Stephen Tall

+++ Ed Miliband elected new Labour leader: loses on members and MPs, wins big among unions

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 5:00 pm

It’s official. Ed Miliband has just been announced Labour’s new leader by the narowest of margins, 50.4% to brother David’s 49.6%. But what’s most fascinating is to see the final breakdown of votes after the re-distribution of preference votes:

  • Among party members… David Miliband won 54% to 46%;
  • Among MPs/MEPs… David Miliband won 53% to 47%;
  • Among trade unions… Ed Miliband won 60% to 40%.

So that narrowest of wins is down to the trade unions delivering their bloc vote to Ed. I imagine they will expect him to be duly grateful. That’s not a good thing for …

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Stephen Tall

Three key issues facing the new Labour leader, Mr Miliband

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 3:35 pm

In an hour’s time we shall know who is the new leader of the Labour party. Though the bookies now make Ed Miliband favourite, my hunch is that older brother David will get the nod, just. We shall soon see. The best guide I’ve read on what to look out for as the votes are announced is over at Next Left; Adam Boulton’s blog also has a good guide to the nuts and bolts of what happens when.

But whichever of the Milibands wins through, here are three issues they will need urgently to address heading into the party’s …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 3 Comments
Kelly-Marie Blundell

Lib Dem Coalition IRL

By Kelly-Marie Blundell | Sat 25th September 2010 - 2:16 pm

Since the election it has seemed to me that the Liberal Democrats have been somewhat flagging. The exhaustion of the general election and Clegg Mania, the immediate return of Labour Squeeze in mainstream media and the relentless coalition debate have collectively reduced the Lib Dem enthusiasts.

However, there is nothing like a good Conference to cheer us all up.

This was the first conference I attended alone, but with much awaited enthusiasm due to growing Twitter feeds and Facebook friends.

The conference alone is a daunting and tremendous undertaking to the uninitiated. You are catapulted into fleeting and incredibly intimate friendships with people you may never contact again. Collecting business cards, advising, persuading, debating and challenging on every level.

Flipping from policy motion to speech, from fringe to training, it is a whirlwind of faces you may or may not recognise from those squares of modernity who tweet or chat or debate with alarming ease.

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Posted in Conference | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Duwayne Brooks to challenge Lembit Opik for London Mayor

By Mark Pack | Sat 25th September 2010 - 2:16 pm

In the London Mayor selection contest, Lewisham councillor Duwayne Brooks has just publicly thrown his hat in the ring. More information on his Facebook page.

The other declared candidate so far is Lembit Opik, who also has his own Facebook page. The number of fans for that latter page has been growing slowly but now there is a direct competitor to judge it against. So far, Lembit is ahead though Duwayne’s page has only very recently appeared.

Posted in London | Tagged and | 16 Comments
Andrew Reeves

Nicol Stephen to stand down in May

By Andrew Reeves | Sat 25th September 2010 - 1:27 pm

Nicol Stephen MSP has announced he is standing down after nearly three decades in public life, first being elected a councillor, then an MP and latterly an MSP for Aberdeen South.

This isn’t the first time that Nicol has taken the Scottish political world by surprise with an unexpected announcement – just over two years ago he stood down as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats deciding to put his family first. Nicol and his wife Caris have four children – Macleod, 15, Mirrhyn, 13, Mharni, 9, and Drummond, 6.

I recall the day really well and my phone was buzzing …

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Stephen Tall

LDVideo conference edition (3): Hughes, Huhne, Alexander and Browne

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 12:45 pm

Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

(Please note, as these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

Is Simon Hughes on the political left or right?

Chris Huhne’s ‘green deal to offset budget cuts’

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Helen Duffett

John Leech MP: The door is not shut on Labour

By Helen Duffett | Sat 25th September 2010 - 11:33 am

Manchester Withington MP John Leech is due to speak at a Fabian Society fringe event at the Labour Party conference on Monday.

Titled “Is the Lib/Lab coalition Gone Forever?”, the event will also feature former Lib Dem MP Evan Harris, Labour Mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone and former Labour cabinet minister David Blunkett.

According to the Press Association, John Leech has said,

The door is not shut on the Liberal Democrat and Labour parties working together.

Labour need to re-think the mistakes they made over the last 13 years and get out of this immature opposition mentality that they appear to be so

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , , and | 16 Comments
The Voice

+++ EXCLUSIVE: The MEP, the erotic award, the picture

By The Voice | Sat 25th September 2010 - 10:14 am

Lib Dem Voice is proud to have the first picture of North West MEP Chris Davies and his flying golden penis.

Davies won the trophy when he was named as Politician of the Year at the Erotic Awards 2010, for his work to give sex workers a voice at last year’s party conference and defending them from the prohibitionist policies of the previous government.

