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Kate Parminter

Baroness Kate Parminter writes…We need more research and public engagement before agreeing to GM crops

By Kate Parminter | Published Thu 20th June 2013 - 10:39 am

The speech today by Owen Paterson, Secretary of State for the Environment makes it clear that he is intent on promoting the use of GM crops in Britain – and to do so by acting as a cheerleader for an industry which has consistently promised much over the last twenty years and yet failed to deliver.   It follows hard on the heels of that of the Science Minister, David Willetts, as the latest attempt by the Tories to go beyond the Coalition Government’s agreed policy on GM crops.

Liberal Democrats are not in principle opposed to GM, but we believe no …

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Posted in News | Tagged , | 18 Comments
Joe Otten

How not to write for Liberal Democrat Voice

By Joe Otten | Published Mon 17th June 2013 - 8:45 am

Here at LDV towers, we often receive offers of work which do very little to persuade us that the author either knows what this site is about, or is able to write reasonably correct English.

The following is typical. I have removed names.

Hello Blog Owner,

Hope the day is treating you well!

My name is ______, an Internet Marketer.

While searching on internet, I came across your blog and read 3 of your quality posts and got really impressed with it. I think you’re doing a great job and making your readers happy and better than they were.

My all blog posts

…

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Posted in News | 9 Comments
Joe Bourke

Opinion: Arming the Syrian Rebels

By Joe Bourke | Published Fri 7th June 2013 - 10:30 am

The Independent reported this week that Cameron faces serious Cabinet split over arming Syrian rebels.

Nick Clegg is said to have warned at a recent meeting of the National Security Council that supplying weapons to the Free Syrian Army might only escalate the conflict, killing many more people without any realistic prospect of decisive victory and that it could be “next to impossible” to ensure that British arms do not fall into the hands of Islamist militants.

A Whitehall source said Mr Clegg did not believe “there was a military-only solution to Syria” and would not back any attempt to arm …

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Posted in Europe / International, Op-eds | Tagged , | 34 Comments
Annette Brooke MP

Annette Brooke MP writes…What I hope to achieve in my new role

By Annette Brooke MP | Published Thu 6th June 2013 - 3:54 pm

I was very pleased this week to become Chair of the Parliamentary Liberal Democrat Party. I was elected unopposed, and took my place as Chair at the Parliamentary Party meeting, in what many would consider a slight baptism of fire, having only had my new role confirmed hours before!

I am delighted to be embarking on this new role. The job is an extremely important one and I am really excited to be taking it on. As I am retiring at the end of this Parliamentary term, I feel that while many of my colleagues will need to be focusing …

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Posted in News | 2 Comments
Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP

Sarah Ludford writes …Creating EU Data Protection rules that safeguard both privacy and jobs

By Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP | Published Tue 4th June 2013 - 10:29 am

As those who read this LibDem Voice article by Peter Bradwell of Open Rights group will know, I am currently the ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) group ‘shadow rapporteur’ on the draft EU Data Protection Regulation in the European Parliament.

I was not originally expecting to play a major role on this particular piece of legislation. But when my German FDP colleague Alexander Alvaro unfortunately suffered a serious car accident in February, the ALDE group appointed me as his interim replacement. I unwisely promised a response to Peter’s article ‘soon’! – but the last few months of negotiations have been very demanding. The new Regulation, unlike …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , | 2 Comments
Caron Lindsay

EDMWatch #2: Beer, moths, space and human rights

By Caron Lindsay | Published Mon 3rd June 2013 - 4:45 pm

We take  a regular look at the Early Day Motions tabled by MPs. These are basically House of Commons petitions and are used to raise awareness of an issue. One of the biggest elements of an MP’s postbag or inbox is a pile of requests from supporters of a particular organisation or charity to sign a particular EDM. As a rule, ministers don’t sign EDMs. A look at EDMs can be a useful insight into what’s on MPs’ minds.

The second week of the parliamentary session saw a flurry of motions, going up from 71 to 155.

Most popular

The most …

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Posted in Op-eds, Parliament | 1 Comment
Caron Lindsay

Top of the Blogs: The Lib Dem Golden Dozen #328

By Caron Lindsay | Published Sun 2nd June 2013 - 7:00 pm

Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 328th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throacughs from the Aggregator (26 May-1 June, 2013), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.

Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.

As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:

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Posted in Best of the blogs | Leave a comment
Caron Lindsay

Report on internet pornography highlights need for education, not restriction

By Caron Lindsay | Published Fri 24th May 2013 - 10:28 am

One of my biggest concerns in recent years has been the effect of access to easily available internet pornography on the next generation of young people. Every time I ask an expert in the field to reassure me and tell me that I’m panicking too much, they shake their head and tell me that my fears are spot on.

