Liberal Democrat Voice

Is bringing back the 10p rate band such a good idea?

By Mark Valladares | Tue 29th January 2013 - 2:22 pm

It is hard to believe that it has been five years since Gordon Brown announced the abolition of the 10p rate band, and I am as surprised that it has taken until now for someone to suggest reintroducing it.

At Conservative Home, Robert Halfon MP argues;

Restoring a 10p rate of income tax, between £9,205 and £12,000, would cost around £6 billion a year according to the House of Commons Library. This is significantly cheaper than raising the personal allowance to £12,500 (which could cost as much as £14.4 billion). It also has the advantage that it would benefit all workers,

…

Posted in News | Tagged robert halfon and tax policy | 19 Comments

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Opinion: War on Weltschmerz

By Anthony Hawkes | Tue 29th January 2013 - 1:28 pm

When friends have lost their belief in religion, they usually describe not the freeing of bonds, but the emptiness left without a moral compass to guide them.

My youngest daughter popped in after work today looking rather sad. When I asked her the problem she described herself as feeling weltschmerz. Never having heard of this before, I got her to elaborate. She told me of the alienation, the resignation and the overwhelming sense of the cruelty of the world. This is not a woman prone to melancholy, …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged weltschmertz and young people | 15 Comments

The Independent View: National security is paramount but ‘secret courts’ are an illiberal attack on British justice

By Lewis James Brown | Tue 29th January 2013 - 12:05 pm

In September 2012, the Liberal Democrat Conference voted overwhelmingly against the most contentious aspect of the government’s Justice and Security Bill – the extension of ‘secret courts’, otherwise known as Closed Material Procedures (CMPs), into civil courts.

This would allow ministers to submit a CMP application to a judge that material relating to national security be withheld from the defendant/claimant and their legal team despite being used as evidence. As Andrew Tyrie MP and Anthony Peto QC explain in “Neither Just nor Secure”, published today by the Centre for Policy Studies, this is worrying because “in an adversarial system such as the English one, the right to know and challenge the opposing case is not merely a feature of the system, it is the system”.

Posted in The Independent View | Tagged Centre for Policy Studies, closed material proceedings, Justice and Security Bil and secret courts | 3 Comments

LibDem International Office: Strengthening liberal democracies

By Mary Reid | Tue 29th January 2013 - 10:57 am

As an accredited party trainer I was intrigued to receive an email last week asking if I would like to provide some training for the Republican Party in Georgia next month.

It took a moment to register that it was talking about the Georgia to the north of Turkey on the Black Sea and their Liberal party, not the one to the north of Florida and the GOP.

Now I have acted for the party in a similar capacity before, when I met the youthful members of the Liberal Democrat party in Serbia and tried to convince them that an election cannot be won entirely on the Web. Sadly I have a by-election to attend to next month so I will not be offering my services this time.

Posted in News | Tagged featured, international office, peter lesniak, training and westminster foundation for democracy | Leave a comment

I apologise for my lack of enthusiasm for HS2. It’s been unavoidably delayed owing to the lack of evidence

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th January 2013 - 9:45 am

‘All aboard!’ exhorts the email I received last night from Lib Dem transport minister Norman Baker, hailing his announcement of the Coalition’s plans for Phase Two of Britain’s High Speed Rail Network (aka HS2). I’m afraid, though, I’m going to have to apologise to Norman for the delay in arrival of my goodwill owing to what I suspect is the wrong type of investment on the lines.

