Stephen Tall

Vince: Cameron is “100% behind” my graduate tax proposals

By Stephen Tall | Sun 8th August 2010 - 10:00 am

Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable is interviewed in the Sunday Telegraph (“in open-neck pink shirt and slippers”, intriguingly).

The paper chooses to headline it, Vince Cable: ‘I’m not having fun in government’, trying to feed into the narrative that Vince is a semi-detached member of the coalition government, though he’s certainly loyal in all his utterances. Incidentally, the headline quote set in context reads rather more uncontroversially: “People sometimes ask me ‘are you having fun?’ ” he says. ” No! It’s hard work and it’s tough, but it’s important.”

The paper largely ignores what seems to me a …

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Stephen Tall

Does Tony Blair support the Coalition (and would it matter to Lib Dems if he does)?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th August 2010 - 6:05 pm

This was a story which entirely passed me by, but throws up a couple of intriguing questions. I tip my hat to the Independent’s John Rentoul for highlighting Tony Blair’s address to the Institute for Government entitled, How to Be Prime Minister, held at the end of June. In it Mr Blair commented,

The British people have again elected a centrist government, and that’s what they decided to do in that extraordinary way they do, they decide they will put in the Conservatives and put the Lib Dems alongside them.

As Mr Rentoul notes,

… this rather goes against the attempt

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 14 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV Saturday caption competition: “Paddy swings to the left” edition

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th August 2010 - 4:15 pm

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader …

Here’s former Lib Dem leader Lord (Paddy) Ashdown out campaigning. What caption do you think might adorn this becoming image?

The winner of our most recent caption competition, the “Kramer vs Zac” edition – according to The Voice’s judging panel of one – was this one by John Ruddy, with an honourable mention to this one by Chris Squire.

Got a photo of a prominent Lib Dem you think would work …

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Posted in Caption Comp | 14 Comments
Iain Roberts

My favourite Early Day Motions

By Iain Roberts | Sat 7th August 2010 - 2:20 pm

A few days ago I wrote about Early Day Motions – the petitions that only MPs can start and sign.

Here are a few of my favourites from this parliament, starting with one for MPs not too familiar with the Internet.

EDM 629: That this House deplores the easy access children have to pornography by means of satellite and cable television; and calls on Ofcom, the appropriate regulator, to amend its broadcasting code in order to ensure that access to pornographic material is only available via a secure authentication system.

And who could begrudge Harlow its place in …

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Posted in Parliament | Tagged | 2 Comments
The Voice

Wlliams: RBS must use profits to help struggling businesses

By The Voice | Sat 7th August 2010 - 12:55 pm

RBS is the latest British bank to return to profit, with the 84% state-owned bank reporting a first-half pre-tax profit of £1.14bn yesterday. This prompted Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Treasury Policy Committee, Stephen Williams, to make call for RBS to make greater efforts to assist UK firms:

RBS is almost entirely owned by the taxpayer, so these huge profits must be used for the national interest and not just to pay massive bonuses to senior staff. There is no excuse for RBS not to loan to good British companies that are struggling to get credit. We cannot simply allow

…

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Stephen Tall

LDVideo: Conservative Party conferences down the years … the funny bits

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th August 2010 - 10:55 am

If the Daily Mail is to be believed Conservative Party foreign secretary William Hague is to address this year’s Lib Dem conference, offering (apparently) “a ‘witty’ address, rather than focusing heavily on policy” – which seems right up Mr Haugue’s street.

In eager anticipation of this event, we at Lib Dem Voice have dug out some of the highlights of Tory conferences from yesteryear right up to the present to illustrate quite how far David Cameron’s party has travelled in the last three decades.

First up, here’s Rowan Atkinson slipping into the role of Golfing Tory under Mrs T:


(Also available on YouTube here.)

Secondly, here’s Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry enjoying the Young Tory of the Year contest during John Major’s reign:

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Posted in YouTube | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

The Saturday Debate: Should Turkey be admitted to the EU?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 7th August 2010 - 8:45 am

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

In all the recent controversy surrounding David Cameron’s recent foreign policy pronouncements some of the substance has perhaps been lost: here was the leader of a major European country unequivocally urging that Turkey be admitted as a member of the European Union.

