Iain Roberts

Opinion: the problem of Welfare Reform

By Iain Roberts | Sun 1st January 2012 - 5:41 pm

Ed Miliband has stirred up some New Year’s controversy, not least amongst his own supporters, with the news that Labour is to speak out more strongly against the perils of so-called “benefit scroungers”. Labour are no doubt concerned at consistent polling evidence suggesting that opposition to benefit cuts are out of step with the views of the public.

In reality, there’s little difference between the positions of the different parties, nor much change in the position of any individual party over the last couple of decades.

Across the mainstream political spectrum, few disagree that handing out state benefits too freely causes …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 44 Comments
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Stephen Tall

NEW POLL: Who is your Liberal Voice of the Year?

By Stephen Tall | Sun 1st January 2012 - 2:45 pm

Today’s the day we launch our search for the Liberal Voice of 2011 to find the individual or group which has had the biggest impact on liberalism in the past 12 months. This is the fifth annual award, and as is our tradition, we’re looking beyond the ranks of the Lib Dems to find the greatest liberal who’s not a member of our party.

The list of nine nominees appears below. These were sought from Lib Dem members via our most recent survey; 233 nominations were submitted, and each of those short-listed needed to clear a threshold of five.

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Posted in LDV Awards and News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 25 Comments
Mark Pack

The four things the new party Chief Executive must prioritise

By Mark Pack | Sun 1st January 2012 - 11:50 am

Dear Tim,

Congratulations on your appointment as Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats. You take up the post in tough but exciting times.

Even if you were not one person but a superhuman army of fifty you would not be able to do all the things party members and staff are saying they want from the new Chief Executive. As you are but one person (I hold out hope on the superhuman front) you will inevitably have to pass up on many of these demands.

Picking the right priorities will be central to being a successful Chief Executive and so here are the four priorities I think you should pick.

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Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , , and | 14 Comments
Chris White

Opinion: Ever greater centralisation is not the answer for failing schools

By Chris White | Sun 1st January 2012 - 9:50 am

“Troubleshooters are needed to spot failing academy schools around the country and sack incompetent headteachers, the new chief education inspector has said.” So reported the Daily Telegraph on 28 December. The article continued:

Sir Michael Wilshaw said ministers must set up regional early warning systems because by the time his Ofsted inspectors discover an institution is in trouble, it is too late.

As more and more secondary schools gain independence from town halls and become academies, it will also be difficult for the Department of Education to focus on improving individual schools.

Sir Michael said that to maintain standards, dozens of local commissioners

…

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Posted in Local government and Op-eds | Tagged , and | 13 Comments
Mark Pack

LibLink: Tim Farron – Fighting for jobs and health care – and against second-home council tax perks

By Mark Pack | Sat 31st December 2011 - 3:35 pm

It is the turn today of Liberal Democrat President Tim Farron for a personal reflection on the year in The Guardian:

In 2011 Westmorland and Lonsdale has had some of the lowest unemployment figures across the whole of the UK. On the surface this sounds like a fantastic statistic; however, it does not take into consideration the fact that we have among the highest rate of workers on minimum wage across the whole of Britain. The average salary in the South Lakes is just £24,928 while average house prices are over £250,000. We’ve gone someway to try and tackle this injustice with the

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged | 1 Comment
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The Voice

Horwood calls for National Defence Medal awarded by “truly independent” body

By The Voice | Sat 31st December 2011 - 2:35 pm

Lib Dem MP for Cheltenham Martin Horwood has stepped up calls by the party for a National Defence Medal to be available for all veterans who have served in the Armed Forces.

Here‘s how the Press Association reports the story:

    Martin Horwood, co-chairman of the Parliamentary Party Committee on International Affairs, said a new body was needed which was recognised by veterans as “truly independent”. Currently, any decision to award new medals is made by the Honours and Decorations Committee behind closed doors. But Mr Horwood believes it needs to be disbanded and reformed with a new independent chairman. It must

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 20 Comments
Willie Rennie

Willie Rennie’s New Year Message

By Willie Rennie | Sat 31st December 2011 - 11:55 am

In May, we were nearly wiped off from the Scottish Parliamentary map. I got it. I understood why that happened.

But equally I am convinced that liberalism, not nationalism, will dominate Scottish political landscape in the years ahead.  Our values are embedded in a rich seem of Scottish history and endure despite political setbacks.

