Danny Alexander has announced £154 million of extra funding for HMRC to “get under the skin” of multinationals who are not paying their fair share of tax.
Some media sites are reporting that he may boycott Starbucks.
There is one slight snag with that claim.
The McCanns, the Dowlers, and the Gurkhas threatened with deportation are ordinary people thrown into exceptional situations, their lives tossed from one side to the other not just by fate but, like ‘cargo’, to be exploited for cash and credit by the powerful and the acquisitive.
Liberal Democrats in general and Nick Clegg in particular have always been at their best when standing shoulder to shoulder with ordinary people against a conniving, power-hoarding Establishment, be that Fleet Street, corrupt local officials, or self serving bureaucracies. That was the message that connected him to a huge audience watching the first …
Leveson has made a devastating case for changing the status quo of press regulation. A system which abuses many innocent people in an “outrageous” way must be reformed.
History shows us that this is a repetitive problem. In their pursuit of sensational stories, in order to sell more copies, editors and journalists eventually go too far, their behaviour sinks so low that there is a scandal, and action is taken to restore the rule of law and acceptable standards. The system works but at a terrible price including many individuals whose lives are ruined.
The challenge issued by Leveson is to improve the system, to introduce an innovation that retains the integrity of the press and yet provides the protection of the law to individuals.
November 25th saw the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. This occasion was marked by a debate in the House of Lords last Thursday.
Just reading the Hansard account of the debate made me feel sick. There was a former surgeon describe the hours of surgery it took to reconstruct one woman’s face after a violent attack by her partner. There were descriptions of how girls as young as 12 were subjected to Female Genital Mutilation in this country despite laws against it. Where is the worst place in the world to be a woman? Reputedly …
Aerospace manufacturing is a huge contributor to the economic make up of Burnley, a town steeped in manufacturing tradition. International aerospace manufacturers Aircelle are at the forefront of high tech manufacturing for the aerospace industry and are a great provider of jobs and wealth to the local and national economy.
Burnley has benefited well from all three rounds of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF). The government has awarded £1.8m to the redevelopment of the old Michelin site into a brand new state of the art Aerospace Supply Chain Park. The bid was put forward by a consortium headed up by Aircelle …
Over the last few years, Liberal Youth has been lobbying and consulting on issues that matter to our members with Liberal Democrat MPs, peers, MEPs, federal party committees, working groups and HQ staff.
Examples of this process are our campaigns to try to stop the proposed cut to Housing benefits for the under-25s and to make sure that more internships are being created in this government than in any other, so that opportunities can be widened for young people.
Liberal Youth is also sticking up for human rights all around the world, such as our Bears for Belarus campaign.
As Liberal …
It’s funny, but before two weeks ago, I can’t remember the last time I heard the phrases “slippery slope” or “crossing the Rubicon”. In the run up to, and immediately after, the publication of the Leveson report we have heard of little else. – That and “underpinning”, another phrase not otherwise in general use.
Hopefully, the weekend has allowed people to actually read some of Leveson’s report and we may now hear less of slopes slippery and rivers Rubicon.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 302nd (well done to Jennie for spotting the deliberate mistake) 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 (25 November – 1 December, 2012), 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:
Melissa was gentle in her criticism. She is after all my campaign manager – despite being born a Tory. As we supped glasses of Pinot Grigio in the Market Tavern, she spoke softly to ensure that no one else can hear.
“You are my best mate, Libby. But these days you talk about nothing other than the next election. It has begun to take over your life!”
It’s Sunday, so here are twelve thought-provoking articles to stimulate your thinking juices…
Europe’s long shadow – Anthony Beevor isn’t optimistic about the continent’s future as cuts bite: ‘This is what risks creating the bitterness and national resentments which encourages people to listen to demagogues and turn their backs on democracy.’
A bail-out by any other name – Charlemagne looks at the latest bail-out re-scheduling of Greece’s debt: ‘the euro zone is crossing the Rubicon: it knows it will have to take losses in order …
Here’s Nick Clegg’s latest missive to Lib Dem members and supporters — and no prizes for guessing which topic is the subject this week: Lord Justice Leveson’s report into media standards…
On Thursday afternoon I made a statement in Parliament on the Liberal Democrat response to the Leveson Inquiry. I spoke after the Prime Minister, to outline my view that we must implement Leveson’s plans for an effective new press watchdog, underpinned by legal guarantees.
As you may have picked up, the Prime Minister and I disagreed; there is not yet an agreed “government line”. That’s in part why we had to make separate statements – a major departure from Parliamentary protocol, apparently.
I’m often non-plussed by the arcane rules of the House of Commons, most of which make no sense to ordinary human beings. To me it felt like the most natural thing in the world: two opinions, two statements.