This has tended to be an uncontroversial view among the British political classes, who regard Turkey as a vital fulcrum in reconciling the West and the Islamic world. It is far less popular among the voters of Europe, as a …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Tagged , , and | 33 Comments
Sara Bedford

No official Hague invite to Lib Dem conference

By Sara Bedford | Sat 7th August 2010 - 7:37 am

According to today’s Daily Mail, the Foreign Secretary William Hague is being lined up to speak at the Liberal Democrats’ annual conference in Liverpool next month. The paper describes Hague’s participation as ‘a move designed to cement relations between the coalition partners’.

The Foreign Secretary, widely seen as one of the best orators in the Commons, is expected to lead a Conservative charm offensive at the gathering in Liverpool in the hope of winning over disaffected LibDem activists. Tory sources suggest Mr Hague will give a ‘witty’ address, rather than focusing heavily on policy.

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Posted in Conference and News | Tagged | 21 Comments
The Voice

What Lembit did next

By The Voice | Fri 6th August 2010 - 9:45 pm

First there was the venture into stand-up comedy. Then there was the throwing of his hat into the London mayoralty ring. And now he has a new job: as a presenter on Press TV, a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The Telegraph reports:

The 45-year-old former member for Montgomeryshire is presenting a show called A Simple Question. … “It is necessary for me to work. I don’t see that Press TV is ‘controversial’: that is to pass judgment and it is not for one media organisation to pass judgment

…

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Stephen Tall

Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd to be sued by defeated Tory rival

By Stephen Tall | Fri 6th August 2010 - 9:00 pm

The BBC reports:

Lawyers for Nigel Waterson, who was Eastbourne MP until 2010, confirmed he was to sue Stephen Lloyd for libel. The action is to centre on a leaflet produced by his Liberal Democrat successor during the 2010 general election campaign.

The Corporation notes that “Mr Waterson was cleared of any wrong-doing over his expenses claims”, so let’s remind ourselves of his expenses record:

Nigel Waterson claimed mortgage interest/rent payments and food bills at his second home in Beckenham, Kent. Also billed taxpayer £1,055 to paint house and garage

And Mr Waterson also had problems retaining the support even …

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Helen Duffett

Waltham Forest recount: judge to report to election court

By Helen Duffett | Fri 6th August 2010 - 4:40 pm

The result of the election recount for High Street ward in Waltham Forest is now expected to be announced early in September.

The recount took place in private last Friday before a judge at the High Court after a member of the public spotted a potential error at the original count on May 6. It was thought that 1,000 votes may have been mistakenly added to each of the Labour candidates’ tallies.

If this was the case, it would have led to Labour’s Steve Terry being elected instead of Liberal Democrat Mahmood Hussain.

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Helen Duffett

By-election news: Conservatives hold Sitwell, Rotherham

By Helen Duffett | Fri 6th August 2010 - 3:35 pm

Just one by-election this week, in Sitwell ward on Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, following the death of Conservative Councillor Michael Clarke.

The Conservatives held the marginal seat, although the council remains under Labour control.

The Liberal Democrat candidate Abdul Razaq came fifth (possibly as a consequence of the Liberal Democrats not putting up a candidate in May, so the party’s support may have ebbed away to Labour?)

The result was as follows:

Con 1213
Lab 864
Independent 252
UKIP 241
LD Abdul Razaq 98

The turnout was 28.22%.

Posted in Council by-elections | Tagged | 41 Comments
Alex Marsh

Opinion: Social housing – an unlikely new battleground?

By Alex Marsh | Fri 6th August 2010 - 2:20 pm

In the weeks following the election the Coalition had very little to say about housing. The budget announced restrictions on the local housing allowance on the back of a narrative about needing to rein in the vast amounts being spent on multi-bedroom properties. We are yet to see what the consequences of this will be. But there is cause for concern.

