Liberal Democrat Voice

A reply to Dan Hodges: why it’s not surprising some Tories aren’t bothered about winning in 2015

By Stephen Tall | Fri 29th March 2013 - 4:10 pm

The Telegraph’s token Labour blogger Dan Hodges has a typically punchy post today – Do the Tories actually want to win in 2015? – highlighting the fatalism of some Tory MPs who think victory next time is possible but not worth it:

Hardly worth it? What, just managing to scrape a win at the next election, just managing to govern for another five years, just managing to drive through your agenda on health care reform, welfare reform, education reform, etc?

The Conservative Party is currently in the middle of the biggest

…

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged alex massie, conservative party, daily telegraph, dan hodges, featured, labour party and party membership | 9 Comments

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By-election review: 28 March

By Mark Valladares | Fri 29th March 2013 - 3:33 pm

Well, just three results yesterday, as far as we’re aware. And to be honest, none of them were particularly exciting from a Liberal Democrat perspective.

In deepest Cambridgeshire, Fenland District Council has been a bit of a one-party (Conservative) state in recent years, and only relatively recently have Liberal Democrats made an impression, picking up four council seats. But UKIP have a strong presence in the Fens so, in a three way contest, there was a possibility of an upset in Parson Drove & Wisbech St Mary ward, where we had achieved a 38% share of the vote in 2011.

However, it …

Posted in News | 3 Comments

Local government reform: a progress report from Spring Conference

By Penny Goodman | Fri 29th March 2013 - 12:52 pm

Between the AV referendum and the House of Lords, the cause of electoral reform has taken a few punches recently. But this year’s Spring Conference showed that Liberal Democrats have far from given up the fight.

Member contributions at consultative sessions on Political & Constitutional Reform and the next General Election manifesto revealed a strong appetite for reform to local government elections in England and Wales. And the same issue was addressed in detail at a packed Saturday evening fringe entitled ‘Worst Past the Post: why local government desperately needs electoral reform’.

The event, jointly sponsored by Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform …

Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged electoral reform and Local government | Leave a comment

Lyon: EU must justify spending increases

By NewsHound | Fri 29th March 2013 - 10:51 am

Commenting on the European Commission request for an additional 11.2 billion euros in an amending budget, senior Liberal Democrat MEP George Lyon, Vice-President of the European Parliament’s Budget Committee, said:

It is hard to understand how the Commission can justify this increase in the EU budget, long before bills from Member States are even through the door.

At this stage the Commission has no definite idea of what the final payment claims will be for EU projects and will not know until later in the autumn what size the bills from

…

Posted in News | Tagged eu budget and george lyon | 8 Comments

Revealed: What Lib Dem members think of Ed Miliband and David Cameron

By Stephen Tall | Fri 29th March 2013 - 9:30 am

Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 650 party members have responded, and we’re publishing the full results.

Miliband edges ahead of Cameron among Lib Dems (though ratings of both decline)

We’ve been asking this question for 18 months, and over the past year there has been quite a reversal in fortunes for the two party leaders, as this graph illustrates:

Here’s the detail from this month’s survey…

Posted in LDV Members poll and News | Tagged david cameron and ed miliband | 12 Comments

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Welcome to my day in the freezer… 29 March

By Mark Valladares | Fri 29th March 2013 - 8:26 am

Yes, welcome to the frozen North, as today is brought to you from Leeds and Brighouse, the home of two prominent Liberal Democrat bloggers, Jennie Rigg and Mat Bowles.

However, as it is Good Friday, Liberal Democrat Voice doesn’t tend to work quite as intensively, so it will be a bit quieter than usual. We will be reporting on by-elections at Harwich West (Tendring District Council), Parson Drove (Fenland District Council) and Evelyn ward (London Borough of Lewisham).

We also bring you news from Europe, where Liberal Democrats continue to challenge excessive …

Posted in News | 2 Comments

Call Clegg highlights: Housing, Bond, the Lords, errant MPs and the Rolling Stones…

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th March 2013 - 6:58 pm

Nick Clegg sounded very cheery as he introduced his weekly LBC phone-in today. Maybe it’s the thought of two weeks away from the rough and tumble of Parliament, or waking up to a basketful of chocolate eggs on Sunday, but he certainly seemed in good form.

