Liberal Democrat Voice

LibLink: Nick Clegg: Kick the crooks out and drag the Lords into the 21st century

By NewsHound | Wed 18th December 2013 - 10:53 am

Nick Clegg has written about the need to reform the House of Lords in today’s Mirror in response to the latest mini-scandal concerning Lord Hanningfield. When I read the first sentence, my blood pressure hit the roof:

What’s worse than a greedy Lord clocking in to work for just a few minutes a day to pocket hundreds of pounds from the taxpayer?

What’s worse is when the same peer – caught red handed as a result of the Mirror’s excellent investigative efforts – shrugs their shoulders and tells you: everybody’s doing it.

But there are lots of good ones who work really hard, …

Posted in LibLink | Tagged lords reform, nick clegg and the mirror | 8 Comments

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Opinion: Immigration – the shades of grey

By Jemima Bland | Wed 18th December 2013 - 9:51 am

Immigration remains a toxic topic for politicians in Britain – but those of us in the political centre cannot afford to dodge this debate, or we risk standing by while Britain becomes a country known for xenophobia, not tolerance.

Across the UK, people are facing a tough Christmas this year. If you can pay your electricity bill without too much trouble this winter, you’re one of the lucky ones. Many argue that immigration, or immigrants, are somehow to blame for this hardship. After all – ‘they’ are taking our jobs, using up our welfare budget, and filling up our local A&E …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged eu and immigration | 19 Comments

Careful, Boris. Remember what happened to the last top Tory to liken the Lib Dems to a bird?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 18th December 2013 - 9:25 am

“The sooner we are shot of the great yellow albatross, in my view, the better.” So said Boris Johnson yesterday, taking a pop at both Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems.

But, as a classics scholar, Boris should beware a little thing called hubris. At the 1990 Tory Party conference, Mrs Thatcher poked fun at the Lib Dems’ new logo, the bird of freedom, by performing the Monty Python “Dead Parrot” sketch:

Posted in YouTube | Tagged boris johnson, eastleigh by-election and margaret thatcher | 31 Comments

Nick Clegg backs Olli Rehn as ALDE European Commission Presidential candidate

By Mark Valladares | Wed 18th December 2013 - 8:21 am

Nick Clegg yesterday backed Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs to become the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Party candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission in next year’s European Elections.

One of fourteen ALDE leaders to have co-signed a letter nominating Olli Rehn as their candidate, he said;

I am delighted to nominate Olli Rehn to be the ALDE Presidential candidate. He is the perfect man for the job, and will be a powerful advocate for the liberal cause. I know Olli will help us build a stronger economy

…

Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged ALDE, nick clegg and olli rehn | 3 Comments

Opinion: Teresa May’s Right Hand doesn’t know what her Hard Right hand is doing

By Alisdair Calder McGregor | Tue 17th December 2013 - 5:16 pm

The leaks from the Home Office of Tory plans over immigration, rightly shot down as illegal by Nick , are the mark of a Tory Party abandoning moderate politics to placate its increasingly vocal right wing.

But the juxtaposition of Tory isolationist leanings with yesterday’s official announcement from the home secretary on modern slavery exposes the total lack of joined up thinking within the Tories on trafficking & immigration.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged immigration and slavery | 19 Comments

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Opinion: As Liberals, we must stand up For sex workers

By James Shaddock | Tue 17th December 2013 - 4:38 pm

Today, 17th December, is the 10th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. It seeks to raise awareness of the violence and hate experienced by sex workers around the world and help fight the stigma, discrimination and persecution brought on by society’s attitudes towards sex work and dangerous prohibitionist laws.

It’s is all the more poignant this year following the anti-sex work actions that have occurred throughout 2013. From Rhoda Grant’s attempt to criminalise the purchase of sex in Scotland, to the condom ban in Edinburgh saunas, through to the recent raids in Soho only two weeks ago, the …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged sex workers | 29 Comments

LibLink: Vince Cable opposes Heathrow expansion

By Mary Reid | Tue 17th December 2013 - 3:17 pm

Vince Cable’s constituency of Twickenham is already under the Heathrow flightpath, and he is strongly opposed to any further expansion of the airport.

He writes:

The Davies Commission interim report has put Heathrow at the front of its thinking which is questionable economically, damaging environmentally and probably undeliverable politically.

My strong view is that the Davies review should not decide to press ahead with Heathrow options and I will be making that view known in the strongest terms.

Posted in LibLink | Tagged davies commission and heathrow airport | 6 Comments

Result!

