Caron Lindsay

Conference Preview: Tuesday 17th September

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 17th September 2013 - 7:45 am

Welcome to part 4 of my stroll through the Conference agenda. This one is actually being prepared live, so I can add in a couple of hints and tips that I’ve gleaned over the first few days.

Handy hints

1) It is much quicker to go outside to get between the Crowne Plaza,Exhibition and Clyde Auditorium rather than take the labyrinthine, interminable corridors inside.

2) I only discovered last night that there is a corridor full of comfy, quiet sofas with power points for charging phones on the way to the Leven  room in the SECC. Mind you , now I’ve said it, …

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Stephen Tall

Lib Dems reject 50p top-rate of tax by just 4 votes, 224 to 220

By Stephen Tall | Tue 17th September 2013 - 12:35 am

How many times have Lib Dems knocked on doors at 9.55pm to get out the last remaining identified voters because “your vote really could make a difference” in this election?

Today’s vote on whether to keep the top-rate of tax levied on those earning £150k or more at 45p, or to pledge to raise it to 50p was much, much, much closer: conference narrowly voted for the leadership’s preferred policy – 45p – by a wafer thin majority of just 4 votes, 224 to 220.

The closest previous conference vote I can recall was in spring 2007 when representatives voted …

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Newsmoggie

Jeremy Browne: Need for national debate on banning the veil

By Newsmoggie | Mon 16th September 2013 - 4:30 pm

Jeremy Browne - Some rights reserved by Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeJeremy Browne, the Liberal Democrat Home Office minister, told The Telegraph that there is a need for a national debate on whether Muslim women should be banned from wearing the veil in public places. He said:

I am instinctively uneasy about restricting the freedom of individuals to observe the religion of their choice. That would apply to Christian minorities in the Middle East just as much as religious minorities here in Britain.

But there is genuine debate about whether girls should feel a compulsion to wear a veil when society deems children to be unable to express personal choices about other areas like buying alcohol, smoking or getting married.

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Stephen Tall

Our survey says Lib Dems want a 50p top-rate of tax – but will they vote for it at conference?

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th September 2013 - 4:05 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. Almost 700 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

56% of Lib Dem members back a 50p rate of top-rate tax

As I type, the party is debating its tax policies. It’s highly likely the Lib Dems will vote to extend its popular tax-cuts for the low-paid package by lifting still further the personal allowance so that no-one paid the minimum wage has to pay any tax. …

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Mary Reid

Race Equality motion passed unanimously

By Mary Reid | Mon 16th September 2013 - 3:12 pm

school childrenWhile all eyes were on the Economy debate today, in the hour before Conference debated another important motion. It was entitled ‘A new Liberal Democrat approach to Race Equality’, and can be found on page 36 of the Conference Agenda.  This motion was the outcome of the first report by the Liberal Democrat Race Equality Task Force: ‘Towards Race Equality: A Liberal Democrat Approach‘, which focused on education and employment.

This new approach sought to bring race equality back into focus in public debate. In recent years it has been …

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Stephen Tall

Nick Clegg Conference Q&A: live-blog

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th September 2013 - 2:50 pm

A relaxed looking, tieless Nick Clegg is about to take to the conference floor, for the second time today, to take questions from conference representatives…

Zero-hour contracts:

2.47 pm… Pauline Wilson (SE Cambridgeshire) says they work for her grandson, so please don’t ban them. Nick Clegg says yes, they do work for some, but can easily topple over into unfairness. For example, if an employer has an exclusivity contract which stops the employee from taking other work.

Economy debate

2.53 pm… Richard Rowles (Romsey & Southampton North) asks, “Are we still fighting for all the people of Britain?” Nick reflects on the debate …

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Stephen Tall

Vince pitches for the Lib Dems to be the new unity party; Nick breathes a sigh of relief

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th September 2013 - 2:25 pm

Vince Cable smiling - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsOvernight it was reported that Vince Cable wouldn’t be attending the Lib Dem debate on the economy because he would be busy preparing his keynote speech to conference. As diplomatic excuses go, it wasn’t subtle. In the end he managed to combine both, belatedly joining the debate thronged by cameras, before his turn to take centre stage.

The speech – which you can read in full here – reminds us of Vince’s original roots both in Glasgow and in Labour …

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Mary Reid

Vince Cable’s speech to Conference

By Mary Reid | Mon 16th September 2013 - 1:53 pm

Vince Cable - Some rights reserved by Liberal DemocratsThe agenda for Tuesday morning was rounded off with a speech from Vince Cable, which we publish here in full:

Friends.

It is a special pleasure to speak to Conference in the city where I had my political baptism of fire.  Glasgow is a great city and Glaswegians are warm, hospitable and humorous.