HS2, we are told, will cut journey times, help the environment, heal the North-South divide and boost growth. Each of these arguments is less …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged christian wolmar, featured, HS2, john tomaney, madrid, railways, seville and trains | 45 Comments

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This week in the Lords: 28 January – 1 February

By Mark Valladares | Mon 28th January 2013 - 8:58 pm

Yes, just as late as has been the habit recently, here’s your heads up for events in the upper chamber this week… anyone would think that I didn’t have a day of my own…

It’s another long week for our Parliamentary Party, with a nod to the recent wintry weather, but Monday sees Day 2 of the Committee Stage of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, where Tony Greaves will seek to remove attempts to place further limits on the power to require information with planning applications. Frankly, when I see …

Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged bill bradshaw, david chidgey, john lee, mike storey, phil willis, ros scott, shirley williams, sue miller, susan kramer and tony greaves | Leave a comment

Chris Huhne to stand trial next Monday

By NewsHound | Mon 28th January 2013 - 5:14 pm

From the BBC:

Former cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife are to stand trial next Monday over allegations she took speeding points for him so he could avoid prosecution.

The Lib Dem MP, 58, pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

Posted in News | Tagged chris huhne | 9 Comments

Ed Davey MP writes… The Green Deal goes live

By Ed Davey | Mon 28th January 2013 - 2:55 pm

Today marks a very significant achievement of our party in Government. The Green Deal is being launched.

After two and half years of toil the pledge in our manifesto to, “offer a home energy improvement package … paid for by the savings from lower energy bills” has become reality.

Chris Huhne started the ball rolling way back in 2010 and Nick Clegg and I are visiting a college in Sheffield today to mark the opening of a brand new market in home energy efficiency and meet trainees in home insulation.

Millions of homes do not have full double-glazing. More than half do not …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged chris huhne, featured, green deal and nick clegg | 10 Comments

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2012-13 starts its parliamentary journey

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th January 2013 - 2:23 pm

Lynne Featherstone (right) proudly brandishes a copy of the newly published Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2012-13.

There is a parliamentary webpage dedicated to the bill here, where you can read the document and track its progress through Parliament.

The Government’s Equalities Office has published a range of supplementary materials here, including a short guide to the bill, a Factsheet and a Mythbuster.

Posted in News | Tagged lynne featherstone and Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2012-13 | 4 Comments

Norman Baker MP writes… High Speed 2: Transforming our national rail network

By Norman Baker MP | Mon 28th January 2013 - 1:53 pm

In the two centuries since the Golden Age of British railways, from the opening of the Stockton and Darlington line in 1825, Stephenson’s Rocket and the railway boom of the 1840s, Britain has tumbled from the position of being the envy of the world, to lagging sadly behind. The busiest sections of our old Victorian railways are now struggling to cope as the railways become increasingly popular. As anyone who travels regularly by train as I do will know, the West …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured and high speed 2 | 20 Comments

Progress for the poorest pupils

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th January 2013 - 12:53 pm

Posted in News | Tagged education, poorest pupils and schools | 9 Comments

New Labour group: Lib Dems might prove more tenacious than many people expect

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th January 2013 - 11:23 am

Progress is a New Labour pressure group. On their website, Mark Rusling argues that there are strong signs that the Lib Dems are “waving, not drowning”. He bases this on evidence from local government, particularly from Waltham Forest Council:

…I have a gnawing worry that, while the Liberals aren’t thriving, neither are they drowning. They might prove more tenacious than many people expect.

Posted in News | Tagged liberal democrats and Local government | 10 Comments

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone – Darfur is still suffering ten years after conflict began

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th January 2013 - 9:54 am

Just back from a visit to Darfur, Lynne Featherstone writes on Huffpo about continuing concerns for the region:

Britain’s aid programme is about people, not numbers. But sometimes, the figures are so shocking it is impossible to escape them.

This year marks 10 years since the start of conflict in Darfur and the numbers speak for themselves. During

Posted in LibLink | Tagged lynne featherstone and sudan | Leave a comment

Lib Dem donor Brompton Capital given all clear by the Electoral Commission

By The Voice | Mon 28th January 2013 - 9:20 am

A month ago, the Sunday Telegraph splashed on allegations by Labour MP Michael Dugher demanding the Electoral Commission investigate donations to the Lib Dems from Rumi Verjee via Brompton Capital Limited.

