Stephen Tall

What Nick can do next…

By Stephen Tall | Sat 18th June 2011 - 2:58 pm

The Guardian’s Michael White poses the tricky question for Liberal Democrats — “Nick Clegg is doing better, but will it be enough?” — on his blog, following Nick’s well-received speech to the Parliamentary Press Gallery. As Michael points out, only the sharp jokes were reported in the media, rather than the substance which accompanied them (a charge to which I also plead partially guilty). So let’s add a bit of balance…

had three non-jokey points to make – three you didn’t read in the papers today. One was that, whatever happens at the next election, Britain will not

…

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The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 17 June 2011

By The Voice | Fri 17th June 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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Mark Pack

The Guardian cottons on to rise and rise of the Social Liberal Forum

By Mark Pack | Fri 17th June 2011 - 1:53 pm

The Social Liberal Forum got a profile in The Guardian this week, rightly highlighting its growing influence in the party (something I particularly noted over the Sheffield health debate):

In a tribute to the forum’s growing influence, cabinet ministers Vince Cable and Chris Huhne will attend the SLF conference on Saturday, with party deputy leader Simon Hughes.

The group claims about 1,500 members, and has no full time staff. It has only just appointed a director – Mark Blackburn, a former Lib Dem candidate for Westminster.

The group was set up after the party leadership won a vote at the 2008

…

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Mark Pack

Newspaper headlines, the Evening Standard way

By Mark Pack | Fri 17th June 2011 - 12:54 pm

Story:

Lord Judge said … “The problem therefore is not the internet”

Headline:

Judge: Internet threatens justice

(From Thursday’s Evening Standard, page 7)

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The Voice

LibLink | Danny Alexander: Make no mistake: we will reform public sector pensions

By The Voice | Fri 17th June 2011 - 10:22 am

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander writes in the Telegraph today on public sector pensions reform, calling the Government’s offer “by far the best that is likely to be on the table for years to come”:

This debate is often polarised between two extremes. There are some trade unions who seem to believe that pensions for public service workers should not change. Then there are those equally misguided voices who seem to think that the public services should be the front-runner in a race to the bottom.

Between these two, I believe there is an indisputable case for reforming public

…

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Helen Duffett

Julian Huppert MP calls for Digital Economy Act rethink

By Helen Duffett | Fri 17th June 2011 - 8:25 am

This week Julian Huppert tabled Early Day Motion 1913: Disconnection of Users from the Internet, which calls for a rethink on last year’s Digital Economy Act.

From the Register:

A Liberal Democrat MP is demanding a repeal of the Digital Economy Act having tabled an early day motion in Parliament yesterday, which so far has gained nine signatures from across the political spectrum.

Julian Huppert wants the UK government to debate the issue in the House of Commons. Signatories include Labour MPs Tom Watson and Eric Joyce as well as Tory backbencher Peter Bottomley.

The Lib Dem MP has made similar

…

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Stephen Tall

What’s the difference between Ryan Giggs and Ed Miliband? Nick Clegg tells all…

By Stephen Tall | Thu 16th June 2011 - 10:15 pm

In the USA they have the White House correspondents’ dinner, an occasion for leading politicians to take pot-shots at the media, themselves, and – most crucially – their opponents. Barack Obama’s quip-assault on Donald Trump ended the wannabe Republican presidential hopes before they’d begun.

The UK has no equivalent, but (as PoliticsHome’s Paul Waugh notes) the Parliamentary Press Gallery lunches are the nearest equivalent. And today was Nick Clegg’s turn to convey a serious message… whilst landing a jab or two. So, who was in Nick’s sights? Step forward Labour’s troubled leader Ed Miliband, and one-time rival Chris Huhne. …

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Matt Sanders

Opinion: Liberal Democrats and Londoners deserve a three horse race

By Matt Sanders | Thu 16th June 2011 - 5:29 pm

Brian Paddick, who is now reported to be running for Mayor of London, has the experience and the high profile to take on Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.

Like it or not, the race next year is going to be personality politics at its most intense. With polls showing a lead for the Labour party in London, but Johnson and Livingstone running neck and neck, it’s in the big parties interests to make this “Ken vs Boris”.

I like and respect the other names who have put themselves forward for the Liberal Democrat nomination. Mike Tuffrey has quietly …

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Helen Flynn

Opinion: It shouldn’t just be about the NHS

By Helen Flynn | Thu 16th June 2011 - 4:15 pm

As an education campaigner and someone who believes in the principles behind the NHS, I have been following the news about the changes we have managed to make to the health bill with interest, and, obviously, pleasure that we have made a difference.

