Michael Moore

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 25th September 2013 - 8:45 am

 Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP, writes a regular column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition. 

A Year to Go

These are exciting times to live in Scotland. In less than a year’s time, people the length and breadth of Scotland will make a choice that will affect our nation’s future forever.  This is an absolutely defining moment and a once-in-a-lifetime choice. That’s why I hope people will think carefully as they prepare for the vote.

I firmly believe that Scotland will be stronger, more secure and more prosperous if we remain as part …

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Nick T

Clegg pushes for transatlantic trade deal

By Nick T | Tue 24th September 2013 - 6:54 pm

Container Ship tradeWhen, just over a week ago, conference overwhelmingly backed motion F19, “Strengthening the UK Economy” (pdf), it voted for our party to lead the way on free trade, thanks to the following addition (in which I played a small role), which was “drafted into” the motion:

8. Increase trading opportunities by working in the EU to ensure that the success of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, doing everything possible to revive the World Trade Organisation led Doha Development Round and further integrating the EU services market.

The party’s leadership …

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
George Cunningham

Opinion: No dubious deterrent

By George Cunningham | Tue 24th September 2013 - 5:38 pm

TridentThe day after the end of Autumn conference in Glasgow, a letter appeared in The Times (£) (Sept 19) accusing the Lib Dems of having adopted a “reckless” defence strategy.

Co-signed by former Labour Secretary of State for Defence and NATO Secretary-General, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, former Tory Party Defence Secretary Liam Fox and 14 other politicians and former chiefs of defence, the letter lambasts the Lib Dems for “hare-brained schemes for a part-time deterrent which in reality is no deterrent at all” and that is driven “by a Lib Dem desire to scupper Trident at any cost”. News about the letter quickly spread and was reported on BBC TV as well.

I spoke in favour of retaining the full four submarine “Continuous-at-Sea” nuclear deterrent at the Lib Dem Party conference debate on defence and would have welcomed Lord Robertson’s letter with such heavy-weight support appearing just prior to the debate to give further credence to my intervention.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 7 Comments
Joe Otten

That Ed Miliband speech in full…

By Joe Otten | Tue 24th September 2013 - 3:59 pm

milibandThe following arrived in a brown envelope at Lib Dem Voice Towers, this morning. It is probably an early draft.

I want to start by thanking somebody from the bottom of my heart.

Ella Philips, who fell off her bike and called me an action hero who mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. She called me suave and not geeky at all.

I was pretty pleased with this until I realised she was concussed. So I got her to vote in her local constituency candidate selection.

I have emotion that is felt at kitchen tables …

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Posted in Humour | Tagged and | 71 Comments
Gareth Epps

Opinion: Nicht Schadenfreude, sondern Selbstverteidigung*

By Gareth Epps | Tue 24th September 2013 - 2:08 pm

germany-flagThe exit of the Free Democrats from the German Parliament for the first time since World War II is not just an unforeseen consequence of the spectacular success of Angela Merkel.  It is a significant setback for European Liberalism, even if our German counterparts have for a generation been outriders on the right of the Liberal spectrum.

Some detailed polling shows the significant movement of votes from the FDP to the Christian Democrats .  One significant difference to note here is that the UK Conservatives are notably more right-wing on the economy and environment than their German counterparts in particular, but broadly more liberal on social issues; this has arguably helped shunt the FDP into a cul-de-sac where they are seen as uncomfortably close to some business interests.  The trouble for them, though, is threefold: they:

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Duncan Brack

Duncan Brack writes: Introduction to ‘Green liberalism: a local approach to the low carbon economy’

By Duncan Brack | Tue 24th September 2013 - 12:44 pm

This is the introduction to the recently published collection of essays, Green liberalism: a local approach to the low carbon economy. Similar collections are being published under Green Alliance’s ‘Green social democracy’ and ‘Green conservatism’ projects as part of the Green Roots programme, which aims to stimulate green thinking within the three dominant political traditions in the UK.

This collection of essays builds on two Liberal Democrat core beliefs: environmentalism and localism.

