The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #242

By The Voice | Sun 9th October 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 242nd 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 ( 2nd-8th October 2011), 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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Mark Pack

What’s the point of switching to individual electoral registration?

By Mark Pack | Sun 9th October 2011 - 5:50 pm

As some background to the current debates, I thought it useful to revive and update an old post of my on the subject as there has been relatively little coverage of the reasons why it has been supported by all parties (including Labour, who even talked up their achievement in introducing the first legislation for individual electoral registration before 2010, in their last general election manifesto).

The current electoral registration system is based on one registration form being delivered to each household, with the head of the household completing the form on behalf of everyone there and sending it back (“household …

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Posted in Election law | Tagged and | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: What to do on the doorstep

By Mark Pack | Sun 9th October 2011 - 3:50 pm

Welcome to a new series of posts, each of which will look to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Thanks to Louise Shaw for prompting the idea and also supplying some of the questions I’ll be using in the next few weeks. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: Not many people in my local party like canvassing and when we go door knocking the ‘outs’ always seem to win by a mile. How can we make better use of our time?

1. Get more people door knocking: …

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Posted in Campaign Corner | 4 Comments
Stuart Bonar

Opinion: Who will sort out our colossal National Debt?

By Stuart Bonar | Sun 9th October 2011 - 9:56 am

The one group I’d most expect to be drawing up a roadmap to a debt-free Britain would be true-blue Tories. Some of them at least understand the problem. In a new book by five Conservative MPs – After the Coalition: a Conservative Agenda for Britain,  dubbed by the Independent as the Bible of the new Tory right wing, there is an entire chapter on the National Debt and the risk it presents.

As I have argued elsewhere, it is wrong to think that debt doesn’t matter… that so long as you can keep getting enough out of Peter to pay Paul then …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Nick Tyrone

Opinion: Theresa May’s cat – why we should be proud of our conference

By Nick Tyrone | Sat 8th October 2011 - 2:50 pm

The vast majority of Lib Dems who attended autumn conference would agree with me in saying that it was a success. The mood surrounding the ICC Birmingham was unmistakably positive. The feared factionalism that had been predicted by some never materialised. But what really makes our conference seem amazing, in retrospect, is just how badly the respective Labour and Conservative gatherings have played out.

Labour conference was up first. As the only major party of opposition this should have been a conference to remember for them. A year of riots, phone hacking and a poor economy gave them more ammunition than …

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Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 11 Comments
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Mark Pack

Oyster Card survey shows heavy interest in cutting coverage or raising prices

By Mark Pack | Sat 8th October 2011 - 10:25 am

During the week I got an email in my inbox asking me to take part in a survey on behalf of the Passenger Demand Forecasting Council (“a body consisting of Transport for London and other industry bodies”) about the future of the Oyster touch in/touch out travel card used in London.

The email went a little overboard in emphasising that the survey was just about finding out people’s attitudes and possible future behaviour and that there are no current plans etc etc. To which my obvious response was to wonder why they would be so keen to say this…

And looking through …

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Posted in London | Tagged , and | 4 Comments
Paul Walter

Opinion: Huhne #tweetfail – Why #cockup is more likely than #conspiracy

By Paul Walter | Sat 8th October 2011 - 9:53 am

Just as most people were packing up for the weekend, the Twittersphere and, eventually, the Mainstream Media were lit up with the story that Chris Huhne had apparently sent out a private text message to his 8,007 Twitter followers, including many of the great and good of “Fleet Street”.

The message said:

From someone else fine but I do not want my fingerprints on the story. C

So what was this “story”? – we are all now wondering.

Think about it.

Chris Huhne had obviously been having a private text exchange with (that ubiquitous Huhne Aunt Sally) “a staff member” (if you believe what Huhne …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 11 Comments
Mark Pack

Should the Liberal Democrats contest police commissioner elections?

