Liberal Democrat Voice

Lib Dem peers help inflict Lords defeat over Coalition’s benefit cap plan

By Stephen Tall | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 8:43 pm

The BBC reports the result of tonight’s defeat for the Coalition in the House of Lords over the controversial government plans to introduce a £500 a week benefit cap:

The government has been defeated in the Lords in a vote on its plans for a £26,000-a-year household benefit cap. Lib Dem, Labour and crossbench peers backed a bishop’s amendment by 252 to 237 that child benefit should not be included in the cap. Critics argued that imposing the same cap on all families, regardless of size, would penalise children. The government said it was “very disappointed” and the vote “clearly

…

Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged benefits | 61 Comments

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Nick Clegg needs cutting down to size – Tebbit

By Paul Walter | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 8:02 pm

It is always good fun when right-wing Tories get all het up about Nick Clegg, fulminating that David Cameron should jolly well do something about it.

Norman Tebbit provides today’s entertainment along these lines under the headline: Nick Clegg needs cutting down to size. If only the Prime Minister was brave enough to do the job.

He is specifically exercised about immigration and the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights. Employing all his skills as “the Chingford Skinhead” he culminates with this:

It seems that Mr Cameron is prevented from doing anything to bring the nonsense to an end – and the repeal

…

Posted in News | Tagged nick clegg and norman tebbit | 17 Comments

Vince Cable announces measures to combat excess executive pay

By NewsHound | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 5:20 pm

PoliticsHome reports:

Vince Cable has unveiled a raft of measures to combat excess executive pay, including binding votes for shareholders and a ‘clawback’ of salaries of failed bosses.

In a surprise move, the Business Secretary told MPs one day earlier than expected that the Government will require firms to provide a single figure for each director’s pay.

Dr Cable admitted is was “not the Government’s role” to micro-manage company pay but there were steps that could be taken to tackle the “clear market failure”.

Setting out the measures, he said: “First greater transparency so that what people are paid is clear and

…

Posted in News | Tagged boardroom pay | 13 Comments

Opinion: We need to tackle ‘crony capitalism’ on our watch

By Gareth Epps | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 4:54 pm

The Liberal Democrats’ vision of a John Lewis economy, and an end to ‘crony capitalism’, articulated by Nick Clegg, is welcome. So how does Government need to change?

The answer, it seems, lies in the habitual practices of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and its notorious revolving door to pet trade interest groups. So when the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA), the in-house lobbyists of the pubcos that have closed countless community pubs, come calling, the condemnation of the outside world seems not to matter.

BIS ducked the solution supported by the cross-party BIS …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged pubs | 5 Comments

Video: Perhaps the most dramatic implosion of a front-running Presidential campaign in history

By Paul Walter | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 3:54 pm

In case you missed this, it is likely to rank as one of the most dramatic ends to a front-running Presidential campaign in history.

Before this RTE debate on 24th October last year, Sean Gallagher, standing as an Independent candidate, was 15 points ahead of the field and a “shoe-in” to be the next Irish President. Three days later, he finished the actual election 11 points behind the winner, Michael D Higgins.

This video clip shows the complete debate episode which led to Gallagher’s political demise. The discussion centres on a visit to a businessman’s house on behalf of Fianna Fail. Fellow Presidential candidate Martin McGuinness accuses Sean Gallagher of accepting a cheque from the man.

After denials from Gallagher, there is a commercial break. Then, presenter Pat Kenny announces that a tweet has come from Sinn Fein saying that they will produce the man to say that Gallagher accepted the cheque from him.

Under pressure, Gallagher then says, at 7’38” in this video, that he may have taken an envelope from the businessman. The word “envelope” has very strong connotations of corruption in Irish politics. At the very mention of the word by Gallagher, there are loud snorts of derision from the studio audience.

This may be the only time in history that a promising Presidential campaign was ended by just one word – “envelope”.

This is rivetting viewing:

Posted in News and YouTube | Tagged republic of ireland | 2 Comments

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Campaign Corner: What makes for a good action photograph?

