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Our place to talk – an independent website for supporters of the Liberal Democrat party in the UK.

The most-read independent website by and for Lib Dem supporters. Not paid for by trade unions or millionaires.

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Would you blow £10 million of public money on the basis of a wee chat?

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 16th June 2014 - 6:43 pm

I think sometimes we might make too much of our claims that we’ve been cleaning up Labour’s economic mess for the last four years. It’s true they didn’t fix the roof when the sun shone, but there was this global recession thingy that, frankly, I didn’t mind them spending a fortune to bail us out of.

But they don’t help their reputation for financial incompetence. We know that they left the City of Edinburgh Council brassic with not much in the reserves . Now, it transpires, Rhodri Morgan, when …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eluned parrott, rhodri morgan and Wales | 11 Comments

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Clegg picks Farron and Farron picks Clegg

By The Voice | Mon 16th June 2014 - 5:15 pm

We hear there’s some football tournament going on at the moment.

Yesterday’s Sunday Politics had a fairly puerile political sticker item yesterday. I really think there are better uses of Adam Fleming’s talents. Anyway, it was quite amusing to see how Nick Clegg and Tim Farron reacted to the stunt.

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Posted in News | Tagged bbc, humour, nick clegg, sunday politics and tim farron | 4 Comments

Opinion: We have to conduct ourselves more respectfully in politics

By Stephen Harte | Mon 16th June 2014 - 4:15 pm

http://www.flazingo.com

You will have seen Caron’s story on the moving article by Gordon Aikman, Head of Research at Better Together, sharing his news that he has, at 29, Motor Neurone Disease and is likely to die soon. He is raising funds for MND Scotland and in just one day exceeded his £20,000 target. If you wish to donate, you can do so here.

I don’t know Gordon Aikman and probably now never will, although we have friends in common.

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Posted in News | Tagged gordon aikman and politics | 5 Comments

More powers for Scotland – guaranteed

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 16th June 2014 - 3:26 pm

We brought you the joint article from yesterday’s Scotland on Sunday in which Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie and his Conservative and Labour counterparts Ruth Davidson and Johann Lamont. Now this lunchtime, the three leaders appeared at the iconic Edinburgh monument on Calton Hill to issue a joint statement. Whether it was wise to drag journalists up there in this blistering heat will be seen from the coverage that ensues. I’ve already seen one point out that the monument was once known as Scotland’s …

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Posted in News | Tagged devolution, featured, Scotland and willie rennie | 5 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes…We need a new law to criminalise “revenge porn”

By Julian Huppert | Mon 16th June 2014 - 2:15 pm

We already have loads of laws on the statute book, and many of us resist calls repeatedly for more and more of them.

However, sometimes you do come across something that clearly should not be allowed, that causes significant harm to others, and yet is legal. Revenge porn is one of those.

This is the growing practice of vengeful ex’s sharing intimate images or videos of their previous partners with the clear aims of hurting, shaming and humiliating. What may have been a fun photo when times are good, …

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Posted in News | Tagged revenge porn | 6 Comments

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In Full: Nick Clegg’s statement from today’s Press Conference: Britain needs a new wave or energy, optimism and liberalism

By The Voice | Mon 16th June 2014 - 1:16 pm

Nick Clegg gave his monthly press conference. This is the statement he had released in advance. We’ll deal with the press conference itself in another post.

Today I want to talk about the Liberal Democrats’ 2015 manifesto. With just 325 days remaining in this Parliament, and the final year’s agenda of this coalition agreed and announced in the Queen’s Speech it is time to start talking about the future. It is time to set out our distinct Liberal Democrat vision for the next Parliament. For a party in government,

…

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Posted in News | Tagged liberal democrat manifesto 2015 and nick clegg | 21 Comments

Baroness Lindsay Northover writes…Global recognition of need to tackle sexual violence must lead to action

By Lindsay Northover | Mon 16th June 2014 - 11:59 am

If you had told me twenty or even ten years ago that there would be Global Summit on combatting sexual violence against women, attended by the majority of the world’s countries, as well numerous individuals and organisations, I would not have believed you.

For ever, it has seemed, sexual violence against (mainly) women and girls has been seen as simply inevitable. Especially in time of war. “War, rape and pillage” just went together.

But just as in the 20^th century, when genocide gave …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured, Lindsay Northover, lynne featherstone and sexual violence | 5 Comments

What’s going on in our Parliaments this week?