But when are we going to get our collective heads out of the sand when it comes to the privatisation of state education, where “any willing provider” that we were all so horrified about when proposed in the health bill is already rampaging through the education sector?

It will not be long, believe me, where we are seen as …

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Nicol Stephen

Lord Nicol Stephen’s maiden speech

By Nicol Stephen | Thu 16th June 2011 - 1:41 pm

In recent months, LDV has been bringing its readers copies of our new MPs’ and Peers’ first words in Parliament, so that we can read what is being said and respond. You can find all of the speeches in this category with this link. Last night, Baron Stephen, of Lower Deeside in the City of Aberdeen, made his maiden speech in the House of Lords during a debate on the Barnett Formula (the formula that determines the distribution of public funds in the different parts of the UK). His words are reproduced below.

My Lords, it is …

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Ryan Cullen

Welcome to the new bloggers…

By Ryan Cullen | Thu 16th June 2011 - 12:19 pm

Fourteen blogs have recently joined my Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator:

Good luck to all the new bloggers, and why not take a moment to pop over to their blogs, take a read and post a comment?

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Posted in Online politics | Tagged | 1 Comment
Helen Duffett

LibLink | Shirley Williams: After all the arguments, where next for the NHS?

By Helen Duffett | Thu 16th June 2011 - 11:22 am

Shirley Williams writes in the Times today of her strong support for Future Forum’s recommendations for NHS reform, and suggests that listening exercises may be the way forward for future policy-setting:

Like many others, I was sceptical about the listening exercise. It seemed to me a way for the Government to win time so that it could rethink its proposals for NHS reform in the light of great scepticism from medical organisations, distinguished think-tanks, health service managers and staff, and, not least, doctors.

My concerns were not justified. The Future Forum, chaired by Professor Steve Field, himself for many

…

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Mike Tuffrey

Mike Tuffrey writes… Why I’m serious about London

By Mike Tuffrey | Thu 16th June 2011 - 9:55 am

Yesterday I launched my bid to be our party’s candidate for Mayor of London and I started as I mean to go on: working with a large team of experienced colleagues from across London (see photographs here) and talking about the urgent change our city needs.

As a campaigning party, we must focus – pun intended – on the really big concerns Londoners have about living in this city. And as our candidate, I want to work with our campaigners to get out and listen to those concerns and what must be done.

I believe that it is time for serious solutions to the big challenges we face if London is to remain a great city to live, work and raise a family in over the next decade. With new powers coming from central government, we need a GLA – Mayor and Assembly – that is ambitious for London.

At the launch I issued my five point action plan, based on my experience of eight years serving on the London Assembly. These are priorities than can – and must – be delivered:

  • More, better and cheaper housing
  • Investment in transport to keep London moving
  • Action for jobs and a challenge to big business to pay fair wages
  • Protecting neighbourhood policing and promoting youth opportunities
  • Clean air and a healthy London

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Tagged and | 16 Comments
Mark Pack

Great Ormond Street Hospital finally apologies to whistleblower who was suspended rather than listened to

By Mark Pack | Thu 16th June 2011 - 8:51 am

Belatedly, and after initially refusing to follow the recommendations of an investigation, Great Ormond Street Hospital has apologised to whistleblower Kim Holt who raised concerns about the unit that subsequently failed to properly protect Baby Peter.

Kim Holt (along with three other senior consultant paediatricians) tried to warn about serious failings in the unit which were, in their view, putting vulnerable children at risk. However, the hospital’s reactions ranged from suspending her through to blocking her return to work and failing to follow up on the recommendations of an investigation into her case.

The belated apology has taken Kim Holt three …

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Helen Duffett

What has the DPM done for us?

By Helen Duffett | Wed 15th June 2011 - 3:37 pm

Lib Dem blogger Matthew Gibson has blogged Nick Clegg’s achievements as DPM over the past year, as viewed by the mainstream media.

Matthew’s been monitoring the papers for months, noting all the positive stories about the Deputy PM and Lib Dem leader.

He splits these up by the common themes that have emerged: leadership, competence, being principled and standing his ground.

Here’s a taster:

Competence

The Independent praise Nick Clegg’s simple and direct language in his speech at Conference concluding ‘Clegg knows what he is doing – quite unusual for a leader of a party’ (see here).

