight for liberal values and policies.

Whatever the difficulties in national and local politics, international issues are often more intractable. Conflicts and disputes, whether frozen, like Northern Cyprus, or persistently violent, like Israel/Palestine, linger on for decades. These different problems require different solutions, but I do think that better global governance would help things along.

The UN security council is still dominated by …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 23 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Danny Alexander – Liberal Democrats have no part in Tory plans for harsh cuts and empty tax promises

By NewsHound | Mon 8th December 2014 - 11:20 am

The two Coalition parties continue the process of “conscious uncoupling” today. Yesterday, George Osborne said the Lib Dems threatened the economic recovery. Today, it’s a case of straight back atcha from Danny Alexander, as he lays bare the difference between the Lib Dem and Tory economic approach ahead of the May 2015 election in an article in today’s Telegraph:

Last Wednesday, the Coalition delivered another Autumn Statement that stuck to the strategy we’ve had since 2010: clearing up Labour’s mess in the public finances and doing so fairly; reforms to reward work and improve the UK’s long-term growth prospects. This

…

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The Voice

In the next month 21 seats will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs

By The Voice | Mon 8th December 2014 - 10:25 am

Lib Dems winning hereHere’s the full list of selection contests in the coming month available for Lib Dems on the approved parliamentary candidates’ list, together with the closing date for applications.

The following seats have selections in progress and are currently advertising for candidates:

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Posted in Selection news | Tagged | 4 Comments
Rabi Martins

Opinion: Localism is dead – what hope for Local Government ?

By Rabi Martins | Mon 8th December 2014 - 9:26 am

Sheffield Town HallThe Localism Act was introduced in November 2011 on a promise of new freedoms and flexibilities for local government, new rights and powers for communities and individuals, and a guarantee to make the planning system more democratic so as to ensure decisions about housing reflect local community wishes. Even the most ardent supporters of this coalition government will be hard pushed to provide evidence that localism has done anything of the sort.

Instead, what we have witnessed in the past four years is a constant reduction of local government budgets …

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The Voice

“Tories running dirty tricks call campaign against Lib Dems”

By The Voice | Mon 8th December 2014 - 8:35 am

Tessa Munt photo by Keith EdkinsThat’s the headline in today’s Mirror newspaper:

The Tories have launched a nasty dirty tricks campaign in a knife-edge constituency ahead of the next election. Conservative activists are ringing voters in marginal Wells and pretending to be calling on behalf of the respected local Lib-Dem MP Tessa Munt. They then ask the voters if they wanted to see David Cameron or Ed Miliband as Prime Minister at the next election. The calls were all made from a number in Southend, Essex. The Mirror has confirmed that

…

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Caron Lindsay

Reviewing the papers on Radio Scotland’s Crossfire

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th December 2014 - 8:40 pm

Driving to Glasgow at 6am on a wintry Sunday morning was slightly scary, especially for someone who really doesn’t do Winter, but that’s what I did to take part in the review of the Sunday papers on the Radio Scotland programme Crossfire. I was on with former Herald editor Murray Ritchie and Cat Boyd from the Radical Independence campaign.

Obviously we talked about some bloke deciding he wants to stand for the Westminster Parliament he claims to revile.  Former Special Adviser Sam Ghibaldan on Sunday Politics Scotland and I both made the case that Salmond’s victory is far from assured.

I raised …

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Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #401

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th December 2014 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 401st weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (30 November -, 6 December 2014), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

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The Voice

Taunton Deane Liberal Democrats select Rachel Gilmour

By The Voice | Sun 7th December 2014 - 3:20 pm

Rachel GilmourFrom the Taunton Deane Liberal Democrat website:

Rachel Gilmour was selected at the members’ hustings on 6 Dec 2014 in Taunton by a full turnout of Members as their prospective Parliamentary candidate for the 2015 General Election.  She succeeds Jeremy Browne , MP,  who will stand down when parliament is dissolved in March 2015.

 

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Paul Walter

Jeremy Thorpe – a life in videos

By Paul Walter | Sun 7th December 2014 - 1:54 pm

As a companion to my earlier picture post, here are some videos embedded from YouTube featuring Jeremy Thorpe.

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Posted in Obituaries | Tagged and | 8 Comments
The Voice

LDV’s Sunday Best: our 7 most-read articles this week

By The Voice | Sun 7th December 2014 - 12:23 pm

7 ver 4 fullMany thanks to the 16,600  visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Abusive site Wings over Scotland is embedded into the Scottish Government and Yes movement: Willie Rennie proves what we knew already (62 comments) by Caron Lindsay

And it’s goodbye from me as Lib Dem Voice co-editor (37 comments) by Stephen Tall

What is going on with the Liberal Democrat Media Strategy? (26 comments) by Caron Lindsay

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The Voice

Liz Barker leads first ever Lords debate on Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women’s health

By The Voice | Sun 7th December 2014 - 10:42 am

Last Wednesday, Baroness Liz Barker, who made one of the most fantastic speeches of the entire debate on same sex marriage,  led the first ever debate on health services for lesbians and bisexual and transgender women.

The ignorance and even ridicule LBT women have faced from health professionals in the accounts Liz and others shared during the debate is truly astonishing. There does not seem to be a widespread understanding of even the very basic issues they may face.

The Minister’s reply was a bit frustrating because he basically agreed with everything that was being said but didn’t offer any actual, concrete proposal to make things better.