In recent days housing has suddenly emerged as a new battleground, both inside and outside the Coalition. On Tuesday we had David Milliband invading LibDem territory with his advocacy of a Mansion Tax. On Wednesday we had pronouncements from …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 16 Comments
Iain Roberts

3..2..1…and ContactPoint is gone

By Iain Roberts | Fri 6th August 2010 - 12:00 pm

ContactPoint, the Government database holding information on every single child in the country, was turned off at noon today.

Critics argued that the huge national database was disproportionate and the money spent on holding that information on children could better be spent on something else.

Supporters saw it meeting a need and if just one child was saved, who could say that was wrong.

Whether you think it’s the right or the wrong decision (and I’m in the “right” camp, on balance) there’s no denying it shows political bravery.

As an incoming government, it would have been easy to fudge the issue. …

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Iain Roberts

The predictable ranting over welfare reforms may be misplaced

By Iain Roberts | Fri 6th August 2010 - 10:30 am

Some of the most vociferous critics of current welfare policies, in my experience, live in social housing, or have bought their former council house.

They often don’t want more welfare – quite the opposite. They work hard, keep their properties in good order and generally behave as good citizens and they’re fed up with neighbours they see as sponging off the State and causing problems in the area.

The issue of welfare is a genuinely tough one. Clever people from across the political spectrum (and across the world) have wrestled with it for decades.

At heart, the problem is simple to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 28 Comments
Sara Bedford

Should prayers be a part of council meetings?

By Sara Bedford | Fri 6th August 2010 - 8:59 am

 The issue of prayers being said before council meetings appears to be moving towards the courts, after Bideford Town Council sought legal advice.

Earlier this year, the National Secular Society (NSS) applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the council’s decision to continue holding prayers as the first item of every council meeting. The NSS believes that religion should be separates from government sated that holding prayers before council meetings was an ‘archaic practice’ which was ‘not appropriate in modern-day Britain’. It claims prayers breach Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which …

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Helen Duffett

The LDV Friday Five: 6 August 2010

By Helen Duffett | Fri 6th August 2010 - 7:00 am

It’s Friday, so here’s a fistful of lists that sum up the past week on Liberal Democrat Voice:

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

1. Tim Farron MP writes … Labour’s staggering hypocrisy on the Alternative Vote (60 comments) by Tim Farron
2. Labour party ‘gerrymandering’: recalling the only occasion in a century when a party has interfered with electoral boundaries (49 comments) by Simon McGrath
3. Julian Huppert says all MPs should brush up on their science (16 comments) by Helen Duffett
4. Huhne on Lib Dem poll ratings: “Frankly, it doesn’t worry me” (75 comments) by Stephen Tall
5. Social housing: a home for life? (31 comments) by Sara Bedford

5 active LDV Members’ Forum threads

Public Liability Insurance
Sherlock
Leaflet Printing Companies
September conference – How long should I go for?
The “Sellout!” Count

5 most active groups on ACT

1. Is Freedom served by Killing Foxes?
2. West Midlands Liberal Democrats
3. Liberal Democrats for Drug Policy Reform
4. Say No to Trident
5. Let’s get AV

5 top reader search returns to get to LDV

(excluding Liberal Democrat Voice or its variants)

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Stephen Tall

LDV doesn’t do statporn, but if we did (July ’10)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 5th August 2010 - 8:55 pm

… We’d say a big thank you to the 50,627 ‘absolute unique visitors’* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in July.

That’s 5% up on our June figure of c.48,000, and up some 129% on the equivalent figure for July ’09 of c.22,000.

This brings our absolute unique visitor readership for the last year to date (1 Aug 2009 – 31 July 2010) to 608,812, some 84% higher than the equivalent figure for 2008-09 of 330,218.

The 5 top-read stories during the month were:

  1. Have you seen Zac Goldsmith’s Channel 4 News car-crash interview yet? (75) by Stephen Tall
  2. Opinion: I admit it,

…

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Posted in Site news | Tagged | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

Cameron admits foreign policy gaffe, mis-speaks that “Iran has got a nuclear weapon.”

