NewsHound

LibLink: Danny Alexander – “Every day the Coalition continues is a day Britain’s economy gets stronger”

By NewsHound | Wed 1st January 2014 - 2:00 pm

Over in the Telegraph, Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander has welcomed the start of 2014 by highlighting the ways the Coalition is helping individuals and businesses to help get the economy growing fir everyone. Here’s an exerpt:

There is a lot more work to be done, but the recovery wouldn’t be happening without the Liberal Democrats. Every day the Coalition continues its work is a day that Britain’s economy gets stronger.

For the first time there are more than 30 million people in work and unemployment is at its lowest level since April 2009. It is those hard-working

…

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Charles Kennedy

New Year reflections from Charles Kennedy: 2014 is not for the politically timid

By Charles Kennedy | Wed 1st January 2014 - 12:00 pm

Locally and nationally 2014 is going to be a decisive one – not just for us Liberal Democrats but for Scotland, the UK and the European Union as a whole.

It is going to be the most overwhelmingly political calendar year in the experience of most political participants. I believe that we are about to live through a period quite without precedent since 1974 – the year which saw two general elections. And its impact will be even more far reaching.

Both the European elections and the Scottish independence referendum offer us Liberal Democrats two pivotal platforms upon which to convey what, …

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Mathew Hulbert

My Lib Dem stars of 2013 (3)

By Mathew Hulbert | Wed 1st January 2014 - 10:51 am

I’m sure many people will list MPs as their ‘Lib Dem Stars of the Year’ but I’d like to pay tribute to some other people without whom our movement would be much poorer.

Starting with my colleagues in Hinckley and Bosworth-the largest Lib Dem-run authority in the Midlands-led so ably by Councillor Stuart Bray, and to our excellent PPC, Cllr Michael Mullaney who gave two terrific speeches at Conference in Glasgow, one against the Bedroom Tax and the other on the importance of jobs. That’s my kind of prospective MP.

Next, to everyone in the Social Liberal Forum, especially our Co-Chairs, the …

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Paul Stocker

Opinion: Tories’ anti immigration rhetoric represents opportunity for Liberal Democrats

By Paul Stocker | Wed 1st January 2014 - 9:36 am

As the day when Britain opens its doors to indefatigable hoards of Eastern European immigrants arrives, yet more desperation can be witnessed from grassroots Tory activists running scared of UKIP. 90 local Conservative activists have pleaded with David Cameron to extend controls on immigrants arriving from Bulgaria or Romania until 2018. Quite laughably, the group claim that this would be fully within EU law. This comes on the same day in which the Government announced further restrictions on migrants’ access to the NHS – an initiative designed to combat ‘health tourism’ and accordingly, completely at odds with any …

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Caron Lindsay

A Guid New Year tae ane and a’

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 1st January 2014 - 12:00 am

Yes, that’s right. They’ve let the Scot at LDV Towers take over the site this New Year’s Day.

If you are in need of translation services, the headline basically says Happy New Year to you all.  We hope that you end 2014 with health, happiness, prosperity and  a sense of achievement for you and yours.

 

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NewsHound

LibLink: Richard Reeves: The Clegg Factor

By NewsHound | Tue 31st December 2013 - 4:51 pm

Remember Richard Reeves, Nick Clegg’s former head of strategy? He left about 18 months ago but has written a couple of pieces in recent days, one for the Guardian and another for the Centre Forum blog. In his Guardian piece, he suggests that it’s after 2020 that the Liberal Democrats will really reap the rewards of our performance in Government. His theory is that we’ll do well enough to stay in government in 2015 and by 2020 we will have killed “the presumption of  one-party government.”

At Centre Forum’s blog, he concentrates on Nick Clegg and his achievements and opportunities:

 Clegg’s

…

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Giles Goodall

Opinion: Putting the facts into Britain’s fraudulent EU migration debate

By Giles Goodall | Tue 31st December 2013 - 3:28 pm

New Year’s Day 2014 has become an almost totemic date in the British political and media calendar over recent months. Well, that is when the whole of Bulgaria and Romania are due to turn up uninvited on Britain’s doorstep. Isn’t it?

