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Opinion: Europe is good for business

By Richard Davis | Thu 4th July 2013 - 3:24 pm

On Monday a group of business leaders from across the country gathered to launch a manifesto for Europe the main thrust of which said that Europe was good for UK businesses. It was a great experience to be with a group of people who were all describing unique personal reasons related to their own companies as to why Britain should remain in the EU.

It is often thought that it is just large businesses trading across borders that do well out of EU membership. But at the launch event I met with many small business leaders who have the EU somewhere …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged business for new europe and europe | 13 Comments

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The Independent View: Trident – when two into four doesn’t go

By Stephen Lee | Thu 4th July 2013 - 1:03 pm

It is welcome that Danny Alexander is to publish a paper into the alternatives to a like-for-like replacement for Trident this summer. In doing so, the Liberal Democrats have made a sea-change in the transparency of British nuclear weapons policy, which for more than half-a-century has been veiled in official secrecy and occluded behind impenetrable bromides.

But the leaks surrounding the paper suggesting a “Third Way” style compromise on Trident by reducing the number of submarines to two feels hollow. The current four submarine Trident force is the minimum currently required to ensure that one is always at sea

…

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged centre forum, stephen lee and trident | 21 Comments

Opinion: Where is the Liberal Democrat influence over drugs policy?

By Adam Corlett | Thu 4th July 2013 - 10:02 am

Yesterday we learnt that the Home Secretary has decided to ban the drug ‘khat’, against the recommendation of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The Lib Dems were reportedly against this move, and the decision lay with Theresa May. This and other decisions suggest that drugs minister Jeremy Browne has been given a script but no power.

The disappointing decision to make khat a Class C drug follows the view of the ACMD in January that it should remain legal (having said the same thing …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged drugs policy, jeremy browne and khat | 13 Comments

Liberal Democrat Job Watch – 3 July 2013

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 4:12 pm

Fancy working for the Liberal Democrats? There are a fair few jobs to choose from over on the Work for an MP website, which includes party jobs as well as working for parliamentarians.

Top job

The press team at Lib Dem HQ is full of lovely people. They all work incredibly hard and there are too few of them, but that’s par for the course in this party. If a fast moving and challenging job is for you, then you might be interested in being the new Broadcast Officer:

We are looking for an exceptional individual with a thorough understanding of the

…

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Posted in News | Tagged liberal democrat job watch | 1 Comment

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Birtwistle in burger-off

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 3:15 pm

Burgers have been in the news too much in the last week. And having had to pay £15 for one in a Hilton Hotel this weekend, you better believe they are not my favourite food at the moment.

Yesterday’s Daily Politics, in an attempt to keep the story going for a bit longer, had a trio of MPs taste test 3 burgers and pick which one was the best. The MPs were our Gordon Birtwistle, Labour’s Ian Murray and the legend that is Conservative Peter Bone. Have a look here …

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Posted in News | Tagged burgers, daily politics, gordon birtwistle, ian murray, john selwyn gummer, mrs bone and peter bone | 1 Comment

LibLink…Sophie in’t Veld and Guy Verhofstadt: Europe must get tough with the US over NSA spying revelations

By NewsHound | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 2:28 pm

ALDE MEPs Sophie in’t Veld and Guy Verhofstadt pull no punches in an article in the Guardian about the US spying revelations, saying that Europe has only itself to blame for treating the US with awe to the extent that it was bound to start taking liberties:

The truth is that for too long, the EU and its member states have been prioritising cosy relations with the US over the interests of their own citizens. The spying scandal will now put Europe to the test. It must show that it is both willing and able to protect the rights of European

…

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Posted in News | Tagged ALDE, guy verhofstadt and sophie in't veld | 9 Comments

Nick needs to talk the talk as well as walk the walk on women’s equality

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 1:30 pm

Some of the things Nick Clegg has championed in Government have been revolutionary for women. He’s spent years talking about shared parental leave, for example, and it’s now on the way to becoming a reality. His interest in improving mental health and smashing the related stigma doesn’t just help women, but it does show that he’s willing to take a stand to challenge our long held assumptions. He quickly and vocally embraced equal marriage to the delight of those of us who have supported it for decades.

I know that Nick gets it on a lot of the barriers facing women …

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Posted in News | Tagged equality, nick clegg, sexism and women | 43 Comments

How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 10:24 am

Why not join hundreds of other Lib Dem Voice readers in getting our latest headlines by email?