By Sally Hamwee | Tue 17th December 2013 - 1:45 pm

It is so satisfying when the Parliamentary process works well. Last week it did for me, and more importantly for a group of people to whom the Children and Families Bill is now to extend new rights.

A few months ago, as a member of a select committee looking at how adoption legislation is operating, the chair and I were contacted about an anomaly in the law. Adoption has become a much more open process over the years, and in 2002 most relative were given information rights (through an agency which both counsels and assists) – but not the descendants of people adopted before 1975. This is not just a technicality. The lady who has campaigned for a change to the law, including with an unsuccessful court case, discovered after her father’s death that he had been adopted, and things began to fall into place about his moods and his reticence as regards his parents and wider family. The mix of her emotions included a real need to know more.

Posted in News | Tagged children and families bill | 5 Comments

Heathrow: As the Conservatives’ brief flirtation with anti-expansion comes to an end, the Lib Dem fight continues

By Robin Meltzer | Tue 17th December 2013 - 12:30 pm

Overheard at a bus stop on the Kew Road last week:

Visitor: “What’s the matter with that plane?”
Resident: “Nothing.”
Visitor: “But it’s so low and loud, is it in trouble?”
Resident: “No, this is Richmond.”

Overheard this morning on Sky News at 8:15:

Sir Howard Davies: “A relatively small proportion of the population are affected by noise.”

Posted in News | Tagged davies commission and heathrow airport | 14 Comments

Lord Jeremy Purvis’s maiden speech

By Jeremy Purvis | Tue 17th December 2013 - 10:55 am

It is a tradition for LDV to bring its readers copies of our new MPs’ and Peers’ first words in Parliament, so that we can read what is being said and respond. You can find all of the speeches in this category with this link. On 28 November, Lord Purvis of Tweed made his maiden speech in the House of Lords during a debate on broadcast media and its role in the economy. His words are reproduced below.

Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD): My Lords, it is a daunting task to follow the noble Lord, Lord Birt, in this debate. However, I crave the indulgence of your Lordships’ House to make my maiden speech. In doing so, I will perhaps draw the House’s attention north from London and the south-east towards the north of England and Scotland.

I am conscious that many maiden speeches have been made in recent weeks, including in this debate. I, too, add my congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Holmes of Richmond, and to my noble friend Lady Grender; I associate myself with the kind words of the noble Lord, Lord Birt, in paying rich tribute to her maiden speech. I have been a poor pupil of media training by my noble friend Lady Grender; participation in this House was perhaps not a topic on our agenda. However, there is a perverse pleasure in seeing her now having to tackle the tough questions on behalf of her party.

Posted in News, Parliament and Speeches | Tagged house of lords and jeremy purvis | 2 Comments

The Independent View: Could Ireland’s emerging healthcare reforms test David Laws’ NHIS vision?

By Elliot Bidgood | Tue 17th December 2013 - 9:16 am

Nearly a decade ago now, David Laws MP raised the idea of evolving the NHS into a continental-style universal ‘National Health Insurance Scheme’ (NHIS), where healthcare would be progressively funded from dedicated income contributions, individuals could choose insurers and everyone would be entitled to a comprehensive package of set treatments within a decentralised but heavily regulated system. It was a bold and interesting proposal, which for better or worse helped define the 2004 Orange Book in eyes of many, though it has perhaps also been misunderstood and straw-manned to a degree.

However, besides substantive criticisms and the understandable sensitivities that talk …

Posted in The Independent View | Tagged civitas, david laws and NHS | 19 Comments

Clegg opens up his “fairly thick Black Book” of Lib Dem plans blocked by the Tories – but is it enough?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th December 2013 - 6:45 pm

Last week, David Cameron revealed he’s keeping a “little black book” of Tory ideas he’s desperate to implement which have been thwarted by the Lib Dems. This prompted an impressively swift imagining by Lib Dem HQ of what that black book might contain – you can read it here.

It also prompted Lib Dem blogger Richard Morris pointedly to ask at the New Statesman, ‘Where is Clegg’s “little Black Book” of Lib Dem policies blocked by the Tories?’

… thinking back over the last few years, Lord’s Reform and the Mansion Tax aside, it’s hard to think what Lib

…

Posted in News | Tagged featured, george eaton, new statesman, nick clegg and richard morris | 11 Comments

Nick Clegg reminder to drawbridge-up Tories on immigration: “We are an open economy”

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th December 2013 - 6:15 pm

It’s good to have the old Nick Clegg back today. You know the one I mean: the liberal leader willing to stick up for the free movement of people and take on the anti-immigration populists.

