Liberal Democrat Voice

Conference Speeches: Jo Swinson to Conference rally

By The Voice | Sun 5th October 2014 - 5:43 pm

Here is Jo Swinson’s speech to the rally last night:

Conference – hello and a very warm welcome back to Glasgow!

It may still be a bit wet and chilly, but it’s still the friendliest city, and most importantly, still in the United Kingdom.

A lot has happened since we met here last year.

Fantastic year for sport:

Winter Olympics, record medal haul for the UK

Huge success of the Commonwealth Games here in Glasgow this summer – inspiring athletes from 13year old swimmer Erraid Davies to Jo Pavey’s fantastic gold medal at 40

England won the World Cup – obviously in women’s rugby

We’ve seen some key political milestones:

No one pays income tax on the first £10,000 they earn

Posted in News | Tagged conference speeches and Jo Swinson | Leave a comment

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Disco as you’ve never seen it before….

By Paul Walter | Sun 5th October 2014 - 4:43 pm

Last night, saw the Liberal Democrat Disco, organised at conference by Cambridge local party to raise funds for its general election campaign.

It was a great night with a packed hall featuring the “Battle of the LibDem deejays”.

Alistair Carmichael was cheered the loudest, thus winning the accolade of “deejay of the night”. His set included Lulu’s “Shout” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”. He finished on a serious note, explaining that we had passed over midnight into the Sabbath. Coming from the islands of Scotland (where they are very serious about these things), Alistair felt there should be one song of religious observance. He therefore played “YMCA”.

Posted in Conference | Tagged julian huppert | Leave a comment

Liberal Democrat voice awards 2014 – the results

By Paul Walter | Sun 5th October 2014 - 3:24 pm

We surpassed ourselves at our annual awards last night. Every year there is some typically Liberal Democrat random “feature” of the ceremony. Last night’s event was no exception.

It’s a very long story involving great preparation and, then, the intervention of fate in the shape of a locked hotel room, several mobile phones on voicemail, mad dashes around the conference complex, rolled up old newspapers and a large shopping bag.

Posted in News | 2 Comments

Coalition-Lite – a better way of doing coalition government?

By Andrew George | Sun 5th October 2014 - 1:03 pm

Shortly before midnight on 11th May 2010, just five days after the General Election, Liberal Democrat MPs and Party chiefs voted to enter Coalition Government with the Conservatives and to support the difficult but inescapable compromise Coalition Programme for Government.

This was a sobering moment. No jubilation. Just a recognition that we had to make this work; and determined that, contrary to past history and evidence from elsewhere, it wouldn’t inflict terminal damage on the Party.

This was, of course, a “least worst” option. The public finances were in a mess; the economy in danger of catastrophic decline. The last thing the country needed was the routine tribalism of the Westminster Village. No party had a majority. The country needed stable government. We did what had to be done.

Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged andrew george, government and lessons of coalition | 21 Comments

Norman Lamb writes… Extra funding for the NHS is a Lib Dem priority right now

By Norman Lamb MP | Sun 5th October 2014 - 12:00 pm

As a society we are judged by the way that we care for the vulnerable, the elderly, and those suffering from illness. Britain can be proud that in 1948 we led the world in laying the foundations for a universal health service, available to all regardless of wealth.

And we continue to lead the world today. Earlier this year the Commonwealth Fund rated the UK NHS best in the world overall, as well as in a number of specific categories.

In this Government, Liberal Democrats have protected health spending, …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged health and NHS | 9 Comments

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Sunday extras open thread: From Christian humanism to live jazz

By The Voice | Sun 5th October 2014 - 10:30 am

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the LDV Awards evening yesterday. So what will be the fun events today?

There is a very full programme on the fringe today – from promoting healthy lifestyles to the Gibraltar reception, from cycling to the future of the BBC, with several sessions on various environmental issues. The RSPCA is offering beer and curry, and there will be live jazz at the Azerbaijan reception.

