Tag Archives: featured

Mark Pack

“There is absolutely no chance of us winning there” – Conservative MP’s Feltham & Heston outburst

By Mark Pack | Sun 4th December 2011 - 3:42 pm

I headed over this morning to help Roger Crouch’s Parliamentary by-election campaign in Feltham & Heston, all of which went fairly smoothly (at least once I remembered to open my eyes) and it was good to see high quality literature that tied in well with other campaign activity, such as the local newspaper adverts for Roger Crouch.

It was also good to see an idea I helped pioneer at previous Parliamentary by-elections extended at this one – putting a feedback sheet on the back …

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Also tagged , , and | 9 Comments
The Voice

Pack & Tall Debate… What’s the Lib Dem economic narrative now?

By The Voice | Fri 2nd December 2011 - 8:15 am

In the week of the Chancellor’s autumn statement, LibDemVoice co-editors Mark Pack and Stephen Tall debate what it all means for the Lib Dems…

Stephen Tall: So we now all know the painful financial reality. With growth forecasts revised down by the Chancellor in his autumn statement, austerity is here to stay.

Both Lib Dems and Tories had hoped and expected that three years of painful cutbacks would be followed by a year or two of pre-election giveaways — the Lib Dems would press for a balanced mix of increased public spending …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 30 Comments
Mark Pack

Brightening up our high streets

By Mark Pack | Fri 2nd December 2011 - 7:47 am

Having high streets which look pleasant rather than grotty should be an aim for local politicians others active in their community. There is the economic reason – businesses tend to do better. There is the safety reason – as the broken windows theory argues and evidence backs up – dealing with grime and grot helps cut crime. There is also a third reason which politicians in particular are often a bit wary of saying, but quite simply having our communities look more pleasant is a desirable end in itself. You do not have to immerse yourself in aesthetic theories to appreciate …

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Posted in Op-eds | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

Brown at 10: the authoritative account – which lays into Ed Balls

By Mark Pack | Wed 30th November 2011 - 3:54 pm

When it first came out Brown at 10 by Anthony Seldon and Guy Lodge was extremely well received for its authoritative detail and the revised paperback edition maintains that standard well. With Seldon being one of the founders of the modern school of contemporary history, it is no surprise that the book follows the thorough, heavily documented approach contemporary historians strive for – with over 1 million words of interviews recorded for posterity (even if many are, for the next 30 years, withheld from public view) and extensive access to private diaries.

The huge depth of research is accompanied by …

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Posted in Books | Also tagged , , , , and | 3 Comments
Munira Wilson

Feltham and Heston by-election – come and help Lib Dems’ Roger Crouch make an impact today!

By Munira Wilson | Wed 30th November 2011 - 7:55 am

At this time of year, Christmas lights start to be switched on in towns and cities across the country — but for a lot of Liberal Democrat activists Christmas celebrations won’t be starting so early! Many of my friends and colleagues are postponing Christmas shopping to join Roger Crouch’s campaign for Feltham and Heston.

In just over two weeks’ time the voters of Feltham and Heston will have a new MP. The last parliamentary by-election of 2011 takes place on 15th December and the only early Christmas present I’m asking for …

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Posted in News and Parliamentary by-elections | Also tagged , , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: Is there such a thing as too many leaflets?

By Mark Pack | Mon 28th November 2011 - 3:54 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: Is it possible to deliver too many leaflets?

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Posted in Campaign Corner | 26 Comments
Mark Pack

Missing: the people the Leveson Inquiry won’t be talking to

By Mark Pack | Fri 25th November 2011 - 7:45 am

“Follow the money”. It’s a cliché of investigative journalism for a very good reason. If you want to get to the heart of what is really going on, knowing who has paid what to whom frequently exposes the real action being hidden away behind warm words, evasive statements and muttered “no comments”.

It is also at the heart of many a public inquiry. Want to know why something happened? Who pays whom is again right at the centre of the story. Whether it is understanding drugs policy and the economics of the illegal market or looking at problems of rail safety, …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

The party’s back to front: why our political messaging is wrong

By Mark Pack | Thu 24th November 2011 - 10:55 am

Hearing both Danny Alexander and Nick Clegg speak several times at local Liberal Democrat events over the summer, something not quite right about their speeches was nagging away at the back of my mind.

It was not the delivery, for both have speaking styles which are excellently suited to the semi-formal audience of between 20 and 100 which is common at such events.

