NewsHound

LibLink…Paddy Ashdown: Let us not leave Afghanistan with this final gesture of betrayal and dishonour

By NewsHound | Tue 21st May 2013 - 2:29 pm

Paddy Ashdown has written a hard-hitting article for the Yorkshire Post in which he implores the Government to give Afghan interpreters who have helped UK troops the right to come to the UK.

The interpreters and their families live under threat from the Taliban:

These men are different from our troops in this sense: our troops can be sure that their families are home, secure and safe, in Britain, whereas they cannot.

Their families live, day in and day out, threatened by mortal threat from the Taliban in Afghan society.

Our troops come home every six or nine months, whereas they do not. They

…

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Andrew Tibbs

Opinion: Nationalists want to monitor the BBC!

By Andrew Tibbs | Tue 21st May 2013 - 12:58 pm

BBC - Some rights reserved by Tim LoudonA group of MSPs have declared that they’re going to start monitoring BBC Scotland because they don’t think they can deliver on their obligations! That should ring alarm bells!

The SNP controlled Scottish Parliament Education & Culture Committee has published a report, critical of cuts at BBC Scotland, with the implication that the Scottish arm of the Corporation would be unable to produce adequate coverage of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the independence referendum.

The Committee forgets that BBC Scotland is one part of …

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Caron Lindsay

How Liberal Democrat MPs voted on same sex marriage amendments

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 21st May 2013 - 11:43 am

The only vote which had been published before I went to my bed last night was that on freedom of conscience for registrars. I’ve now had a look at some of the others in  Hansard.

In addition to the 11 who voted in favour of registrars being able to exempt themselves from conducting same sex marriages, there were two abstentions, from Vince Cable and Mark Williams. We had 36 voting in favour and Sir Bob Russell was telling.

The next vote was on whether marriage between a man and a woman should be made a protected characteristic of a religion …

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Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged | 12 Comments
David Howarth

Opinion: Have we changed our policy on an in-out referendum?

By David Howarth | Tue 21st May 2013 - 10:28 am

In Andrew Neil’s Sunday Politics interview with Danny Alexander, Neil asserted that we have changed our policy on an in-out referendum. Is he right?

Our position in 2008, when we walked out the Commons after being refused a debate on an in-out referendum, was that we wanted a referendum to decide whether the UK should stay in the EU in the light of the Lisbon Treaty. The Conservative position was that a referendum should decide the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty itself. The difference was perhaps subtle, but it was important. If the public voted no in the Conservative referendum, …

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Judith Jolly

Baroness Judith Jolly writes: new Social Care Bill focuses on people not systems

By Judith Jolly | Tue 21st May 2013 - 8:55 am

The Care Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the social care system. Currently there is a morass of legislation, confusing to those who work in the system and almost impenetrable to those in need of care, or their carers. It is leaving behind those who fund themselves to work it out as they go along. These are the most vulnerable in our society – the elderly and those of working age who are disabled and need care. The Bill focuses on people, not systems, and has received plaudits from all quarters.

Today I will stand up …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 3 Comments
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Stephen Tall

Opinion polls yadda yadda. OR “Does Nate Silver mean nothing to you? Did he write in vain?”

By Stephen Tall | Tue 21st May 2013 - 8:45 am

Two new polls last night: the daily YouGov tracker and the first post-local elections poll from Survation. The spread is interesting:

    Labour: 35% (Survation 39% (YouGov)
    Conservatives: 24% (S), 31% (YG)
    Lib Dems: 11% (S), 10% (YG)
    Ukip: 22% (S), 14% (YG)

As Anthony Wells points out, Survation asks whether people will vote Ukip (most other firms just ask about the main three parties and ‘Others’) so usually gets the highest Ukip poll numbers. This latest survey is in line with the bounce other firms have shown and which the perceived winner of an election often records.

Unsurprisingly, it’s Survation’s poll which has attracted most interest because it shows a gap if just 2% between the Tories and Ukip. Cue cries of ‘Tory meltdown!, ‘Cameron in crisis!’ and every other journalistic cliche.

At the risk of precipitating on the parade of those who love nothing better than to indulge in over-excited hyper-speculation, can I make the following point. Or rather can I ask the following question: Does Nate Silver mean nothing to you? Did he write in vain?

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Posted in Op-eds and Polls | Tagged , , , and | 24 Comments
Caron Lindsay

11 Liberal Democrat MPs vote for registrars to be exempt from marrying same sex couples

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 20th May 2013 - 10:55 pm

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill has made fairly easy progress through the Commons tonight. After a Government/Labour compromise on a review for extending civil partnerships to opposite sex couples, and the heavy defeat or withdrawal of amendments, including “son of Section 28”, it looks as though many of the barriers to this Bill’s passage have been removed.