I have a long held obsession that if politicians concentrated their minds and sorted out housing, we’d all be a lot happier. It’s one of the things people care most about, unsurprisingly. Imagine how you’d feel if the roof over your head was threatened. Imagine the uncertainty, being forced to rely on the homelessness provision …

Posted in News | Tagged call clegg, lbc, nick clegg and nick ferrari | 3 Comments

REMINDER: Call for evidence regarding independent inquiry into processes, culture and complaints relating to harassment

By Helena Morrissey | Thu 28th March 2013 - 4:15 pm

With a week to go before the deadline for written submissions, I’d like to make a further call for any evidence that may be relevant to my independent inquiry. As previously indicated, the review covers three overlapping areas:

Processes (and what did and did not happen)
Attitudes and culture within the Party
A blueprint for the future.

I am keen to hear from all those who have relevant experiences and views to help me form an accurate picture (whether Party members, staff or public). Thank you to those who have already submitted evidence.

I’d welcome any additional evidence around the …

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Comments Off

Opinion: Haringey – a council in crisis

By Cllr Richard Wilson | Thu 28th March 2013 - 2:57 pm

Haringey Council has a terrible reputation for failure. The tragic child protection scandals of Victoria Climbe and Baby Peter and the 2011 riots which started in Haringey are just some examples of the many crises in the borough.

Haringey Council has been mismanaged by Labour for the last 41 years and frequently tries to persuade sceptical residents that these problems are in all in the past. But the last month has seen a succession of bad news stories that have further battered the reputation of the crisis-hit council.

Children’s services still in trouble

Two local parents recently

…

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged haringey council and richard wilson | 4 Comments

AD LIB: Digital edition on its way

By Helen Duffett | Thu 28th March 2013 - 1:25 pm

When AD LIB launched last December one message we got back loud and clear, not least from Lib Dem Voice readers, was that you want a digital version.

Well, we’ve only gone and done it. And, what’s more, it will be available next week.

We’ve been working hard with the good people of PageSuite to get the digital edition ready to launch alongside the publication of April’s magazine, which will land through letterboxes next Tuesday (after the Bank Holiday).

And we’re making it a truly interactive experience …

Posted in News | Tagged ad lib magazine, cadan ap tomos, glee club, manic street preachers, nick clegg, paddy ashdown, raising tax threshold and sara bedford | 7 Comments

Paul Strasburger writes…Reflections on the battle against Secret Courts

By Paul Strasburger | Thu 28th March 2013 - 12:27 pm

On Tuesday night 26 Lib Dem peers voted against a three line government Whip on Secret Courts. For many of them, it was the first time they had defied such a strong Whip. I am proud to have been one of them.

Sadly – for the party and for the country – we lost by 16 votes but would have won comfortably if Labour peers had turned up and voted in their usual numbers. They demonstrated in spades their indifference to civil liberties. The Tory Whips laid on a showing of a James Bond film during the debate to keep their …

Posted in News | Tagged justice and security bill | 14 Comments

LibLink…Christine Jardine: Referendum drowns out more pressing issues

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th March 2013 - 10:58 am

Former Downing Street insider Christine Jardine, now back in Scotland and selected as a Liberal Democrat Euro-candidate, highlights in the Scotsman how more urgent problems are being forgotten as Scotland gears up for the Independence Referendum.

While all the attention is on 18th September 2014, Christine reminds us that there is some serious stuff going on now:

Traditionally, conferences, like the SNP’s recent gathering in Inverness, are where policy announcements are made, government plans set out and ministers take the opportunity to highlight their successes in the full glare of the media spotlight. But not this time. This time I waited in

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged christine jardine, Scotland, scotsman, Scottish independence referendum and snp | Leave a comment

Liberal Democrat MEPs lobby for fair distribution of EU funding

By Mark Valladares | Thu 28th March 2013 - 9:20 am

Lib Dem MEPs have welcomed the Coalition Government’s commitment to ensure that cuts to European funding from 2014 onwards will be shared in a fair manner across the UK.

The Coalition Government has announced that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be subjected to an equal percentage cut of around 5% compared to the current 2007-2017 EU funding levels.

