Tag Archives: featured

“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

Opinion: Why I joined the Lib Dems 20 years ago – and am still proud to be one

By Giles Goodall | Wed 30th April 2014 - 9:19 am

Next month marks my 20^th anniversary as a Liberal Democrat. Could it really be that I’ve spent two decades – and my entire adult life – as a member of Britain’s (still) third party? And more to the point (as some friends would no doubt ask me), why?

I signed up in the dying days of John Major’s government, shortly before we won our first ever MEPs at the 1994 European elections – as well as the first …

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Posted in Op-eds | 51 Comments

Ukip examined: who they are, what they stand for, and what it all means for British politics

By Stephen Tall | Mon 28th April 2014 - 8:00 am

I’ve just finished reading Revolt on the Right, Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin’s fascinating book analysing the rise of Ukip and what makes the party and its voters tick. Mark Pack has already written a very good review for LibDemVoice here. Here’s my take on some of its key insights.

Who votes for Ukip? The ‘left behind’

For a start, it debunks the myth that Ukip is a party of disaffected, well-to-do, shire-Tories obsessed by Europe and upset by David Cameron’s mild social liberalism on same-sex marriage. Yes, there are some Ukip voters like that, but they tend to be its peripheral voters, the ones most likely to give the Tories a kick in the Euros next month then return to their traditional True Blue ways in time for the general election. Ukip’s core vote in reality is made up of what the authors define as ‘left behind’ voters, overwhelmingly comprising older white working class males with no formal educational qualifications.

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Posted in Books and Op-eds | Also tagged Mark Pack, matthew goodwin, revolt on the right, robert ford, SDP and ukip | 85 Comments

Opinion: I’m voting Lib Dem in spite of, not because of, our ‘Party of IN’ campaign

By Mark Dimmock | Sat 26th April 2014 - 11:00 am

If you believe the messages sent out from ‘The Party Of In’ during this Euro-election campaign, then you might think that my current political position is logically confused and that I simply misunderstand the options before me on May 22nd. However, I intend to vote Lib Dem in the Euro-elections in spite, not because, of our on-going commitment to remaining in the European Union.

I do not pretend to be an expert on European matters – and I do not claim to be …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged european elections 2014, European referendum and european union | 29 Comments

++BREAKING: Antidisestablishmentarian Times and Telegraph reveal new danger posed by 150 year-old Liberal pledge for separation of Church and State

By Stephen Tall | Fri 25th April 2014 - 10:15 am

Is there no actual news happening today? Sounds a stupid question. I mean, the US has accused Russia of deliberately destabilising Ukraine, affordability tests for new mortgages are going to be toughened, and the state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland has vetoed big bonuses for staff. All important, interesting stories.

Then I looked at today’s Times and Telegraph, both of which lead on whether the Church of England should remain the established state church.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s a diverting issue. A little over five years ago, …

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Posted in News | Also tagged ben brogan, church of england, daily telegraph, david cameron, nick clegg and the times | 26 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: 81% of Lib Dem members support party being in Coalition with the Conservatives

By Stephen Tall | Fri 25th April 2014 - 7:45 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. Over 830 party members responded – thank you – and we’re publishing the full results.

Members back Coalition with Conservatives by 81% to 16%

Do you support or oppose the Lib Dems being in the Coalition Government with the Conservatives? (Changes since last time question asked, Dec 2013).

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 86 Comments

Jeremy Browne MP responds to LDV debates about his book

By Jeremy Browne MP | Thu 24th April 2014 - 1:32 pm

Thank you to everyone on Lib Dem Voice who has taken the trouble to comment on my book ‘Race Plan’. It is healthy to have an active debate about how our liberalism can be applied to address the big political events of our time. I am appreciative of the favourable comments; I also thought it might be of interest (and good manners) to respond to some of the main criticisms and themes that emerged on LDV.

Timing of publication

The timing was determined by the …

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Posted in News | Also tagged caron lindsay, jeremy browne, Mark Pack, race plan and stephen tall | 102 Comments

Edward Davey MP writes… Massive boost for clean, green energy

By Ed Davey | Wed 23rd April 2014 - 2:30 pm

Today I have announced the award of 8 new contracts for renewable electricity projects which will provide around £12 billion of private sector investment and once built will contribute around 4% of Britain’s electricity capacity.

These projects will support 8500 jobs and our overall electricity reform plans will generate over 200,000 green jobs. These projects and the jobs created will be across Britain – from the Moray Firth to Liverpool Bay and from Teesside to Norfolk.