There is still a further day of debate tomorrow, though, and further amendments to be debated.

One of the amendments discussed today, defeated by 340 votes to 150 in favour, was to allow registrars to exempt themselves from marrying same sex couples. Eleven Liberal …

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Mark Valladares

ALDE Party Congress venue for 2013 announced… welcome to London!

By Mark Valladares | Mon 20th May 2013 - 4:51 pm

The Liberal Democrats are proud to announce the hosting of the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe) Congress in London at the end of November this year.

The ALDE Party Congress is the biggest annual event gathering Liberals across Europe:

  • over 650 members of liberal parties from around the continent;
  • top politicians including Prime Ministers, European Commissioners, Ministers, Members of the European and national Parliaments, Members of the Committee of the Regions, and many other delegates
  • an event with European visibility, acknowledging the role of the supporting party within both a European and the national political context
  • topical debates, high level speeches and

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Posted in Europe / International, Events and News | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Michael Crockart MP

Mike Crockart MP writes… Reducing reoffending and cutting crime

By Michael Crockart MP | Mon 20th May 2013 - 3:33 pm

Wormwood Scrubs prison - Some rights reserved by TheGoogly3 years ago Liberal Democrats entered into the Coalition to put our nation’s economy back on track; building a fairer society and a stronger economy. But it wasn’t just about doing things in the national interest, we also went into Government to put Liberal Democrat policies into action.

At conference last year I moved a motion on reoffending so I am pleased that today Nick Clegg has set out many of the ideas passed by conference to rebuild our criminal justice system. Our …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett

Opinion: Lib Dem MPs: Vote for equality, human rights and love today

By Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett | Mon 20th May 2013 - 12:58 pm

The culmination of more than three years of heartfelt campaigning by the LGBT+ Lib Dems finally comes to the final hurdle in the House of Commons battle for equal marriage this week, with votes today and tomorrow.

It will sadly see the ultimate opportunity for those MPs who remain implacably behind the times in opposition to equality and fairness in the United Kingdom to block progress. It is also the opportunity for the sun to shine on those MPs who vote in favour of equality, fairness, human rights, respect and love. LGBT+ people want to celebrate and share their love just …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 32 Comments
Stephen Gilbert MP

Stephen Gilbert MP writes… Equal marriage is now a litmus test for Cameron

By Stephen Gilbert MP | Mon 20th May 2013 - 11:56 am

Marriage ring - License Some rights reserved by jcoterhals May has been a good month for equal marriage. Minnesota became the 12th American State, plus DC, to allow same-sex couples to marry and France became the 9th country in Europe (the 14th around the world) to introduce this landmark change. Millions of gay and lesbian people are now able to marry the person they love.

This week, in Britain, the debate returns to the House of Commons. I have no doubt that a significant majority of MPs are in …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 14 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Jo Swinson uses the F word in Guardian interview

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 20th May 2013 - 10:28 am

jo swinsonLast week, I said that Liberal Democrats should use the word feminist much more than we do. Women Liberal Democrats has done so much to advance policy on women’s equality over the years and its successor Liberal Democrat Women has a bright future ahead of it. However, women’s hard won rights are under attack all over the world, whether it’s the disgrace of female genital mutilation practised at home or abroad, domestic violence, employment rights, rape culture or abortion rights. Projects like Everyday Sexism expose a misogyny that is …

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Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #326

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 19th May 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 326th 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 (12-18 May, 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
NewsHound

LibLink: Tim Bale – “The biggest effect of the Lib Dems holding their nerve has been to help the Conservatives lose theirs”

By NewsHound | Sun 19th May 2013 - 3:25 pm

tim baleTim Bale is professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, an an historian of the Conservative party. And this week, to mark the third anniversary of the formation of the Coalition, he’s turned his attention to the Lib Dems.

The article begins by dissecting that ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ verb — compromise — to highlight the problems posed by the Coalition for both its parties: ‘Used actively, it’s a good thing – you want something; I want something different; we talk it over; we come to an arrangement; …

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Stephen Tall

The Sun story about Chris Huhne that was a total invention (and which the other papers happily copied)

By Stephen Tall | Sun 19th May 2013 - 1:15 pm

Remember that front page Sun story from 13 March? On the off-chance Voice readers missed this exclusive, let’s refersh your memory of the splash:

Disgraced MP Chris Huhne was ridiculed on his first day in Wandsworth jail yesterday — after a warder called him to breakfast by yelling “Order! Order!”

