NewsHound

ELDR announces venues for 2012 meetings

By NewsHound | Tue 17th January 2012 - 10:23 am

The European Liberal Democrats have announced the venues for their Council meetings and annual Congress for 2012.

The first Council meeting will take place in Yerevan, Armenia and is expected to take place on 11-12 May, just five days after scheduled Parliamentary elections. This might be seen as a bold decision, given that following the 2007 elections, opposition parties alleged widespread fraud and called for mass demonstrations, although European observers felt that the vote largely met international standards. The Liberal Democrat delegation of fifteen, led by Robert Woodthorpe-Browne, will …

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged | 7 Comments
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Mark Pack

Wanted: a new form of capitalism

By Mark Pack | Tue 17th January 2012 - 9:25 am

Look through the grand sweep of history and times of severe economic turmoil have often been accompanied by times of ideological ferment. That ferment has often thrown up the extreme and the nasty – think fascism or Communist dictatorship – which makes the absence of an equivalent post-financial crash ferment not wholly a bad thing. Yet so far there is very little sign of the sort of ideologically coherent new approach to economics that we have seen in similar previous periods.

The Occupy moment symbolises that absence wonderfully – for it too does not offer solutions, it offers a process for …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 12 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Nick Clegg calls for ‘John Lewis economy’

By Stephen Tall | Tue 17th January 2012 - 7:45 am

Nick Clegg yesterday called on more British companies to offer shares to their employees, arguing it will improve productivity and unlock growth: “We don’t believe our problem is too much capitalism – we think it’s that too few people have capital.”

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Posted in YouTube | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Nick Clegg – Public won’t back Queen yacht idea

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th January 2012 - 8:32 pm

Conservative cabinet minister Michael Gove’s suggestion that a new royal yacht should be “a gift from the nation to her majesty” on the occasion of her diamond jubilee earned diplomatically short shrift from Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg today:

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Posted in News and YouTube | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
Katy Gordon

Anti-English or Anti-Scottish? A guide to the independence referendum

By Katy Gordon | Mon 16th January 2012 - 4:54 pm

At last, Westminster and the UK media have woken up to the reality that Scotland is sleepwalking towards independence. The phoney war is over and finally we may get some serious debate rather than evasion, insults and accusations of ‘talking Scotland down’.

When the Scottish Liberal Democrats refused to form a coalition with the SNP after the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, it was not just personal antipathy to Alex Salmond’s unbearably smug persona. Our then leader, Nicol Stephen, warned that the SNP would spend the whole time in government blaming Westminster for everything, rather than concentrating on actually making …

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

Campaign Corner: How do I deal with information overload?

By Mark Pack | Mon 16th January 2012 - 3:50 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: Aarrgh! There’s just too much information online. How do I cope?

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged | 1 Comment
Layla Moran MP

The Lib Dem Candidates Leadership Programme – a participant’s view

By Layla Moran MP | Mon 16th January 2012 - 2:54 pm

Last weekend marked the official start of the Candidate Leadership Programme, with a residential training weekend in Greenwich. For many, this Programme marks an important shift in thinking to improve the diversity of our Parliamentary Party. I write this piece to give a participant’s point of view.

Despite efforts for years to get candidates from diverse backgrounds to become approved, sadly, and not without great effort on behalf of organisations such as the Campaign for Gender Balance (CGB), the result did not show in terms of elected Parliamentarians.

The Leadership Programme is designed to focus on the steps post-approval and selection, to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 44 Comments
Tom Frostick

Opinion on Nick Clegg’s speech today: Employee share ownership is classic liberalism

By Tom Frostick | Mon 16th January 2012 - 2:24 pm

Last week David Cameron and Ed Miliband both sounded their commitment to tackling excessive payouts in the financial sector. Today was Nick Clegg’s turn. The speech he delivered to CentreForum and the City of London this morning was all about ‘responsible capitalism’ and ‘unlocking shareholder power’.

