Liberal Democrat Voice

Opinion: Planet Earth to Grayson

By Richard Kemp | Tue 14th December 2010 - 10:11 am

Oh Dear, oh dear. I have just read Richard Grayson’s Observer article and to say it is lacking in reflection and analysis is an understatement.

I touched on this on my own blog site yesterday but perhaps I could expand a little.

Ed Milliband was a supporter then a member of a highly illiberal government. Let’s not forget how bad the Labour Government was when it:

Entered into an illegal war in Iraq
Allowed the banking crisis to fester in spite of warnings
Developed expensive bureaucracies to deal with problems
Allowed the social housing stock to decrease by 37,500 in their time in government
Attacked

…

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged ed miliband and lga | 62 Comments

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Improving schools systems: the international lessons

By Mark Pack | Tue 14th December 2010 - 8:55 am

How does a poor school system become good or a good school system become excellent? Those are the questions asked in a recently published McKinsey review of twenty school systems around the world, including both developed and developing countries.

In school systems where there have been significant improvements in performance, McKinsey found that these were often achieved in six years or less from the start of the changes. In other words it is possible for a government to bring about improvements in time for the public to see the benefits before the next election. However, continuity amongst key educational officials (including politicians) is frequently beneficial, with improving systems usually having their educational leaders in place for long periods of time.

Many of those improvements were, according to the McKinsey analysis, brought about without significant changes in the structure of education systems or in the resources put in.

Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged education, McKinsey, michael gove and schools | 7 Comments

Localism and council funding: today’s announcements

By Mark Pack | Mon 13th December 2010 - 6:21 pm

Two big pieces of local government news today – more powers and less money.

On the more powers front, here are some of the highlights from the Localism Bill:

A General Power of Competence for Councils – in other words, councils will in future be able to do what they think is right for their area, rather than only be able to take action in areas laid down by central government
Letting councils return to the Committee System if they wish, and introducing the option for more Directly Elected Mayors
Abolition of the Standards Board
Giving local people the power to veto “excessive” council tax increases
Devolve

…

Posted in Local government and News | Tagged andrew stunell and localism bill | 30 Comments

Tim Farron: Why would any sane progressive give Labour a second glance?

By Helen Duffett | Mon 13th December 2010 - 5:09 pm

Today Labour leader Ed Miliband made a pitch for disaffected Lib Dem members at his first monthly press conference as Leader of the Opposition, saying,

…Today I want to make an offer to Liberal Democrats: To those who are reluctant to abandon ship, but are concerned at the direction of their party, I invite them to work with us on issues of common interest.

Commenting on Mr Miliband’s ‘offer’ of policy input, Liberal Democrat President-elect Tim Farron said:

Labour have just spent 13 years sucking up to Rupert Murdoch and George Bush – why would any sane progressive even give them

…

Posted in News | Tagged ed miliband, john major and tim farron | 62 Comments

Opinion: A refreshing exercise in transparency

By Paul Walter | Mon 13th December 2010 - 4:19 pm

A couple of years ago I made a complaint about my MP, Richard Benyon. I feel a shiver of guilt even writing the word “complaint” now. I suppose I am very English about complaints. I don’t like making a fuss. I have bumped into Richard off and on since 1992 and always found him to be “a nice enough cove”, as P.G. Wodehouse might put it. Making a “complaint” about such a harmless fellow just didn’t seem British. But occasionally I feel I must put pen to paper, as I did in this case.

What I thought were political comments …

Posted in Op-eds and Parliament | Tagged newbury, parliamentary communications allowance, paul walter and richard benyon | 5 Comments

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On the doorstep in Oldham East & Saddleworth

By Chris Fox | Mon 13th December 2010 - 1:43 pm

Dear fellow Lib Dems,

It’s two weekends before Christmas and I’m writing this from the Campaign HQ in Oldham East and Saddleworth.

There’s a really good atmosphere here – the place is buzzing with people, and I’ve just unveiled the official campaign Christmas tree!

I’ve just come back from canvassing with Tom Brake MP and a team of people who’ve travelled up from London for the day to volunteer to help. We’ve had a (very nice and very quick!) Christmas lunch and then …

Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged oldham east and saddleworth | 6 Comments

Opinion: Let’s enjoy being in government

By Rob Blackie | Mon 13th December 2010 - 11:43 am

I joined the party in 1991. Like most readers I didn’t join the party out of a mad lust for power or a desire to do well in the opinion polls. I just wanted to make the world a fairer and freer placer. And I quickly learnt that it is very difficult to win elections as a Lib Dem.