Rarely has a single event been so buried in misconceptions, misunderstandings, and downright misinformation. It all started with the Eastleigh by-election, where UKIP claimed that ‘next year, the EU will allow 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians (i.e. the entire population of the two countries) to come to the UK’.

They were effectively testing their electoral masterplan: tying a dull but …

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David Hennigan

Opinion: My Lib Dem Star of 2013 (2)

By David Hennigan | Tue 31st December 2013 - 2:20 pm
The debate about our Lib Dem hero of 2013 has thrown up a number of names.  The campaign to pardon Alan Turing, led by William Jones, John Leech and John Sharkey would, in normal circumstances get my vote – but this was the year that saw the passing of Stan Hardy.
Stan, was an exceptional man – someone who truly encompassed everything a Liberal should.  ‘A worker… a winner’ is a bit of a Lib Dem cliche, but Stan was exactly that.  His support for the likes of Simon Hughes MP and Baroness Susan Kramer was immense.
Stan, was an unsung hero,

…

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Mark Pack

Opinion: My Liberal Democrat star of 2013

By Mark Pack | Tue 31st December 2013 - 1:40 pm

Ahead of both the 2005 and 2015 general elections there was a key Liberal Democrat Parliamentary by-election win which massively altered the political atmosphere ahead of that general election – motivating activists, persuading media commentators and influencing the public. One was Brent East in 2003, the other Eastleigh in 2013.

The impact of both is all the clearer if you consider what the impact of missing out on the gain in 2003 or slumping to defeat in 2013 would have meant.

Ten years apart, the first showed how the party could gain urban seats off Labour, with some huge Labour majorities actually …

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Caron Lindsay

Andrew Lennox Marshall Hames: The first picture

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 31st December 2013 - 1:10 pm

Well, not the first actual picture, of course, but the first that the likes of you and I are allowed to see.

And, the undeniable fact is that the firstborn son of Jo Swinson and Duncan Hames is incredibly, snuggliciously cute.

Andrew Hames

 

In addition to the gorgeousness of the baby, I love the obvious besottedness of his parents, And the Lib Dem yellow pram.

Congratulations to Jo and Duncan.

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Nick Clegg MP

Nick Clegg’s New Year Message

By Nick Clegg MP | Tue 31st December 2013 - 12:00 pm

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The Voice

What could you do with £32?

By The Voice | Tue 31st December 2013 - 11:30 am

In these straitened times, we are sure that you have better things to do with £32 than pay it needlessly to the party’s Conference registration Department. You could of course still give it to the party, but that’s by the by.

It could also pay for a meal out, or a trip to the sales, or 3 or 4 books, 4 one day travelcards in London and a coffee when you get there. Or a round of drinks in the Conference bar…

Today is the last day when members can register for Liberal Democrat Spring Conference at the lower rate. Don’t miss …

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Stephen Tall

Snowden leaks: 72% of Lib Dems say he was in the right – and 69% think state surveillance powers should be cut back

By Stephen Tall | Tue 31st December 2013 - 10:45 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 750 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

Edward Snowden’s leaking of US and British intelligence material revealed the extent of the authorities’ surveillance – what do Lib Dem members make of it all?

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Willie Rennie

Willie Rennie MSP’s New Year Message

By Willie Rennie | Tue 31st December 2013 - 10:00 am

I am hopeful for 2014.  I’ve been checking the tea leaves and it’s going to be a good year.

I am confident the economy will continue to grow and that we’ll create more jobs, cut taxes further and increase pension higher.

I am also confident we’ll reaffirm Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom family of nations so we can share risk and reward for generations to come. We won’t undermine the progress by splitting Scotland from the UK.

My confidence also extends to a boost to nursery education to give children the best start in life.

And I am confident that there will be …

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Paul Burstow

Paul Burstow MP writes… Government should make New Year’s resolution to tackle mental health employment scandal

By Paul Burstow | Tue 31st December 2013 - 9:00 am

Mental health has rightly gone up the political agenda since the coalition came to power. Long neglected, mental health problems cost the UK in excess of £105 billion annually and affect one in four of the population.

