Mark Pack

Eric Lubbock: From Orpington Man to Buddhist Monk?

By Mark Pack | Thu 14th June 2012 - 10:25 am

For many years Adrian Slade has interviewed prominent Liberal Democrats. To mark his recent decision to make his archive of the interview recordings available to researchers and other interested parties, Lib Dem Voice is running a selection of his write-ups of interviews from over the years. The latest is from 2002 and is with Lord Avebury, formerly Eric Lubbock – victor of the 1962 Orpington by-election, MP for eight years and chair of the parliamentary human right s group from 1976 to 1997.

For a few astonishing days in March 1962, the Liberal Party led the Conservative and Labour parties in the opinion polls, the only time it had ever done so since polls were invented.

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Mark Pack

Two things to remember today

By Mark Pack | Thu 14th June 2012 - 7:25 am

In a time of austerity and cutbacks, it is only right that Liberal Democrat Voice leads the way, so the traditional ‘three things to remember’ has been ruthlessly cut to a mere two.

Today’s the day the official consultation on equal marriage closes.

Step one then: if you have not yet responded, do so now.

Step two: why not mark the end of this consultation by saying thank you to the Liberal Democrat minister who made it happen? You can make a donation to support the campaigning of Lynne Featherstone and her constituency party here.

 

P.S. Oh all right, here is a …

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Caron Lindsay

Alex Salmond holds court at Leveson with added fun and games

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th June 2012 - 9:07 pm

Tonight the Olympic Torch arrived at Edinburgh Castle. There was one person who was unusually absent from such a significant gathering. I don’t know how much say Leveson witnesses get in choosing the date that they appear, but I can’t imagine our First Minister Alex Salmond would have deliberately chosen a court date in London over a major event at home in Scotland.

He didn’t look so disappointed, though. He had the manner of someone who was enjoying the experience far more than could be considered decent. Alex Salmond always loves going south of the border and holding court. He charmed …

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Mark Pack

Danny Alexander addresses the GMB – emerging liberal and successful

By Mark Pack | Wed 13th June 2012 - 3:58 pm

Yesterday Danny Alexander headed off to the annual conference of my old union, the GMB, to give a tricky speech. The GMB isn’t just a consistent critic of the government, it has also criticised Labour for not being different enough from the government in its eyes. Throw in contentious issues such as the pension reforms and merely avoiding uproar would have been a success. In fact, the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury did far better than that:

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Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg at Leveson – the highlights

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 13th June 2012 - 1:58 pm

Nick Clegg spent 3 hours giving evidence at the Leveson this morning, an event covered, as ever, by the Guardian’s Live Blog.

I watched a fair amount of it. I know that as a Liberal Democrat blogger I’m more likely to be aware of my own party leader’s movements, but there was a moment of amusement as Labour MP Luciana Berger asked on Twitter why he wasn’t in his place at PMQs. Some might think she was making a cheap jibe about the Hunt vote. Anyway, when she was told where he was, rather than admit the mistake, she deleted …

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Adrian Sanders

Adrian Sanders MP writes: Hunt vote – we need to save our energy for the battles that really matter

By Adrian Sanders | Wed 13th June 2012 - 12:53 pm

The vote in the Commons today is the latest highlight of the long running Phone hacking-BSkyB-Leveson saga.  It has been billed as an explosive vote that will tear the coalition asunder.  The Parliamentary party has unanimously decided to abstain, a position I strongly support for very good reasons.  We may well see traditional anti-Lib Dem rent-a-quotes like Peter Bone slamming us for betrayal but this is almost certainly a sign that we are doing the right thing.  Indeed, given our rather shaky performance in how we conduct Government to date, this is a refreshing sign that we might be back …

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Ed Fordham

New Liberal Democrat Forum for Africa

By Ed Fordham | Wed 13th June 2012 - 11:56 am

The adage goes that all politics is local. And I believe it to be true – certainly local to the individual for whom specific issues are a concern. Living and working in London you can enjoy one of the most diverse and multicultural cities in the world. I can eat on any continent of the world every day of the week, you can pick virtually any country of the world and we have at least 250 from that country living near me in Kilburn, NW6. It’s just great!

