Lord John Sharkey’s maiden speech

By John Sharkey | Fri 21st January 2011 - 2:47 pm

LDV has been bringing you the words of our new representatives as they speak for the first time in the Houses of Parliament. We bring you maiden speeches from new MPs and new members of the House of Lords. You can find an archive of all maiden speeches we’ve published by clicking this link. If you think we’ve missed someone, do please drop us a line.

Lord Sharkey: My Lords, it is a great privilege and a great honour to join your Lordships’ House. It has also been a great pleasure because of the immense kindness shown …

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
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Mark Pack

A small example of how Labour lost control of public expenditure

By Mark Pack | Fri 21st January 2011 - 12:55 pm

The admission by a senior civil servant that the Labour government had lost control of public expenditure in three departments shows how the example I gave in December was but part of a wider pattern:

A significant increase in the pay of some Returning Officers was quietly introduced by the then Labour government ahead of this year’s general election but no estimate was made as to what the costs would be … The government has admitted in response to a series of freedom of information requests that no trace can be found of any calculations being made as to

…

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Posted in News | 4 Comments
Ron Aitken

Opinion: Tunisia – forgotten backwater of French and US power now a basket case

By Ron Aitken | Fri 21st January 2011 - 11:36 am

Almost ten years ago the School of Oriental and African Studies, (SOAS) awarded me a small research grant to go to Tunisia with the aim of charting her growing relationship with the EU. Algeria, Morrocco, ultimately Libya joined an EU free trade deal to open markets and democratise instutions. Ten years on these initiatives have grossly failed in a hail of bloodshed and crack down. The countries of the Maghreb have been given the benefit of the doubt by France, the US and the UK because the Tunisian President Ben Ali – who took power in a coup d’etat in …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , and | 1 Comment

Tunisian Liberals excluded from country’s new political process

By Liberal International British Group | Fri 21st January 2011 - 11:08 am

The confused situation in Tunisia has seen a provisional government formed from which the country’s liberals, the Social Liberal Party, has been excluded. Only representatives of socialist groups and the former ruling party have been given places in the new government,

The Social Liberal Party is a member of Liberal International, which has protested at its exclusion and pointed out that a functioning democracy cannot be formed while all but one part of the political spectrum is omitted from the process. The party’s website is in Arabic only.

Liberal International’s responses can be seen here.

Ronald Meinardus, director of …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
Helen Duffett

ID cards to be scrapped at midnight tonight

By Helen Duffett | Fri 21st January 2011 - 10:31 am

From midnight tonight, ID cards may no longer be used to prove identity or to travel in Europe.

The documents are to be scrapped by the government under the Identity Documents Act 2010.

Tom Brake MP, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Policy Committee on Home Affairs, Justice and Equalities told Lib Dem Voice,

After yesterday’s annoucement of the cut from 28 to 14 days pre-charge detention, this is the second really big step in restoring the balance between civil liberties and security concerns.

This delivers yet another Lib Dem commitment in Government.

All personal information supplied during the process of applying for an …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 8 Comments
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Iain Roberts

Labour’s plan to scrap the EMA

By Iain Roberts | Fri 21st January 2011 - 10:25 am

For all of the noise Labour’s making about the EMA, you might not realise that it was their idea to scrap it. Before he was an ex shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson was Secretary of State for Education and in April 2007 he made it clear that Labour was planning to scrap the EMA.

An incentive scheme that rewards 16- to 18-year-olds for staying in education post-16 will be abolished when the leaving age is increased to 18.

The Secretary of State for Education said last week that education maintenance allowances (EMAs) would no longer be necessary when the age is

…

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Posted in News | 71 Comments
Mark Pack

Wanted: one party locksmith

By Mark Pack | Fri 21st January 2011 - 8:55 am

The Guardian‘s splash about the first meeting of the party’s newly elected Federal Executive makes for rather generous coverage of a completely unexceptional decision by the FE.

That the first meeting of the newly elected committee, faced with deciding what motion to put to the Spring Conferences, goes for saying that the party should fight the next general election as an independent party is about as unsurprising an outcome as you could expect. But if The Guardian wants to give heavy coverage to the Lib Dems and Conservatives not being one and the same, that’s not exactly the worst the …

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Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged | 10 Comments
Mark Pack

Detention without charge to be cut from 28-days to 14-days

By Mark Pack | Thu 20th January 2011 - 9:55 pm

It’s long been a Liberal Democrat demand, and it was in the party’s 2010 manifesto, so good news that detention without charge is set to fall back to 14-days. The current 28-days limit expires on Monday and today the government has confirmed that it will not be trying to renew the limit. The 28-day increase was brought in by the then Labour government in 2006.