Earlier this month saw publication of the most comprehensive picture of progress on mental health. The government’s Mental Health Dashboard brings together in one place mental health data from a wide range of sources for the first time. Its aim is to monitor the progress achieved in implementing the No Health Without Mental Health strategy.

My successor at the Department of Health, care …

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Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrats in the New Year Honours list

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 31st December 2013 - 8:24 am

While we have been preparing our own Liberal Democrat Stars of 2013 (you can still submit your nominations), the Government has published its own list of recipients of New Year Honours list. For the first time ever, surprisingly since women make up more than half the population, they make up a slight majority of this list. It really might be time, though, for them to change the outdated way they list women. Married women are listed as their first names, then Mrs surname. Others have the designation Ms.  This is not the case for men, who are simply listed …

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Rob Parsons

Opinion: Managing the NHS

By Rob Parsons | Mon 30th December 2013 - 4:50 pm

nhs sign lrgI agree with Norman Tebbit. There, I’ve said it. The antique rottweiler was writing in the Telegraph in response to a number of intemperate comments made on another column about the service received from staff at the NHS. He said, among other things, “when things go wrong, as they have often done in the NHS, I believe it is right to blame the officers, especially the more senior ones, rather than the troops”. I agree with him whole heartedly on that point, though not on …

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Mark Valladares

Deserving poor, undeserving poor and welfare reform – can you have one without considering the others?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 30th December 2013 - 2:50 pm

Like many people, I often hear about welfare reform in terms of finding ways to cut spending in difficult times with a degree of nervousness. Experience tells me that, at one extreme, dozens, nay thousands, will suffer horribly, whereas at the other, the public are apparently horrified by the number of alleged skivers. But to even suggest that there might be deserving and undeserving poor is anathema to those who believe in greater state action in challenging poverty.

And yet, without using such phrases, the debate seems to have swung towards making such distinctions. For example, EU migrants without work are …

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The Voice

Lib Dem HQ tweets: “Dear Twitterbots, we are happy with our 2000 new party members. We do not need your offers of 5000 new followers.”

By The Voice | Mon 30th December 2013 - 12:35 pm

Those scamps in the Lib Dem press office have clearly had a good Christmas, judging by their Twitter timeline this morning following up on the news that the party’s membership has increased in 2013…

…

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Stephen Tall

2,000 new Lib Dem members join in last 3 months of 2013: “first governing party in recent history to have increased its membership while in power”

By Stephen Tall | Mon 30th December 2013 - 12:01 pm

Today’s Independent reports the story that Lib Dem membership is on the up – 2,000 new members joining in the last three months of the year mean the party has recorded a net increase of up to 800 members across 2013:

Much of the success, party sources said, was down to a new incentive scheme for local Lib Dem associations to recruit new members. Under the policy, if they can prove that their membership has grown over a three-month period, they get back 20 per cent of their subscriptions in that time to spend on local campaigning. If it has

…

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Mark Pack

Opinion: e-voting coming back to life?

By Mark Pack | Mon 30th December 2013 - 10:36 am

The announcement last month by House of Commons Speaker John Bercow of a commission on digital democracy has kicked the debate over e-voting back to life in the UK.

For many years it has been a rather odd debate in the UK because, all too rarely, this is an area where (back when Labour was in power) large sums of money were spent on extensive pilot schemes before, based on the evidence gathered, the idea was dropped. It is how policymaking should work: have an idea, test it and then make a decision based on the evidence.

Yet the …

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Stephen Tall

Payday loan companies: majority of Lib Dems say they’re unethical, with 85% wanting limits on their charges

By Stephen Tall | Mon 30th December 2013 - 8:45 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 750 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

By 56% to 30%, Lib Dems DISAGREE that payday loan companies offer a useful service

For each one please say if you agree or disagree with the statement…
… Payday loans companies offer a useful service

    3% – Strongly Agree
    27% – Agree
    Total agree = 30%
    26% – Disagree
    30% – Strongly Disagree

…

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 20 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #359

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 29th December 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 359th 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 (22– 28 December, 2013), 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:

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Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem Stars of 2013 – Day 2

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 29th December 2013 - 4:25 pm

Thanks to everyone who has sent their suggestions for our Lib Dem Stars of 2013 Roll of Honour. There have been quite a few via comments, email and social media. We asked yesterday for you to nominate people who had done amazing work for the Liberal Democrats in 2013. It could be someone who’s delivered zillions of leaflets, or who keeps a Liberal Democrat army marching on its stomach, or a parliamentarian or councillor or campaign manager or conference motion writer, anyone you think has made an outstanding contribution to the party. Keep these suggestions coming in.

