From April 2014, for the first time, people who need mental health services will be able to choose where they receive their care.
In 2008, the Labour government gave patients the legal right to choose who provides their care when referred by a GP. Scandalously, however, that right was specifically denied to mental health service users – a clear, institutionalised bias against mental health services and service users who had to take what they are given, whether they like it or not.
Having successfully dipped their toes into the social media pool with their Twitter account, the party’s peers have now launched their very own blog. The site is intended to give an insight into the often overlooked work the group are doing in the second chamber. Because – let’s be honest here – even the most committed of members can be forgiving for not thumbing through Hansard on their morning commute.
In the past week alone there have been blog posts from Roger Roberts
Our economic system is built around the indicator of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It measures how much we have produced as a country over a period of time. It does this by adding together the market value of what we have produced. As a result, an increase in the market value of what we have produced signifies that our economy is growing. But should it?
In the grand scheme of human history, GDP is relatively new. It was created to allow the US to better understand how to develop
The Sun running a story about the attitude of politicians to drugs reform is fairly commonplace. A Liberal Democrat politician calling for the drugs laws to be reviewed is fairly commonplace. What is however rather less common – and so all the more significant – is for the former to feature the latter in a positive light as LDV mentioned earlier today:
It’s unlikely that many of our readers also take The Sun, but it’s probably equally unlikely that a Liberal Democrat would ever give an interview to it in which they spoke so freely about drug policy.
So, today’s headline in the Sun, “Nick Clegg: time to re-think drugs” will be an unexpected one, made more so by the rather supportive polling carried out by YouGov for it and the general tenor of the piece.
Here’s a snippet from the article;
If you
…
At 1900 GMT on Wednesday 21st November a ceasefire came into place between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which, it was hoped, would signal at least a temporary halt to the bloodshed. Sadly, this ceasefire looks little more likely to last than previous ones have done and it would seem to be a good moment to reflect on the latest tragic and depressing episode in the Middle East and the ‘peace process.’
As Samuel Ellis Rees points out today:
Of the last 20 Council by-elections to take place, the Lib Dems have won 11 of them. 8 of which were gains from another party. Not too bad.
— SamuelEllis Rees (@SamuelEllisRees) December 14, 2012
And as I noted last week, after the Lib Dems had gained four seats from the Tory party:
Can’t help feeling if Ukip had won 4 council seats from the Tories last night, as LibDems did, the media might’ve mentioned it #narrativerut
— Stephen Tall (@stephentall) December 7, 2012
And yes, before the Lib Dem-baiting starts in the comments below, I’m well aware that local council by-elections need to be taken with a liberal pinch of salt and that none of this alters the party’s flat-lining poll ratings. But the main point remains: in spite of everything, the party’s still alive. Speculation of our demise, as so often in the past, is premature…
Here at Liberal Democrat Voice, I have occasionally drawn the attention of readers towards the Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs and its inquiry into the economic implications for the United Kingdom of Scottish independence. And this week, the Committee appears to have obtained an answer to a question which has hung heavy over the debate until now, i.e. would an independent Scotland automatically become part of the European Union.
In response to an invitation from the acting Chair of the Committee, Lord Tugendhat (a former two-term European Commissioner), Jose Manuel Barroso wrote;
Whilst refraining from comment on possible future scenarios,
…
European patent will boost UK businesses
Liberal Democrat MEPs have warmly welcomed Tuesday’s green light for the long-awaited deal on a unitary European Patent.
The European Parliament has voted to accept a hard-fought compromise package which has taken nearly forty years to negotiate. Two states, Spain and Italy, have declined to take part on the grounds that their languages are not included in the patent filing process.