He talked about vested interests in the British economy and the need to shine a light on boardroom practices. He also expressed a desire to see wider employee share ownership – trust in people, rather than the “interventionist state” – and the move towards a “John Lewis economy”. Clegg said:

recognise that narrowing wage

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 26 Comments
Mike Bird

Competition and Universities: building new Higher Education policy

By Mike Bird | Mon 16th January 2012 - 1:53 pm

We took a severe beating in late 2010, from which we’re still not entirely recovered. From here, we can go in two directions: we can build a Higher Education policy that we can be proud of, or we can leave our policy in the pieces it’s currently in, and prepare for 2015’s brutal assault.

It’s hard to see a treasured policy fall apart under the pressure of electoral and financial reality. We all know there are positive aspects of the increase in graduate contributions that we can claim as ours: a Labour or Tory government would not have faced the …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 12 Comments
Karen Wilkinson

The stimulus of applying for low-carbon community funding

By Karen Wilkinson | Mon 16th January 2012 - 12:23 pm

Today will see the announcement of the successful applicants to the first round of LEAF funding from the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC). Congratulations to all!

I’m involved in a bid to be submitted on Friday, so I appreciate the work it took to get the bids in on time. We’re undertaking three months’ work in as many weeks, I’m told.

LEAF is the “Local Energy Assessment Fund” – a.k.a. loose change DECC found in its trousers pockets before the year-end wash. It was announced in December with two bid rounds. It’s £10 million for …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
NewsHound

LibLink: David Laws – Reasons to be cheerful in 2012

By NewsHound | Mon 16th January 2012 - 11:54 am

In the Daily Mail, David Laws gives readers a tour d’horizon of the economy, ending with some optimisim:

The first good news is that inflation should fall – and steeply. Last year, inflation rose because of higher energy and food prices, and the rise in VAT.

Most of those increases are behind us – last week, energy price cuts of five per cent were trumpeted. Inflation, which peaked last year at 5.6 per cent (retail prices), should be down to about 2.5 per cent by May.

That will help hard-pressed household budgets.

The second piece of good news is that

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 10 Comments
NewsHound

Clegg sets out vision of “John Lewis economy”

By NewsHound | Mon 16th January 2012 - 11:36 am

The BBC reports:

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has urged more companies to offer shares to their employees, saying it will improve productivity and unlock growth.

He told an audience in the City that the government planned to cut red tape, and reform the tax system to accommodate employee ownership.

It is hoped the measures will create what he called a “John Lewis economy”.

…The Lib Dem leader told the event hosted by the City of London Corporation and Centre Forum think tank: “We don’t believe our problem is too much capitalism – we think it’s that too few people

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Chris Nicholson

Opinion: Before the debate – What’s the evidence?

By Chris Nicholson | Mon 16th January 2012 - 10:54 am

The relaunch of the Beveridge group featured in Lib Dem Voice on 10th January, said that it hoped to generate debate amongst Liberal Democrats about how public services are best delivered.

Liberals in general are clear that public services should be democratically accountable at the lowest possible level. Where there is far less agreement is the role of choice, competition and the private and voluntary sector in provision of these services – particularly in relation to health and education. Inevitably many people’s reactions are heavily influenced by their own personal experience as a service user, public service employee or indeed …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 14 Comments
Andrew George

Andrew George writes… A veil of initiatives

By Andrew George | Mon 16th January 2012 - 9:53 am

The Iron Lady cast a steely shadow over the Westminster village last week.

Memories of Baroness Thatcher’s reign of heavy metal terror still strike fear in those who inhabited the place in the days when she would mercilessly handbag anyone who dared to cross her path.

Last week, of course, her major Hollywood biopic was released. Fearing unfavourable comparisons, the PM appears to have gone into manic overdrive; launching an overlapping series of popular-sounding and eye-catching initiatives.

Having spotted that City fat cats are still awarding themselves performance-related perks, which bear no relation to their performance, the PM has become quite cross. …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Oranjepan

Opinion: Speaking up for Scots – a referendum on independence needs democratic legitimacy

By Oranjepan | Mon 16th January 2012 - 8:54 am

All sorts of scare-stories surround a future Scottish referendum – from practical questions about the debt rating of an independent nation to more emotive fears of a new wave of Highland clearances.

Yet amidst all the manoeuvering by both the pro and anti-unionists seeking to define the framework under which the question will be answered (in particular whether it should be a straight in-out decision) the respective leaders at Westminster and Holyrood retain one glaring blindspot.

