Dan Falchikov

Forgotten Liberal heroes: Richard Lillicrap

By Dan Falchikov | Wed 8th June 2011 - 4:23 pm

Richard Lillicrap was probably too little known in Lib Dem circles in the first place to be forgotten, but for hundreds (if not thousands) of committed football fans who are closely involved in running supporters’ trusts or indeed football clubs themselves – like AFC Wimbledon – he was an inspiration.

Richard was a key player in the supporters’ movement, helping dozens of football (and other sports) supporters to organise themselves and take action in their communities to protect their teams from avaricious and uninterested owners.

Richard was also a committed Liberal and saw fan and community ownership of football as the obvious expression of liberalism and community politics in the sporting sphere. He was also a Liberal Democrat councillor for Canbury Ward in Kingston from 1994-98 and a key part of the first ever majority Lib Dem administration that devolved its decisions to seven neighbourhood committees – even thought it meant giving up control in four of these to opposition parties.

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

LibLink | Nick Harvey: Forget a cyber Maginot line

By Helen Duffett | Wed 8th June 2011 - 2:54 pm

Nick Harvey, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, writes over at Comment is Free about potential threats to digital networks, and calls for a global consensus on cyberspace security:

Threats do not just come from malicious viruses or organised criminals stealing people’s identity or money. Digital networks are now at the heart of our transport, power and communications systems, and our economy as a whole. This reliance brings the capacity for warfare to cyberspace. The consequences of a well-planned, well-executed attack against our digital infrastructure could be catastrophic. In this way, a single networked laptop might be as effective

…

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Paul Walter

PMQs: Pots, kettles, medians and Erskine May

By Paul Walter | Wed 8th June 2011 - 1:20 pm

Pity poor old Ken Clarke. When your own side are saying you are too old for the job, then you know things are bad. Phillip Hollobone (Con) asked at Prime Ministers’ Questions why magistrates have to retire at 70 years old while the man who appoints them, the Justice Secretary – Clarke, is 71 years old. With friends like that….

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Posted in PMQs | Tagged , , , , , , , , and | 9 Comments
Helen Duffett

Inverclyde Parliamentary by-election set for June 30th

By Helen Duffett | Wed 8th June 2011 - 11:54 am

The BBC reports:

The Inverclyde Westminster by-election is expected to take place on 30 June, after Labour moved the writ in the Commons allowing it to take place.

It follows the death last month of sitting Labour MP David Cairns, from pancreatitis, at the age of 44.

Labour has a majority of 14,416 in Inverclyde, but holds the Scottish Parliament seat of Greenock and Inverclyde by 511 votes.

The party previously said a 30 June date was “unlikely”.

Labour had said last week it was keen to avoid having a by-election during the school holidays and indicated its preference for a “long lead-in time”,

…

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged and | 10 Comments
Prateek Buch

Opinion: We don’t need Labour’s Plan B – we need a Lib Dem Plan C

By Prateek Buch | Wed 8th June 2011 - 10:44 am

Senior economists have expressed alarm at the Coalition Government’s economic strategy – coinciding with the publication of gloomy figures, criticism came from sources as varied as the likes of David Blanchflower, to Sunday’s warning over the direction of travel from a wide array of experts in the Observer. As we ponder the need for alternatives to the Coalition’s policies, a Plan B, let’s recap how Plan A came about.

The Conservative party have always equated this crisis with the government’s budget deficit. Their economic narrative, unchanged since well before the election, has been clear; public profligacy under Labour …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 23 Comments
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Mark Pack

How do you pick an expert? The flawed argument against Lords reform

By Mark Pack | Wed 8th June 2011 - 8:43 am

You need an expert. What do you do? There are plenty of different ways of going about finding one, I’m sure.

But I bet you don’t dig out the books from 20 years ago, look who was an expert back then, place the names in the hat and then pick out a name or two at random.

That, however, is how the House of Lords works – and that’s why I am unconvinced by those who argue that democracy has no place in one half of Parliament because ‘we need experts’.

Certainly there are some experts in the Lords. Just as there are …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , and | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

Fashion students taught body confidence

By Mark Pack | Tue 7th June 2011 - 8:38 pm

So reports the Home Office, including a comment from Lynne Featherstone that’s good to see about how legislation should not be seen as a magic wand to fix all ills:

A new educational institution teaching fashion graduates to design clothes for a diverse range of body shapes has been launched today by equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone.

The Centre for Diversity has been created by All Walks Beyond the Catwalk, an initiative founded by Erin O’Connor, Caryn Franklin and Debra Bourne, that works with influential catwalk designers and top industry creatives to celebrate diversity within the fashion industry.

Speaking at the launch,

…

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Chris White

Chris White writes: What do you want for your birthday?