Well, the Electoral Commission has now investigated — and it’s given the donations the all-clear, and ruled out pursuing the matter any further:

“We have carefully considered whether there is sufficient reason to believe that a breach of PPERA may have taken place, and whether the matter warrants referral for a case review or investigation. Having

…

Posted in News | Tagged brompton capital, donations (Lib Dem) and rumi verjee | 7 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #310

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 27th January 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 310th 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 (20 – 26 January, 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

Your essential weekend reader — my personal pick of the week’s must-reads

By Stephen Tall | Sun 27th January 2013 - 2:20 pm

It’s Saturday evening, so here are twelve thought-provoking articles to stimulate your thinking juices culled from all those I’ve linked to this last week. You can follow me on Delicious here.

My brother, Hans Rausing, entered a world of addiction where no one in the end could follow him – Sigrid Rausing‘s heart-rending account has persuaded her that drug addicts need care, not prison: ‘I do wonder slightly if the people who formulate the policy on drugs know what that heavy hand, the war …

Posted in LibLink | Tagged weekend reader | Leave a comment

Nick Clegg’s son’s schooling is none of your business

By Nick T | Sun 27th January 2013 - 11:58 am

Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, Nick Clegg was asked once again which secondary school he would send his eldest child too. He quite rightly dismissed the question as a personal one – he and Miriam have strived to keep their children out of the public eye, so why should they change that now?

As I tweeted at the time:

Anybody who thinks it’s any of their business which school Clegg’s children go to is one of the problems with our political culture.

— Nick Thornsby (@NickThornsby) January 27, 2013

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged featured and nick clegg | 138 Comments

Nick Clegg’s letter from the leader: People count

By Joe Otten | Sun 27th January 2013 - 10:20 am

This week Nick covers the economy, the fall in unemployment, the big problem with David Cameron’s speech on the EU, and rounds off with reform of the royal succession.

The point that while the economy is weak, employment is surprisingly strong is something that is perplexing the economists (video) and I’m surprised it doesn’t get more attention.

It hasn’t hit the headlines, perhaps because the fall in unemployment was thought to be a blip. But after over a year, this is clearly something to be welcomed. I’d like to …

Posted in News | Tagged act of succession, brexit, economy, european union, letter from the leader, nick clegg and unemployment | 8 Comments

Welcome apology and clarification from David Ward MP

By Paul Walter | Sat 26th January 2013 - 7:02 pm

Earlier this evening, David Ward MP, on his website, issued the following apology and clarification regarding his remarks on Friday.

This is very welcome.

My criticisms of actions since 1948 in the Palestinian territories in the name of the State of Israel remain as strong as ever.

In my comments this week I was trying to make clear that everybody needs to learn the lessons of the Holocaust.

Posted in News | Tagged david ward and featured | 28 Comments

Opinion: A radical idea for the post office network

By David Thorpe | Sat 26th January 2013 - 6:25 pm

A typical Saturday morning in the Thorpe household typically involves me meandering, in my usual untidy fashion, to one of the menagerie of corner shops which cosset Hammersmith high street from the unkempt collection of bookmakers, pawnbrokers and fast food joints which seem to be the fate of most urban centres.

From the shop, I will descend to the most desolate corner of a quiet bar and languidly let the tensions of the week be traduced by …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged national lottery and post office | 15 Comments

LibLink: Paul David Evans – The Holocaust and David Ward MP

By Joe Otten | Sat 26th January 2013 - 3:14 pm

We carried the news yesterday that David Ward MP had, while marking Holocaust Memorial Day, made comments linking the holocaust to Israeli policy in the occupied territories.

Paul David Evans, who has worked for the Holocaust Educational Trust, examines this commonly-made comparison.