The award, proudly on show in Chris’s Stockport office, was previously held by another Lib Dem, Baroness Miller, and could be found in the office Sue Miller shared with Lord Lee of Trafford and Lib Dem party

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 22 Comments
Mark Pack

Labour’s Tower Hamlets selection nightmare

By Mark Pack | Sat 25th September 2010 - 8:57 am

You select a candidate in a keenly contested election.

You then receive complaints about how the contest was run.

So you suspend the candidate and, er…, don’t rush through an investigation or recount the votes to find a new winner or put the runner-up in post but instead your national committee hands the candidature to someone else, without members getting a say in the matter.

Oh, and the original winner decides to stand anyway, but as an independent.

Welcome to the tale of Labour’s Mayoral selection in Tower Hamlets, as told over on Dave Hill’s blog.

The Liberal Democrat candidate is John Griffiths, who you …

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Helen Duffett

The LDV Saturday Six: 25 September 2010

By Helen Duffett | Sat 25th September 2010 - 6:00 am

It’s Saturday, so here’s a smattering of lists that sum up the past week on Liberal Democrat Voice:
(No Friday Five yesterday, to make way for Linda Jack’s superbly guest-edited day)

6 most-read stories on LDV this week

1. What did you make of Nick Clegg’s conference speech? (97 comments) by Stephen Tall
2. Just how daft does David Miliband think Liberal Democrats are? (13 comments) by Mark Pack
3. Opinion: Evan Harris’s major error (39 comments) by Andy Mayer
4. What did you make of Vince Cable’s speech? (65 comments) by Stephen Tall
5. LDVideo conference edition (1): Nick Clegg special (0 comments) by Stephen Tall
6. Nick Clegg writes on welfare in the Times (90 comments) by Iain Roberts

6 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

1. Who should be Lib Dem president? Susan, Jennie or Tim?
2. Ed Milliband
3. Nick Clegg: There is no future for us as a party of the left
4. What next after PagePlus 11?
5. Circumcision
6. Tax evasion/avoidance

6 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

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Linda Jack

Blessings and Challenges from a day on Lib Dem Voice

By Linda Jack | Fri 24th September 2010 - 10:25 pm

Well, that’s it then. First lesson to anyone else thinking of following Mark and me in guest editing LDV – it’s not really the day you are doing it you need to take off… it’s the day before!

Ideally you need to have your contributions done and dusted the night before. In my case, so close to conference, yesterday was what you might call a challenge. I had a normal day at work, extended because I had been out of the office for nearly a week.

I had then booked to meet fellow Tweeps for a #tweetup, thinking I wouldn’t …

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The Voice

Linda Jack’s day as guest editor

By The Voice | Fri 24th September 2010 - 9:41 pm

A big thank goes out to all at the Voice to Linda Jack, who has been our guest-editor for today.

Taking the theme of conference reviews, Linda has kept us busy with interviews and articles all day.

For posterity, here’s a list of the posts we have featured today.

…

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Olly Grender

Opinion: I always love Conference

By Olly Grender | Fri 24th September 2010 - 8:55 pm

I always love conference, in fact I love all three Party conferences. Because inspite of the fact that I am most comfortable with my LibDem tribe I am on the whole comfortable with people with a genuine interest in politics. Let’s face it all of us are such a small proportion of the population.

As I walked through Liverpool in the evening I strongly suspect that those girls dressed up to the nines, well kind of in nothing actually, had no idea they were hosting a party of Government in their hometown.

That is what is so great about conference, …

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Posted in Conference | Tagged , , , and | 1 Comment
Linda Jack

So how was it for you……..the highlights and lowlights?

By Linda Jack | Fri 24th September 2010 - 8:00 pm

As I mentioned earlier, conference is always a mixture of emotions, but none more so than this year. I thought it would be fun if we could do a meme in the comments thread and answer the following questions:

  • The funniest moment

  • The saddest moment

  • The most embarrassing moment (OK, so I know its only me has them!)

  • The most challenging moment

  • The moment I will remember most

    • And please feel free to add to the list.

    My answers? You’ll have to wait until the end of the day for those!

    And to start with I’m tagging Helen Duffett 🙂

    Posted in Conference and LDV meme | Tagged , and | 9 Comments
    Prateek Buch

    Opinion: Perspective – my thoughts on the Liberal Democrat conference

    By Prateek Buch | Fri 24th September 2010 - 6:39 pm

    Oblivion; rebellion; split; tension. Words that the media reporting on the recent Lib Dem conference – and gosh weren’t there a lot of cameras, reporters and microphones present? – used both before and during the last few days in Liverpool – and crucially, words that were largely conspicuous by their absence inside the arena. Not a surprise given that large parts of the media, and the pubic too perhaps, is still coping with having a democratic, pluralist party at the heart of government. My word of the week, in contrast is perspective – and here’s why.

