Mark Valladares

This week in Europe: 25-28 February

By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2013 - 4:11 pm

European Liberals and Democrats to oppose the 2014-20 budget proposal but accept the global amount

In a statement on Wednesday, the ALDE Group in the European Parliament adopted its position ahead of negotiations on the new EU budget. Guy Verhofstadt, its Group Leader, called for a transfer of spending from farming and cohesion policy towards research, innovation, infrastructure and competitiveness, and condemned the EU’s growing deficit;

Nor can we countenance the creation of excessive deficits, building up outstanding commitments year on year to a potential debt of €300 billion by 2020, if all commitments are taken up.

He also called for a binding …

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Mary Reid

Why I didn’t go down to Eastleigh

By Mary Reid | Fri 1st March 2013 - 3:15 pm

sushilaresultAs well as being one of the day editors on Lib Dem Voice, Mary Reid is chair of Kingston Liberal Democrats. The local party covers the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, which includes the whole of the Kingston & Surbiton constituency, plus a third of the Richmond Park constituency.

Actually I would have loved to have joined in the fun at Eastleigh. It is an easy journey down the M3 from where I live. But while all the national focus was on the south coast, here in Kingston we had our own needle match to fight.

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George Kendall

Ride the wave! Two chances to celebrate…

By George Kendall | Fri 1st March 2013 - 2:22 pm

Want to celebrate the fantastic result in Eastleigh?

Why not join a working celebration at Regional Action Days in either Watford or Lewes, tomorrow, Saturday 2nd March.  There’ll be good company, free food and invigorating campaigning.

Normally, the local teams for these Regional Action Days need at least a few days notice. However, normal promotion hasn’t been possible this time round, so for these events we’d welcome last minute registrations.

But please do register, even if it’s in the early hours of Saturday morning, here for Lewes and herefor Watford.

As far as we can, the teams want to …

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Mark Valladares

Next week in the Lords: 4-7 March

By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2013 - 1:21 pm

House of Lords chamberYes, we’re back, after this column’s regular late winter break to study comparisons between government systems in the Caribbean. And whilst the House of Lords and the Cuban leadership do have some similarities – having octogenarians in prominent positions, for example – you would probably want to see more of Eric Avebury than you would Fidel Castro…

So, on with the motley…

Monday kicks off the week with the main business being Day 2 of the Report Stage of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. Amongst the …

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Caron Lindsay

Three things the Liberal Democrats must learn from Eastleigh

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 1st March 2013 - 12:03 pm

Liberal Democrats are entitled to a weekend of being incredibly pleased with ourselves. I have never been as proud of this party as I am now. The way we calmly and professionally got on with delivering a brilliant campaign on the ground was astonishingly good. Activists put their lives on hold and dedicated themselves to Eastleigh for three weeks. My eternal regret will be that I never made it there, due to a horrendous Flu and its lingering aftermath. However, Team Scotland and many others across the country phonebanked their hearts out. Yesterday in Edinburgh, we even had to have …

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Mike Tuffrey

Yellow, orange, green… time for new book, and a different approach

By Mike Tuffrey | Fri 1st March 2013 - 10:51 am

Back in 1928, publication of The Yellow Book – the report of a party inquiry “Britain’s Industrial Future” – provided the basis for Lloyd George’s 1929 general election programme “We can conquer unemployment!”. It put the party firmly in the camp of an interventionist economic strategy, with John Maynard Keynes as its intellectual lodestar. With the Great Depression ranging, the party firmly rejected laisser-faire liberalism.

Come 2004 and the Orange Book -subtitled Reclaiming Liberalism and edited by David Laws and Paul Marshall – challenged what some were calling nanny-state liberalism. It promoted choice and competition and argued that the Liberal Democrats …

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Posted in Books, News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 8 Comments
Paul Walter

My Eastleigh experiences

By Paul Walter | Fri 1st March 2013 - 9:36 am

This month marked my twentieth year of helping the Lib Dems in by-elections.

My first by-election was at Newbury in 1993. My wife and I threw ourselves into the campaign on our home turf, after losing our son Toby to meningitis aged 16 months (he died just three days after Judith Chaplin, the former MP whose sad demise caused the by-election). It was a bitter sweet time, but we were truly delighted to host Paddy at our home three times during the campaign, once accompanied by Jane and their dog, Luke. Paddy was and is a shining inspiration in the Lib …

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Stephen Tall

Eastleigh by-election: my first thoughts

By Stephen Tall | Fri 1st March 2013 - 2:31 am

Let’s consider the backdrop: we’re polling at half the level we were in 2010; the previous MP, Chris Huhne, was forced to resign after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice and faces a prison sentence; we’ve just endured a week of torrid publicity. And yet we’ve held on.