Andrew Duff MEP, who represents the important cluster of science research in the East of England, commented:
Today sees a huge break-through for European innovation and competitiveness. The final agreement on a unitary patent
…
Today’s an unusual day in this corner of LDV Towers. Away from the site, it’s my final day in a job I’ve been doing for more than eleven years – I start a new job on Monday. So, do forgive me if I’m not entirely on top of my game in terms of comment review…
We awake to news of another by-election gain, from the Conservatives, in Bilton ward, Harrogate, plus the news that Nick Clegg has declared the war on drugs to be lost
This week, The Independent has run an interview with International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone – and no surprise that equalities feature strongly in her approach to the job:
Today we are talking about Zambia, from where she has just returned from a trip to meet victims of domestic violence, as well as the First Lady and the newly-appointed Minister of Gender, as part of her brief as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Department for International Development (DFID).
In Masabuka, Featherstone discussed ways to empower a population where 63 per cent of women believe domestic battery is justifiable. “It’s a culture that is so
…
Every week, Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore writes a column for newspapers in his Borders constituency. Here’s this week’s version.
The Chancellor gave his Autumn Statement last week which outlined the decisions the Government is taking to boost growth, cut taxes for those on low incomes and ensure the richest pay their
If there’s one thing that really irks me about the Tory leadership’s rightful defence of equal marriage, it is this constant, almost apologetic necessity to seek to justify the position by reminding everyone that ‘religious freedoms’ will in no way be encroached upon by this piece of legislation. In his albeit heartfelt endorsement of allowing gay people to enter into “a great institution”, David Cameron was at pains to remind us that any religious groups who oppose the reform will not be forced to hold same-sex marriages.
In a country where the church-going population barely exceeds 10%, it is a …
At the heart of the draft Communications Bill is a drive to make it easier for a range of officials to access information about people’s communications. The Home Office maintains that officals need this push-button surveillance in order to help fight emotive crimes such as terrorism and paedophiles.
Despite widespread criticisms of the bill put forward by the Home Office to achieve those ends, most politicians appear to be uncritically accepting their underlying premise – that officials need to be granted more powers to snoop on citizens. Just take for instace Clegg’s statement on the bill:
“They were very clear that …
We are now just over a week on from the infamous flag vote at Belfast City Council and whilst it is now clear that the Alliance Party will emerge from this with its credibility and reputation greatly enhanced it has come at an enormous cost to its elected members, officers and activists who have been put under intolerable pressure. Now we know what mob rule looks like. If Northern Ireland was a normal society rival politicians would have by now put differences aside and be standing shoulder to shoulder with Alliance in a united front on the side of democracy …
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. Over 500 party members have responded, and we’re publishing the full results.
LDV asked: Do you support or oppose the following measures in the Autumn Statement:
Increasing the basic income tax threshold by a further £235 to £9,440
…
Wealth tax is becoming, or has become?, a core Lib Dem policy. Nick Clegg shakes his head alongside his Cabinet colleague the Chancellor of the Exchequer announcing that the coalition government will not introduce a mansion tax. Vince Cable is back on the World at One the next day defending it.
There has been much discussion as to whether wealth and mansion taxes are fair. But fairness is a very subjective concept. Some think that wealth taxes appropriately ask the rich to shoulder relatively more of the financial burden imposed if we needlessly insist on the financial orthodoxy that the …
Everybody knows that the first rule of Fight Club is that you do not talk about Fight Club.
I am no Brad Pitt but the same is also true of the Whips’ Office.
It is not normally my practice to discuss whipping arrangements for the parliamentary party, nor to discuss publicly the process by which decisions are reached. Today, however, I am prepared (exceptionally) to do so and to explain the decision taken last night to allow Liberal Democrat MPs a free vote …
Liberal Democrat peer Anthony Lester has written for the Guardian about his independent Press Council bill which he introduced in the House of Lords yesterday.
If his measure became law, it would be the Supreme Court rather than OFCOM which would ensure that the independent self regulatory body was genuinely independent and complying with the principles Lord Leveson set out in his report.
I seldom hear much enthusiasm about European politics. It seems particularly difficult to get people excited about the EU and during the Euro list selection campaign, I found that even politically active people were largely uninterested in European issues. It is hardly surprising, then, that the UK turnout in 2009 was less than 35%.
