Mark Pack

How does your income compare to everyone else?

By Mark Pack | Sat 10th December 2011 - 10:54 am

Having written about income inequality in the UK earlier in the week, here is an international perspective: www.globalrichlist.com, which lets you put your own income into a global perspective. Ready your decimal places and tap away…

Posted in News | Tagged | 9 Comments
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Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: Lobbying

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 10th December 2011 - 8:26 am

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

It has been a week of scandal surrounding the lobbying industry, with The Independent publishing a series of stories based around the claims of the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger to be able to influence government policy.

The consultants at Bell Pottinger made claims to undercover reporters that they had already influenced government policy and could do so again for a fee. The government initially responded by saying these claims were rubbish but later conceded that lobbying from companies did have some impact.

So who’s …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Europe: what Liberal Democrats have been saying today

By Mark Pack | Fri 9th December 2011 - 7:02 pm

Nick Clegg:

I have said for months that it would be best to avoid arcane debates about treaty change altogether and if we had to proceed down that road, it would be best to do so in a way that did not create divisions in Europe.

The demands Britain made for safeguards, on which the Coalition Government was united, were modest and reasonable. They were safeguards for the single market, not just the UK.

There were no demands of repatriation of powers from the EU to Britain and no demands for a unilateral carve-out of UK financial services.

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Tagged , , , , and | 101 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 9 December 2011

By The Voice | Fri 9th December 2011 - 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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Prateek Buch

Opinion: Lynne Featherstone’s defence of evidence-based translational medicine is welcome

By Prateek Buch | Fri 9th December 2011 - 4:00 pm

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The sparsely-attended adjournment debate on Wednesday secured by Conservative MP David Amess, saw a rare thing – a genuine discussion based around the merits of peer-reviewed scientific research and a robust defence of an evidence-based approach to translational medicine from Lib Dem Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone. For a biology nerd interested in the application of scientific knowledge to public policy it had all the ingredients of a pre-Christmas gift – I can fully recommend the Hansard transcript for a full picture (yes, I am that sad…).

Mr. Amess has some track record of Parliamentary campaigning against animal cruelty, …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 1 Comment
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Harry Matthews

Opinion: One year on from Tuition Fees: why I’m still a Liberal Democrat

By Harry Matthews | Fri 9th December 2011 - 12:51 pm

It’s one year on from the vote on Tuition Fees, so I thought I would lay out some reasons why I, as a student, am still a Liberal Democrat after our great ‘betrayal’.

Although our ministers are having to make tough choices, Liberal Democrats have won a major victory – having a tax cut for the low paid, rather than the very rich, as the Tories would have preferred. Raising the income tax threshold to £10,000 is a good way to correct the disaster Gordon Brown created when he scrapped the 10p tax band. Plus it is a tax cut …

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Paul Burstow

Paul Burstow MP writes… A Future-proof Health Service

By Paul Burstow | Fri 9th December 2011 - 11:53 am

The Liberal Democrats have always recognised that if we want the best health service in the world, we must continue to innovate and invest.

That is why I want to highlight how new funding announced on Monday will ultimately support life-saving research and help to protect millions of vulnerable people living with long-term conditions at home.

I have long championed the benefits of telecare and telehealth (home-based alarm and monitoring devices), so I want to highlight the fact this high-tech equipment will now be accessible to another three million people over the next five years.

This week I met a care …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 7 Comments
Paul Walter

PMQs: Penguin in the menage à trois

By Paul Walter | Fri 9th December 2011 - 10:45 am

The first big subject at Prime Minister’s Questions this week was Europe. Tory MP Andrew Rosindell asked if David Cameron would show “bulldog spirit” at the forthcoming summit. Later, similar points came from various Tory Eurosceptic MPs, including the Father of the House, Sir Peter Tapsell. He is always heard with great respect, despite his long-winded, rather pompous and, in this case, halting mini-speeches which have barely inquisitive constructions stuck on the end of them.

Ed Miliband started on Europe as well, asking if Cameron would fulfil his promise that treaty change might give the opportunity to “repatriate powers”. The Prime …

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Prateek Buch

Opinion: Shareholders start to flex their muscle on high pay in banks

By Prateek Buch | Fri 9th December 2011 - 8:50 am

The Association of British Insurers, whose members are significant shareholders in UK banks, has written of its concern over remuneration in the banking sector in the most stern terms. The ABI’s Director General Otto Thoresen has highlighted the

need for all banks to fundamentally restructure their remuneration practices.

