Duncan Hames MP

Duncan Hames MP writes… Must we continue to use food for fuel?

By Duncan Hames MP | Fri 17th May 2013 - 8:25 am

The European Union is currently committed to ensuring that 10% of each Member State’s transport energy will come from biofuels by 2020. This originated as a well-intentioned attempt to combat climate change, but time has shown that using food for fuel can have devastating impacts on hunger and the environment. I’ve come to accept that it is time for a re-think.

In addition to concerns over their green credentials, biofuels are now recognised to be a key cause of hunger, affecting millions of people in developing countries. The World Bank, OECD, WTO, IFPRI, IMF, and five other UN agencies recommended …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , and | 15 Comments
Advert
Nick T

LibLink: Ed Davey – Eurosceptic Tories are damaging the national interest – and their chances of winning the next election

By Nick T | Thu 16th May 2013 - 3:54 pm

Over at the New Statesman, Lib Dem energy secretary Ed Davey has a rather perceptive and interesting piece on the Conservative Party’s implosion over Europe.

Here’s Ed’s take:

The Conservative Party hasn’t won a general election for over two decades and its latest infighting on Europe suggests that this trick may get repeated. Internal divisions on Europe haven’t been the sole cause of the Tories’ poor record. A big reason has been the growth of multiparty politics: Liberal Democrats in government in Westminster; the Scottish National Party in power in Holyrood. And with Ukip moving from a single issue party to a

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | 14 Comments
Alex Smethurst

Opinion: The green centre ground

By Alex Smethurst | Thu 16th May 2013 - 2:12 pm

Since the Coalition was formed we have lost the impetus with the green agenda. Around two fifths of Lib Dem voters from 2010 have switched to Labour or the Green Party. In Bristol, we sadly lost two ward seats to the Greens in this year’s local elections. By ‘greening’ our liberal, democratic and social reforms we are most likely to achieve our desired goal of a stronger economy in a fairer society.

That is why I welcome the Green Liberal Democrats Conference, taking place in Bristol on 15th June. The Conference can prove to environmentalists how we are …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 22 Comments
Ed Fordham

Opinion: The same sex marriage bill is not perfect, but Lib Dem MPs should get behind it

By Ed Fordham | Thu 16th May 2013 - 11:22 am

In the next week it is likely that The Marriage (Same Sex) Bill will pass it’s third reading in the House of Commons and then will go up to the House of Lords. This is without hesitation good news for Liberal Democrats – a key part of the fight for equality will move forwards, it’s party policy and something that many members, individuals, charities and support groups have been pushing for.

The debate has been loud, full and genuine and sincere – the first debate in the House of Commons was emotional, real and heartfelt as members on all sides of …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 26 Comments
Stephen Tall

In praise of ‘This House’

By Stephen Tall | Thu 16th May 2013 - 10:45 am

A hung parliament against the backdrop of a teetering economy. Parties divided over Europe. The cracks in the UK fuelling separatist demands. The whips are desperately trying to maintain order.

It’s not hard to see the appeal to current audiences of James Graham’s (no, not that one: this one) hit play, This House.

It’s 1974 and the corridors of Westminster ring with the sound of infighting and backbiting as Britain’s political parties battle to change the future of the nation, whatever it takes. In this hung parliament, the ruling party holds on by a thread. Votes are won and lost by one, fist fights erupt in the bars, and ill MPs are hauled in to cast their votes. It’s a time when a staggering number of politicians die, and age-old traditions and allegiances are thrown aside in the struggle for power.

And the good news is that if you haven’t had chance to see it in either of its two sell-out runs in London, then you can watch it live on a screen near you today, Thursday 16th May, as part of the excellent National Theatre Live series. Here’s the trailer:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Advert
Mark Pack

Opinion: Adonis’s complaint – Ashdown was not mind-numbingly stupid with the memory span of a goldfish

By Mark Pack | Thu 16th May 2013 - 9:51 am

Andrew Adonis’s account of the days after the public voted in a hung Parliament in 2010 have already received a rightful savaging by Andrew Stunell. Given that we already know the Mandelson/Balls preparation for coalition talks with the Liberal Democrats was a quick cup of tea, you might think that not even Andrew Adonis’s account could make Labour’s preparation for a hung Parliament look even more amateurish or non-existent. Yet his 5 Days In May manages that.