By The Voice | Mon 16th June 2014 - 10:42 am

What will be on our parliamentarians’ minds this week?

The Senedd

The most important thing from a Liberal Democrat point of view is the ending of the consultation period on Kirsty Williams’ minimum nursing levels bill which she wrote about here in March. If you have something you want to say on this, you have till close of business tomorrow. Here’s the information you need to respond.

Today sees an event to mark Welsh Refugee Week. Later in the week there …

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged scottish parliament, welsh assembly, westminster and what's on in parliament | 6 Comments

3 Scots pro-UK leaders promise more powers after “No” vote

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 16th June 2014 - 9:03 am

In an unprecedented show of unity, the leaders of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour parties in Scotland wrote a joint article for Scotland on Sunday yesterday in which they promised more powers for the Scottish Parliament if Scotland says “No, thanks” to independence in 3 months’ time.

Ruth Davidson, Willie Rennie and Johann Lamont have managed to put together a decent article, cogently arguing the case for staying in the UK, and for more powers to Holyrood and from Holyrood. That last bit is very important and I’m …

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Posted in News | Tagged johann lamont, ruth davidson, Scotland, Scottish independence referendum and willie rennie | 25 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #379

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th June 2014 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 379th 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 (8-,14 June 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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Posted in Best of the blogs | 2 Comments

Paddy: “A problem caused by killing Arab Muslims won’t be made better by killing more with Western weapons”

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th June 2014 - 3:45 pm

I had been waiting to see what Paddy Ashdown would have to say on Iraq because he’s probably the person in British politics who best understands the international complexities of all the world’s flashpoints.

On a day when Tony Blair is urging speedy action to deal with extremism, Paddy spoke to Sky News’ Murnaghan programme about what he thinks should happen. He was asked if Blair was right to be interventionist. His reply that intervening didn’t necessarily mean blowing things and people up:

I’m firmly interventionist because I believe

…

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Posted in News | Tagged international, iraq, ISIS, murnaghan and paddy ashdown | 22 Comments

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

By The Voice | Sun 15th June 2014 - 2:45 pm

Many thanks to the 14,800 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Tales from the Federal Executive: The one where we discussed the Elections (228 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Nick and the Sun, a missed opportunity (153 comments0 by Caron Lindsay

Cambridge Lib Dems back Nick Clegg and reject leadership ballot (128 comments) by The Voice

Nick Clegg on the Liberal Democrats’ unique mission (67 comments) by The Voice

LibLink: Jeremy Browne: The Lib Dems must define themselves more clearly (73 comments) …

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LibLink: Robin Meltzer: Water cannon must not be allowed on the streets of London

By NewsHound | Sun 15th June 2014 - 12:10 pm

Nick Clegg made clear his opposition to the use of water cannon in London the other day on Call Clegg. He said:

Personally I think it rubs up against the long tradition of policing by consent on London’s streets. It creates an embattled sense of how police work and I don’t think it is in keeping with our long tradition.

Now Richmond Park’s Liberal Democrat candidate Robin Meltzer has added his voice to the

…

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Posted in News | Tagged civil liberties, london, robin meltzer and water cannon | 14 Comments

Caron’s Sunday Selection: Must-read articles from the Sunday papers

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th June 2014 - 10:44 am

Here’s today’s picks, guaranteed to inspire, infuriate and amuse you. The first one will make you cry, though.

The first puts all the others into perspective. The Independence Referendum is the only game in Scotland at the moment, with dedicated people working their socks off on both sides. One of the key players in the Better Together campaign, Gordon Aikman, has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He writes in Scotland on Sunday about how he has coped with this shocking and terminal diagnosis. It’s a real, candid and moving piece.

…

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Posted in Op-eds | 6 Comments

Why a Lib Dem leadership election doesn’t look likely

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th June 2014 - 9:22 am

There are two formal mechanisms in the Lib Dems for getting rid of the party leader. First, a vote of no confidence by the party’s MPs. It’s pretty clear that won’t happen. The second option is for enough local Lib Dem parties to request a leadership election:

the receipt by the President of a requisition submitted by at least 75 Local Parties (including for this purpose, the Specified Associated Organisation or Organisations representing youth and/or students) following the decision of a quorate general meeting;

This option is currently being pursued …

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Posted in News | 131 Comments

UPDATED: Full list of Lib Dems standing in our held seats and top 50 targets

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th June 2014 - 5:00 pm

We’re less than 11 months away from the May 2015 election so here’s my latest running check on how candidate selection is going in our held and key target seats…

I published a first draft of this list at the start of October, and asked readers to help me update it. Many thanks to those of you who have helped me keep it updated, including the party’s Candidates Services Office. Here’s the latest version of the list of (re-)selections in our held seats and the top 50 targets for the party.