By Mark Pack | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 2:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I saw you talk about the importance of (captioned!) photos in leaflets, but what makes for a good photo?

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Opinion: UK break-up – we’d all be losers

By Alastair | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 1:54 pm

On the 6th May 2011 the Scottish National Party secured a historic majority for the next five year term at the Scottish Parliament. Their manifesto promised to freeze council tax, oppose tuition fees and set a renewable energy target of 100% by 2020. However, more crucially, one of the SNP’s most important pledges was to hold a referendum on independence.

The SNP is keen to emphasize its view that independence would make Scotland more successful; economically and socially. The SNP state that independence is the best choice for the future of Scotland and the issue should be decided by …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged scottish independence | 15 Comments

Vince Cable to boost shareholder power over boardroom pay

By NewsHound | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 12:54 pm

PoliticsHome reports:

Vince Cable will tomorrow announce shareholders are to be given binding votes on boardroom pay. A Written Ministerial Statement from the Business Secretary lays out plans for a legally enforceable veto on future pay arrangements for executives. But shareholders will not be able to vote down bonuses already awarded, and the Government has stopped short of giving employees seats on remuneration committees.

You can read a full report on this on the FT website, which requires registration.

Posted in News | Tagged boardroom pay | Leave a comment

Opinion: Flaws in Policy Exchange’s report

By Reg Platt | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 11:54 am

Another day, another headline on the cost of green policies. This time thanks to a new report from Policy Exchange as part of their ‘Greener, Cheaper’ workstream. With customers feeling the pinch from high energy bills, Chris Huhne continues to have his work cut out to defend green policy spending. Problems with Policy Exchange’s analysis, including their uncritical support of gas and aversion to the promotion of growth by Government, must be brought to the fore.

The main argument of Policy Exchange’s report is that there are additional costs to consumers from renewable policies beyond those directly on the …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged energy and renewable energy | 7 Comments

Chris Davies MEP writes… Wallis succession: It just doesn’t sound right

By Chris Davies | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 10:24 am

This is a shortened version of a blog post on Chris Davies’ blog. The full version can be read here and contains complimentary comments about Diana Wallis’ parliamentary career.

The resignation of Diana Wallis, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, came as a complete shock to her colleagues, and not least to the MEPs from across the political spectrum, including myself, who were with her 10 days ago when she handed in her nomination paper to stand for the presidency of the European Parliament.

On Tuesday morning Diana Wallis was campaigning to lead the Parliament, to …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged european parliament | 11 Comments

LibLink: Tim Leunig – Housing benefit cap: can you live on 62p a day?

By Paul Walter | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 9:24 am

On Comment is Free, Tim Leunig reveals some alarming impacts of the government’s housing benefit cuts:

Imagine two sets of people, both renting from private landlords. One is an Islington couple who have never worked. The other is an Oldham family with four children, where the working parent has just lost his or her job. The Islington couple currently receive £250 a week in housing benefit, while the Oldham family gets only £150.

Times are tough, and the government wants to save money. Which family should have its housing benefit cut? George Osborne has chosen the Oldham family. He is cutting

…

Posted in LibLink | Tagged housing benefit | 26 Comments

A tailored response is required to tackle cities’ unemployment challenges

By Paul Swinney | Mon 23rd January 2012 - 8:54 am

Today, Centre for Cities launches Cities Outlook 2012, our fifth annual ‘health check’ on UK cities, and this year we have focused on unemployment in cities.

The report, sponsored by IBM and the LGA, shows that there is a strong geographical nature to unemployment across UK cities. But unemployment is not evenly spread across the UK. While cities such as York and Cambridge have relatively low levels of unemployment, cities such as Grimsby and Hull have a much larger problem.

The variation in unemployment across cities is stark. While the number of people in Cambridge claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) is just …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged centre for cities and unemployment | 3 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #257

By The Voice | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 257th 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 (15-21 January, 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment

The Independent View: The benefits cap policy is based on myths

By Alison Garnham | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 5:35 pm

The benefit cap was announced by George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference in October 2010. It means families will not be able to receive more than a total of £500 in benefits each week – regardless of local rental values or how many children are in the household. As the crucial votes on the cap take in the House of Lords on Monday, it’s important that the myths on which the cap policy is based are exposed.