His book kicks off with a complaint from Peter Mandelson that his attempt to sound out Paddy Ashdown on a

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 7 Comments
Caron Lindsay

The most important thing going on in Parliament this week…

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 16th May 2013 - 9:20 am

Forget the EU referendum faffery and PMQs. When people wake up in the morning, their first thoughts are unlikely to be anything to do with the internal wranglings within the Conservative Party or any  sort of parliamentary panto. They will be to do with their health or thir job or any other problems they or their family face.

However, at 11:30 or thereabouts today, MPs will talk about something that most people will find real and relevant. There’s a backbench debate on mental health. I doubt it will be as powerful and intense as the debate we had at Scottish Conference …

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

That EU vote: 6 thoughts on what it means for the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour

By Stephen Tall | Thu 16th May 2013 - 8:40 am

clegg cameron miliband116 Tory MPs last night backed an amendment to the Queen’s Speech and called for an EU referendum bill. Here’s six thoughts from me on what it all means…

This wasn’t about Europe (much): this was about Cameron’s leadership

The Tory outers/Eurosceptics had already won: David Cameron capitulated in January, conceding an in/out referendum he’d tried hard to dodge. But that wasn’t enough for them. So they forced the Tory leader to capitulate again this week, forcing him to rush out a draft Bill legislating for just such a …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , and | 17 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrat MPs to be given free vote on all aspects of Same Sex Marriage Bill

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 7:27 pm

Rumours reach my ears of a surprise decision at last night’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Bill comes back to the Commons next Monday for two days of debate on a number of amendments.

At Second Reading in February, no votes were whipped. Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael stepped out of the shadows to explain why to Lib Dem Voice readers.

The view of my parliamentary colleagues that came up time and again was that they supported equal marriage and were keen to see it on the statute book. They wanted, in fact, not just to support the

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 26 Comments
Don Foster MP

Don Foster MP writes… Our big gig

By Don Foster MP | Wed 15th May 2013 - 3:55 pm

Readers may recall some criticism that came my way at the end of last year following an article in The House magazine that implied I was missing the glamour of my former role working on the Culture, Media and Sport portfolio. Though I tried to dispel this with exciting tales of building regulations and brownfield development, Lib Dem Voice ran with a heading of, “Does Don Foster like his new Government job?” So let me be clear. I do, I really do.

Of course, there are some really difficult matters to deal with such as council funding, homelessness and …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Caron Lindsay

“Feisty” Clegg in Groundhog PMQs

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 3:17 pm

So, the Commons had the weekly panto half hour to ask Nick Clegg lots of awkward questions. MPs limited themselves, though, to asking several questions many times over. Nick looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying the encounter and took every opportunity to promote Liberal Democrat coalition wins like fairer taxes and the single tier pension. Strangely,  though, he didn’t once mention the words stronger economy or fairer society. Not once.

Harriet Harman’s strategy was strange.  She wasted 3 questions on the fact that Cameron wasn’t there and that he’d only answered questions on one week in the last eight. Well, …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged and | 29 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Fancy a Lib Dem numberplate?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 1:33 pm

It’s never good when someone leaves the party, but I am sure some readers will be excited about a certain car numberplate coming back on the market.

L16 Dem was until recently on the car of former parliamentary candidate Andrew Duffield, who has been a regular commenter on this site. Now that he’s left the party and joined Labour, as the BBC reports, he understandably wants to sell it. He’s looking for £500 for it.