Some people like regularly visiting a site to see if there’s new stories of interest. Some people like subscribing to its news feed (RSS) and checking that way. But if you prefer email, you can instead sign up to get a daily early morning email with a summary of the previous day’s posts from Lib Dem Voice, complete with a note of how many comments each post has got and convenient links to click on if any take your fancy and you want to take a read.

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Posted in Site news | 1 Comment

Two-thirds of married couples EXCLUDED from Tories’ marriage tax allowance

By Stephen Tall | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 9:45 am

Fresh from capitulating to his backbenchers over Europe, David Cameron is having to give in again on the issue of the marriage tax allowance. Evan Harris has already spoken out against the Tories’ plans here on LDV this week, highlighting how the policy harks back to the 1950s’ concept of nuclear households with (male) ‘breadwinners’ and (female) ‘stay-at-home’ spouses.

In the lead-up to the 2010 election, the IFS also looked hard at the policy, producing a devastating indictment of the policy’s flaws.

First, it sets out how it works: ‘up to £750 of the income tax personal allowance …

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Posted in News | Tagged evan harris, IFS and marriage tax allowance | 3 Comments

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 9:20 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.

Royal Highland Show

In the Borders we have a strong and successful farming industry with local farmers trading their products throughout the UK and abroad and constantly innovating and developing their businesses. Every summer I always attend local rural shows and events in the Borders which are an opportunity to meet with local farm businesses and discuss the work they are …

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Posted in Op-eds, Parliament and Scotland | Tagged Michael Moore and Westminster Notes | Leave a comment

Schools for profit? Not on my watch, says Nick Clegg

By The Voice | Wed 3rd July 2013 - 8:38 am

From today’s Independent:

Nick Clegg vowed today to veto any move by the Conservatives to allow academies and free schools to become profit-making businesses.

The Deputy Prime Minister intervened after The Independent revealed that Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, is considering plans to redraw the rules to allow the schools to use hedge funds and venture capitalists to raise money.

The Liberal Democrats will block any moves to change the rules before the 2015 general election. During the election campaign, Mr Clegg’s party will claim that they acted as a brake on the Tories inside the Coalition. “We will say we stopped

…

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Posted in News | Tagged independent, michael gove, nick clegg, schools and silly tory ideas blocked by the lib dems | 3 Comments

Boris shows himself to be more liberal than Nick on immigration

By Stephen Tall | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 9:10 pm

Typing that headline pained me. But it’s true, at least on the issue of an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Compare and contrast…

Here’s what London Mayor Boris Johnson said today on his LBC call-in show today:

“We should have an amnesty. We’ve got people who’ve got in here illegally. They are not engaged with the economy and being honest with the system.”

And here’s how Nick casually dumped the party’s policy three months ago:

… it was seen by many people as a reward for those who have broken the law. And so it risked undermining public confidence in the immigration system.

…

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Posted in Op-eds | 27 Comments

Danny Alexander introduces Ginger Rodent beer to the Commons bar

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 7:58 pm

If there is one issue that could unite Social Liberal Forum co-chair Gareth Epps and Danny Alexander, it’s beer. Gareth is a huge supporter of the Fair Deal for your local campaign, as any self-respecting CAMRA member should be. Danny is also a huge supporter of the micro breweries in his constituency. I spent a very pleasant evening sampling Loch Ness Brewery’s wares with his staff last Summer and hope to do the same next month.

It was the Cairngorm Brewery, though, who responded to Harriet Harman’s insult of Danny Alexander by producing a Ginger Rodent beer.

Tonight, that …

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Posted in News | Tagged cairngorm brewery, Danny Alexander, ginger rodent beer, harriet harman and loch ness brewery | 8 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #332

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 332nd 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 (23-29 June, 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 | 1 Comment

Sarah Teather on landlord immigration checks: “I just foresee an enormous amount of misery”

By NewsHound | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 6:04 pm

Sarah Teather was interviewed on The World at One about the Government’s plans to make landlords check an individual’s immigration status when they came to rent a property. She said that unless there were drastic changes to the plans, she couldn’t see herself voting for it and she said that Liberal Democrat MPs weren’t happy about it either.

