Tag Archives: featured

Tim Farron launches blueprint for UK to take 3000 unaccompanied refugee children

By The Voice | Wed 13th April 2016 - 5:22 pm

Tim Farron has this afternoon published his blueprint for how the UK could take 3000 unaccompanied refugee children.

Earlier he spoke to the Daily Politics about the plan and his visit to Northern Greece yesterday.

“We know at least 10,000 have gone missing in the hands of traffickers” says @timfarron on child refugees #bbcdp https://t.co/VTpacwulaZ

— DailySunday Politics (@daily_politics) April 13, 2016

The plan has been drawn up in consultation with the charities and NGOs who attended his recent summit on the issue. The main recommendations are as follows:

Posted in News | Also tagged eu, refugee crisis and tim farron | 11 Comments

Baroness Lynne Featherstone writes…The State killed my nephew

By Lynne Featherstone | Mon 11th April 2016 - 10:00 am

It’s true. Nick was a haemophiliac and was infected with Hepatitis C and exposed to CJD through NHS treatment. And the Government knew the treatments were contaminated. They were warned. The NHS used blood treatment which bought blood – from American convicts. But the government carried on using contaminated blood products despite those warnings.

The result was 4670 haemophiliacs in the UK infected with HIV, Hepatitis C or both – and many exposed to CJD. In regard of the latter the consequences of that exposure are still unknown. In terms of HIV and Hepatitis C almost all haemophiliacs were infected with one or other or both. Over 2000 have died.

Nick died of Hepatitis C – or rather he died from a treatment meant to cure it. Nick was 35 years old, and left a 10 month old daughter, his partner of fourteen years. Nick’s mother (my sister), his father and his twin will never get over that loss. And that loss is made worse by the battle to get financial support and to get the government to admit its fault. It has never done so. The crucial papers were destroyed according the Department of Health. Lord David Owen, former British Health Minister said ‘I can see why some people would be unhappy with having all the facts revealed because it will show negligence’. No public inquiry has taken place. It must.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged compensation, contaminated blood, england, haemophilia and hepatitis c | 4 Comments

Tim Farron on tax: “We must not miss this opportunity to change the system”

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 10th April 2016 - 5:03 pm

Tim Farron has written a note about tax on his Facebook page. As party leaders publish their tax returns, (including Willie Rennie, that’s 5 minutes of your life you won’t get back if you choose to read this unremarkable document), he says that it’s actually the system you need to change. He’ll publish his in the next few days, but that is not really the point. Here are his comments in full:

The politics of envy helps no-one, but trust in politics does.

I have no desire to poke around in the Prime Minister’s private wealth, and definitely have no desire to force him to relive the pain of losing his father, having to confront that time all over again through the pages of national newspapers.

It is absolutely essential that British people have full confidence in our leaders, and that when decisions are made and Budgets are written there is not even a slightest hint of a conflict of interest or personal gain. But we are now in a position where people no longer have complete faith in this Government’s decisions.

Trust in politics and our ability to get things done is taking another hammering. It’s an poor indictment of our political system that the demand is now so great for the public to see politicians’ tax affairs. Are we now in a world where there is an assumption that a politician is doing wrong, or is playing the system?

Posted in LibLink and News | Also tagged tax, tax returns, tim farron and vince cable | 17 Comments

ALDC’s by-election report: 31 March 2016

By ALDC | Fri 1st April 2016 - 5:17 pm

Five principal council by-elections took place yesterday. In Craven (DC), an Independent candidate made a gain from the Conservatives in Embsay with Eastby ward. In a head-to-head contest with the Conservatives, the Independent polled 79.9% in what was the fourth by-election loss for the Tories in March.

There was also success for the Richmondshire Independents in the Richmond Central by-election in Richmondshire (DC). The Independents made a gain from the local Liberal Democrats in receiving 35% of the vote to finish 31 votes ahead of Lib Dem candidate Philip Knowles.

Elshewhere, the SNP collected 49.5% of the first preference votes in securing a hold in Maryfield ward in Dundee (UA). Christopher McIntyre came in fifth place for the Liberal Democrats with 3% of the first preferences. There was also a comfortable hold for Labour in Caerphilly (UA) as they polled 55.7% in Moriah ward.