Scotsman columnist Bill Jamieson is entirely correct when identifying an “effective disenfranchisement which could undermine the referendum vote as envisaged,” but perhaps not …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Stephen Tall

‘There but for the grace of…’ A couple of things Lib Dems should consider before joining the attacks on Ed Balls

By Stephen Tall | Mon 16th January 2012 - 7:55 am

Tempting though the schadenfreude is, I think Lib Dems would be wise not to enjoy too much Labour’s discomfort at Ed Balls’ decision to declare Labour cannot promise to reverse any of the Coalition’s cuts.

I can of course entirely understand the urge to shout ‘Ha! Told you so’ at the shadow chancellor. In an interview for The Guardian published on Saturday, Mr Balls stated categorically:

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 30 Comments
The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #256

By The Voice | Sun 15th January 2012 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 256th 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 (8-14 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:

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Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment
Mark Valladares

Diana Wallis MEP announces her candidacy for President of the European Parliament

By Mark Valladares | Sun 15th January 2012 - 5:51 pm

Our apologies for being a little behind with this, but news has reached us of Diana Wallis’s attempt to become the President of the European Parliament, a job that, traditionally, has been stitched up by the two dominant Groups within the Parliament, the Socialists and Democrats, and the European People’s Party. Indeed, the Presidency has been held during the first half of the 2009-2014 term by Jerzy Buzek from the European People’s Party as part of a deal whereby he would stand down part way through to be replaced by a Socialist MEP.

The catch is that a by-election must take …

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Posted in News | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

And the winner of our Liberal Voice of the Year award is… Mark Littlewood

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th January 2012 - 4:31 pm

It’s a fortnight since we launched our search for the Liberal Voice of the Year with the aim of finding the individual or group which has had the biggest impact on liberalism in the past 12 months. This is LibDemVoice’s fifth such annual award, and as is our tradition, we looked beyond the ranks of the Lib Dems to find the liberal who’s most impressed our readers and is not a member of our party.

We unveiled the shortlist here on New Year’s Day. In total, 903 readers cast a vote in the past two weeks. Here are the results …

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Posted in LDV Awards and News | Tagged , and | 67 Comments
Mark Pack

Nick Clegg unites with Lords in battle to alter benefit cuts

By Mark Pack | Sat 14th January 2012 - 8:29 pm

So reports tomorrow’s Observer:

David Cameron has been lobbied by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, on the need to rewrite the government’s flagship benefit reform to help children suffering as a result.

Clegg proposed a series of changes to the £500-a-week cap, including exempting current claimants, in an attempt to ameliorate some of the worst consequences of the change, which critics claim will make 40,000 families homeless by making their current homes unaffordable.

It is understood Clegg made his appeal during a meeting attended by the chancellor, George Osborne, and Danny Alexander, chief secretary of the Treasury. Cameron asked the Liberal Democrats

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , , and | 13 Comments
Stephen Tall

* Warning: this story contains feigned outrage

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th January 2012 - 6:25 pm

One of the more absurd stories I’ve seen this week is from Aintree in Liverpool. It’s a bite-size exemplum of local politicians slavish desire of media attention — and of the news media’s slack-jawed credulity when presented with a too-easy headline. Especially one that allows them to print the word ‘NUTTERS’.

You can read the Liverpool Echo’s story here: Aintree woman’s fury over Liberal Democrat nutters leaflet ‘slur’.

Sounds quite bad, doesn’t it? And then you read on, and discover the facts are:

  • The Lib Dem leaflet delivery team in Aintree is called ‘Nutters’, has been for years. Those who

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , , , and | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV Caption Competition | Michael Gove “May the Lego be with you” Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sat 14th January 2012 - 3:55 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader…

Here’s Tory secretary of state for education Michael Gove clutching a box of Star Wars lego. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about him?

And the winner of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, LDV Caption Competition | Sir Bob Russell “snookered by Nick Clegg” Edition.