By Stephen Tall | Thu 5th August 2010 - 7:55 pm

There will be red faces in Number 10 tonight after the latest foreign policy gaffe from David Cameron. Speaking today at his one of his PM Direct events, the Conservative leader stuck up for Turkey’s application to join the EU, stating it would be able to help Europe address a number of issues:

I think be a good political influence because they can help us solve some of the world’s problems like the Middle East peace process, like the fact Iran has got a nuclear weapon.”

Except Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. His advisors later clarified that Mr Cameron …

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Posted in Europe / International | Tagged , and | 28 Comments
Sara Bedford

Parliament to scrutinise government’s planning reforms

By Sara Bedford | Thu 5th August 2010 - 7:22 pm

The Commons Communities and Local Government Committee has announced that it will be holding  two separate inquiries into aspects of the government’s local planning regime. One inquiry will examine the decision to abolish regional spatial strategies (RSS) and the other will review the coalition’s localism agenda. The abolition of the regional spatial strategies was one of the main measures featured in the coalition government’s Localism Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech.

The inquiry into the abolition of regional spatial strategies will focus primarily on the implications for house building, in particular the implications of the abolition of regional house building …

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Helen Duffett

Edinburgh Northern and Leith: Scottish Parliament candidate selection

By Helen Duffett | Thu 5th August 2010 - 5:20 pm

There’s still time to apply for selection as the prospective Scottish Parliamentary Candidate for the Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency for the 2011 election.

From a party notice:

The Liberal Democrats won around 11,000 votes across the constituency area during the May 2010 Westminster elections. The constituency also includes part or all of four local government wards, each of which has an elected Lib Dem councillor.

The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate an ability to motivate a large and growing group of activists, and form and lead an effective campaign team, in a Local Party which has extensive

…

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Posted in Scotland and Selection news | Tagged | 1 Comment
Alex Foster

LDVUSA: California’s Proposition 8 overturned

By Alex Foster | Thu 5th August 2010 - 3:01 pm

America’s gay rights activists were celebrating last night as a judge re-legalised gay marriage, making the latest step in the long-running battle in the US and the state of California.

Previously, legal gay marriage had been granted to Californians following successful legal challenge on discrimination grounds of the rules that meant marriage was only available to heterosexual couples.

Only after thousands of gay Californians had tied the knot did anti-gay activists manage to get a proposition on the ballot paper last to ask voters whether gay marriage should be disallowed.  By a narrow margin, Californians voted to end homogamy in their state …

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Posted in LDVUSA | Tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Nick Lane

Opinion: The Labour Party hold the key to electoral reform

By Nick Lane | Thu 5th August 2010 - 1:20 pm

At the 1997 General Election, Labour swept to power with a mandate to reform British politics. Tony Blair’s cooperation with Paddy Ashdown’s Liberal Democrats from 1995 to 1997 centred around a progressive agreement to introduce a proportional voting system for election to the House of Commons. Unfortunately for advocates of electoral reform and for progressives more widely, the resulting Labour landslide appeared to remove any thoughts this once great reforming party had to lay claim to the 21st Century progressive mantle. Labour could have held (and won easily) a referendum to introduce PR, but they didn’t.

Over a …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 46 Comments
Helen Duffett

Biggest. Lib Dem conference. Ever.

By Helen Duffett | Thu 5th August 2010 - 11:20 am

Ahead of next month’s Liberal Democrat Conference, the Independent has a few superlatives on the party’s biggest gathering yet:

One thousand extra pass applications are being processed for next month’s conference in Liverpool. Security controls are being tightened and hotels in the city have experienced a rush in bookings.

More than 7,000 delegates, members of the media and commercial attendees are expected to travel to the conference, compared with its usual attendance of about 6,000. The number of journalists attending is likely to leap from 1,000 last year to more than 1,500.