In Essex (CC), the Holland-on-Sea Residents Association gained a seat from Tendring First in Clacton East division with an 820 vote majority.

Posted in News | Also tagged local government by-elections | 5 Comments

Exciting new venue for Spring Conference

By The Voice | Fri 1st April 2016 - 8:31 am

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A party source has exclusively revealed to LDV that the Federal Conference Committee is seriously considering holding the 2020 Spring Conference in the Isles of Scilly.

As a first priority, after complaints about the lack of real ales in the Novotel at York, members of the Committee have rigorously checked the quality of the cask ale on offer in the conference hotel and can reassure party members on that score.

Travel to the venue will be memorable. Inspired by the razzle-dazzle ferries in Liverpool, the Conference Office is discussing with a ferry company the possibility of painting one for the occasion in a variety of Lib Dem shades of yellow and orange; there will also be an aqua-coloured rowing boat with sufficient capacity for that colour’s fans.

Posted in News | 29 Comments

Papers score Willie Rennie as debate winner

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 30th March 2016 - 2:30 pm

After the second televised Scotish Leaders’ debate of the election, three newspapers have judged Willie Rennie to be the winner. The Press and Journal, not known for its undying devotion to the Liberal Democrat cause, gave him and Labour’s Kezia Dugdale the winning 7/10 score, saying that he “spoke with a personal touch.”

The Scottish Daily Mail, similarly without a history of Lib Dem love, also gave him 7/10, but made him the outright winner.

The Courier gave him 8/10 and also called him the winner.

Here’s a summary of the media coverage:

The verdict on #ScotDebates is in. @willie_rennie had so much fun he wants another debate https://t.co/9mHboQ1gVW pic.twitter.com/gks5rfJn3o

— Scot Lib Dems (@scotlibdems) March 30, 2016

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Scotland, scottish leaders' debates and willie rennie | 10 Comments

John Pugh writes: Our vision for Education

By John Pugh | Mon 28th March 2016 - 4:16 pm

In 2010 Michael Gove, acting before the ink was dry on the Coalition agreement, rushed the Academies Bill through Parliament. Governors were free to turn their school into an Academy Trust, without canvassing parental or local opinion . This being a little high-handed, I moved an amendment during the Commons debate requiring school governors to consult parents – particularly important as the government were pressing on with this radical change during the school holidays.

Gaining the support of Ed Balls, then Labour party Education spokesman, I pushed it to the vote and divided the House. We lost as most of my colleagues voted against and the Whips angrily informed me that trying to amend government legislation, however crass, was not how coalition in the Commons was meant to work. Now in 2016 we have even school governors sidelined as the Academy bandwagon, courtesy of the Tories smashes through every barrier.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged academies and education | 19 Comments

A longer read for the weekend: Tributes to Lord Eric Avebury

By Keith Porteous Wood | Sat 26th March 2016 - 10:05 am

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Eric Reginald Lubbock, Fourth Baron Avebury, died last month aged 87. The House of Lords held a memorial meeting for Lord Avebury last Tuesday, 22nd March. Here are some recollections of the meeting, and a personal note, from Keith Porteous Wood, who was Lord Avebury’s honorary researcher the last 15 years. For his role over the abolition of the blasphemy law, Eric was co-awarded Secularist of the Year by the National Secular Society of which he was an Honorary Associate, and of which Keith Porteous Wood is Executive Director.

Relatives, parliamentarians, friends and other admirers of Lord Avebury gathered to pay their respects at a meeting led by Baroness Hussein-Ece. The meeting was convened at the request of Rubab Mehdi Rizvi, chairperson of International Imam Hussain Council of which Eric was a patron and trustee. The family will be arranging a memorial meeting on 30 June.

Eric’s eldest son, Lyulph, now the fifth Baron, made clear that he had not followed the family tradition of being a politician. Six of the eight past family members who had been had been parliamentarians were Liberal or LibDem.

John William, Eric’s youngest son, spoke movingly of his Father and gave a spectacularly long list of Eric’s many campaigns, but even this proved incomplete as speaker after speaker added yet another worthy feat.

My strongest impression of the meeting was the number of people who said that Eric had made them feel “really special”. One who said this amused everyone by saying that she had almost felt jealous on discovering how many other people she had to share this with.

