Tag Archives: matthew taylor

Nick Clegg’s “worker’s bonus” – what I said about it on BBC’s Daily Politics

stephen-Tall-Daily-PoliticsI guested on BBC2’s Daily Politics on Monday to discuss Nick Clegg’s announcement that he wants the Coalition to offer a “worker’s bonus” in the next budget, taking the personal allowance up to £10,500 – beyond the £10,000 that was promised by the Lib Dems at the 2010 election.

The other two guests were ex-No. 10 Labour policy wonk Matthew Taylor, now chief executive of the RSA, and Conservative backbench MP Dominic Raab.

You can watch the 10-minute debate here (til 25th November).

Here’s my view in 6 sentences:

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Lib Dem Peers rebel as Government defeated on Welfare Reform

The Government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords tonight on various aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill.

The House of Lords was discussing amendments relating to the Employment and Support Allowance.

The Guardian reports that 3 Liberal Democrats, Jenny Tonge, Matthew Taylor and Roger Roberts voted for an amendment which protected young people’s right to claim Employment and Support Allowance.

The Government was also defeated on their one year time limit for claiming Contributory ESA. This was increased to two years by the amendment. The Liberal Democrat rebels were Dee Doocey and Jenny Tonge.

The third defeat was …

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Matthew Taylor signs up to South West Water board

Matthew Taylor, Lib Dem MP for Truro and Falmouth, is one of seven Lib Dems standing down at the coming election. After more than two decades in Parliament, he’s been considering what to do next – and now we know at least part of the answer, courtesy of The Western Morning News:

A CORNISH MP and critic of unfair water charging has been made a non-executive director of South West Water. Matthew Taylor, who is standing down at the next election after 23 years as the Liberal Democrat MP for Truro and St Austell, has been a vocal critic

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The 7 retiring Lib Dem MPs (and the 7 candidates hoping to replace them)

Seven Lib Dem MPs have announced they’re retiring at this year’s general election. All seven are men: of their replacements, four are women. Here’s the list in full:

John Barrett (LD) – Edinburgh West

Majority: 13,600 (30%) – second safest Lib Dem seat in the UK.
Reason for leaving: to spend more time with his grand-daughters.
Hoping to succeed him: Mike Crockart.

Colin Breed (LD) – South East Cornwall

Majority: 6,507 (13%).
Reason for leaving: not stated.
Hoping to succeed him: Karen Gillard.

David Howarth (LD) – Cambridge

Majority: 5,058 (11%).
Reason for leaving: “to concentrate on my other life, as an academic.”
Hoping to succeed him: Julian Huppert.

Paul

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Wonderful news for Matthew Taylor and his family

Six months ago, Lib Dem Voice reported the sad news that Arthur Taylor, – the two year-old son of Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor and his wife, Vicky – had been admitted to hospital after doctors found a tumour on his spine.

So it was wonderful to read on Alex Lanson Folkes’s blog that Arthur has been given the provisional all-clear by doctors. Here’s an excerpt from the Taylors’ statement:

The last eight months have seemed an eternity of worry, and especially the last two weeks. The operation brought a real risk of disabling Arthur, and we could not

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The ban on MPs employing their relatives: two Lib Dems protest

The Telegraph reports today that two Lib Dem MPs – Malcolm Bruce and Matthew Taylor – are among the 17 MPs who have protested to Sir Christopher Kelly at the proposed ban on employing relatives:

Malcolm Bruce
Liberal Democrat MP for Gordon
Employs wife, Rosemary Bruce, as Office Manager and Diary Secretary
“Having my wife as office manager, diary secretary and constituency PA operating from an office in our home is invaluable not only to me but, I strongly believe, to constituents and other organisations I deal with as part of my parliamentary and constituency duties.”

Matthew Taylor
Liberal Democrat MP for Truro

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Good wishes to Matthew Taylor and his family

From yesterday’s Western Morning News:

THE two-year-old son of Cornwall MP Matthew Taylor was admitted to hospital yesterday after doctors found a tumour on his spine. Arthur Taylor, son of the Truro and St Austell Lib-Dem MP, is in London’s Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital after being admitted for specialist investigation and treatment.

Last week, the youngster was admitted as an emergency to St Thomas’s Hospital in London where a scan revealed the tumour at the base of his spine. Mr Taylor said his son was able to spend “a happy and comfortable weekend at home with the family” before being

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Tory ‘fictional minister’ broke Parliamentary rules

As the BBC reports here, Tory MP for Hertford and Stortford Mark Prisk has been publicly rebuked by the Speaker of the House of Commons for for breaking Parliamentary rules in relation to political campaigning.

Parliamentary rules state that MPs are not allowed to use their role as a Member of Parliament to undertake activity in other constituencies, in order to prevent Parliamentary casework being used for party political campaigning. But speaking in the House of Commons yesterday, Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor asserted that Mr Prisk was guilty of using the invented title of ‘Shadow Minister for Conrwall’ …

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