By Mark Pack | Sat 8th October 2011 - 8:55 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 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Yes is the answer according to the latest Liberal Democrat Voice survey of party members:

Support: 57%
Oppose: 24%
Net: 33% in favour

The party has been putting in place the necessary procedures to fight these elections, such as making decision over candidate selection rules. However many influential voices have also been raised against the party putting up candidates and with the delay in the …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 6 Comments
Ed Randall

Opinion: Intelligent quantitative easing is best hope to stop the bleeding and begin reviving the patient

By Ed Randall | Fri 7th October 2011 - 1:50 pm

At our party Conference in Birmingham I described accelerated fiscal consolidation as pure poison: “Poison for the party, poison for the Coalition and, most important, poison for the country.”

I know that Liberal Democrats in ministerial office cannot be heard to say such things in public. But Liberal Democrats who do not have to labour under the restraints of office should be making it plain how oxymoronic ‘expansionary accelerated fiscal consolidation’ really is.

They will be in good and growing company.

The announcement of a further round of Quantitative Easing (QE) – much larger than the financial press had anticipated and a month …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 15 Comments
Linda Jack

Opinion: A real opportunity to Make Justice Work

By Linda Jack | Fri 7th October 2011 - 11:53 am

One of the highlights of conference for me was the breakfast roundtable organised by Make Justice Work. As conference goers and fringe organisers will know, getting one MP along is a challenge, managing to attract three must be close to a record! So it was a demonstration of the commitment our party has to reforming the criminal justice system that Justice minister Tom McNally, chair of the Justice Select Committee Alan Beith and member of the Home Affairs Select Committee Julian Huppert, all attended.

For those of you who don’t know the organisation, it was founded by Roma Hooper to …

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

Opinion: Gove’s history – Whiggish, patriotic and wrong, part 2

By Anonymous Lib Dem | Fri 7th October 2011 - 10:25 am

Britain’s history curriculum is about to return to the past. Michael Gove’s plan to change the way this important subject is taught in our schools “smells of Whiggery; of history as chauvinism”, according to Professor Tom Devine. In the second of a series of two articles (part one here), I look at the dangers of Gove’s desire to make history a patriotic subject.

History should be beyond ideology. History should be about the truth. It should be about looking at past societies, not judging them, and not attempting to own them. A patriotic view of history is equally as dangerous as …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 12 Comments
Mark Pack

Liberal Democrat members support proposed changes to planning rules, just

By Mark Pack | Fri 7th October 2011 - 7:25 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 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Our latest survey of party members finds a small majority backing the government’s controversial plans for the planning system in England. By a margin of 48% – 39% Liberal Democrat members in the survey supported the scheme to cut central control over planning but also introduce a presumption in favour of development if plans are sustainable and in line with local policies.

However, …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged , , , , , , and | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

“Toffs legislating for toffs” – how Cotswold Conservatives fear they are viewed

By Mark Pack | Thu 6th October 2011 - 8:43 pm

The Cotswolds were the scene for some of the best Liberal Democrat and worst Conservative local election results in May, with the Tories losing 10 seats. A local newspaper has got hold of an internal Conservative post-mortem:

The document reveals concerns within Cotswold Conservatives that the organisation is seen by voters as: “toffs legislating for toffs.”…

Concerns were also raised about the impact of the cabinet’s links to Cotswold Media, which is run by cabinet leader Cllr Lynden Stowe (Campden-Vale ward) and also employs Cllrs David Fowles (Hampton ward) and Susan Jepson (Campden-Vale ward).

You can read the full story about the …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

The cat, Theresa May and what the courts really said

By Mark Pack | Thu 6th October 2011 - 7:29 pm

Lots has been written about the cat that did, didn’t, did, didn’t help stop someone being deported. The best analysis and summary I’ve seen of what the legal system really decided in the case and on what basis is the one over on the UK Human Rights blog. Well worth a read.