Posted in Something for the Weekend | Also tagged lord avebury | 4 Comments

David Laws’s ‘Coalition’ – the coverage

By Nick T | Thu 24th March 2016 - 11:00 am

David Laws’s account of his and our party’s time in government, Coalition, was published earlier this week by Biteback, having been serialised in the Mail on Sunday.

Keep an eye out for a review here on LDV soon, but in the meantime here’s a round-up of what others have been saying.

The BBC have put together this film featuring former Lib Dem advisers Polly Mackenzie and Phil Reilly, and David was on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

Posted in News | Also tagged david laws | 23 Comments

Tom Brake MP writes: Do you support military intervention in Libya?

By Tom Brake | Wed 23rd March 2016 - 6:55 pm

Libya is in crisis. After the removal of the brutal dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has unfortunately disintegrated into a state in little more than name, without the stability and leadership of any government. The country is being held back and fragmented through tribal infighting and most worryingly Daesh has established strongholds around Libya, including the cities of Sirte and Sabratha and even in areas surrounding Benghazi.

It is reported that the vast majority of Daesh fighters based in Libya are not Libyan nationals and the movement does not have roots within the country. Daesh is deeply unpopular with Libyan citizens and they have struggled to motivate and indoctrinate Libyan citizens.

The American military are currently conducting airstrikes on Daesh targets within Libya. The Secretary of State for Defence has personally authorised the use of RAF Lakenheath to allow these airstrikes to be launched from within the United Kingdom. The UK Government has been coy on what role, if any, our military will take to support the US military in their fight against Daesh in Libya, however the likelihood of the UK Government committing to military intervention in Libya is increasing.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged foreign affairs and libya | 68 Comments

Can the long-term decline in government investment spending be reversed?

By Nick T | Mon 21st March 2016 - 12:54 pm

If actual government investment spending bore any relation to the amount of time politicians spent talking about it, Britain would surely have one of the highest rates of government investment in the world. In fact, for all the talk there are few signs of a reversal in one half of the most notable trend in Britain’s public finances over the last half century: the decline of government investment.

I say one half because there is another part of the trend, and it is the flip side of the same coin: the general trend of increasing spending on social security.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged investment spending | 25 Comments

How are you getting on with Tim Farron’s membership recruitment challenge?

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 20th March 2016 - 2:52 pm

When we went into the rally at Conference 9 days ago, there were two bits of paper on our seats. Och, that’ll just be Euro campaign tat, I thought. Actually, it wasn’t. Tim issued a challenge to everyone in the room. These bits of paper were membership forms and he told us to get out there and recruit two members each by the end of this month.

Leaders have made such challenges before and not much has come of them. You see, it needs us to actually make the effort and once the passion of the rally has died down and we’ve got into the bar, we forget all about it. But we shouldn’t.

Why should we bother?

There are three very good reasons why we should get out there and recruit as many people as possible.

The more the merrier

You might be looking at a garage full of Focus leaflets wondering how you are going to get them all delivered before the next leaflet is ready. You might be the only Lib Dem in the village wondering if you are ever going to have company. There isn’t a circumstance in which having more people is going to anything other than a very good thing. More people to share the load. More people to help you achieve more than you ever thought possible. More people who have different friends and contacts and networks.

New ideas

You can just see what the amazing people who have joined us since May have brought us. It was brilliant to walk into rooms in York and see lots of people I’d never seen before. They have brought with them creativity and new ideas, things like Your Liberal Britain and Lib Dem Pint which have become part of the party’s vocabulary. They didn’t even exist this time last year. Heavens, Lib Dem Pint is so popular, it’s even happened in Glasgow. Amazing people came our way, like Becca and Wendy and Joyce Onstad and Jim Williams. At the Conference rally, Dr Saleyah Ahsan spoke so powerfully about her work as a junior doctor, inviting us to stand with her through a gruelling shift – eating when she does, going to the toilet when she does. I doubt many of us would last.

And look at fantastic people like Lauren Pemberton-Nelson who ran such a spirited campaign in the Faraday by-election in Southwark.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged membership, recruitment and tim farron | 17 Comments

Tim Farron MP writes…The liberal challenge on immigration

By Tim Farron MP | Tue 15th March 2016 - 11:55 am

It’s not often that regional elections in other European countries get much attention in our press, let alone become headline news. The fact that elections yesterday in a handful of German states made front pages here today demonstrates the unusual situation Britain and Europe find itself in. It also highlights the growing need for strong, liberal voices across our continent.