The BBC adds:

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, who campaigned to reinstate the 14-day limit, said the move would speed up the justice system. “If the time frame is longer I’m afraid that there is less

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 17 Comments
Paul Walter

PMQs: Pot-shot Miliband, a hand grenade, and some calming poetry

By Paul Walter | Thu 20th January 2011 - 9:25 pm

Wow! A Liberal Democrat MP asked the first question at Prime Minister’s Questions this week.

Andrew George spoke in English, rather than Cornish – which he has been known to speak in the Commons chamber. (Well, all right then, it was only for his maiden speech, I grant you). Anyway, Andrew’s question implied some scepticism about the government’s NHS reform plans, saying it involved a “gamble” which might give “private companies the easy pickings”.

Ed Miliband picked up the PM on the disappointing unemployment figures, especially those for youths. He said they were caused by the government “cutting too far …

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Posted in PMQs | 10 Comments
Stephen Tall

Labour reshuffle: Ed Miliband unveils Continuity Gordon Brown Party

By Stephen Tall | Thu 20th January 2011 - 8:32 pm

The Lib Dem response to Ed Balls’ appointment as Labour’s shadow chancellor, replacing Alan Johnson, has been swift. Stephen Williams, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee, commented:

“I wish Alan Johnson good luck for the future.

“The decision to appoint Ed Balls as Shadow Chancellor shows that the Labour Party is now determined to carry on with the Gordon Brown economic plan that caused so much trouble for this country.

“Ed Balls isn’t just a deficit denier, he’s a deficit enthusiast.”

Alan Johnson resigned earlier today, citing “personal reasons to do with my family”. He had been under pressure in …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , , , , and | 36 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Labour Government ‘lost control of spending’

By NewsHound | Thu 20th January 2011 - 3:43 pm

Into the ongoing debate over whether Labour’s actions in Government contributed to the huge national debt and record deficit weighs Sir Nicholas Macpherson, Permanent Secretary to the Treasury.

As Sky News reports, Sir Nicholas identifies three departments – Defence, Health and Education, which struggled to keep control of their finances.

said spending at the Ministry of Defence under the last government was “lost control”, adding it had been put into “special measures” and ordered to report on a month-by-month basis on spending.

Sir Nicholas admitted the Department of Health and Department of Education had problems with their finances during

…

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Posted in LibLink | 15 Comments
Paul Walter

DPMQs: Nick Clegg looks forward to Mañana

By Paul Walter | Thu 20th January 2011 - 2:36 pm

The LDV Collective have asked me to add the monthly Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions to my radar screen. When these sessions started they seemed rather manufactured and unnecessary. However, they have evolved into an important part of the Commons’ calendar, covering a wide range of key issues. They are of interest especially for those of us in the Liberal Democrats who are interested in hearing what Nick Clegg has to say in his official capacity, under scrutiny from MPs, in a mercifully Flashman-free environment.

But this will never be like Prime Minister’s Question Time. The chamber is only about a …

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Posted in PMQs | Tagged , , , , and | 12 Comments
Mark Valladares

Everything you ever wanted to know about… Policy and the Parliamentary Party (part 1) – at the beginning was the word

By Mark Valladares | Thu 20th January 2011 - 1:47 pm

A fortnight ago, the question was put to me, “How do you influence the Parliamentary Party?” At the time, I indicated that this was a very complex question – normally shorthand for “You don’t think that I’m going to touch that with a bargepole, do you?”. But not this time… So, how do Liberal Democrats make policy?

The sovereign policy-making body of the Party is the Federal Conference, and policy motions can be submitted by State Parties (England, Scotland and Wales), the regional parties in England, local parties, Specified Associated Organisations (e.g. Liberal Youth), any ten conference representatives or the Federal …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | 7 Comments
Mark Pack

New Lib Dem councillor representatives elected for party committees

By Mark Pack | Thu 20th January 2011 - 12:50 pm

Via the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors (ALDC) comes the news:

Elections have taken place to elect the principal councillor representative on two Federal Party Committees for 2011-2012:

On the Federal Executive Committee the following have been elected:

Cllr Stan Collins (South Lakeland DC and Cumbria CC)
Cllr Keith House (Eastleigh BC and Hampshire CC)

On the Federal Policy Committee the following have been elected:

Cllr Louise Bloom (Eastleigh BC)
Cllr Stan Collins (South Lakeland DC and Cumbria CC)
Cllr Chris White (St Albans CC and Hertfordshire CC)

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged and | Leave a comment
Iain Roberts

Crime down again…and still we’re unclear why

By Iain Roberts | Thu 20th January 2011 - 12:29 pm

Crime was down again in the year to September 2010.

Recorded crime shows falls across the board, with the exception of sexual offences which are up slightly.   As ever, changes in recorded crime can be affected by changes in definitions, by the way the police do the recording or by the willingness of victims to come forward, but there are no major shift in any of those which would lead us to think it isn’t a real change.  (In some previous years there have been quite significant changes, some of which have made crime look higher than it really was).