Rather than repeat here what I said in the Commons do watch for yourself here.
Well, there’s a turn-up for the books — the Mail on Sunday in its first post-Leveson front page decides to play the man (and woman) rather than the ball, and splash on a desperately thin story implying some form of scandalous link between Miriam González Durántez’s support for Booktrust and the charity being given a government grant.
The paper’s baseless accusations get short shrift from the Lib Dems in this statement issued by the party tonight:
The decision to continue the funding for Booktrust was made by the Prime Minister
…
The days of the draft Data Communications Bill (aka internet snoopers’ charter) may well be numbered if reports in the last few days are true that Nick Clegg is about to ditch the controversial plans. Here’s the BBC’s James Landale:
Party sources say leader Nick Clegg is ready to use a parliamentary report, due out next week, to oppose the plans. The draft Communications Data Bill would allow police access to details of people’s email and internet use,
The English Party is today counting the ballot to select our candidates for the nine English Euro Regions for the 2014 Euro elections. The Scottish and Welsh Parties are running their selections separately, and their results will be announced separately.
The results are listed below. The detailed STV results will be available later and we’ll put the web link in when it is available.
International Development minister Lynne Featherstone writes a monthly column for one of her local newspapers. Here is the latest one…..
When I get in and find a little card saying ‘we tried to deliver but you were out’ – I am always annoyed – because it means extra bother. Currently that bother is either re-organising delivery on another day, organising for it to go to a neighbour or popping into Archway Road post office to collect it at my convenience. With my schedule – only the last of those is a real possibility. But that small bother is about to get a whole lot worse!
Nick Clegg has recorded a video to mark World Aids Day today. In it, he talks about tackling the stigma still associated with the condition which makes people afraid to talk about HIV-related issues or seek help. He says it’s unacceptable in 2012 and that people with HIV should be treated with respect and dignity. He concludes:
There is so much more still to be done. Let’s work to create a world which is free, finally, from HIV.
Alright, that turned out to be as accurate as a Greek government’s balance sheet, didn’t it? Ah well, as we say in the editorial game, you can’t get them all right, can you?
As I write these words, we’re at ninety comments on what was, I felt, a fairly honest appraisal of some fairly rotten by-election results. And, obviously someone beyond those interested in the death/future (delete as appropriate) of the Liberal Democrats was reading it, as I received an unexpected telephone call asking me if I’d go onto a Russian radio show to discuss the …
Lib Dems welcome the launch of free trade negotiations with Japan
UK Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder, the party’s European spokesperson on international trade, today welcomed the Council’s decision to authorise the launch of a free trade agreement with Japan, saying it could deliver additional EU exports to Japan worth €43.4bn (around £35bn). She said:
It is time to tap into the huge potential of a free trade agreement with Japan. It is the world’s third largest economy and crucial export market for the
…
Now, you have to admit, that isn’t an offer you’re likely to get every day. If I was to add that most of your airfare will be paid (although not your accommodation), you might become a little more wary. “What’s the deal?”, I hear you ask.
It’s like this. The International Office of the Liberal Democrats is responsible for supporting the Party’s delegation to the Spring Council meeting of ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, formerly ELDR), and making sure that we send a full delegation of fifteen to take part. And, as part of that exercise, and to encourage a more diverse representation, they’ve asked me to invite you (yes, you!) to apply to fill any vacancies that might arise.
Our society is energy hungry. Cutting carbon from this diet is vital. And we mustn’t forget gas!
Decarbonising our electricity supply is an on-going hot issue, and challenging too. For example, the technology is not yet all proven – like the uncertainties of carbon capture and storage (CCS) – and for some technologies the reality is harsh – like maintaining wind turbines and tidal barrages in marine environments. There’s also the big challenge of matching a variable supply of power with actual demand.
If we don’t decarbonise our electricity effectively, then transferring from diesel locomotives and petrol cars to electric …
Who said: “In the old days men had the rack. Now they have the Press. That is an improvement certainly. But still it is very bad, and wrong, and demoralizing. Somebody — was it Burke? — called journalism the fourth estate. That was true at the time no doubt. But at the present moment it is the only estate. It has eaten up the other three. The Lords Temporal say nothing, the Lords Spiritual have nothing to say, and the House of Commons has nothing to say and says it. We are dominated by Journalism”.