Those of you who heard my speech on Sunday, or in fact have heard me speak since I became leader, will hopefully have a sense of my beliefs on the refugee crisis and on the wider issue of immigration. Our government has tended to bury its head in the sand, but with no short term end to the conflicts scarring the Middle East and climate migration on the rise, we cannot let a policy of ignorance be maintained.

More than ever, it is our responsibility as liberals to stop the immigration debate descending into hard line, xenophobic rhetoric that sets community against community. The relative success of Alternative fur Deutschland in these German elections shows how challenging that can be. Especially when the “pro-immigration” parties in Germany still vastly outweigh the anti, just one story makes better headlines than the other. Similarly, here in the UK, we would be foolish to think the decline of UKIP will see an end to the blaming of the other.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged immigration and tim farron | 34 Comments

Jo Swinson writes…Been there, got the t-shirt

By Jo Swinson MP | Sat 12th March 2016 - 7:26 am

As part of the Committee for the fabulous WOW Festival at the Southbank Centre, I find myself in London this weekend, which means I’ll miss the diversity motion in York.

Passions run high on this issue, and I hope the debate will unfold with respect and kindness on both sides. Whichever side of the debate we are on, we should acknowledge that our aim is the same – a party where every individual can feel supported and welcome, with many more elected representatives at all levels, reflecting the diversity of our society in all ways, and making a positive impact on our communities.

In 2001, I took to the conference platform in Bournemouth, summating an amendment to a similar motion, in much the same vein as this weekend’s amendment submitted by the East Midlands. Liberal Youth have also voiced their opposition to all-women shortlists. The group of us campaigning on this issue had t-shirts specially printed for the occasion, declaring “I am not a token woman. Say No to all-women shortlists.” Our amendment was successful, and the Gender Balance Task Force was formed, now the Campaign for Gender Balance.

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Also tagged diversity, electing diverse mps motion and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 23 Comments

Baroness Lynne Featherstone writes…We must be an anti fracking party

By Lynne Featherstone | Fri 11th March 2016 - 4:15 pm

This weekend we have an opportunity to change our position on fracking. I believe we should take it.Since becoming party spokesperson for energy and climate change, I have spent many hours listening to party activists, experts and public reaction. It is clear to me that it is time for change.

We need energy security. We need sustainable energy. We need to meet our legally binding targets. Fracking will not deliver any of these. But it will deliver greenhouse gases.

It is not logical or sensible to develop fracking at the very moment we have signed up to the Paris agreement on climate …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged fracking and liberal democrat soring conference | 18 Comments

A morning at the White House

By Alex Paul Shantz | Fri 11th March 2016 - 10:55 am

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A frisson of expectation sweeps the crowd as the tannoy crackles to life and the announcer declares “Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States.” The honour guard comes to attention, the band strikes up Hail to the Chief and the most powerful leader in the world emerges. And when moments later, a black SUV sweeps round the drive and stops in front of the White House to deposit Justin Trudeau, the new Canadian Prime Minister… well, perhaps only a visit from the Queen herself would top Washington DC’s current level of excitement.

This was the scene on the South Lawn of the White House as President Barack Obama welcomed his Canadian counterpart to the capital of the United States yesterday. Clutching my ticket, I had joined the great and good of Washington in a line that stretched halfway round the block, excited to be part of the occasion. Three ID and security checks later and I was in.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged barack obama, canada, Justin Trudeau and us | 6 Comments

Time for some Liberal Herstory

By Ruth Bright | Wed 9th March 2016 - 12:35 pm

Traditional Mothers’ Day treats do not really appeal to me. My gift on Sunday was the new(ish) book British Liberal Leaders (Brack, Ingham, Little et al) and the free time to finish reading it. I love tales of Lloyd George’s derring-do and of Steel’s “going back to your constituencies” as much as the next Liberal. All human life is there in the chapters on each party leader: Asquith’s failings, Ashdown’s verve, Clegg’s self-pity.

Well I say all human life is there but is it? In many ways it is an admirable book, John Campbell’s chapter on Roy Jenkins is a particular treat. There is a catch though. Where on earth are the women?