Five of the projects are for offshore …

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Posted in News | Also tagged climate change and renewable energy | 7 Comments

Indiscriminate and insensitive overuse of benefit sanctions needs to be tackled by Liberal Democrat ministers

By Caron Lindsay | Mon 21st April 2014 - 4:02 pm

I came across this article about some of the circumstances which had led to sanctions being imposed on benefit claimants. Everything in the article is sourced, but I also take it seriously because it resonates with real life examples that I have heard about.

The coalition has dramatically increased the scale of withdrawal of benefit for infringing rules. A claimant can be sanctioned for not apparently looking hard enough for work, for not attending job centre interviews or for turning down job offers. The minimum period you can lose your benefit …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged benefits and welfare | 44 Comments

On Sarah Wollaston’s naming and shaming in The Times of “very aggressive male bloggers”

By Stephen Tall | Sat 19th April 2014 - 10:00 am

Blogging is back in the headlines again today. Dr Sarah Wollaston, the feistily independent Conservative MP for Totnes, has hit back at those online critics who denounced her role in the trial of her fellow Tory, Nigel Evans, acquitted this week on all charges of sexual assault and one of rape.

In an interview with The Times, Dr Wollaston was keen to stress that she was in no way challenging the verdict in the case, adding that she empathised with Mr Evans and his ordeal. She confessed, however, that the

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged blogging, dan hodges, guido fawkes, iain dale, nigel evans, sarah wollaston and the times | 12 Comments

Ed Davey MP writes… An onshore wind cap makes no sense

By Ed Davey | Fri 18th April 2014 - 9:00 am

Rarely a week goes by without an onshore wind story appearing in the media – normally negative, with some Conservative source trying to undermine this important source of renewable energy. The past few weeks have been no different.

First, let’s set the record straight. Liberal Democrats in Government will not accept a cap on onshore wind. Of course what other parties choose to put in their manifestos is a matter for them. But this Coalition Government is not changing tack on onshore wind or renewables and we will not …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged energy, energy security, renewable energy and wind power | 25 Comments

6 British Pathé video clips of ex-Liberal leaders from 1931 to 1967

By Stephen Tall | Thu 17th April 2014 - 3:30 pm

Sir John Simon speaks to the Nation. “Let us give to the Prime Minister a firm mandate in the name of the whole nation” (1931)

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged clement davies, jeremy thorpe, jo grimond, sir archibald sinclair and sir john simon | 21 Comments

Stephen Lloyd MP writes… Can good Religious Education build better communities?

By Stephen Lloyd | Wed 16th April 2014 - 10:45 am

In the UK we benefit from a truly diverse and multi-cultural society, yet we continue to be bombarded with distorted images of nationality, customs, faith and belief in the mainstream media and the internet.

Sadly some of these myths and stereotypes have become embedded in the national psyche, making it harder for our young people to make important ‘informed’ decisions around faith and belief and distorting perceptions of some minority groups.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged religion and religious education | 31 Comments

Danny Alexander writes… Direct community engagement on Scotland’s future

By Danny Alexander MP | Tue 15th April 2014 - 4:46 pm

When Russell Johnston, that stalwart of liberal democracy, first ran for parliament for Inverness in 1964 he made a point of holding public meetings across the constituency. And when I first met him, in the 1980s, he was still following that old tradition – small gatherings, inviting all-comers to engage in open debate, determined that he could persuade the communities he served so energetically to follow him on the best path for the Highlands.

Over the subsequent years, politics has perhaps lost a little of that traditional engagement.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged better together, Scotland and Scottish independence referendum | 6 Comments

The Independent View: Removing the ‘right to have rights’

By Shami Chakrabarti | Tue 15th April 2014 - 12:33 pm

While the Commons grappled with the latest wave of backbench Euroscepticism, quietly and without fanfare the Home Secretary introduced an amendment to the Immigration Bill which strikes at the heart of our national conscience.

The impetus for this power came not from the urgent necessity of fighting terrorism, but is rather the result of a six year legal battle. In October last year, the Supreme Court held that the executive could not remove British nationality from an individual where to do so would render him stateless. A frustrated Home Secretary now seeks a broad, discretionary power to remove what Hannah Arendt so memorably described as “the right to have rights”.

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Posted in The Independent View | Also tagged british nationality, immigration bill, liberty and stateless | 13 Comments

Opinion: Police use of the TASER – what counts as ‘reasonable force’?