Do let us all know about any events you went to, or any worth dropping in for.

How to find out what is happening

You can view or download the directory, which …

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2014 | 3 Comments

Opinion: Lib Dems must commit to end the housing crisis within a generation

By Patrick Murray | Sun 5th October 2014 - 10:00 am

This Monday in Glasgow, Lib Dem conference will debate motion F21 “Building the Affordable Homes We Need”. The Liberal Democrats have a fantastic opportunity to tackle the greatest social challenge of my generation, the housing crisis.

The economic and social cost of this crisis is huge. England needs around 245,000 new homes a year just to meet demand. Yet we are building half the homes we need. The latest figures show that the average income needed to buy a home is £36,500, higher than the incomes of more than half of the households in the country.

Add to that the largest baby boom since the 1960s, between 2001 and 2012, and we can see that this is a crisis that threatens to engulf the hopes and dreams of a generation, many of whom will never be able to afford a home they can truly call their own. But, for me, this crisis has always been about more than numbers.

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged affordable housing and housing | 8 Comments

Nick Clegg’s conference rally speech: “We may be the underdogs but we have the values, beliefs and resilience to win”

By The Voice | Sun 5th October 2014 - 9:00 am

“This is the fight of our lives” – that was the message from Nick Clegg at last night’s conference rally. You can watch it here:

Posted in Conference and YouTube | Tagged autumn conference 2014, Jo Swinson, kavya kaushik, nick clegg, paddy ashdown and the other guys | 30 Comments

Sunday debates open thread: From first aid to child abuse via crime and public services

By The Voice | Sun 5th October 2014 - 8:30 am

Thanks to everyone who contributed to yesterday’s open thread. Please add your reports, comments and recommendations on today’s business in the main hall below, sticking to things that are happening today.

This will be the first full day of action in the splendid auditorium here at the SECC. Expect a full house for the debates on Welfare Reform and Public Services. In between, why not check out today’s Extras thread (fringes and everything else) which we will be posting at 10.30am?

So what is happening today at Conference?

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2014 | 1 Comment

All in a day’s Lib Dem conference: hustings, fringes, OMOV and sex work

By Stephen Tall | Sat 4th October 2014 - 7:00 pm

It’s felt like a slow start to conference – I’m habituated to the Friday night rally and meaty policy debates starting at bleary o’clock on Saturday morning. But with the rally moved to Saturday night, conference itself wasn’t opened until this afternoon.

However, that meant there was time this morning for the first official hustings of the Party Presidential contest, with Sal Brinton, Daisy Cooper, Linda Jack and Liz Lynne all present. In fact, there was possibly too much time – 90 minutes in a too-efficiently air-conditioned room at times dragged a little. No fault of the candidates themselves – they were all fluent and thoughtful – but they also all agreed on pretty much everything of substance. All pledged to be the independent voice of the membership and to speak truth unto leadership power.

Posted in Conference | Tagged craig harrow, daisy cooper, Danny Alexander, david williams, duncan brack, helen wallace, john curtice, linda jack, liz lynne, Mark Pack, omov, party presidential election 2014, sal brinton and sex work | 8 Comments

Glasgow Gossip #1

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 4th October 2014 - 5:57 pm

A couple of tales which have reached my ears. Both of which involve the over-imbibing of alcohol.

Posted in News | Tagged autumn conference 2014 and glasgow gossip | 3 Comments

Nick Clegg arrives at conference

By Paul Walter | Sat 4th October 2014 - 1:54 pm

My photo here shows Nick Clegg arriving at the conference in Glasgow at noon today. He chats briefly with the four Presidential candidates, from left to right: Sal Brinton, Linda Jack, Liz Lynne and Daisy Cooper. The four candidates were hot foot from the first Presidential hustings of the conference, which was packed.

Posted in News | Tagged daisy cooper, linda jack, liz lynne, nick clegg and sal brinton | 4 Comments

Lord Brian Paddick writes… Is it reasonable to ban runway expansion across the UK?