But I’m surprised at how little credit we are giving ourselves for our achievements in government. Even the Observer, in the midst of a mainly negative editorial on the Lib Dems yesterday, admits that in six months we have achieved:

raising the

…

Posted in News | 48 Comments

Register for conference – deadline approaching

By The Voice | Mon 13th December 2010 - 10:39 am

Just a quick note to remind party members intending to come to Lib Dem conferences in 2011 that the first deadline is fast approaching.

The cheapest registration is early joint registration for both conferences.

The deadline for getting the lowest possible price is 5.30pm on 16th December, so not much time remaining.

You can register for conference here.

Posted in Conference | Leave a comment

The verdict of Liberal Democrat voters so far

By Mark Pack | Mon 13th December 2010 - 8:55 am

“What annoyed me most was that they had intelligent policies and were not dogmatic, so I thought ‘how could you possibly go into coalition with the Tories?'”

That quote, from a voter in a Liberal Democrat held seat, neatly summarises a view that is both held passionately by many Liberal Democrat voters but also irritates many Liberal Democrat members – for the obvious riposte is, “How can you both say we shouldn’t be dogmatic and also insist we rule out one party regardless of circumstances?”

It comes from a set of focus groups commissioned by Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft, along with two opinion …

Posted in Polls | Tagged lord ashcroft | 23 Comments

Parliament starts publishing details of rulings on MPs

By Mark Pack | Sun 12th December 2010 - 7:55 pm

A small step-forward for accountability – the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standard’s recommendation from before the election for the details of his rulings to be published online has recently been implemented, along with a couple of years of archives. You can now read the rulings here.

Posted in News and Parliament | 2 Comments

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #199

By Helen Duffett | Sun 12th December 2010 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 199th 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 (5 -11 December, 2010), 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:

Posted in Best of the blogs | 2 Comments

What Jo Grimond wrote…

By Mark Pack | Sun 12th December 2010 - 11:50 am

Jo Grimond, the former Liberal Party leader who famously promised to lead the party towards the sound of gunfire, wrote the following back in 1979 – yet it echoes many contemporary themes:

“Looking around London it is uglier, dirtier, more expensively and more incompetently run than it was ten years ago. Many of the people in the Underground railway look like refugees from a prison camp. The standard of life may be statistically rising but it is difficult to discern greater well-being in either the homes or faces of most people. A certain mulish worry seems a prevalent expression. Yet their …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged jo grimond | 27 Comments

So, what did Chris Huhne achieve in Cancun?

By Mark Pack | Sun 12th December 2010 - 8:55 am

After the hype and disappointment over Copenhagen, the climate change talks in Cancun were also going to be much lower profile – a gentle attempt to have some successful preparatory work and build up momentum ahead of the next round of talks. However, with the tuition fees vote this week, Chris Huhne’s presence at the talks got rather more publicity than usual. But what actually happened at the talks?

Posted in News | Tagged chris huhne and climate change | 16 Comments

Is there no end to this outbreak of health and safety sanity?

By Mark Pack | Sat 11th December 2010 - 3:50 pm

The stories about legal accuracy and common sense when it comes to snow clearing just keep on breaking out this year:

CLAIMS that ‘elf and safety’ rules mean you could be sued if someone slips on the pavement after you have cleared it of snow have been dismissed by Taunton-based lawyers. (Somerset County Gazette)

and

Alex Salmond urged people to clear snow and ice outside their homes. He said: “There is no truth whatsoever that there is any risk of being sued if you clear the pavement outside your premises or house. (Daily Record)

Both of which follow the outbreak a few days ago …

Posted in News | Tagged snow | 6 Comments

The Independent View: Advice for the Lib Dems – be strong, but also be selfish

By Jason O'Mahony | Sat 11th December 2010 - 2:20 pm

Watching the Liberal Democrat angst over tuition fees takes me back to 1989, when I was a young, considerably trimmer and clean shaven young Progressive Democrat activist. There had just been an Irish general election, and we had been devastated, dropping from 14 seats to just 6, which in Westminster terms would be like dropping from 50 odd seats to the early twenties, so you can imagine the howls of anguish. But that wasn’t even the worst bit: we were now faced with the nightmare scenario of entering coalition with Charles Haughey’s Fianna Fail, which in British terms was like …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged david cameron, nick clegg, progressive democrats and republic of ireland | 36 Comments

Mick Bates AM convicted of public order offences

By Helen Duffett | Sat 11th December 2010 - 1:18 pm

Welsh Assembly Member Mick Bates was yesterday convicted of three counts of assault and three public order breaches following an incident earlier this year.

BBC News reports:

The AM for Montgomeryshire, Mick Bates, has apologised to NHS staff after being found guilty of public order offences and common assault.

Cardiff Magistrates Court heard he was abusive to paramedics and hospital staff, after injuring his head during a night out in the city.

Bates was ordered to pay a total of £5,490 pounds in fines, costs and compensation.

He says he will remain an independent AM for Montgomeryshire until he retires.