    Paul Reynolds has written …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 2 Comments
    Linda Jack

    Simon Says – So what did our Deputy Leader make of Conference?

    By Linda Jack | Fri 24th September 2010 - 5:36 pm

    Simon Hughes has been walking an oil sodden, slippery, wobbly tightrope since he took on the role of Deputy Leader. I have to say I have been impressed at the way he has managed to rattle equally the right and left wing press while managing the balancing act with aplomb! It is a frighteningly difficult task and one that is crucial to get right. I may not always agree with him but I am hugely grateful and reassured by his being there. I think one of his undoubted attributes is to be able to listen and take back concerns, whether …

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    Posted in Blogger Interviews | Tagged , , and | 1 Comment
    Mark Littlewood

    Opinion: Looking through the tea leaves of Liverpool

    By Mark Littlewood | Fri 24th September 2010 - 4:50 pm

    What a strange few months it’s been for the Liberal Democrats. In Bournemouth a year ago, few LibDems would have truly believed that this was to be their last annual conference in opposition.

    My sense of the mood in Liverpool this year was that it matched the political and economic times we live in. Serious, but somewhat apprehensive. There seemed a lot of quiet satisfaction – although never smugness – that there were Liberal Democrats in government, but a nervousness about what the “end game” might be.

    A few things truly surprised me. Support for the principle of entering Coalition with the Conservatives was close to unanimous. A straw poll at the IEA’s fringe meeting showed about 95% felt that Nick Clegg had made the right decision in those tense few days after the General Election. The national media were, of course, on the look out for any sign of coalition-fatigue, but seemed initially disappointed – and then rather impressed – about the absence of much strategic dissent.

    But looking through the tea leaves of Liverpool, there are some longer term issues which the party will have to address.

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    Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , and | 10 Comments
    Meral Ece

    Opinion: The last chance saloon on diversity?

    By Meral Ece | Fri 24th September 2010 - 3:24 pm

    I went to conference expecting something entirely different, perhaps influenced by the daily articles and news reports, that this conference was going to be like no other. That there was much unrest, and even anger amongst the Party’s ranks. Instead I found myself amongst many Lib Dem party members and friends who were upbeat and positive.

    I didn’t speak to anyone – nor as far as I can gather did the media – who was vehemently opposed to the Coalition Government. Yes, this conference was like no other. It was the largest conference we’ve ever had, and our Leader is …

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    Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , and | 21 Comments
    Helen Duffett

    Lib Dems GAIN Ipplepen, Teignbridge from Conservatives

    By Helen Duffett | Fri 24th September 2010 - 2:53 pm

    Alistair Dewhirst gains Ipplepen from the Conservatives

    Congratulations to new Liberal Democrat councillor Alistair Dewhirst at Ipplepen, Teignbridge District Council.

    The Liberal Democrats gained the seat with a massive 34% swing from the Tories following the death of the previous councillor.

    Turnout was up too, and high for a council by-election: 58.7% compared with 52% in the main elections in 2007.

    Central Devon Liberal Democrats are also reporting an increase in party membership.

    The result:

    Lib Dem Alistair Dewhirst …

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    Posted in Council by-elections | Tagged , , , and | 10 Comments
    Linda Jack

    Making LGBT History – An Interview with Adrian Trett

    By Linda Jack | Fri 24th September 2010 - 1:38 pm

    Adrian Trett is Chair of DELGA, the person responsible for the Equal Marriage motion and someone I am proud to call a dear friend. Following the success of the motion I interviewed Adrian about his feelings about conference in general and the motion in particular

    Q: What was your overall impression of conference?

    A: I was really pleased, I thought it was exhilarating, everyone was so enthusiastic. On the way to conference I thought there may be arguments, but I found it to be a pleasing atmosphere and was thrilled to be there.

    Q: How did you feel when you left?

    A: I left …

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    Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 4 Comments
    John Howson

    Opinion: Nobody ever said government was easy

    By John Howson | Fri 24th September 2010 - 11:59 am

    I attended my first Liberal Party Conference at Blackpool in 1968, in the days when our MPs could all fit in a taxi, rather than needing a rather large bus. Work in education prevented me attending regularly again until 1998, but I have been at every autumn conference since.

    For those with long memories, 1998 was the year of the community school motion when, despite an impassioned speech by Phil Willis, the leadership lost the day, just as they did with amendment 2 on Monday: more about that later.

    When I arrived in Liverpool on Friday afternoon, I detected a palpable …

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    Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged and | 5 Comments
    Paul Reynolds

    Opinion: Subtly different

    By Paul Reynolds | Fri 24th September 2010 - 10:54 am

    The Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference this year was subtly different from all others I have attended.