She said she was worried that landlords would simply not bother to let their properties to people whose immigration status may be in doubt. She added that if the Government modelled this new …

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Posted in News | Tagged bbc, immigration, radio 4, sarah teather, welfare reform and world at one | 3 Comments

Liberal Youth Activate gives the new Liberal Youth leadership a renewed focus on Further Education

By Callum Morton | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 5:00 pm

I write post Activate, Liberal Youth’s flagship training weekend. This year, it also included policy debates and constitutional amendments – two of which were on Further Education.

Liberal Youth’s leadership on Further Education has improved significantly over the past year, with Freshers Fairs conducted in FE institutions for the first time, as well as training for regional chairs on how to engage with Further Education students in their areas.

I’ve demanded much better from the Liberal Youth Executive for 6 years, arguing that setting our foundations in Further Education would make the …

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Posted in News | Tagged further education and liberal youth | 4 Comments

Vince Cable: UK single market is good for business

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 3:58 pm

Vince Cable has been in Edinburgh today to launch the fourth in the series of “Scotland Analysis” papers produced by the UK Government about the effect of independence for Scotland on a variety of issues. Today, the spotlight is on business regulation and the changes that independence would force on businesses both in Scotland and the rest of the UK with two separate regulatory systems to get round. The example Vince cited on a Radio Scotland interview this morning (which you can listen to here) was a simple one of buying petrol on either side of the border, …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged business, Scotland, scotland analysis, Scottish independence referendum and vince cable | 4 Comments

A free-for-all on school term dates?

By Mary Reid | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 2:58 pm

Michael Gove has had another ‘good idea’, produced without any reference to the professionals who will have to implement it, nor to the general public who will have to work around it. This time he is keen to allow all schools to set their own term dates, in line with the freedom already granted to academies and free schools.

It sounds like a superficial change, but those of us who have examined the issue in depth know that the implications could be far greater than you might imagine.

Some eight years ago I attended a series of meetings of councillors who, like me, held education portfolios in London boroughs. Our aim was to co-ordinate school term dates across the whole of London, and, wherever possible, with the surrounding counties, and we did achieve that. At the same time we looked at patterns of terms, considering some quite radical alternatives, such as six or seven equal length terms, with a shorter break in the summer.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged michael gove and schools | 30 Comments

LibLink…Jo Swinson: Only women can help us now

By NewsHound | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 1:25 pm

Jo Swinson has been writing for Management Today about the importance of ensuring that businesses ensure that women have equal opportunity to reach senior and board levels of companies.

Women are vital to Britain’s economic recovery and we need to ensure we are making full use of their talents. That’s why the government is focused on removing the barriers that prevent women from getting ahead and achieving their full potential. We simply can’t afford to lose out on the talents and skills of over half the population.

She acknowledged progress on this but said that there was more to be done, outlining …

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged equality, Jo Swinson, management today and women | 5 Comments

Holding out for a liberal hero

By Tim Farron MP | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 11:55 am

Every year at Conference I get the chance to thank the people in our Party that have given the most.

They’re people who have worked tirelessly in their local area to make sure liberal voices are heard – or people who have given years of time and support as councillors or council leaders.

They’re political assistants to council groups who support Lib Dems in local government with all the valuable work they do.

And they’re local parties who have worked to increase representation of ethnic minorities in everything they do.

This is your chance to let me know who we should be rewarding. Click here for an information pack.

You have until 31st July to get in touch and nominate a Party member you know has given a huge amount to the Party.

This is a great chance to make sure our ordinary members are recognised for all the fantastic work they have done for the Party. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Liberal Democrat Party Awards Pack 2013 by Liberal Democrat Voice

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged featured and party awards | 5 Comments

How the papers viewed Nick Clegg’s comments on MPs’ pay

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 10:20 am

A snapshot of some of today’s headlines on Nick Clegg’s comments on MPs’ Pay is quite revealing. To refresh your memories, yesterday he told journalists at his new monthly press conference that he wouldn’t take the proposed rise himself, that he couldn’t control what other MPs so, but:

But I think all MPs, whatever status they hold, whatever position they hold, will know from their own constituents that there are millions of people in the United Kingdom at the moment who’ve had a remorseless squeeze on their living standards for some years now and that we’re asking millions of public sector

…

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Posted in News | Tagged daily mail, media, nick clegg and press coverage | 4 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone on successes in campaign against FGM

By Mary Reid | Tue 2nd July 2013 - 9:13 am

Over on Huffington Post, Lynne Featherstone has written an article about the heartening early successes in the campaign against female genital mutilation. She writes:

“I wanted to save lives not put them at risk.”