Campaigning here is an education and a lesson in the rich tapestry of …

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Mark Pack

How leaflets used to look: a 1920s Liberal attack leaflet

By Mark Pack | Wed 13th June 2012 - 10:50 am

Earlier this week I blogged about the skilful presentation of the Liberal Party’s economic plan in a 1929 leaflet, but what about leaflets having a go at other parties? Here is how the Liberals of the time attacked Labour’s Land Policy:

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The Voice

Jo Swinson: there are questions to be answered over Jeremy Hunt

By The Voice | Wed 13th June 2012 - 9:50 am

Nick Clegg’s Parliamentary aide Jo Swinson was up early on BBC Breakfast this morning to talk about Liberal Democrat MPs’ decision not to support Jeremy Hunt in the Commons tonight.

She started off by saying that the Prime Minister’s decision not to refer the Culture Secretary to the Independent Adviser on the Ministerial Code was not a collective one therefore the Liberal Democrats were not bound by collective responsibility. The decision not to refer Hunt is not endorsed by the Liberal Democrats therefore we would not be voting with the Conservatives tonight.

The Voice wonders if the real issue is the exclusivity …

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Stephen Tall

EXCLUSIVE: What Lib Dem members say about the party’s direction and Nick Clegg’s leadership

By Stephen Tall | Wed 13th June 2012 - 8:52 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we’re publishing the full results.

Net satisfaction with party’s direction stuck at +31%

LDV asked: Do you think, as a whole, the Liberal Democrats are on the right course or on the wrong track? (Comparison with March’s figures.)

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Mark Valladares

Whether you regard Jeremy Hunt as guilty or innocent, an investigation is a must

By Mark Valladares | Wed 13th June 2012 - 7:51 am

The news that Liberal Democrat MPs are to abstain on a Labour motion calling upon David Cameron to refer Jeremy Hunt’s conduct to Sir Alex Allan is a disappointment. To be blunt, it is all very well letting it be known via ‘sources’ that we do not approve of the failure to refer the ‘Hunt Affair’, but then to stand aside when an opportunity to press the matter arises will not be understood by anyone outside the Westminster bubble.

Indeed, I would suggest that, if Jeremy Hunt wants to be anything other than a lame duck Secretary of State, he should …

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Mark Pack

Why Gordon Brown should be voting for Jeremy Hunt tomorrow

By Mark Pack | Tue 12th June 2012 - 7:31 pm

Gordon BrownYesterday, at the Leveson Inquiry, Gordon Brown declined to take responsibility for the activities of his special advisers.

Tomorrow, Parliament debates whether Jeremy Hunt should take responsibility for the activities of one of his special advisers.

So I think we can work out which way Gordon Brown will be voting tomorrow, can’t we?

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NewsHound

Lib Dems will not support Hunt

By NewsHound | Tue 12th June 2012 - 6:24 pm

From the BBC:

Lib Dem MPs are to abstain in a Commons vote on Wednesday calling for an investigation into whether Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has broken the ministerial code of conduct.

Labour want his handling of News Corp’s BSkyB bid examined by David Cameron’s adviser on ministers interests.

The BBC’s Nick Robinson said Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg had told a meeting of his MPs and peers not to “support the Tories on this one” and “to stay away”.

Mr Cameron has fully backed Mr Hunt.

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Stephen Tall

LDV poll: More than half Lib Dem members back ‘new approach’ to boost economic growth

By Stephen Tall | Tue 12th June 2012 - 3:05 pm

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we’re publishing the full results.

54% of Lib Dems back ‘new approach’; but 27% say ‘stick with Plan A’

LDV asked: Thinking about the government’s economic policies, which of the following best reflects your view?

