Part 2 of my quick guide to Conference features the training programme that’s on offer on Saturday. You can read Part 1 on the debates here.
The biggest problem with Conference is that there simply isn’t enough time to do everything you want. There aren’t enough hours in the day, even if you dispense with sleeping to catch up with friends and go to all the debates and fine meetings and training sessions you want. That’s not just because many of the things you want to go …
Edward McMillan Scott, Vice President of the European Parliament with responsibility for human rights and democracy has been writing about how David Cameron’s European policy has enabled Russia’s President Putin to develop his strategy for a Eurasian Union based on illiberal and anti-democratic values.
He opens by outlining the problems faced by Angela Merkel with the rise of the eurosceptic right wing AFD:
Events in Ukraine may still overshadow Thursday’s trip to London by Angela Merkel, during which David Cameron will seek her support for EU reform. She will not be pleased that Cameron has allowed his Eurosceptics to continue talks with
…
In just 9 days’ time, Liberal Democrats will gather in York for Spring Conference.
If you haven’t been to Conference before, Spring Conference is smaller and shorter than the main event in Autumn, but it’s no less intense and interesting.
I thought I’d take a wee look around what will be happening next weekend in terms of debates, fringe and training.
But let’s get one thing out of the way first. When the agenda first came out, I had a bit of a wail on Twitter. If there is one thing I don’t want to see in my Conference agenda, it’s a great big enormous picture of Nigel Farage. Please never do this to us again, Conference Team. Thanks.
Unusually for a conference two months before an election, there are some interesting and possibly controversial debates on the agenda.
The debates kick off on Saturday morning with a motion on the large companies which dominate the pub market in this country. Even if you don’t like beer, it’s worth going to see if proposer Greg Mulholland dresses as the Casked Crusader. Andy Boddington wrote here last year about the effect of Pubcos’ behaviour on local communities and tenants. This is a good old liberal attack on the abuse of power and something that’s relevant in every area.
Julian Huppert MP has written over at the Party’s shiny new website about moves he has made to ensure that child detention has gone for good. One of the very first things the Coalition did, at the instigation of the Liberal Democrats, was to change policy so that children were not detained in horrible places like Yarl’s Wood and Dungavel for immigration purposes. That has now been put on a statutory footing, again thanks to the Liberal Democrats:
Working closely with Norman Baker in the Home Office I was able to secure a commitment from the Home Secretary that the
…
In his regular Conservative Home column, Liberal Democrat Voice co-editor Stephen Tall looked at the rationale behind two things that Nick Clegg had done last week, the debate challenge to Farage and his comments on Steve Richards’ programme which were interpreted as showing willing for a coalition with Labour.
So what does Stephen think it’s all about. Firstly, about getting the best deal in 2015 if there’s another hung Parliament:
In part, he’s preparing the ground for what may be. In part, he’s reaching out to those 2010 Lib Dem voters who’ve peeled off to Labour. And in part, he’s laying down
…
When I went to speak in the St Andrew’s University debate last week, I did a bit of what I described as getting the tin opener and the worm can perilously close to each other, but pointed out that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds were twice as likely to go to university as they were 10 years ago. I also pointed out that those graduates on the lowest incomes would be paying much less than they were under Labour.
I was greatly assisted in preparing my remarks by Stephen Tall’s piece in January on the latest data in which …
Pink News reports Nick Clegg’s tweet about Uganda’s anti-gay law which was signed off yesterday by President Museveni.
The Ugandan anti-gay law is an abhorrent backwards step for human rights. It should never be a crime to be LGBT.
— Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) February 24, 2014
The report includes more detail, but in summary:
The new law punishes first-time offenders with 14 years in jail, and allows life imprisonment as the penalty for acts of “aggravated homosexuality”.
It also makes it a crime not to report gay people to the authorities. Lesbians are covered by the bill for the first time.
Is there a motion on the LibDem Conference Agenda you are just dying to amend? Something that’s too Orange Book, too Soggy Democrat or just plain too Lembit for you to support?