It’s a snapshot of how the party’s doing in getting people in place in the battleground seats that will determine the extent of Lib Dem influence in the next parliament:

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Posted in Selection news | Tagged general election 2015 | 26 Comments

Should the identity of sex crime suspects be kept secret before charges are laid? 73% of Lib Dem members say yes

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th June 2014 - 2:30 pm

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. Over 830 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 23 Comments

What’s being debated in our members’ forum this week?

By The Voice | Sat 14th June 2014 - 1:00 pm

LibDemVoice has two parallel sites. The first is our public blog, the thing you’re reading now. The second is our private members’ forum, which only current Lib Dem members can access.

If you’re a member and want to chat with fellow party members about any issue that’s on your mind, then why not sign up? In addition, you’ll be included in our regular surveys’ of party members’ views.

Here’s some of the most active discussions this past 7 days:

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Opinion: Nick Clegg’s fiscal target – splitting the difference

By Adam Corlett | Sat 14th June 2014 - 10:15 am

Stephen Tall writes that “in terms of policies, there wasn’t much that was new” in Nick Clegg’s Bloomberg speech. Giles Wilkes and others have suggested that, on the contrary, Nick’s fiscal targets are a welcome change from the excessive deficit reduction the Coalition has pencilled in for the next parliament.

These commentators think that Nick’s deficit target (below) is a continuation of Labour and current Coalition policy – to balance the budget excluding capital spending. My understanding, however, is that what Nick said …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged economy, giles wlkes, infrastructure spending, nick clegg and stephen tall | 17 Comments

Seven Lib Dems feature in Queen’s Birthday Honours List

By The Voice | Sat 14th June 2014 - 9:10 am

Our congratulations to seven Lib Dems who feature in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

And please forgive us for starting with Mary Reid, one of this site’s volunteer editors. Mary was a Lib Dem councillor from 1997-2010 in Kingston upon Thames, serving on its executive board and as Mayor. She is named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) “For political service, particularly in Kingston upon Thames (London)”.

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Posted in News | Tagged howard sykes, mary reid, paul tilsley and queens birthday honours | 8 Comments

Maajid Nawaz writes… We, as Lib Dems, must seek to liberalise

By Maajid Nawaz | Sat 14th June 2014 - 8:30 am

There’s no question that my party – the Liberal Democrats – took a battering in last month’s local and EU elections. Even my own prospective constituency, London’s Hampstead and Kilburn, was left shaken.

The Liberals Democrats are currently fair game across all sectors of society. But it is important for the public, and for party members, to know that it will not always be like this. Liberalism not only can, but must survive this.

It must survive because nobody wants a return to the pendulum years of Thatcher for three terms …

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Posted in Op-eds | 54 Comments

Cambridge Liberal Democrats back Nick Clegg and reject leadership ballot

By The Voice | Fri 13th June 2014 - 10:50 pm

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have tonight rejected a resolution calling for a leadership ballot by 45 votes for 32. The Liberal Democrat Constitution makes provision for a leadership contest if 75 local parties vote for one at quorate general meetings.

The Cambridge News has the story:

Cambridge Liberal Democrats have decided to back Nick Clegg’s leadership.

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Posted in News | Tagged cambridge liberal democrats, leadership, nick clegg and special general meetings | 130 Comments

Opinion: Ontario Liberals show real Grit, win a fourth term and make history with the first elected LGBT Head of Government in the Commonwealth!

By Mathew Hulbert | Fri 13th June 2014 - 2:45 pm

Congratulations to our cousins in the Ontario Liberal Party in Canada who, overnight, have won a remarkable fourth term of provincial government and, at the same time, have made history with leader Kathleen Wynne becoming the first elected LGBT Head of Government in the Commonwealth!

Going into the election, the Liberals had been in a period of minority government and Wynne had taken over-a year ago from the by-then unpopular Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The party has been in Government in Ontario since 2003 and some pundits had predicted that the opposition Progressive Conservatives (I know, what an oxymoron, right?) would return to Government for the first time in over a decade…but Wynne and her team had other ideas!

