Andrew Wiseman

Opening shortly: Autumn conference 2013 registration

By Andrew Wiseman | Wed 17th April 2013 - 5:54 pm

We are delighted to announce that members’ registration will open shortly for Autumn 2013 Federal Conference in Glasgow. We very excited that Conference is making a return to Scotland after many years’ absence.

The event will take place at the SECC (Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre), Exhibition Way, Glasgow, from 10am on Saturday 14th September to around 3:30pm on Wednesday 18th September. The conference hotel will be the Crowne Plaza.

In order to cut down on costs and be more environmentally friendly, there is a discount available for those who are content not to receive any papers …

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NewsHound

LibLink… Danny Alexander: Coalition tackling housing crisis

By NewsHound | Wed 17th April 2013 - 3:27 pm

Danny Alexander writes in today’s Scotsman about the benefit reduction which has become colloquially known as the Bedroom Tax.

He argues that the Coalition had to take action after Labour mismanagement and failure to build houses:

However, they may not know that Labour also left a legacy whereby hundreds of thousands of families in Scotland are waiting for a house that is big enough for their family to live in. The government has a responsibility to make sure that we change housing benefit rules in a careful, sensitive and managed way. But we also have a responsibility to those families.

Housing benefit is

…

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Caron Lindsay

Vince Cable, One Direction, and a minimum wage rise for apprentices

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th April 2013 - 1:58 pm

There was a significant amount of chortling in LDV Towers over the Telegraph’s report of Vince Cable’s comments about One Direction’s earnings. One member of our team even suggested photoshopping his head onto this photo of the boy band wearing onesies.  Mercifully, copyright and lack of photoshopping skills on my part spares you that sight.

Vince thought he was being asked about, I presume, a director’s £5 million salary, which he described as “mad”, “downright immoral” and “grossly offensive”.  It would be hardly surprising that he would take that view given his actions to curb executive pay. He added, …

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Sharon Bowles

Sharon Bowles MEP writes: New EU rules make a more secure, sustainable and transparent banking system

By Sharon Bowles | Wed 17th April 2013 - 12:30 pm

Yesterday the European Parliament passed a historic package of financial legislation following almost two years of negotiations. The most widely publicised aspect of these new rules is the cap on bankers’ bonuses, introduced in an amendment by the European Parliament and supported by Lib Dem MEPs. As well as the moral justifications, there are many good rational reasons for the cap. Significantly, it will realign the bonus to salary ratio to more reasonable proportions, thus reducing the kinds of excessively risky behaviour which contributed towards the financial crisis. It is important for banks to show restraint and take a more …

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , and | 15 Comments
NewsHound

John Leech tables parliamentary motion about homophobic chants at football matches

By NewsHound | Wed 17th April 2013 - 10:15 am

Liberal Democrat MP for Manchester Withington, John Leech, has tabled an Early Day Motion (number 1265) which calls for action to be taken against homophobic chanting at football matches, pointing out that if the chants were about someone’s race or skin colour, then they would be tackled.

His EDM says:

That this House welcomes the report from the Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters’ Club (BHASC), along with the Gay Football Supporters’ Network (GFSN), that details evidence and a log of the level of homophobic chanting at both home and away matches; recognises the extent of the problem when Brighton fans have been

…

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Chris Davies

Chris Davies MEP writes…Britain betrayed

By Chris Davies | Wed 17th April 2013 - 9:03 am

European Union flagIt’s good to know who your friends are, and when it comes to combating climate change they don’t include Britain’s Conservative MEPs and their UKIP collaborators.  In a European Parliament vote yesterday they tipped the balance, securing the deferral and probable abandonment of attempts to ensure that the carbon market continues to function, and sending out a signal that the EU is no longer interested in promoting low carbon investments.

Europe’s emissions trading system is the largest in the world and is driving down CO2 emissions from power stations by …

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The Voice

Win 2 free tickets to see Lembit Opik at Matt Forde’s ‘The Political Party’ TONIGHT

By The Voice | Wed 17th April 2013 - 8:45 am

ALL-NAMES-FINAL- (1)Yes, you read that headline right. The Voice is offering 2 FREE tickets to our readers to see Lib Dem luminary Lembit Opik be interviewed on ‘The Political Party’ with Matt Forde. The event takes place TONIGHT, Wednesday 17th April, 8pm at London’s St James Theatre in Victoria.

As it’s short notice, this is simply a first-come-first-served offer: simply email [email protected]. First two readers to reply will get the tickets (please only reply if you know you can attend). And if you want to attend even if you don’t …

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The Voice

How would you use £600? Last night’s Liberal Democrat Party Election Broadcast

By The Voice | Wed 17th April 2013 - 7:29 am

Last night’s Party Election Broadcast by the Liberal Democrats concentrated on the significant raising of the tax threshold that comes in this month. The “stronger economy in a fairer society enabling everyone to get on in life” mantra was repeated heavily. The work of local Liberal Democrat councillors in creating jobs and protecting services was also mentioned.