It’s true that, in some ways, Eastleigh was a good seat for us to have to contest. The party is immensely strong in the area, holding every council seat, and runs a popular council.

However, what has been immensely encouraging has also been the clear evidence Lib Dem activists remain …

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , and | 80 Comments
Mark Valladares

Eastleigh by-election: the result

By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2013 - 2:22 am

And here it is;

  • Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat) – 13,342 votes
  • Diane James (UKIP) – 11,571 votes
  • Maria Hutchings (Conservative) – 10,559 votes
  • John O’Farrell (Labour) – 4,088 votes
  • Danny Stupple (Independent) – 768 votes
  • Iain Maclennan (National Health Action) – 392 votes
  • Ray Hall (Beer, Baccy and Crumpet) – 235 votes
  • Kevin Milburn (Christian) – 163 votes
  • Howling Laud Hope (Monster Raving Loony) – 136 votes
  • Jim Duggan (Peace) – 128 votes
  • David Bishop (Elvis Loves Pets) – 72 votes
  • Michael Walters (English Democrats) – 70 votes
  • Darren Proctor (Trade Union and Socialist) – 62 votes
  • Colin Bex (Wessex Regionalists) – 30 votes

    • That’s a Liberal Democrat majority of 1,771 on a turnout of …

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    Mark Valladares

    Eastleigh by-election live thread

    By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2013 - 12:36 am

    00:35

    So, here we are, a by-election in a Liberal Democrat held seat, only the fifth such contest fought by the Party or its predecessor since 1945. This will be our live thread for the early evening, and I start with what is, hopefully, a good omen…

    Congratulations to all in Kingston for fighting such a great campaign despite losing so much potential campaigning support to the Eastleigh …

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    Mark Valladares

    Welcome to my day… 1 March

    By Mark Valladares | Fri 1st March 2013 - 12:12 am

    Readers will no doubt be impressed that, this time, I have remembered that there was a Parliamentary by-election yesterday. And, as one might expect, most of our attention today will be on the result, the aftermath and what this means, if anything.

    There will, I hope, be the usual reports on the past week in Europe, and a preview of events in the Lords, as the end of the Parliamentary session approaches and the business moves towards a series of crucial votes.

    So, will Mike Thornton and the hundreds of Liberal Democrats who have worked so hard, on the ground, on the …

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    Caron Lindsay

    Mike Thornton says thank you

    By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th February 2013 - 11:16 pm

    Hundreds of activists from across the UK have been part of a fantastic campaign in Eastleigh. Tonight, as we wait nervously for word from Hampshire, it’s gratifying to know that our candidate has impeccable manners, sending us this within minutes of the polls closing.

     

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    Caron Lindsay

    LibLink…Tavish Scott…SNP’s mistakes will be their downfall

    By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th February 2013 - 3:30 pm

    Writing in today’s Scotsman, Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland lists a number of mistakes made by the SNP Government in Scotland. The one most in the news at the moment is Audit Scotland’s report and concerns about the number of people marked socially unavailable for treatment which enabled them to be removed from the waiting times target.

    On that scandal, Tavish said:

     It is now clear that health boards across Scotland were under enormous government pressure to meet waiting list targets. In 2007, the new health secretary declared that she would end the previous government’s waiting-time fiddle. Nicola Sturgeon did. The

    …

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    Caron Lindsay

    Jo Swinson launches consultation on parental leave

    By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th February 2013 - 1:30 pm

    One thing that would never have happened if the Liberal Democrats had not been in Government is the change towards shared parental leave. Yesterday on LBC’s Call Clegg, Nick Clegg talked about how the state should not dictate which parent took leave when a child was born. It should be up for parents to decide for themselves.

    Earlier this week, Businesss Minister Jo Swinson launched a consultation on the Bill which is open for 12 weeks, until 20th May. She said:

    Current workplace arrangements for maternity leave are old-fashioned and rigid. Our measures for shared parental leave and flexible working give us

    …

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    Caron Lindsay

    How are you spending your lunch hour today?

    By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th February 2013 - 12:00 pm

    This man has a suggestion…

    Every call makes a difference. Hit those phones to send Mike Thornton to Westminster. Instructions on how to do it are here.