Nor was it about the consistency of message: without either lapsing into robotic repetition of the sort that served Ed Miliband so badly in his notorious public sector strikes interview, both in their different ways were echoing the …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 27 Comments
Mark Pack

Was there a Clegg coup? Review of The Clegg Coup – Britain’s First Coalition Government Since Lloyd George by Jasper Gerard

By Mark Pack | Wed 23rd November 2011 - 9:54 am

Many book titles reveal little about what their book contains, either providing but a banal name for its contents or a clever, clever name which obscures rather than reveals. However, The Clegg Coup – Britain’s First Coalition Government Since Lloyd George by Jasper Gerard has a title which is revealing in two aspects. First, the way general accuracy in the book is marred by detailed slips – for whilst the general point of the title is true, with the May 2010 coalition being the UK’s first peacetime coalition in Westminster since before 1939, the title does not use the …

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Posted in Books | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , and | 25 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: How to write effective fundraising letters

By Mark Pack | Mon 21st November 2011 - 4:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I know I need to ask members and supporters for money to help fund our local campaigning, but I hate writing fundraising letters. What should I say?

  1. The basic formula is thank, warn, inspire: in other words, thank people for their past support, warn them of what can go wrong if there is not enough money for the campaign (e.g.

…

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Posted in Campaign Corner | 2 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV Caption Competition | Jeremy Browne “it’s not always this black-and-white” Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sun 20th November 2011 - 5:45 pm

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


(Hat-tip to ChinaDaily.com.)

Here’s Lib Dem foreign minister Jeremy Browne enjoying a bite to eat with one of two pandas on their way from Bifengxia Yaan Panda Base in China to Edinburgh Zoo. What do you think might be being said or thought by those pictured?

And the winner of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, John Hemming “you’ll have had your tea” Edition.

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Posted in Caption Comp | Also tagged | 30 Comments
Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: What if Gordon Brown Were Still Prime Minister?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 19th November 2011 - 7:55 am

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

Over at the New Statesman Guy Lodge has posed the question, ‘What if … Gordon Brown was leading the Eurozone crisis?’, and come up with quite a flattering answer for our former Prime Minister.

He believes that Gordon Brown would have shown more leadership than David Cameron and George Osborne in the Eurozone crisis, and crucially would have more credibility to deal with Nicolas Sarkosy and Angela Merkel.

Is he right?

What if the Lib Dems had propped up Gordon Brown in …

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 29 Comments
Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart

The Independent View: And then there was one… (Unmasked! The only backbench Lib Dem MP 100% loyal to the Coalition)

By Philip Cowley and Mark Stuart | Fri 18th November 2011 - 9:45 am

When a quarter of the parliamentary Conservative party rebels, everyone sits up and takes notice. On 24 October, 2011, 81 Conservative MPs defied a three-line whip to vote in favour of an EU referendum: cue a blaze of negative publicity for David Cameron and the Tory party whips.

But a week or so later one-quarter of Lib Dem MPs rebelled, and (almost) no one noticed. In nine separate votes on 1 and 2 November, a total of 14 Lib Dem MPs voted against various aspects of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. The largest …

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Posted in News, Parliament and The Independent View | Also tagged , , , , , and | 13 Comments
Iain Sharpe

Book review: Peace, Reform and Liberation – “the first port of call for anyone wishing to learn more about Liberal and Liberal Democrat history”

By Iain Sharpe | Wed 16th November 2011 - 10:25 am

There has long been a need for a single volume history of the Liberal and Liberal Democrat parties covering the entire period from its roots in the constitutional struggles of the seventeenth century to the present day.

While Liberal history has received plenty of attention from historians, previous studies of the party have been limited to a specific eras or themes. In many ways of course the party has several histories. This includes the origins of the Liberal tradition in the Whigs of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the heyday of Liberal government in the middle of the nineteenth century, the party’s decline and near extinction between the 1920s and 1950s, its recovery in the second half of the twentieth century, and now the challenges of governing in coalition with the party’s historic enemies, the Conservatives.

So it is welcome that the Liberal Democrat History Group has sought to fill a gap with Peace, Reform and Liberation.

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Posted in Books | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | 16 Comments
David Hennigan

Opinion: The Lib Dem leadership’s attitude to the Police Commissioner elections is baffling!