Our team have …

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Stephen Tall

Who’s up, who’s down? How party members rate the performances of leading Lib Dems

By Stephen Tall | Sun 29th December 2013 - 2:50 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. Some 750 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

LDV asked: How would you rate the performances of the following leading Liberal Democrats and government ministers?

Full results are published below, but here’s two key lists for those who want to cut to the chase… (with comparison to September 2013 ratings in brackets)

Top 5 Lib Dem performers in the Government:

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged | 6 Comments
Caron Lindsay

So, we might have Ed Balls in a Lab/Lib Dem coalition cabinet after all…

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 29th December 2013 - 2:03 pm

Interesting article in today’s Independent on Sunday quoting sources close to Nick Clegg that there will be no push for changes of personnel in Coalition negotiations after the 2015 election. This seems to me to be perfectly sensible. I always thought it was daft to demand that Gordon Brown go during the negotiations in 2010. You have to make these things about actual issues. Of course, this appears to be a pre-emptive strike to ensure that Nick Clegg’s head on a plate is not demanded by Labour.

There’s some interesting speculation on the policies up for grabs, too. Electoral reform …

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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 29th December 2013 - 1:15 pm

Many thanks to the 9000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Time to expose UKIP (32 comments) by Issan Ghazni

Telegraph: “Liberal Democrats believe that party can oust several Tories” (22 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Same story, two very different headlines (30 comments) by Caron Lindsay

Vince tells Andrew Marr: Immigration panic does damage, politicians should give facts not resort to harmful populism. (42 comments) by Newshound

Two thirds of Lib Dem members say yes to HS2 (12 comments) by Stephen Tall

Duncan Hames steps down as PPS to  Nick Clegg and Simon …

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NewsHound

LibLink: Tavish Scott MSP: Scots should put money on devo plus.

By NewsHound | Sun 29th December 2013 - 11:59 am

Tavish Scott has been writing for the Scotsman, comparing the necessary treaty for a currency union which would be required between an independent Scotland and the UK, and the idea of “Devo Plus” which, he argues, would give the Scottish Government more powers than independence.

First he tackles the realities of that treaty for currency union:

With the removal of political representation at Westminster following a Yes vote, the flexibility of a parliament will need to be replaced with a treaty. This will be neither flexible nor short. It will have to cover all aspects of monetary union starting with the role

…

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Paul Reynolds

Opinion: Planning a new constitution for the United Kingdom

By Paul Reynolds | Sun 29th December 2013 - 10:00 am

This is the time of year when there is much political reflection. The Queen’s Christmas message this year was one of Her Majesty’s best. Whilst not everyone listens avidly to our Monarch’s words, the tone and its conciliatory notes encourage sanguine thoughts.

I wish the Queen long life and look forward to a reign that significantly exceeds that of Queen Victoria, or even Louis le Grand.

The effects on the psyche of the United Kingdom of the Queen’s long reign undoubtedly run deep, especially in providing a canopy of permanence and stability. In today’s ephemeral world of celebrity, it is almost certainly fair …

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Caron Lindsay

Sir Menzies: “Unfortunate” that coalition will not let Syrian refugees come to UK

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 28th December 2013 - 3:09 pm

The Independent reports Sir Menzies Campbell’s comments on the decision by the Coalition Government not to join other countries in allowing 10,000 refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict where, let’s not forget, chemical weapons have been used. Sir Menzies was not complimentary, that’s for sure:

It’s unfortunate, to put it as mildly as I possibly can, that we have closed our minds to that possibility when other countries in Europe have taken a much more generous position.

The Independent’s view is that Sir Menzies represents the Liberal Democrat view:

Mr Campbell’s view represents that of many of his colleagues in the Liberal Democrats

…

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