The

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

Paul Burstow writes… A few facts about the NHS

By Paul Burstow | Thu 20th January 2011 - 10:25 am

The greatest enemy of truth is not the lie but the myth. This could have been written with our health proposals in mind. Let me start with the myth that our plans are ‘revolutionary’. The ‘revolutionary’ label embodies neatly what many people wrongly envisage to be untried and untested changes to the NHS. Swamped by all the myth, misunderstanding and mistruths, the facts have struggled to get heard. So let me give you a few of the facts.

Under the previous Labour Government healthcare spending increased significantly. But where Britain spent big, other countries spent better. That is why Britain has …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 127 Comments
Mark Pack

I hope this isn’t what Labour means by sensible debate over Parliamentary boundaries

By Mark Pack | Thu 20th January 2011 - 8:55 am

We’ve heard a lot in recent weeks about how keen the Labour Party is to have sensible debate, careful consideration and proper analysis of the government’s proposals to change the way Parliamentary boundaries are drawn up.

So if you were to take a look at an article just written for a Labour pressure group by a current MP (i.e. one who has been in Parliament whilst the legislation has had all its House of Commons stages) and member of the Labour Party, and published by a Labour pressure group, you’d expect it perhaps to contribute to that serious debate. Or at …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 25 Comments
Mark Pack

Michael Gove encourages people to vote Liberal Democrat

By Mark Pack | Thu 20th January 2011 - 8:20 am

From yesterday’s Hansard:

Michael Gove: … In Liberal Democrat-controlled Hull, any student in receipt of education maintenance allowance also receives a travel grant to cope with the full cost—

Mr David Blunkett (Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough) (Lab): They won’t now.

Michael Gove: I suspect they won’t if a Labour council takes power, but if people are wise enough to vote Liberal Democrat at the next local election in Hull——or for the Conservatives in any seat where we are well placed to defeat Labour, they will have a council that is fulfilling its statutory duty.

Posted in News | Tagged , and | 29 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: David Laws on the government’s economic policies

By NewsHound | Wed 19th January 2011 - 10:43 pm

Over in The Guardian, David Laws yesterday has this piece:

Of all the challenges which confront the coalition in 2011, none is more important than the economy. This is also the issue where the biggest political dividing lines are drawn. Ed Miliband is betting that economic recovery will be derailed, and while trying to reconcile many divergent views in his party, he has generally taken the position that cuts should be delayed and that high tax rates (including the 50% tax rate) should be retained. Ed is getting all the big economic decisions wrong, and leading his party into an economic

…

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Posted in LibLink | Tagged and | 19 Comments
Helen Duffett

Chris Wiggin not seeking Lib Dem nomination for Barnsley Central by-election

By Helen Duffett | Wed 19th January 2011 - 7:29 pm

Liberal Democrat campaigner Chris Wiggin has announced that he will not seek the party’s nomination for the forthcoming parliamentary by-election in Barnsley Central, to be triggered shortly by the announced resignation of the sitting MP Eric Illsley.

Chris, who stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Barnsley Central in the May 2010 General Election and came second with 6,394 votes, indicated that he will concentrate his efforts on standing in Heslington ward in this year’s City of York Council elections.

Chris said:

It was an honour standing for Parliament last year in Barnsley Central for the first time. I was

…

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged , and | 21 Comments
Alex Feakes

Opinion: Early years intervention is a smart move

By Alex Feakes | Wed 19th January 2011 - 3:44 pm

It’s unusual for my morning radio alarm to bring me to wakefulness quite so abruptly as it did today with the coverage of MP Graham Allen’s report on giving disadvantaged children the best start in life. Something so important being given leading coverage is good news.

Although it probably isn’t news to most working the sector, nor many Liberal Democrats I suspect, it is very welcome that high-profile, cross party attention is now being given to idea that early intervention to improve social and emotional development will yield great dividends for
the child and society later in its life.

The report …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 15 Comments
Jason Mehmet

Opinion: social media priorities

By Jason Mehmet | Wed 19th January 2011 - 2:06 pm

The last article I wrote conjoured up a utopian vision of Liberal Democrat e-campaigning. However, it might not be a realistic aim for individuals or groups who lack social media expertise, or time, to develop a fully fledged social media presence. How, then, should Liberal Democrats prioritise the different elements of social media?

The first choice is an absolute no-brainer. If you do nothing else, start a Facebook page. Don’t mistake a Facebook ‘group’ for a Facebook ‘page’. Though they share some features, they are different beasts. A local Party group should have an ‘official’ Facebook page. Individuals may …

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Posted in Online politics and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

Welsh local government boundaries to remain the same until after 2012 elections

By Mark Pack | Wed 19th January 2011 - 12:25 pm

A press release from the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales explains,

The Minister for Social Justice and Local Government has announced that he will not be making any changes to the present electoral arrangements for any local authorities in Wales until after the 2012 local government elections.

