Caron Lindsay

LDVideo: Jo Swinson MP on new body image report

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 30th May 2012 - 8:21 pm

Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson has today launched Reflections  on Body Image, a report of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image, which suggests that children as young as five years old can be worried about their weight and looks.

The report makes a number of wide ranging recommendations from giving children body image and self esteem lessons in school to requiring advertisers to use a more diverse range of models to looking at whether the Equality Act needs to be amended to cover appearance related discrimination to challenging the evidence base that supports dieting and the idea that low weight guarantees health.

Jo has had an exhilarating day doing the rounds of the various media outlets from the Today programme to BBC Breakfast to Sky News.

Here she is talking to Bill Turnbull on BBC Breakfast this morning:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , and | 13 Comments
Advert
Caron Lindsay

The day the Nationalists stole me

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 30th May 2012 - 6:28 pm

Last Friday saw the launch of Yes Scotland, the campaign for Scottish independence. I wrote at the time that it really amounted to some white blokes talking in a cinema.

It’s not been a good week for them because yesterday they were forced to change their website after I found out my photo was on it, among others, under the headline “Powered by people o’ independent mind”.  The clear implication was that I support their cause when I absolutely do not.

I also found out I had a profile on their site, and had been awarded 50 “political capital” points for …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Mark Valladares

From the Lords: Dick Newby steps out…

By Mark Valladares | Wed 30th May 2012 - 5:22 pm

As a keen observer of life in the House of Lords, I feel it my duty to explore some of the less well-known aspects of life there. And, as a photograph has come into my hands that deserves a wider audience…

Continue reading »
Posted in Parliament | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

Complaint upheld against SNP MSP caught using public funds to promote SNP candidates

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 30th May 2012 - 4:51 pm

Just a quick update on a story I brought to you last month about SNP MSP Rob Gibson. He used adverts, funded by the Scottish Parliament, for his surgeries which included some heavy duty promotion of his staff who at the time were standing as candidates for Highland Council. Both were subsequently elected.

 

At the time, Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott complained to the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body. The minutes of their most recent meeting have been published and show that:

Continue reading »
Posted in Election law and News | Tagged , , and | Leave a comment
Ed Fordham

Opinion: Three steps to better campaigning in London

By Ed Fordham | Wed 30th May 2012 - 3:24 pm

Immediately after the London Mayoral and GLA election Mike Tuffrey wrote some very shrewd observations on Lib Dem Voice. Now the dust has settled and the election results are known by ward perhaps it is time to think through the next stage of learning.

For me getting Caroline Pidgeon re-elected was always a top priority. I’m delighted that she has been joined by my long-standing friend Stephen Knight – the shame being that they are not joined by Bridget Fox and Shas Sheehan. But Stephen and Caroline will punch above their weight and the work they have already started …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Advert
Nick Harvey

Nick Harvey MP writes on Carrier strike capability

By Nick Harvey | Wed 30th May 2012 - 2:17 pm

Earlier this month the Defence Secretary announced that the MoD’s budget was in balance, for the first time in a generation. A number of tough but necessary decisions meant that the £38bn black hole inherited from the last Labour government had finally been eliminated – a major part of which was the decision to deliver Carrier Strike capability using a different type of Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) jet because of unacceptable cost growth and project delays. In particular, the Government has decided to change the type of jet which will fly off the Navy’s two new aircraft carriers – from …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
Dan Rogerson MP

Dan Rogerson MP writes… Tackling disadvantage must start before school

By Dan Rogerson MP | Wed 30th May 2012 - 12:53 pm

Today Nick Clegg announced that the Government was extending the roll out of free Early Years education for all families who meet the free school meals criteria.

This means that the children of parents who are struggling to make ends meet and who rely on state benefits like Income Support or Child Tax Credits will now be entitled to free Early Years education from the age of two.

Sound familiar? That’s because Liberal Democrats in government have been consistently ensuring that one of the Coalition Government’s main priorities is closing the attainment gap between the poorest children and the better off.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 5 Comments
David Hennigan

Opinion: why elected Police Commissioners will be less democratic and accountable

By David Hennigan | Wed 30th May 2012 - 11:55 am

Firstly, let me declare an interest. I am against elected Police and Crime Commissioners. I see them as a step backwards, allowing personality politics at the top of our police forces. It was in the Coalition Agreement though, so you would think the Liberal Democrats would be taking their strong message about tackling crime to the country.