As David Howarth argued in The green book: new directions for Liberals in government (Biteback, March 2013), Liberalism is not only compatible with environmentalism, it requires an environmental approach. …

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Akash Paun

The Independent View: Endgames – International lessons for the Liberal Democrats in the final phase of coalition

By Akash Paun | Tue 24th September 2013 - 10:49 am

institute for governmentIn Nick Clegg’s party conference speech last week the Deputy Prime Minister made it clear that he wants the Liberal Democrats to remain a ‘party of government’ beyond 2015. This requires the party both to make a success of the next 18 months, and to plan effectively for the period beyond the next election.

Based on research into coalitions in other countries – and the specific question of how smaller parties have fared – the Institute for Government recently published a paper setting out five lessons for the Liberal …

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Iain Dale unilaterally disarms anti-nukes protester in front of TV cameras

By Stephen Tall | Tue 24th September 2013 - 10:05 am

Don’t mess with Dale! And definitely not when he’s in protective publisher mode and wants to ensure a hassle-free interview for his latest political author, Damian McBride. Just a still photo and the link to the video for now, but it’s bound to be on YouTube soon enough…

iain dale no nukes

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Posted in YouTube | Tagged , and | 14 Comments
Janvier Murenzi

What the UK can learn from Rwanda

By Janvier Murenzi | Tue 24th September 2013 - 9:26 am

rwanda

Young people are full of aspirations and energy, but our potential is often stymied by depressed economies, insecurity and limited opportunities to have a say in the decisions that affect our lives.

The issue of youth unemployment has crept up the political agenda, with little resultant action. There is a feeling among young people that our concerns and hopes are overlooked and our voices ignored. The way we see it, power still rests disproportionately in the hands of leaders, mostly men, twice our age or more.

Young people in Rwanda face many challenges, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 2 Comments
Chris Richards

Opinion: One further lesson from the FDP

By Chris Richards | Tue 24th September 2013 - 8:42 am

germany-flag

A lot of people have focussed on the FDP’s failure to surpass the 5% hurdle to gain representation in the German Bundestag, following elections this weekend. While a quirk, there is another way the FDP could have maintained representation in the German Parliament.

This is the first time since 1949, when the new German constitution came into force that the FDP have not held seats in the German Bundestag. Since 1949, the party has only been out of office in five sessions out of 17, the least of any other party – effectively anchoring German politics to their version of the ‘centre ground’.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 6 Comments
Lewis Redfern

Lib Dem Conference app – your feedback please

By Lewis Redfern | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 5:41 pm

Thanks to all of you who came to Federal Conference in Glasgow – I hope you enjoyed it!

We made many changes to the Conference App for Autumn Conference 2013 and we’d really like your feedback. We strive to improve the App each Conference so it would be much appreciated if you could spare a few minutes to give us your thoughts by filling in our survey here.

If you have any further questions on the App please email [email protected]

Posted in Conference | 8 Comments
Mark Valladares

Film Review: InRealLives

By Mark Valladares | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 2:37 pm

Released this week, InRealLives takes a look at how the internet has impacted upon the way we live our lives, and flags up some issues that should cause us to reflect upon questions of privacy, personal relationships and sexuality.

Director Beeban Kidron might be best known for “Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit” and “Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason”, but here she delves into the lives of five young people as they talk variously about their use of pornography and its effect on their ability to connect emotionally, addiction to social media and computer gaming, cyber bullying and building relationships online.

Woven …

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Simon Oliver

Opinion: The Conflict Of Idealism And Pragmatism

By Simon Oliver | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 12:53 pm

For me, the most valuable parts of Conference were my discussions with a member of the Green Liberal Democrats Exec on her intense disappointment over the votes on nuclear energy, weapons and shale gas fracking.

We discussed the relative contribution of idealism and pragmatism within the party. Her disappointment stemmed from the perceived abandonment of ideals by the party, in that we should be moving firmly away from both fossil fuel extraction and the risks of nuclear energy.

