Tag Archives: nick clegg

Clegg: Five reasons why this is not Iraq

By The Voice | Wed 28th August 2013 - 8:44 pm

Nick Clegg has just sent the following email to Liberal Democrat party members:

Dear member,

Tomorrow Parliament will consider international action in Syria.

I have been adamant from the outset: any case for international action must be taken to the UN in an effort to achieve as great an international consensus as possible. And I have made certain this is taking place.

We must wait until we hear from the weapons inspectors.

Ahead of tomorrow’s debate, you can read the full wording of the motion we’ll be laying before Parliament here.

For the past week I have been in regular discussions with the Prime Minister, …

Posted in News | Also tagged featured, iraq and syria | 56 Comments

Syria: what do Liberal Democrats want?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 28th August 2013 - 9:57 am

Last night we brought you Nick Clegg’s view on Syria, which can be summarised as follows:

if we stand idly by we set a very dangerous precedent
the use of chemical weapons is a repugnant crime
we will not stand idly by when chemical weapons are used in complete breach of international law
Government “is not going to act outside the remit of international law”
we want to stand up for the standards and norms in the civilised world

In the last couple of days Paddy Ashdown and Sir Menzies Campbell, two of the most respected voices this country has on foreign affairs, have been …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged featured, paddy ashdown, sir menzies campbell and syria | 46 Comments

Nick Clegg on Syria: Government “is not going to act outside the remit of international law”

By The Voice | Tue 27th August 2013 - 7:15 pm

Here’s Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg commenting on the Government’s actions on Syria:

Posted in Europe / International and YouTube | Also tagged syria | 28 Comments

The lessons we must learn for Nick Clegg’s next holiday

By Caron Lindsay | Sun 25th August 2013 - 11:24 am

Nick Clegg’s two spells of holiday this Summer have been characterised by the Home Office in particular getting above itself in his absence. Both the party and Nick’s Special Advisers should have learned from the furore over the “Go home” poster vans. The Home Office pulled a fast one by implementing this pilot without telling the Liberal Democrats. The response from the Party was the right one – that they were “disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective” and Vince Cable saying a few days later that they were stupid and offensive. The problem was that the response came out by …

Posted in News | Also tagged civil liberties, holidays, media, nick cohen and observer | 31 Comments

Liblink: Nick Clegg “I share the concerns about David Miranda’s detention”

By NewsHound | Sat 24th August 2013 - 11:57 am

You can’t accuse Nick Clegg of hiding away. Now that he’s returned from holiday, his first direct public comment on the Miranda detention and Guardian files controversy comes in a column in that paper.

First, where the Liberal Democrats are coming from:

Liberal Democrats believe government must tread the fine line between liberty and security very carefully, and are not easily persuaded by a government minister asserting: “Just trust me.” So now that we are in government, we have been vigilant in ensuring the right decisions are made: scrutinising and challenging the assumptions of security experts, even as we give them our

…

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged civil liberties, david miranda and the guardian | 8 Comments

I’m a liberal and I’m sticking up for Nick Clegg over David Miranda and The Guardian

By Stephen Tall | Fri 23rd August 2013 - 12:30 am

Civil liberties. It’s the issue that unites Lib Dems like no other. While you’ll find a range of views within the party on big issues that matter more to the voters — such as the economy or the NHS or even tuition fees — personal freedom, the right to live your life as you choose, is at the heart of liberalism. Nick Clegg made his name within the Lib Dems as shadow home affairs spokesman by proposing measures like the Freedom Bill and threatening to go to prison rather than carry an ID card.

Yet civil liberties is also the …

Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged david anderson qc, david miranda, edward snowden, featured, glenn greenwald, jeremy browne, jeremy huppert and tim farron | 46 Comments

Sarah Ludford MEP writes…Conference must debate Miranda detention

By Sarah Ludford | Wed 21st August 2013 - 7:40 pm

I was not initially planning to get particularly involved on the David Miranda Schedule 7 issue except as a concerned, nay horrified, spectator. After all, I’m an MEP not an MP nor (at present) able to be active as a peer, and I have plenty on my plate in Brussels.

