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Tag Archives: featured

Tales from the Federal Executive: The one where we discussed the elections

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 10th June 2014 - 1:10 pm

The Liberal Democrats’ Federal Executive met last night in a Westminster Committee room looking out on a grey and brooding Thames.

The meeting had a bit of a comedy start with a last minute change of venue leaving member scurrying from one end of the Parliamentary Estate to the other.

The major item of business was, of course, discussion about the recent elections. Several Federal Executive members had consulted widely amongst members to get their views. Only Candy Piercy, though, had been organised enough …

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Posted in News | Also tagged candy piercy, federal executive, james gurling and nick clegg | 229 Comments

Nick Clegg on the Liberal Democrats’ ‘unique mission’

By The Voice | Mon 9th June 2014 - 1:44 pm

This is the full text of the speech given by Nick Clegg today at Bloomberg.

The recent local and European election results were incredibly difficult for the Liberal Democrats. It’s been completely gutting to see good friends, longstanding councillors, outstanding MEPs – people who worked their socks off – lose their seats.

I’ve spent the last two weeks talking to lots of my colleagues in the party, listening to what people say about what we should do next, and I want to take a

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged nick clegg | 68 Comments

Opinion: The most positive change for private sector pensions in half a century

By Janice Turner | Mon 9th June 2014 - 11:10 am

The announcement in the Queen’s Speech of a new ‘Collective Defined Contribution’ pension is an historic achievement on the part of Lib Dem Pensions Minister Steve Webb, which shows that pensions are only safe in Liberal hands. It will bring about better quality pensions for millions in the private sector workforce. It’s taken him four years to arrive at this historic moment which starts to rectify the damage the Tories and Labour wrought on the retirement hopes of ordinary private sector workers.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged pensions, queen's speech 2014 and steve webb | 5 Comments

Newark by-election: Tories win well, Ukip falls short, Labour dips, Lib Dems collapse

By Stephen Tall | Fri 6th June 2014 - 9:05 am

A lot of politics is about momentum. At the moment it’s the Tories who have it. Not quite the Big Mo, but a Moderate Mo that’s growing.

Here are the results of last night’s Newark by-election:

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Also tagged david watts and newark by-election | 217 Comments

Lord Mike Storey writes… It’s time to protect children from emotional abuse

By Mike Storey | Wed 4th June 2014 - 7:59 pm

Earlier today, in a Speech from the Throne, the Queen announced that the Government will take forward measures to tackle child neglect. Quite simply, this is a momentous achievement.

I am proud to have supported Action for Children’s campaign to update the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, alongside other Liberal Democrat colleagues including Mark Williams MP and Annette Brooke MP.

The criminal law should be able to protect children from all forms of abuse. For too long we have viewed non-physical harm of children as …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged child neglect and queen's speech 2014 | 12 Comments

Queen’s Speech 2014: first thoughts

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 4th June 2014 - 1:30 pm

Well, the Imperial State Crown is on its way back to the Tower of London and the Queen is having a well earned rest after her annual trip to Parliament to unveil the Government’s Legislative Programme.

There’s something in me that thinks all the pomp is a bit strange and anachronistic but also weirdly comforting at the same time. I guess it’s like whenever I go to a Church and hear the familiar rites that I knew off by heart as a young child even though religion has no …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged queen's speech 2014 | 26 Comments

Challenging the narrative: Employment

By Joe Otten | Wed 4th June 2014 - 10:30 am

I was engaged in a twitter argument yesterday with someone who was disputing the progress we have seen in employment, putting the improved figures down to a million people enslaved on zero hours contracts.

The Office for National Statistics have provisionally estimated the number of zero hours contracts to be between 583,000 and 1.4 million. There isn’t an established data series for this that would enable historical comparisons, but there are such statistics for full time and part time workers. According to these the number of part time workers is up 356,000 since May 2010, and the number of full time workers is up 1,114,000.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged unemployment | 27 Comments

Lib Dems need to take every opportunity to get our message out there

By Nick T | Tue 3rd June 2014 - 5:57 pm

I’ve made no secret of my view that a change in leadership is likely to do little to revive Liberal Democrat fortunes at the polls given the rather more structural reasons for the decline in support for the party.

But I also recognise that to continue doing and saying the same things over and over again and expecting a different result is not only the definition of insanity but is unlikely to lead to an electoral revival:

We should not simply keep calm and carry on, but nor should we lose our heads either. The long-term success of the party is best served by

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Posted in News | Also tagged andrew grice, economy, isabel hardman, pubs and tax cuts (Lib Dem) | 94 Comments

Liblink: Stephen Williams on zero carbon homes by 2016

By NewsHound | Tue 3rd June 2014 - 4:26 pm

The Queen’s speech tomorrow will include a Lib Dem commitment to make every new home built in England from 2016 zero carbon. As Stephen Williams says:

This was one of Nick’s earliest environmental priorities and it has taken the combined guile and will power of Sir Andrew Stunell, Don Foster and myself as well as Nick’s dogged determination to make it a reality.