You can read the whole debate here, but Liz’s speech in full is published below:

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Caron Lindsay

Game on in Gordon: Liberal Democrat Christine Jardine has to defend seat against former First Minister Salmond

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 7th December 2014 - 8:55 am

imageIn the biggest surprise since the sun last rose in the east, Alex Salmond will announce today that he’s going to be standing for the Westminster Parliament in the Gordon Constituency which is currently held by Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Sir Malcolm Bruce.

It’s almost a year since Christine Jardine was selected to fight the seat. She has been leading a fun and spirited campaign since then which saw voters in Gordon reject independence by almost 2:1. Her campaign manager is the party legend who masterminded Nicol Stephen’s election campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s. Mr Salmond should underestimate them at his peril.

Salmond represents part of the Gordon constituency at Holyrood. He no doubt thinks that he can do as he did in 2007, swan in to the seat and win. Certainly the SNP will resource his campaign to the max and there are plenty new members in that party to help out.

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ALDC

ALDC’s by-election report, 4th December 2014

By ALDC | Sat 6th December 2014 - 4:45 pm

ALDC Master Logo (for screen)Thursday saw three principal council by-elections contested, with an additional election fought on Friday. There was a gain for Labour from the Mansfield Independent Forum in Netherfield on Mansfield DC. The MIF didn’t field a candidate as Labour increased their share of the vote by 12.1% to win by 122 votes ahead of UKIP.

Elsewhere UKIP held their seat in the Thurrock BC ward of Aveley & Uplands after a hard fought campaign with the Conservatives who finished second. The UKIP candidate polled 41% to win with a majority of 227 votes.

There was also a hold for Labour in Longholme ward on Rossendale BC, with the party’s candidate winning ahead of the Conservatives by 115 votes.

In addition the contest on Adur DC saw a rare by-election held on a Friday, with the Conservatives holding their seat in St Mary’s ward with 38.4% of the vote.

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Caron Lindsay

Scottish Liberal Democrats announce their list selections – and for the second time in a row manage to put one of their best MSPs in a more challenging position

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th December 2014 - 3:26 pm

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have been holding their regional list selections for 2016 Scottish Parliament elections and yesterday announced the top 3 in each region* .

Willie Rennie said on the team announced:

We are first off the mark with our candidate selection and this is a clear statement of intent. We have a team of passionate, dedicated campaigners who are up for the fight and will be working hard for their regions every day between now and the next Holyrood elections.

Our list candidates offer a mix of youth and experience that gives people right across Scotland the opportunity to elect a strong liberal voice to represent them at Holyrood. The new Home Rule powers Liberal Democrats are helping deliver for the Scottish Parliament mean it is more important than ever that we have a team of MSPs who will always stand up for their local area.

With the SNP taking their eye off the ball with the referendum it was Liberal Democrats challenging Scottish Government ministers over the pressure facing our NHS. We led opposition to damaging college cuts and helped families by expanding free childcare.

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Caron Lindsay

Michael Moore 1 Tory Game Players 0 – International Aid bill clears the Commons despite Tory shenanigans

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th December 2014 - 12:34 pm

It all got a bit nail-biting yesterday. The House of Commons was going to shut at 2:30 no matter what and a few determined Tories were planning on making sure that Michael Moore’s Bill to shrine the 0.7% of GDP international aid target into law died a death just like Sarah Teather’s on revenge evictions did last week.

In the end, a couple of enterprising Tories tried to talk it out but there were more than enough MPs who supported the Bill to put an end to their parliamentary games and the Bill passed the last of its Commons stages. It now goes to the Lords where our Liberal Democrat Minister Lindsay Northover will be one of those piloting it through. 

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Posted in Op-eds | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Mittens and Cartoons: how political parties are trying to mobilise their supporters this Winter

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th December 2014 - 11:11 am

liberal mittensI have been loving some of the stuff that our sister party in Canada has been sending out to supporters. Their Winter fundraising push involves them sending this fetching pair of mittens to anyone who donates over $100 over a two day period. It’s caused such a stir that those cheeky little mitts have their own parody Twitter account.

I bet their supporters team, led by the  equivalent of our Austin Rathe, had fun coming up with the accompanying email:

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Paul Walter

Jeremy Thorpe – a life in pictures

By Paul Walter | Sat 6th December 2014 - 9:54 am

There are a host of fantastic photographs of Jeremy Thorpe in the archives. He had a real sense of showmanship to which photographers responded. Here are a few images which reflect his life.

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Posted in Obituaries | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg’s message for Small Business Saturday

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th December 2014 - 7:49 am

We’ve had every massive corporation trying to tempt us with bargains over the last few days, from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. Today small independent traders hit back with Small Business Saturday.

Nick Clegg has put out a message to mark the occasion. He said:

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Norman Lamb MP

Norman Lamb writes… Better care for eating disorders is a top priority

By Norman Lamb MP | Fri 5th December 2014 - 3:35 pm

Charlotte Robinson was an incredibly bright, energetic, and well-liked young woman. She was working towards her A-levels, and hoping to attend Cambridge University. But days before her results arrived, Charlotte died. An eating disorder had left her dangerously weak, and she lost her fight with a sudden bout of pneumonia. When her A-level results arrived, she had achieved four As.

The inquest heard it had taken five weeks between Charlotte seeing her GP and an assessment being carried out by a mental health nurse, and it then took another month for any help to start. …

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The Voice

Happy Christmas from the Cleggs: here’s Nick and Miriam’s festive photobooth card

By The Voice | Fri 5th December 2014 - 1:10 pm

Nick Clegg’s Christmas card has been unveiled today – a photobooth set of four shots depicting he and Miriam as Nick pulls on a red Santa hat.

clegg famil xmas card

The insta-reaction from the Twitterati has been positive:

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