Myth 1: The cap is just for out of work claimants of benefits

Ministers fostered the impression that this is about ensuring working families …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged benefits and welfare reform | 31 Comments

Vince pushes the ‘mansion tax’ – could the Tories yet be persuaded to take tax reform seriously?

By Stephen Tall | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 2:15 pm

Shock! Horror! Lib Dem business secretary Vince Cable advocates Lib Dem manifesto policy!

The Telegraph today reports that Vince’s policy — which would levy a 1% annual charge on all properties valued above £2 million — is still on the table as the Coalition writes its second budget:

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, is pushing for a mansion tax to be introduced on properties worth more than £2million in this year’s Budget. While the policy is likely to be opposed by George Osborne, the Chancellor, Mr Cable said that he had spoken to Conservative MPs who backed the plan.

“A mansion tax is still very much on the agenda – it is a very good idea,” Mr Cable told The Sunday Telegraph. “It is good for two reasons,’’ he said. ”It would constitute a tax on wealth rather than income, which we believe to be right, and also in economic terms it creates the right sort of incentives for the property market.”

Mr Cable added that it was “perverse” that rich “foreigners” could buy expensive properties in Britain and contribute just £1,000 a year in council tax towards the public finances.

3 ways of reading Vince’s comments

There are a couple of ways of interpreting this fresh pitch.

Posted in News | Tagged mansion tax, mark reckless, tax, tim montgomerie and vince cable | 18 Comments

LDVideo: Nick Clegg on the benefits cap – “Work should always pay”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 12:45 pm

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg appeared on BBC1’s Andrew Marr show this morning, and stuck up for the Coalition policy that there should be a £500 a week benefit cap:

“It surely can’t be fair, can’t be right, that you can be earning more on benefits than someone going out and earning £35,000, which is the equivalent if you were to go out and work.”

You can watch an excerpt below:

Posted in YouTube | Tagged andrew marr, benefits, nick clegg and welfare reform | 24 Comments

Andrew Marr bids for record-breaking number of different topics in one interview

By Mark Pack | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 11:15 am

I wonder if somewhere deep in the BBC there is a target for how many different topics must be asked about in political interviews each month and someone woke up this morning to realise that January’s quota is about to be missed. Or perhaps there was a typo in Andrew Marr’s contract and his BBC salary is based on number of topics covered rather than number of minutes of screentime filled.

Whatever the reason, this morning’s interview with Nick Clegg saw a helter skelter tour around a huge number of topics, making for a comprehensive tour of current political issues but …

Posted in News | Tagged andrew marr, david laws, economy and nick clegg | 4 Comments

Opinion: Is a “John Lewis economy” a liberal economy?

By Chris Nicholson | Sun 22nd January 2012 - 10:50 am

Nick Clegg hit the headlines last Monday in a speech at a CentreForum/City of London event calling for a “John Lewis economy” . John Lewis is employee owned where employees get a bonus each year depending on the performance of the group. Last year this led to every employee getting an 18% bonus on their salary. But they do not hold individual shares in the company and so do not have the associated direct potential of building up substantial asset ownership .

I, along with most liberals judging by the reaction on Lib Dem Voice, warmly welcomed the substance …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged economy, employee ownership, john lewis and nick clegg | 8 Comments

Nick Clegg on the Andrew Marr Show tomorrow

By Helen Duffett | Sat 21st January 2012 - 7:37 pm

Nick Clegg will be the main guest on tomorrow’s Andrew Marr Show, in the third of Marr’s major party leader New Year’s interviews.

You can watch the show 9am tomorrow on BBC1 or live online at the BBC website. Or catch it afterwards on BBC iPlayer.

Posted in Lib Dem TV | Tagged andrew marr and nick clegg | 4 Comments

Should Police Commissioner candidates get election addresses?