On November 15th, we see the first ever Police and Crime Commissioner Elections in England and Wales. London has already plumped for Boris, who will take on this remit as Mayor of London. Let’s just say that the lack of interest in these elections is startling but …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 28 Comments
The Voice

Lib Link: Stephen Gilbert MP applauds Government for seeing sense on the “Pasty Tax”

By The Voice | Wed 30th May 2012 - 10:25 am

A delighted St Austell and Newquay MP Stephen Gilbert writes for the Total Politics website about the repeal of the so called “pasty tax” which had attracted huge opposition in Cornwall.

But despite the inevitable inclination to baton-down the hatches the government did engage with the industry and understood the clear constituency interest of its own MPs. The alternative actually delivers the bulk of what the government intended without any of the negative impacts: all the upside with none of the economic downside.

There’s no doubt that caravans and pasties were unforced errors.  Hindsight is a great thing and nobody claims a

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 16 Comments
Bill le Breton

Opinion: It’s time for a change in monetary policy

By Bill le Breton | Wed 30th May 2012 - 8:55 am

A few years ago my son got a clock for Christmas. It functions anti-clockwise. One o’clock is on the left of twelve. Five to one is really five past one. Are you with me?

The thing is, you have to change completely the way you read and interpret the data on the clock face.

The Coalition leadership is proud of its management of the economy because it sees the interest rates on gilts historically low and continuing to fall. It reads this as a sign that ‘the markets’ have confidence in its stewardship of UK plc.

But suppose they are reading the clock …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 23 Comments
Daisy Cooper MP

Opinion: Individual freedom and power should be our distinctive Lib Dem identity

By Daisy Cooper MP | Tue 29th May 2012 - 4:58 pm

It seems that every few days there is another soul-searching LibDem blog or newspaper article asking: “what do we believe in?” “What do we stand for?” “What’s the coherent narrative behind the string of ‘Lib Dem achievements in government’?” What we need to do is urgently define ourselves in contrast to – not in relation to – the other major parties.

What we need to do is build a strong national identity.“Individual freedom and power” should be the phrase that the Liberal Democrats adopt to assert their distinctive identity for three reasons.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 25 Comments
Tom Brake

Tom Brake MP writes… Justice and Security Bill – a good result for the Lib Dems and Civil Liberties

By Tom Brake | Tue 29th May 2012 - 4:18 pm

Back in April, the Guardian, the Daily Mail and others reported that Nick Clegg, unhappy with the breadth and scope of the Justice and Security Green Paper, and having read the Joint Committee on Human Rights’ report into it, had written to Ministerial colleagues setting out his red lines for any Bill to be introduced in the second session.

These red lines, as reported at the time, were:

  • That any use of Closed Material Procedures (CMPs) should be restricted to exceptional cases of national security only
  • That they complement, not replace, the current system of Public Interest Immunity (PII)

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Kavya Kaushik

The importance of community politics in a homogenous political scene

By Kavya Kaushik | Tue 29th May 2012 - 2:47 pm

When I first became aware of politics the world was looking towards Obama as a beacon of hope and change. As an 18 year old it was inspiring enough to want to change the world and campaign against inequality. However since I have gained further exposure, it has become apparent that politics attracts a disproportionate amount of young, careerist men. I refer to the likes of David Miliband, brought up in Hampstead yet representing the safe Labour seat of South Shields (which has a child poverty rate of 28%). When people say they don’t see a difference between the …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 7 Comments
Stephen Tall

Clegg’s triple whammy: intervenes on secret trials, slams those who ‘bowed’ to Murdoch, calls for reform of ‘broken establishment’

By Stephen Tall | Tue 29th May 2012 - 1:45 pm

If Nick Clegg has time to keep a diary of his time in government (which I doubt) I’d like to pre-order it now. The principle of collective cabinet responsibility, together with the reciprocated determination of he and David Cameron to maintain an effective working relationship, means we don’t often see the reality of the behind-the-scenes battles between the Lib Dems and Conservatives.

Those which are made public — such as Nick’s very public disagreement with the Prime Minister’s veto-that-wasn’t at December’s EU summit — are deftly agreed in advance, allowing some grown-up differentiation to emerge.

But today we see three …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Andrew Stunell MP

Andrew Stunell writes: Empty homes – the Lib Dem success story

By Andrew Stunell MP | Tue 29th May 2012 - 12:05 pm

As avid readers of Lib Dem Voice will know, tackling the scourge of empty homes has been high up my agenda since entering government. Empty Homes bring down communities, and doing something to tackle this growing problem was one of our big housing “asks” in the coalition negotiations. Previous governments hadn’t paid empty homes much heed at all, with the numbers left to soar, peaking in 2008 at 783,000. Labour’s failed Pathfinder scheme had set out to demolish thousands of homes, but ran out of cash, leaving some families marooned on what had become “ghost streets”. I was determined that this government was going to be different.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged | 16 Comments
Mark Pack

Shirley Williams on the high point of her political career

By Mark Pack | Tue 29th May 2012 - 10:50 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 with Shirley Williams, from 2002 when she was Liberal Democrat leader in the House of Lords.