There were lots of oohs and aahs and shouts of “OMG, want” in the LDV office when we first saw this. Sadly, it’s way beyond my …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 12 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Jeremy Browne sets off on global drugs policy research tour

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 15th May 2013 - 12:21 pm

Liberal Democrat Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne is in Portugal this week. As reported in the Guardian, he has embarked on a tour that will take him to Denmark, Sweden and the US to investigate different drugs policies before reporting his conclusions at the end of the year.

He is quoted as saying:

I’m proud of the UK’s drug policy and there are strong signs our approach is working. Illegal drug use is at its lowest level since records began and far more people are leaving treatment free from dependency than ever before.

But I’m not complacent. The UK cannot deal with

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

How Nick Clegg should deal with Tory Eurosceptics at PMQs today

By Stephen Tall | Wed 15th May 2013 - 11:30 am

Caron’s already given you the 70 minute warning that Nick Clegg is standing in for David Cameron at PMQs today at 12 noon. The Mail’s Matt Chorley has a suggestion for his best approach to the head-banging wing of the Tory party:

The Lib Dem press office took him at his word:

…

Continue reading »
Posted in PMQs | Tagged and | 9 Comments
The Voice

Clegg v Bone: The Rematch

By The Voice | Wed 15th May 2013 - 10:52 am

Just so you all know, Nick Clegg is doing Prime Minister’s Questions today as David Cameron is in the US. He will face Harriet Harman and no doubt a fair few of the Tory right wing Eurosceptics.

I doubt Peter Bone will be as friendly as he was last time Nick did PMQs, in November. And Ms Dorries has restored from the wilderness.

Nick has usually performed very well at PMQs. I expect his weekly phone in and regular town hall meetings make a Commons full of baying MPs much easier to tame. I’m tempted to make a comment about the …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Michael Moore

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 15th May 2013 - 8:55 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. 

Vince Cable’s visit to the Borders

Over the past weekend, Vince Cable, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, visited the Borders to speak at our local Lib Dem annual dinner and meet with businessmen and women from across the area.

John Seed, Vince Cable, Rachel Cable, Michael Moore and Steve Jones at Woodend farm 11 05 13On Saturday, we spent the morning at John Seed’s farm near Duns looking at the work he is doing, with his family, to diversify the farm and transform the way it generates and uses energy. It is hugely impressive to see the scale of what they have achieved through biomass and other initiatives. (Photo shows John Seed, Vince, his wife Rachel Smith, Mike Moore and Steve Jones)

Next, Vince and I met with a small group of Borders businessmen and women to discuss the challenges and opportunities that diversified farm businesses are currently facing. From issues such as bank lending to red tape, each member of the group raised their particular concerns and it was certainly a productive discussion. It was good to have the chance to show off some of our finest farms businesses and I will continue to work with Vince beyond this visit to get the best deal for Borders businesses.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds, Parliament and Scotland | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
Lord Tom McNally

Lord (Tom) McNally writes: The year ahead for Liberal Democrat Lords

By Lord Tom McNally | Tue 14th May 2013 - 7:00 pm

LAST week I had the delight, honour and privilege to open the second day of the debate on the Queen’s Speech in the Lords –at four days long, practically the debating equivalent of test cricket.

As I told the House, I have never hidden the reality that, in the present economic climate, the Coalition Government has had to make hard decisions and tough choices to achieve an economic recovery underpinned by fairness. But I believe that in our first three years we have made the tough decisions necessary.

A new parliamentary year is beginning, however, and a new raft of legislation is …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

Lib Dem attitudes to poverty and welfare: 3 interesting findings from today’s Joseph Rowntree Foundation report

By Stephen Tall | Tue 14th May 2013 - 6:05 pm

Three interesting findings from today’s report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) — Public attitudes to poverty and welfare 1983-2011 — carried out by NatCen Social Research, exploring public attitudes to poverty and welfare over the past three decades.

1) Interestingly… Lib Dem supporters are less likely than Labour supporters to believe that people live in need because of laziness or a lack of willpower.

nat cen jrf laziness

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 18 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrat Councillor Karen Chilvers on ITV’s The Chase

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th May 2013 - 4:40 pm

karenchilversBrentwood Liberal Democrat Councillor Karen Chilvers appeared on ITV quiz show The Chase last night.