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged canada, international, kathleen wynne and LGBT | 21 Comments

Clegg’s “Parental Guarantee”: calls for all schools to employ qualified teachers and teach ‘core curriculum’

By Stephen Tall | Fri 13th June 2014 - 2:10 pm

“We are and always will be the party of education and I’ll be saying more about that in the near future,” promised Nick Clegg in his Bloomburg speech on Monday. Today we saw the start, with the Lib Dem leader setting out the party’s Parental Guarantee that “every parent can be confident that their child will be taught a core curriculum by a properly qualified teacher”.

This isn’t actually a new policy. The ‘parental guarantee’ was first announced last October. And the policy it’s based on was …

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Posted in News | Tagged education, nick clegg, parental guarantee, russell hobby, schools and teachers | 29 Comments

A bad week in the independence referendum starts to get better

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 13th June 2014 - 1:15 pm

Alistair Carmichael, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, has launched a booklet, which will be delivered to every home in Scotland, outlining the case for Scotland to remain in the UK. The key facts from the weighty Scotland Analysis series of papers have been distilled into an easy to read booklet with lots of pretty pictures.

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Posted in News | 10 Comments

Opinion: Thoughts about Europe

By Steve Coltman | Fri 13th June 2014 - 11:42 am

All political parties have their blind spots. When policies are not particularly close to their hearts, parties can afford to be critical – examining, debating and ‘stress-testing’ those policies before approving them. But some policies are too close to the heart; they are ‘Articles of Faith’, not to be questioned or examined too closely. Articles of Faith sometimes do not get exposed to critical examination, and when contrary evidence is unearthed, it can be pushed aside. It is not surprising that when ‘Articles of Faith’ are put under the spotlight, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged european union | 38 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Feathestone: We must stop violence before it starts

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 13th June 2014 - 10:10 am

In a blog post on the Department for International Development website, as the London summit on ending sexual violence takes place, Lynne Featherstone has been writing about what the UK Government is doing to end violence against women and girls.

She talks about the scale of the problem and the importance of identifying why it happens:

Globally nearly 1 in 10 women has experienced sexual violence by someone

…

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Posted in News | Tagged dfid, lynne featherstone and violence against women and girls | 3 Comments

@ALDEParty Council preview – “How was it for you?”

By Mark Valladares | Fri 13th June 2014 - 8:32 am

It seems like mere weeks since the last Council meeting of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE), when optimism was in the air – admittedly helped by the presence of our Austrian hosts on that occasion, who were running an unashamedly pro-European campaign. Sadly, just six weeks later, delegates from across Europe gather in Brussels under rather less cheery circumstances.

The decimation of the British, German and Italian member parties in the European Parliament, plus the defection of the Romanians to the European People’s Party following merger with …

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged ALDE and europe | 24 Comments

Nick and The Sun – a missed opportunity

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 12th June 2014 - 11:25 pm

I know I am coming late to this, having been out and about for most of the day. It’s only a few minutes since I logged on to Facebook and saw a picture of the leader of my party holding up The Sun. It was not a good idea for him to do this, especially given the renewed pain that relatives of those who died at Hillsborough are going through with the new inquests taking place at the moment. Nick’s picture can only be seen as a support for their unprecedented marketing initiative in delivering a free copy to every home in England at the start of the World Cup.

Now I don’t think for a moment that Nick Clegg has anything to prove when it comes to standing up to Rupert Murdoch. Let’s be clear about that. He instinctively did the right thing on press regulation. He has pandered to nobody unlike some others I could mention. Nothing can take away from that.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged england, nick clegg, the sun and world cup | 160 Comments

“The Lib Dems are setting out plans as if they may have to deliver them”. Giles Wilkes on Clegg’s economic plans

By Stephen Tall | Thu 12th June 2014 - 5:05 pm

Giles Wilkes was, until recently, special advisor to Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable. He was the SpAd who famously slapped down News International’s advances when they were looking to lobby in favour of their proposed takeover of BSkyB. Before that, he was the chief economist at liberal think-tank CenteForum, where he was author of the award-winning pamphlet, ‘A balancing act: fair solutions to a modern debt crisis’, about which he wrote on LDV.

His Free-thinking Economist blog is a must-read, especially today as Giles covers …

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Posted in LibLink and News | Tagged giles wilkes and nick clegg | 31 Comments