It just takes a couple of clicks to arrive at free videos which depict women in a subjugative role, as little more than receptacles. The language used about those women is demeaning and deeply misogynistic. The expectations of a generation of boys …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Willie Rennie calls for international relations review after Humza’s howler

By Caron Lindsay | Published Thu 23rd May 2013 - 9:57 am

The Scottish Government has a Minister for External Affairs, whose job it is to represent the Scottish Government on the international stage. This role is currently undertaken by SNP rising star Humza Yousaf.

Humza has spent this week in Doha at the International Forum there. This is an event which discusses key international issues as they affect the Middle East. He has been caught on video telling this international audience of academics, political leaders and intergovernmental organisations that the UK Government wants to leave the European Union. Unfortunately for him, he was caught on video doing it. Have a look at …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , | Leave a comment
Duncan Hames MP

Duncan Hames MP writes… Must we continue to use food for fuel?

By Duncan Hames MP | Published Fri 17th May 2013 - 8:25 am

The European Union is currently committed to ensuring that 10% of each Member State’s transport energy will come from biofuels by 2020. This originated as a well-intentioned attempt to combat climate change, but time has shown that using food for fuel can have devastating impacts on hunger and the environment. I’ve come to accept that it is time for a re-think.

In addition to concerns over their green credentials, biofuels are now recognised to be a key cause of hunger, affecting millions of people in developing countries. The World Bank, OECD, WTO, IFPRI, IMF, and five other UN agencies recommended …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments
Caron Lindsay

How to get Lib Dem Voice by email

By Caron Lindsay | Published Tue 14th May 2013 - 8:55 am

Why not join hundreds of other Lib Dem Voice readers in getting our latest headlines by email?

Some people like regularly visiting a site to see if there’s new stories of interest. Some people like subscribing to its news feed (RSS) and checking that way. But if you prefer email, you can instead sign up to get a daily early morning email with a summary of the previous day’s posts from Lib Dem Voice, complete with a note of how many comments each post has got and convenient links to click on if any take your fancy and you want to take a read.

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Posted in Site news | Leave a comment
Libby Local

Libby Local – The Final 2 Episodes: “Election Day!”

By Libby Local | Published Sun 12th May 2013 - 2:15 pm

Since last October, the pseudonymous Libby Local has been keeping LDV readers up-to-date with her first-time attempt to win Demsbury Central in Libbyshire. Here’s the 16th and penultimate episode…

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt was mid-afternoon on Thursday and the grumbling old man at the bar shouted across to me: “Who’s your candidate?”

I was feeling exhausted and didn’t need this intrusion from a man who had just announced that he had voted UKIP.

The day had begun at 5am with letters delivered through letterboxes of hard-to-reach and wobbling voters. The post run also …

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Posted in News | 3 Comments
Dick Newby

Lord Newby writes… Pick a Peer

By Dick Newby | Published Wed 8th May 2013 - 5:10 pm

Almost a year ago, I laid down a challenge to the Liberal Democrat group in the House of Lords – probably the largest group of Liberal Democrats in any legislature in the world.

I felt strongly that we needed to do more to work with constituency parties to tell the story of how we are influencing legislation and debate on a daily basis, both to members and to wider groups.

So it was with that in mind that I set the group the target of making 1,000 constituency visits between now and the General Election. And today I can report with some …

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Simon de Deney

Opinion: Art for Wealth’s sake

By Simon de Deney | Published Wed 8th May 2013 - 11:58 am

Pity the artists. The writers, sculptors, composers, musicians and actors. We believed we were struggling in our 21st century garrets, eking out an existence, surviving on our day jobs. At least we were suffering for our art. Only it turns out that we have been bitterly deluded. The latest report from Arts Council England (ACE) demonstrates with forensically gathered evidence and logic that we’re off the scale when it comes to ROI (that’s Return On Investment as any thespian will now tell you).

Outperforming

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR)’s study for ACE shows ACE gets less than 0.1% of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , | 11 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Let’s play fantasy Queen’s Speech

By Caron Lindsay | Published Wed 8th May 2013 - 9:25 am

With hours to go before the Queen lets us know the Government’s legislative plans for the year ahead, I thought it might be a good idea to ask you for just one idea you would like to see in the Government’s legislative programme.

Liberal Democrats are likely to wince at further curbs on immigration, but be pleased at the presence of Steve Webb’s pension reforms and at the absence of draconian plans to require companies to keep records of every website we visit and every email we send.

But if you were writing the speech, what would you put in it?

I’d go …

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Posted in News, Op-eds | Tagged | 4 Comments
Julianne Marriott

The Independent View: Don’t judge my family, David Cameron!