The number of organisations, including firms, unions and charities,

…

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Posted in Conference | Tagged and | 19 Comments

Opinion: Time for the Liberal Democrats to stand up and be counted on foreign aid

By Timothy Cox | Thu 5th August 2010 - 9:20 am

The Liberal Democrats have a proud tradition of prioritising international development, but it is time to re-think our foreign aid strategy. All three parties’ manifestoes pledged to increase aid spending to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI). This sounds very “nice” and positive, but the commitment bears no relation to the actual needs of developing countries and ignores the mounting evidence showing that the current system of aid is perpetuating the poverty it seeks to alleviate. If we are to be serious about helping the world’s poorest, we need to stop focusing upon what we want to give, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 22 Comments
Alex Foster

Housing: of course there are more questions than answers

By Alex Foster | Wed 4th August 2010 - 5:05 pm

Earlier today, m’learned colleague Sara Bedford penned a piece responding to David Cameron’s off-the-cuff policy-making on the issue of tenure in social housing.

Her piece has unreasonably taken flak from our valued community of commenters for asking more questions than she answered.

But housing is one of the thornier issues facing any government, and like so many big problems, of course there are more questions than answers.  No-one disputes that were we are now is not ideal. There aren’t enough homes. People are overcrowded. Others are overhoused. Houses cost too much more than most people earn for many people to …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 35 Comments
Stephen Tall

Swinson: We need to make girls feel confident about their own body

By Stephen Tall | Wed 4th August 2010 - 3:35 pm

Almost exactly a year ago, Lib Dem MPs Jo Swinson and Lynne Featherstone were among those in the party’s Real Women group leading the campaign to “Ban airbrushing in children’s adverts”, a view later endorsed by an independent Home Office report.

They’ve been joined in their campaign now by Girlguiding UK, which is today launching a petition to introduce compulsory labelling on airbrushed images.

Jo comments:
 

I am delighted that Girlguiding UK is taking up this issue. I co-founded the Campaign for Body Confidence out of concern that people of all ages are feeling so much pressure

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , and | 19 Comments
Stephen Tall

Hughes on Cameron’s council tenancies plans: “It is not a Liberal Democrat policy, it is not a coalition policy.”

By Stephen Tall | Wed 4th August 2010 - 2:02 pm

Lib Dem Voice’s Sara Bedford reported here this morning her reaction to David Cameron’s suggestion that he wanted to look at fixed-term tenancies to help solve the issue of scarce council housing.

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes has been quick to make plain his outright opposition to the proposal, telling the Evening Standard’s Paul Waugh:

“The ideas put forward by David Cameron this week in no way represent the policy of the coalition and certainly do not represent the policy of the Liberal Democrats.

“We will not let anybody have their homes taken away. We must continue to suppport established

…

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Posted in News | Tagged , , and | 46 Comments
Simon McGrath

Labour party ‘gerrymandering’: recalling the only occasion in a century when a party has interfered with electoral boundaries

By Simon McGrath | Wed 4th August 2010 - 11:35 am

In all the fuss about ‘gerrymandering’ from the Labour Party it is perhaps worth remembering the only occasion in the last 100 years when there has been direct political interference in the work of the Boundary Commission.

In 1969 the Commission finished a review. Since the last review in 1950 there had been huge population moves and it was generally thought that the new boundaries would favour the Tories by between 10-20 seats. The law was very clear; the then Home Secretary, Jim Callaghan, had to put the changes to Parliament in the form of a series of Orders.

Labour …

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Posted in News | 55 Comments
Iain Roberts

Top of the Early Day Motions

By Iain Roberts | Wed 4th August 2010 - 10:20 am

An Early Day Motion, or EDM, is  a petition that only an MP can start and only MPs can sign. By convention, some MPs (members of the Government and senior Opposition spokesmen) generally don’t sign them. Some MPs will sign almost any EDM that passes their desk – in some cases, we might suspect, having barely looked at it. Others are more sparing with their favours.

All of which adds up to Early Day Motions not really meaning much at all, other than being a useful way for an organisation to say “we’re campaigning for all policemen …

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Posted in News | 2 Comments
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