By Max Forza | Mon 14th April 2014 - 4:00 pm

Most of us have an idea of what is, and should be, understood by the the term ‘reasonable force’ – presumably, that which a reasonable person would consider reasonable in the circumstances, and generally the lowest amount of force necessary to achieve the desired objective.

However, in the heat of the moment, what one may subjectively regard as reasonable in the circumstances may not be judged by others as acceptable after the event.

As a now ubiquitous piece of police equipment, the TASER is marketed and deployed as a ‘less-than-lethal’ weapon …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Paul Morrison, police and taser | 24 Comments

Opinion: Regina v Nigel Evans should wake up MPs

By Antony Hook | Mon 14th April 2014 - 9:30 am

Nigel Evans’s acquittal on charges of rape and sexual assault has triggered various expressions of concern.
Those expressed, trenchantly by some, are:

“The Crown should never have prosecuted him because the evidence was weak.” …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged crime, legal aid and nigel evans | 36 Comments

Jeremy Browne’s ‘Race Plan’. I’ve read it, so here’s my review…

By Stephen Tall | Sun 13th April 2014 - 8:00 am

Three points to make right from the start about Jeremy Browne’s new book, Race Plan.

First, it’s a wholly Good Thing that a Lib Dem MP is choosing to think aloud, to set out clearly his views. Nick Clegg having decided that he did, after all, like one of the Beecroft recommendations and decided to fire-at-will his home office minister, Jeremy could have slunk away, tail between his legs, to nurse his bitterness. He’s chosen a rather more constructive outlet for his disappointment. By which I mean this book, rather than his short-lived, C.19th-throwback, gap year beard.

Secondly, there is a fundamental problem with the central conceit of this book: that Britain is in a global race, and that if we don’t get fitter, we’ll be overtaken by or competitors in the coming Asian Century, fall behind, and become poorer.

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Posted in Books, News and Op-eds | Also tagged caron lindsay, china, jeremy browne, liberalism, nick thornsby and race plan | 59 Comments

LibLink: Sir Robert Smith – We must not turn our back on Afghanistan

By NewsHound | Sat 12th April 2014 - 2:15 pm

Sir Robert Smith, Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and Co-Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afghanistan, has written this week about the need for Britain, as our direct military involvement comes to an end, to ensure we keep our promise to maintain support for a developing Afghanistan.

… the attacks of September the 11th brought home the fact that what happened in that far away country made a difference back here.

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged afghanistan, helmand province, iraq and sir robert smith | 8 Comments

Manifesto 2015: The debate is on

By Joe Otten | Fri 11th April 2014 - 1:32 pm

Last week saw the final, rearranged, Manifesto Roadshow in Leeds chaired by Sal Brinton. Those of us present had some good opportunities to suggest and debate policy ideas for the 2015 General Election manifesto.

There was lots of discussion of transport issues – around the quality and reliability of buses and trains and the capacity of the rail network. I raised the point that transport links between and within the northern cities has been identified as a vital ingredient in the agglomeration recipe that supports economic growth. While there has been some progress on this, such as with the Northern Rail Hub, we need much stronger and clearer ambition still.

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Posted in News | Also tagged general election 2015 and liberal democrat manifesto 2015 | 8 Comments

Paul Burstow writes: Standardised tobacco packaging – a step in the right direction

By Paul Burstow | Fri 11th April 2014 - 11:09 am

As Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on smoking and health, I welcome the publication of Sir Cyril Chantler’s review of the public health case for introducing standardised packaging for tobacco products.

The Review is a thorough assessment of the public health evidence, particularly as it relates to marketing smoking to young people. One of the key objectives of the all party group is to help prevent the next generation of children and young people from taking up the habit.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged cigarette packaging and tobacco control | 22 Comments

Jeremy Browne and his plan for the privileged

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 9th April 2014 - 8:46 pm

Over the last couple of days, discussion of Jeremy Browne’s new book has caused, it’s fair to say, a bit of controversy on this site. Race Plan, contains ideas which make some liberals dance with joy and others wince. We previewed it yesterday and Nick Thornsby has produced an extremely well written review. You might well disagree with it, but he presents his arguments knowledgeably and respectfully.

I have not read this book. I probably will, but it’ll take a wee while before it gets anywhere near the top of my “must read” list. I do, however, feel that I know enough of its contents from Jeremy’s Daily Politics video, various press articles and, of course, Nick’s review.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged jeremy browne and race plan | 106 Comments