The Broadcast had earlier been trailed to members in an email from Elizabeth Jewkes, the party member who had proposed its inclusion in the manifesto. She said:

Just a few years ago, in 2009, I attended our conference in Bournemouth as an ordinary party member

…

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Julian Huppert

Julian Huppert writes…Update on the Defamation Bill

By Julian Huppert | Tue 16th April 2013 - 6:50 pm

libel-reform-campaign-logoThe Defamation Bill has had a troubled passage through Parliament. Hijacked by Labour over Leveson, attacked by Tory backbenchers concerned about companies and undermined by vested interests, I was glad to see it finally reach one of its last Parliamentary stages in the Commons today.

I was on the Joint Committee that considered this bill when it was a draft – those discussions are already beginning to feel like a distant memory! But we will deliver a huge reform of the UK libel laws.

All the while, Lib Dems have been vociferous in …

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Martin Horwood

Martin Horwood MP writes… 1000 days of hunger

By Martin Horwood | Tue 16th April 2013 - 5:10 pm

The first thousand days of a child’s life – from conception through to their second birthday – are full of moments to cherish. First birthdays, first steps, first words. Whether these events are captured on film, or retold to maximum embarrassment in later years, they are treasured milestones in a child’s life.

A report published yesterday by UNICEF reminds us that those first thousand days aren’t only precious, they are the most critical in shaping a child’s future. Their health, their growth, their ability to learn and even their potential to earn are shaped during this period by one crucial …

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Gareth Epps

Opinion: A letter to Nick Clegg on the General Equality Duty

By Gareth Epps | Tue 16th April 2013 - 4:08 pm

slflogo

Dear Nick,

I am writing on behalf of the Social Liberal Forum to urge that Lib Dem MPs vote tomorrow to uphold the decision of the Upper House to support the retention of Section 3 of the 2006 Equality Act.  Today the Equality and Human Rights Commission itself issued a statement supporting its retention. In making this request we are adding our voices to those of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats and the Lib Dem Disability Association, and several Lib Dem peers.

On 4th March several Lib Dem peers joined colleagues across the …

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Mary Reid

Large supermarkets are hoarding good housing land

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th April 2013 - 2:31 pm

tesco-siteA large site which has been earmarked by a council for residential housing, but owned by a major supermarket chain, has been lying derelict for 11 years. At a time of pressing housing need, this is a scandal.

Perhaps you know of similar cases to my story. If so, share them in the comments. Does anyone know how much land is being hoarded in this way?

In 2002 Tesco bought a redundant Ministry of Defence site in Tolworth, which lies within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in the southwest corner of Greater …

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Mary Reid

Caroline Pidgeon reveals £53 million unclaimed refunds on Oyster cards

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th April 2013 - 1:07 pm

Caroline PidgeonI was getting on a London Tube train yesterday and was expecting the guard to tell us all to “Move down inside the train” and “Mind the doors”. Instead he announced “Have you read the Evening Standard? You lot are owed £53 million on your Oyster cards”.

He should have given credit to Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly and our spokesperson on the Transport Committee.

The problem lies with the 19,790,130 dormant Oyster cards, ie those that have not been used in the last 12 months. (For …

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Stephen Tall

How Labour saw Clegg before the 2010 election TV debates

By Stephen Tall | Tue 16th April 2013 - 12:15 pm

clegg debateThere have been a couple of fascinating posts this week by election expert Philip Cowley, a politics professor at Nottingham University. They reveal for the first time the internal briefing prepared for Labour dissecting the debating skills of each of the three party leaders — Clegg, Brown and Cameron — ahead of the 2010 leaders’ debate.

Yesterday’s focused on David Cameron. Today the spotlight of hindsight is shone on Nick Clegg and Gordon Brown. Below is the assessment of the Lib Dem leader — and what’s perhaps most interesting …

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Joe Bourke

Opinion: Putting the political back in economy

By Joe Bourke | Tue 16th April 2013 - 10:59 am

“The Liberal Democrats are working for a stronger economy in a fairer society enabling every person to get on in life.” What key policies will reinforce this simple message? How do we ensure that economic liberalism supports and advances social democracy?