She took on The Barrister, Sean Wallace in a showdown that was much more tense than I had expected.  I had never watched the show before and I found it quite compelling.

The idea of the game is that each contestant answers as many questions as possible in a minute to earn £1000 per correct answer. At the end of the minute, they gamble that amount of money in a play off against The Chaser, any one …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | Leave a comment
NewsHound

Clegg on UK and EU relationship with Africa: “more trade, fairer tax and greater business transparency”

By NewsHound | Tue 14th May 2013 - 2:47 pm

Nick Clegg gave a speech at the Africa Jubilee Business Forum which celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation for African Unity. Here are the highlights:

Political rights must go in tandem with economic growth

Everybody, of course, wants growth – the key decision is how you achieve it. More and more African countries face a choice between the economic models of authoritarian capitalism, on the one hand, and liberal democracy, on the other.

In countries like China, authoritarian capitalism argues the case for economic growth ahead of political freedoms. And it’s a seductive argument in view of surging growth

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , , , , and | 2 Comments
The Voice

Battle of the Andrews over 5 Days in May: Lib Dem Stunell lambasts Labour’s Adonis for “spurious rubbish”

By The Voice | Tue 14th May 2013 - 1:10 pm

adonis stunellLord (Andrew) Adonis, a former SDP councillor and the very model of a modern Blairite New Labourite, has a new book out offering his assessment of those five heady days in May when the alternative Lib-Con and Lib-Lab coalition options were discussed.

In the main it confirms what was already known: that Labour had not given any thought to the fact they might have to work with the Lib Dems in the event of a hung parliament.

But his Lordship, having conceded how ill-prepared Labour was, is nonetheless mustard-keen to lay much of the blame for the failure of the Lib-Lab option at the door of Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems. Andrew Stunell, Lib Dem MP and one of the party’s five-strong negotiating team, is having none of this revisionism — as he points out punchily in a letter in today’s Guardian.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged and | 17 Comments
Caron Lindsay

EDMwatch #1: animals, VAT on tabloids, Diabetes and Sir Alex Ferguson

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th May 2013 - 11:53 am

I thought it might be a good idea to introduce a new feature for the start of the shiny new parliamentary session – a regular look at the Early Day Motions tabled by MPs. These are basically House of Commons petition and are used to raise awareness of an issue. One of the biggest elements of an MP’s postbag or inbox is a pile of requests from supporters of a particular organisation or charity to sign a particular EDM. As a rule, ministers don’t sign EDMs.

You would think, wouldn’t you, that MPs could just sign them with a click of …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged , , , , , and | 8 Comments
Norman Lamb MP

Norman Lamb MP writes… Integrating Care – Joined up thinking in the NHS

By Norman Lamb MP | Tue 14th May 2013 - 10:20 am

Many of you will have seen last week the headlines following comments by David Prior, the Chairman of the CQC, about the unsustainable pressure on Accident and Emergency wards in the UK. The truth is that patients are getting excellent care in A&E departments up and down the country. The NHS is coping well with the increase in demand. But there is no denying that there has been a big increase in demand on our emergency services. There is no easy fix to this situation, especially at a time when the NHS needs to make limited resources go further. But …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 7 Comments
Caron Lindsay

How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th May 2013 - 8:55 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.

Continue reading »
Posted in Site news | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Where Ukip won (or almost won) on 2nd May 2013

By Stephen Tall | Tue 14th May 2013 - 7:45 am

Wondering where Ukip won (or almost won – see below) in the local elections on Thursday, 2nd May? Then here’s a handy graphic and breakdown by constituency…

ukip vote may 2013

My thanks to Lib Dem Ben Mathis (@binny_uk) for crunching the Ukip numbers, as below. We’ll update the list with any more found…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 17 Comments
Stephen Tall

Ukip surge to 18% in latest ICM poll: Lib Dems at 11%

By Stephen Tall | Mon 13th May 2013 - 9:50 pm

ICM: the pollster Lib Dems love and rely on the most. Maybe not tonight, though. Here’s The Guardian’s graph and report:

guardian ukip poll - may 2013

Ukip’s 18% is the best it has achieved with any pollster in any of the surveys logged at UK Polling Report. It is all the more remarkable for ICM, whose careful adjustments for voters who decline to reveal their political preference smooths out the wilder fluctuations of the electoral cycle.