By Chris White | Tue 7th June 2011 - 2:12 pm

I am fifty tomorrow. Relatives sometimes ask me what I would like for my birthday and I reply with things like ‘ties, jacket, Ipad, North American art…’. The usual.

This year, though, a real treat: a meeting with Eric Pickles. I have already given the standard response to the organisers: ‘You shouldn’t have….It’s what I’ve always wanted…’

They have even arranged for a large posse of other Lib Dem group leaders to join me to make the hour go swimmingly.
Apparently there is no agenda as such. Just an opportunity to put across some messages.

But what, in a single hour?

Clearly we …

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

LibLink | Paul Tyler: Lords’ Question Time is a “farcical free-for-all”

By The Voice | Tue 7th June 2011 - 12:42 pm

Lord Tyler writes over at e-Politix today about the way Question Time is conducted in the Lords:

As the House’s membership has increased in recent months, Question Time has become an ever more farcical free-for-all. There are a large number of Members who wish to contribute at any one time. Newcomers are rightly mystified by the absurd way in which one has to jockey for the opportunity to speak. You have to pop up and start bellowing, ‘My Lords’, in the hope that your bellow will be more thundersome than those of competing Members, or that some Lordly recognition

…

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Paul Holmes

Paul Holmes writes: In memory of Asad Shafi Qazi

By Paul Holmes | Tue 7th June 2011 - 10:21 am

Nicky Qazi, a good personal friend and political colleague, died in hospital last week aged 82. Nicky was one of those unsung heroes of the Liberal Democrats who give over a large part of their life to voluntarily pounding the streets, campaigning to spread the cause they believe in however unfashionable it may be at times.

I joined the SDP wing of the Alliance in Chesterfield in 1983 and soon got to know and admire Nicky a near neighbour who had joined the Liberal Party a few years earlier. He had a shrewd intelligence, a quiet but devastating sense of humour and was unfailingly polite and patient. I don’t think I ever saw him lose his temper although, always in private and never with rancour, he could certainly succinctly and with a sad air make clear his view of the occasional antics of some of our own colleagues let alone the opposition.

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Posted in Obituaries | Tagged and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Trial and error is the most successful problem solving technique

By Mark Pack | Tue 7th June 2011 - 6:54 am

So said Tim Harford (known to many as the presenter of Radio 4’s More or Less as well as a distinguished economics writer) last night at the Royal Society of Arts. Harford was kicking-off a week long series of talks to promote his new book, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure and was making the point that the modern world is too complex for us to hope to solve many problems by simply getting the best brains to think up the one answer. A far better route to take is to experiment with many different solutions and see …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

The perils of projecting the impact of boundary changes from previous election results

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th June 2011 - 10:35 pm

There’s been an understandable flurry of interest in The Guardian’s reported projections of what boundary changes might mean for the parties, but there are two major caveats about the nature of such projections.

From what I’ve seen, Lewis Baston (as I would expect) has done the numbers well, but not only do we not yet have the actual boundaries on which to make projections but also projections based on looking at previous election results have a decidedly ropey record when it comes to Liberal Democrats MPs.

That is because the party’s voting support is far less polarised demographically than that of …

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The Voice

Lib Dems outperform Labour on private donations, notes the FT

By The Voice | Mon 6th June 2011 - 5:55 pm

Good to see a bit of media recognition today which overtly acknowledges our now consistent out-performing of Labour on private fundraising efforts. The Financial Times reports:

Private and company donations to Labour have plummeted to a 10th of their pre-election average in the first six months of Ed Miliband’s leadership, according to research by the Financial Times.

Many former donors have turned their backs on the opposition party, leaving it increasingly reliant on unions, which provide the bulk of its private income.

Labour’s corporate and individual donations of £248,577 for the half-year to March were dwarfed even by those to the Liberal

…

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Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , and | 11 Comments

Opinion: Talking about my generation

By Anonymous Lib Dem | Mon 6th June 2011 - 2:48 pm

Today something a little bit interesting will happen to me. I will become a member of a new generation of Liberal Democrats. Because from today, I will have spent longer as a member of the Liberal Democrats while they have been in Government than when they were simply the ignored party in opposition. When I first became involved in April 2009, a Liberal Democrat Government was unthinkable. Today it is reality. And it is a reality that some of us are now getting used to.

Many of the older members of the Liberal Democrats will have spent decades being ignored and …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 29 Comments
Willie Rennie

Willie Rennie MSP writes: Time for radical action on alcohol misuse in Scotland

By Willie Rennie | Mon 6th June 2011 - 1:57 pm

Alcohol misuse continues to blight the whole of Scottish society, wrecking individual lives and harming families and communities. I have seen and heard the impact when I am talking to people on doorsteps. From damaging public health, through crime in local neighbourhoods, to dependence pulling families apart, we all suffer. I believe that radical action is needed and will therefore support moves to introduce a minimum unit pricing mechanism in Scotland.