I share those ideals, but I’m a little more pragmatic – some would say jaded. When going from A to Z, you can’t …

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Posted in Op-eds | 8 Comments
Joe Otten

Perils of Equidistance

By Joe Otten | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 10:58 am

Nick Clegg’s speech to the annual conference struck a firmly equidistant tone with

We’re not trying to get back into Government to fold into one of the other parties – we want to be there to anchor them to the liberal centre ground, right in the centre, bang in the middle. We’re not here to prop up the two party system: we’re here to bring it down.

backed up with a list of Conservative policies blocked, and a promise to block some Labour policies – once we know what they are – …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 39 Comments
Stephen Tall

5 reasons not to assume the FDP wipeout in the German elections will happen here in the UK

By Stephen Tall | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 9:10 am

fdp germany logoAn amazing result for Angela Merkel, increasing her vote and almost winning an absolute majority for the conservative CDU in her third election. A dire one for the liberal FDP, eliminated from the German Bundestag after failing to cross the 5% popular vote threshold – from 93 seats to 0 in one go. Ouch.

Part of the fun of elections in foreign countries is cherry-picking the bits of confirmation bias that suit our own weltenschaung. “Liberal party wiped out after coalition with centre-right party, eh – you just wait til …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , , , , , and | 58 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrat double as Swinson and Ece win Women in Public Life Awards

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 23rd September 2013 - 8:19 am

Meral H EceWhile we were all getting ready for Conference, it emerged that Liberal Democrats Jo Swinson and Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece had won Women in Public Life Awards for MP and Peer of the Year.

Meral was delighted to have won and said:

I am honoured and delighted to have been voted Peer of the Year (House of Lords) in the Women in Public Life Leadership Awards for this year. This is a prestigious award, and its a privilege to be in the company of other women who have achieved so much.

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #345

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 22nd September 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 345th 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 (15-21 September, 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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The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sun 22nd September 2013 - 1:57 pm

Many thanks to the 16,000 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here’s our 7 most-read posts…

Bob Worcester forecasts Lib Dems to be reduced to 24 seats in 2015. I’ll run naked down Whitehall if that happens (72 comments) by Stephen Tall

Hung Parliament: what Liberal Democrats members think will happen and what you want to happen (72 comments) by Stephen Tall

Clegg: “Every primary school pupil should be able to sit down with a hot, healthy lunch with their classmates every day” (110 comments) by Stephen Tall

Opinion: Ten reasons why the Bedroom Tax must go …

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Posted in Site news | 2 Comments
Iain Donaldson

Opinion: Liberal Democrats have a unique position on co-operatives. We should use it.

By Iain Donaldson | Sun 22nd September 2013 - 10:58 am

At party conference I asked Nick Clegg why the word ‘co-operative’ appeared only once in our economy paper and not at all in the resolution presenting that paper to conference. He advised me to write my views on a postcard and send them to him, and this is that postcard.

The third clause of the preamble to the constitution sets out the underlying principles of economic liberalism clearly and concisely:

We will foster a strong and sustainable economy which encourages the necessary wealth creating processes, develops and uses the skills of the people and works to the benefit of all, with a

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 15 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Observer reports enquiry into leader’s team’s press briefings on Cable

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 22nd September 2013 - 9:55 am

From today’s Observer:

The Liberal Democrat leader is investigating an allegation that members of the media have been briefed with erroneous information damaging Cable’s position in the party.

The move followed an angry complaint from an MP during a meeting of the parliamentary party at last week’s Lib Dem conference in Glasgow. The dispute centres on an economic debate held during an away day for Lib Dem MPs last month.

A number of reports, including one by the BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson, alleged that Cable lost heavily when he proposed at the event that the government should borrow more, at current

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 39 Comments
Stephen Tall

Flow-chart: The 5 questions that will decide if there’s another coalition in 2015

By Stephen Tall | Sun 22nd September 2013 - 8:45 am

‘What are your thoughts on coalitions? Should the Lib Dems go with Labour or Conservatives – if they are in a position to choose?’ That was the question I was asked by the BBC’s Daily Politics in advance of appearing on Thursday to talk about any future coalition (you can catch my discussion with historian Lord (Peter) Hennessey here for the next few days).