“… is it possible to criticise Israel without being accused of antisemitism, some activists mused on Lib Dem Voice? The answer is that, yes, it’s remarkably easy to criticise Israel without being accused of being a racist. The trick is not to frame your criticism in terms of glaringly obvious

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged david ward and israel | 13 Comments

Opinion: Down with marriage

By Laura Willoughby | Sat 26th January 2013 - 12:00 pm

It’s always the smallest things that seem to end up creating the biggest noise. Take the current debate over marriage: I know it seems like a big issue, but if you really look, it’s a debate about semantics and contracts that’s become complicated by the fact that history is so unclear about its origins.

The Church thinks that marriage is theirs and that therefore they have a right to dictate who gets to do it. I used to be partly persuaded by the fact that marriage was the Church’s brand and that those of …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged equal marriage, marriage and secularism | 13 Comments

Libby Local, Episode 9: “Civilisation”

By Libby Local | Sat 26th January 2013 - 9:25 am

On Wednesday, I got back on the last train to Demsbury and was strolling homeward through the icy streets. The town centre is a fairly safe and usually free of drunks and ruffians on a midweek night. I half thought of popping in to the Market Tavern for last orders, but it’s Dry January and I was heartily fed up with drinking glasses of orange.

A few seconds later he was in front of me, …

Posted in Op-eds | 4 Comments

That was my day… 25 January – mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…

By Mark Valladares | Fri 25th January 2013 - 9:22 pm

Well, it can’t be said that it was a dull one, with David Ward (and me, to a rather lesser, but no less traumatic extent) trapped in a world of pain over his comments about Holocaust Memorial Day. And, if truth be told, his correction doesn’t address the primary objection, to my mind. It looks like I was wrong, for which I apologise.

Meanwhile, the proposed legislation on same sex marriage has been launched – whilst welcome, it isn’t perfect, as Sarah Brown notes;

There is NO PROVISION to reinstate the confiscated marriages. None whatsoever. It’s as if those of us affected by it simply don’t exist.

— Sarah Brown (@auntysarah) January 25, 2013

In by-election news, congratulations to Helen Groves, for her successful defence of the Highbridge and Burnham Marine ward on Sedgemoor District Council in Somerset.

On a very different note, it would be wrong of me not to highlight your chance to obtain inner peace, courtesy of HM Revenue & Customs;

I’ve started, so I’ll finish. Anyone who’s saved their online #taxreturn half-way through should complete it by 31 Jan bit.ly/etikIF

— HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) January 25, 2013

I’ll end with some music. John Dowland was not known for his political skills, quite the reverse, but he was a wonderful songsmith. Here’s Valeria Mignaco, soprano, with Alfonso Marin on lute, performing “Can she excuse my wrongs?”, for David Ward on this Friday evening…

Posted in News | Tagged john dowland | 1 Comment

The LDV Friday Five: 25 January 2013

By Helen Duffett | Fri 25th January 2013 - 5:00 pm

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

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

Opinion: it’s no good counting on those rose-tinted spectacles (138 comments) by Richard Morris
Sheffield Labour councillor opposes own decision (12 comments) by Joe Otten
Northern council cuts are Labour’s choice – it’s that straightforward! (28 comments) by David Hennigan

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

This week in Europe: 21-24 January… no to milk lakes, yes to skilled migrants and bees

By Mark Valladares | Fri 25th January 2013 - 4:21 pm

Proposals for a revised Common Agricultural Policy met with mixed emotions

On Wednesday, the European Parliament’s Agricultural Committee (AGRI) voted on reform proposals to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). ALDE MEPs welcomed the votes in general as a major step towards a more sustainable European agricultural model. However, ALDE condemns the possible double payment for greening and agri-environmental measures and rejects a possible return to failed past policies of heavy market interventions.