But from early Monday morning, as I read the admirably vigorous response from the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation David Anderson QC – and the immediate if deeply hypocritical reaction from Yvette Cooper – I did start to wonder who from the party was going to be vocal. So I tweeted …

Posted in News | Also tagged autumn conference 2013, civil liberties, conference, david miranda, jonathan calder, Mark Pack, richard davis and simon titley | 35 Comments

Nick Clegg’s office speaks out on Miranda detention and destruction of Guardian data

By The Voice | Wed 21st August 2013 - 11:10 am

A spokesperson for Nick Clegg has released the following statement to the press:

We understand the concerns about recent events, particularly around issues of freedom of the press and civil liberties. The independent reviewer of terrorism legislation is already looking into the circumstances around the detention of David Miranda and we will wait to see his findings.

On the specific issue of records held by the Guardian, the Deputy Prime Minister thought it was reasonable for the Cabinet Secretary to request that the Guardian destroyed data that would represent

…

Posted in News | Also tagged civil liberties and david miranda | 98 Comments

Opinion: Secret courts and the detention of David Miranda

By Iain Donaldson | Wed 21st August 2013 - 10:28 am

For a number of years where it was felt that taking a case into court may result in information being divulged that could harm national security successive British Governments have settled out of court.

This Coalition Government decided that this approach was too costly and so resolved to introduce closed material procedures, or secret courts, for civil cases brought by citizens against the intelligence services.

In these secret courts the citizen will lay their case before a Judge, who will then sit in private with the intelligence services present but the Citizen not, and consider evidence that may never have been seen

…

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged civil liberties, david miranda and secret courts | 9 Comments

The most important factor for Liberal Democrats in any 2015 Coalition negotiations

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 21st August 2013 - 9:12 am

The Silly Season continues with yet more speculation on what happens after the 2015 election. Monday’s Independent carried the loaded headline:

Lib Dem Supporters spell it out: we won’t be fooled by Nick Clegg again over support for a coalition

That Liberal Democrats will be wary about any future coalition, with anybody, should come as no surprise. The deductive reasoning powers of the average goldfish could have worked that out.

The article quotes people like Martin Tod, Gareth Epps and Cllr Richard Kemp, all of whom are saying quite reasonable things, none of them suggesting that Nick Clegg fooled us in 2010, …

Posted in News | Also tagged 2015 general election, gareth epps, independent, martin tod and richard kemp | 31 Comments

Opinion: Paxman, politics and pogonophobia

By Andy Boddington | Wed 14th August 2013 - 3:32 pm

Oh what a fuss about a beard!

The media has gone mad over Jeremy Paxman’s beard, egged on a ‘Twitter storm’ last night. Even the BBC has got in on the act, declaring its presenter’s beard to be ‘notorious’.

What is it about beards that generate such interest, dislike, even fear? (This fear, the media tell us with glee, is properly called pogonophobia.)

Distrust of beards is nothing new. I grew mine the moment I escaped from sixth form. As an archaeologist, being hirsute was pretty much obligatory for men in those days. But when I led a dig for a county council, the head of personnel laughed out loud at the ‘odd habit’ of us diggers growing facial hair.

Posted in Humour and Op-eds | Also tagged beards, featured and jeremy paxman | 15 Comments

Opinion: Where does Lib Dem immigration policy go from here?

By Sebastian Bench | Thu 8th August 2013 - 1:00 pm

The recent furore over the home office ‘go-home’ billboards has put immigration back in the headlines and highlighted the divide within the coalition over immigration.

It was Sarah Teather who first voiced objections to the billboards, with a number of Lib Dems including Nick Clegg condemning them since. There has been little or no such criticism from Conservatives, who approved the billboards without consulting any Lib Dems.

This is not too surprising given Conservative immigration policy over the past three years. The Conservatives have been promoting anti-immigration policies and rhetoric since the start of the Coalition, including …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged immigration and sarah teather | 17 Comments

Alan Beith to step down in 2015

By NewsHound | Wed 7th August 2013 - 2:58 pm

Sir Alan Beith has announced that he will be standing down from Parliament at the next election, after serving Berwick upon Tweed as their MP for 42 years.

Nick Clegg said:

Sir Alan has been a huge figure in British and both Liberal and Liberal Democrat politics over an astonishing four decades.

The present generation of political leaders in Britain were barely out of nursery when Alan Beith was first making his mark on the floor of the House of Commons.

So it is little wonder that when Sir Alan speaks today, he commands the attention of all parties in Westminster.

Posted in News | Also tagged alan beith and berwick-upon-tweed | 13 Comments

The Daily Mail gets it wrong again

By Mary Reid | Tue 6th August 2013 - 11:56 am

The Daily Mail still doesn’t ‘get’ the Liberal Democrats, although many of us take that as evidence that we must be doing something right.