This follows on from the independent High Pay Commission’s report into executive remuneration, which emphasised the need for shareholders to play an activist role in setting top pay – the letter appears to be a first step towards a large number …

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Posted in Op-eds | 6 Comments
Jonathan Fryer

Opinion: What Cameron should be doing in Brussels

By Jonathan Fryer | Fri 9th December 2011 - 7:50 am

When David Cameron arrived in Brussels last night for the pre-Summit dinner of EU leaders, he may have sensed a certain frisson in the room. He missed out on the earlier gathering of most EU Heads of Government, who are members of the EPP (Christian Democrat) Euro-parliamentary group and held their own important caucus. Until Cameron became Tory Leader, the British Conservatives were members of the EPP, but in a blatant ploy to get backing from Euro-sceptics among Tory backbenchers, he pledged that he would withdraw from the group, which he duly did, marginalising not just his party but Britain …

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Posted in Op-eds | 59 Comments
Stephen Tall

New LDV members’ survey now live: your views on economy, pensions, strikes, drugs and life in government

By Stephen Tall | Fri 9th December 2011 - 7:45 am

The new LDV members’ survey is now live. So if you are one of the c.1,300 registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum — and any paid-up party member is welcome to join — then you now have the opportunity to make your views known.

Questions we’re asking this month include:

  • what you think of the Coalition’s deficit-reduction policies;
  • whether Lib Dems should commit to further post-2015 public spending cuts;
  • if you agree with Nick Clegg’s support for means-testing some universal benefits;
  • your views on public sector pension reform…
  • … and on the recent public sector strikes;
  • how

…

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Nick T

Extra £11million funding for disadvantaged pupils is a “sham”, says Manchester Labour Party

By Nick T | Thu 8th December 2011 - 4:54 pm

There’s rather bizarre news from Manchester, where the Council’s ruling Labour group has passed a motion declaring the pupil premium a “sham” and calling for the policy to be scrapped.

The pupil premium – which was a key Lib Dem policy at the last election – has meant a funding boost of almost £11million for Manchester’s schools this year (rising to £20million next year), with the money targeted specifically at pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.

As Lib Dem councillor for Gorton North, Jackie Pearcey, says:

I know that in Gorton and Abbey Hey, this money is making a real difference to

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 23 Comments
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett

Opinion: Don’t believe everything you read in the papers…

By Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett | Thu 8th December 2011 - 2:34 pm

I’ve learnt again this week that it’s not a good idea to believe everything you read in the papers. In this case, it was a story in the Sunday Telegraph suggesting that the Government were changing the wording of “Academy Funding Agreements” on the teaching of marriage. Thankfully, it turned out to be a non-story.

Academy Funding Agreements are the governing documents for academies and Free Schools and are agreed between the Secretary of State and the governing body of the Academy, and the story suggested there were “strict new rules” about marriage.

However, a bit of digging …

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Opinion: Under Occupation – The Catch 22 of the Welfare Reform Bill

By Terry Stacy | Thu 8th December 2011 - 12:26 pm

Most of the measures in the Welfare Reform Bill are extremely sensible. Designed to streamline a byzantine system where fraud was far too easy and anomalies like benefit recipients living in million pound mansions too common (though not as common as the Daily Mail would have you believe!).

During the passage of the Bill, the Liberal Democrats have managed to curb some of the worst excesses of our coalition partners. For example, we got rid of the idea that people on Job Seekers Allowance for more than a year would lose 10% of their housing benefit. It is measures like this …

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Kate Hudson

The Independent View: MoD suppresses Lib Dem review and spending information on Trident ahead of Parliamentary decision

By Kate Hudson | Thu 8th December 2011 - 9:28 am

Liberal Democrats can be rightly proud of their record on challenging like-for-like Trident replacement and keeping Britain’s nuclear weapons near the top of the political agenda – certainly during the last general election campaign. But now it looks as though their coalition partners are moving to stifle the gains they have made. Not only has the Defence Secretary announced the suppression of the Lib Dem-led Trident Alternatives Review. He is also making a mockery of the delayed Trident replacement decision – scheduled for 2016 – by committing to spend £6 billion before that decision date. This is hardly fair play …

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , , , , , , and | 18 Comments
Mark Pack

Two cheers for the English Party: more campaigning allowed in Parliamentary selections

By Mark Pack | Thu 8th December 2011 - 7:51 am

What would you think of a party selection process for candidates which involved putting all the shortlisted names in a hat and picking one out at random to be the winner? Not a lot, but the reasons why that is a bad process have often been neglected in the writing of the party’s selection rules.