Perhaps it is not surprising that Shirley Williams picks election day in October ’64 as the high point of her long political career.  That was when, after three tries, she not only became a Labour MP (for Hitchin/Stevenage) but started immediately on her ministerial path. “It was always difficult for a woman but finally all these people had voted for me. I felt euphoric,” she says.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Peter Black

Opinion: Standing up for the rights of mobile home owners

By Peter Black | Tue 29th May 2012 - 8:55 am

A recent survey by a consumer watchdog has found that more than 40 per cent of park homes residents have said that they feel unable to sell or buy their home freely due to a fear of site operators blocking sales. Consumer Focus Wales has discovered that almost two-thirds (62 per cent) of park home residents in Wales who were interviewed have experienced problems on their site in the past five years, while 29 per cent have experienced problems with site maintenance, security or safety standards.

Local councils have also told the consumer watchdog that penalties are not severe enough for rogue site operators, while it is almost impossible to revoke a licence. The high costs of potential court cases against rogue site operators means that local authorities are reluctant to take action which might affect vulnerable residents.

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

New LDV members’ survey now live: your views on the economy, the Coalition, Nick Clegg, personal freedoms & more

By Stephen Tall | Mon 28th May 2012 - 8:25 pm

The new LDV members’ survey is now live. So if you are one of the c.1,300 registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum — and any paid-up party member is welcome to join — then you now have the opportunity to make your views known.

Questions we’re asking this month include:

  • what you think of the current state of the economy;
  • whether you back a market rents for households in social housing earning more than £60k;
  • your views on Nick Clegg’s leadership and any post-2015 coalition;
  • what you think about Section Five, internet clampdowns and Lib Dem conference

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LDV Members poll | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

MPs’ glass ceiling shatters – literally

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th May 2012 - 7:33 pm

The BBC reports:

A glass roof panel has cracked in the atrium at Portcullis House – a £235m annexe to the House of Commons in Westminster.

Therese Coffey, Conservative MP for Suffolk Coastal, tweeted: “Great deal of excitement in Portcullis Atrium as a roof panel shatters.”

Security guards have cleared the area beneath the panel in case it comes down.

Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

VIDEO: Stomping off in the middle of a debate is never a good look…

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th May 2012 - 6:48 pm

The Twittyblogsphere is abuzz with this one. Number Ten Communications director, Craig Oliver is allegedly “caught on camera” berating the BBC’s Norman Smith about a News at Six report. Oliver says he was “genuinely shocked” by the report and that it was based on “opinion rather than impartial reporting of the facts”. He also says he has complained to Smith’s boss about the report. He seems most upset by the “spider’s web” graphic which featured with the report.

Then at the end he stomps off, leaving a rather bemused Smith.

It’s a calm, even boring discussion. But, it is all very redolent of the “hairdryer” school of Campbell/Mandelson.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Paul Walter

Government meets student tuition fee protests with ‘the rule of the truncheon’

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th May 2012 - 2:23 pm

Student protests against tuition fee increases have been going on for weeks. In response, the government has introduced emergency legislation, legally curtailing demonstrations, hiking penalties and suspending classes at 25 colleges.

Close to home?

Actually, Quebec.

Posted in News | Tagged | 1 Comment
David Thorpe

Opinion: You can’t have ‘growth’ without ‘austerity’

By David Thorpe | Mon 28th May 2012 - 12:54 pm

Amid the current maelstrom of gossip, speculation and forecasting concerning the British economy, a number of myths have developed.

Principal among them is that the coalition’s economic plans for this parliament contained ‘only’ cuts, with no concern for achieving growth.

The issue of whether fiscal consolidation itself can be a driver of growth is one I aim to address further below, but first I want to debunk that myth.

The economic plans, outlined by the coalition in 2010, made clear that the first half of the parliament would contain the bulk of the …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 38 Comments
Mark Pack

How does UK employee protection compare with other countries?

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th May 2012 - 11:24 am

Rather handily, the OECD complies a set of international indicators of employee protection, the latest version of which was revised in September 2010, using 2008 data. The survey looks at “the procedures and costs involved in dismissing individuals or groups of workers and the procedures involved in hiring workers on fixed-term or temporary work agency contracts”.