Welsh Liberal …

Posted in Wales | Tagged mick bates | 10 Comments

Five of the best political adverts: here’s the full list

By Mark Pack | Sat 11th December 2010 - 10:25 am

During this week, we’ve run a series of posts on five of the best political adverts. If you’ve missed any part of the list, here it is in full along with links to the ads and posts:

Labour isn’t working: the 1979 classic which redefined political advertising in the UK
Daisy Girl: probably the most famous US political TV advert
It’s Time: part of one of the most dramatic election results in Australian history
Britain deserves better: New Labour at their peak
Labour’s Tax Bombshell: or how to win despite a recession

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged political ads | Leave a comment

The Saturday debate: Should federal committees be elected by all party members?

By Mark Pack | Sat 11th December 2010 - 8:55 am

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

Key party committees such as the Federal Executive and the Federal Policy Committee have a large block of members elected in a postal ballot every two years by the party’s federal conference representatives.* These directly elected members sit alongside committee members such as MPs elected by the Parliamentary Party in the Commons.

The arguments in favour of having federal conference representatives rather than party members as the electorate have tended to focus on practicality (the cost would be much higher to have all …

Posted in Op-eds and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged weekend debate | 25 Comments

Christmas is coming early to the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election campaign!

By Cath Smith | Fri 10th December 2010 - 5:40 pm

The campaign managers have just appointed me the official ‘Head of Christmas’ for the campaign and I wanted to let you know how you can join in the Christmas fun.

The campaign is already in full swing, but we need your help now. You can find the HQ at http://www.ElwynWatkins.co.uk/pages/help-us-win.html.

If you join the campaign this weekend, on Sunday you can join us for Christmas Dinner and the unveiling of our campaign Christmas Tree. Bring a decoration and help us to get the campaign in the …

Posted in Parliamentary by-elections | 14 Comments

The LDV Friday Five: 10 December 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 10th December 2010 - 5:00 pm

It’s Friday. It’s five o’clock. Here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week:

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

Posted in Friday Five | 1 Comment

Political Innovation no8: The broadening inkblot: Self-improvement for people who read newspapers (and blogs…)

By Miljenko Williams | Fri 10th December 2010 - 11:25 am

This is a cross post from Miljenko Williams who blogs at 21st Century Fix. It was originally posted on the Political Innovation site here.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a regular lurker around the blogosphere and the longer, cleverer articles on media websites. You may even go further than that and comment occasionally, “Digg”, share or “like” postings on Facebook. And if you’re very clever with your RSS reader, you may have found a way of getting some of the better quality content to come to you …

Posted in The Independent View | Tagged last.fm | 3 Comments

The Met Police have an unusual problem

By Mark Pack | Fri 10th December 2010 - 10:25 am

I suspect there are many parts of the public sector which wished they had this problem:

Underspending continues to be an issue in the management of the capital programme, although unused funds can often be carried forward through reserves to support projects at a future date.

Part of the issue is large projects slipping, with the Met’s response to this being:

Agreeing an ‘opening’ programme in excess of available funding in the year.

This happens on a noticeable scale:

The MPA Finance & Resources Committee agreed a revised Capital Programme budget on 15th July 2010 at £276.3m for 2010/11 following the first quarter review. This

…

Posted in London | Tagged metropolitan police authority and policing | 6 Comments

Five of the best political adverts: Labour’s Tax Bombshell

By Mark Pack | Fri 10th December 2010 - 9:25 am

This week we’re running a series featuring five of the most effective political adverts. Today the series finishes with the Conservative 1992 classic:

Labour’s margin of victory in 1997 was so great that it would have almost certainly won even if it had run an appalling set of adverts rather than ones of the quality of yesterday’s party political broadcast.

However, Labour’s defeat in the previous 1992 election had a lot to do with the way the Conservatives expertly attacked Labour’s economic policies via advertising, raising fears of a tax bombshell that would hit ordinary people.

As with the Australian Labor Party’s …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged political ads | Leave a comment

Opinion: Richard Huzzey – “I resign”

By Richard Huzzey | Thu 9th December 2010 - 7:30 pm

Vince Cable and Nick Clegg have pursued a strategy that has resembled a poorly-scripted comedy as much as a bitter tragedy in the past month.

This week we have reached the final act of a farcical and disastrous process whereby Liberal Democrat MPs have squirmed to escape an explicit pledge and desperately tried to equate their promise to the level of a policy aspiration.

By now all readers know the argument that a pledge is more than policy and the arguments why more help for part-timers does not balance out the damage of full marketization of fees. So, instead of repeating them, …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged higher education, julian huppert, tim farron, tuition fees and universities | 226 Comments

Tuition fees: How Liberal Democrat MPs voted

By Helen Duffett | Thu 9th December 2010 - 7:19 pm

21 Lib Dem MPs voted against:

Annette Brooke (Dorset Mid & Poole North) Annette gives her reasons here.