By Mark Pack | Sat 21st January 2012 - 2:25 pm

The Electoral Commission’s Peter Wardle last week gave a speech to local government Chief Executives, during which he made this point about election addresses:

The constituencies in the PCC elections are big, with over a million voters in some cases. There’s currently no provision for candidates to have Freepost facilities to deliver their election addresses to voters. Nor is there a provision for any sort of booklet for voters that would include candidates’ election addresses. Alongside the PCC elections, of course, there may well be elections for Mayors in the larger English cities. And candidates for Mayor will, on current plans, be able to pay

…

Posted in Election law | Tagged elected police commissioners, electoral commission and peter wardle | 4 Comments

Opinion: MEP Diana Wallis resigns – but the European Parliament’s great ‘stitch-up’ continues

By Paul Haydon | Sat 21st January 2012 - 1:00 pm

Liberal Democrat MEP Diana Wallis caused an outcry when she resigned yesterday after coming third in the European Parliament (EP) presidential election, especially as her husband Stewart Arnold is likely to take over her seat. Yet underneath this public relations nightmare, which seems more of an unfortunate coincidence than anything else, there lies a deeper and far more worrying story of political corruption. Diana Wallis’ decision to run as a candidate for the election surprised many observers not because they thought she was unlikely to win, but rather because they knew she wouldn’t. The results had already been decided two and a …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged diana wallis, european parliament and stewart arnold | 13 Comments

Julian Huppert MP writes… Boris Island is no more than an election ploy

By Julian Huppert | Sat 21st January 2012 - 11:45 am

Just one week after the Government gave the green light to a multi-billion pound high speed rail network, taxpayers are being asked to consider another tranche of infrastructure investment.

But the case for a £50 billion Thames Estuary Airport, dubbed ‘Boris Island’ after London’s inimitable Mayor, is so confused that it no longer constitutes a coherent proposal at all.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged boris johnson, SS Richard Montgomery and transport | 6 Comments

Telegraph apologises for false slurs on Huhne and offensive Cristina Odone article

By Stephen Tall | Sat 21st January 2012 - 10:25 am

The Daily Telegraph has been forced into a humiliating climbdown after making what it now admits were false claims about Lib Dem cabinet minister Chris Huhne.

The paper had splashed on allegations that it was Huhne who had leaked the letter from Michael Gove suggesting taxpayers might make a gift of a new royal yacht to the Queen in order to embarrass the education secretary. It’s unclear what evidence the paper had, if any, because Huhne’s involvement was swiftly denied by the Guardian journalist responsible for exposing Mr Gove’s, erm, politically courageous proposal. Perhaps, perish the thought, they just …

Posted in News | Tagged chris huhne, cristina odone, daily telegraph, media and michael gove | 6 Comments

Ken Livingstone attacks Boris Johnson for, er…, agreeing with Ken Livingstone

By Mark Pack | Sat 21st January 2012 - 8:55 am

Ken Livingstone has me a bit confused.

Hearing him attack Boris Johnson is certainly not a surprise.

But hearing him attack Boris Johnson for saying what Ken Livingstone himself said previously? That’s a bit odd, shall we say.

Compare and contrast now and then.

The now:

Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone were engulfed in a war of words today over whether Londoners are too “lazy” to find work. The Mayor claimed some young people in the capital lacked the “energy” to go out and get jobs which were instead going to immigrants. His Labour challenger Ken Livingstone immediately accused him of branding Londoners “lazy and workshy”.

And …

Posted in News | Tagged boris johnson and ken livingstone | 3 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 20 January 2012

By Helen Duffett | Fri 20th January 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

Posted in Friday Five | Leave a comment

Opinion: Water – time to see it as a national interest?

By Andrew Wigley | Fri 20th January 2012 - 4:01 pm

News that one of China’s leading wealth funds has taken a 9 percent stake in Thames Water is significant. The investment comes quick on the heels of a Gulf sovereign wealth fund taking a similar size stake in Thames Water’s parent company, Kemble.

It’s a measure of confidence in Britain’s infrastructure technology and role in the world as a safe haven for long term investment crows George Osborne. Liberal Democrats may be inclined to take a different view.