But if you want a short version: the Home Office messed up by failing to follow its own rules. A cynic might suggest the cat provides a rather convenient alibi…

Posted in News | Tagged | 29 Comments
Mark Pack

The Bigger Book of Boris: lots of jokes, not much politics

By Mark Pack | Thu 6th October 2011 - 10:50 am

One of the questions that ambitious politicians often struggle to answer safely is, “Do you want to be leader of your party / Prime Minister?” Answer ‘yes’ in some form and journalists will line up to write stories about party splits, pending leadership challenges and the like. Answer ‘no’ and many will not believe you – whilst also quietly filing away the answer to quote back at the politician at an embarrassing later date.

The Bigger Book of Boris (an expanded version of the earlier Little Book of Boris) shows Boris Johnson’s political skill with humour in his answer to this question. …

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Opinion: Gove’s history – Whiggish, patriotic and wrong, part 1

By Anonymous Lib Dem | Thu 6th October 2011 - 10:25 am

Britain’s history curriculum is about to return to the past. Michael Gove’s plan to change the way this important subject is taught in our schools “smells of Whiggery; of history as chauvinism”, according to Professor Tom Devine. In the first of a series of two articles, I will look at the Whiggish side to Gove’s vision of history.

The Liberal Democrats are the political grandchildren of the Whigs, but we don’t need to share their interpretation of history. At the heart of Whig history is a sort of teleological view of the past, imagining that the ‘story’ of Britain is about …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 12 Comments
Mark Pack

Fixing the economy is the top priority, according to survey of Lib Dem members

By Mark Pack | Thu 6th October 2011 - 7:50 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 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Fix the economy, protect the environment – those are the priorities for government according to Liberal Democrat party members in our latest survey. Perhaps most surprising in the results is the high showing for improving public transport, appearing above health and schools, most likely reflecting people’s views about the current relative state of those different public services.

LDV asked: On a scale of …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Daily Mail sued by Carina Trimingham

By Mark Pack | Wed 5th October 2011 - 10:33 pm

The Press Gazette reports:

MP Chris Huhne’s partner Carina Trimingham today brought a High Court damages action over a “cataclysmic interference” with her private life.

The PR adviser, whose adulterous affair with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change became public in June 2010 – with Huhne leaving his wife of 26 years – is suing Associated Newspapers for misuse of private information.

Her counsel, William Bennett, told Mr Justice Tugendhat in London that – in eight newspaper articles and on its website Mail Online – the Daily Mail had exercised its expertise and determination to dig into 44-year-old Trimingham’s private life and

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 12 Comments
The Voice

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Wed 5th October 2011 - 4:50 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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Mark Pack

What Liberal Democrat members think of different tax policies

By Mark Pack | Wed 5th October 2011 - 1:50 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 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Cut income tax and VAT but raise taxes on property: that’s the message from Liberal Democrat party members in our latest survey. Some answers to our tax questions are unsurprising, such as the North Korean style (or, for older readers, the Albanian style) majority in favour of raising the personal allowance threshold for income tax to £12,500, approximately equivalent to what a …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged , , , , , and | 8 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Boosting housing supply

By Alex Marsh | Wed 5th October 2011 - 11:50 am

The Conservatives’ proposal to resuscitate the Right to Buy through increasing discounts appears to be an attempt to bask in some of Mrs Thatcher’s reflected glory. Unlike the 1980s version, though, Mr Cameron and Mr Shapps are emphasizing that each property sold will be matched with a newly built property at “affordable” rent. This is an attempt to head off criticisms that the Right to Buy reduces the supply of “social” housing. So, it would appear, this initiative could lead to a net increase in the housing stock.

Of course, things are never as they first appear. It is not yet …

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

Liberal Democrats in Birmingham take up Chris Huhne’s energy challenge

By The Voice | Wed 5th October 2011 - 9:50 am

From the Birmingham Mail:

BIRMINGHAM City Council is hoping to slash gas and electric bills for householders and businesses by setting up its own energy supply business.