    27% – Borrowing more at a time when we already owe so much will simply make matters worse, as the country will have to pay back even more money in the longer term. We have

…

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Mark Pack

A letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury: have we read the same history books?

By Mark Pack | Tue 12th June 2012 - 1:15 pm

Your Grace,

I certainly don’t except us to agree on everything when it comes to religion. After all, you believe in God and I don’t.

But I am surprised how different the view of our country’s history seems to be. You and your colleagues talk about the prospect of equal marriage – a prospect it is worth remembering that other strands of the Christian family are welcoming, not to mention many members of the Church of England – as if it is one of the greatest threats to the Church of England in the last 500 years.

Really?

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Stephen Tall

The Eurozone crisis explained. OR: How not to get distracted by smurfs doing star-jumps

By Stephen Tall | Tue 12th June 2012 - 1:10 pm

The Eurozone crisis isn’t, by common consent, a sexy topic rich with comic potential. Important, yes. A rib-tickler, no. So kudos, immense kudos, to comedian John Finnemore who performed a pretty acute summary for BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show this week. In just 6 mins and 35 secs. Enjoy…

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Sara Bedford

Does mislaying your child really make you a bad parent?

By Sara Bedford | Tue 12th June 2012 - 11:55 am

As soon as Eric Pickles announced his ‘Back to Basics’ crackdown on ‘troubled’ families, it was odds on that a Conservative minister would oblige by executing his own family faux pas. How many would have placed their bets in the culprit being the Prime Minister himself, who with model mum Samantha appears to have chillaxed a little too much after Sunday lunch at the pub, leaving their daughter Nancy in the Ladies.

The uncomfortable end to Nancy’s comfort break apparently happened ‘a couple of months ago’, according to a Downing Street spokesman, but conveniently surfaced in the press as soon as …

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Mark Pack

How to survive a campaign and not sell your soul

By Mark Pack | Tue 12th June 2012 - 10:25 am

The successful (and at times rather controversial) Australian pollster Mark Textor has a great piece in the Sydney Morning Herald about how to survive election campaigns. It includes these tips:

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Yusuf Osman

Opinion: what’s wrong with Personal Independence Payments?

By Yusuf Osman | Tue 12th June 2012 - 9:21 am

I joined the Lib Dems only a couple of months ago after being a long time voter. In fact, I first voted Lib Dem back in 2001 at my very first election. I decided to join now because I wanted to become more politically active and because I was deeply unhappy with some of the policies of the Government. I’m totally blind, have been since the age of 5 and am extremely disturbed by the removal of Disability Living Allowance and its replacement by Personal Independence Payments.

There’s a great deal I could say about the current proposals and how they …

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Annette Brooke MP

Welcoming the report of the Child Poverty Action Group

By Annette Brooke MP | Tue 12th June 2012 - 7:51 am

For many years I was the child poverty champion for the Liberal Democrats. I urged leading members of our parliamentary party to sign up to the targets, which aimed to halve child poverty by 2010 and eliminate it by 2020. I was delighted when those targets were enshrined in law, with cross party support in 2010.

Even though the UK will have missed its half way target, it is expected that at least 900,000 children will have been lifted out of poverty and a similar number prevented from falling into poverty between 1998 and 2010 which is a significant achievement.
…

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Paul Walter

Video: Lords Ashdown and Phillips clash over second chamber reform

By Paul Walter | Mon 11th June 2012 - 5:54 pm

This was already covered by Stephen Tall on Liberal Democrat Voice last month, but, in case you haven’t seen it, it is worth viewing this good-humoured but impassioned clash in the House of Lords between Paddy Ashdown and Andrew Phillips. Most entertaining.

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The Voice

Ed Davey unveils £1.3bn green deal

By The Voice | Mon 11th June 2012 - 4:47 pm

PoliticsHome reports:

The Government has published its flagship Green Deal plans, promising to deliver £1.3bn in energy saving measures and support up to 60,000 jobs across the sector.