​There is no quick fix to Scotland’s alcohol problem. The scale and complexity of the challenge requires a fundamental change to our culture of drinking to excess. Over the last few years we have seen significant changes to licensing law and many positive new powers have been put in place. A Licensing Act came into force in 2009, banning happy hours and irresponsible promotions in pubs and clubs. More recently the 2010 Alcohol Act bans multi-buy promotions in shops and supermarkets, restricts promotional material on display in shops and requires all retailers to operate the ‘Challenge 25’ scheme to tackle underage sales.

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Posted in Op-eds | 12 Comments
Mark Pack

How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th June 2011 - 12:54 pm

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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Posted in Site news | 1 Comment
Matt Boyes

The Independent View: The public does support the Big Society

By Matt Boyes | Mon 6th June 2011 - 9:53 am

David Cameron’s “re-launch” of the Big Society last week didn’t generate the revival of enthusiasm for the scheme that some had hoped for. Many people still claim not to understand the term “Big Society”, with critics continuing to suggest it’s little more than PR spin for budget cuts.

With the rise of faith-based organisations taking ownership of community services, and in light of Evan Harris’ warning about “proselytising on the public purse”, it’s clear that non-discriminatory, non-partisan, non-denominational and fair services are needed, both to support the more vulnerable members of the community, and to compensate for local council spending …

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , , and | 10 Comments
Mark Pack

Lords reform: the Liberal Democrat trio announced

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th June 2011 - 7:23 am

Over the weekend Mark Valladares blogged about the three Liberal Democrats being appointed to the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny committee on Lords reform:

From the Lords, representing the constitutional wonk tendency (in a good way), Lord Tyler is the first of the two nominees. Paul has been leading calls for a complete overhaul of the Second Chamber for a very long time and is one of the Party’s foremost constitutional experts…

From the Commons, that rather unusual beast, a former member of the House of Lords, John Thurso. As he has already been abolished once,

…

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

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #224

By The Voice | Sun 5th June 2011 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 224th 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 (29 May – 4 June), 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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Richard Clare

Opinion: Why you should be taking Lembit Opik seriously

By Richard Clare | Sun 5th June 2011 - 3:15 pm

It’s hard to raise the subject of Lembit Opik without somebody cracking a joke. He’s certainly not loved by our own party’s leadership and many see him as more of a celebrity than a politician. I can, however, name two other people who are hated by their party’s leadership and seem to be two parts celebrity, one part politician, and they’ve both held the position of Mayor of London.

Lembit has great recognition among people. My own unscientific polling leads me to believe that he isn’t far behind Ken and Boris in who knows who he is, which is quite a …

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Posted in London and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 63 Comments
Robert Hazell

The Independent View: Coalition Works! The inside story from the Constitution Unit

By Robert Hazell | Sun 5th June 2011 - 12:39 pm

The coalition is working well, but the Lib Dems could do better, is the overall message from the Constitution Unit’s first report on how the coalition works in Whitehall and Westminster. We are conducting a 12 month study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, with a research team of five, including two former senior civil servants, and one senior broadcaster. David Cameron and Nick Clegg have authorised access to all the key figures in Whitehall, and so far we have interviewed 90 ministers, special advisers, officials, parliamentarians, and external interest groups.

Everyone we interviewed in Whitehall says …

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Posted in The Independent View | Tagged , , , , , , , and | 7 Comments
The Voice

How you can help Liberal Democrat Voice

By The Voice | Sun 5th June 2011 - 10:53 am

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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Helen Duffett

Liberal Youth elects new Executive Committee

By Helen Duffett | Sat 4th June 2011 - 3:53 pm

This week Liberal Youth elected its Executive Committee for 2011-2012.

The new Executive Committee is as follows:

Chair: Tom Wood
Vice Chair: Charlotte Henry
Financial Officer: Chris Jenkinson
Campaigns Officer: Cath Smith and Chris Ward
Communications Officer: Bobby Dean
Events Officer: Thomas Hemsley
International Officer: Sam Fisk and Harriet Ainscough
Policy Officer: Sarah Harding
Non-Portfolio Officers: Robson Brown and Aidan Flood
England Convenor: Harry Matthews

The following have been elected for the Regions:

Regional Chairs:

  • North East: Hannah Claytor
  • North West: Neil Darby
  • East Midlands: Keiran Harley
  • West Midlands: Rory Roberson
  • South East: Jon Bates
  • South West: Dave Cope
  • Scottish

…

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 8 Comments
Merlene Emerson

Merlene Emerson writes: Reflections on Media Freedom in China

By Merlene Emerson | Sat 4th June 2011 - 1:23 pm

I am writing this on the 22nd anniversary of ‘Six Four’ (the codename for the Tian An Men incident that occurred on 4th of June 1989). Perhaps no better day to reflect on the subject of media censorship in China and to question the role of international broadcasters?

