Issan Ghazni

Opinion: Knock on doors in diverse communities with confidence

By Issan Ghazni | Thu 13th March 2014 - 10:46 am

Campaigning on the doorstep - Lynne FeatherstoneLater this month Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats will be holding the first of several action days in Brent Central to help the excellent Ibrahim Taguri get elected.

We will also be doing everything we can to encourage party members to get out and secure a victory for Ibrahim in 2015.

On paper this may look like an uphill task – defending a wafer-thin majority against Labour in a highly multicultural seat. But it really isn’t, and here’s why…

Let’s tear up any assumptions that Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are wedded to Labour.

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The Voice

Liberal Democrat Spring Conference Photo Gallery: Part 2

By The Voice | Thu 13th March 2014 - 10:25 am

Here are some photos from York taken by the LDV team:

 The Yorkshire Contingent on stage at the Glee Club. And is that Jennie Rigg in a DRESS?

Yorkshire Glee Club

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NewsHound

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women

By NewsHound | Thu 13th March 2014 - 9:07 am

New york police Some rights reserved by Amiga-Commodore Development Minister Lynne Featherstone spent two days in New York earlier this week at the United Nation’s annual Commission on the Status of Women. She posted a series of blogs from the Big Apple. Here are some highlights.

Day One:

I’ll be attending a whole load of events as well as talking to my counterparts from around the world to ensure the CSW negotiations lead to a

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Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg at PMQs, with added Elvis

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 12th March 2014 - 9:55 pm

Clegg_PMQsNick was standing in for David Cameron, who was visiting Israel, at Prime Minister’s Questions today. The half hour was, of course, punctuated with the usual pantomime and point-scoring, but it seemed a lot more relaxed and good humoured than it usually is. Cameron acts sometimes like the event is beneath him. Nick just took all the jibes, responded with a fair bit of patience and humour and even seemed amused by some of them. The Labour spin doctors must have been up all night thinking of Elvis puns after we were beaten by the Bus Pass Elvis party in a council by-election in Clifton in Nottingham last week. The best they could manage was “You ain’t nothing but a lap dog.” You could see Nick trying not to laugh but he didn’t quite manage it as he responded:

At least we are not the lapdog of the bankers, which is what Labour was in office. At least we did not crash the British economy. At least we did not cost every household £3,000. At least we did not preside over an increase in relative poverty. At least we did not preside over an increase in youth unemployment. We are creating the stronger economy and fairer society that the Labour party failed to create.

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NewsHound

Cable and Davey proud to employ foreign staff

By NewsHound | Wed 12th March 2014 - 7:59 pm

Au pairs - Some rights reserved by LisaBPhotoWhile we’ve had the Tories tying themselves up in knots so as not to have to admit to anyone employing foreign staff in their homes, Ed Davey and Vince Cable have an entirely different attitude. Ed’s au pair is from Hungary and Vince Cable’s cleaner is from Poland, as the Telegraph reports:

The willingness of Mr Davey and Mr Cable to disclose details of their help at home contrasts with the vast majority of Conservative ministers, who have declined to say if they employed a foreign cleaner or nanny.

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Paul Burstow

Paul Burstow MP writes…Government makes concessions on Care Bill

By Paul Burstow | Wed 12th March 2014 - 6:16 pm

nhs sign lrgOver the last week I have been working with 38 degrees who ran a strong campaign raising concerns about a key clause in the Care Bill that made changes to the way in which a hospital in serious financial or clinical trouble would be handled in the NHS.

Trust special administration (TSA) as it is known, was introduced by Labour in 2009.  It is a blunt process that should only ever be used in exceptional circumstances of financial or clinical failure.

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Paul Reynolds

Opinion: York conference debates tough UK approach to Ukraine crisis

By Paul Reynolds | Wed 12th March 2014 - 3:45 pm

shekhovtsov_ends_468wAt our spring conference in York, there was an emergency ‘Topical Debate’ on the Ukraine crisis.

The debate reflected United Kingdom attitudes to the Ukraine crisis, but there were some far-reaching implications for some of the views expressed. Importantly, the UK was a signatory to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, whereby Ukraine gave up its massive nuclear weapons stockpile in return for full guarantees of its territorial integrity – an agreement now clearly breached by one of its other signatories, the Russian Federation.

Today, the UK has military surveillance aircraft flying along the Polish and Romanian borders with Ukraine, monitoring Russian military activity, and military assets also monitoring Southern Ukraine including Crimea, and its Russian borders. If diplomacy fails, the UK would almost certainly be involved in any military measures that follow.