     

     

     

     

    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 1 Comment
    Julian Huppert

    Julian Huppert MP writes…An update on the Justice and Security Bill

    By Julian Huppert | Thu 28th February 2013 - 11:14 am

    The Government has today published their amendments to the Justice and Security Bill for Report Stage, following the strenuous efforts Mike Crockart and I put in during the Committee. And they have clearly made significant concessions to us as a result of the things we demanded.

    First, there is a provision to make sure that Public Interest Immunity is looked at before a judge is allowed to consider a Closed Material Procedure. This was taken out by the Government during Bill Committee. Mike and I tried to put it back in, and it looks like the Government has accepted our …

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    Caron Lindsay

    What are you doing to help Mike Thornton win today?

    By Caron Lindsay | Thu 28th February 2013 - 9:00 am

    Adrenaline is potent stuff. Your body produces it to help you through high-stress situations. When it’s coursing through your veins, you can keep going for days, weeks even, as anyone who’s ever fought an election campaign will know. I think I had 15 hours sleep in the 5 days before the 1997 election. Of course, the presence of such a powerful substance in your system doesn’t make sleep come easily. That’s why so many of our team on the ground in Eastleigh were still awake last night when they were going to have to get up well before the crack …

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    Stephen Tall

    Eastleigh by-election: your essential round-up of the latest campaign news (28 Feb Polling Day Edition!)

    By Stephen Tall | Thu 28th February 2013 - 7:25 am

    Welcome to the final round-up of the Eastleigh by-election campaign…

    goodmorning_ld

    It was the week when Mike Thornton’s campaign received a boost from former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown on Tuesday:

    Then yesterday as Nick Clegg made his final visit of the campaign:

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    Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
    Caron Lindsay

    Sarah Teather on “deeply upsetting” report on pregnant women in asylum system

    By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th February 2013 - 7:00 pm

    Sarah Teather has been speaking in Parliament today about a new report by Maternity Action and the Refugee Council which highlights the treatment of pregnant women and their new babies in the asylum system. You can read her whole speech here, and I warn you it will make you upset and angry in equal and consuming measure. The description of a woman who had just given birth being made to carry her newborn baby home by foot in the snow was harrowing. There are many such similar stories in the report.

    These vulnerable women suffer both poor physical and …

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    Gillian Gloyer

    Opinion: Reflections on sexual harassment

    By Gillian Gloyer | Wed 27th February 2013 - 2:30 pm

    It has been a week for thinking about sexual harassment, and for talking (in both its old-fashioned and its electronic variants) about it more than I usually do. During this thinking and talking, I have been struck by how similar the attitudes towards it among men (or at least some of them) are to the way I heard men talk thirty years ago about rape and domestic violence.

    I bet most of the women reading this have been sexually harassed in some way or another during their professional (in which I include political) careers, even if they have been reluctant to …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 30 Comments
    Caron Lindsay

    Call Clegg: “There were serious mistakes and the women were let down”

    By Caron Lindsay | Wed 27th February 2013 - 12:46 pm

    We might not have blamed Nick Clegg if he’d stayed under the duvet with a detective novel rather than turn up for his weekly Call Clegg session on LBC. Our leader is not one to duck out of things, though, and deserves respect for not hiding away and allowing himself to be quizzed on live radio. Clearly he was going to be asked  about the allegations surrounding Lord Rennard (which the peer strenuously denies) and what he had done about them.

    For the first time he acknowledged that although the main reason for the former Chief Executive’s resignation was health, this …

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    Eric Avebury

    Eric Avebury writes: Rare disease Day – a new report on care co-ordinators

    By Eric Avebury | Wed 27th February 2013 - 11:17 am

    rare-disease-day-logoTomorrow is International Rare Diseases Day, and I shall be asking in the Lords what contribution the Government are providing for the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium.

    The EU defines a rare disease as one that affects no more than 5 in every 10,000 persons. But since between 6,000 and 8,000 such diseases have been identified, about 3.5  million patients are affected in the UK. Three quarters of these diseases can affect children, and nearly a third of the youngest patients die before their fifth birthday.

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    The Voice

    Don’t forget #CallClegg on at 9am today

    By The Voice | Wed 27th February 2013 - 8:57 am

    In a change to the usual schedule, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will be taking questions from listeners around the country at 9am this morning, Wednesday (not tomorrow, Thursday):

    Not that there’s much for him to talk about this week…

    Posted in News | 2 Comments
    Michael Moore

    Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

    By Michael Moore | Wed 27th February 2013 - 8:55 am

    Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore MP, writes a column for newspapers in his Borders Constituency. Here is the latest edition. 