Proper contests make for a healthier party

That is because a selection process is not about giving everyone an equal chance – go for a raffle if that is what you want – but about letting those who are most suited for the job demonstrate their …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | 2 Comments
Baroness Liz Barker

Baroness Liz Barker writes: Liberal Democrat peers working to secure an NHS fit for the future

By Baroness Liz Barker | Wed 7th December 2011 - 6:53 pm

After five weeks of detailed, intensive scrutiny the House of Lords is about to start discussing Part 3 of the Health and Social Care Bill. This is the part which deals with the role of Monitor and EU competition law.

Building on the work of Nick Clegg in June this year following the listening exercise, Liberal Democrat peers are working hard to ensure that the legislation fully reflects our policy that competition should be strictly limited to those areas of commissioning and provision where there is evidence that it improves patient outcomes.

We will continue to argue that there should be nothing …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
Lucy Care

Opinion: Two suggestions to shorten the dole queues

By Lucy Care | Wed 7th December 2011 - 3:26 pm

A couple of nights ago I was chatting to someone who had just lost her job.

Like so many other people she worked as a professional in the public sector. Her department was being reorganised and jobs redefined. Professional posts were being regraded downwards, and people were being invited to apply for posts below their qualification and experience.

Understandably, she felt angry; the jobs still needed doing, her skills would become out of date unless she got a new job fairly soon and their household income would suffer a severe cut. She was also angry that so many of the current round of job losses are hitting …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 21 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Opinion: Lobbying scandals strengthen Lib Dem calls for reform

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 7th December 2011 - 1:27 pm

The Independent’s expose of the tactics used by the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger to impress potential clients shines the spotlight again on the lobbying industry.

A team from Bell Pottinger was filmed pitching to journalists posing as representatives of the Uzbekistan Government, a regime which, as Amnesty’s 2011  report shows, has an atrocious human rights record. The lobbyists boasted of virtually instant access to the Prime Minister and other members of the Cabinet.

If I were James Dyson, I would not be happy that my PR company were citing access to the Prime Minister on my behalf as part of …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , , and | 8 Comments
George Potter

Opinion: Government must not force work activities on Cancer patients

By George Potter | Wed 7th December 2011 - 11:55 am

The main form of financial support for the long term sick and disabled is the Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

Once upon a time, cancer patients undergoing radio or chemotherapy intravenously were placed in the support group of ESA where they received unconditional support. However, those receiving radio or chemotherapy orally were placed in the Work Related Activity Group of ESA where they were forced to attend work related interviews and complete other work related activity or face having part or all of their support withdrawn.

My mother died of cancer. A large part of her treatment consisted of oral chemotherapy. Oral because …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 24 Comments
Evan Harris

Evan Harris writes… Lynne Featherstone delivers on Lib Dem equality pledge – a response to Peter Tatchell

By Evan Harris | Wed 7th December 2011 - 10:25 am

“It’s a Coalition, innit!”

No one would accuse me – I hope – of a lack of commitment to LGBT equality. Nor would anyone  – I fear – of being a cheer-leader for the Government, nor indeed of slavish support for Liberal Democrats in Government. But I can not accept my friend Peter’s criticism of Lynne Featherstone set out in his article. I doubt many readers of Lib Dem Voice would do so either, because his failure to distinguish between “Liberal Democrat policy” and “Government policy” is schoolboy-obvious, and his attack thus falls as flat as a pancake that’s been …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 15 Comments
Mark Pack

British inequality continues its post-2005 rise

By Mark Pack | Wed 7th December 2011 - 8:46 am

This week the OECD published its latest analysis of inequality in the UK, including (another) graph in which 1997 is not a turning point but rather this time 2005:

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 2 Comments
The Voice

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Tue 6th December 2011 - 4:44 pm

The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that’s fine, we’re grateful for people taking the time to read the site.