But Glasgow has experienced one party, Labour, rule for decades. And I was part of the Labour political machine here in the 1970s.  On one level it worked.  Insanitary slums were razed to …

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Conference economy debate: Nick Clegg’s summation in full

By Andy Boddington | Mon 16th September 2013 - 12:52 pm

Nick Clegg Economy Motion 4Chairman Andrew Wiseman called Nick Clegg of Sheffield to summate on the economy debate. Nick said:

Colleagues, just to show that I can also agree with Paul Homes, I strongly agree with Paul about what a brilliant, brilliant debate that was. It really, really does show us at our very, very best. No other part could stage such a democratic and respectful debate. Well done to everybody on whatever side you were on the debate.

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Stephen Tall

Economy motion carried: Nick Clegg wins overwhelming backing from Lib Dem conference

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th September 2013 - 12:45 pm

Lib Dem conference has spoken — and it has overwhelmingly backed Nick Clegg. Before the debate I had a hunch the result would be somewhat different. Though Nick had shrugged off a reported split with Vince Cable as “a storm in a tea cup”, I thought Vince’s obvious discontent with the decision to make this vote a test of strength, together with the assiduous ground-work and careful drafting of the Social Liberal Forum’s amendments, would pose a real problem for the party leadership.

And for the first third of the debate I thought my hunch might be fulfilled, with …

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Stephen Tall

The Lib Dem conference economy debate: Nick Clegg raises the stakes. He’ll have only himself to blame if he loses

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th September 2013 - 9:40 am

After a weekend of averted rows – nuclear power and ‘fracking’ supported, axeing of tuition fees dropped – today’s debate on the economy will see a return to Lib Dem conference tradition: a dust-up between the leadership and the activists.

A year ago, there was a poorly coordinated attempt by Lib Dem members within the Social Liberal Forum and Liberal Left groupings to get the party to change the Coalition direction on the economy, to bring in an explicit Plan B. It suffered a crushing defeat, with Vince Cable, Steve Webb and Tim Farron all speaking in favour of …

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Newsmoggie

Conference comment: What the papers say (3)

By Newsmoggie | Mon 16th September 2013 - 9:11 am

Ed Davey GlasgowToday’s big debate is on the economy and the Guardian reports Vince Cable and Nick Clegg at odds over future economic direction:

Clegg has decided to stage what Cable and some on the left regard as an artificial showdown over economic policy during a set-piece two-hour debate… Cable’s aides said he will stay away from the debate, which is being billed as a test of Clegg’s authority. Cable believed a compromise could have been reached between the leadership and the left over their amendments to the economic motion, especially the right for councils to borrow more to build.

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Gareth Epps

Conference: Do the Liberal Democrats want more homes and more jobs?

By Gareth Epps | Mon 16th September 2013 - 6:52 am

Do the Liberal Democrats want more homes and more jobs? That and other questions that will get an answer, one way or another, when our Conference debates the economy today (Monday). One of the two amendments tabled by the Social Liberal Forum with support from 100 Conference representatives calls for the Coalition to commence the dramatic increase in housebuilding that the Party endorsed last year.

The barriers to this at present are, as ever, in the housebuilding industry and the Treasury.

The former has by most estimates some 400,000 planning consents at its disposal, assisted by policies that effectively waived the lapsing …

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David Thorpe

Opinion: Liberal Democrats must champion our economic achievements

By David Thorpe | Sun 15th September 2013 - 6:02 pm

It’s the enduring burden placed upon liberals that we are often found to have made the correct policies calls in the crucible of history. But we fail to turn such perspicacity into a victory in the more immediate court of public opinion.

Whether it is on major issues such as the Liberal party’s historic pioneering of the welfare state before any other; the commitment to green issues which predated Cameron’s hugging of a husky by two decades; Caroline Pidgeon’s proposal for a bicycle hire scheme before either Boris or Ken; liberals have historically been ahead of the policy curve, nut been …

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Lester Holloway

Opinion: Clegg’s rethink on immigration visa bonds needs a rethink

By Lester Holloway | Sun 15th September 2013 - 5:35 pm

Plans to impose a blanket £3,000 ‘bail’ bond on all visitors from Nigeria, Ghana, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are on hold after Clegg refused to “sign them off”, according to the Guardian .

However speaking on the Andrew Marr show this this morning Clegg confirmed that a pilot scheme would go ahead. He suggested the bail bond becomes a general tool for border officials rather than a blanket policy covering all visitors irrespective of how genuine they appear.

The danger is that border staff could now have a new weapon in their armoury to disproportionately exercise against citizens of colour …

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Stephen Tall

Hung Parliament: what Lib Dem members think will happen… and what you want to happen

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th September 2013 - 3:15 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. Almost 700 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

76% of Lib Dem members predict another hung parliament in 2015

What do you believe is the likeliest outcome of the next general election?

