Michael Moore

Michael Moore MP’s Westminster Notes

By Michael Moore | Wed 23rd May 2012 - 10:56 am

Liberal Democrat Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP writes a weekly column for his local newspapers. Here is this week’s edition.

Independence Referendum

As discussions continue surrounding the process and timing of the Scottish Government’s independence referendum, the UK Government published the results of their consultation on the referendum last week. With nearly 3000 responses, the results demonstrated strong support from all quarters in Scotland for a referendum which is legal, fair and decisive.

Since our consultation was launched in January we have already made a good deal of progress with the Scottish Government – both agreeing that a Section …

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Mark Pack

Five of the most common mistakes that Lib Dem campaigners make

By Mark Pack | Wed 23rd May 2012 - 9:50 am

Over the next few weeks, I’m taking part in a handful of training sessions about learning the lessons from May’s elections. There’s much to learn from May and from being in government, but I’ve also noticed that many of the old favourite, long-running lessons are very much still with us. So here’s my selection of the top five of those Golden Oldies.

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged | 8 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Davey on energy policies and climate change action

By Stephen Tall | Wed 23rd May 2012 - 8:50 am

Lib Dem energy and climate change secretary Edward Davey was asked this week by Andrew Neil why people were being asked to pay more for their power while many were struggling. He said it was “right to pursue climate change policies” and told Andrew Neil that prices of onshore, offshore and solar renewable sources were “coming down fast”. You can watch the interview here:

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Stephen Tall

We must be doing something right – Mail rails at ‘Commie Clegg’, Telegraph blasts ‘Socialist Vince’

By Stephen Tall | Wed 23rd May 2012 - 8:25 am

There’s a measure in marketing known as Advertising Value Equivalents (AVE) — it’s used to assess the impact of coverage in the media. Glancing at today’s right-wing press, the Lib Dems have won headlines money can’t buy…

Nick Clegg’s push for increased social mobility, to equalise opportunities for the poorest in society, has earned him the tag ‘Commie Clegg’ in today’s Mail. This is of course the same paper that only two years ago splashed on the bizarre headline ‘Clegg’s Nazi slur on Britain’.

Meanwhile …

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Mark Pack

Sensible decision from European Court on prisoner voting rights

By Mark Pack | Wed 23rd May 2012 - 7:25 am

The BBC reports:

The European Court of Human Rights has said individual governments can decide how to implement a ban on convicted prisoners voting.

The judgement means the UK will be able to decide for itself how to resolve the long-standing row over votes for prisoners.

But the court says the UK only has six months to outline its proposed reforms…

In a summary of its judgement, the court said it “accepted the Government’s argument that each State has a wide discretion as to how it regulates the ban, both as

…

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Posted in Election law | Tagged | 9 Comments
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Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Clegg – Britain must shake off ‘snobbish’ class attitudes

By Stephen Tall | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 9:55 pm

Nick Clegg today spoke of his aim to boost social mobility at a conference organised by the Sutton Trust, arguing Britain must create an open society “where what matters most is the person you become, not the person you were born.”

“These are challenging times but that doesn’t mean we can give up on making society fairer and helping people get on in life. In the past year, since we published the Government’s first social mobility strategy, we’ve made great progress – school children are benefiting from a cash injection through the Pupil Premium, young people are getting into jobs and training through the Youth Contract, and we’re expanding the number of families who get free childcare.

“We must create a more dynamic society. One where what matters most is the person you become, not the person you were born. Government cannot do this alone, but we must take the lead. So we’re exposing the stark gaps in life chances by publishing a wide range of tracking data to show how well society is doing here and now. No government has done this. The data shows we’ve got a long way to go, but that’s why it’s there – to hold a flame to our feet until the gaps close. It’s not an overnight fix, but it is a long term ambition that is achievable.”

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Paul Reynolds

Opinion: the undignified spectacle at the G8

By Paul Reynolds | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 5:22 pm

Imagine the scene. It’s a dirty whitewashed three-storey government building in the capital city, surrounded by high walls with US helicopters parked around. Inside sit several US generals and two Europeans, in the dusty heat. The war they are there to discuss is secretly assumed to go on for 25 years. They all know they cannot win it despite superior air power and unlimited cash. They had all given it their best shot with use of terrible weapons. Neighbouring countries have been mercilessly bombed, and ushering in governments very unfriendly to the US and the West.