There are 24 chapters on each of the 24 Liberal, SDP or Lib Dem leaders. All the leaders analysed are men of course. Fair enough. We cannot go back in time and insert Nancy Seear or Shirley Williams as party leaders in a retrospective All Women Shortlist!

Posted in Op-eds | 17 Comments

Tim Farron MP: We must show the world we mean business on diversity

By Tim Farron MP | Tue 8th March 2016 - 11:45 am

It’s International Women’s Day, when we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. But, the IWD website reminds us, the latest estimate of the World Economic Forum is that, at the present rate of progress, full parity between genders will not be achieved till 2133. Our record in Britain, while improving, is doing so painfully slowly. The pay gap between genders has not closed in spite of legislation, and has remained relatively consistent for the past 20 years. Britain elected more female MPs than ever in May 2015, but still sits at 48^th in the world league table, behind many of our European neighbours, and behind some of the world’s poorest nations. Lindsay Northover is right to point out that had it been based on the Lib Dems, the UK would be bottom, grouped with Yemen and Qatar.

Why is that? Well, because we have no women MPs any more, just 26% of our approved parliamentary candidates are women, and women are under-represented on many of our internal party committees. We are in a similar situation where BAME, LGBT+ and disabled members are concerned. I don’t know about you, but I find that shaming for a party that holds equality as one of its fundamental commitments. In our constitution, we say that we “oppose all forms of entrenched privilege and inequality.” It’s time to show that we practice what we preach.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged electing diverse mps motion, liberal democrat spring conference 2016 and tim farron | 57 Comments

What’s your vision for a truly Liberal Britain?

By Jim Williams | Mon 7th March 2016 - 1:52 pm

What would a truly Liberal Britain look like, and what improvements would it bring to people’s lives? You can help shape the party’s vision by writing a post for Lib Dem Voice of around 500 words in response to that question.

We all know the Lib Dems exist to create a society based on liberalism and social democracy. We call it Liberal Britain for short. But what would it actually look like?

When I joined the Lib Dems last year, I knew that many of my friends didn’t know what the party stood for. Chatting with other newbies at Lib Dem Pint and at Conference in Bournemouth, we knew this was one of the reasons why last May was such a disaster. Talking together, we realised how hard it can be to explain liberalism: to really get it across to people. Liberalism and social democracy can seem abstract, philosophical.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged future strategy, policy and your liberal britain | 13 Comments

Those anonymous Lib Dem sources are at it again

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 6th March 2016 - 7:12 pm

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Since she became Party President 14 months ago, Sal Brinton has clocked up thousands of miles travelling around the country going to various Liberal Democrat events and helping our candidates in election. I’ve been amazed at the number of times she’s been in Scotland – at our conference, to our Executive twice, campaigning during the General Election. In fact, in the short campaign last Spring, she covered 4000 miles in just 6 weeks. In the aftermath, she had to comfort a shocked party and play a high profile role as de facto leader for two months.

She’s also been involved in two massive pieces of work – the General Election and Governance Reviews – which have taken up huge amounts of time. She’s doing her best to improve internal communications within the party, doing reports about what the Federal Executive’s work and blogging and setting up monthly webinars for party members.

She’s a great voice in the media for us. Last month she took apart UKIP’s Paul Nuttall on Question Time in great style. I look forward to her appearances on these things the same way I look forward to Shirley Williams’.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged sal brinton | 56 Comments

Casual sexism undermines the drive for gender balance

By Rebecca Plenderleith | Mon 29th February 2016 - 11:20 am

“Bright, intelligent and brave” those are the words that Willie Rennie used to describe me in his speech to Conference. My direct messages on twitter were somewhat different. I had to disable the function to receive messages from anyone but my followers – but that didn’t stop those who already followed me. One man even suggested I’d made up the story for the attention. Because that’s all women’s experiences are to some men. Nothing but a ploy to get attention from men in any form of power.