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Posted in News | Also tagged stephen williams and zero carbon | 15 Comments

Dick Newby writes … revisiting the Limehouse Declaration

By Dick Newby | Mon 2nd June 2014 - 12:47 pm

On the wall of our downstairs loo is a framed copy of the Limehouse Declaration, issued at the inception of the SDP on 21 January 1981.

In the light of Matthew Oakeshott’s parting contention that Nick has led us as a party without roots, principles or values, I have re-read it to test his contention.

On international affairs the post-2010 Lib Dems have followed Limehouse to the letter – not just by being rooted and principled over Europe, but by our record on international development – underpinned by giving 0.7% of GDP in aid for the first time ever.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged limehouse declaration and matthew oakeshott | 17 Comments

Kirsty Williams AM writes… Welsh Liberal Democrats oppose Labour’s e-cigarette ban

By Kirsty Williams AM | Thu 29th May 2014 - 4:52 pm

As a liberal I’m deeply sceptical of knee-jerk reactions to issues of public importance, especially when there’s a severe lack of evidence to support your claim. This was a view I thought I shared with the Welsh Labour Health Minister, Mark Drakeford, after he said in the debate on my minimum nurse staffing levels bill that “in pursuing public policy, legislation should almost always be a last, rather than a first resort.”

You can imagine my surprise, therefore, when the Welsh Labour Government announced plans to ban the use of electronic cigarettes in public places, along the same lines as the current smoking ban.

I called Welsh Labour’s plans into question as I led a debate in the Senedd on this matter earlier this month, asking the Health Minister to produce the evidence that he had to support this ban. Despite assuring me and other Assembly Members that there was “mounting evidence” which he’d make available to me “immediately after the debate”, it was two weeks until I received anything from him. This amounted to one single paper.

I’d hardly call that “mounting evidence”.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged e-cigarettes, Wales, welsh labour party and welsh liberal democrats | 42 Comments

Appeasement or Opposition?

By Joe Otten | Wed 28th May 2014 - 11:35 am

Nothing is more annoying, said one voter on the radio, than mainstream politicians telling us why we voted UKIP.

But at risk of causing further annoyance, it is important to try to understand the UKIP vote, what it represents, and to what extent it is right to respond with appeasement, like Labour’s Sadiq Khan, and many others of left and right, or opposition. To be fair to Khan, despite the apology, he largely makes the same arguments Labour have been making for years.

Uniting the issues of immigration, Europe, and …

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Posted in News | Also tagged europe and ukip | 39 Comments

Research on impact of change of leader on four key seats

By Mary Reid | Tue 27th May 2014 - 8:25 am

The Guardian today leads with a sorry tale headlined: Clegg taking Lib Dems to wipeout.

An unnamed Lib Dem supporter has commissioned ICM to carry out research in four key Lib Dem constituencies, including Nick Clegg’s own seat, and the report has been leaked to the Guardian.

Voters were asked how they would vote in a General Election if the party were led by Nick Clegg, Vince Cable or Danny Alexander.

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Posted in News | Also tagged Danny Alexander, nick clegg and vince cable | 83 Comments

Opinion: Let’s not throw away all we have worked for just as it’s starting to pay off

By Paul Scriven | Sun 25th May 2014 - 7:36 pm

As a working-class Northern lad it would be fair to say that in terms of personal background I don’t have much in common with Nick Clegg. And like Carl Minns and Richard Kemp I’ve been on the wrong end of some tough election results in recent years. But I totally disagree with George Potter – I passionately believe Nick should lead our party into the next General Election and beyond.

I’ve probably had more arguments with Nick than most commentators on

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged general election 2015, leadership and nick clegg | 49 Comments

Nick Clegg’s leadership: What are Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? (updated)

By The Voice | Sun 25th May 2014 - 1:47 pm

We’ve heard what the papers have had to say about Nick Clegg’s future, and we’ve had some reports of tv interviews with senior party figures. But what’s the Liberal Democrat blogosphere say? As you might expect, there is a wide range of opinion. Here are some snippets.

Senior Liverpool councillor Richard Kemp, who gave one of the best speeches at Federal Conference last Autumn against the Bedroom Tax, says that Nick should stay:

I believe that Nick Clegg is a thoroughly decent man who has made the best of a bad deal for

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged liberal democrat bloggers | 39 Comments

What are Lib Dem MEPs doing for you?

By The Voice | Tue 20th May 2014 - 7:00 pm

We said yesterday that Lib Dem MEPs were too good to lose.