What does it show?

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , and | 10 Comments
Paul Reynolds

Opinion: Time to move on from the sterile debate based on misinterpretations of Keynes and Smith

By Paul Reynolds | Mon 28th May 2012 - 9:54 am

Is Europe, including the UK, destined to drown in a sea of irreconcilable debate over austerity versus growth, whilst the economic answers watch despairing from the shore ?

It may well be so. The election in France of President Hollande, and the success of anti-austerity parties and groups, seems to point that way.

There is no middle ground here. Only a different way of looking at the problem.

To get there however, I first wish to take you back, dear reader, to the mid-1970s when political criticisms of Keynesian demand …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | 11 Comments
Paul Walter

Clegg: Gay marriage vote not a matter of conscience

By Paul Walter | Mon 28th May 2012 - 7:32 am

Nick Clegg “lit the blue touchpaper” yesterday by putting forward a forthright position on gay marriage on The Andrew Marr Show:

We are not asking any person with religious convictions to sacrifice anything. We are simply saying those who want to show a lifelong commitment to each other should be able to do so.

…In the same way the civil partnerships legislation which was introduced under Labour was a whipped vote, I personally don’t think this is something which should be subject to a great free

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged | 36 Comments
The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #275

By The Voice | Sun 27th May 2012 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 275th 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 May, 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:

Continue reading »
Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

In other news… Mensch sticks up for Clegg, Rennie takes on Salmond, Bristol mayoral election latest & other stories

By Stephen Tall | Sun 27th May 2012 - 5:25 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

On day UKUncut protestors targeted Clegg family home, Tory MP Louise Mensch urges people to donate £5 to Lib Dem funds (ConHome)

Louise Mensch, the Tory MP for Corby is recommending that her followers donate £5 to the Liberal Democrats for today only. She thinks it will show solidarity with the Cleggs who have been targeted by UNuncut protestors today. Hundreds gathered outside the Putney home of the Lib Dem leader, some chained themselves to railings and they held a noisy but apparently

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , and | 11 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Nick Clegg – Syrian human rights abusers to be banned from London Olympics

By Stephen Tall | Sun 27th May 2012 - 3:10 pm

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg appeared on the Andrew Marr Show this morning to say that those guilty of abusing human rights in Syria will be banned from entering the UK for the Olympics:

Continue reading »
Posted in YouTube | Tagged , and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

Desperately thin stuff – Observer fails to reveal Lib Dem ties with Murdoch

By Stephen Tall | Sun 27th May 2012 - 1:20 pm

Liberal Democrats’ ties with Murdoch aides revealed to Leveson inquiry shouts The Observer headline today followed by a breathlessly hyped claim:

Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats were sucked deeper into the controversy over News Corp’s planned takeover of BSkyB on Saturday as evidence submitted to the Leveson inquiry revealed close party ties with Murdoch executives.

I then read the story to try and find what amazing revelations backed-up the paper’s confidence. Then I read it again. And again. I’m still none the wiser how “Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats” have been “sucked deeper into the controversy”.

The Observer’s attempt to implicate the Lib …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged , , , , and | 27 Comments
Chris Butler

No rest for London Liberal Democrats

By Chris Butler | Sun 27th May 2012 - 11:50 am

Here in London, we’ve already started working towards the local and European elections in 2014.

Last weekend it was great to see 52 activists attend a Regional Action Day in Sarah Teather’s constituency in Brent, so soon after a disappointing set of results in the capital in May.

Aside from giving a boost to our fantastic hard-working teams across the capital, Regional Action Days are designed to give activists the chance to exchange ideas and learn new skills.

In Brent last weekend, Sarah Teather MP, Baroness Sue Garden and our newest London Assembly Member, Stephen Knight, were joined by a large range of …

Continue reading »
Posted in London | Tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Rif Winfield
    While an eventual removal of the triple lock should be considered, there are reasons why that should be delayed in the short term, so w should continue to guara...
  • Roland
    @Jeff - I didn’t say resources were scarce, just that they are in short supply. So whilst there might be decades of fossil fuels in the ground, you may have n...
  • Paul R
    It might be better to spend the money on increased assistance to help people switch to EVs instead. Otherwise motorists will always be dependent on the next war...
  • Michael BG
    Nigel Jones, “When we debated FPC’s planned program last year, some said we should have included tax issues in that program” Indeed. I didn’t s...
  • Suzanne Fletcher
    Far too late for me to comment, but just skimmed through the replies and I agree with most. Most important is that as Caron says, it was announced where hundre...