You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways:

1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there’s something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you’re an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or you’ve seen …

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Chris Davies

Chris Davies MEP writes… Slipping deeper into the tar sands

By Chris Davies | Tue 6th December 2011 - 3:54 pm

Last week we published Liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker’s defence of his approach to the tar sands issue. Here Chris Davies MEP explains his view…

The weak and obfuscating position on tar sands being taken by the Coalition Government is an embarrassment to every Liberal Democrat who wants to believe that having our representatives in office will advance the environmental agenda.  It may stem from nothing more than Whitehall’s traditional “Brits know better than Brussels” arrogance, but it is wrong-headed nonetheless.

The EU’s Fuel Quality Directive encourages oil producers the world over to lower the carbon intensity of their products in …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 19 Comments
Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett

Opinion: HIV Restrictions on NHS workers are “Out of Step”

By Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett | Tue 6th December 2011 - 2:26 pm

As Chair of LGBT+ Liberal Democrats, I welcome the government’s announcement to consult and determine whether restrictions on NHS workers with HIV, should be relaxed, after a review found an “extremely” low risk of the disease being passed on to patients.

Alongside the Blood Ban announcement in July, which for me was only a small step in the right direction (as there is further work to do); because the stigma remains for men who sleep with men and their partners, with a 12 month deferral ban, the signal from government strikes the right tune at how current policy is being determined. …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Andrew Wiseman

Spring Conference 2012: registration now open

By Andrew Wiseman | Tue 6th December 2011 - 1:21 pm

I am pleased to announce that registration for Spring Conference 2012 is now open.

For the first time, conference will be hosted by NewcastleGateshead. The Liberal Democrats have a proud history in the North-East. We control Northumberland County Council and Ian Swales MP, Sir Alan Beith MP and Fiona Hall MEP represent the Region in London and Brussels respectively.

Fiona said, “Conference is going to be a great boost for the area ahead of vital local elections in May. The region is gearing up to make it a fantastic weekend for everyone. I hope representatives also take …

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Mark Valladares

New ELDR President Sir Graham Watson: ready for the challenge

By Mark Valladares | Tue 6th December 2011 - 11:54 am

At last week’s Congress of the European Liberal Democrats, the umbrella grouping of liberal parties across the continent, Graham Watson, our list MEP in South West England (and Gibraltar), was elected to the position of President. Here are his thoughts on the task ahead…

Last week I had the honour of being elected the new President of ELDR, the European political party federation to which the Liberal Democrats belong, at its annual congress in sunny Palermo, Italy.

I was unopposed as a candidate, so the result was not quite the surprise as it might otherwise have been. I’m not sure whether the …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged and | 3 Comments
James Graham

What part of Yes do you not understand?

By James Graham | Tue 6th December 2011 - 9:54 am

We don’t normally republish lengthy pieces from other people’s blogs, but in the case of James Graham’s review of Don’t Take No For An Answer by Lewis Baston and Ken Ritchie, which doubles up as a detailed post-mortem on the AV referendum, we’re happy to throw those rules out of the window because of both the post’s excellence and the importance of the issues to future campaigning and hopes for electoral reform.

So here is a slightly revised version of the post which first appeared on James’s blog. You can also read Mark Pack’s (much shorter!) review of Don’t …

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

Campaign Corner: Is less really more?

By Mark Pack | Mon 5th December 2011 - 3:47 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: In a previous Campaign Corner you wrote that “Less is more”, praising big headlines, white space etc. But don’t many issues need more explanation than you can fit in a dumbed down few words?

A very good question! To which (surprise, surprise) I once again have three answers:

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Tagged , and | 11 Comments
James Baker

The Independent View: Selling our NHS data is not putting us in control of our health records

By James Baker | Mon 5th December 2011 - 2:55 pm

Back in 2010 there was a wave of optimism amongst civil liberties campaigners, especially those of us concerned with protecting privacy from an over-bearing database state. Not only did the coalition agreement set out a promise to scrap ID cards and its associated population register, there were other promises too: “We will end the storage of internet and email records without good reason” and then on page 25 of the coalition agreement the statement that “We will put patients in charge of making decisions about their care, including control of their health records”.

In our briefing document ‘Privacy Under Threat’ …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged and | 25 Comments
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    Supreme irony that one of the commenters here about diversity at conference mortified me at a conference of yore by drawing attention to the fact that I was alw...
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    @Anne - biological sex based exclusions were always permitted under the Equality Act (before the Supreme Court ruling) in limited and defined circumstances like...
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    Glad to see the accessibility, financial and other being raised. It really isn't good enough. I was excluded from conference when my son was very young as t...