MEPs and national governments are currently negotiating the next long-term EU budget for 2014-2020. Although a final deal has yet to be reached, the EU’s budget is expected to be cut in real-terms for the first time in its history.
…

Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged catherine bearder, edward mcmillan-scott, european union and fiona hall | 22 Comments

Mike Hancock MP under investigation by Portsmouth City Council

By The Voice | Wed 27th March 2013 - 6:15 pm

The BBC reports that Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth South, also a Councillor on the City’s Council, is being investigated for a breach of the Council’s Code of Conduct.

The Council’s lawyer is quoted as saying:

A sub-committee of Portsmouth City Council today decided to refer a complaint against councillor Mike Hancock for investigation.

I will now appoint an independent lawyer to carry out an investigation.

If a breach is proved against a councillor, they can be censured for their conduct.

A spokesman for Mike Hancock said:

The allegations have previously been investigated by the police but no further action was taken.”

Mike Hancock will co-operate

…

Posted in News | 1 Comment

6 out of 10 places with happiest residents have high Liberal Democrat inflluence

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th March 2013 - 4:15 pm

Something to cheer us on a cold, wintry Spring afternoon.

I’m rarely comfortable about linking to the Daily Mail, but for once it has some good news for Liberal Democrats, although, of course, it doesn’t realise it.

Today, it points to a survey which shows the 10 places in Britain with the happiest residents – and six of them are run, or have recently been run by Liberal Democrats.

Harrogate tops the poll with Stockport, St Albans, Kingston upon Thames, Bath and Truro also in the top ten.

Clearly, as Ben …

Posted in News | Tagged daily mail and Local government | 6 Comments

The Independent View: The battle for privacy in the EU and how the Liberal Democrats can help

By Peter Bradwell | Wed 27th March 2013 - 2:37 pm

Last year Liberal Democrats took a principled stand against the “Snoopers’ Charter” – more formally called the draft Communications Data Bill. This added up to a defiant, important defence of citizens’ privacy rights in the face of a concerted (and ongoing) effort by the Home Office to undermine them.

Right now there is another, equally important, battle for our privacy going in the European Parliament. The same principles are at stake. Once again Liberal Democrats have a really important role in determining what sort of law we get.

The “Data Protection Regulation”, proposed by the European Commission and now being considered by …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged data protection, open rights group and sarah ludford | 5 Comments

Opinion: Freedom to travel and work is the essence of the EU and we should embrace it

By Giles Goodall | Wed 27th March 2013 - 1:20 pm

Another week, another attack on EU citizens living and working in the UK. This time it didn’t come from that familiar old grouch Nigel Farage, but from the Prime Minister himself. In a speech which was clearly playing catch-up with UKIP after the Eastleigh by-election, David Cameron ratcheted up the rhetoric, calling for new curbs on the rights of EU migrants to claim British benefits and social housing. He wants to stop our benefit system being a ‘soft touch’ and end the ‘something for nothing culture’, in language which could have been copy-pasted from any front page of …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged david cameron, eu migration and immigration | 22 Comments

Norman Lamb, Newsnight and Jeremy Paxman’s bedpan

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th March 2013 - 11:54 am

Liberal Democrat Health Minister Norman Lamb wrote about the Government’s response to the Francis Report for this site yesterday. Later he was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight. Paxman started by asking how long it would take before the NHS is fit for purpose.

Norman replied:

We have to recognise that a lot of fantastic work goes on in the NHS

Most people who work in health and care do so because they want to care for people

We shouldn’t denigrate NHS because of what’s happened in this one report, but anyone who cares passionately about the NHS has to face up the

…

Posted in News | Tagged jeremy paxman, newsnight, NHS and norman lamb | 3 Comments

So. Farewell then, David Miliband

By Stephen Tall | Wed 27th March 2013 - 10:45 am

So.
Farewell then
David Miliband.

You did not
Win the
Labour leadership.

Though you got more votes
Than Brother Ed

The trade unions
Did not
like you.

They liked
him instead.

That was
your tragedy.
And it will be
His.

EJ Thribb

Posted in News | Tagged david miliband, ed miliband, international rescue, labour leadership contest and rendition | 36 Comments

Opinion: We await the lessons of Iraq while new conflicts loom

By Paul Reynolds | Wed 27th March 2013 - 9:58 am

It is ten years this week since I agreed to act as lead independent political and governance adviser in Iraq, primarily in the British-controlled Southern Provinces – despite my known anti-war views. It was a harrowing experience, risking the ultimate on a daily basis, appointing directly the first regional government in Basra by way of negotiations with largely hostile tribal, political and religious groups, and then working on other problems.