According to the headline today Clegg tells new dads they must take a month off or get nothing: Deputy PM wants to follow Scandinavia’s lead to make sure fathers play a bigger role in childcare, Nick Clegg and the party have apparently already adopted a policy that is to be debated in Glasgow next month.

So this presents us with another opportunity to explain how policy making works, or is supposed to work, in the Liberal Democrats. A year or so ago the Federal Policy Committee set up a policy working group, chaired by the inestimable Claire Tyler, to look at work/life balance. They took evidence from a wide range of experts and organisations and have now published their policy paper entitled A Balanced Working Life: Policies for Low and Middle Income Households (pdf).

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged daily mail and parental leave | 17 Comments

New Liberal Democrat Peers: Has Nick got it right?

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 1st August 2013 - 7:00 pm

I will start by getting it out there that I just hate having to write this post. The very idea that the power of patronage exercised by 3 men, with a tiny fig leaf of scrutiny by a committee can choose people who make the laws I have to obey almost brings me out in hives. I can forgive Nick Clegg, because at least he tried to do something about it before he was defeated by the combined forces of Britain’s two conservative parties. While we’re stuck with an appointed second Chamber, it would be foolish for us to decide not …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged house of lords | 46 Comments

New Lib Dem peers announced

By The Voice | Thu 1st August 2013 - 11:09 am

The new Liberal Democrat Peers, announced today, are:

Catherine (Cathy) Mary Bakewell MBE – former leader of Somerset County Council
Rosalind (Olly) Grender MBE – former Director of Communications for Shelter and former Director of Communications for the Liberal Democrats
Christine Mary Humphreys – President of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and former Member of the National Assembly for Wales
Zahida Manzoor CBE – Former Legal Services Ombudsman and Deputy Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality
Brian Paddick – Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police Service
James Palumbo – Co-founder and chairman of Ministry of Sound Group, the

…

Posted in News | Also tagged alison suttie, brian paddick, cathy bakewell, christine humphries, ian wrigglesworth, james palumbo, jeremy purvis, olly grender, rumi verjee and zahida manzoor | 42 Comments

A Record of Delivery: Lib Dems’ new Achievements in Government booklet

By Helen Duffett | Wed 31st July 2013 - 3:49 pm

This morning Nick Clegg launched the Party’s new booklet: “A Record of Delivery: What the Liberal Democrats have achieved in Government.”

As Nick says in his foreword to the booklet,

The Liberal Democrats have always been able to campaign on a strong record of local delivery. Now – for the first time in our party’s history – we can combine that with our record in national government too.

That’s what we did in the Eastleigh by-election – and it works. But no one is going to tell our story for us. We need to use every opportunity between now and the

…

Posted in News | Also tagged liberal democrats achievements in government | 16 Comments

Don Foster MP writes… Access to finance for ethnic minority businesses

By Don Foster MP | Tue 30th July 2013 - 3:38 pm

Liberal Democrats want to create a Stronger Economy in a Fairer Society. In order to do this it is vital that no one section of society is unnecessarily prevented from starting a new business should they wish to do so. However, evidence suggests that people from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are often keen to start a business but for a variety of reasons don’t go through with it. The National Audit Office estimates that the cost to our economy from the failure to fully use the talents of people from our ethnic minority population could be more than …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged andrew stunell, business and department for communities and local government | 8 Comments

Lib Dems secure £35 million extra funds to help those affected by Bedroom Tax

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 30th July 2013 - 2:49 pm

The arguments over the so-called Bedroom Tax have been rehearsed on this site on many occasions and it’s been in the news today, with the judgement that it does not discriminate against disabled people.

The Department of Work and Pensions has separately announced extra money to help those worst affected. This will be given to Councils to give to those most in need. I understand that ministers did consider further exemptions but felt that it was fairer to allow councils to make the decisions because they were dealing directly with the tenants concerned and knew more about their circumstances.

The extra …

Posted in News | Also tagged bedroom tax, housing benefit, john thurso, Michael Moore and willie rennie | 24 Comments

EXCLUSIVE: Nick Clegg’s ratings get a boost & 55% of party members want him to lead party in 2015

By Stephen Tall | Fri 26th July 2013 - 9:50 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 600 party members have responded, and we’re publishing the full results.

