Andrew Wiseman

Breaking News: Federal Conference Committee announce details of the emergency motions ballot

By Andrew Wiseman | Fri 9th March 2012 - 7:59 pm

Federal Conference Committee has just met, and the following emergency motions met the Standing Order criteria and will go into the ballot:

1) Violence in Syria
2) Withdrawal of the Health and Social Care Bill
3) Protecting our NHS – the Shirley Williams motion
4) Behind closed doors – Justice and Security Green Paper

These motions will all be on a ballot paper at the back of Saturday’s Daily Announcements. To vote (by STV), please take your completed ballot paper and your Voting Rep badge to the Steward with the ballot box by the Stewards Table in the Hall, between 9 and 1pm. The announcement …

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Posted in Conference, News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 17 Comments
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The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 9 March 2012

By The Voice | Fri 9th March 2012 - 5:00 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

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Kate Hudson

The Independent View: Dropping the bomb

By Kate Hudson | Fri 9th March 2012 - 4:25 pm

A report launched this week caught the headlines by describing the replacement of Trident as “nonsensical”.

“Replacing Trident makes no sense” said the BBC, while the Guardian led with “Trident nuclear deterrent upgrade ‘nonsensical’”.

But they were not quoting the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament or any other campaigning organisation. Rather, they were quoting the liberal thinktank CentreForum, which David Cameron has previously commended “for their excellent work”.

Nick Clegg has also indicated the policy significance of CentreForum: “Many of the policy areas my party is implementing in government were developed, tested and refined through dialogue with the CentreForum team.”

The …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged , and | 5 Comments
Tom Smith

Liberal Insight: new think tank launched

By Tom Smith | Fri 9th March 2012 - 3:25 pm

Today we are announcing the launch of Liberal Insight, the new liberal think tank. Liberal Insight will contribute radical, progressive and innovative ideas to a vision of liberal society.  Our advisory board is being chaired by Party President Tim Farron MP.

Liberalism has seen a resurgence in Britain in recent years, culminating in almost 7 million voters at the last election for the Liberal Democrats, a place in the Coalition Government and a long-awaited opportunity to implement distinctly liberal policies.

This rise in electoral success has come against a trend of the liberal gains of the last century being eroded by the deliberate actions …

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Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 11 Comments
Stephen Williams

Stephen Williams MP writes… What would you do with £60 extra every month?

By Stephen Williams | Fri 9th March 2012 - 2:43 pm

The Liberal Democrats are demanding that our Coalition Government gives you a much needed tax cut. We want to give hard-working people over £700 extra a year; that’s about £60 extra in your wages every month. Instead of helping millionaires, the Lib Dems want to give millions of deserving people a break. You can help us to get this tax cut announced in the Budget on 21st March.

Please tell me today what you’d do with an extra £60 a month.

By telling me how you’d use the £60 tax cut you’ll not only be spreading the word, you’ll also …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 22 Comments
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Mark Pack

Lib Dem spring conference: a quick guide to the highlights

By Mark Pack | Fri 9th March 2012 - 1:50 pm

The traditional pre-conference rally at Liberal Democrat conferences seems more lively and informal than the main set piece speeches during conference, so expect even more football references than usual from Party President Tim Farron this evening when he speaks in Gateshead.

Nick Clegg’s speech rally speech will feature an attempt to set a different message for the party, looking much more positively to the future:

We’re in Government, and it is a better Government for it. Fairer, freer and greener.

Lower taxes for working people. Fairer chances for our children. And the beginnings of a new, green economy that benefits everyone in

…

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Posted in Conference and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , , and | 1 Comment
Andrew Wiseman

Andrew Wiseman writes… How FCC and voting reps select emergency motions to conference

By Andrew Wiseman | Fri 9th March 2012 - 1:25 pm

Federal Conference Committee meets this afternoon to select amendments and separate line votes on the policy motions already published, and also to look at the emergency motions submitted.

Over the last 24 hours, there seems to have been some confusion on Twitter and other Social Networking sites about this process, which is still firmly in the hands of Liberal Democrat voting representatives. I thought it might be helpful just to set out what will happen when.

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Shirley Williams

Baroness Shirley Williams writes… I am fed up with lies about Lib Dems and the Health Bill

By Shirley Williams | Fri 9th March 2012 - 12:34 pm

Last March, I spoke at the Sheffield Conference in support of the motion that led to radical changes in the Health and Social Care Bill. By the Summer, much of the Bill had been changed and I was able to write that the Bill was much improved.

I felt that we should be proud as Liberal Democrats for thwarting the initial plans.