There has been much reflection in the media in the last few days over the failures of the conflict, its illegality, and lessons for the future, notwithstanding the absence, as yet, …

Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged international and iraq | 4 Comments

Lord Roger Roberts writes…Don’t cut funding for charities which help homeless migrants

By Lord Roger Roberts | Wed 27th March 2013 - 8:57 am

Homelessness among Central and Eastern European migrants in London is a notoriously difficult issue to tackle. Success stories are few and far between. For this reason, I was extremely concerned to learn that two London councils are cutting their funding to one of the most effective charities that deals with this issue. The charity is Barka UK.

I am President of Friends of Barka UK. Today in the Lords I will question the Government about their plans to continue funding reconnection programmes, such as those offered by Barka UK. I have recently founded the ‘Setting the Record Straight’ campaign …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged homelessness and migrants | 2 Comments

Secret Courts now a reality after Lords amendments fall – how did Liberal Democrats vote?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th March 2013 - 8:07 am

As the sky fell in on open justice, according to Labour whip Angela Smith, Conservative peers were watching the Bond movie Skyfall. The irony actually hurts.

Can it be true? Peer in debate says Tory Peers watching Sky Fall in Cmmttee Room 2? Just to make sure they stay & vote w/out hearing debate?

— Angela Smith (@LadyBasildon) March 26, 2013

Lady Smith might have been better keeping an eye on her own benches. Between the first Division of the Day, on the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, and the crucial vote on whether secret courts should be invoked only as a …

Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged featured, house of lords and secret courts | 52 Comments

Norman Lamb writes … Culture change – the foundations

By Norman Lamb MP | Tue 26th March 2013 - 6:12 pm

How do you change the culture of an organisation – particularly one as large as the NHS? That was one of the key questions posed by the Francis Inquiry into the appalling failings at Mid Staffordshire Hospital. Today we set out part of the answer.

The overriding message of the Francis report was the need for a culture change across the NHS to make sure that patients always come first. That change will take time, leadership, and engagement from staff. But the measures announced today set the tone, and signal what I hope will be the start of a transformation. They …

Posted in News | Tagged Francis report, Mid Staffordshire Hospital and NHS | 8 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes… Improving on the UK Border Agency

By Julian Huppert | Tue 26th March 2013 - 5:10 pm

On Monday the Home Affairs Select Committee published yet another damning report of the UK Border Agency. We found that, in addition to the half million undetermined immigration and asylum cases, UKBA were failing to deal with new immigration cases.

It is no wonder that immigration is consistently identified as one of the biggest issues facing the UK if the Agency established by Labour cannot tell us who is in the country, who should be here and who should not.

The backlog started in the 90s, but in response Labour put the whole border control operation at arm’s length. …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged home affairs select committee, immigration and UKBA | 10 Comments

An open letter from working group & FPC members on Nick Clegg’s immigration speech

By Suzanne Fletcher | Tue 26th March 2013 - 4:45 pm

As members of the body setting up a review of Liberal Democrat policy on immigration and identity under Andrew Stunell MP, or members of the review itself, we feel the need to put a few facts in the public domain following Nick Clegg’s speech on Friday.

It would have been helpful had we been made aware of the contents in advance. It would have been very helpful if members of the Policy Working Group had been sent an embargoed copy of the speech the night before.

There was much in the speech that reiterated Liberal values on immigration; indeed much of it …

Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged immigration, internal democracy and policy development | 22 Comments

Make sure your nomination is not invalid

By The Voice | Tue 26th March 2013 - 4:15 pm

Are you standing in the local elections in May?

If so, you need to be aware of a change in the guidance about nominations and the new nomination form. If you do not return the form correctly you may be disqualified.

The regulation is:

a candidate must return the entire consent to nomination form which includes copies of the relevant legislation by the close of nominations for their nomination to be valid

So when you return your nomination form you must send back the 5 pages of legislation, as well as the consent form.