The same people cry out “We need more women in politics but in a fair way and we need a meritocracy” and “We don’t need positive action, we need to encourage more women to put themselves forward”.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged all-women shortlists, gender balance, scottish conference and willie rennie | 54 Comments

In full: Tim Farron’s speech to Scottish Liberal Democrat Democrat Conference

By The Voice | Sun 28th February 2016 - 8:11 pm

Here is Tim Farron’s speech to Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference:

It is only a couple of weeks since I was out on the doorstep with Alex Cole Hamilton in Edinburgh West. I have to tell you, Alex has got some serious staying power. Not even his trip to A+E after he was attacked by the Hound of the Baskervilles, well a dog in Corstorphine, could stop him getting out on the stump that same evening with me.

We returned to the office after a night out on the doorsteps, for a pizza and politics event… which was great, although whilst I was doing the politics, everyone else ate all the pizza. So, I’m not staying over this time, I’m getting the last train home. I’m not risking falling victim to a repeat of the Edinburgh vegetarian pizza crisis. Those SNP cuts are hitting hard!

But our team in Edinburgh West had earned their pizzas… because they are making an incredible effort and Alex embodies the Liberal spirit for which we are the only standard bearers in Scotland. And it is clearly paying dividends.

Posted in News | Also tagged scottish liberal democrat spring conference 2016, speeches and tim farron | 2 Comments

In Full: Willie Rennie’s speech to Scottish Conference: We stand with the weak against the strong, and will use the power of government to tackle the social and economic injustices that limit freedom.

By The Voice | Sun 28th February 2016 - 2:26 pm

Willie Rennie must have been reading Lib Dem Voice because he opened his speech by quoting from Becca’s blog which we featured 10 days ago. He got in touch with her and she gave him permission to share her story.

He argued that it was time to see major investment in mental health and for it to be given party with physical health.

He also set out what the party would do with the £475 million generated for nurseries, schools, colleges and a pupil premium.

I want to talk to you about a new member of our party.

Becca Plenderleith. She is a bright, intelligent and brave young woman. We are fortunate to call her a fellow Liberal Democrat. She has given me permission to tell you this story.

What she did was something simple. She told her story. She wrote about her experience of the health service.

Only a few years ago she was suffering from depression and following a break up from her boyfriend she considered suicide.

What happened next is something that must be condemned to the past.
She was told by a doctor at accident and emergency that she was a drain on the NHS.

No support, no treatment, just a lecture.

But Becca is making a difference. Making a difference by speaking out.

And the response is encouraging.

Every time I now mention mental health on a public platform the silent nods around the room fill me with hope.

Hope that the stigma is fading, hope that there is a growing demand for change, hope that this will lead to the unstoppable change to our NHS so that mental health is given the equal support it deserves.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged speeches and willie rennie | 3 Comments

What is at stake: A photo of a young boy and the US President

By Jonan Boto | Wed 24th February 2016 - 9:34 am

Clark Reynolds, 3 years old, greeted by President Obama, Feb 18 2016 at the White House. (Pete Souza/Washington Post)

We have been struggling with the representation issue for years. Our party leaders strongly believe in broadening the look and feel of our MPs. Our members instinctively seek parity between men, women and other backgrounds: a desire to open up opportunity should be in our blood. But we aren’t quite sure how to achieve that and so far, as Josh Dixon sets out, our success has not been much to write home about. The Elect Diverse MPs motion to be debated at Spring Conference gives us a critical chance to retake the initiative.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged diversity and liberal democrat spring conference 2016 | 18 Comments

Leaving Europe so we can adopt Aussie-style immigration rules won’t solve a thing

By Stuart Bonar | Sat 20th February 2016 - 10:18 am

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Nigel Farage told the media last year, “I am saying that if we have an Australian-style points system, immigration would not be a problem.” He made the point again earlier this month, speaking to Sky News.

The fact that inside the European Union we can’t adopt a more restrictive Australian-style points immigration system is for many the single biggest reason there is to leave the EU. Rid ourselves of the shackles of Brussels, crack down, and, as Farage himself said, “immigration would not be a problem.”

It’s a point summed up by their migration spokesman, Stephen Woolfe MEP: “To restore Britain’s borders, we need to leave the EU & implement a fair & ethical Australian style points based system.”