My colleagues in the House of Lords have made more very important changes to the original plans. On Tuesday I told the House that, “I believe that that culmination of changes will enable us to bring about an …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 50 Comments
Paul Walter

PMQs: Lest we forget

By Paul Walter | Fri 9th March 2012 - 11:24 am

A different Prime Minister’s Questions review this week. Often, the Prime Minister prefaces his first answer with a tribute to fallen service personnel. I have mentioned these tributes a few times in the course of these write-ups over the last (nearly) two years.

It seems appropriate to devote the whole of this week’s review solely to those who have died fighting for us, as we pass the milestone of 400 troops killed in Afghanistan with a particularly bloody incident.

Whatever our views of the right or the wrongs of our involvements overseas, I think most people agree that our service personnel do …

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Posted in PMQs | Tagged | 1 Comment
John Pugh

John Pugh MP writes … TINA and NHS Choices

By John Pugh | Fri 9th March 2012 - 10:08 am

Mrs Thatcher was reputed to declare in more than one context that There Is No Alternative – earning herself the sobriquet of TINA . In life that is rarely the case and as an avowed existentialist I am disinclined to believe that is ever the case.

The party will be told that there is no practical alternative to the Lansley Bill. That could be true. I have no doubt that the Bill has been substantially changed and improved as a result of the listening exercise and amendment in the Lords.

It is, however, still a massive set of changes to the NHS and a continuation …

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Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Andy Burnham

A letter from Andy Burnham to Liberal Democrat members

By Andy Burnham | Fri 9th March 2012 - 9:00 am

I never expected to see the day when I could say, hand on heart, that I was more interested in events at a Lib Dem Spring Conference than the weekend’s football. But life’s full of surprises and that moment has arrived.

It is no over-statement to say that this weekend’s gathering in Gateshead could determine the future of our country’s best-loved institution.

As you prepare for the weekend, I wanted to make a direct appeal to the grassroots members of your party: please stand out against the current direction of reform and stand up for the NHS model we all have been …

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Posted in Conference, Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged , , and | 62 Comments
Sean Davey

Opinion: Reasons to be Cheerful

By Sean Davey | Fri 9th March 2012 - 7:55 am

Waking up to the encouraging string of headlines as I did on Monday, I’m suddenly wondering if this is the point where we as a party have started getting it right?

If there are three uncontroversial elements to Lib Dem identity then equal marriage rights, campaigning against Trident and defending the individual (Nick Clegg launching the #thisisabuse campaign) are surely good starting points?

Conference is this weekend, so you could be forgiven for thinking these brilliant policies appear pre-emptively in our packs – but no, it’s almost as if we are a party of government: the Deputy Prime Minister appearing …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

What Lib Dem members think about the NHS Bill: 57% opposed, but majority might back it if significantly amended

By Stephen Tall | Thu 8th March 2012 - 11:15 pm

We’ve been surveying the views of current Lib Dem members this week on your views on the NHS Bill. Over 500 responded, and here’s what you told us…

  • A majority of Lib Dem members – and a majority of Lib Dem members who will be voting delegates at the party’s spring conference at NewcastleGateshead this weekend – oppose the Coalition Government’s NHS reforms as they currently stand. By 57% to 32%, Lib Dem members reject the Health & Social Care Bill.
  • However, that does not automatically mean the Lib Dem conference will vote to ‘Kill the Bill’ if

    • …

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    Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged , , , , , , , and | 18 Comments
    Charles West

    Opinion: Why the Leader’s letter hardened our Health Bill motion

    By Charles West | Thu 8th March 2012 - 6:28 pm

    For a year a group of Liberal Democrats who know something about the NHS and the delivery of healthcare have been working to modify Lansley’s Health Bill with the aim of preventing irreversible damage to the NHS.

    Until last week our draft motion still offered the hope of amending the Bill. When we saw Nick’s letter we realised that there was no point.

    On preventing competition by price the letter is doubly misleading. David Nicholson warned about this in January 2011 and the Government conceded the point in February. However, even now competition on price has not been completely prevented. Government Peers …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 48 Comments
    Mark Goodrich

    Opinion: What can Sweden teach us about liberalism?

    By Mark Goodrich | Thu 8th March 2012 - 5:28 pm

    One of the great experiences in life is reading a text which suddenly throws new light on an issue or expresses a feeling which had been nagging away at you without reaching expression.  It has happened to me when I have read some of the classics of liberal thought.  And, bizarrely, it happened a few weeks ago when reading a column in the Guardian.

    The column by Lars Tragardh expressed doubts as to whether the Swedish model (in its current manifestation under a centre-right government) was compatible with Cameron’s conservative ideology.  He pointed out that the Swedish combination of a …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 21 Comments
    Mark Pack

    How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

    By Mark Pack | Thu 8th March 2012 - 3:50 pm

    Why not join hundreds of other Lib Dem Voice readers in getting our latest headlines by email?