Posted in Election law and News | Tagged local elections 2013 | Leave a comment

Jonathan Portes writes: If you want to get serious about growth, you need to be positive about migration

By Jonathan Portes | Tue 26th March 2013 - 1:45 pm

On Monday, I did seven interviews on David Cameron’s immigration speech. Each time I’ve tried to get across one simple fact: that all the available evidence suggests that immigrants – and immigrants from the new EU member states, in particular – more than pay their way. That is, that they pay more in taxes than they cost in benefits and services; overall, from being a burden, they make it easier to finance our welfare state not harder.

It is that basic fact that all three party leaders should be explaining to their constituents. Instead, they seem to be engaged …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged economic growth, featured, immigration, migration advisory committee and niesr | 23 Comments

Changing culture is a long term project – the past

By Mary Reid | Tue 26th March 2013 - 12:15 pm

Over the years there have been many changes in legislation that have made the UK more liberal country and a safer place to be. Equal marriage is a recent example, a proposal that would have been inconceivable 50 years ago when homosexual acts between men were still a crime.

In my lifetime we have seen anti-discrimination policies enshrined in law in terms of race, gender, disability and sexuality; we have laws that protect children and that give women control over their own bodies. But all of these were only possible because of cultural shifts that had occurred in the decades that …

Posted in Op-eds | 3 Comments

Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association speak out on secret courts

By Mary Reid | Tue 26th March 2013 - 11:05 am

The Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the Justice and Security Bill. They have sent this message to Lib Dem peers:

It was the unanimous view of the meeting that the measures introduced by the Justice and Security Bill amount to an attack on the Rule of Law in the United Kingdom and that those present were opposed to the measures contained in Part II of the Bill. I was felt that arguably the measures are a greater attack on our traditions and

…

Posted in News | Tagged house of lords, justice and security bill, liberal democrat lawyers association and secret courts | 36 Comments

Op-eds

What does a Lib Dem “trans activist” look like? (Caron Lindsay)
Winning back a generation starts with fixing the broken student loan system (Tom Gordon MP)
Welcome to my day: 21 September 2026 – time to clean up our politics? (Mark Valladares)
What I would have said about homeless children at Conference (Suzanne Fletcher)
Caron’s kitchen table diary (Caron Lindsay)

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What does a Lib Dem “trans activist” look like?

Caron’s kitchen table diary

Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything

To get Britain growing, we must cut business costs

A reply to Dan Hodges: why it’s not surprising some Tories aren’t bothered about winning in 2015

By-election review: 28 March

Local government reform: a progress report from Spring Conference

Lyon: EU must justify spending increases

Revealed: What Lib Dem members think of Ed Miliband and David Cameron

Miliband edges ahead of Cameron among Lib Dems (though ratings of both decline)

Welcome to my day in the freezer… 29 March

Call Clegg highlights: Housing, Bond, the Lords, errant MPs and the Rolling Stones…

REMINDER: Call for evidence regarding independent inquiry into processes, culture and complaints relating to harassment

Opinion: Haringey – a council in crisis

Children’s services still in trouble

AD LIB: Digital edition on its way

Paul Strasburger writes…Reflections on the battle against Secret Courts

LibLink…Christine Jardine: Referendum drowns out more pressing issues

Liberal Democrat MEPs lobby for fair distribution of EU funding

Mike Hancock MP under investigation by Portsmouth City Council

6 out of 10 places with happiest residents have high Liberal Democrat inflluence

The Independent View: The battle for privacy in the EU and how the Liberal Democrats can help

Opinion: Freedom to travel and work is the essence of the EU and we should embrace it

Norman Lamb, Newsnight and Jeremy Paxman’s bedpan

So. Farewell then, David Miliband

Opinion: We await the lessons of Iraq while new conflicts loom

Lord Roger Roberts writes…Don’t cut funding for charities which help homeless migrants

Secret Courts now a reality after Lords amendments fall – how did Liberal Democrats vote?

Norman Lamb writes … Culture change – the foundations

Julian Huppert MP writes… Improving on the UK Border Agency

An open letter from working group & FPC members on Nick Clegg’s immigration speech

Make sure your nomination is not invalid

Jonathan Portes writes: If you want to get serious about growth, you need to be positive about migration

Changing culture is a long term project – the past

Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association speak out on secret courts

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What does a Lib Dem “trans activist” look like?

Caron’s kitchen table diary

Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything

To get Britain growing, we must cut business costs

Miliband edges ahead of Cameron among Lib Dems (though ratings of both decline)

Children’s services still in trouble

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