One attempt to tackle this problem comes from the EU in the form of subsidies offered to MEPs who bring visitors from their constituencies to see the European Parliament. I was lucky enough
Equality has always been at the core of our party’s values, and is one of the main reasons why I joined the party in 2006. However, until 2010, Liberal Democrats had not been able to prove to the wider public that we had always been ahead of the curve on sexual equality simply because we hadn’t been in Government for 80 years. In opposition, though, we were adopting policies on these issues way before previous governments had done anything. In many cases governments had only acted because of the threat of
From the Law Commission’s website:
We have commenced work on reforming electoral law. We expect to open a consultation in late 2014. A report with recommendations to Government will be published in summer 2015…
The twin aims of the project are to ensure, first, that electoral laws are presented within a rational, modern legislative framework, governing all elections and referendums under statute; and second, that the law governing the conduct of elections and referendums is modern, simple, and fit for purpose.
More details are on the Law Commission’s website but it’s worth …
The first time I wrote on these pages as a health minister was when eleven former members of staff at Winterbourne View private hospital were sentenced. The judicial process ran its course and the Government process, too, has now reached a conclusion. On Monday I published our response to the shocking abuse that took place at Winterbourne View and the systemic weaknesses that allowed it to happen. Most importantly, I have set out what we are doing in Government to prevent it happening again.
Today, upward of a thousand enthusiasts are descending on Westminster to demand protection for one of the nation’s great heritage assets. Beer.
The Labour government of old was unduly fond of price and tax escalators, which generally take the form of retail price index plus a bit more. I have always regarded this as a rather odd fiscal mechanism because it simply creates a circularity that feeds itself. Costs go up, the RPI duly rises, and costs go up again as a result.
It beats me why the coalition has decided to maintain this blunt policy. Fiscal escalators
After having written previous articles about delegate Sarah Yong’s motion on under provision in mental health, my own experiences with mental health, and the recent statements by Ed Miliband regarding Labour’s policy on mental health, I want to add a final footnote to the series.
It is clear from comments on this website that Liberal
Now I’m more than a little sceptical about Leveson: I think he’s firing the wrong bullet (regulation backed by statute) at a target that’s moving out of range (the ‘dead tree press’). However, I’m also deeply sceptical about the press’s ability to report facts straight.
Which leaves me a bit conflicted at this morning’s report: The minister and a warning to the Telegraph before expenses story.
On the one hand, you have a clear signal of the danger of letting politicians anywhere near
I would like to make a plea to MPs of all parties not to support the new employee-owner status and to table an amendment to remove it from the Growth and Infrastructure Bill. Buried in section 25 of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill (as amended in Public Bill Committee), it seeks to provide a new employment status involving company shares in exchange for worker rights. It is due at report stage and third reading in the
Back in the summer I wrote about how:
You can fight through a bulging email folder of press releases from politicians wanting to make mortgages easier, cheaper, safer and more numerous before you find one that talks about tackling any of the issues private renters face…
It is notable that the rising trend of private renting and declining numbers of those with a mortgage pre-date the financial crash. In fact, the crash has not caused much of a blip in the trends.
Last week, Jim Dobbin MP, Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Child Health and Vaccine Preventable Diseases was in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania to take part in a global health summit to raise awareness of the challenges entailed in vaccinating children against preventable diseases such as pneumonia, rotavirus, HPV and rubella.
The summit, which was being hosted by the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and coordinated by the GAVI Alliance, saw more than 500 distinguished global health leaders and parliamentarians from developing and donor countries, technical experts, civil society organisations and private sector partners come together to promote the Global Vaccine Action Plan, endorsed at the May 2012 World Health Assembly, and determine what more can be done to meet goals for women’s and children’s health through vaccination programmes.
The chemical industry is vital to the UK. It is already the biggest export business in the UK at £43 bn. However imports have risen after various shut downs, and the amount we are importing is, in my view, unnecessarily high. There are major opportunities for new investment to bring production of key materials back into the UK and bring jobs, growth and expertise with it.
My constituency of Redcar is part of an area which has traditionally been a hub of the UK chemical industry. Chemicals are key
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