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Ed Fordham

Opinion: Church of England, call off your modern day inquisition

By Ed Fordham | Wed 12th March 2014 - 1:26 pm

Archbishop Justin Welby Some rights reserved by Messiah Lutheran (Mechanicsville, VA)For those of you in York, and indeed last September at Glasgow, one of the loudest cheers in the closing day of the Leaders Speech always comes when the pre-film, or Nick as leader mentions the Same Sex Marriage Act.

Indeed Lynne Featherstone will go down in Liberal Democrat history, indeed in wider history, as the MP who made such a massive impact and a positive one upon society.

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Caron Lindsay

LDVideo: Warwick Lib Dems: We’re Back!

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 12th March 2014 - 12:55 pm

An original, fresh campaigning effort from the University of Warwick Liberal Democrats. We need to let these talented people loose on some more of our campaigns.

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Alan Reid MP

Alan Reid MP writes… Time for the Chancellor to be fair on Scotch

By Alan Reid MP | Wed 12th March 2014 - 11:48 am

WhiskyAs the local MP for Islay, I see frequently just how important whisky is to the island. Eight distilleries (and another planned), and the world famous brands they produce, help to drive the local economy and attract tourists from around the world to a remote corner of the Scottish west coast.

What is less easy to understand is why the UK continues to penalise the industry in its home market. Today, nearly 80% of an average priced bottle of Scotch Whisky – four pounds in every five you spend on a bottle – is accounted for by tax, making whisky one of the UK’s highest taxed consumer products.

Excise duty on whisky has increased by 44% since the introduction of an annual 2% above inflation duty escalator in 2008. The result has been predictable and damaging. The UK market for Scotch is now 12% lower than it was when the escalator was introduced, a loss of 6,500 bottles from the market every day.

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The Voice

LDVideo: Chris Davies MEP “UKIP are not there when it matters”

By The Voice | Wed 12th March 2014 - 11:25 am

Chris Davies has been speaking in the European Parliament about the voting record of his UKIP colleagues and how they just don’t turn up for important votes. He also mentioned how one turned up to a vote on e-cigarettes not long after UKIP received a donation from an e-cigarette manufacturer. That, he said, was the price of a UKIP vote.

He called their voting record dire and said that they were well known for taking their money but did precious little to defend the interests they hold dear.

And he did it all in his own inimitable style.

Enjoy.

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NewsHound

Rachel Smith talks to the Telegraph about the Coalition, being a politician’s wife, and how she’s a fan of Nick

By NewsHound | Wed 12th March 2014 - 10:46 am

In 2001, Rachel Smith, went along to a local meeting in the New Forest at which Vince Cable was speaking. She asked him a question and the rest is history. They were married in 2004. Last year about this time, she gave an interview to the Telegraph. This year, she’s done it again. She comes over as very warm, human and honest – just the same as she does when you meet her.

She had this to say about Vince’s supposed leadership ambitions:

She pre-empts questions about her husband’s alleged bid to oust the Lib Dem leader. “When people mutter about

…

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Stephen Tall

Miliband on in/out Europe referendum: I agree with Nick

By Stephen Tall | Wed 12th March 2014 - 9:45 am

Ed Miliband has decided, once and for all, what Labour’s position is be on an in/out EU referendum – the same as the Lib Dem policy.

Writing in today’s Financial Times, the Labour leader has said his party’s manifesto will commit to a referendum on whether the UK should be in or out of the EU only if there is a proposed transfer of more powers from London to Brussels.

This is subtly different from the Government’s ‘treaty lock’ agreed within the Coalition Agreement: that promised there should be a referendum on any future treaty that proposed a transfer …

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Alisdair Calder McGregor

Opinon: The Calder Valley needs a modern transport system to maximise economic potential

By Alisdair Calder McGregor | Wed 12th March 2014 - 8:22 am
The declaration that Hebden Bridge is the UKs ‘second city’ – lying at the heart of the suburbs of Bradford, Leeds & Manchester – has come as something of a shock to most people living there, including myself. However, underneath the hyperbole lies a serious point; that the Calder Valley lies in a sweet spot for ease of commute to the major employment centres.
But what the Calder Valley lacks – and what holds back prosperity and employment opportunities within it – is a modern, efficient transport system.
We are cursed on the Caldervale line which runs along the Calder Valley

…

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The Voice

“By the way this orange juice is corked” – Mac on Nick Clegg’s free school lunch plan

By The Voice | Wed 12th March 2014 - 7:24 am

We reported last night on the attacks on Nick Clegg’s plan for free school lunches for infants by the Daily Mail and by former Tory adviser Dominic Cummings – and the Lib Dem counter-attack. Here’s the lighter side of things, courtesy the newspaper’s cartoonist Mac:

daily mail free school lunches - mac

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The Voice

Lib Dems hit back against free school lunch attacks. Clegg on Mail: “utterly wrong”. Laws on Cummings: “utter balls”

By The Voice | Tue 11th March 2014 - 8:19 pm

daily mail free school lunchesToday’s Daily Mail front page was dominated by an attack on the Lib Dem plans to bring in free school lunches for all infants: “Free school meals fiasco,” it screamed.