By Julianne Marriott | Published Mon 6th May 2013 - 8:55 am

dont judge my familyThe Prime Minister has confirmed his intention to introduce a tax break for married couples before the end of this parliament. The tax break would be worth about £150 a year and would go to around a third of married couples: only those where one plays the role of breadwinner and the other is a homemaker.

Let’s be clear – this policy is not about supporting children: only 35% of the families who would gain from the policy have children, and only 17% have children under 5. …

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Posted in Op-eds, The Independent View | 8 Comments
Libby Local

Libby Local 15: Vile politics

By Libby Local | Published Mon 22nd April 2013 - 2:28 pm

Vile Tory propaganda was on my mind as I trudged up Crow Hill in a state of exhaustion. It was three on a Friday afternoon. Would I ever finish my last minute canvass for postal voters or would I collapse first?

The non-stop campaigning was just one reason I felt so tired. The vile propaganda in Tory leaflets was also getting to me.

The night before our core team met for an after-canvas drink in the Market Tavern.

The consensus was that the campaign was going well. @Demsburybess had taken charge of design, producing a clean, modern look to my Focus newsletters. It …

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Posted in Local government | Tagged | 5 Comments
Helen Duffett

AD LIB digital edition – teething problems solved

By Helen Duffett | Published Thu 18th April 2013 - 10:20 am

Hopefully all of you have had the chance to have a play with the new AD LIB interactive digital edition which was launched this month.

If not, why not have a play now?

Remember, this issue is free to all party members.

As well as all the good stuff you get with the paper copy, the digital edition has a number of interactive elements. If you want to listen to Paddy’s conference speech while reading his cover interview, you can. If you’re intrigued about Eluned Parrott’s ‘On the Record’ music choices, you can click straight to the music videos. And if you …

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , | 4 Comments
Martin Horwood

Martin Horwood MP writes… 1000 days of hunger

By Martin Horwood | Published Tue 16th April 2013 - 5:10 pm

The first thousand days of a child’s life – from conception through to their second birthday – are full of moments to cherish. First birthdays, first steps, first words. Whether these events are captured on film, or retold to maximum embarrassment in later years, they are treasured milestones in a child’s life.

A report published yesterday by UNICEF reminds us that those first thousand days aren’t only precious, they are the most critical in shaping a child’s future. Their health, their growth, their ability to learn and even their potential to earn are shaped during this period by one crucial …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , | 2 Comments
Nick Sutton

Opinion: The depressing reality of the Paris Brown case

By Nick Sutton | Published Wed 10th April 2013 - 11:05 am

After an extraordinarily brutal last few days, 17 year old Youth Police Commissioner Paris Brown resigned from her post at Kent Police. In her resignation statement, she said that she was ‘quitting in the interests of the young people of Kent’ after supposed racist and homophobic tweets dating back a number of years had been found by Daily Mail journalists and ran with by several other major news organisations.

There is no doubting that the tweets themselves were offensive. At no point is it acceptable to engage in homophobic or racist behaviour and the comments should not be made by someone …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , | 23 Comments
Peter Bradwell

The Independent View: The battle for privacy in the EU and how the Liberal Democrats can help

By Peter Bradwell | Published Wed 27th March 2013 - 2:37 pm

Last year Liberal Democrats took a principled stand against the “Snoopers’ Charter” – more formally called the draft Communications Data Bill. This added up to a defiant, important defence of citizens’ privacy rights in the face of a concerted (and ongoing) effort by the Home Office to undermine them.

Right now there is another, equally important, battle for our privacy going in the European Parliament. The same principles are at stake. Once again Liberal Democrats have a really important role in determining what sort of law we get.

The “Data Protection Regulation”, proposed by the European Commission and now being considered by …

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Posted in Op-eds, The Independent View | Tagged , , | 5 Comments
Libby Local

Libby Local, Episode 14: “Team Libby”

By Libby Local | Published Sun 24th March 2013 - 2:20 pm

“I’m not at all political but I’ll help you if like.”

My standard doorstep smile broke into a broad grin. Half an hour and a pot of Earl Grey tea later, I had recruited myself a designer and copyrighter – @Demsburybess.

Correction. ‘Team Libby’ had gained a designer and copywriter. One of the first suggestions @Demsburybess made is that we have a team identity. Team Libby it is. I’m just a little self-conscious about the sobriquet but I’m really excited about it at the same time.

Team Libby is growing rapidly. Our helpers have been recruited through church contacts, in …

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Posted in Op-eds | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

Boris has a right Mair in live BBC interview

By Stephen Tall | Published Sun 24th March 2013 - 10:30 am

It was a masterclass in TV interviewing from Eddie Mair, occupying Andrew Marr’s Sunday morning chair on BBC1. (You can watch an excerpt from the interview here.)

mair johnson -mar 2013With documentary-maker Michael Cockerell’s film, ‘Boris Johnson: The Irresistible Rise’, to be screened on Monday evening (BBC2, 9pm), Mair took the opportunity to put to the twice-elected Mayor of London the allegations he’s always previously been able to laugh off. There’s a good feature about it in the Daily Mail (sorry) here.