By David Hennigan | Tue 15th November 2011 - 2:15 pm

“Liberal Democrats – soft on crime” was the headline that has often screamed off Labour leaflets over the last decade. Indeed, in the latter stages of the 2010 General Election, Labour strategists used that message to squeeze the Liberal Democrat vote when we were on 29%.

Looking at the partial, last-minute collapse in our vote, it’s difficult to argue that this line of attack didn’t work. The ‘soft on crime’ attack was used against us in the Oldham East and Saddleworth By-election. Labour’s Christmas Card to constituents in Oldham even featured a snowman with a police …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 30 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: How do I make my ward emails more effective?

By Mark Pack | Mon 14th November 2011 - 4:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I have built up quite a large number of emails for residents in my ward and I’m expecting a close fight in May. How can I get the most out of emails to them?

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Posted in Campaign Corner and Online politics | 5 Comments
Sam Barnett

Opinion: Lib Dems should embrace the ‘Occupy’ spirit

By Sam Barnett | Mon 14th November 2011 - 12:20 pm

A small group of idealists, pitched up at a famous London landmark, arguing for radical change. Surrounded by hostile press trying to catch them out and making outlandish (or just plain false) accusations, they stay, grimly determined to make their voices heard by the public, the press and the powerful.

Yes, it’s Occupy London, but I could also be talking about the Parliamentary Liberal Democrats.

Maybe I’m naïve, but I see that we have more in common with Occupy than meets the eye. Let’s look at how our actions and beliefs match up with Occupy’s initial statement:

1. The current system is …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 39 Comments
Kiron Reid

Opinion: Why do Liberals (and Greens, and Conservatives) fund the Labour Party?

By Kiron Reid | Sun 13th November 2011 - 8:45 am

Why are Liberals, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Socialists, Plaid Cymru, and non-party supporters funding the Labour Party?

“In 2008, an overall financial contribution of £646,000 (2007: £646,103) was made to The Co operative Party”. The Co-operative Group website.

Every non-Labour supporter should read this.

My friend Keith Turner told me a couple of years ago that he didn’t bank with the Co-operative Bank because they funded the Co-operative Party. I had seen nothing about this and thought it unlikely given that our party have had an affinity deal with the Co-operative Bank for years.

I was upping my holdings in the Bank …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 32 Comments
Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: Are Lib Dems too pro-European?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 12th November 2011 - 8:45 am

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

With the looming debt crisis in the Eurozone and Eurosceptics from across the political divide baying for blood, the LDV weekend debate couldn’t resist the pressure any longer.

So, with people openly talking about the possibility of the end of the Euro as we know it, and Europe seemingly in crisis, are Lib Dem Ministers taking the right decisions for the party and the country as a whole?

The party has long been …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged and | 59 Comments
Ed Maxfield

Opinion: Will Hutton and his killer fact – the questions that need an answer

By Ed Maxfield | Tue 8th November 2011 - 10:20 am

We are all experts when we blog. So, let me break with convention and start by admitting I am no economist. What’s more, I really hope I am wrong.

If you read the discussion in the Observer on the future of the economy you might have been struck, like me, by what seemed to be a killer point from Will Hutton. Challenging the notion that government borrowing is unsustainable he pointed out that when he was a child in the 1950s the level of borrowing was even higher as a proportion of national income than it is now. Doesn’t that …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 30 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: How to make Focus leaflets look better

By Mark Pack | Mon 7th November 2011 - 4:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I understand some of the principles of graphic design, but I’m not a professional designer. What are the easiest ways to make my Focus leaflets look better?

  1. Headlines: make your headlines big, short and clear. Put the leaflet on the floor and stand over it. If you glance down can you (a) easily read the headlines and (b) get from them the main messages? If not, make the headlines better/bigger – as a quick glance at the headlines is often all a leaflet will get before someone decides to read more or bin it. Even if they do decide to bin it, with the right headlines they will have got the main messages.
  2. Captions on photos:
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Posted in Campaign Corner | 23 Comments
Carl Quilliam

The weekend debate: Is it time to end the ban on political TV advertising?

By Carl Quilliam | Sat 5th November 2011 - 8:47 am

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

A few weeks ago a campaign advert made by ONE, an organisation founded by Bono (of U2 fame) was banned from TV because it breaches political advertising rules. 