It was time to find …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged | 3 Comments
Daniel Henry

Opinion: a request to our boys in the BIS

By Daniel Henry | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 4:21 pm

Every now and then I do something that requires me to provide “proof of address”.

There’s starting a phone contract, applying for security jobs, signing on, etc. For whatever reason these companies need “proof” of my address, either a utilities bill or bank statement and unfortunately for me I struggle to provide it.

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Nick Harvey

Nick Harvey MP writes… Updating you on Trident

By Nick Harvey | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 3:42 pm

Today’s announcement that design contracts for the Trident successor submarines have been signed is being portrayed as the Coalition Government moving a step closer to a full Trident replacement.

In reality the final decision for Trident replacement is still years away. Until 2016’s Main Gate decision, the ‘point of no return’ at which contracts are finalised and billions of pounds committed, there are still important questions to be asked about the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

And if it wasn’t for Liberal Democrat influence in this Government, this simply would not be the case. It is because we are …

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Andy Strange

What does the English Council do?

By Andy Strange | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 2:52 pm

Liberal Democrats who want to understand how the party runs can easily become confused by the range of offices, executives, committees, subcommittees and working groups that they encounter. Some have grand sounding names and are made up of “the great and the good”. Others are little heard of with powers unknown. One of the most obscure is probably the English Council.

I confess to being a bit of a nerd when it comes to matters of party organisation, but even I have found myself asking – “what on earth does English Council do?”

Last year, through my regional party, I was elected …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged and | 13 Comments
Baroness Ros Scott

A postcard from… Yerevan

By Baroness Ros Scott | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 1:52 pm

The decision of the ELDR Bureau to hold the Spring Council meeting in Armenia sparked a good deal of debate as to how far the borders of Europe extend. No such ambivalence could be seen in the hundreds of predominantly young people we saw at an outdoor celebration of Europe Day.

This small country, a shadow of its historic past, manages to be on good terms with near neighbours Russia, Iran and Georgia. The relationship with Turkey to its east have been hostile since the deaths of more than a …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
Mark Valladares

Coming up in the Lords: 21- 30 May

By Mark Valladares | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 12:52 pm

Welcome back to a suddenly rather quieter set of benches, as the avalanche of key votes has settled, and a new Parliamentary session glides effortlessly away from the Gracious Speech. We’re still catching up after the recess, so bear with us…

Having debated the Speech itself, and given the Government several pieces of its mind over Lords Reform, the Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill has its Second Reading today. For more information, check out Norman Lamb’s piece, published in Liberal Democrat Voice last week.

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Mark Pack

Coalition partners: sink or swim together?

By Mark Pack | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 11:50 am

The idea that Liberal Democrat and Conservative political fortunes are tied together comes in two forms. The basic – that with both being in government, the public’s overall view of the government (and in particular its economic record) will heavily determine its view of both parties come the next election. Sink or swim together then. Then there is version which adds an asymmetric twist. Namely that if the public views the coalition as a failure both parties will sink together, but if the public rates the coalition as a success, being the smaller of the two parties means the Liberal Democrats won’t necessarily get their share of the credit.

What does the polling data show?

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Posted in Polls | Tagged | 22 Comments
Anthony McCaul

The Independent View: social mobility begins at birth

By Anthony McCaul | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 10:51 am

As Nick Clegg bangs the social mobility drum today at the Sutton Trust announcing social trackers to measure fairness in society, we welcome his re-affirmation that social mobility matters. At Family Action our work with disadvantaged and vulnerable families, means that every day our workers witness the fundamental unfairness of some children’s circumstances.