That’s what a former female genital cutter told me during a visit to Kenya last week, as she explained why she downed her tools and instead became a birth attendant.

I believe this woman should be celebrated for taking such a brave stance against the centuries-old tradition of female genital mutilation (FGM).

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged female genital mutilation and lynne featherstone | 1 Comment

Polling Day for the 2014 local elections set for May 22nd

By Helen Duffett | Mon 1st July 2013 - 4:41 pm

From the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors:

Well we all knew it was coming but now it’s confirmed. A statement in the House of Commons… confirms that the 2014 local elections will be on the same day as the European elections in the UK – Thursday 22nd May 2014. We’ll send out a draft timetable shortly.

The full statement:

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis): As I informed the House on 26 March, Official Report, column 84WS, we published a consultation document inviting views on whether or not we should, subject

…

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Posted in News | Tagged aldc, brandon lewis, european elections 2014 and local elections 2014 | 2 Comments

LibLink: Stephen Williams on MPs’ pay

By Joe Otten | Mon 1st July 2013 - 2:55 pm

MPs’ pay is in the news today with suggestions that IPSA may agree a 10% or even a £10,000 increase, while other public sector pay remains frozen. Stephen Williams writes

IPSA was created in the aftermath of the furore over MPs’ expenses four years ago. It sets the terms of Parliamentary pay, pensions, budgets for staff and office costs and MPs’ personal employment expenses such as travel and accommodation. We MPs have absolutely no say in any aspect of the regime, including our salary. So MPs (nor meddling party leaders) cannot instruct IPSA to set MP pay at any particular

…

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Posted in News | Tagged ipsa | 36 Comments

Evan Harris writes… Speak out against the marriage tax allowance

By Evan Harris | Mon 1st July 2013 - 1:10 pm

David Cameron has finally given in to his backbenchers and promised to introduce a tax break for married couples in the next few weeks. Even David Cameron does not really support the policy. As Iain Dale put it in a blog last week “David Cameron and George Osborne keep paying lip service to this idea in the vain hope that it will keep Peter Bone and Mrs Bone happy if somewhere at the end of the rainbow this promise is ever introduced, but the truth of the matter is that neither Prime Minister or Chancellor gives a monkey’s cuss …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged marriage tax break | 34 Comments

Welcome Croatia!

By Joe Otten | Mon 1st July 2013 - 11:01 am

Today sees Croatia’s accession as the 28th member of the European Union. Croatia joins Slovenia, of the former Yugoslavia, which acceded in 2004.

We can sometimes forget in our arguments over EU budgets, CAP reform and the repatriation of powers, just what the bigger picture is. With this accession, the EU is serving to bolster democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in a part of Eastern Europe recently emerged from civil war. It is serving British interests by bringing Western influence to the East, in a manner …

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Posted in News | Tagged croatia and european union | 18 Comments

Layla Moran writes… Child Detention still happens: Boy held at Campsfield for ‘2-3 months’

By Layla Moran MP | Mon 1st July 2013 - 8:45 am

It is my belief that in a civilized society we should protect children. That they should not be punished for the actions of their parents or grandparents and that they should be given every chance of leading a fulfilled, healthy and normal childhood. And they most certainly should not be locked up without cause because of their family’s decision either.

Photo: Helen Duffett on Flickr.

Sadly for many years, this was not only true but also prevalent. Children who were here illegally were held in immigration deportation centres for months and sometimes years, were not allowed to go to school, not allowed to develop. A child does not, in full understanding of the consequences, make the decision to enter a country illegally. It would have been the decision of their family in whatever form that may take; yet until 2011 they were punished as equals to these adults.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged campsfield, child detention, children, home office, nick clegg, oxford west and abingdon and theresa may | 9 Comments

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Recent Comments

Steve Trevethan
Thank you for a bravely honest article! Might the “leadership” which took the L. D party into enforced student debts/loans have been confused about the i...
David Le Grice
Weird that this appears to be the first LDV article about this, and the first time anyone in the parliamentary party has spoken up about it (as far as I'm aware...
Jack
Delighted to see conference overwhelmingly reject the EHRC guidance (they don't deserve three quarters of that name - I accept they are a commission). People ar...
Geoff Reid
Somebody had to say it eventual!y. Thank you Tom for inviting us to be honest on this matter....
Hywel
Important point there Paul. For all the angst about 'lack of cut through' that has pretty much been the case for most of the time the LIb Dems existed except f...