    Being part of the Coalition of course meant a larger UK and international press contingent, and a greater diplomatic representation from around the globe. Lib Dem ministers talked of the problems of persuading their Conservative colleagues of the benefits of key Lib Dem policies and approaches, as well as the more general problems of working with the slippery inflexibilities of government administration.

    However by far the more significant difference was for me something unseen, almost unconscious. It affected every conversation, every fringe meeting, and …

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    Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged and | Leave a comment
    Linda Jack

    So how was it for you?

    By Linda Jack | Fri 24th September 2010 - 9:05 am

    Well fellow Lib Dems, Bloggers and Tweeps… what did you make of conference then? Having been granted the honour of being “Guest Editor” (quaking in me boots it has to be said!) I thought, given the timing, it may be an opportunity to reflect on the last week in Liverpool.

    What I want to do is to try and get a feel from members across the spectrum of our party, has conference left them feeling uplifted, confused, motivated, anxious, hopeful, proud?
    I hope what follows today, especially for those of you who weren’t there, will give you a bit of …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , and | 27 Comments
    Mark Pack

    Nigel Waterson receives police apology

    By Mark Pack | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 11:36 pm

    An update on one of the stories mentioned in our previous coverage of Nigel Waterson, the now former Tory MP for Eastbourne. As ConservativeHome reports:

    It was reported in 2008 that Nigel Waterson, then the Conservative MP for Eastbourne, had been arrested for allegedly assaulting his teenage children.

    The Metropolitan Police has now apologised to Mr Waterson, and agreed to pay him damages and costs. It accepts that the accusations made against him were “wholly unfounded”, and apologises for any distress caused.

    Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment
    Stephen Tall

    LDVideo conference edition (2): Vince Cable special

    By Stephen Tall | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 9:45 pm

    Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

    (Please note, as these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

    Vince Cable warns banks over ‘outrageous’ bonuses

    I must be doing something right

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    Posted in YouTube | Tagged | Leave a comment
    Stephen Tall

    LDVideo conference edition (1): Nick Clegg special

    By Stephen Tall | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 8:45 pm

    Anyone starting to get conference withdrawal symptoms? For those of you who were there, here’s a few videos from the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool to help you catch up with what you missed by, erm, being there. And for those of you who weren’t there and saw it all on telly anyway… well, here’s another chance to enjoy some of the highlights.

    (Please note, as these are BBC videos it’s not possible to link to them: they will therefore only be visible to readers viewing Lib Dem Voice directly through your web browser.)

    Nick Clegg addresses UN on poverty    : here’s why Nick left the party conference early

    Nick Clegg defends Lib Dem coalition decision:

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    Posted in Conference and YouTube | Tagged | Leave a comment
    Helen Duffett

    Nick Clegg’s speech at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Summit

    By Helen Duffett | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 7:33 pm

    Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is representing the UK at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals summit in New York.

    Lib Dem blogger Jonathan Calder is also there, with an international group of bloggers put together by Oxfam to report on the summit. You can read his take here.

    The BBC’s Laura Trevelyan writes fulsomely about Clegg’s diplomatic experience and linguistic skills here.

    Meanwhile, here’s his speech:

    Introduction

    It is an honour for me to address the General Assembly today for the first time as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
    And it is a privilege …

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    Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
    Helen Duffett

    Liberal Democrats Abroad launches today

    By Helen Duffett | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 6:08 pm

    The Liberal Democrats have today launched an organisation to communicate with the party’s overseas supporters.

    Liberal Democrats Abroad aims to keep members and supporters in touch with the UK party, to encourage supporters to join, and to register to vote in the UK.

    So, who’s eligible to vote?

    Continue reading »
    Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
    Davina Kirwan

    Opinion: Liberal Youth amendments ripped the heart out of the diversity motion

    By Davina Kirwan | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 5:21 pm

    The Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats’ (EMLD) motion containing positive action measures to practically address the diversity of Lib Dem elected representatives was ripped to not much more than a review by amendments mostly from Liberal Youth, with the requirement to have at least one BME candidate on shortlists where a Lib Dem MP has resigned, or within a by-election, being lost.

    Goodness me. I think the Liberal Democrats are the new Conservatives. Deciding not to act because doing so would be hypocritical? Is this not the worse kind of irony that has seen the ill-representative nature of the party prevail? WAKE-UP! …

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    Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 162 Comments
    Mark Pack

    Linda Jack to guest editor Liberal Democrat Voice tomorrow

    By Mark Pack | Thu 23rd September 2010 - 3:25 pm

    Tomorrow we’ve got a new guest editor running the site for a day, well known Lib Dem blogger Linda Jack. She’s the second in a series of guest editors, with Mark Valladares having been the first and several more lined up over the next couple of months.

    If anyone else would like to be a guest editor for the day, please drop an email to [email protected] with some details of your blogging or editing experience.

    Posted in Site news | Tagged and | 1 Comment
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