The deal, which is designed to operate until 2030, allows households and businesses to complete energy efficiency improvements at no upfront cost and then make repayments through a small levy on their energy bill.

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Sean Davey

Wanted: the next generation of Community Champions

By Sean Davey | Mon 11th June 2012 - 3:54 pm

Most young people aren’t interested in politics. So how do we build Liberal Youth branches, bring new members into the party, and engage the next generation? I believe that one way we can start is by getting back to community politics.

The art of politics, in so far as it is electioneering, is of obvious importance to what we do as a party, but it shouldn’t be everything. If we only focus on getting the next Lib Dem elected then we will only ever attract a narrow pool of talent, which, however bright, will be made up of those young people who see themselves with a future in politics.

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Paul Reynolds

Opinion: ‘Economic growth you can believe in’ – towards The British Growth Model.

By Paul Reynolds | Mon 11th June 2012 - 2:23 pm

Economic growth still eludes the Coalition. The development of a convincing analysis and programme for (fiscally sustainable) growth is essential for the second half of the Coalition’s life up to 2015. The Lib Dems must take a lead role in developing it.

Before the economic crisis started in 2007 the signs of ‘systemic financial sector failure’ were all around us. Few spotted them, however. Several simplistic economic tenets have since been jettisoned, as politicians have learned about the economic concept of ‘systemic financial failure’.

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NewsHound

Oakeshott: Jeremy Hunt should have resigned

By NewsHound | Mon 11th June 2012 - 1:54 pm

There is widespread press coverage today about this. For example, the Independent reports:

A senior Liberal Democrat has said culture secretary Jeremy Hunt should have resigned following his evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about News Corp’s failed takeover of BSkyB.

Lord Oakeshott, who was one of Vince Cable’s closest colleagues when the business secretary was overseeing News Corp’s ill-fated bid, said Rupert Murdoch’s empire was treated differently from other firms by the Government and criticised Mr Hunt, saying “no self-respecting minister” would have stayed in his post.

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Paul Walter

LDV poll mention in Express

By Paul Walter | Mon 11th June 2012 - 1:06 pm

In today’s Daily Express, Hickey reports the LDV poll which said 59% of members surveyed said Ken Clarke was their favourite Tory.

Mischievously, a quote has somehow made it’s way into the paper from “a senior Lib Dem MP” who says, ‘chuckling’:

If only Nick Clegg was that popular among his own party members these days…

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Mark Pack

How leaflets used to look: the 1929 Liberal economic plan

By Mark Pack | Mon 11th June 2012 - 12:54 pm

With the economy continuing to dominate politics, it is time to take another dip into my collection of old political leaflets and have a a look at how the Liberal Party of 1929 talked about the issue:

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Iain Roberts

Opinion: What would Labour do?

By Iain Roberts | Mon 11th June 2012 - 11:24 am

“What would Jesus do?” ran the famous ‘90s slogan, often with little agreement on the answer. But that question seems positively trivial alongside the far more problematic “What would Labour do?”

As the Coalition is finding to its cost, Labour is often very effective at attacking Government plans but rather less forthcoming on what its alternative might be. And I imagine it must be a little galling for Government ministers when Labour decides to attack policies that they trumpeted in their own 2010 manifesto.

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Paul Walter

Opinion: Theresa May enters a reading contest with the judges

By Paul Walter | Mon 11th June 2012 - 9:53 am

This is Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights:

1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

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Stephen Tall

LDV poll: 83% of Lib Dems say break-up of Eurozone will be bad for Britain’s economy

By Stephen Tall | Mon 11th June 2012 - 9:09 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we’re publishing the full results.

This weekend saw eurozone ministers agreed to lend Spain’s banks up to 100bn euros (£80bn) in the latest attempt to stave off economic collapse. We asked our sample of Lib Dem members for their views…

LDV asked: Thinking about the current problems facing the European single currency, the Euro, do you think it would be good or bad for Britain’s economy if the …

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