The Daily Telegraph believe

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Paul Walter

PMQs: Listen very carefully, I shall wave this shroud only five times

By Paul Walter | Wed 15th June 2011 - 2:23 pm

Someone must have told Ed Miliband that he shouldn’t flit around, butterfly-like, between subjects at Prime Minister’s Questions. He did that last week and got a caning for it. So this week he was doggedly persistent – monomaniac even – on just one subject. Indeed, just one question. He repeated the same words over and over and over and over again. The impression was that he had gone from the sublime to the ridiculous, but it worked and he ostensibly wrong-footed David Cameron.

Ed Miliband said that the government’s welfare reform plans would make 7,000 cancer sufferers worse off by up …

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Andrew Stunell MP

Andrew Stunell MP writes: Buildings are the key to reducing carbon emissions

By Andrew Stunell MP | Wed 15th June 2011 - 1:53 pm

We risk losing our battle against climate change unless we make the built environment more sustainable. That was the message I gave the audience at a Greening our Homes seminar arranged by the Policy Exchange Think Tank yesterday. It’s a stark message, but is backed up by the facts. Around half of all the carbon emissions the UK produces each year come from buildings, with our homes contributing 27% on their own. By contrast, only 15% come from our cars, so we could reduce our carbon emissions by a greater amount with a two-thirds cut in emissions from the residential sector than by taking all our cars off the road.

Yet, when compared to sustainable transport, like electric cars, or renewable forms of energy, the built environment gets scant mention. But if we’re committed to being the greenest government ever, we need to do it in the most practical and cost-effective way we can. That means buildings.

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Sal Brinton

Baroness Brinton writes: Towards a more diverse Parliamentary Party

By Sal Brinton | Wed 15th June 2011 - 12:21 pm

Last year, Ros Scott, Nick Clegg and the Federal Executive (FE) asked me to conduct a review of issues relating to the role of Parliamentary candidates. Key to this review was how the Party will increase the diversity of its candidates standing in the 2015 General Election, and getting them elected.

The first point to make is that we made some real steps forward in selecting more women and BAME candidates in the last electoral cycle despite the disappointing results – the number of our seats went backwards, so making any progress in terms of representation was very difficult. The intense work by many in the party over the last few years has meant that there was significant progress in the lead up to the 2010 election: 50% of new candidates in held seats were women, and only just slightly lower in priority seats. Some excellent BAME candidates were selected (the highest number over the three main parties), but again, without electoral success. Although the fact that there no ‘safe’ seats in the Liberal Democrats (unlike Labour and the Conservatives) means that we cannot use some of the mechanisms used by the other Parties, we should absolutely not be complacent – we will have to work even harder, and invest more time, energy and resources than we have in recent years to make sure that our parliamentary parties reflect Britain in the future.

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Tim Leunig

Opinion: The cap doesn’t fit, so don’t wear it

By Tim Leunig | Wed 15th June 2011 - 10:57 am

This week the £26,000 absolute cap on benefits is back in the news. To many people £26,000 sounds like a lot of money. It is, after all, the average wage. The idea that anyone out of work should get more than the average family appears offensive. That is why this policy plays so well with the public – and make no mistake, it does.

But the claim, repeated by the Department for Work and Pensions, that this policy is needed so that people on benefits do not get more than those on average earnings is a lie. People …

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Mark Pack

Now that’s what I call a referendum question

By Mark Pack | Wed 15th June 2011 - 7:22 am

Here’s the paperwork from the recent Italian referendum on nuclear power. Concise questions don’t seem to be their style…

Italian nuclear referendum ballot paper

Posted in News | Tagged | 4 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Youth Scotland’s Sophie Bridger to fight Inverclyde for the Liberal Democrats

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 14th June 2011 - 6:49 pm


Liberal Youth Scotland President Sophie Bridger has been selected as the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate to fight the Inverclyde by-election, caused by the sad death of Labour MP David Cairns last month. The by-election takes place on 30th June.

Sophie, who’s 20, is studying Psychology at Glasgow University. Sophie has campaigned with Liberal Youth Scotland on issues such as equal marriage, a fair deal for students and increased powers for the Scottish parliament.

Sophie was a key member of Katy Gordon’s campaign team in Glasgow North last year and stood herself in Glasgow …

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Ross Chmiel

Opinion: Sign the petition against Brian Souter’s knighthood

By Ross Chmiel | Tue 14th June 2011 - 5:10 pm

Like most people, I enjoy a quick scan of the Birthday Honours to see which celebrities have been given a long overdue award (arise Sir Brucie!) and then get on with my day. Saturday was different.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that the notorious homophobe Brian Souter had been awarded a Knighthood.