    Some people like regularly visiting a site to see if there’s new stories of interest. Some people like subscribing to its news feed (RSS) and checking that way. But if you prefer email, you can instead sign up to get a daily early morning email with a summary of the previous day’s posts from Lib Dem Voice, complete with a note of how many comments each post has got and convenient links to click on if any take your fancy and you want to take a read.

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    Mark Valladares

    Shirley Williams sets the record straight on NHS reform

    By Mark Valladares | Thu 8th March 2012 - 3:08 pm

    It has been suggested by one of our readers that we give a higher profile to a speech made in the House of Lords on Tuesday, especially in light of the ongoing debate on these pages. And so, without further ado…

    Baroness Williams of Crosby

    I want to say a word about competition, and it is appropriate to do so given that the noble Lord, Lord Warner, has just been speaking. He has always spoken with some courage on this issue, which I recognise is not exactly popular with his party. However, I say quite directly that I feel very strongly that …

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    Posted in News | Tagged , and | 30 Comments
    Tim Clement-Jones

    Lord Clement-Jones writes… Limiting competition in the NHS

    By Tim Clement-Jones | Thu 8th March 2012 - 12:54 pm

    This week Liberal Democrat peers achieved yet more success in limiting the application of competition in the National Health Service. Our party members believe, and our conference policy passed last spring affirms, that while competition can play a role in improving the quality of health, it should never be given higher priority than the interests of patients. And I completely agree.

    Competition Commission

    I was concerned that the Competition Commission should not be reviewing how effectively competition is working in the health service. In the private sector, the Competition Commission plays a crucial role in ensuring that companies compete fairly, and prevents …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 11 Comments
    Toby Fenwick

    Opinion: It’s time to scrap Trident

    By Toby Fenwick | Thu 8th March 2012 - 11:56 am

    The world is a better place because of the role Britain plays internationally through aid, diplomacy and, when necessary, using force sanctioned by international law. It is worth remembering the many Libyans and Sierra Leoneans who are alive today because of the actions of Britain’s forces.

    Yet at a time when the government is preparing to spend at least £25 billion on replacing our Trident nuclear weapons, it is making cuts to the conventional forces that make such interventions possible. There have been £74 billion of defence cuts to date, with another £3-5 billion due to be announced before the Easter …

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    Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , and | 20 Comments
    Mark Pack

    I don’t want you to read 160 tips for local councillors and campaigners

    By Mark Pack | Thu 8th March 2012 - 10:25 am

    ALDC has just published a new collection I’ve edited: Top Tips for Local Campaigners, packed with 160 tips.

    Here is how my introduction starts:

    I don’t want you to read this book.

    That may seem an odd request for an editor to make at the start of a book. But if you just sit down, read it, think a quick thought afterwards about what you made of it and then leave it at that, the book will have been a failure.

    This is not a book to sit and

    …

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    Posted in Local government | Tagged | 4 Comments
    Des Hudson

    The Independent View: The Last Chance Saloon for Access to Justice?

    By Des Hudson | Thu 8th March 2012 - 9:22 am

    At the Liberal Democrat Conference last Autumn, Nick Clegg delivered a passionate defence of a liberal justice system. He concluded his speech by arguing that, although these were not easy times for the country, ‘our party has fought for liberal values for a century and a half: justice, optimism, freedom. We’re not about to give up now’.

    Yet in its haste to cut 23% from the budget of the Ministry of Justice and tackle the perception of a compensation culture (a perception some members of the Government and parts of the media are only too ready to cultivate) the Government has …

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    Posted in News, Parliament and The Independent View | Tagged | Leave a comment
    Helen Duffett

    Jeanette Sunderland selected to fight Bradford West for the Liberal Democrats

    By Helen Duffett | Wed 7th March 2012 - 9:37 pm

    David Ward, Jeanette Sunderland and police
    Photo: David Ward MP, Jeanette Sunderland and police – Flickr.

    Bradford Liberal Democrats have selected Jeanette Sunderland to be their candidate in the Bradford West by-election on 29 March.

    The writ was moved yesterday for the by-election after Marsha Singh resigned, for health reasons.

    Born and bred in Bradford, Jeanette has been a local councillor for 18 years. In that time she has built up a reputation for being a strong voice for Bradford, and is currently leader …

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    Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , and | 21 Comments

    Opinion: Brown and Carmichael debate Coalition at lively Social Liberal Forum fringe

    By Norman Fraser | Wed 7th March 2012 - 7:55 pm

    The problem with Conference fringe meetings is that there are usually several that you want to go to and they’re all on at the same time. That was the case with the fringe run jointly by Liberal Futures and the Social Liberal Forum (Scotland) on Friday past at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in Inverness. The meeting attracted a respectable crowd but those who attended the Scottish Women’s Liberal Democrats and Liberal International meetings missed a lively debate on Liberal Democrats and the Coalition. The speakers were Robert Brown, the …

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    Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 2 Comments
    Felix Greaves

    Opinion: We need to talk about the NHS

    By Felix Greaves | Wed 7th March 2012 - 6:55 pm

    Later this week , at spring conference in Gateshead, the Liberal Democrats will have the opportunity to debate issues and define party policy. Now, more than ever, this internal democratic process has the opportunity to actually influence what the government does. The NHS is likely to be on most people’s minds, and possibly on the agenda as an emergency motion.