Nick Clegg quickly refuted the Mail’s attack in a lengthy post on the party’s website – here’s an excerpt:

The Liberal Democrats are never going to be loved in the pages of the Daily Mail: our open, liberal and progressive brand of politics tends to be at odds with their editorial worldview (to put it mildly). However,

…

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Mary Reid

“I love how proud we are to be modest” and other things that Nick Clegg did not say

By Mary Reid | Tue 11th March 2014 - 5:21 pm

Craig Brown has written a parody of Nick Clegg’s speech to conference in the Daily Mail. Here is a short extract:

The same nation that came up with the Curly Wurly is now developing Oscar-winning visual effects; cutting-edge design; theatre, fashion, music, film, deputy leadership — you name it, we do it, and we’re up there with the best.

I love our weather forecast, and the way it tells you what the weather might be like tomorrow.

I love the sea, and the way it can be rough one day and calm the next.

I love the sun for the way it

…

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NewsHound

Ed Davey makes QR codes compulsory on energy bills

By NewsHound | Tue 11th March 2014 - 4:39 pm

ed-davey-post-officeAccording to the BBC: Energy bills to come with compulsory QR barcodes. This is one of Ed Davey’s initiatives as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. He explains:

The government hopes its plans will encourage the development of smartphone apps that let consumers swipe their phone over an energy bill to read data such as tariff and consumption.

The data could then be automatically uploaded to price comparison sites, to let consumers look at deals from other energy suppliers.

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Stephen Williams

Stephen Williams writes: Social housing stock rises back above 4 million

By Stephen Williams | Tue 11th March 2014 - 3:11 pm

Houses being builtWhen the Liberal Democrats entered government in 2010, it was clear we had inherited a housing crisis. House prices and private sector rents were becoming more and more unaffordable. House building had slowed to its lowest level since the 1920s and social housing waiting lists had soared to 1.7 million households. Added to that, successive governments had also let the social housing stock wither on the vine, with 1.5 million homes lost by Labour and Conservative governments alike since 1979.

I know that if we are to solve the housing crisis, we need to reverse the decline in social homes and build more. That is why I was delighted recently to see new statistics published by my department (DCLG) showing that the number of social homes has increased for the fifth year running, taking the overall stock back above the 4 million mark for the first time in a decade.

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The Voice

Bob Crow RIP – Clegg pays tribute

By The Voice | Tue 11th March 2014 - 2:15 pm

Tributes have been paid across the political divides today following the sudden death of Bob Crow. Here’s the BBC report:

General secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union Bob Crow has died. The 52-year-old is believed to have suffered a heart attack and died early on Tuesday morning. … Mr Crow was elected general secretary of the RMT in 2002 following the death of former leader Jimmy Knapp. The BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Crow “was, some argue, the most successful union leader in terms of securing jobs and pay for his members”. … In an interview

…

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NewsHound

Reports of domestic violence rise, but convictions drop

By NewsHound | Tue 11th March 2014 - 1:36 pm

Norman BakerThe Guardian reveals that the proportion of domestic violence cases that are being referred by the police to prosecutors has dropped from 12.1% in 2009/2010 to 10.5% in 2012/2013, even though the number of cases reported to the police had risen.

According to the House of Commons Library, more than 838,000 reports of domestic violence were made to police forces across England and Wales in 2012/2013, but only 6.3% resulted in a conviction, compared to 7.1% in 2009/2010.

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Michael Moore

Michael Moore MP writes…Standard Life, the most significant intervention in the Independence Referendum so far?

By Michael Moore | Tue 11th March 2014 - 11:55 am

sl_logoOne of the most significant statements so far in the referendum debate has been from Standard Life. With over 4 million customers across the UK and thousands of employees in Scotland, their intervention matters to all of us.

Standard Life has been headquartered in Scotland for 189 years, so, it is clearly very important when they announce that they are putting in place contingency plans to relocate funds, people and operations to England if we vote for independence with many issues unresolved.

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The Voice

Jenny Willott on free childcare from 12 months

By The Voice | Tue 11th March 2014 - 9:59 am

jenny willottJenny Willott is the Minister for Women, covering for Jo Swinson while she is on maternity leave. In an interview with the Independent on Sunday she said that extending childcare to babies would be expensive but “it may well be that it’s the right thing to do”.

The article points out that there is a “maternity gap” between the end of maternity leave and the point when free childcare kicks in for three year olds. In response Jenny said:

It may well be that that’s something the Government needs to look at. The issue is that it is extremely expensive. It may well be that it’s the right thing to do. But it’s as with every big public spending commitment, it’s a toss-up between if you’ve got the money is that the best thing to put it into or is something else the best thing to put it into.