Only one small problem with the story: it was a complete fabrication.

sun huhne lie

The Guardian’s Roy Greenslade has the story:

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Caron Lindsay

In full: David Steel’s lecture on the centenary of Jo Grimond’s birth

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 19th May 2013 - 11:49 am
Liberal Democrats including Alistair Carmichael (ok, so he lives there), Willie Rennie, David Steel and Nick Clegg have headed to Orkney this weekend to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Jo Grimond, the man credited with building up the Liberal Party after is demise. David Steel gave a lecture in the Firth Church at Finnstown and Nick Clegg spoke at a dinner last night.
Steel’s lecture, outlining Grimond’s  crashes through our normal word limit, but I think it’s worth reading the whole thing to get an insight into the history of the Liberal Party and into both Grimond’s and Steel’s

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Stephen Tall

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: “Of course the EU has to change”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 19th May 2013 - 10:45 am

No prizes for guessing which subject Nick Clegg tackles in his latest weekly letter to supporters: Europe. He rattles through the three positions: ‘calamitous outers’, ‘inconsequential renegotiators’ and ‘achievable reformers’. No prizes for guessing which he identifies with the Lib Dems. Over to Nick…

libdem letter from nick clegg

I’m writing this week’s Letter to you from Kirkwall in Orkney. Alistair Carmichael and Jim Wallace have been trying to persuade me to make the trip for a while and I’ve finally made it in order to join the celebrations of the centenary of Jo Grimond’s birth.

The big debate this week in British politics, which featured strongly in PMQs – where I was standing in for the PM (you can watch it here) – has obviously been about our future role in Europe. An issue on which Jo Grimond was a pioneer and leader.

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Caron Lindsay

Vince on living in Africa, love against the odds and helping people

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 19th May 2013 - 8:59 am

Vince Cable has been talking to the Telegraph about his varied and interesting life. From meeting his first wife while both were working in a mental hospital in York, to their romance meeting parental disapproval and succeeding despite that, to his empathy with his constituents’ problems, it charts the key moments of his first 70 years.

Illustrated with photographs of items which mean a lot to him, including a recording of his son Paul performing at a concert in Prague. HE also confesses a liking for James Blunt.

As  former MP’s caseworker, I completely understood what he said about how he is …

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Caron Lindsay

When Mr Farage came to Edinburgh – the ugly side of politics

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 18th May 2013 - 3:45 pm

It was misbehaviour all round when the UKIP leader came to Edinburgh on Thursday. He found himself on the receiving end of a noisy protest  organised by, among others, the Radical Independence Campaign. They shouted all sorts of abuse at him, leading to him taking refuge in a pub from which he was rescued by the Police. The Guardian has video of the incident.

He quickly lost any sympathy he might have gained by accusing the BBC’s David Miller of hatred and hanging up on a live radio interview.   This from a man who used the term “fascist scum” …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 20 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Nick Thornsby – As a Liberal Democrat, I ask, “What are you, our Coalition partners, playing at?”

By NewsHound | Sat 18th May 2013 - 2:15 pm

LibDemVoice’s Nick Thornsby has been on recce behind enemy lines, writing for ConservativeHome on the past week’s Tory implosion over Europe:

It is clear to everyone looking in from the outside that if the Tory Party does not get over itself sharpish, historians will look back at this as the moment the party destined itself to spend another decade, or longer, on the opposition benches. …

As a Liberal Democrat who regrets the passing of the coalition’s early radicalism, and who had hoped that David Cameron and those around him could govern as modern, moderate, sensible Conservatives, this regression is disappointing.

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Lord Roger Roberts

Lord Roger Roberts writes: Don’t try to win votes by coming down hard on migrants

By Lord Roger Roberts | Sat 18th May 2013 - 12:58 pm

This year is very special: it is the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht treaty. We have, since 1993, been European citizens, each of us endowed with the rights of free movement, settlement and employment across the Union. Of course, we are anxious about the lifting of barriers for some European Union workers at the beginning of next year. I suggest that we remove all hostility and suspicion and treat them as they are: fellow citizens of the Union. If we treat them otherwise, we are asking for trouble. Facts must take prominence; scaremongering must be stamped out.

But of course we …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

“They’re all mad, swivel-eyed loons”: a top Tory on the Tories

By Stephen Tall | Sat 18th May 2013 - 12:15 pm

Conservative Party logoHere’s the remark attributed to ‘a member of the Prime Minister’s inner circle’ according to the Telegraph:

“There’s really no problem,” the Conservative figure said about the parliamentary turmoil. “The MPs just have to do it because the associations tell them to, and the associations are all mad swivel-eyed loons.”

There is an obvious point here (and it’s the reason why whoever said it will soon be resigned): don’t diss your own supporters. ‘Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican,’ was Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment. It was as …

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Ed Davey

Edward Davey writes… Helping consumers to get cheaper energy bills

By Ed Davey | Sat 18th May 2013 - 11:25 am

Energy-bills-006As we finally emerge from what felt like a never ending winter, many consumers are rightly concerned about the energy bills landing on their doormats.