Here’s a short video which was played at the Conference rally at York this Spring which shows some of the excellent work that they do.

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Posted in News | Also tagged european elections 2014 and liberal democrats | 1 Comment

Liberal Democrat MEPs are far too good to lose

By The Voice | Mon 19th May 2014 - 8:55 am

One of the drawbacks of the way we vote for our MEPs is that so few people know who they are. You don’t vote for a person, you vote for a party and the party decides who goes to sit in the European Parliament. I’m not complaining about the PR nature of it, just that one of the drawbacks of the closed list system means that people don’t necessarily have that connection with an individual.

Our MEPs and candidates are all individuals with different things …

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Posted in News | Also tagged european elections 2014 and Liberal Democrat MEPs | 17 Comments

The Independent View: No One Ever Told Me About Politics

By Emma Taylor | Tue 13th May 2014 - 3:24 pm

“I’ve been wanting to be more clued-up on politics for a while – and I know lots of other people my age feel the same way – but it always seems so complicated and it’s hard to know where to start”. Kate, 25

A few days ago, a year ahead of the next UK general election, a new cross-party initiative called No One Ever Told Me About Politics was launched to tackle the pressing issue of political disengagement amongst people in their 20s and 30s.

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Posted in News and The Independent View | Also tagged general election 2015 and no one ever told me about politics | 24 Comments

Norman Lamb writes … we must fight for mental health to get the recognition it needs

By Norman Lamb MP | Tue 13th May 2014 - 12:52 pm

In my time as Mental Health minister, I have written here several times about the unacceptable disparity between mental health and physical health in our health system. For far too long, physical health has been prioritised over mental health.

Perhaps the most stark difference is in terms of what happens when you suffer a mental health crisis. If you break your arm or suffer a stroke, you know that you will be taken to A&E, where you will get access to the expertise you need.

It’s very different in mental health. You may end up in a police cell or you may get sent a long way away from home to get a bed in a mental health unit. This would never be tolerated in physical health so why should it be acceptable in mental health?

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Crisis Care Concordat and mental health | 10 Comments

LibLink: Charles Kennedy: Britain must remain at the core of the European Project

By NewsHound | Sat 10th May 2014 - 12:14 pm

In an article for the Euro Blog marking Europe Day yesterday, Charles Kennedy wrote of the need for Britain to stay at the heart of Europe.

We’ve been hearing a lot about the jobs and the trade and the money, but Charles starts with the principles of peace and the common good:

9 May marks the beginning of a process of cooperation, which intended to make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. We call it Europe Day The process that was set in motion that day was based on principles like democracy, open markets,

…

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged charles kennedy, eu, euroblog and european movement | 6 Comments

Libby Local Episode 18: Standing up for Demsbury

By Libby Local | Sat 10th May 2014 - 10:56 am

“Hey Libby. Are you standing? I’ll vote for you!”

I was puzzled by the shout and thought I had not heard it correctly. I was struggling to concentrate on anything after the events of the morning, else. I waved and walked on.

I was angry, almost in tears as I dragged my way up Crow Hill. I was very grateful when the bus stopped and the driver invited me on board his overcrowded bus.

“You look exhausted, Libby,” he said …

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Posted in Op-eds | 3 Comments

“Label the behaviour not the person”: why we shouldn’t call Ukip a racist party

By Stephen Tall | Sat 10th May 2014 - 8:15 am

For once I’m going to agree with Nigel Farage. Speaking at a rally this week, he pleaded with the media and public, “from this moment on please do not ever call us a racist party. We are not a racist party.”

As rallying cries go, it’s not the most ambitious. But, then, Ukip’s not an ambitious party. As Farage himself happily boasts, it has just two policies: withdrawal from the EU and bringing back grammar schools. It doesn’t really matter, though. Ukip is defined by what it’s against, not …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged british future, nigel farage, racism, sunder katwala and ukip | 107 Comments

Battle of the Election Videos: Lib Dems’ “Incredible Silent Man” v. “Labour’s Un-credible Shrinking Man”

By Stephen Tall | Thu 8th May 2014 - 4:20 pm

So Labour’s party election broadcast then… Titled The Un-credible Shrinking Man it mocks Nick Clegg as a deluded patsy of the posho Tories. He starts off being offered a biscuit and ends up being chased across the cabinet table by a big cat. Because he’s shrunk, y’see. And naked. I’m not sure I’m doing its nuanced subtlety justice. It’s sort-of funny, at least if you enjoy laughing at one-dimensional caricatures which fit your pre-existing bias – a bit like a sketch for Radio 4’s The Now Show. You can watch it for yourselves here.