Our small team in the Scottish Parliament has shown over the last six months why we need strong liberal voices.

On centralising of the police, places for college students, housing for those in need, the Supreme Court, equal marriage, riots, prison reform, sectarianism and so many other issues we …

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: Should we end the bargain booze bonanza?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 31st December 2011 - 9:25 am

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

Just in time to kill everyone’s new year buzz David Cameron has announced government plans to introduce minimum alcohol pricing in England, similar to recent proposals by the Scottish government.

The details are still to be confirmed but the proposed system could stop the sale of alcohol at below 40p to 50p a unit in shops and supermarkets and cost drinkers up to £700 million a year.

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 17 Comments
Stephen Tall

And the most-mentioned Lib Dems of 2011 were…

By Stephen Tall | Sat 31st December 2011 - 7:55 am

Two Lib Dem ministers made it into the top 10 of most-mentioned politicians in the national print media in 2011. Not surprisingly, one was Nick Clegg, the Deputy PM; the other was Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary.

Here’s the graphic which shows them placed 4th and 10th respectively:

Two Lib Dems also made it into the list of top 10 backbenchers who appeared in the national print media in 2011. Ming Campbell and David Laws popped up at 9th and 10th respectively (42nd and …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

Which Lib Dem minister had the worst year? Find out who tied for first place among party members…

By Stephen Tall | Fri 30th December 2011 - 6:45 pm

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days.

Huhne and Clegg tie for the award neither would want to win

LDV asked: In your opinion, which Lib Dem government minister has had the worst year?

Unusually for our Voice surveys, this question allowed an unprompted, free-text response, which 385 of our respondents rose to. And here’s what you told us:

    1. Chris Huhne — 80 votes
    1. Nick

…

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Prateek Buch

What Lib Dem members make of drug reforms and regulations on alcohol and tobacco sales

By Prateek Buch | Fri 30th December 2011 - 4:25 pm

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days.

Seeking to assess the support amongst the party membership for reforms to how alcohol, tobacco and currently illicit drugs are regulated, the latest LDV members survey has thrown up some interesting results – we’ll start by looking at what respondents make of the current regulatory regimes for alcohol and tobacco.

Most LDV readers back status quo on

…

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Posted in News | 12 Comments
Ewan Hoyle

Alcohol minimum pricing should be this government’s first bold evidence-based drug policy

By Ewan Hoyle | Fri 30th December 2011 - 2:08 pm

One of the most common arguments I read against the government control and regulation of the currently illegal drug markets is that we have so many problems with alcohol. Were cannabis for instance to be “legalised”, authors presume its use will increase and create new social problems to rival those that alcohol inflicts.The simple counter-argument employed by myself and other drug policy reformers is that alcohol is a very poorly regulated drug. Were any of the other currently illegal drugs to become regulated by the state, the alcohol model is one model it would be extremely unwise to replicate. Alcohol …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 61 Comments
Ian Swales

Ian Swales MP writes: 12 CUTS Labour don’t talk about

By Ian Swales | Fri 30th December 2011 - 12:30 pm

The Labour party think they can win the economic argument by just wailing about cuts on behalf of their public sector union paymasters. They give no credible alternatives for what they would do about Britain’s economic crisis.

What they also like to ignore is some of the changes that are being made towards making this country fairer. Here is a list of cuts WE should be talking about because they are mostly happening through Lib Dem action and pressure.

  • The CUT from £250,000 to £50,000 in the maximum annual pension contribution to receive tax relief – clawing back a staggering £4,000,000,000 (£4bn) that Labour was giving to the rich.
  • The

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 55 Comments
Mark Pack

What our readers have been buying this year…

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th December 2011 - 11:45 am

Lib Dem Voice has an affinity deal with Amazon, which means if you purchase goods from Amazon via our link, Lib Dem Voice earns a small commission. We don’t get to know about people’s individual orders, but Amazon does report overall sales and these show that the five best-sellers to our readers in 2011 were:

1. The British General Election of 2010 (reviewed here)
2. 22 Days in May by David Laws (reviewed here)
3. Peace, Reform and Liberation: A history of liberal politics in Britain 1679-2011 (watch the book launch with Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams here)
4. Don’t Take No For …

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Posted in Books and Site news | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

Local council by-elections: the recovery continues

By Mark Pack | Fri 30th December 2011 - 8:50 am

Week by week local by-election results can fluctuate greatly as the luck of the draw over which seats are up adds to the variations in local circumstances to produce a large spread of results. However, aggregated over longer periods the pattern of local by-elections does say something about the state of the parties, which is why I’ve been looking at the trend in Liberal Democrat performances since May 2011.