This is a man who funded one of the most hurtful and bigoted campaigns in recent times. The Keep The Clause Campaign was a shameful period in Scotland’s history and I was amazed that the man behind it should be recognised by the Palace and …

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John Alderdice

Lord Alderdice writes: The NHS Bill is substantially improved

By John Alderdice | Tue 14th June 2011 - 4:24 pm

As Liberal Democrats we are reformist by instinct and as in every other area of our community life we want to see reform of the NHS, not only to enable it to deal with the major resource and demographic challenges of the next twenty years, but also to ensure that it is more clinician-led, patient-centred and outcome-focussed than it has ever been before. That is why our MPs supported the principles of the Secretary of State’s original NHS Bill when it came to 2nd Reading in the House of Commons.

Our very public concerns have centred round whether the precise organizational …

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Helen Duffett

Jo Swinson MP urges applications for Speaker’s internships scheme

By Helen Duffett | Tue 14th June 2011 - 3:55 pm

Jo Swinson MP has joined a cross-party group of MPs to launch an internship scheme which will open Parliament’s doors to young people of all backgrounds.

Jo launched the Speaker’s Parliamentary Placements Scheme last week, along with Labour and Conservative MPs Hazel Blears and Eric Ollerenshaw.

In a bid to make Parliament more inclusive and open, the scheme hopes to attract 12 young people from disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds, who’ll be given the opportunity to complete a paid internship in Parliament. They will begin their placements after conference season this autumn.

Jo said:

I am delighted this scheme has now been launched and

…

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Helen Duffett

Nick Clegg celebrates Bob Russell’s big break

By Helen Duffett | Tue 14th June 2011 - 1:58 pm

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Helen Duffett

Nick Clegg’s speech on NHS reforms: “We’ve listened, we’ve learned”

By Helen Duffett | Tue 14th June 2011 - 12:15 pm

Nick Clegg has given a speech today at a joint press conference with David Cameron and Andrew Lansley, on NHS reform and the results of the listening exercise.

This comes on the morning that a Telegraph leader declared:

The Lib Dem conference changed everything. Grass roots activists made it clear to Nick Clegg that they would not accept the wider involvement of the private sector championed by Mr Lansley or what they considered to be his undue emphasis on competition. Ever since, the reforms have been in trouble and the three-month “pause” ordered by Mr Cameron sealed their fate. The NHS

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Cllr Terry Stacy

Opinion: The ‘democratic filter’ disempowers tenants

By Cllr Terry Stacy | Tue 14th June 2011 - 10:42 am

As Liberal Democrats we should be very welcoming of the Localism Bill. The measures included in it to bring power back to local communities have been at the heart of our politics for many years, and will give people a real say in local decision making. Empowering people was key to me becoming active in the tenant’s movement in the 80’s, why I joined the Liberal Party back then and cut my teeth in politics in Tower Hamlets, and why I stood for Council in Islington years later.

Empowering people is key to being a Liberal Democrat, Indeed, Andrew Stunell …

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Mark Pack

Grassroots Liberal Democrat campaign for Lords reform launched

By Mark Pack | Tue 14th June 2011 - 7:22 am

From a news release sent out by, er…, me and as featured on page two of this week’s Liberal Democrat News:

The number of Liberal Democrat peers opposing the government’s plans for elections to the House of Lords has triggered the creation of a new campaign group by grassroots activists who back the introduction of elections.

“Liberal Democrats for Lords Reform” is campaigning for Liberal Democrat peers to stick to the party’s long-standing policy of an elected Upper House.

“We’ve already been waiting over 100 years for Lords reform to be completed. It’s absurd that in the 21st century you can get

…

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Helen Duffett

Chris Rennard profiled in Total Politics: “Think about the swings and roundabouts over the years”

By Helen Duffett | Mon 13th June 2011 - 6:48 pm

Over at Total Politics Iain Dale interviews former Lib Dem Chief Executive Lord Rennard about his views on the local elections, The AV referendum and Coalition government.

Here’s a flavour:

Bernard Jenkin said you could imagine a Lib Dem enclave within the Conservative Party at some point. It’s happened before, hasn’t it? Do you think that that’s at all possible or likely?

I think that’s just trouble-making by someone who is very anti-coalition. I don’t think in the 21st century things will go back to the way they were in the 1920s or 1930s.

Don’t you think this time it just feels a

…

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Mark Pack

Dear God: if you exist, I like your sense of humour

By Mark Pack | Mon 13th June 2011 - 5:54 pm

Via UPI:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused European countries Saturday of using weather control to deprive is country and other Muslim nations of rain.

The president made the charge while opening a dam in Arak, Murkazi province, The Daily Telegraph reported. Immediately after he spoke, rain began falling.

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