    Local television

    Last week was an important one for local news coverage in the Borders as the broadcasting regulator OFCOM asked for views on its proposals to change the way local television news is provided here.

    After years of shared news with Tyne Tees, they are now looking at options to return things close to the way they were in 2009. That would mean more coverage of the south of Scotland and particularly our part of it …

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    The Voice

    Lord Rennard: further reports and a new statement

    By The Voice | Tue 26th February 2013 - 6:33 pm

    Radio 4 ran a piece about the allegations against Chris Rennard today which covered a wide range of the questions raised so far. You can listen to it here. (Update – also written up by the BBC here.)

    A spokesperson for Lord Rennard also issued a statement today, which says:

    Lord Rennard refutes these allegations. He will co-operate with any properly constituted inquiry.

    He has been notified of an internal investigatory panel within the Party. The matter must now be regarded as sub judice pending its proceedings and no further statement will be issued in the interim.

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    Posted in News | Tagged | 14 Comments
    Caron Lindsay

    Robin Meltzer selected as PPC for Richmond Park

    By Caron Lindsay | Tue 26th February 2013 - 2:32 pm

    Another PPC selection came to fruition last night. Robin Meltzer was chosen as the Liberal Democrats’ parliamentary candidate for Richmond Park, North Kingston and New Malden. He said on his website:

    I am thrilled to have been selected as the new Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Richmond Park, North Kingston and New Malden. A huge thank you to the members across Kingston and Richmond who supported me and to the many volunteers who worked on my selection campaign.

    Paddy Ashdown and Robin MeltzerThe first thing he did this morning was to …

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    Ruth Edmonds

    Opinion: Five reasons to go to Eastleigh to help Mike Thornton’s campaign…

    By Ruth Edmonds | Tue 26th February 2013 - 12:37 pm

    Paddy at Eastleigh

    It’s really, really close and this election looks like it could shape the general election. This is the time to take a stand and prove that Lib Dems can hold onto Lib Dem seats. We have good things to offer people, we have brought things to the coalition (think pupil premium and the £10,000 tax-threshold) and we have limited some of the more extreme conservative policies.  But to get people to recognise this we have to get the word out and the way to do …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 6 Comments
    Mark Pack

    Inquiries into Rennard allegations must be as public as possible

    By Mark Pack | Tue 26th February 2013 - 10:55 am

    The party’s investigations into allegations against its members are traditionally internal, confidential affairs. There are good reasons for this, particularly as confidentiality can be necessary for people to be willing to given evidence and as the simple existence of an allegation can kill someone’s political career, even if the allegations are subsequently found to be groundless.

    They are often so confidential, in fact, that the last time I was asked to provide evidence for an inquiry, I did not know what the precise allegations were, who was investigating them, who the range of people being investigated were, whether or not the …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 8 Comments
    Stephen Tall

    Eastleigh by-election: your essential round-up of the latest campaign news (26 Feb)

    By Stephen Tall | Tue 26th February 2013 - 9:55 am

    I reported earlier this morning the latest poll from Eastleigh — showing a narrow Lib Dem lead over the Tories — but one finding in it is particularly relevant to this round-up. The question was asked: “We’re interested in the extent to which people locally have heard from the political parties over the last few weeks. Please can you tell me whether Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have done each of the following…” And here’s what they found:

    eastleigh contacts

    In short, the Lib Dems have out-campaigned both Labour and the Conservatives, with 92% of the voters in Eastleigh having been contacted in some way in the last three weeks. (Though that still leaves a hard-core of 8% for us to find…)

    Here’s a few Lib Dem activists explaining in 90 seconds why they’ve been joining with thousands of other party supporters in campaigning for a Mike Thornton victory on Thursday:

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    Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged and | 8 Comments
    Eric Avebury

    Eric Avebury writes…We must heed the cries of the Hazaras

    By Eric Avebury | Tue 26th February 2013 - 8:55 am

    Just over a week ago a massive bomb was detonated in a packed bazaar on the outskirts of Quetta, killing at least 92 people and seriously injuring more than 200.

    Last month a double suicide bombing on Alamdar Road, Quetta took the lives of 108 people

    These were the latest in a crescendo of genocidal attacks on the Shia Hazara community in Pakistan since the turn of the century, which was considered in a packed meeting I chaired at the House of Lords yesterday, February 25.

    According to published accounts, these atrocities have left over 1,100 dead and 1,300 injured. In fact the …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 7 Comments
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