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Posted in Caption Comp | Tagged | 26 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: “John Hemming is definitely a cat man”

By NewsHound | Sat 14th January 2012 - 2:10 pm

John Hemming, Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley, is an unabashed iconoclast. The Independent this week sought to understand what makes him tick a little better. Inevitably there is some focus on his private life — most notoriously brought to public attention by his estranged wife’s stealing of a kitten from his girlfriend’s house — but also a lot of space given to his views on the UK care system and the economy. Here’s an excerpt:

Hemming is serious but funny, blithely overweight, and a stickler for detail. He sits surrounded by plenty of clutter, a frisky kitten and an inquisitive

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

LabourList readers: scrap personal privacy over your income

By Mark Pack | Sat 14th January 2012 - 9:25 am

LabourList has been running a series of posts based on a good idea – asking people to propose policy ideas that don’t cost money, under the banner ‘What’s Labour about when there’s no money left?’.

I was, ahem, a bit underwhelmed then to read one of the ideas – to strip away personal privacy from everyone and publish all income tax returns in full. Somewhat surprised, too, to find that former Labour MP, and when I’ve come across him in the past good egg, Alf Dubs was proposing the idea – his argument being that publishing figures in full would cut …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 25 Comments
Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: Should we do business with people who don’t share our values?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 14th January 2012 - 8:50 am

Here’s your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate…

The weekend debates have been light on foreign policy so far, so for those foreign policy buffs out there here’s one inspired by our former leader.

Over at Ted talks, Paddy Ashdown has been discussing ‘the global power shift’ from the West to the rest and in particular to the nations around the Pacific rim.

He touches on a lot of areas, including what the future of global governance might look like, how long American power might remain dominant and the growth of …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged and | 16 Comments
Mark Pack

Ed Balls: My starting point is we are going to have keep all the cuts

By Mark Pack | Fri 13th January 2012 - 11:23 pm

Saturday’s Guardian has an interview with Ed Balls:

Ed BalsEd Balls, the shadow chancellor, has moved to challenge accusations that Labour is not credible on the economy by telling the public sector unions that he endorses George Osborne’s public sector pay freeze until the end of the parliament, and that he accepts every spending cut…

“My starting point is, I am afraid, we are going to have keep all these cuts. There is a big squeeze happening on budgets across the piece. The squeeze on defence spending, for instance, is

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 32 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 13 January 2012

By The Voice | Fri 13th 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

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Posted in Friday Five | 1 Comment
William Hobhouse

Liberal Unionism in 2012

By William Hobhouse | Fri 13th January 2012 - 4:00 pm

There’s no escaping history in our party, and current debates of nationalism, unionism and secession should prompt Liberal Democrats to delve back into the Gladstonian past.

The Liberal Party split over the Union. Gladstone favoured Home Rule for Ireland, Liberal Unionists didn’t, and ultimately joined the Conservative Party. This cemented the Conservative Party as the party of the Union, and it is a position the Conservative Party still holds.

The purpose of this article is, however, to challenge the Conservative Party’s stranglehold over being British.

The existing Conservative argument goes that a Conservative Britain is a Britainthat stands proud and takes no nonsense …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 26 Comments
James Sandbach

The unintended costs and consequences of legal aid cuts

By James Sandbach | Fri 13th January 2012 - 3:00 pm

Inevitably when policy-makers design cuts packages they look at the short-term – savings achievable in particular department budgets within the spending review period. More holistic assessments, looking at where other public services ‘pick up the tab’ for another budget’s austerity measures, and the ‘displaced demand’ or ‘knock on costs’ that arise, are left for another day. This has been brought home with the Government’s legal aid reforms now before Parliament; an Independent report from a Kings College economist suggests the contribution of these cuts towards “deficit reduction” will be negligible, owing to the public costs of unresolved legal …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Prateek Buch

Labour’s stance on high pay leaves the ball firmly in Vince Cable’s court

By Prateek Buch | Fri 13th January 2012 - 1:30 pm

The appearance of cross-party consensus in politics usually makes me welcoming and wary in equal measure – welcoming as it signals a weakening of the fierce discord between political tribes, wary because the sheen of consensus often betrays a deep underlying suspicion of the ability of any party to take on the challenges they face.

Excessive remuneration appears to be the latest issue on which the three main parties appear to agree – it apparently unites the hitherto unlikely trio of Vince Cable, Ed Miliband and, latterly it seems, David Cameron around the recognition that extremes of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 7 Comments
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