Many people seeing this story for the first time might be quite pleased not to have to deal with the unbearable smugness of Bono on their TV screen again. But outside of any personal dislike of a particular celebrity, politician or political party is this an issue where broadcast regulations are simply out of …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

Local liberal heroes: Roger Hayes

By Mark Pack | Wed 2nd November 2011 - 11:45 am

Earlier in the year, I penned a series of posts profiling forgotten liberal heroes (to which a couple of other people also kindly contributed), looking at some of those who achieved great things for liberalism in their time but have been unjustly forgotten – such as Margaret Wintringham, the very first female Liberal MP.

There is also another group of people who I think are often unjustly obscure – those local campaigners who are often at the heart of their local community and local party, delivering liberalism and helping others, but as their stage is a local one they are often …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 6 Comments
Jasper Gerard

Opinion: The modern Conservative party – how very Reckless

By Jasper Gerard | Wed 2nd November 2011 - 10:05 am

If Dickens had invented a character called “Mark Reckless”, it might have looked a little contrived. The Conservative MP for Strood and Rochester has argued that Britain should withdraw from the EU, and claims that over half his Conservative colleagues support him.

And not since such Dickensian figures as Sir Leicester Dedlock or Artful Dodger has a character lived up to his name with such enthusiasm. For think how reckless it would be if Britain were to withdraw from the EU, a scenario which even Margaret Thatcher considered suicidal and which was once the lonely position of the lunatic, Bennite left.

Amid …

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Posted in Europe / International and Op-eds | Also tagged and | 10 Comments
Mark Pack

Housing: six things that could be done

By Mark Pack | Tue 1st November 2011 - 8:46 am

As Tim Leunig pointed out last week, housing plays an important role in most people’s concept of social mobility, a point highlighted in Stephen Gilbert’s piece over the summer recounting his own personal circumstances:

Last year I was probably the only MP to be elected while still living with my parents. Of course, I’d moved out of home and, like many others, had to move back again. It’s a symptom of the fact that housing policy in the UK is in crisis. We have millions of people languishing on social housing waiting lists, first-time-buyers priced out of the market

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 14 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: What campaigning books are worth reading?

By Mark Pack | Sun 30th October 2011 - 4:50 pm

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I prefer learning by reading rather than by hearing people speak at training sessions. What campaigning books would you recommend?

Lots of possible answers, but in the spirit of Campaign Corner’s love of threes, here are just three, deliberately chosen as one each from the main party perspectives:

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Posted in Campaign Corner | Also tagged , and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Tim Farron: good speech, but wrong message

By Mark Pack | Thu 27th October 2011 - 8:54 am

Sometimes the toughest speaking gigs for MPs is when they are talking to a friendly audience – but something interesting is happening behind them. So it was a few months ago with Julian Huppert talking to Putney Liberal Democrats. Very thoughtful speech, well received by the members and supporters present – but Julian had to struggle to avoid being upstaged by the cute, preening, attention-seeking cat paddling back and forth behind him.

When Tim Farron came to speak to Haringey Liberal Democrats last night, there was no cat to distract – but instead the minor drama of the stalwart member who …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 21 Comments
Mark Pack

How do the university application figures match up against my five questions?

By Mark Pack | Mon 24th October 2011 - 11:00 pm

On Sunday, ahead of the publication of the first tranche of university application figures, I posed five questions for judging what they meant. Now the full figures are out, how to do they compare to those five tests?

Let’s see…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 22 Comments
Mark Pack

Campaign Corner: Should you still target during a PR election?

By Mark Pack | Sun 23rd October 2011 - 3:50 pm

Welcome to a new series of posts, each of which will look to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: Should you still target during PR list elections, such as for the London Assembly or the European Parliament?

A very good question – and one that I could easily write more than three tips about! But here are three:

  1. Repetition is what persuades people to change their votes: so it is much better to campaign repeatedly over a small area than to stretch thin over

…

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Posted in Campaign Corner | 4 Comments
Jasper Gerard

Jasper Gerard writes… The Clegg Coup – and the serialisation horror

By Jasper Gerard | Wed 19th October 2011 - 9:25 am

To those who fear the future marching over the horizon, this must feel suspiciously like enemy occupation. Liberal Democrats, with their new and sinister continental ways, have seized power. If conservative opinion believed it had the measure of Labour, it can’t quite get to grips with Britain’s newest rulers. For not only are Liberal Democrats in office for the first time, they have given us an apparently foreign form of government, a coalition.

Traditionalists have to trawl back more than a century for the homely comfort of precise precedent. Such has been the opposition to peacetime partnership, where two united parties …

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Posted in Books and Op-eds | Also tagged and | 37 Comments
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