My answer to these questions lies with the words of J K Galbraith – “economics does not usefully exist apart from politics. The separation of economics from politics and political motivation is a sterile thing. It is also a cover for the reality of economic power and motivation. And it is a prime source of misjudgement and error in economic …

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Caron Lindsay

Helena Morrissey talks to Woman’s Hour

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 16th April 2013 - 9:05 am

Liberal Democrats will recognise Helena Morrissey as the chair of the Independent Inquiry into the Party’s processes, set up in the wake of the allegations against Lord Rennard, which he denies.

I thought you might be interested in her interview on Woman’s Hour from last week. You can listen to it here on iPlayer from about 19 minutes in.

She was there to discuss her work as founder of the 30% Club, aimed at increasing the proportion of women on boards, and the proportion of women coming through in senior executive positions to fill the boards of the future.

She talked about …

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Stephen Tall

Lib Dems’ libel reform retreat points to a wider Coalition problem

By Stephen Tall | Tue 16th April 2013 - 8:35 am

Frankly, it’s the last thing Nick Clegg needed. After losing several high profile Lib Dem supporters over the party’s botched handling of the Government’s ‘secret courts’ legislation, another core liberal reform, one promised in the 2010 manifesto, is threatened by a Coalition compromise: libel reform.

Robert Sharp of free speech campaign group English PEN wrote here at the weekend about the threat posed to the defamation bill by Conservative MP (and former libel lawyer) Sir Edward Garnier’s amendment to the Defamation Bill, striking out the clause which makes it harder for companies to sue for libel. The Independent reports:

… ministers announced that they would seek to overturn a cross-party consensus in the House of Lords that companies should have to show financial damage before they can sue a journalist, academic or blogger. They are also seeking to block proposals that would prevent private companies which provide public services paid for by the taxpayer from suing.

The changes will mean that, while a prison run directly by the Government can be criticised without fear of defamation, a prison run by a private contractor such as G4S cannot.

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Stephen Tall

Vince increases the minimum wage. It’s the right decision, but we do need to get local about it.

By Stephen Tall | Mon 15th April 2013 - 8:25 pm

This was the Mirror (and many other news outlets) two weeks ago:

Minimum wage cut fears: Fury as Government considers ‘kicking’ low-paid workers

The reality? The Government has accepted the independent Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to increase both the adult and youth National Minimum Wage rates. The BBC reports:

Minimum wage to increase to £6.31

To be clear, the 1.9% increase is below the expected rate of inflation — so this is a real-terms cut. The increase is, however, higher than either public sector workers or those on benefits will receive. The only recommendation of the Low Pay Commission that was rejected …

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Caron Lindsay

Liberal Party of Canada elects Justin Trudeau as leader

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 15th April 2013 - 4:00 pm

Canada’s Liberal Party has had its troubles in recent years. Two years ago they suffered the worst election result in their history, returning only 34 MPs and falling to an unprecedented third place behind the Conservative and New Democratic parties.

The Guardian reports that Justin Trudeau was elected the party’s leader with a massive majority. He attained 80% of the vote, a good start for somebody who needs to unify the party after years of infighting. His acceptance speech attempted to put those divisions behind the party:

I don’t care if you thought my father was great or arrogant,” Trudeau said.

…

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
The Voice

Simon Hughes says that Lords reform is still on the Liberal Democrat agenda

By The Voice | Mon 15th April 2013 - 2:25 pm

The Financial Times website carries an article suggesting that senior Liberal Democrats are preparing to make the issue of Lords reform a deal breaker in any future coalition negotiations. It quotes Deputy Leader Simon Hughes as saying:

If the time did come for more coalition negotiations, the experience of coalition the first time will be clearly taken on board when we think through what we would do a second time. The constitutional reform agenda and particularly reform of the Lords would have to be a part of the package.

The article goes on to say that sources close to Nick Clegg …

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NewsHound

Thatcher museum to be housed in former Liberal Democrat HQ?

By NewsHound | Mon 15th April 2013 - 12:55 pm

Way back in 1981, when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, the SDP was formed and took up residence at 4 Cowley Street, just round the corner from the Houses of Parliament. That building became the home of the Liberal Democrats after the 1988 merger between the Liberals and Social Democrats.

Today’s Times carries a report which suggests that our former headquarters could house the proposed museum to Margaret Thatcher. However, if you read the article in full, it amounts to little more than a bit of gentle stirring by Conor Burns, the Conservative MP who is a strong proponent of the …

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Adrian Kamellard

The Independent View: How the Payments Council is delivering a payments system for all

By Adrian Kamellard | Mon 15th April 2013 - 11:55 am

Since the beginning of the financial crisis there has been real appetite for reform into how our financial sector works and how we want it to operate. The Liberal Democrats have played an important part in this, both from within Government as well as from the backbenches.

During its time in office, the Coalition has already introduced a Financial Services Act into law and is currently legislating for a Banking Reform Bill. In addition, there is also the ongoing Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, which I appeared in front of in late January.