Occasionally that Nick goes missing in action, such as when he advocated security bonds for immigrants from ‘high-risk’ countries entering the UK or when he enthusiastically joined the general hysteria around so-called ‘benefit tourism’.

But today he was back, hitting out at proposals allegedly leaked by the Home Office to impose a cap …

Posted in News | Tagged immigration and nick clegg | 7 Comments

Steve Webb writes… 2 Millionth Person auto enrolled into a workplace pension

By Steve Webb MP | Mon 16th December 2013 - 5:24 pm

Today, the latest figures for the number of people placed into a workplace pension have been announced, and I am delighted to say that the 2 millionth person has now been auto enrolled into a pension.

It is essential that workers are encouraged to save towards their retirement, if they wish to maintain a standard of living comparable to what they have grown accustomed to whilst earning a wage. In the year leading up to the start of the scheme, across the private sector, only one worker out of three had any pension at all from their job – and …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged pensions | 2 Comments

Liblink: Sarah Ludford on the 12th anniversary of the European Arrest Warrant

By Joe Otten | Mon 16th December 2013 - 2:43 pm

The European Arrest warrant, allowing those suspected of crimes in one EU member state to be arrested anywhere in the EU, was agreed 12 years ago. Now under fire from a small group of (soft on crime?) Conservative MPs, Sarah Ludford MEP responds in the Huffington Post.

Since 2009, hundreds of suspects have been extradited back to the UK to face charges using the EAW, including 63 for child sex offences, 105 for drug trafficking, 27 for rape and 44 for murder, while 4,000 suspects have been sent to other countries. …

In fact, the EAW has become so integral

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged crime and european arrest warrant | 2 Comments

Norman Lamb writes… A once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix our health and care system

By Norman Lamb MP | Mon 16th December 2013 - 12:58 pm

In 1997 Tony Blair told the Labour Party conference “I don’t want brought up in a country where the only way pensioners can get long-term care is by selling their home.” And yet speaking to the Health Select Committee in 2010, in Labour’s final months in office, Andy Burnham said, “every member of the Cabinet believed social care to be an area that had not been properly reformed and was one of great unfairness”. In thirteen years of talk, and promises, Labour did nothing to fix our dysfunctional, and profoundly unfair, system of funding social care.

In …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged care, care bill, dilnot commission, featured, liverpool care pathway and social care | 15 Comments

LibLink: Tim Farron has a go at Eric Pickles on ALDC’s website

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 16th December 2013 - 10:49 am

Tim Farron is getting everywhere at the moment. In the last week, we’ve covered pieces from him on fishing and EU reform and surveillance.

He’s now started a semi-regular column on ALDC’s website. In his inaugural edition, he had a right go at Eric Pickles for paying lip service to localism:

Yet again, Mr Pickles has pushed localism in theory but in practice has used this as a tool to deliver cuts which favour Conservative political objectives. He seems perfectly happy to let the Treasury hold sway over policies which are central to his Department, hoping that Help to Buy will tackle

…

Posted in News | 7 Comments

Opinion: This could be the historic moment the banks shift

By David Boyle | Mon 16th December 2013 - 8:34 am

Tuesday will see one of those moments which may prove a turning point in the development of an effective UK banking system.

That is the day that the banks will reveal the geographical spread of their lending, down to 9,000 different postcode levels.

It is the culmination of a major effort by Lib Dems in the House of Lords earlier in the last two years, with a great deal of help from elsewhere, to make sure that this happened.

It is also a creative moment of possibility – not to criticise the banks, because they need to be given the credit for this …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged banking, featured and lending | 3 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #357

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th December 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 357th 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 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

Willie Rennie’s tribute to Nelson Mandela

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th December 2013 - 1:55 pm

This week, the Scottish Parliament paid tribute to Nelson Mandela. Here is Willie Rennie’s speech in full.

Like so many others, I saw today’s remarkable scenes from Johannesburg, with presidents and prime ministers, archbishops and cardinals, and village choirs and children from Soweto gathered in one place.

Nelson Mandela’s death was a moment that we all knew would come but, for most of our lives, we could only have dreamed that he would be able to pass on peacefully, in freedom and with the thanks of the world around him.