Only yesterday I was with some 200 people at a talk organised by BBC Chinese Service at Chatham House. To my amazement even the English panel speakers such as Dr Kerry Brown (Head of the Asia Programme at Chatham House), Madeline Earp (Research Associate at the Committee to Protect Journalists) and Prof Hugo de Burgh (Director, China Media Centre) all managed to deliver their speeches in Mandarin. Sadly no interpretations were provided at this over-subscribed event.

I attempt here to disseminate some of the content (Chatham House rules have officially been suspended).

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Nick T

Q&A with new Lib Dem AM William Powell

By Nick T | Sat 4th June 2011 - 12:55 pm

Over on the BBC website, William Powell, a newly elected member of the Welsh Assembly, has taken part in a Q&A to introduce some of the new AMs elected in May.

Here’s a sample:

Why stand for the assembly?To be a strong liberal voice for Mid and West Wales, including the old Liberal heartlands in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire

Most frustrating thing about your first week as an AM?Negotiating the maze of corridors in the assembly buildings – no prizes for my orienteering so far

What’s your poison?Whipping Tree Ale, best-selling ale from the Rotter’s micro-brewery in Talgarth

First record you bought?Max Boyce – Live at

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 1 Comment
The Voice

LDVideo: Preview of “Nicked – the Musical”

By The Voice | Sat 4th June 2011 - 11:59 am

As we reported in February:

A hip-hop musical based on Nick Clegg’s role in forming the Coalition government is to be staged later this year.

The show (working title: “Nicked”) also features David Cameron in a “rap-off” with his backbenchers as well as the student demonstrations and the run-up to the AV referendum.

Here’s a preview of one of the numbers: Tinderbox, featuring “Nick Clegg” and “David Cameron” singing about AV. (Don’t miss “Ed Miliband” beatboxing in the background.)

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Posted in YouTube | Tagged and | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

Headline tax rates: down and down

By Mark Pack | Sat 4th June 2011 - 9:54 am

Two graphs for your Saturday enlightenment:

Posted in Op-eds | 20 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 3 June 2011

By The Voice | Fri 3rd 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

  1. Opinion: The need for a radical manifesto (43 comments) by George Potter
  2. Lib Dems appoint three senior Campaigns heads (15 comments) by Helen Duffett
  3. Chris Huhne’s election expenses: once again, nothing to see here, move along (59 comments) by Mark Pack
  4. Better news for Chris Huhne; more bad news for Guido (15 comments) by Nick Thornsby
  5. What Guido Fawkes didn’t tell you about the Eastleigh meeting last night (38 comments) by Mark Pack

5 sample LDV Members’ Forum threads

  1. Election Expense Return Forms
  2. London Mayor candidates
  3. Birmingham Security Arrangements
  4. Cost of Living
  5. Radio 4 bumped off Freeview by Gaelic TV

5 from the LDV archive

(3rd June, 2006-10)

  1. What does the Deputy Prime Minister do? Nick Clegg’s new responsibilities (6 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2010
  2. Deputy leadership contest: Hughes “backed by more than 50% of Lib Dem MPs” (12 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2010
  3. Vince Cable tops popularity poll; Clegg ahead of Cameron (0 comments) by Helen Duffett, from 2010
  4. Who’s winning the expectations battle? (6 comments) by Stephen Tall, from 2009
  5. Official: Tory councils cost you more (6 comments) by The Voice, from 2009

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

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Nick T

The country’s youngest councillor talks about his new role

By Nick T | Fri 3rd June 2011 - 3:55 pm

May’s local elections witnessed the election of the country’s youngest councillor as a Liberal Democrat in Ashfield. Councillor Tom Hollis got involved with the party during Jason Zadrozny’s very nearly successful general election campaign last year and, by the sounds of things, worked extremely hard to get himself elected in May.

The Mansfield and Ashfield Chad has an interview with Tom over on their website – here’s an excerpt:

After joining the Lib Dems, Tom helped the party deliver leaflets before Coun Zadrozny put him forward as an election candidate.

Describing the gruelling campaign, Tom says: “I would get up at 5.30am

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Andrew Wiseman

Response: Chair of Federal Conference Committee on increased security measures

By Andrew Wiseman | Fri 3rd June 2011 - 12:53 pm

We have just announced arrangements for registering for our autumn conference, including some new security arrangements which will apply for the first time this year. Some concerns have been raised about them so I wanted to set out what exactly the new arrangements are, and why the Federal Conference Committee has decided that it is necessary this year to increase security – something that we have been very reluctant to do.

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Posted in Conference, Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | 153 Comments
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