By Brian Paddick | Sat 4th October 2014 - 1:00 pm

This Conference we will be debating our Pre-Manifesto. Of the huge number of policy proposals there is one likely to incite a great deal of considered debate within the Party – the commitment to no net increase in runways across the UK. The pre-manifesto bans any expansion at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick and it prohibits a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Is this a reasonable position to take?

I am a loyal Liberal Democrat and like most of us, I am conscious of the need to protect our environment. I don’t have a car. My world is my Oyster Card and unless I’m late for a very important date, I take the bus, train or tube everywhere.

Posted in News | Tagged airports, autumn conference 2014, aviation, environment and pre-manifesto debate | 47 Comments

The Independent View: Bridging the gap between rhetoric and reality before May 2015

By Donna Hume | Sat 4th October 2014 - 12:00 pm

A few weeks ago the Liberal Democrats announced the five green laws they would introduce if they remain in Government after May 2015. The detail from their pre-manifesto will be debated at Conference this week. As a staunch greenie, is it always nice to see a party putting the environment at the centre of their party’s pledges. At the last election, Friends of the Earth praised the Liberal Democrats for having the greenest manifesto of the three main parties (pipped to the top spot by the Greens).

But after nearly one term in office, there is now a big question over the party’s green credibility. So there are three key questions on their green laws that the Liberal Democrats need to provide the right answers to – pronto.

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged climate change, environment, friends of the earth and tracking | 4 Comments

Saturday extras open thread: Conference Rally and the LDV Awards

By The Voice | Sat 4th October 2014 - 10:30 am

We hope you’ve spotted the open thread on the action taking place in the main auditorium today. In comparison, this thread is for you to talk about fringe meetings, the exhibition and all the other things going on around the main business.

The fringe kicks off today with a few events at lunchtime organised by CentreForum, Liberal Democrats for Seekers of Sanctuary and Liberal Left. But the main events follow the Conference Rally which starts at 6.30pm in the main auditorium. After that you have a fairly limited choice of fringe meetings, probably because people tend to spend the early part of …

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2014 | 1 Comment

The big difference between what Olly Grender said and what the Mirror said she said

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 4th October 2014 - 10:00 am

The Mirror ran a big splash yesterday saying that Liberal Democrat peer Olly Grender was complaining that her House of Lords allowance is insufficient. “We struggle to get by on £300 per day tax free allowance” screams the headline.

If you actually look at the substance of the story, there is absolutely nothing to substantiate that total misrepresentation of what she was saying. They even run a little poll asking if you could get by on £300 tax free.

Posted in News | Tagged diversity, house magazine, mail, mirror, olly grender, paddy ashdown and sexism | 25 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: Lib Dem Party Presidency – first members’ poll results are here

By Stephen Tall | Sat 4th October 2014 - 9:00 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 735 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

Tim Farron’s four-year stint as Lib Dem Party President ends this year. The contest to succeed him appears to be a four-way election between four female candidates: Sal Brinton, Daisy Cooper, Linda Jack and Liz Lynne.

They hold their first official hustings today, Saturday, 10-11am But don’t worry if you can’t make that – LibDemVoice is hosting a special “Who Wants to be Party President?” fringe meeting tomorrow, Sunday from 1-2pm, in the Crowne Plaza (Castle 2), where you can hear from all four, with past party president Baroness (Diana) Maddock chairing.

We asked a series of questions about the party presidency in our survey…

Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged daisy cooper, featured, linda jack, liz lynne, party presidential election 2014 and sal brinton | 31 Comments

Saturday debates open thread: Welcome to Glasgow

By The Voice | Sat 4th October 2014 - 8:30 am

Whether you are physically in Glasgow or are following what is happening from home, this is your place to talk about the public face of the Conference – in other words, all the debates and speeches that are going on in the main auditorium. Please use the comments below to add your reports on policy and constitutional debates or to draw readers’ attention to ones in the pipeline.