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John Grout

Opinion: We need Digital Liberalism

By John Grout | Tue 11th March 2014 - 8:45 am

libdems.org.ukI think we Liberal Democrats are missing a trick.

There was recently a revamp of the party website – clearly designed for a digital age, and to be used by touchscreens. I discussed it with a friend, who observed that, for all the party’s talk of openness, transparency and frankness with the public, there are still areas of the site which are off-limits, behind a membership wall. I said that it stands to reason that parties keep their forums, campaigning, electoral and training materials private – nothing sinister, just sense-making common practice. And then it hit us: why not say so, in so many words – on the party website, what it is that we’re hiding? A small addition – a cheap way to reframe the debate and make ourselves clear; the only voices raised on a subject that other parties are content to ignore.

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The Voice

Conference Photo Gallery Part 1 – What the LDV team did

By The Voice | Mon 10th March 2014 - 5:50 pm

The LDV team had a busy and fun Conference in York. Here are a few of the things we got up to:

Co-editors, hard at work

Caron Stephen York broom cupboard

 

Thanks to Paul Walter for taking this.

Caron meets Liberal Youth

Screen Shot 2014-03-10 at 09.00.57With Claire Boad, Maelo Manning and Alex White.

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Paul Burstow

Paul Burstow MP writes…My two suggestions to improve the Care Bill

By Paul Burstow | Mon 10th March 2014 - 3:50 pm

Knowing that you will receive the best care available is of critical importance to everyone who finds themselves needing support from social care services. This is why when I was Care Minister, I was passionate about making that a reality – and I still am. As Minister I published the Care Bill, overhauling decades of complex, arcane and out of date legislation to set out a social care system fit for the twenty first century.

The Care Bill, which I subsequently scrutinised as Chair of the Joint Committee on the Bill, is a piece of legislation I – and Liberal Democrats …

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Kelly-Marie Blundell

Opinion: My resignation from Federal Conference Committee

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Mon 10th March 2014 - 2:45 pm

Dear Lib Dem Members,

I would like to write to you all and express my regret that Spring Conference this weekend in York has been my last Spring Conference as a member of the Federal Conference Committee.

It was a great honour to be  elected to represent the party back in September 2012. And in that time I have had the privilege to see through several conferences in an historic time, when the Liberal Democrats are part of the Government.

In that time, I’ve learned how to plan a debate, as well as the finer detail of and responses to standing orders that …

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Paul Walter

Opinion: Making friends with Nick Clegg again…

By Paul Walter | Mon 10th March 2014 - 1:15 pm
In 2012 I got the hump with Nick Clegg after a series of, what I thought were, misjudgements by him. I am pleased to say that I have been humpless with Nick for quite a while now. I feel that he is a confident, passionate and (now) sure-footed party leader and DPM.This feeling was cemented by his Sunday speech and Saturday Q&A.With half a dozen other bloggers I interviewed Nick at Portcullis House during the 2007 leadership contest. Despite being a Huhne supporter, I found myself carried away on a helter-skelter ride as Nick went on flights of passion about

…

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Adam Killeya

Opinion: A poor careers move

By Adam Killeya | Mon 10th March 2014 - 11:45 am

Nick Clegg and Vince Cable at a factory 2 - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsMy name’s Adam and I’m a careers teacher. This presents something of a challenge because it turns out that as a teacher I know nothing about careers.

I must say before continuing that I am a fan of Vince. On the credit crunch, on banking regulation and on bonuses I not only agree with what he says, but also with how he says it. This is part of why I was so surprised, and not a little bit irked, that he said of teachers “They know how universities work, they know what you have to do to get an A-level, they know about UCAS forms – but they know absolutely nothing about the world of work. They don’t know how to direct people to apprenticeships or traineeships which we’re now doing as a first stage for people”.

I am fully aware of the way that the media often quote people out of context so I have taken great care to read what he actually, and there is no way around it: he was clearly referring to the fact that most teachers are graduates and that is what he said.

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John Pugh

John Pugh MP writes… Grim up north

By John Pugh | Mon 10th March 2014 - 10:45 am

You may have read the Observer article entitled “Northern Lib Dem MPs rebel over cuts.”

It’s a source of wry amusement to behold how the national media treat our internal democratic procedures. Not since primary school have I been referred to as “ringleader”, let alone of a bunch of “rebels” – Northern council leaders, peers and MPs who endorse the pre-budget submission “Grim up North?”.

The title is meant to be a little ironic because there are many promising signs up North and a lot of support for the Coalition’s objectives of re-balancing the economy.

However, your typical Northerner is classically known …

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