What Osborne fails to mention is that because of increased water-scarcity throughout the world – including the UK – water is set …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged china, chris huhne, invest, utilities, vince cable and water | 7 Comments

What’s the most effective way of ensuring fair wages for low earners?

By Prateek Buch | Fri 20th January 2012 - 3:27 pm

The question arises from James Graham’s excellent blog on how raising the personal income tax allowance, a central plank of Liberal Democrat influence in the Coalition, makes it more likely that large companies will pay fairer wages.

James was responding to Zoe Williams in the Guardian (well worth a read), who rightly highlights the negative societal impact of companies paying their employees wildly differing amounts – sky-high executive salaries at one end of the spectrum, and sub-living wages at the other that have to be topped up by complex and costly welfare spending.

Of late there has been …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged fair pay, james graham and living wage | 16 Comments

David Heath MP writes… Action at last on a lobbyists’ register

By David Heath MP | Fri 20th January 2012 - 2:43 pm

It’s strange how this selective amnesia thing works. The official Opposition has been agitating over recent weeks about when the government will publish the promised consultation on a Statutory Register of Lobbyists. You’d think they had always been in favour of such a thing. Er, no, not exactly. Because there were calls for its introduction under the last government. Liberal Democrats, for instance, asked repeatedly why the then Labour government wasn’t responding to clear recommendations from select committees to do just that. Labour ministers didn’t want to know. We even proposed amendments to at least require companies to report on …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged lobbying | 2 Comments

Opinion: The Coalition are winning the economic argument

By David Thorpe | Fri 20th January 2012 - 12:30 pm

It’s a dark winter night in Westminster but the building from which a group of men emerge is still wreathed in light. The men clamber into a sleek car, which streaks away through the emptying streets. Their journey is short in physical distance, but it’s long on significance for all of them. They are serious of face and purpose as the vehicle stops by one of the quieter spots on the riverbank.

The heaviest of the men is the first to get out, he flashes a look along the river bank, and seeing it deserted, nods quickly to his companions, all of whom …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged coalition, deficit reduction, ed balls, ed miliband and labour party | 30 Comments

Paul Burstow MP writes… Want to know how we can improve three million lives?

By Paul Burstow | Fri 20th January 2012 - 11:23 am

If I said the words “telecare” and “telehealth” to the person on the street it’s likely they wouldn’t have a clue what I was on about. They’re hardly phrases which just trip off the tongue.

But dig under that jargon and you’ll find that these are really very simple technologies which can help elderly people and those with long-term conditions right across the country.

Yesterday I hosted a launch of the Three Million Lives campaign. Very simply this campaign is a public declaration of how Government and industry will work together to make sure millions of lives are transformed. And because the …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged telecare and telehealth | 9 Comments

Op-eds

Observations of an Expat: When Donald met Xi (Tom Arms)
Conference from the other side of the barrier (Barry Rhodes)
Proper Grimond liberalism (Jack Meredith)
Is Conference still supreme? (John Kelly)
Ed Davey’s Conference speech (Hugh Andrew)

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What does a Lib Dem “trans activist” look like?

Caron’s kitchen table diary

Victoria Collins MP writes.. The ask that changes everything

To get Britain growing, we must cut business costs

Lib Dem peers help inflict Lords defeat over Coalition’s benefit cap plan

Nick Clegg needs cutting down to size – Tebbit

Vince Cable announces measures to combat excess executive pay

Opinion: We need to tackle ‘crony capitalism’ on our watch

Video: Perhaps the most dramatic implosion of a front-running Presidential campaign in history

Campaign Corner: What makes for a good action photograph?

Opinion: UK break-up – we’d all be losers

Vince Cable to boost shareholder power over boardroom pay

Opinion: Flaws in Policy Exchange’s report

Chris Davies MEP writes… Wallis succession: It just doesn’t sound right

LibLink: Tim Leunig – Housing benefit cap: can you live on 62p a day?

A tailored response is required to tackle cities’ unemployment challenges

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #257

The Independent View: The benefits cap policy is based on myths