Usually interviewers indulge Boris; I could say …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , | 18 Comments
The Voice

The LDV Friday Five: 15 March 2013

By The Voice | Published Fri 15th March 2013 - 5:45 pm

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

5 most-read stories on LDV this week

  1. Jo Shaw quits Lib Dems in protest at leadership’s pro-secret courts position (25) by Stephen Tall
  2. Losing one of our best….an appreciation of Jo Shaw (91) by Caron Lindsay
  3. Vince Cable on Labour’s opposition day debate on Mansion tax (62) by Helen Duffett
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Nick T

Steve Webb’s speech to conference

By Nick T | Published Sat 9th March 2013 - 5:03 pm

Steve Webb, Lib Dem minister for pensions, delivered his speech to conference earlier today. The text of his speech is below.

As some of you know, I used to teach at Bath University. And I enjoyed nothing more than setting my students tough questions to get them thinking.

So when I was planning what I would say today, I thought – why not set all of you a tricky exam question instead. You may have thought that you had come to Brighton for a good time. But not while I’m on the platform!

And my exam question is this: “How do …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 25 Comments
Danny Alexander MP

Danny Alexander MP writes exclusively for Lib Dem Voice: Statement on Lord Rennard allegations

By Danny Alexander MP | Published Fri 8th March 2013 - 6:29 pm

Nick Clegg has today announced that Helena Morrissey will chair the independent inquiry into culture, process and complaints within the Liberal Democrats. Jo Swinson is speaking at the party conference rally tonight and will tell party members about her role in dealing with allegations about Lord Rennard. I want to do the same.

I had been Nick’s chief of staff since his election in December 2007. In 2008, Jo told me of concerns that had been expressed to her privately and in confidence by a number of women about the conduct of Lord Rennard.

While she did not give me any names …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

Huhne / Pryce: this is a human drama, not a political story

By Stephen Tall | Published Thu 7th March 2013 - 8:33 pm

huhne quitsIt was the number of voicemail messages on my mobile (having been holed up in meetings for my non-political day-job) that alerted me a story had broken this afternoon. A clutch of requests from news stations eager to know what the political fall-out for the Lib Dems would be from Vicky Pryce being found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

My short answer? I just can’t see it. Vicky Pryce is the ex-wife of an ex-MP. Yes, it’s a compelling human drama, a modern morality tale of how …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments
Caron Lindsay

116 Liberal Democrats write to the Daily Mail opposing secret courts

By Caron Lindsay | Published Mon 4th March 2013 - 11:55 am

Today’s Daily Mail contains a letter from 116 Liberal Democrats asking MPs to vote down Part 2 of the Justice and Security Bill. The signatories include a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords, an MEP, 5 members of the Federal Executive, 2 members of the Federal Policy Committee, 6 past and present members of the Liberal Democrat Voice editorial team and a number of parliamentary candidates. The letter says:

We are writing to urge all MPs to do the right thing by voting against Part II of the Justice and Security Bill when it has its Report stage in

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Sarah Teather on “deeply upsetting” report on pregnant women in asylum system

By Caron Lindsay | Published Wed 27th February 2013 - 7:00 pm

Sarah Teather has been speaking in Parliament today about a new report by Maternity Action and the Refugee Council which highlights the treatment of pregnant women and their new babies in the asylum system. You can read her whole speech here, and I warn you it will make you upset and angry in equal and consuming measure. The description of a woman who had just given birth being made to carry her newborn baby home by foot in the snow was harrowing. There are many such similar stories in the report.

These vulnerable women suffer both poor physical and …

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Posted in News | Tagged , , | 6 Comments
Tim Gordon

Update on the Party’s processes following the allegations concerning the conduct of Lord Rennard

By Tim Gordon | Published Mon 25th February 2013 - 5:03 pm

I want to update you on three developments to the processes I outlined in my post on Saturday.

Arrangements for victims and witnesses to come forward

Firstly, we have sought the assistance of Public Concern at Work, the UK’s leading whistle-blowing authority, to ensure that the whistle-blowing arrangement is sufficiently independent to provide the required support to those wishing to come forward in relation to the alleged behaviour of Lord Rennard.

Public Concern at Work have agreed to take over the role, temporarily filled by Kate Parminter, as the main point of contact for anyone wishing to come forward with further allegations or information.

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Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Update on the Party’s processes following the allegations concerning the conduct of Lord Rennard
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