In Government I’m doing everything I can to ‘cushion’ people from bill increases. Wholesale energy prices make up nearly half of the typical household bill and controlling the recent increases is outside of our control. However, there’s a whole range of measures that we’re introducing to help people to keep their homes warm and their bills down – particularly the Green Deal, with the latest …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 16 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lynne Featherstone: If you think a girl is in danger of being forced to endure FGM, tell the Police

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 18th May 2013 - 9:45 am

Lynne Featherstone has urged anyone who suspects a girl may be at risk of being forced to endure Female Genital Mutilation to go to the Police with their concerns. She said that she wants to see cases prosecuted to send a powerful message.

She appealed for help to protect girls as what she called “the cutting season” approaches. The procedure often happens during the Summer holidays when the girls are away from school for several weeks.

She said that prosecution and other work to change behaviour were the way forward:

It would be great to have a prosecution and send out the message

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 4 Comments
Helen Duffett

The LDV Friday Five: 17 May 2013

By Helen Duffett | Fri 17th May 2013 - 5:00 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

  1. Vince Cable: we will force a referendum vote in Parliament (30 comments) by Vince Cable MP
  2. Clegg leadership plot: Gove’s ‘crazy grenade’ detonates, briefly, before Tories revert to arguing about Europe (31 comments) by Stephen Tall
  3. Ukip surge to 18% in latest ICM poll: Lib Dems at 11% (38 comments) by Stephen Tall
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Caron Lindsay

LibLink…Giles Goodall: LGBT rights in Europe – La vie en Rose?

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 4:10 pm

South East region Euro candidate Giles Goodall has written an article for Pink News for the International Day against homophobia and transphobia looking at LGBT rights across Europe.

He makes the point that 7 EU countries already have equal marriage with 3 more likely plus Britain to do so. However, he makes the point that without the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition, it would be unlikely to happen here. He then points out that the reality of life for LGBT people is not always as rosy as the law would imply:

A major new survey by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency,

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged , , , and | 7 Comments
Caron Lindsay

LibLink.. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP: The EU and US must promote human rights worldwide – that includes China

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 3:20 pm

Yorkshire and Humber Liberal Democrat MEP Edward McMillan-Scott has co-written a Guardian article with Chinese human rights activist Chen Guancheng arguing that just because China is becoming a superpower, it must still be challenged on its appalling human rights record:

China, the world’s rising superpower, continues to systematically engage in the political repression and torture of its citizens, with an estimated 7 to 8 million Chinese currently being held in prison or labour camps. From Cameroon to Cuba, Belarus to Bahrain, governments go on torturing and imprisoning those who dare to question their authority. For too many people around the

…

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Posted in Europe / International and LibLink | Tagged and | 7 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie: highlights of his first two years as Scottish Liberal Democrat leader

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 1:06 pm

willie news cuttingsIt’s two years today since Willie Rennie was elected Scottish Liberal Democrat leader.

Here are some of the highlights of his first two years in the job:

The first interview – I was there in North Queensferry when he kicked off his leadership in the sunshine. At that point it had rained every day since the Nationalists had won their overall majority.

He was soon calling out Alex Salmond for attacking a senior Supreme Court judge.

And being praised by journalists.

Then he spent 24 hours with carer Clare Lally …

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Caron Lindsay

Smith, Crockart, Bruce and Williams win in Great Parliamentary Raffle

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 17th May 2013 - 11:38 am

Well, I learned something I didn’t know about parliamentary procedure yesterday. I had always assumed that the Private Members’ Bill Ballot was an actual ballot, where MPs voted for themselves or their colleagues. How naive was I? The secret is now out, and available on You Tube. It’s actually a big raffle as you can see here:

440 MPs’ names went into the box and just 20 were drawn out. Among them were 4 Liberal Democrats. We had Sir Robert Smith in 9th place, Mike Crockart in 11th, Mark Williams in 13th and Sir Malcolm Bruce in 14th.  I …

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Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged , , , and | 8 Comments
The Voice

Stephen Tall guests on Guardian Politics Weekly podcast – Tory EU referendum question: in hand or out of control?

By The Voice | Fri 17th May 2013 - 10:25 am

guardian politicsLibDemVoice co-editor Stephen Tall joined the panel for this week’s Guardian Politics Weekly podcast, hosted by Tom Clark and also featuring political columnist Melissa Kite and Guardian social affairs editor Randeep Ramesh. They discuss the Tories’ latest implosion over when to hold an in/out EU referendum and Theresa May’s proposal that life should mean life in prison for anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.

You can listen to it here online, or download it as an MP3 here.

Posted in News and Podcasts | Tagged , , , , and | Leave a comment
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