I’d like to know about it!
On Sunday 2nd March, two days before the deadline for amendments, Calderdale Liberal Democrats Policy Working Group will meet – with our voting reps and ordinary members in attendance to debate the motions and any proposed amendments.
The first thing you notice on the new party website is the new logo. There is a history in the Liberal Democrats of changing the logo to reflect a change in the Leader and as this new logo appears to be being rolled out over several months one wonders if this is a pre-emptive strike by the grey suits in Lib Dem HQ? As a part of that change we appear to have again opted for an expensive bespoke typeface that will be beyond the budget of most local parties and will create the impression of disconnect between the team on the ground and the team at LDHQ. There is nothing wrong with Calibri or Cambria, guys.
The purpose of this network is to put Lib Dems of Central and Eastern European origin, as well as those with an interest in the region and the issues effecting our new European friends, neighbours and citizens, in touch with each other. It should promote more effective campaigning, the sharing of advice on how to better represent residents of such a background, and spread awareness of the specific issues that affect these communities.
Tory MP Ben Gummer is today introducing a 10-minute rule bill “to make provision for National Insurance to be known as Earnings Tax”. It’s a very simple renaming proposal. But branding is important, not least in politics. The Chancellor is “said to be attracted to the idea”, so if Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg were to support it, the change could make it into the Budget.
It’s well known that National Insurance is an extra income tax in all but name. As far back as 1994, Lib Dem policy was “to abolish national insurance contributions and create an integrated tax …
Today’s Telegraph splashes on the claim that David Cameron is preparing to rule out the possibility of a second Coalition with the Lib Dems if the Tories are the largest single party but lack a majority:
The Prime Minister wants to make a commitment in the Conservative Party election manifesto not to sign a second power-sharing deal with a smaller party in the event of a hung parliament next May, it is understood. Instead, a Conservative party that won the most seats but lacked a Commons majority would attempt to rule as a minority government, a course that would almost
…
There is a central moral conundrum at the heart of the payday loan phenomenon.
It is that payday loan companies are designed to help people through what are intended to be unusual and temporary periods of financial difficulty. Long-term and repeated use of payday loans is seriously expensive.
Yet – and here’s the rub – the business plans of most payday loan companies envisage growth. Their business purpose, and the purpose of their investors, is to maximise their profits – and this is bound to be at the expense of some of the poorest families and the most vulnerable places.
My report for …
I’m feeling a bit disgruntled today. My two governments are in the news. The Scottish and UK Cabinets have set up rival camps, glowering at each other with the City of Aberdeen providing an unwitting No Man’s Land.
How very different it could have been.
Given that these governments share responsibility in really important areas like employment, climate change, transport and energy, I think it would have been so constructive if they’d been able to organise a joint session to discuss these issues. Youth unemployment, for example, is a significant issue north of the border and it’s something that both governments are …
In common with many Lib Dem activists I have ambivalent feeling about Nick Clegg. I don’t feel that there is a strong case to either say that that no good had come from the coalition or from his leadership, or alternatively that it’s all been peachy. In my view it’s actually a case of what you think the balance has been between successes and disappointments, a debate where I sit roughly in the middle.
However Nick’s latest move – challenging Nigel Farage to a public debate on Europe – has my unbridled admiration, both morally and politically. Morally not only because …
Four weeks on Saturday, the first same sex marriages will take place in England. Scotland will have to wait a bit longer, till the Autumn.
You’ll remember the emotions of the parliamentary debates on this. In order to say thank you to all the parliamentarians who contributed, as well as to all the people who campaigned for equal marriage, Stonewall have released this video which shows highlights of some of the best parliamentary speeches made by lesbian, gay and bisexual parliamentarians. Our own Liz Barker, Stephen Gilbert and Stephen Williams are featured. It made us smile and is just the thing to brighten up a February Monday. Enjoy.