We will be running a similar thread each day, so please confine your comments today to what is actually happening today. Tomorrow’s instalment will appear at 8.30am tomorrow morning.

We will also be running a thread each day on fringes, so use that one for anything going on outside the main show.

So what is happening today at Conference?

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2014 | 4 Comments

Caron’s Conference Selection: must-read stories from today’s press and online commentary

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 4th October 2014 - 7:42 am

Here are my must-read stories from today’s press about Liberal Democrat Conference. You wouldn’t expect anything else from a Guardian editorial than to emphasise our shortcomings and the electoral challenges we face. And this one certainly does that. It notices with curiosity the results of yesterday’s survey which show that 80% of respondents to our survey support the Coalition. However, it recognises that we are unique in one respect and are needed on the political scene:

In the Guardian’s view, British politics needs the Liberal Democrats for one thing above all. It needs them to provide the parliamentary nerve of outrage against an unreformed political system and against encroachments on civil liberties which is so often dulled in the other major parties.

It follows, especially in a week when the Tories have signalled more anti-terror powers and neutering the European human rights court, that the Lib Dems must make a virtue at every turn of their principled liberal view of justice and human rights. They may wish to claim to have done good work in government on pensions, school finance, bank reform and increasing personal allowances — and some bits, perhaps even all, of that may be true in some ways. But the party’s uniqueness remains its commitment to the rule of law, to human rights, to empowering the individual against an over-mighty state, to reforming and devolving politics and government, and to insistent internationalism. It matters that a party that stood up for proper press reform, against the snoopers’ charter and asked some of the questions others have feared to ask about the Edward Snowden revelations should survive.

Posted in News | Tagged autumn conference 2014 and press review | 21 Comments

LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League: how it stands after Week 6

By Stephen Tall | Sat 4th October 2014 - 6:45 am

Congratulations to George Murray and Jo Featonby, who lead the LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League after Week 6, separated by a single point, on 358 and 357 points respectively. George’s ‘Marauding Fullbacks’ are in 2,405th position in the global league of 3.29 million players – not bad!

However, with just 36 points separating the top 10, there is still all to play for. Or maybe I’m kidding myself – after a first week top 10 appearance, I’ve slumped to 44th thanks to my inability to select Diego Costa as captain in the right weeks. Anyway, if you’re busy in Glasgow at the …

Posted in News | Tagged fantasy football | 1 Comment

A fair and fast economic recovery

By Joe Otten | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 8:28 pm

The Labour Party has two attack lines on the economic recovery these days. One is that it is the slowest recovery ever, and the other is that it is happening particularly unfairly. Both are wholly without merit, and show that Labour are living in a fictional dreamworld.

The charge that this is a particularly slow recovery seems to be based on the length of time it is taking to return to trend, looking at graphs such as this:

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged economy, employment and gini index | 88 Comments

Opinion: Human trafficking must be an important part of safer sex work strategy

By Dipa Vaya | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 6:00 pm

The policy motion about safer sex work is an interesting topic to debate especially as fifty-five victims of human trafficking were identified in Scotland last year.

Conference will be concerned about solicitation and sex workers being forced into isolated areas where they are more at danger of sexual and physical violence. This is all fair and well but surely this is a concern of human trafficking too?

The definition of trafficking a person is the movement of them for the purpose of exploitation, which often leads to what is known as modern day slavery. It’s usually the most vulnerable people who become trapped. There are four main forms of human trafficking they are forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and deprivation. This motion concerns sexual exploitation a form of human trafficking but is only mentioned as a concern in the motion and then later promoting solutions to combat international trafficking is mentioned in passing.

Posted in News | Tagged autumn conference 2014, sex work and trafficking | 8 Comments

Opinion: Beware false promises on apprenticeships

By Chris Young | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 4:45 pm

At the Conservative Party Conference George Osborne made the startling announcement that there was to be 3 million new apprentices. Just like that.