Well, I’m on holiday in Australia this week, and I’ve been reading the papers. And one thing I can definitely say is that an Australian-style points system is no silver bullet when it comes to immigration.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged australia, european union, nigel farage and ukip | 30 Comments

Obituary: Jonathan Webber MBE DL 24th February 1957 – 15th February 2016

By Kathryn Ball | Fri 19th February 2016 - 9:00 am

Jonathan Webber, the former West Midlands Chair (2011 – 2013) and one of the most popular figures among West Midlands Liberal Democrats, has died after a long battle with cancer, which he had described as “something of a nuisance and an inconvenience.” He was 58 years old and died peacefully at home cared for by his partner Kathryn Ball.

Born in Oxford, Jonathan spent most of his working life in a business environment. Fluent in Greek he spent 17 years working in Athens and Salonika as a literary agent / publisher, whilst there he founded the “Athens Ramblers’ Cricket Club” and the “Thessaloniki Cricket Club”, he became Chief Executive of the British Greek Chamber of Commerce in Athens and returning to the UK in the ‘90s he joined the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) advising on trade with Greece and the Balkans.

More recently Jonathan was Director of International Trade at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce where he was described as a “real one-off…a maverick.” Former Chamber Chief Executive Jerry Blackett said: “I realised he was never going to respond to traditional management. He was not one for bureaucracy or for rules but he never missed his targets and he got the best out of his team.”

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged jonathan webber and obituaries | 3 Comments

Was Vince Cable proved right on austerity?

By Nick T | Thu 18th February 2016 - 8:42 am

When the histories of the coalition government come to be written, those chapters focussing on the role of Vince Cable will be some of the most fascinating. Vince’s fierce intelligence combined with a (perhaps deliberate) flair for the enigmatic meant he was involved in some of the most interesting of the coalition’s key moments.

One area of particular significance is likely to be the analysis of his views on austerity. Throughout the coalition Vince was often portrayed in the media — and by some Liberal Democrats — as a brave warrior fighting an axe-wielding Tory-Lib-Dem cabal of ideological austerians. Yet this seems to me to be precisely wrong.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged austerity, deficit reduction and vince cable | 20 Comments

Lord Paul Strasburger writes…Report shows that nobody thinks Home Office is right on investigatory powers

By Paul Strasburger | Thu 11th February 2016 - 12:37 pm

Today the Joint Committee published its report on the draft Investigatory Powers Bill. This follows hot on the heels of the Intelligence and Security Committee report which was surprisingly critical of the serious shortcomings of the Bill given its previous rather relaxed approach – what a difference a new Chair makes, you could say.

I was the only member of the Joint Committee that also sat on the Committee that looked at Theresa May’s last attempt to legislate on surveillance powers – the ill-fated draft Communications Data Bill. The previous committee had twice as long to look at the Bill than we’ve had this time round, despite the fact that this Bill is far bigger. The Home Secretary promised Parliament and the public that this process wouldn’t be rushed, that is not the reality.

As the only Liberal Democrat on the committee I knew it would be tough, and I think it will come as no surprise to anyone to learn that from the committee was heavily weighted in favour of the Home Office. It was a hard slog but as always with the Lib Dems, we managed to punch above our weight. If you flick to the back of the report you’ll see that on a whole range of issues I forced votes – sometimes I got others on side and we won, others were more lonely.

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Draft Investigatory Powers Bill and house of lords | 2 Comments

Lib Dems: Lambing here

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 8th February 2016 - 8:00 pm

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We’re kind of used to invitations to Lib Dem action days containing a hint of a reward for turning up to help. I’ve seen organisers promising all sorts of things to motivate people to deliver that extra 100 leaflets or knock on more doors. I certainly have some interesting photos of a particular candidate to release as a treat for spectacular action day performance. There have been promises of chilli (Tom Utting’s in Edinburgh Western is legendary), cake and all manner of treats to keep the army marching on its stomach.

I have to say that candidate for the Welsh Assembly seat of Montgomeryshire, Jane Dodds, has come up with the mother of all action day fun: a visit to a hill-top farm for food and frolic with little lambs.

Montgomeryshire Action Weekend

It would be great if you could join us for campaigning (and frolics with lambs) at the Montgomeryshire Action Weekend in Welshpool -On Friday 4th and Saturday 5th March – If you can make it please let me know by RSVP'ing to the event here -https://www.facebook.com/events/769949056466276/Thank you!

Posted by Jane Dodds for Montgomeryshire on Monday, 8 February 2016

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged jane dodds, Wales and welsh assembly elections 2016 | Leave a comment

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