The pupil premium and the extension of Sure Start to two–year olds are important policy wins. But Family Action is concerned that the Coalition is missing the boat by not focusing enough on babyhood and the first steps in early intervention. A wealth of neuroscientific and …

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Posted in News and The Independent View | Tagged | 2 Comments
Ed Davey

Draft Energy Bill: keeping the lights on for now, and for decades to come

By Ed Davey | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 9:31 am

Over the next decade, around a fifth of existing power plants are due to close, against a background of projected increased energy demand and increasing energy prices. We need new investment simply to keep the lights on and avoid blackouts becoming a feature of daily life. But we also need investment in electricity generation for our climate change goals. We must decarbonise Britain’s electricity generation, to meet our Carbon Budgets as we transition to a low carbon economy.

We need an estimated £110 billion investment in electricity generation and transmission this decade alone. So we need electricity market reforms to incentivise …

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Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged , and | 46 Comments
Mark Valladares

This week in Europe: 21-24 May

By Mark Valladares | Tue 22nd May 2012 - 7:52 am

Yes, we’re back in Strasbourg, apparently, for another week of drama and excitement. Alright, perhaps I exaggerate a bit… and apologise for being a little behind.

Yesterday saw the first debate on the new EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which will include a provision for visa-free travel to Canada for all EU citizens, something the Americans could perhaps learn from, as well as a series of short debates on, amongst other things, the EU’s internal security strategy and strengthening the rights of vulnerable consumers.

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NewsHound

Vince Cable winning out on employee rights

By NewsHound | Mon 21st May 2012 - 11:20 pm

Via The Voice’s Mark Pack:


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Federal Committees approve Conference accreditation

By Andrew Wiseman Duncan Greenland and Tim Farron | Mon 21st May 2012 - 8:48 pm

We are writing to confirm the decision of FFAC, supported by FE, that there will be a system of police accreditation for members attending this year’s Autumn Conference.

This decision follows an extensive member consultation and debate by the Federal Conference Committee, Federal Finance and Administration Committee and the Federal Executive.

As Liberal Democrats we would prefer it if accreditation were not something we had to consider. Many of us have concerns surrounding individual privacy and personal freedoms and none of us want to put any member who …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , and | 118 Comments
NewsHound

Liblink: Vince Cable – Complete nonsense to suggest reducing labour rights to beat the recession

By NewsHound | Mon 21st May 2012 - 4:24 pm

In today’s Sun (scroll down), Vince Cable tears into those who would reduce labour rights to try to beat the recession:

Some people think that if labour rights were stripped down to the most basic minimum, employers would start hiring and the economy would soar again.

This is complete nonsense.

British workers are an asset, not just a cost for company bosses.

That is why I am so opposed to the ideological zealots who want to encourage British firms to fire at will. Those who want to shake up the law

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 29 Comments
Tim Leunig

Taxpayers’ Alliance report on tax – good in parts

By Tim Leunig | Mon 21st May 2012 - 2:54 pm

The Taxpayers Alliance and Institute of Directors have just produced a 417 page report on the British Tax System. Some parts are good, some are plain silly.

Let’s get the silliness out of the way first. The report says the tax to GDP ratio should be 33%, and marginal tax rates (including employers’ national insurance) should be no higher than 30%. They believe this will spur growth. The reality – sadly for right-wingers – is that there is little evidence that even French tax rates preclude high levels …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 15 Comments
The Voice

Professor John Curtice: ‘Labour cannot afford simply to ignore the Liberal Democrats’

By The Voice | Mon 21st May 2012 - 1:24 pm

On Juncture, the website of the Institute of for Public Policy Research, psephologist Professor John Curtice provides some very interesting data which suggests Labour would do well to keep talking to the Liberal Democrats:

…the hung parliament brought about by the 2010 election was no accident. It was a consequence of long-term changes in pattern of party support that mean it is now persistently more difficult for either Labour or the Conservatives to win an overall majority. Meanwhile, although the current review of parliamentary boundaries will not deliver the Conservatives quite the

…

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Posted in Polls | Tagged and | 43 Comments
Mark Pack

Is the government’s crackdown on tax avoidance working?

By Mark Pack | Mon 21st May 2012 - 11:50 am

Interesting news via The Times over the weekend :

Britain’s only listed accountancy firm is to close its specialist tax division in a move that will be regarded as another victory for Revenue & Customs against tax avoidance by the rich.