The vocation of politics to play a part in a changing world grew

…

Posted in News | Tagged nelson mandela, scottish parliament and willie rennie | 1 Comment

ALDE to select candidate for president of the European Commission

By Mark Valladares | Sun 15th December 2013 - 12:20 pm

The ALDE Party has called an extraordinary Electoral Congress to advise the ALDE Party Bureau to choose a candidate for the President of the European Commission. This congress will take place in the afternoon of the 1st February 2014, in Brussels. Liberal Democrats are the biggest delegation with the total of sixty-two votes.

There are only two declared candidates so far, Guy Verhofstadt, Leader of the ALDE Group in the European Parliament, and former Prime Minister of Belgium, and Olli Rehn, Vice President of the European Commission, and Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, a key portfolio over the past …

Posted in Europe / International, Events and News | Tagged ALDE and european commission | 2 Comments

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

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 15th December 2013 - 10:30 am

Many thanks to the 16,500 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

The Clegg family Christmas card, with a little help from their sons (4 comments) by Stephen Tall

FOUND: David Cameron’s Little Black Book (16 comments) by Helen Duffett

Three scenarios for the 2015 election based on current polling. Which do you think looks most plausible? (50 comments) by Stephen Tall

Our liberal identity crisis (80 comments) by Steve Bradley

“Good” gender segregation and “Bad” gender segregation? (58 comments) by Stephen Tall

Lib Dems should aim for a budget surplus, not because …

Posted in Site news | Leave a comment

Postcard from China: Reflections from a visit to Guangdong province (Part 1)

By Sarah Yong | Sun 15th December 2013 - 9:07 am

After returning from my first ever trip to China, I felt a ‘postcard’ was in order to summarise this wonderful experience. It was a huge honour to be asked to represent our Party along with fellow Chinese Lib Dems Merlene Emmerson, Alex Payton and Steven Cheung on this visit by official invitation of the Chinese Government in the Guandong province in Southern China. The trip was organised by the British Chinese Project, a not for profit organisation that works to increase awareness and greater engagement in politics by the British Chinese population. Our sixteen strong delegation included representatives from all …

Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged china and featured | 4 Comments

In the next month 10 seats will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs (and one MSP)

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th December 2013 - 6:06 pm

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 Ming Campbell’s North East Fife seat.

The following seats have selections in progress and are currently advertising for candidates:

Posted in Selection news | Tagged general election 2015 | 6 Comments

This week’s by-elections: A town council gain but a big loss in Bucks for the Liberal Democrats

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th December 2013 - 4:46 pm

There’s not much to take joy from for the Liberal Democrats in this week’s crop of by-elections.

In South Buckinghamshire, we took a bit of a pasting in Iver Village and Richings Park where we were defending the seat. The result was as follows:

Conservative 422 46.9% (-6%)

UKIP 377 41.9% (+41.9%)

Liberal Democrats (Peter Chapman) 101 11.2% (-35.9)

The Tories nearly lost it too.

The last time this ward was fought was in 2011. The turnout then was nearly double at 38.93%. On Thursday it was only 20.4%.

In 2011, it was a straight fight between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The 3 Tory …

Posted in News | Tagged by-election results and Local government | 19 Comments

New LDV members’ survey now live: your views on the economy, schools, and the Coalition

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th December 2013 - 4:19 pm

The new LDV members’ survey is now live. So if you are one of the c.1,500 registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum — and any paid-up party member is welcome to join — then you now have the opportunity to make your views known.

Questions we’re asking this month include:

your views on the Coalition’s spending cuts;
what you think about schools policy;
hot-topics such as payday loans, immigration, ‘Help to Buy’, state surveillance, the state pension and MPs’ pay
your views on Nick Clegg’s leadership and of leading figures within the Lib Dems;
what you think

…

Posted in LDV Members poll | 1 Comment

Peter Black wins Assembly Member of the Year award

By Newsmoggie | Sat 14th December 2013 - 3:39 pm

At the time of writing, Peter Black, Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, has been way too modest to tell us on his blog that he was awarded Assembly Member of the Year at the Welsh Political Awards. He is the first member of the Assembly to get an Act onto the statute book, giving residents of mobile homes parks more protection. You can watch his speech at the Report stage of that bill here.

Thankfully, the awards ceremony has been recorded for posterity. You can see him accept his award here at around 19 minutes.

Posted in News | Tagged peter black and welsh political awards | Leave a comment

Hirsute “Hipster” Huppert, the Hashtag King, wins Parliamentary Beard of the Year with John Thurso in third place

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th December 2013 - 1:29 pm

A couple of weeks ago, we brought you the news that Cambridge MP Julian Huppert had made the shortlist for Parliamentary Beard of the Year, a competition organised by The Beard Liberation Front. That’s an organisation that has always struck me as weird. If you liberate a beard, aren’t you left with a clean shaven face? Oh well, never mind.