However, despite this the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales is pressing ahead with some of its boundary reviews, with draft proposals for County Borough of Caerphilly published on Monday and feedback requested by 22 March. The reviews for Wrexham are also continuing, but those for Swansea are on hold after their proposals …

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Posted in Election law, News and Wales | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Mark Pack

Internet and politics: how it worked back in 2003

By Mark Pack | Wed 19th January 2011 - 10:25 am

A quick trip down memory lane for some historical perspective on the impact of the internet on political campaigning with this piece that I wrote for an academic email newsletter (the Political Marketing Group Newsletter) after the 2003 Brent East by-election. The lessons still look extremely relevant – making the point that principles of good campaigning and communication last as individual technologies, programs and companies come and go.

Winning Brent East: did the internet matter?

When Sarah Teather won the Brent East Parliamentary seat for the Liberal Democrats in the by-election on September 18th 2003, it was one of the party’s most …

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Posted in Online politics | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

“Gay couple win bed and breakfast snub case”

By Mark Pack | Wed 19th January 2011 - 8:55 am

So reports the Press Association:

Christian hotel owners who refused a gay couple a double room acted unlawfully, a judge ruled .

Peter and Hazelmary Bull were breaking the law when they denied Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy a room at their hotel in Cornwall in September 2008.

Judge Andrew Rutherford made the ruling in a written judgment at Bristol County Court as he awarded the couple £1,800 each in damages.

Posted in News | 24 Comments
Stephen Tall

Helen Duffett appointed Internal Communications Manager for Lib Dems

By Stephen Tall | Tue 18th January 2011 - 9:58 pm

Helen Duffett — Lib Dem blogger, tweeter, and much-loved member of Lib Dem Voice’s editorial collective — started today as the party’s new Internal Communications Manager. All of us at the Voice wish her the very best in this vital role.

We are delighted that Helen has agreed to continue to fulfil the role of contributing editor, and look forward to her remaining a full member of the team here at LDV Towers.

Posted in Site news | 18 Comments
Mark Pack

Votes for (some) prisoners to get a vote in Parliament

By Mark Pack | Tue 18th January 2011 - 8:34 pm

The BBC’s Nick Robinson reports:

David Davis and Jack Straw have got their way. The Commons will get the chance to vote – probably in the middle of February – for a motion to defy the European Court of Human Rights on prisoner voting…

The prime minister welcomes the plan for the Commons to hold a debate on whether prisoners should be given the vote as demanded by the European Court of Human Rights and believes that it “could be helpful”, I’m told. David Cameron is said to want as few prisoners as possible to be given the vote and is still

…

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Posted in Election law and News | Tagged , and | 9 Comments
Sara Bedford

Labour bullies journalists to follow party spin

By Sara Bedford | Tue 18th January 2011 - 2:30 pm

Last month, Ed Miliband banned his MPs from using the word “coalition” to describe the government, hoping that the phrase “Conservative-led government” would diminish the role of the Liberal Democrats within the coalition and help to tease away Lib Dem voters.

Now it seems Labour would like to see journalists whipped into line. According to Joe Murphy at the Evening Standard, Miliband’s newly-appointed Director of Strategy and Communications Tom Baldwin instructed the BBC, ITV and Sky that they should stop using the word “coalition” and use the phrase “Tory-led government” instead.

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 46 Comments
Mark Pack

It’s almost as if Tim Farron reads this site…

By Mark Pack | Tue 18th January 2011 - 1:50 pm

No doubt this is at least in part coincidence, but compare my comments on what party emails should be more like with the latest from Tim Farron and you’d think someone has been reading this site…

As you read this email Labour peers are using every trick in the book to try and block a referendum on fairer votes.

In the Liberal Democrats we believe that the New Politics should be embraced by all parties. That is why I’m asking you to join me today in bringing pressure to bear on Ed Milliband and his Labour peers to live up to

…

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Posted in News and Online politics | Tagged , and | 32 Comments
Prateek Buch

Opinion: the capabilities of ‘Alarm Clock Britain’

By Prateek Buch | Tue 18th January 2011 - 11:41 am

The more observant amongst you will recall a very similar headline to the one above, under which was an excellent article by Johnny LeVan Gilroy discussing Nick Clegg’s appeal to ‘Alarm Clock Britain.’

Although I found Johnny’s post really interesting, I must admit to feeling a twinge of disappointment – not at the vital discussion of the party’s positioning, but that the word ‘capabilities’ in Johnny’s title referred to those of our party, and not to those of the residents (constituents? stakeholders? members?) of Nick’s new target demographic.

My lament isn’t meant as a criticism of Johnny’s article, nor …

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