No, not Hugh Grant. Oscar …
Yesterday, I waxed unlyrical about the effects of government on rural life, and today, I want to look at some of those effects…
The Department for Education, under Michael Gove, has changed the funding arrangements for schools, with unfortunate side effects for rural schools. This means that schools such as the one I visited recently in Norfolk will lose grant funding, and be forced to lay off staff as a result. Given that rural counties already receive less grant per pupil than …
It is perhaps a sign of the times that three Parliamentary by-elections took place yesterday, and even your day editor mentally filed them under “not that interesting”. After all, all three were safe Labour seats at a point in the electoral cycle when the other two major parties are doing a bunch of unpopular things. Naturally, Labour held all three easily, although had they managed to lose even one, the media would doubtless have found room on their front page somehow.
In Croydon North, Marisha Ray did at least have the consolation of beating Respect’s Lee Jasper into sixth place, coming …
Caron Lindsay blogged about Nick Clegg’s Commons statement here on LibDemVoice: Nick Clegg: We won’t find better solution than Leveson’s. Here’s a quick round-up of other reaction so far from Lib Dem bloggers to Lord Justice Leveson’s report on media standards…
Contributors split on broadly pro/anti-Leveson Report lines. Let’s start with the pro-Leveson bloggers:
Shock as politician behaves like a grown-up! (Caron Lindsay)
I can’t, for the life of me, see what the problem is with Leveson’s clever proposal for a self regulating body with true independence – ie not full of newspaper editors or chaired by politicians. It seems pretty
…
My reaction to the report of the Leveson Inquiry today was mixed to say the least. On the one hand, any intrusion of Parliament into our free press seems fundamentally illiberal to me – the heavy weight of bureaucracy coming smashing down to dampen our fiercely independent media, which has shown itself more than capable of exposing the very worst excesses in recent times. After all, it was Nick Davies at the Guardian whose reporting exposed the phone-hacking scandal that led to the Leveson Inquiry in the first place. And it was the Daily Telegraph that reported on the …
It’s fairly quiet today, and I assume that you’re all still on page 273 of the Leveson report. Me, I’m waiting for it to come out on Kindle, preferably with clams…
However, we’ve got an early response to Leveson, just to give you an opportunity to vent, applaud, or even kibitz (in the nicest way), as well as a Danish perspective on press regulation, and doubtless there’ll be more during the day.
Otherwise, take a break, and drop in from time to time today for everything from rural policy to Europe, …
The Independent reports this morning that pro-green Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs are considering a rebel amendment to the Energy Bill to create a target to decarbonise the power sector by 2030. The policy is critical to reducing carbon emissions and energy bills in the long run and creating jobs and growth.
Last week, Ed Davey revealed the details of the Government’s much anticipated Energy Bill which will be introduced to Parliament today. In exchange for an extremely positive and welcome outcome for the renewable sector up to 2020, Davey lost his battle to include a 2030 decarbonisation target …
Nick Clegg has just told Parliament that the victims of phone hacking and tabloid abuse deserve swift progress on Lord Leveson’s “proportionate and workable” reforms. After the Prime Minister had told the House that he was unconvinced for the need for any changes in the law, Nick said that it was important that Leveson’s incentive scheme was recognised in law so that the courts could take account of it. He also cited the example of the Irish system as having statutory underpinning. He said he wasn’t aware of complaints from the many UK newspapers with Irish editions.
Shirley Williams tells the story of the 1981 Gang of Four breakaway, which eventually led to the formation of the Liberal Democrats, in the first issue of AD LIB magazine, out next week.
“…we said, if we haven’t got anywhere else to go, we’ll create one.”
Those nascent views crystallised after the party’s 1981 Wembley conference which committed it to unilateral nuclear disarmament and withdrawal from the EEC and NATO. Within hours Williams, Owen and Rodgers were drawing up the plans which would lead to the creation of the SDP.
“The three of us met – not Roy, at that point –
…
One of the things that I have discovered since moving from inner London to a small, rural village in a quiet corner of the English shires is that much that I took for granted about politics doesn’t apply terribly well once you escape the major conurbations. You might now expect me to grumble about the unfairness of it all, and you would be right. But not for the reasons you might expect…
William Langland wrote of “a fair field, full of folk”, and whilst the modern countryside would be unrecognisable to him, he would
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The bigger your car, the bigger your fuel duty cut (Mark Hofman)
A call for reform with a small “r” (Keith Creswell)
Children and their parents need holidays
The Joy of Six 1581
Jeremy Clarkson left red-faced over 'stolen' sheep that were never even missing
Lib Dems come from third to win by-election in Katie Lam's constituency
Brexit was a 'unilateral declaration of political impotence'
Ken Farnes: The forgotten England fast bowler who died in WWII
Local campaigner wants to see the River Teme given rights
The Hecklers: a great documentary about the 1966 election
Roland 
Barry Rhodes Roland 
expats 
Richard Whelan 