    I’m a member of the Liberal Democrats, but as a doctor, I’m also a member of a number of other organisations too. I’ve become acutely aware of the very different ways that these organisations have responded to the health …

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    Posted in Conference, Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged and | 34 Comments
    Lynne Featherstone

    Lynne Featherstone MP writes: How the Liberal Democrats are delivering for women

    By Lynne Featherstone | Wed 7th March 2012 - 4:58 pm

    As we celebrate International Women’s Day tomorrow, I’m proud to represent Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government. I know that our involvement has made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of women in a range of ways.

    We’ve got lots to shout about, so please spread the word: blog and tweet about it and forward this to your friends.

    Here’s how we’re delivering for women –

    • When it comes to shielding women in need from the brunt of the economic squeeze, our policy to free the lowest paid from income tax has played a key role in protecting women. Women make

    …

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    Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 8 Comments
    Caron Lindsay

    From Indian Dance, to Speed Mentoring to barnstorming speeches: Caron’s Top Ten Highlights of Scottish Conference

    By Caron Lindsay | Wed 7th March 2012 - 3:56 pm

    Scottish Liberal Democrats met in Inverness last weekend for a lively 3 day Conference. Here are my top ten highlights.

    1. Leader Willie Rennie’s first ever Spring Conference speech, delivered with sincerity and passion. He implored the First Minister to make as much time for the dispossessed,  as he does for billionaires such as Murdoch and Donald Trump. He spoke of the Liberal Democrats’ long record of fighting for home rule for Scotland which made us the true guarantors of change. He told of his desire to work constructively with others wherever possible, but how we would stand firm on liberal

    …

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    Posted in Conference and News | Tagged , , , , , and | 4 Comments

    The Independent View: You should be worried about the NHS changes

    By Dr Thomas Jones | Wed 7th March 2012 - 2:55 pm

    I am a consultant paediatrician* (I am writing under a pseudonym to protect family, colleagues and patients) with over 20 years experience. I work with parents, many of whom have problems with mental health, substance misuse or learning difficulties. My job is to help protect their children and prevent them from following a similar life path.

    I know what the effects of the Health and Social Care Bill will be because I can see it happening already. Looking after vulnerable children who are at risk of harm is becoming much more difficult because of the needless reconfiguration of services, whilst simultaneously …

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    Posted in Conference, Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged and | 29 Comments
    Maria Pretzler

    Opinion: Lost a guru? Try democracy instead

    By Maria Pretzler | Wed 7th March 2012 - 1:57 pm

    Reports suggest that Steve Hilton’s departure from Downing Street will leave the Conservatives desperately short of ideas. This seems astonishing: Liberal Democrats surely don’t need to turn to expensive advisers for creative ideas, new initiatives and the odd quirky example of tangerine sky thinking! Party members present and debate ideas at conference, and the party does not usually suffer from a shortage of novel suggestions. But these debates also produce serious policies, something which was perhaps beneath Steve Hilton’s pay grade.

     These differences in how the two coalition parties handle policy making have a direct impact

    …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 5 Comments
    Dee Doocey

    Baroness Dee Doocey writes: Legal Aid and Welfare Reform, spot the problem

    By Dee Doocey | Wed 7th March 2012 - 12:55 pm

    As one of the Liberal Democrat peers engaged in the debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill as well as the recent Welfare Reform Bill debates, I am pushing today for a vital amendment which I hope will mitigate the worst aspects of cuts facing the legal aid system– something that is proving to be a controversial issue for the Party.

    The coalition agreement committed to reforming legal aid to reduce its costs to the public purse; it did not commit to abolishing it for whole categories of law. Chief amongst these excluded categories in Legal Aid, …

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    Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged , , , and | 6 Comments
    Richard Carr

    The Independent View: how Liberal Democrats can provide Clegg’s “gear shift” in infrastructure spending

    By Richard Carr | Wed 7th March 2012 - 11:25 am

    As Nick Clegg has recently noted, there needs to be a ‘gear shift’ in infrastructure spending. Whilst George Osborne dots the i’s and crosses the t’s on his third budget, it is worth considering how such a ‘gear shift’ may be enacted. Localis has undertaken just such an analysis, and this week launched Credit Where Credit’s Due – produced in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group – that illustrates how local government can help deliver a step-change of this type from the bottom-up. Though our report alights on many policy areas, from increasing the powers of LEPs to astute asset management …

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    Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged , , , , and | 3 Comments
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