    8% – A Conservative minority government

    6% – An overall majority for the Conservatives

    2% – A Conservative-led coalition with parties other than Labour or the Lib Dems

    14%

…

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Tim Oliver

Conference: Defending the Future will not defend the realm

By Tim Oliver | Sun 15th September 2013 - 2:02 pm

The defence of the realm is the foremost responsibility of any government. The defence policy paper that will be debated in Glasgow this week is not only worrying, but potentially dangerous.

The first business of any defence policy is to recognise that the armed forces are to wage war in the name of our interests. We must be clear what these interests are. We can then be clear as to when we will deploy our armed forces into combat, what equipment they will need, the training they will require and the size and composition they must be. War is, after all, …

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John Shipley

Conference: There is an urgent need for more social housing

By John Shipley | Sun 15th September 2013 - 1:09 pm

Lord Shipley gives some of the background to Amendment 2 to the Economy Motion. 

A year ago our Party committed itself to building up to 300,000 new homes a year. The proposals were outlined in the housing policy paper Decent Homes for All. The aim was to achieve this by supporting private investment and by giving greater powers to local councils and social landlords.

A shortage of homes has made it extremely difficult for young people to buy their own home. Rents continue to rise to unaffordable levels for many and 500,000 people in work now receive housing benefit because …

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Bill le Breton

Opinion: The Bank of England’s Independence – the Law

By Bill le Breton | Sun 15th September 2013 - 12:01 pm

Political RavishmentAccording to the Independent, Nick Clegg wants to take on the ‘left’ in his Party.

In doing so he accuses the Social Liberal Forum’s amendments to the economics motion as “ending the Bank of England’s independence by ordering it to do more to create jobs” and “tearing up the fiscal mandate.”

Let’s deal with the first accusation. The 1998 Bank of England Act granted the Bank independence to set interest rates. That is instrument independence. However, the remit for the Bank is set by the government and so The Bank does not have goal independence, it takes its goals each Spring from the Government.

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Ruth Dombey

Opinion: Real localism – it could surprise us all

By Ruth Dombey | Sun 15th September 2013 - 11:01 am

Everyone’s talking about Localism now – we’ve even got a Government Act. Yet when that very Act gives the Secretary of State 126 new powers over local government, you have to wonder if we all mean the same thing.

Liberal Democrats have been advocating devolution, double devolution and subsidiarity for many years. But central government continues to tighten its throttlehold over local authorities with little trust in local politicians and local communities and their ability to do what’s best for local people. London boroughs receive 74% of their income through central government grants, compared to 31% for New York, 18% for …

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Jo Dipple

The Independent View: Coalition should do more to promote the creative industries as a growth sector

By Jo Dipple | Sun 15th September 2013 - 10:03 am

WordleThe Coalition Government’s record for the creative industries is mixed.

On the plus side, innovations such as the Creative Industries Council are welcome and have enabled a lot of cross industry collaboration on common issues affecting different sectors, such as skills and access to finance.

The enabling of the Live Music Act to come into law and promises of further entertainment deregulation are of huge benefit to my sector.

Creative industries have benefited from tax breaks to enable them to continue to compete globally.

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Liz Green

Opinion: We need to address the need for a re-balance in education localism

By Liz Green | Sun 15th September 2013 - 9:31 am

If we, as Lib Dems, have learnt anything from the march from complete local authority control, through self-management of schools and on to the drive for academies and free schools, it is that localism in education should not just be about empowering head teachers and governing bodies but must also raise standards across the board.  If this means bringing back some of those vital local authority-run ancillary services that allow heads to concentrate on the quality of teaching, so be it. Dogmatic opposition based on historic myth or anecdotal evidence has no place in education policy.

As we have witnessed over the last three years, the relentless approach of the Secretary of State to a continual reform agenda – a few good, many not so good, and some downright awful from our local government Lib Dem perspective – has meant that problems such as the provision of sufficient school places and the needs of vulnerable pupils haven’t had a proper look in. Whilst it is okay to notice OFSTED looking at regional structures in order to undertake improvement, as well as inspection, is it enough without the input of the localised knowledge only a Council can supply? I think not.

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Green groups say all main parties failing on green leadership

By Andy Boddington | Sun 15th September 2013 - 9:01 am

Nick Clegg Cathkin MarshSeven key environment groups have given their verdict on the environmental performance of Cameron, Clegg and Miliband. Their report, Green Standard 2013, is pretty condemning.

After a promising first few months, the coalition government and the UK’s senior politicians have been largely silent about the UK’s environmental goals. The prime minister’s promise that he would lead “the greenest government ever” has been devalued by the chancellor’s framing of high environmental standards as a threat to economic success.

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David Laws: Time to end overpriced school uniforms

By Andy Boddington | Sun 15th September 2013 - 8:30 am

School UniformsLiberal Democrat Schools Minister David Laws has announced he is to revamp guidance on school uniforms to help schools cut costs for parents.