Baroness Floella Benjamin has written for the Voice website about what the government is doing to help young black people find jobs.
More than 30 million people are now in work and since the 2010 General Election, the number of people claiming the main out-of-work benefits has fallen by 566,000. This is great news and my party, the Liberal Democrats, have worked hard in government to achieve success stories like these, listening to people’s concerns and ensuring the right support is being put in place.
But disappointingly there’s no denying that unemployment is still disproportionately high amongst young black people, especially men
…
Alongside pizza flyers and estate agent adverts, you may have received a leaflet on Care.data.
This April, GP surgeries were going to upload data from GP records onto a national HSCIC database – unless you opted-out. The leaflet had no opt-out form or Freepost return address.
If you don’t opt-out, medical data, including prescriptions and your conditions, will leave the surgery and go to HSCIC. HSCIC then centrally pseudo-anonymise it – removing your name. Your birthdate and postcode stays.
HSCIC’s own risk assessment warns patients could be identified if the pseudo-anonymised data was joined up with other easily-available data. And centrally …
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 366th 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 (16-22 February, 2014), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, 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:
Danny Alexander has taken to the pages of this week’s Mail on Sunday to write about the Scottish independence referendum.
He tackled the hostile reaction from some nationalists to David Bowie’s entreaty at the Brits. “Scotland, stay with us.” said the rock legend.
David Bowie’s call sparked strong reactions on both sides of an ever more passionate debate. He was attacked for being a ‘celebrity’, being English and not living in the UK.
And why shouldn’t a ‘celebrity’ have a view and express it? Why shouldn’t an Englishwoman have a view on an issue that will change the country she lives in, too?Come
…
Today’s Mail on Sunday has a story which reaches all sorts of wild conclusions from a few raw facts. Of course you could argue that that’s the rule for virtually all stories in that publication. And you’d be right.
The headline screams: Cable holds “secret ski summit” in French Alps with peer plotting to oust Nick Clegg.
It doesn’t take you very long to realise that this wasn’t some great plotting session, but, in fact, a holiday during the Parliamentary recess.
The piece also contains the revelation that their hotel boasted a gym, jacuzzi and swimming pool. How very unusual that is …
The last month has seen the ‘Yes Scotland’ independence campaign take a battering.
First, Mark Carney raised doubts about Alex Salmond’s plans for a post-independence currency union between Scotland and the remainder of the UK.
This warning was echoed when, with more naked partisanship, George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Ed Balls teamed up to state they would each refuse to form such a currency union.
And then last Sunday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hammered in …
Andrew Rawnsley has made some interesting comments in today’s Observer on Nick Clegg’s debate challenge to Nigel Farage.
He makes the obligatory point that the party’s poor position in the polls and concern over the consequences of a bad result for Clegg’s leadership but makes the point that it only takes a relatively small shift to protect the position of Liberal Democrat MEPs.
Senior Lib Dems privately confide that their goal is quite modest: to lift their vote share by three to four points above their current poll ratings. When you are bumping along at low levels of support, just a
…
Many thanks to the 13,600 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…
Apres Nick: Which Lib Dem MPs are best placed to become the next leader? (53 comments) by Stephen Tall
Yes, food poverty is real, but the situation is complex and solutions are not straightforward (97 comments) by Nick Thornsby.
Clegg v Farage: Why Nick needs Nigel (33 comments) by Stephen Tall
Coalition with Labour on “if they don’t break the bank” (44 comments) by Joe Otten
Nobody else will speak up for liberalism so our manifesto has to be brimming …
Last night, Shirley Williams spoke at the East Dunbartonshire Liberal Democrats’ Annual Dinner. Someone has slipped us a copy of her speech. She joins David Bowie in calling for Scotland to stay within the UK but had a little more substance to her argument. She made the point that both Scotland and the rest of the UK lose out if we leave. She talked of the opportunities Scotland’s had and the contributions its politicians have made internationally. Here is her speech in full:
It is a privilege for me to be asked to speak at your annual Liberal Democrat dinner, a privilege not just to be here in Scotland when the huge question of your future is being discussed, but also because you have an outstanding young MP in Jo Swinson, widely recognised as a rising star and now a mother as well.