This following graphs show the change in the Liberal Democrat vote share in by-elections, measured since the seat was previously contested and – to even out for those factors – taken in two month averages.

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Posted in Local government and News | Tagged | 12 Comments
Stephen Tall

EXCLUSIVE: Party members vote Vince Cable Lib Dem minister of the year

By Stephen Tall | Thu 29th December 2011 - 6:50 pm

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days.

Vince, Danny and Chris: the Lib Dems’ top trio in government

LDV asked: In your opinion, which Lib Dem government minister has had the best year?

Unusually for our Voice surveys, this question allowed an unprompted, free-text response, which 408 of our respondents rose to. And here’s what you told us:

    1. Vince Cable — 67 votes
    2. Danny Alexander

…

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged , , and | 7 Comments
Nick T

The BBC reviews the political year for the Lib Dems

By Nick T | Thu 29th December 2011 - 4:26 pm

Over on the BBC News site, Gary O’Donoghue has a decent overview of what 2011 has meant for the Liberal Democrats. The only line I’d really take issue with is this:

A referendum on the voting system was the price Nick Clegg demanded for entering coalition…

Actually, of course, the price Nick Clegg demanded for entering coalition was the implementation of 75% of the Lib Dem manifesto.

Anyway, that’s a relatively minor quibble and the rest of the piece is worth a read.

 

Posted in News | Tagged | 12 Comments
Kirsty Williams AM

Kirtsy Williams writes… Looking back at 2011 and looking forward to 2012

By Kirsty Williams AM | Thu 29th December 2011 - 1:51 pm

2011 has most certainly been a year that has kept all of us busy – elections to the Assembly, referenda, journalists following us around making sense of it all and the people of Wales playing an active part in Welsh political life. As the Arab spring was sweeping through the Arab world bringing with it elections and democratic accountability, Wales was also playing its part in making its voice heard.

This time last year, I was a few months away from leading my party into my first Assembly elections as leader. The media was predicting a wipe out for the Welsh …

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Posted in Op-eds and Wales | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Who said this…?

By Mark Pack | Thu 29th December 2011 - 10:25 am

The important thing for Government is not to do things which individuals are doing already, and to do them a little better or a little worse; but to do those things which at present are not done at all.

The answer is after the jump.

 

 

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Posted in News | Tagged | 40 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Open Thread: Tributes to Liberal Democrats who have passed away this year

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 28th December 2011 - 3:54 pm

This is the time of year when we look back at what the last 12 months have brought us, good and bad.

I thought it would be appropriate to take some time to pay tribute to Liberal Democrats we’ve lost this year. We’ll all know someone who has really made the difference to our lives as party members who is no longer with us. Please feel free to use the comments to tell us a bit about them and what they mean to you.

For me, the worst moment of the year so far was not the heartbreaking election results. It was …

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Posted in Obituaries | Tagged and | 3 Comments
Joshua Dixon

Opinion: The opportunity for Lords Reform must be taken

By Joshua Dixon | Wed 28th December 2011 - 2:57 pm

In 1997 the Labour Party manifesto outlined that under a Labour government the House of Lords would be reformed so that “the right of hereditary Peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords will be ended by statute…“. It was clear that change appeared to be on the agenda and the House of Lords Act 1999 provided changes to the rights of Hereditary Peers, removing the right for members to inherit their seats. This was achieved via a compromise which ensured 92 hereditary peers would remain in the House on an interim basis.

Although these were necessary …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Ewan Hoyle

Opinion: We need better housing options for the elderly at Christmas

By Ewan Hoyle | Wed 28th December 2011 - 1:55 pm

Those elderly and alone at this time of year need attractive alternative housing options.

It is greatly to the BBC news team’s credit that they continue to highlight the plight of those less fortunate as the majority of us look forward excitedly to Christmas. Following on from their piece on homelessness on Wednesday, on Thursday they highlighted the issue of loneliness and isolation among the elderly at this traditionally sociable time of the year.