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Lev Eakins

Opinion: The government is in real trouble and needs a new chancellor

By Lev Eakins | Mon 21st May 2012 - 10:24 am

In the last two months, the government has been presented with four major problems:

1. The Economy – It’s not growing, despite good signs in manufacturing and a recent drop in unemployment, we’re back in recession and could even face another almighty shock if the Euro crisis deepens.

2. Ministers mucking things up – May, Hunt and Osborne have provided the government with a fatal combination of not getting the basics right (Abu Qatada and airport queues), the smell of sleaze (Murdoch) and the fallout from …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 24 Comments
Mark Pack

Is the end in sight for Returning Officer bonuses?

By Mark Pack | Mon 21st May 2012 - 8:50 am

I’ve written often enough before about the problems with the “bonus” payments that Returning Officers receive for doing their job at election time. One problem is that they receive the bonuses in full even if they have messed up dreadfully, though that is now changing. The other is that the grounds for having the bonuses in the first place are pretty thin:

The role of being Returning Officer goes with having a job – typically council chief executive –  that is usually well paid to begin with (often six figure salaries) and where anyone taking on the job knows

…

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Posted in Election law, News and Wales | 4 Comments
The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #274

By The Voice | Sun 20th May 2012 - 7:37 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 274th 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 (13-19 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:

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Stephen Tall

In other news… Paddy in Lords bust-up; Manchester elects Lib Dem lord mayor; Defections round-up

By Stephen Tall | Sun 20th 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…

Lord Ashdown and Lord Phillips in Lords reform clash (BBC News)

Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has clashed with one of his party colleagues during a debate on government plans to reform the House of Lords. Lord Phillips of Sudbury complained that the proposal would turn Parliament’s second chamber into a clone of the House of Commons, with politicians simply following the party line when it comes to voting. In finger-jabbing exchanges, Lord Ashdown argued that most peers should be elected. A

…

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Stephen Tall

Paddy: So you want to be a politician? Get a life (first).

By Stephen Tall | Sun 20th May 2012 - 10:35 am

That’s Paddy’s view, as reported in the Independent’s diary here:

Paddy Ashdown, the first leader of the Liberal Democrat party, has remarked on how politics has been taken over by people who have never had a job anywhere else but in politics, giving the strong impression that he does not approve. “The difference with politics today, and politics when I was leader of the Liberal Democrats, is the people working in politics,” he said. “I worked in the military. I was involved in business. I have been unemployed twice, working as a voluntary youth worker. Today’s politicians have simply only

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 38 Comments
Mark Pack

Denbighshire County Council admits votes were counted wrong

By Mark Pack | Sun 20th May 2012 - 9:42 am

Voters had to take some care when voting in Prestatyn North on May 3rd, as the Labour candidate was called Paul Penlington and the Conservative Allan Pennington. But the council’s counting staff did not take the same care when it came to the count, as WalesOnline reports:

Returning officer and council chief executive Mohammed Mehmet said a block of ballot papers which should have been allocated to the Labour candidate Paul Penlington were “inadvertently” allocated to Tory Allan Pennington, who won the last of the three seats available on the ward.

Mr Penlington or Labour now have until May 24 to decide whether

…

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Posted in Election law, News and Wales | Tagged | 6 Comments
Stephen Tall

Lib Dems push Coalition to abandon ‘Moscow criterion’ in latest anti-Trident move

By Stephen Tall | Sun 20th May 2012 - 8:55 am

Writing in the Financial Times, former Lib Dem leader Ming Campbell has urged Britain to drop the so-called ‘Moscow criterion’ — which commits us to maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent capable of obliterating the Russian capital — in order to open up the possibilities of a more targeted, and cheaper, nuclear alternative to the renewal of Trident:

Nuclear weapons have no intrinsic merit. Their significance is in deterrence. If you ever have to use them it can only be because they have failed in their primary purpose. But nuclear policy ought always to be assessed in its political context. It is

…

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Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Leveson, The Musical

By Stephen Tall | Sat 19th May 2012 - 7:45 pm

Perhaps some less serious points made here about the Leveson Inquiry into media regulation than were made by my Co-Editor Mark Pack here — but enjoy nonetheless…

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