The Tories are plumbing depths they have not experienced in more than a decade – barring

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Polls | Tagged , and | 39 Comments
Paul Tyler

Lord (Paul) Tyler writes: Political reform has been lost along the way by the Coalition

By Paul Tyler | Mon 13th May 2013 - 6:45 pm

Houses of ParliamentI first spoke in a Queen’s Speech debate in March 1974. I recall being mystified by that vital penultimate sentence heard again in this year’s speech: “other measures will be laid before you”. It is these innocent, innocuous words which turn out to be quite important. And they give hope that there will be other vital measures excluded at present from the text of the Speech itself.

There are two commitments in the party manifestos and the Coalition Agreement that seem to have been lost along the …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 4 Comments
Tahir Maher

Opinion: Payday loans – a never ending debt

By Tahir Maher | Mon 13th May 2013 - 12:43 pm

IOU in a piggy bank - Some rights reserved by Images_of_MoneySouth Central Region Liberal Democrats have discussed and passed a motion against Pay Day Loans at our Regional conference in the autumn of 2012. The notion of such loans is valid: provide a small short term loan for those in need to help them through immediate financial hardship. Unfortunately, exploitation is what we get.

Here are some facts about these loans:
• Which estimates over 800,000 UK households have taken out payday loans;
• The Consumer Credit Counselling Service says over 2,000 of their clients in 2012 …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 31 Comments
Libby Local

Libby Local, The Finale: “The Bright Side of Life”

By Libby Local | Mon 13th May 2013 - 10:30 am

Since last October, the pseudonymous Libby Local has been keeping LDV readers up-to-date with her first-time attempt to win Demsbury Central in Libbyshire. We published the penultimate episode, “Election Day!” yesterday. Here’s the finale…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThere was moment’s silence after the pub band finished belting out “Wild Thing.” I leant on Mel and whispered in her ear. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Twelve hours earlier, my stomach had been in a knot and I felt physically sick. I was standing with Melanie, @Demsburybess and a small clutch of supporters in front of the counting table in Libbytown. Maxwell Tarmac-Smyth and his team were huddled at the other end. The UKIP candidate had not bothered to turn up.

I could barely breath as my votes were bundled into twenty-fives and checked. We counted and made a mental note of my total. It was well over 500. I was in with a chance!

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 4 Comments
Paul Head

Opinion: Is watching football a crime?

By Paul Head | Mon 13th May 2013 - 8:26 am

London police. Photo courtesy of Louis Kreusel on FlickrBack in March I wrote about the draconian policing methods being employed against Hull City fans. It’s more than a little depressing that, just a few weeks later, another set of football fans have had their civil liberties attacked.

This time it’s Brighton and Hove Albion supporters who were the target of unnecessary and heavy handed restrictions that should send a shudder down the spine of any liberal.

Brighton fans who attended the Play-off match against Crystal Palace were required to carry a separate document which confirmed their identity, and agree to hand over their ticket and identity document for examination by a police officer or steward at the stadium or en route to or from the stadium.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 18 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Paul R
    Time to finish decolonisation and just give them to Argentina. It is hypocritical to go about “occupied territory” in the Middle East while continuing to...
  • Johnmc
    Enjoy conference, although I remain supportive of the party in England I cannot stomach its bizarre and frankly illiberal efforts to stifle even the idea that p...
  • Jack Nicholls
    You are for this and so many reasons a total inspiration to me Caron ☺️🔶🌈...
  • 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...