At first this seemed to be astonishing, however” informed sources” tell me it is 3 million over the whole 2015 – 2020 period, in other words the story was being “spun”.

I served a traditional apprenticeship and found that eventually lead me indirectly to a higher degree in a Russell Group University, so apprenticeships are something I take continuing interest in.

With this I am inclined to ask the question, how many of these apprenticeship positions are actually new jobs as opposed to employers re branding pre-existing or extrapolated jobs as apprentices?

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged apprenticeships, young people and youth unemployment | 8 Comments

The Independent View: Liberal Democrats – Please make compulsory Sex and Relationships Education a red line Issue

By Sarah Green | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 3:45 pm

Women’s organisations gave a huge welcome to David Laws’ announcement in August that the compulsory teaching of good quality Sex & Relationships Education (SRE) from age seven onwards will be in the Liberal Democrat manifesto. And we hope to hear this policy cheered loudly at Liberal Democrat conference this weekend.

Is it not shocking that in 2014 this subject is not compulsory in schools? All schools are currently statutorily required to do is teach the biological basics of reproduction by the age of 15, and schools can choose to insert the teaching into any subject they choose (science, RE, PSHE if it is taught at their school – it’s not compulsory either).

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged schools and sex and relationships education | 8 Comments

Opinion: You can allow airport expansion and protect the environment

By Christine Jardine MP | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 2:38 pm

Airport expansion equals controversy.

It sparks inevitable tensions between the demand for larger airports to fuel our economic growth, and concerns about the impact on the environment.

For those living closest to our major airports, especially Heathrow, those fears can be particularly acute as they endure current noise levels and view the prospect of increased traffic with dread.

And for Liberal Democrats it can often feel that our drive to create a stronger economy is being placed in direct opposition to our desire to protect our environment for future generations.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged airports, autumn conference and pre-manifesto debate | 10 Comments

The Independent View: It’s time to rethink Trident

By Kate Hudson | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 12:44 pm

Last year, Trident was a huge debate at the Lib Dem conference. It was an open, vibrant, genuine debate where differing views were passionately put. This year, Trident is nowhere to be seen in official conference business – even though the parliament elected in just a few months’ time will decide the future of Britain’s nuclear weapons system.

This seems a glaring omission for a party which has such a strong track record of engaging with this most important of Britain’s strategic defence questions. Indeed it is the only major Westminster party that – like the majority of the British population – recognises the importance of changing Britain’s nuclear weapons posture. And it has fought hard to do so. I’m sure no active Lib Dem member needs to be reminded how the party struggled to ensure that questioning the future of Trident was part of the coalition agreement and how Nick Harvey, as Defence Minister, made sure that alternatives to Trident were actually reviewed.

Posted in The Independent View | 27 Comments

EXCLUSIVE POLL: As Lib Dem conference begins, here’s what members think of the Coalition so far

By Stephen Tall | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 11:00 am

Members back Coalition with Conservatives by 80% to 17%

Do you support or oppose the Lib Dems being in the Coalition Government with the Conservatives? (Changes since last time question asked, April 2014).

Posted in LDV Members poll | 51 Comments

Opinion: OMOV – think twice

By Gareth Epps | Fri 3rd October 2014 - 9:08 am

The debate around the Liberal Democrats’ OMOV proposals have somewhat run aground. While its prime advocates have continued to advocate that OMOV is the panacea that cures all the Liberal Democrats’ ills, others point out the significant number of errors and omissions in the plans. Debate on social media generates more heat than light, and in this particular instance far too much name-calling.

Posted in Op-eds | 22 Comments

The Liberal Democrat Voice Awards 2014: The Shortlists

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 2nd October 2014 - 9:11 pm

This morning, party members registered on our members’ forum were sent an email giving them a link to vote on the shortlists for our Awards, due to be presented in Glasgow on Saturday night.