Sir Menzies Campbell (Fife North East)

Michael Crockart (Edinburgh West)

Tim Farron (Westmorland & Lonsdale)

Andrew George (St Ives) See Andrew’s Tuition Fees Statement.

Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South)

Julian Huppert (Cambridge) See Julian’s website.

Charles Kennedy (Ross, Skye & Lochaber)

John Leech (Manchester Withington) John’s tuition fees speech in full.

Stephen Lloyd (Eastbourne) Stephen spoke exclusively to the Eastbourne Herald.

Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) See Greg’s article in the Daily Mirror.

John Pugh (Southport) John spoke to the Liverpool Echo.

Alan Reid (Argyll & Bute)

Dan Rogerson (Cornwall

…

Posted in Parliament | Tagged higher education, tuition fees and universities | 79 Comments

+++ Tuition fees passes 323 vs 302

By NewsHound | Thu 9th December 2010 - 5:44 pm

Ayes to the right 323, Noes to the left 302. The Ayes have it, the Ayes have it.

A very tight vote. Passes by more than the Lib Dem payroll vote of 18 but not by much.

Names either way will be available when Hansard prints them.

EDIT 1 – payroll vote diminished by 2 resigning PPSes, Jenny Willott and Mike Crockart, and of course Chris Huhne’s absence in Cancún.

Also one Conservative PPS.

EDIT 2 – Evan Harris of course is no longer an MP but had a piece for The Guardian today explaining why he would have voted against, but also giving …

Posted in Parliament | Tagged higher education, tuition fees and universities | 71 Comments

Telegraph turns on NUS over fees

By Alex Foster | Thu 9th December 2010 - 3:41 pm

Today’s Telegraph reports that the NUS would prefer to remove almost all of the hardship grants than charge higher fees.

The Daily Telegraph has seen emails from Mr Porter and his team in which the NUS leadership urged ministers to cut grants and loans as an alternative to raising tuition fees.

In private talks in October, the NUS tried to persuade ministers at the Department for Business to enact their planned 15 per cent cut in higher education funding without lifting the cap on fees.

I’m not sure this is anything other than an exercise in the dark arts on the day …

Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged aaron porter, caron lindsay, higher education, millennium dome, millennium elephant, nus, tuition fees and universities | 16 Comments

Could YOU be a Conference steward?

By Mike Ross | Thu 9th December 2010 - 2:17 pm

Conference is one of the highlights of the year for many Lib Dems, providing an opportunity to gather with fellow members, debate policy, attend training and of course network at the bar!

Have you ever considered, though, volunteering to help with making sure Conference all goes to plan? There is a small, but dedicated, team of Conference stewards, without whom Conference could not operate. They are always looking for new members, and this is an appeal to …

Posted in Conference | 5 Comments

Fairer votes referendum: it needs to be about the voting system, not the government

By Mark Pack | Thu 9th December 2010 - 12:54 pm

Contrasting poll results from YouGov and ICM on the AV referendum show how important it is avoid the referendum becoming a vote for or against the government rather than about the merits of the alternative vote compared to first past the post.

An ICM poll has found the Yes camp leading by 35% – 22% (with the balance don’t know or wouldn’t vote), which compares to a 35% – 41% deficit on the latest YouGov poll.

However, there is an important difference between the wording of the two polling questions, with YouGov’s question starting, “The Conservative-Liberal Democrat government are committed …

Posted in News | Tagged av referendum, ed miliband, electoral reform, featured, icm and yougov | 24 Comments

Chris White writes: silencing the whistleblowers

By Chris White | Thu 9th December 2010 - 11:29 am

Hertfordshire County Council has just received a £100,000 fine for breaching the Data Protection Act. The charge sheet as published by the Information Commissioner is serious.

The council had faxed confidential details about a child abuse cases to the wrong number that of a private individual (P). On the day the Information Commissioner’s staff were at the council persuading them to change their practices to prevent further breaches, another fax, containing confidential and sensitive details of care proceedings, was wrongly sent to a set of lawyers’ chambers.

The Information Commissioner clearly wanted to make an example of the council, …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged data protection, information commissioner, whistleblower and whistleblowers | 3 Comments

Op-eds

Britain should be proud, but never afraid of the stranger (Anton Georgiou)
Where is that ‘Yesss’ moment going to come from? (Chris Bowers)
Mathew on Monday (Mathew Hulbert)
You can’t elect a Community Champion without a community (Elin Kingston)
Words matter, use them carefully! (Leon Duveen)

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Lib Dem Women: Amplifying women’s voices at Conference

Christine Jardine to stand down as MP at next election

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