With family budgets squeezed, Laws believes schools should place more emphasis on value for money for parents when choosing new uniforms. He will urge schools to end the practice of using a single uniform supplier, which stops parents from shopping around to find the best deal.

The new guidance, to be issued by the Department for Education tomorrow, will ask governing bodies to:

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Stephen Tall

EXCLUSIVE: What Lib Dem members think about nuclear power, fracking, tuition fees and online pornography

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th September 2013 - 8:15 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. Almost 700 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

In advance of this year’s federal conference in Glasgow, we asked about a number of hot-topic issues that are going to be discussed here over the next few days. here’s what you had to say about the issues being debated today, Sunday…

65% say yes to nuclear power

Do you believe that nuclear power, alongside oil and gas and …

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Rob Blackie

Opinion: Keep the Bank of England Independent

By Rob Blackie | Sun 15th September 2013 - 8:01 am

Conference on Monday will debate an amendment from the Social Liberal Forum (SLF) to the Economy Motion which calls the government to “monitor closely the progress of the Bank of England, ensuring it has a refocused mandate that allows monetary policy to aid growth, reduce the unemployment rate to below 6% creating at least a million jobs, and to address weak income growth, targeting a higher level of national/median income.”

Who could possibly disagree with that? Well, me for a start. In practice this is reducing the independence of the Bank of England.

Liberal Democrats have long argued that the Bank of …

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Newsmoggie

Conference Comment: What the papers say (2)

By Newsmoggie | Sun 15th September 2013 - 7:18 am

Paddy Ashdown GlasgowIn an interview with the Guardian, Paddy Ashdown is however unequivocal. He says we should not turn our back on a future liaison with the Tories:

Paddy Ashdown has urged his restive party to prepare for the possibility of a second coalition with the Tories, saying the Conservatives have proved surprisingly good and trustworthy partners for the Liberal Democrats in government.

As the newspaper recognises, that’s not going to go down well with the left of the party. In a mea culpa, Paddy admits that he was wrong to have pushed so hard for a deal with Labour after the 2010 election, when Nick Clegg was moving towards the Tories. “I was wrong and Nick was right,” he says.

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Caron Lindsay

And the winners are……

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th September 2013 - 11:30 pm

A brief escape from the balloons, streamers, laughter and merriment to tell you the winners of our awards:

Tweeter/Facebooker of the year: Liberal Youth

Favourite Labour MP: Alan Johnson

Best online campaign run by a Liberal Democrat: No Government above the Law: Liberal Democrats against secret courts

Political commentator of the Year: Andrew Rawnsley

Political Broadcaster of the Year: Eddie Mair

The Tim Garden Award: Tim Farron

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Opinion: It shall not pass: The case against F17, the motion on protecting children from online pornography

By James Shaddock and Alisdair McGregor | Sat 14th September 2013 - 8:36 pm

Many of you will have seen or heard about motion F17 – Protecting Children From Online Pornography. If you are here in Glasgow at Autumn Conference, you will have also heard about the campaign to stop this motion, either through a reference back or voting it down. This motion must not be allowed to pass, either as is or amended, and here we want to lay out five reasons why:

1. Impossible to Implement

The recommendations put forward in both in the motion and amendment, are simply unworkable. The Internet does not work in the same way as other broadcast media,. As …

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Jo Swinson MP

Conference: Jo Swinson on payday lenders

By Jo Swinson MP | Sat 14th September 2013 - 7:04 pm

Jo Swinson GlasgowSpeaking to Scottish Liberal Democrat autumn conference in Glasgow today, Scottish Liberal Democrat MP and Minister of State for Business and Consumer Affairs Jo Swinson set out how she was taking steps to build a stronger economy and a fairer society by tackling unscrupulous payday lenders.

In her speech to conference, Jo Swinson said:

Since becoming the Minister responsible last year, I’ve tackled this issue head on.

Last December we published research on the problems and options for action.

In March we saw the Office of Fair Trading announce a crackdown amidst evidence of the widespread failure of the industry to treat customers fairly.

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Recent Comments

  • Roland
    @Gwyn, I agree with David Raw about relative urgency. However, even in the list of political reforms, I would put changes to voting way below the changes that n...
  • Roland
    The key aspects of the Student loans system that needs to be guaranteed are: 1. Maximum percentage student loan repayment deduction from earnings subject to PA...
  • Phil Wainewright
    @Alan Jelfs - yes there is an important discussion to be had around government debt, but we need to distinguish between borrowing for investment and borrowing t...
  • Phil White
    Hope you're doing OK, Caron....
  • James Dennison
    Tim, I'm not convinced that 300 is too few - that is 150 MPs in a govt (at least) none of whom would have constituency duties. As well as elected (and non-elect...