Before I go any further, I want to say a massive thank you to Mary Reid for doing most of the work on this year’s event while I was distracted with some little thing going on here in Scotland. Also thanks to Stephen Tall and Ryan Cullen for doing the technical stuff.

And, without further ado, here are the lists. Drum roll, please…

Posted in News | Tagged liberal democrat voice awards 2014 | 4 Comments

Opinion: Federalism and Constitutions

By Hamish Mackenzie | Thu 2nd October 2014 - 2:41 pm

When I was 17 I took AS level politics, it was possibly the most unpopular subject in school, my most abiding memory of this class was talking about constitutions. We went into great theoretical depth about the type and purpose of constitutions before discussing whether or not the UK should have one. Everyone just assumed that having a codified and entrenched constitution (aka written constitution) was a far off fantasy that served no real purpose; we hardly even bothered mooting the positives of such a document.

The Scottish independence referendum has made it abundantly clear that the UK will be changed forever. A central plank of the Yes campaign was the writing of a new constitution. The very fact that no one, on either side, questioned the need for an Independent Scotland to have a constitution shows that people in the UK aren’t uniquely incapable of grasping the case for a constitution but rather the fact that things seem to be OK right now so why bother? There is, simply put, no impetus for a UK constitution.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged constitutional reform, federalism and written constitution | 8 Comments

Op-eds

Andy Burnham’s devolution reforms go only half-way (Mark Corner)
Reform donations row shows how facts get trampled at Westminster (David Vigar)
The Independent View: Turning back the tide on free speech (Jack Coulson)
Britain has too much government and too little democratic power (James Dennison)
Foreign interference in British politics: How the Liberal Democrats man meet the challenge (Larry Ngan)

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Bobby Dean MP writes: The resilient state

Sarah Olney bids to become candidate for Mayor of London

Going for four in a row in Scotland

Observations of an Expat: Canada

Conference Speeches: Jo Swinson to Conference rally

Disco as you’ve never seen it before….

Liberal Democrat voice awards 2014 – the results

Coalition-Lite – a better way of doing coalition government?

Norman Lamb writes… Extra funding for the NHS is a Lib Dem priority right now

Sunday extras open thread: From Christian humanism to live jazz

How to find out what is happening

Opinion: Lib Dems must commit to end the housing crisis within a generation

Nick Clegg’s conference rally speech: “We may be the underdogs but we have the values, beliefs and resilience to win”

Sunday debates open thread: From first aid to child abuse via crime and public services

All in a day’s Lib Dem conference: hustings, fringes, OMOV and sex work

Glasgow Gossip #1

Nick Clegg arrives at conference

Lord Brian Paddick writes… Is it reasonable to ban runway expansion across the UK?

The Independent View: Bridging the gap between rhetoric and reality before May 2015

Saturday extras open thread: Conference Rally and the LDV Awards

The big difference between what Olly Grender said and what the Mirror said she said

EXCLUSIVE: Lib Dem Party Presidency – first members’ poll results are here

Saturday debates open thread: Welcome to Glasgow

Caron’s Conference Selection: must-read stories from today’s press and online commentary

LibDemVoice Fantasy Football League: how it stands after Week 6

A fair and fast economic recovery

Opinion: Human trafficking must be an important part of safer sex work strategy

Opinion: Beware false promises on apprenticeships

The Independent View: Liberal Democrats – Please make compulsory Sex and Relationships Education a red line Issue

Opinion: You can allow airport expansion and protect the environment

The Independent View: It’s time to rethink Trident

EXCLUSIVE POLL: As Lib Dem conference begins, here’s what members think of the Coalition so far

Members back Coalition with Conservatives by 80% to 17%

Opinion: OMOV – think twice

The Liberal Democrat Voice Awards 2014: The Shortlists

Opinion: Federalism and Constitutions

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Bobby Dean MP writes: The resilient state

Sarah Olney bids to become candidate for Mayor of London

Going for four in a row in Scotland

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Members back Coalition with Conservatives by 80% to 17%

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