Nick Clegg’s ratings recover to +18%, best in over a year

What is your view of Nick Clegg’s performance as Lib Dem leader?

44% – Satisfied

Total satisfied = 58% (+10%)

20% – Dissatisfied

20% – Very dissatisfied

Total dissatisfied = 40% (-8%)

2% – Don’t know / No opinion

When we last polled party members on their view of Nick Clegg’s performance as Lib Dem leader, in March 2013, he had a rating of -2%. This was only the second time perceptions of Nick within the party had dipped into the negative zone. July’s rating sees his position recover significantly to +18%. That’s Nick’s best rating since June 2012 (when it was +19%).

Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged featured | 27 Comments

Exclusive…Liberal Democrats: “Go home” poster vans “disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective”

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th July 2013 - 2:01 pm

The Liberal Democrats, so I hear, had nothing to do with the poster vans sent by the Home Office into 6 London boroughs which have caused much anger in Liberal Democrat circles as I wrote earlier. I said that I had seen no evidence that Liberal Democrat ministers had cleared them and it seems that my instincts were right.

A party spokesman told me:

These poster vans were not cleared or agreed by Liberal Democrats in government. We are totally committed to tackling illegal immigration but this is

…

Posted in News | Also tagged featured, immigration, jeremy browne and poster vans | 37 Comments

“Go home” billboards – an open letter and blog round-up

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th July 2013 - 12:55 pm

Since my post on Monday about the Home Office’s plan to send mobile billboards proclaiming that people who are in this country illegally should go home or face arrest, a number of bloggers and party members across various internet fora have expressed emotions ranging from horror to anger at the plan.

Sarah Teather is, as far as I can tell, the only Liberal Democrat MP to have passed any comment at all, and just to remind you, she wasn’t chuffed:

Vulnerable individuals who are fleeing persecution and violence are treated with disbelief and a complete lack of compassion in a rigid

…

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged david laws, hywel morgan, immigration, lester holloway, liberator's blog and sarah teather | 29 Comments

Nick Clegg on the Royal birth: “Good news to make the whole country smile”

By The Voice | Tue 23rd July 2013 - 8:45 am

Here’s how Lib Dem MPs responded to the news of the new addition to the Royal Family…

Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Good news to make the whole country smile

— Nick Clegg (@nick_clegg) July 22, 2013

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the arrival of their baby boy!

— Michael Moore (@MichaelMooreMP) July 22, 2013

Posted in News | Also tagged andrew george, Michael Moore, mike crockart and royal family | 11 Comments

LDVideo: Nick Clegg speaks at equal marriage vigil

By Caron Lindsay | Fri 19th July 2013 - 2:55 pm

And finally, ending the week when the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act received Royal Assent, a reminder of the happy scenes when Nick Clegg went out and spoke to the vigil outside. As the London Gay Men’s Chorus sang Dancing Queen, he talked about how he hoped that in a few years’ time, people would be asking what the fuss was about. He said it was perfectly unremarkable for two people who love each other to want to get married regardless of their gender or sexuality. He also paid tribute to key figures who helped bring the bill about. I’ve added to that list here.

I defy you to watch this without smiling. It’s available here on You Tube.

Posted in News | Also tagged equal marriage and you tube | Leave a comment

Liberal Democrat John Leech wins Patchwork Foundation’s Lib Dem MP of the Year award

By Caron Lindsay | Thu 18th July 2013 - 8:55 am

Good news for Manchester Withington MP John Leech from the Manchester Gazette:

At a packed awards ceremony at the House of Commons tonight, south Manchester MP John Leech was presented with the first ever “Lib Dem MP of the Year” award for his work with deprived and minority groups.

He received the award from House of Commons Speaker John Bercow at an event organised by the Patchwork Foundation.

The Patchwork Foundation is the first BME charity to ever give awards out, following nominations from members of the public, and applications considered by

…

Posted in News | Also tagged john leech and Patchwork Foundation | 3 Comments

Nick Clegg gives an extra £400 to disadvantaged kids – so why is this turning into a story about ranking pupils?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th July 2013 - 10:24 am

You have to feel for Nick Clegg. He’s doing the media rounds this morning with some really good news. Primary schools are going to get an extra £400 in Pupil Premium, bringing the total per child per year to £1300. Impressive, surely?