Today it was announced that our Julian has won with 46% of the vote with Jeremy Corbyn coming in second place and another Liberal Democrat MP, John Thurso, coming third.

And he celebrated in style, inventing the hashtag of the year in the process.

Honoured to be voted as Parliamentary Beard of the year. Thanks all! http://t.co/41oyy0zMd7 @kmflett #fb #winninghair

— Julian Huppert (@julianhuppert) December 14, 2013

Posted in News | Tagged alisdair calder mcgregor, jennie rigg, john thurso, julian huppert and parliamentary beard of the year | 2 Comments

Mary Reid sums up Liberal Democrats’ year on The Week at Westminster

By NewsHound | Sat 14th December 2013 - 12:14 pm

BBC Parliament’s The Week at Westminster had a review of 2013, with Conservative Home’s Andrew Gimson, Labour tweeter and blogger Paul Richards and our own Mary Reid.

What was striking was that none of the three of them were particularly optimistic. Richards felt that Labour were being too complacent and there isn’t enough in the way of bold policy ideas to seal the deal with the electorate. He was also none too chuffed with his party’s actions over Syria. Gimson was candid that the Tories found it difficult to persuade people that they were on their side.

Mary gave a very balanced …

Posted in News | Tagged bbc parliament, mary reid and the week at westminster | 2 Comments

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

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th December 2013 - 10:45 am

We’re 18 months from the May 2015 election so I thought it’d be useful to keep a 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 commented here, on Twitter, via Facebook and by email and text. Here’s the latest version of the list of (re-)selections in our held seats and the top 50 targets for the party — however, I realise we’ve just gone through AGM season so please do let me know of updates to this list.

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:

Held seats: 31/57 MPs re-selected or candidates selected where MPs retiring (40%); 7/57 MPs retiring (12%) – 3 potential successors selected.

Top targets from Labour: 8/23 candidates selected (35%).

Top targets from Tories: 14/27 candidates selected (52%).

Posted in News and Selection news | Tagged general election 2015 | 29 Comments

Op-eds

Lib Dems need a 25-year vision that sets out how we’ll change Britain (Phil Wainewright)
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)

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Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything

To get Britain growing, we must cut business costs

Bobby Dean MP writes: The resilient state

Sarah Olney bids to become candidate for Mayor of London

LibLink: Nick Clegg: Kick the crooks out and drag the Lords into the 21st century

Opinion: Immigration – the shades of grey

Careful, Boris. Remember what happened to the last top Tory to liken the Lib Dems to a bird?

Nick Clegg backs Olli Rehn as ALDE European Commission Presidential candidate

Opinion: Teresa May’s Right Hand doesn’t know what her Hard Right hand is doing

Opinion: As Liberals, we must stand up For sex workers

LibLink: Vince Cable opposes Heathrow expansion

Result!

Heathrow: As the Conservatives’ brief flirtation with anti-expansion comes to an end, the Lib Dem fight continues

Lord Jeremy Purvis’s maiden speech

The Independent View: Could Ireland’s emerging healthcare reforms test David Laws’ NHIS vision?

Clegg opens up his “fairly thick Black Book” of Lib Dem plans blocked by the Tories – but is it enough?

Nick Clegg reminder to drawbridge-up Tories on immigration: “We are an open economy”

Steve Webb writes… 2 Millionth Person auto enrolled into a workplace pension

Liblink: Sarah Ludford on the 12th anniversary of the European Arrest Warrant

LibLink: Tim Farron has a go at Eric Pickles on ALDC’s website

Opinion: This could be the historic moment the banks shift

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #357

Willie Rennie’s tribute to Nelson Mandela

ALDE to select candidate for president of the European Commission

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

Postcard from China: Reflections from a visit to Guangdong province (Part 1)

In the next month 10 seats will short-list their wannabe Lib Dem MPs (and one MSP)

This week’s by-elections: A town council gain but a big loss in Bucks for the Liberal Democrats

New LDV members’ survey now live: your views on the economy, schools, and the Coalition

Peter Black wins Assembly Member of the Year award

Hirsute “Hipster” Huppert, the Hashtag King, wins Parliamentary Beard of the Year with John Thurso in third place

Mary Reid sums up Liberal Democrats’ year on The Week at Westminster

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

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Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything

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Sarah Olney bids to become candidate for Mayor of London

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