Commenting after the votes, George Lyon MEP (UK, Liberal Democrat), ALDE team leader on the AGRI committee and shadow rapporteur on the direct payments report, said:

Today’s vote is a big

…

Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged bees, chris davies, common agricultural policy, george lyon, immigration, marit paulsen and nadja hirsch | Leave a comment

Holocaust Memorial Day, and a response to David Ward

By Julian Huppert | Fri 25th January 2013 - 2:58 pm

I find Holocaust Memorial Day personally incredibly difficult. It reminds us of an astonishing period in human history, when a developed European country exterminated millions of fellow humans – six million Jews, and many Roma, Slavs, Communists, Socialists, homosexuals and the disabled.

But for me it always reminds me of my own family tree, and the many relatives who appear there with a small asterisk – ‘died as a result of Nazism’. I find it hard to speak about, to think through the horrors of what happened. But I do find myself absolutely adamant that we must stop anything like …

Posted in News | Tagged holocaust memorial day | 32 Comments

Opinion: the UK has many economic lessons to learn from Ireland

By David Thorpe | Fri 25th January 2013 - 2:51 pm

When various commentators and critics of the coalition’s economic policy cast around for alternative solutions, not many look to Ireland for a model to follow, but perhaps they should.

My native country’s economy is in the sort of doldrums which make the current UK growth and employment rate look utopian, but the economy formerly known as the ‘Celtic Tiger’ is healing itself and there are many lessons for UK policy makers to learn. This year growth is forecast to be 1.8%, double what the UK can expect to achieve, while the country was recently able to return to the bond markets …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged economic policy and republic of ireland | 12 Comments

3 facts about assisted dying (or ‘it’s not all about Switzerland you know’)

By Simon Beard | Fri 25th January 2013 - 1:51 pm

The debate around legalising assisted dying seems increasingly to centre on the case of suicide tourism; whether people should ‘have to’ travel to clinics in Switzerland where they can legally end their lives. Whilst this is undoubtedly an important trend, it is merely a side show to the real issue and masks three important facts about assisted dying.

1 – Very few people travel to Switzerland to end their lives.

In the last 10 years less than 200 people have travelled to Switzerland to end their lives. That’s quite a lot. However, it’s far fewer than the estimated 500 …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged assisted dying | 32 Comments

Op-eds

How to capture the Tonbridge Tories (Cody Butler)
The bigger your car, the bigger your fuel duty cut (Mark Hofman)
A call for reform with a small “r” (Keith Creswell)
Liberals debate (Lucas North)
What do we think of Ed Davey’s tax cut announcement? (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

Is bringing back the 10p rate band such a good idea?

Opinion: War on Weltschmerz

The Independent View: National security is paramount but ‘secret courts’ are an illiberal attack on British justice

LibDem International Office: Strengthening liberal democracies

I apologise for my lack of enthusiasm for HS2. It’s been unavoidably delayed owing to the lack of evidence

This week in the Lords: 28 January – 1 February

Chris Huhne to stand trial next Monday

Ed Davey MP writes… The Green Deal goes live

Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2012-13 starts its parliamentary journey

Norman Baker MP writes… High Speed 2: Transforming our national rail network

Progress for the poorest pupils

New Labour group: Lib Dems might prove more tenacious than many people expect

LibLink: Lynne Featherstone – Darfur is still suffering ten years after conflict began

Lib Dem donor Brompton Capital given all clear by the Electoral Commission

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #310

Your essential weekend reader — my personal pick of the week’s must-reads

Nick Clegg’s son’s schooling is none of your business

Nick Clegg’s letter from the leader: People count

Welcome apology and clarification from David Ward MP

Opinion: A radical idea for the post office network

LibLink: Paul David Evans – The Holocaust and David Ward MP

Opinion: Down with marriage

Libby Local, Episode 9: “Civilisation”

That was my day… 25 January – mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…

The LDV Friday Five: 25 January 2013

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

This week in Europe: 21-24 January… no to milk lakes, yes to skilled migrants and bees

Holocaust Memorial Day, and a response to David Ward

Opinion: the UK has many economic lessons to learn from Ireland

3 facts about assisted dying (or ‘it’s not all about Switzerland you know’)

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