It makes sense that the money is directed so that if a child is struggling in primary school, they get the help that they need then. Early intervention has to be the name of the game. The last thing you would ever want is for …

Posted in News | Also tagged education and pupil premium | 37 Comments

Trident: the Grand Old Lib Dems have lost this war already

By Stephen Tall | Wed 17th July 2013 - 9:30 am

Yesterday the Lib Dems published The Trident Alternatives Review. According to Danny Alexander, “it is the most thorough review of nuclear systems and postures the UK has ever made public. It is ground-breaking – thanks to the Liberal Democrats and our insistence that Trident alternatives must be examined.” That may be: but this is a war the party will not win.

Here’s the party’s sound-bite version of the policy:

We oppose the like-for-like replacement of Trident. We believe there is a ‘nuclear ladder’ of capabilities. Alternative systems or postures could bring

…

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged Danny Alexander, defence, featured, nuclear weapons and trident | 61 Comments

LibLink: Nick Clegg – Celebrate the arrival of equal marriage

By Mary Reid | Tue 16th July 2013 - 3:34 pm

Nick Clegg, writing in Pink News, said:

We’re almost there. We’ve almost made it. With the Third Reading of the Equal Marriage Bill complete, we’re just a few final steps away from the equal right for gay couples to marry becoming law.

I know you’re saving the champagne for when it actually happens. And that’s right. But it’s also important for us to recognise how much your commitment to this cause has transformed people’s attitudes to equal marriage in this country.

Posted in LibLink | Also tagged equal marriage and pink news | 9 Comments

Teather’s alternative voice on immigration: “it bothers me that there is a consensus among the three party leaders”

By Stephen Tall | Sun 14th July 2013 - 6:45 pm

Good on Sarah Teather. This weekend’s Guardian carries an excellent in-depth interview with the Lib Dem former children’s minister by Decca Aitkenhead in which she makes clear her deep unease not only with the Coalition’s immigration policy, but also the political consensus of the three party leaders that public concern about immigration means they must be seen to crack down on it, regardless of whether it’s the actual cause of the problems the public is concerned with.

Sarah begins by talking about the Tories’ perverse decision to heap more and more …

Posted in News | Also tagged decca aitkenhead, immigration, sarah teather and the guardian | 17 Comments

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Tag Archives: nick clegg

Clegg: Five reasons why this is not Iraq

Syria: what do Liberal Democrats want?

Nick Clegg on Syria: Government “is not going to act outside the remit of international law”

The lessons we must learn for Nick Clegg’s next holiday

Liblink: Nick Clegg “I share the concerns about David Miranda’s detention”

I’m a liberal and I’m sticking up for Nick Clegg over David Miranda and The Guardian

Sarah Ludford MEP writes…Conference must debate Miranda detention

Nick Clegg’s office speaks out on Miranda detention and destruction of Guardian data

Opinion: Secret courts and the detention of David Miranda

The most important factor for Liberal Democrats in any 2015 Coalition negotiations

Opinion: Paxman, politics and pogonophobia

Opinion: Where does Lib Dem immigration policy go from here?

Alan Beith to step down in 2015

The Daily Mail gets it wrong again

New Liberal Democrat Peers: Has Nick got it right?

New Lib Dem peers announced

A Record of Delivery: Lib Dems’ new Achievements in Government booklet

Don Foster MP writes… Access to finance for ethnic minority businesses

Lib Dems secure £35 million extra funds to help those affected by Bedroom Tax

EXCLUSIVE: Nick Clegg’s ratings get a boost & 55% of party members want him to lead party in 2015

Nick Clegg’s ratings recover to +18%, best in over a year

Exclusive…Liberal Democrats: “Go home” poster vans “disproportionate, distasteful and ineffective”

“Go home” billboards – an open letter and blog round-up

Nick Clegg on the Royal birth: “Good news to make the whole country smile”

LDVideo: Nick Clegg speaks at equal marriage vigil

Liberal Democrat John Leech wins Patchwork Foundation’s Lib Dem MP of the Year award

Nick Clegg gives an extra £400 to disadvantaged kids – so why is this turning into a story about ranking pupils?

Trident: the Grand Old Lib Dems have lost this war already

LibLink: Nick Clegg – Celebrate the arrival of equal marriage

Teather’s alternative voice on immigration: “it bothers me that there is a consensus among the three party leaders”

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Josh Babarinde writes…The Lib Dem Summer of Strategy

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What’s going on with party strategy?

A strange but welcome feeling

Tag Archives: nick clegg

Nick Clegg’s ratings recover to +18%, best in over a year

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