Not only is Danny Alexander ensuring the Party’s view …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink… Nick Clegg…Human rights: we won’t be silent

By NewsHound | Mon 15th April 2013 - 10:55 am

Over at the Guardian’s Comment is Free, Nick Clegg marks the publication of the Foreign Office’s 2012 Human Rights and Democracy report with an article stating that promoting human rights has never been more important.

He writes that many countries choose authoritarian capitalism over liberal democracy and this represents the “most serious challenge to our values since the end of the Cold War,”  especially as power transfers from west to east.

But, he says, younger populations and easily available technology make people more aware of their rights and less likely to accept authoritarian rule:

In the Middle East two-thirds of the population are

…

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The Voice

What’s on at Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference this weekend?

By The Voice | Mon 15th April 2013 - 9:55 am

A public service announcement from the Welsh Liberal Democrats follows…

With record numbers of delegates attending and five Lib Dem Government Ministers taking part, the Welsh Liberal Democrat conference taking place this weekend already looks as if it’s going to be a memorable one.

Highlights on the agenda include:

  • Keynote speeches – Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be opening Conference, with speeches later on in the weekend also come from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander and Welsh Liberal Democrat party Leader Kirsty Williams.
  • Gala dinner –Vince Cable MP will be guest speaker at the Conference Dinner. Unsurprisingly, tickets for this

…

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Rebecca Taylor

Rebecca Taylor MEP writes…Electronic Cigarettes: No smoke, but lots of fiery debate

By Rebecca Taylor | Mon 15th April 2013 - 8:55 am

You may have heard rumblings that “the EU wants to ban electronic cigarettes”. This is not entirely true; the new EU tobacco directive proposes regulating electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) under medicines legislation and there is fiery debate as to whether this is appropriate.
During the last few years e-cigarettes, devices resembling a cigarette or a pen/torch which enable the inhalation of nicotine containing vapour, have sprung up across Europe including in the UK.
Many e-cigarette users call their habit “vaping” and some prefer to call their devices “personal vaporisers” or PVs. E-cigarettes use a liquid containing nicotine, the addictive component of tobacco, but …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged and | 41 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #321

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 14th April 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 321st 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 (7-13 April, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

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Posted in Best of the blogs | 2 Comments
Lynne Featherstone

Lynne Featherstone writes… Fairer tax for low earners and part time workers

By Lynne Featherstone | Sun 14th April 2013 - 3:25 pm

International Development minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one…

Week after week, I meet local residents at my constituency advice surgeries. Many are working hard in full or part time jobs, but still struggling to make ends meet due to the current economic climate.

The unemployed and part timers often tell me they want to work more but also keep more of the money they earn.

The Lib Dems have known this for a long time. And from now, the amount you can earn before being taxed has risen to £9,440. …

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The Voice

Chris Davies MEP reveals how Strasbourg isn’t always good for your health

By The Voice | Sun 14th April 2013 - 1:15 pm

chris daviesChris Davies reveals one of the unexpected problems of the European Parliament shuttling between Brussels and Strasbourg at great expense: bed bugs. Here’s an excerpt from his latest notes:

I went to the medical centre in the European Parliament in Brussels. “I’ve had these itchy spots on my arms and legs for 6 weeks or so,” I told the doctor. “They started off like insect bites but they won’t go away.” She looked at them and asked if any new spots had appeared since the Parliament was

…

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Stephen Tall

Nick Clegg’s Letter from the Leader: “No one campaigns like we do”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 14th April 2013 - 12:09 pm

With local elections taking place across much of England (and, lets not forget, the Isle of Angelsey in Wales) on Thursday 2nd May, Nick Clegg’s letter this week focuses on the drive to get out the Lib Dem vote…

libdem letter from nick clegg

The buzz at party headquarters this Thursday night was great. Danny Alexander and I were there along with well over 50 others for an action evening on the phones, campaigning for this year’s local elections on 2 May. The building was full of noise, people coming and going, and

…

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Robert Sharp

The Independent View: A chance for Liberal Democrat activists to speak up for free speech

By Robert Sharp | Sun 14th April 2013 - 10:20 am

There is a new threat to the Defamation Bill.

No sooner had the proposed law been liberated, after being taken hostage by Leveson negotiations, than Conservative MPs have begun messing with crucial free speech provisions.

Former libel lawyer Sir Edward Garnier MP has tabled an amendment seeking to remove a crucial clause from the Defamation Bill. The clause places some limits on corporations’ use of the libel laws. It does not bar them from suing entirely – just asks that they show financial loss before they do so. It’s an objective and measurable …

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , , , and | 3 Comments
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