Here’s the answer I gave, one I didn’t actually have chance to discuss during the programme… First, as a flow-chart and then my original email reply:

Coalition flow-chart - Sept 2013

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 23 Comments
Stephen Tall

The Lib Dem Voice Awards – re-living the highs and the highlights…

By Stephen Tall | Sat 21st September 2013 - 8:15 pm

A week ago today, the all-new, revamped Lib Dem Voice Awards hit Glasgow. For those who were there, and those who couldn’t make it, here’s what happened…

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Posted in Conference | Tagged | 6 Comments
The Voice

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

By The Voice | Sat 21st September 2013 - 3:35 pm

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

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

Here’s some of the most active discussions this past 10 days:

…

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Caron Lindsay

Salmond scores a massive own goal on Royal Mail

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 21st September 2013 - 2:55 pm

This week, Alex Salmond told Scots that their postal service would get worse if they voted for independence. Of course he didn’t actually say those words, but it’s the effect of his proposal. At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, he said that an independent Scotland led by him would bring the Royal Mail and postal service back into public ownership.

Let’s just leave aside the hundreds of millions that would cost for a minute, as well as the complexities of breaking up a UK wide service and defining the Scottish share. The biggest problem that would arise would be that …

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The Voice

LDVideo: Glasgow 2013 party conference redux

By The Voice | Sat 21st September 2013 - 1:15 pm

Why attend a Lib De conference? And what happens when you do? Those are two of the questions communicatios firm covi set out to get answers to in this 5-minute video featuring Alison Goldsworthy, Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Executive: Mark Pack, Editor of Lib Dem Newswire; David Boyle, author and policy maker; and Professor Stephen Lee, Chief Executive of CentreForum…

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Posted in YouTube | Tagged , , , , and | 4 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Tim Farron with his BOTY

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 21st September 2013 - 11:20 am

(C) Manny Begum Yasadein PhotographySadly, party President Tim Farron wasn’t able to make the Liberal Democrat Voice Awards on Saturday night. In fact, we should book him for next year now so that he has no excuse.

Tim won the Tim Garden Award, created in memory of the Liberal Democrat peer who died in August 2007. It’s presented for the best use of blogging or social media by an elected Liberal Democrat.

This year the Liberal Democrat Voice team were sharing a broom cupboard deep within the labyrinth that is the SECC with …

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The Voice

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: The insults were worth it

By The Voice | Sat 21st September 2013 - 9:28 am

This is really a commercial for his keynote speech at Conference, with links to it on You Tube and to a text copy. It’s not the best title in the world. I might have preferred to highlight the new policy of free school meals for the first three years, myself. That’s not even mentioned. However, we don’t know if that’s it for this week, or whether there will be another at the weekend. 

libdem letter from nick clegg

 

Over the last few days, we’ve showcased what we’ve achieved in Coalition and we’ve demonstrated …

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Posted in News | 23 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Go home posters still up in Glasgow…

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 20th September 2013 - 3:30 pm

We know that Liberal Democrats within the Government have said that there will be no repetition of the Go Home poster vans which were sent to drive round certain boroughs in London.

We also know that there will be no repetition of the Go home posters displayed in the Glasgow UKBA office, again thanks to Liberal Democrats within the coalition. Sadly, though, these posters have not been taken down as some asylum seekers I met earlier this week at the Liberal Democrat Seekers of Sanctuary fringe meeting on Monday were able to verify on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting, Nico, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

Ukip’s Godfrey Bloom brands Michael Crick a racist and hits him with party’s ‘no black faces’ conference brochure

By Stephen Tall | Fri 20th September 2013 - 2:40 pm

This tweet from Mark Wallace was picked up Channel 4’s political editor Michael Crick…

… who decided to quiz shy and retiring Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom about the absence of black faces from his party’s conference brochure.

Here’s what happened next…

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Posted in YouTube | Tagged , , and | 48 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #344

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 20th September 2013 - 2:15 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 344th 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 September  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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Posted in Best of the blogs | 2 Comments
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