Tag Archives: lib dem achievements

William Summers

Opinion: What the hell have the Lib Dems done?

By William Summers | Mon 4th April 2011 - 11:27 am

I wasn’t the first in the party, and I doubt I’ll be the last, to say the Liberal Democrats need to make more of our achievements in government. There’s little doubt the balance of power in the Coalition lies with the Tories, but with five members of the Cabinet and sixteen further Government Ministers, we must have some kind of influence, right?

Well we certainly seem to. I recently came across a document outlining how the Liberal Democrats have been meeting their various manifesto commitments in government. It included some of our key pledges, such as raising the basic …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 63 Comments
Helen Duffett

Nick Clegg’s delivery diary

By Helen Duffett | Sun 3rd April 2011 - 1:53 pm

Nick Clegg’s article in the Indy today is a spare, evidential piece, as neatly sliced and lacking in rhetoric as an appointment diary.

But what a diary. Flip back a year, and Gordon was driving to the Palace to call the General Election, as the Liberal Democrats prepared to launch their manifesto.

Now, Nick writes,

…something is happening that, for the Liberal Democrats, is a new experience: the policies we championed during the election are becoming reality. I don’t mean that consultations are being announced, votes held, or papers published. Over the next few days, lives will be changed for

…

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Helen Duffett

More of the Liberal Democrat manifesto in practice

By Helen Duffett | Fri 11th March 2011 - 8:02 am

Just before Christmas, I blogged the Liberal Democrats’ achievements in Government. Since then, even more of the party’s manifesto has been enacted.

For example, the ID card database was publicly destroyed on 11th February 2011 and Project Merlin has ensured that the UK has the most transparent banking pay disclosure scheme in the world.

Sarah Teather’s SEN Green Paper has proposed key reforms to the way Special Education Needs are diagnosed and the support that children and parents receive.

The National Curriculum is under review, with the aim of replacing the current system with a slimmed-down and more competitive version.

The Government are backing Lord Clement-Jones’ Live Music Bill, which aims to cut red tape for putting on live music, as set out on page 46 of the Lib Dem Manifesto.

For the full update, see below:

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Helen Duffett

Lib Dems’ half-term report: gold stars from Simon Hughes – and Paul Waugh

By Helen Duffett | Thu 17th February 2011 - 8:45 pm

Over at PoliticsHome, Paul Waugh has a very positive piece, highlighting the recent series of announcements which bear a distinctive Liberal Democrat stamp:

Today, Nick Clegg can bask in last night’s AV Bill victory, delivering an historic referendum that could possibly see his party in power for a long time.
But the DPM can also celebrate having played a key role in a string of other areas being discussed today. On each issue, you can judge his success by the irritated reaction of the average Tory backbencher.

Paul helpfully lists welfare reform, gay marriage, green policy, growth, the AV referendum and more.

Go …

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Helen Duffett

ID cards to be scrapped at midnight tonight

By Helen Duffett | Fri 21st January 2011 - 10:31 am

From midnight tonight, ID cards may no longer be used to prove identity or to travel in Europe.

The documents are to be scrapped by the government under the Identity Documents Act 2010.

Tom Brake MP, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Policy Committee on Home Affairs, Justice and Equalities told Lib Dem Voice,

After yesterday’s annoucement of the cut from 28 to 14 days pre-charge detention, this is the second really big step in restoring the balance between civil liberties and security concerns.

This delivers yet another Lib Dem commitment in Government.

All personal information supplied during the process of applying for an …

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Mark Pack

Detention without charge to be cut from 28-days to 14-days

By Mark Pack | Thu 20th January 2011 - 9:55 pm

It’s long been a Liberal Democrat demand, and it was in the party’s 2010 manifesto, so good news that detention without charge is set to fall back to 14-days. The current 28-days limit expires on Monday and today the government has confirmed that it will not be trying to renew the limit. The 28-day increase was brought in by the then Labour government in 2006.

The BBC adds:

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, who campaigned to reinstate the 14-day limit, said the move would speed up the justice system. “If the time frame is longer I’m afraid that there is less

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 17 Comments
Helen Duffett

The Liberal Democrat manifesto in practice

By Helen Duffett | Tue 28th December 2010 - 6:09 pm

It’s an unnecessarily well-kept secret that the Liberal Democrats have already achieved much in Government since the General Election.

Despite the Guardian saying today that “the Liberal Democrats have rushed out a checklist of 67 party manifesto commitments already or nearly achieved in eight months in office” it’s not that easy to find the checklist online, nor to understand why the newspaper used the word “rushed” when the party has waited two thirds of a year before compiling and releasing it in a low-key way to Lib Dem campaigners.

Nonetheless, the list is impressive, and deserves to be shared widely. So I’m publishing it below,

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 12 Comments
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