Homelessness and isolation in old age are two of the most pressing issues resulting from our growing and ageing population. The fantastic work of caring charities helps …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Which four Liberal Democrat ministers have most improved their standings in 2011?

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th December 2011 - 11:55 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days.

Jeremy Browne, Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Lynne Featherstone are the four Liberal Democrat ministers to have significantly increased their standing in the eyes of party members over this year, according to the surveys of party members carried out by Liberal Democrat Voice four times in the year.

When asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with a range of party …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged , , , , , and | 3 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Nick Clegg’s New Year Message to Party Members

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 28th December 2011 - 10:55 am

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Posted in News | Tagged | 1 Comment
NewsHound

LibLink: Mark Pack – 2011 was a year of treading water

By NewsHound | Wed 28th December 2011 - 10:25 am

Yesterday The Times ran a set of op-eds looking at how the parties did in 2011, featuring ConHome’s Tim Montgomerie, Ed Miliband biographer Mehdi Hasan and The Voice’s own Mark Pack.

Here is a flavour of what Mark had to say:

This year has certainly not been short of Harold Macmillan’s “events, dear boy, events”.  Political and economic turmoil disrupted even the usually quiet periods deep in August and the final shopping days before Christmas.

Yet at the end of the year the political rollercoaster has left all three main parties in remarkably similar situations to those in which they found themselves

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged , and | 7 Comments
Mark Pack

Some surprising economic data

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th December 2011 - 9:25 am

From the Mirrlees review into designing tax systems:

Despite some predictions to the contrary, countries are not being forced inexorably to tax less in an increasingly globalized and competitive world economy. Between 1975 and 2008, taxes rose as a proportion of national income in virtually every OECD country. On average, the tax take rose from 29.4% to 34.8% of national income. In no OECD country was there a significant fall in the tax take over this period…

Within the total tax take, we might expect that governments would find it more difficult to raise taxes from internationally mobile companies and people.

…

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Posted in News | Tagged | 19 Comments
Robin McGhee

Opinion: Why is Nick Clegg being quite so wrong on Lords reform?

By Robin McGhee | Tue 27th December 2011 - 2:50 pm

If there is one thing taken for granted amongst Lib Dems it is that the House of Lords needs radical reform. In fact, most Lib Dems would go further than that. Like Cromwell, they would abolish the Lords outright, to be replaced with a Senate or not at all. But there are a substantial minority who, like me, think this is the wrong approach.

In an otherwise excellent speech before Christmas Nick Clegg set out his stall as a fervent abolitionist. He used the rhetoric of Lloyd George to express his purported frustration with the, er, hereditary system which was …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 44 Comments
Mark Pack

Recovery in Clegg’s ratings amongst party members confirmed but not back to 2010 levels

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th December 2011 - 11:55 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days.

As 2011 comes to an end, Liberal Democrat party members surveyed by Lib Dem Voice continue to back Nick Clegg, being in coalition and the government’s overall record. Support has generally increased a little during the year, but is still well below its levels in the second half of last year before tuition fees dominated the political agenda …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged | 16 Comments
Mark Valladares

Graham Watson’s New Year message

By Mark Valladares | Tue 27th December 2011 - 10:50 am

Of course, we now have two British Liberal leaders, one here, and one in Europe. And, for your delectation and delight, Liberal Democrat Voice presents, courtesy of the European Liberal Democrats (ELDR), the New Year message of Graham Watson, recently elected as its President…

http://vimeo.com/33963292

Posted in Europe / International | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Mark Pack

Get your skates on and submit a motion to Liberal Democrat conference about wealth taxes

By Mark Pack | Tue 27th December 2011 - 9:25 am

Nick Clegg’s recent ‘open society’ speech confirmed that increases taxes on wealth in some form is very much on the political agenda. However, the default party policy option – a mansion tax – was highly controversial in the party when it was introduced (which is rather a polite term for the rolling lesson in how to bungle a policy launch, annoy MPs, irritate party members and feed negative stories to the media all in one fell swoop).

In other words – now is a very good time for the party to be debating what form of wealth taxes it favours, especially after the opportunity was missed at the party’s autumn conference. As I wrote at the time in Tax: The missing ingredient from the Liberal Democrat conference agenda,

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Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , , , , and | 35 Comments
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