The local authority wants to use its clout as a wholesale energy buyer and solar power generator to offer gas and electric to the city’s 440,000 homes and 50,000 businesses at a cheaper rate…

The council wants to capitalise on a freeing up of the energy market announced by energy secretary Chris Huhne at last week’s Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham…

The city council’s deputy leader Paul Tilsley is taking up the initiative with a scheme to

…

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Mark Pack

Individual electoral registration: consultation response

By Mark Pack | Wed 5th October 2011 - 7:50 am

Here’s the response I’ve sent to the Electoral Registration Transformation Programme ([email protected]) in response to the consultation on the draft legislation for individual electoral registration, which closes on 14 October. For the background on the benefits of individual electoral registration, see What’s the point of switching to individual electoral registration?

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft legislation which has been published to implement individual electoral registration in Great Britain. The publication of a full draft for public consultation is a very welcome improvement on the way …

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Posted in Election law | Tagged , , and | 16 Comments
Simon Parker

The Independent View: Why it’s time for Nick Clegg to really end child detention

By Simon Parker | Tue 4th October 2011 - 3:50 pm

Among the Liberal Democrat policy gains that Nick Clegg attributed to the coalition government in his party conference speech last month was the ending of child detention. The same claim was made in the Liberal Democrat ‘List of Achievements’ and in a speech at the National Liberal Club summing up the party’s record one year into the coalition government.

The only problem with this claim is that it is not true. Child detention has not ended in the United Kingdom.

According to the Migration Observatory, more than 400 children were detained by the UK Border Agency in 2010. Certainly …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged and | 11 Comments
Greg Judge

Opinion: Accessing the Leader’s speech – incomprehensible and exclusive

By Greg Judge | Tue 4th October 2011 - 2:56 pm

What do the Fukushima Earthquake, Christchurch Earthquake, Queensland Floods, Libyan Revolution, Egyptian Jasmine Revolution and the ongoing struggle in Syria all have in common? If your answer was death then unfortunately you would be correct, however, a more inspirational and uplifting answer would be Sign Language!

In all of these cases, the elected officials of Public Office have been broadcasted with a Sign Language Interpreter at the side of them as they make statements on life and death events. This breakthrough in accessible information is crucial for Deaf people who need to know what to do in an emergency and how …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

By Mark Pack | Tue 4th October 2011 - 11:55 am

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

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

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Mark Pack

Local liberal heroes: Ruth Dombey

By Mark Pack | Tue 4th October 2011 - 10:25 am

Earlier in the year, I penned a series of posts profiling forgotten liberal heroes (to which a couple of other people also kindly contributed), looking at some of those who achieved great things for liberalism in their time but have been unjustly forgotten – such as Margaret Wintringham, the very first female Liberal MP.

There is also another group of people who I think are often unjustly obscure – those local campaigners who are often at the heart of their local community and local party, delivering liberalism and helping others, but as their stage is a local one they are often …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

EXCLUSIVE: How party members rate the performances of leading Lib Dems

By Stephen Tall | Tue 4th October 2011 - 7:45 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. Over 550 party members responded, and we’re continuing to publish the full results.

Today we focus on the performances of the leading lights of the Liberal Democrats — those of our MPs in the cabinet, those occupying ministerial positions, and other leading Lib Dems:

LDV asked: How would you rate the performances of the following leading Liberal Democrats and government ministers?

Full results are published below, but here’s three key lists for those who want to cut to the chase… (with April 2011 ratings in brackets)

Top 5 Lib Dem performers in the Government:

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Tagged | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Kensington & Chelsea spends £4,100 on sending paperwork to councillor’s holiday home

By Mark Pack | Mon 3rd October 2011 - 9:18 pm

Out campaigning in the Norland ward by-election this evening (including an, er…, interesting delivery round), I caught up on one of the many ways that Kensington & Chelsea Council has been rather profligate with money when it comes to looking after senior council staff or Conservative councillors.

It turns out that Kensington & Chelsea has been spending thousands of pounds on couriering council paperwork to a Conservative Councillor Daniel Moylan’s holiday home … in Thailand. The council’s argument is that this is a necessary action as he has to keep up with the paperwork and it includes large maps which …

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The Voice

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #241

By The Voice | Mon 3rd October 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 241st 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 (25 September-1 October, 2011), 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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