Kudos to the Lib Dem team at Great George Street who immediately re-packaged the party’s own video The Incredible Silent Man chiding Labour leader Ed Miliband’s reluctance to take the fight to Ukip or make the case for Europe:

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Posted in News | Also tagged dan hodges, ed miliband, european elections 2014, local elections 2014 and nick clegg | 57 Comments

Opinion: Getting a better deal for consumers from nuclear power

By Toby Fenwick | Thu 8th May 2014 - 12:56 pm

Following the vote at last September’s conference, the party now supports new-build nuclear power. This has been a hard road for many, but ultimately the UK needs to replace the 82% of UK nuclear generation capacity that is due to decommission by 2023. This is fully 51% of all UK low-carbon generating capacity, and unlike renewables today, nuclear can provide baseload generation.

It is this combination of baseload capability, capacity at lower cost than the cheapest renewables means that nuclear …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged nuclear power | 27 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg: This knife crime law won’t work

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 8th May 2014 - 8:55 am

On Monday, I wrote about the reported Coalition tension over Tory plans to bring in mandatory 6 month jail sentences for carrying a knife. I said that:

It’s important that Liberal Democrats stay in this debate and make the evidence-based case. Nobody else will do it for us. We may not be able to stop a bad law being passed, but we need to oppose it calmly, clearly and without rancour.

I would not suggest for a minute that the two events …

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged knife crime, mandatory sentencing, nick clegg and the guardian | 6 Comments

Why people vote for Liberal Democrat Councillors

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 7th May 2014 - 1:38 pm

Following on from yesterday’s launch of the Liberal Democrat campaign for the local government elections, I thought I’d offer a few reflections on why people vote for Liberal Democrat councillors. Why is it that in places like Three Rivers in Hertfordshire and Oadby and Wigston that the Liberal Democrats have been in power for years on end?

Big hearts and hard work

Our councillors are embedded in their communities. They know what’s going on, they keep themselves in touch with what people are thinking and they listen to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged independent, jeremy browne, liberal democrats and local government elections 2014 | 8 Comments

Opinion: 485 million, 26 million or 4,000? UKIP’s immigration confusion

By Stuart Bonar | Tue 6th May 2014 - 10:26 am

So, Mr Farage, which is it? In the debates with Nick Clegg, you claimed 485 million of our fellow Europeans could come to Britain. On your wretched billboards, you claimed 26 million are eyeing up our jobs. Now, on leaflets that are dropping through letterboxes, you claim 4,000 EU migrants are landing on our shores each week. These are very different numbers.

I guess the 485 million figure is simply the total number of people who could legally come to the UK. But how is this different from pointing out that the 64 million people who live in the UK are all perfectly free to move to, say, Totnes? Should Totnes Town Council leave the UK so it can impose border controls? Should National Rail blow up the railway line at Dawlish to slow their arrival? Should the Government impose restrictions on internal movement within the UK just in case? Of course not, because 64m people aren’t about to move to Totnes, even though they’re free to do so, just as 485 million Europeans are not going to come here to Britain.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged immigration and ukip | 40 Comments

What Lib Dem members think about top-rate tax: 53% back 50p (or higher) BUT only if it raises more revenue

By Stephen Tall | Fri 2nd May 2014 - 8:00 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. More than 830 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

53% support 50p (or higher) top-rate of tax; 31% say stick at 45p; 13% back 40p (or lower)

Currently the top rate of income tax is 45p in the pound for earnings over £150,000. Which rate do you support this top rate being set …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged income tax and jeremy browne | 21 Comments

Nick Clegg’s Twitter Townhall as it happened

By Paul Walter | Thu 1st May 2014 - 7:26 pm

Today, Nick Clegg took part in a remarkably simple and accessible Twitter Q&A on Europe, dubbed a “Twitter Townhall”. Via Storify and the LibDem party website, here below is the official version of how it happened, (almost) tweet by tweet.

Over on Caron’s Musings, LDV Co-editor Caron Lindsay gives her take on the event and presents the complete, unofficial version of the tweetery.

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Posted in Europe / International and News | Also tagged eu and nick clegg | Leave a comment

Rent reforms – Miliband to announce 20th area of Lib-Lab agreement today

By Stephen Tall | Thu 1st May 2014 - 10:00 am

Six weeks ago I highlighted the 17 policy areas where there is significant agreement between Labour and the Lib Dems. These range from tax-cuts for low-earners and the mansion tax to local school accountability to an EU in/out referendum. There were also two areas I omitted, flagged by Adam Corlett in a comment here: childcare and a living wage.

A 20th area can now be added, with Ed Miliband set to announce Labour’s plans for the private rental sector, some of which mirror the Lib Dems’ Decent Home …

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Posted in News | Also tagged ed miliband, housing and private rented sector | 25 Comments

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