She holds her constituency, as you know, by a very narrow margin. She is already one of the most respected women in Parliament. And for me, after fifty years in politics – I was first elected in 1964 – it is marvellous to see the emergence of a new young generation of women MPs. In the devolved parliaments of Scotland and Wales, a much higher proportion of members are women than is the case in Westminster.
Today’s Herald reports that Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has offered what seems to me like a pretty substantial job in his constituency office as an unpaid internship.
The First Minister sought a student to work for free on constituency casework at his Inverurie office near Aberdeen.
But the voluntary post, advertised through Aberdeen University careers service, was condemned by political opponents and campaigners.
In an embarrassing move for Mr Salmond, the pressure group Intern Aware reported the advert to the taxman, requesting an inquiry into whether the role should pay the minimum wage.
The internship was advertised earlier this month and described as
…
Here’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. They include five of the seats on the party’s top 50 target list: Newport East, Totnes, Bristol North West, Bristol South, and Chelmsford.
The following seats have selections in progress and are currently advertising for candidates:
A few weeks ago, out of the blue, I had an email from the President of the St Andrew’s University Debating Society inviting me to take part in their annual Parliamentary Debate on the subject “This House has no faith in Her Majesty’s Government.”
I was heavily encouraged by my co-editor Stephen Tall (who had taken part last year) and others to accept, despite my reservations. It had been a long time since I’d been at a university debate and I’d never spoken in one, not even from the floor. They key thing for me is that I write, I don’t speak. My gob is not equipped with the advantage of a backspace key. Nor can I tell jokes or do all the theatrical stuff. I allowed myself to be talked into it, though. By the morning of the debate on Thursday, I was alternately hyperventilating and mewling into a pillow, wondering why on earth I’d put myself in this situation. I had no alternative, though, but to embrace the fear and get on with it.
My satnav took me on the scariest route possible to North East Fife. I had thought of defying her, but she gets incredibly passive aggressive if you do so. I joined members of the Debating Society’s Board of 10 for a pre-debate meal. Unusually, I was the only speaker there. Chatting to them and finding out about the university and the society really helped settle my nerves. They were very lovely and hospitable.
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 10 days:
Secretary of State for Scotland Alistair Carmichael was on last night’s Any Questions from Tiverton in Devon, just about as far away as you can get from his Orkney home.
He told the Tory Nadim Zahawi off for raising the idea of capping child benefit at the second child, dismissing it as “not one of your better ideas.”
It was inevitable that there would be a question on food banks and I think that he tackled it quite well and thoughtfully. He said that the key to tackling poverty was to get more people into work and to let those on the lowest wages keep more of what they earn. He added that people who used food banks may not be on benefits but might be suffering from chaotic events in their lives. He added as well that our incomes weren’t as resilient as once they might have been. Because we have such a high level of personal debt, which has to be serviced, we aren’t able to save so we have something to fall back on.
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Observations of an ex pat: Kompromat (Tom Arms)
A different story of hope for Liberalism in the 21st Century (Steve Mason)
Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything (Victoria Collins MP)
The Independent View: To get Britain growing again, we must cut the cost of doing business (Shevaun Haviland CBE)
Can Britain build a sovereign military AI? (Christian de Vartavan)
Shock as 16 tonnes of soil mistakenly dropped in Shrewsbury
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Fifty Shades of Earl Grey
Torchwood, Dr Who and centuries of history at the edge of Gower
The Joy of Six 1578
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion polls
A Week in Politics #6
Fifty years
Is "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet" good advice or not?
Why Liberals must take power away from the media billionaires
Ruth Bright 
David Barnsdale 
Steve Trevethan 
Graham Jeffs 
John Bicknell 