Tag Archives: nick clegg

Alex Feakes

Opinion: Summer schools? Little more than a sticking plaster

By Alex Feakes | Thu 13th October 2011 - 9:25 am

Nick Clegg’s conference announcement of £50m to fund summer schools for the disadvantaged caught the headlines (even in the Daily Mail!), and received some support in editorials and from some Lib Dem bloggers. However, though it might be a crowd pleaser and a nice idea, in truth it’s little more than a sticking plaster for deeper problems.

Would I have them rather than nothing at all? Possibly, but I’d rather the money stayed in the Pupil Premium where it is at least targeted through mechanisms (schools) that are already set up to identify and address students needs. Perhaps even

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Ruth Bright

Opinion: None shall be enslaved by….maternity?

By Ruth Bright | Wed 12th October 2011 - 3:54 pm

Nick Clegg bemoans the maleness and paleness of the Lib Dems and his sense of shame that our parliamentary party is 88% male seems genuine enough.

What is it about the culture of Lib Dems that has brought about this striking gender imbalance?

My own experience as a councillor and candidate is that being a (young, childless, solvent) woman is a huge advantage. When I was approved and selected in 2001 you could almost smell the desperation of the party to promote women. The glass ceiling – what was that?

But then I did what women do and I had children and …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 29 Comments
Mark Pack

Nick Clegg: Lib Dem MPs are ‘too male and too pale’

By Mark Pack | Mon 10th October 2011 - 6:06 pm

The Daily Telegraph reports:

The Deputy Prime Minister said he was ‘ashamed’ at the lack of women Lib Dem MPs and their absence from the Coalition cabinet.

“It is a very serious problem,” he told an audience at Cheltenham Literature Festival.

“It is a source of endless shame to me that the Liberal Democrat party I lead, which believes in the diversity of Great Britain in gender and everything else does not represent contemporary Britain in Parliament.

“We are too male and too pale.”

Only seven of the current 57 Lib Dem MPs are female. The Conservatives have 49 women MPs, while Labour have 81.

Earlier

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 1 Comment
Helen Duffett

New on Twitter: Deputy Prime Minister’s Office

By Helen Duffett | Mon 10th October 2011 - 3:59 pm

@DPMoffice Twitter screenshot
Nick Clegg has added another string to his social media bow – this time it’s a new Twitter account.

@DPMoffice will be “Tweeting the official business of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.” It will be run separately from his existing party Twitter account, @nick_clegg, which will still cover Nick’s Liberal Democrat and Government-related activities.

See also the Deputy Prime Minister’s website, his (Cabinet Office) Flickr gallery and the Deputy Prime Minister’s YouTube channel.

Posted in News and Online politics | Also tagged and | Leave a comment
Simon Parker

The Independent View: Why it’s time for Nick Clegg to really end child detention

By Simon Parker | Tue 4th October 2011 - 3:50 pm

Among the Liberal Democrat policy gains that Nick Clegg attributed to the coalition government in his party conference speech last month was the ending of child detention. The same claim was made in the Liberal Democrat ‘List of Achievements’ and in a speech at the National Liberal Club summing up the party’s record one year into the coalition government.

The only problem with this claim is that it is not true. Child detention has not ended in the United Kingdom.

According to the Migration Observatory, more than 400 children were detained by the UK Border Agency in 2010. Certainly …

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Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Also tagged | 11 Comments
Greg Judge

Opinion: Accessing the Leader’s speech – incomprehensible and exclusive

By Greg Judge | Tue 4th October 2011 - 2:56 pm

What do the Fukushima Earthquake, Christchurch Earthquake, Queensland Floods, Libyan Revolution, Egyptian Jasmine Revolution and the ongoing struggle in Syria all have in common? If your answer was death then unfortunately you would be correct, however, a more inspirational and uplifting answer would be Sign Language!

In all of these cases, the elected officials of Public Office have been broadcasted with a Sign Language Interpreter at the side of them as they make statements on life and death events. This breakthrough in accessible information is crucial for Deaf people who need to know what to do in an emergency and how …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
Nick T

LibLink: Nick Clegg – We must stand up to this tyranny on our doorstep

By Nick T | Thu 29th September 2011 - 7:28 pm

Nick Clegg – currently in Poland representing the UK at the EU Eastern Partnership summit – has an op-ed in today’s Independent arguing that more must be done to topple Europe’s last dictator in Belarus. As well as his column, the deputy prime minister will also speak to the people of Belarus over the airwaves via European Radio for Belarus and meet with dissidents and democracy campaigners while in Warsaw.

Here’s an excerpt from the piece:

Imagine a country where torture and intimidation are reportedly common place. Where peaceful protesters are locked up – sent to maximum security prison colonies – and

…

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Posted in LibLink | Also tagged | 2 Comments
Harry Matthews

Opinion: Votes at 16 – let’s follow the Isle of Man’s example

By Harry Matthews | Thu 29th September 2011 - 2:29 pm

It is great news to hear that, after extending the franchise to 16 year olds in 2006, the Isle of Man is going to the polls today – and for the first time including 16 & 17 year olds!

However, (and it seems almost always) we are rather slow in enriching our democracy, whether it be changing the voting system, reforming the House of Lords, or extending the franchise to 16 & 17 year olds.

It is something both Liberal Youth & the British Youth Council have campaigned hard for. Even our Leader, Nick Clegg, who holds special responsibility for …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 5 Comments
George Potter

Opinion: What Nick should say about tuition fees at the 2015 general election

By George Potter | Tue 27th September 2011 - 4:25 pm

More than any other issue, tuition fees have damaged the view of our party in the country as a whole. For what it’s worth, here’s what I think our leader should say about fees when going into the next general election:

I would just like to say a few brief words about tuition fees.

As a party, we entered the last election with a promise to oppose any increase in tuition fees. As a party, we then broke that pledge. That was wrong.

Nothing can justify breaking a promise like that. Nothing. We made a mistake and we have been punished

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 49 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo | Nick Clegg speaking Dutch, Spanish and German

By Stephen Tall | Mon 26th September 2011 - 7:25 am

Today, 26th September, is the European Day of Languages. But you knew that, of course.

At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September. Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the Council of Europe’s 47 member states are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, the Council of Europe promotes plurilingualism in the whole of Europe.

Nick Clegg is rare in being a British polyglot politician, an internationalist of Russian and Dutch descent who is fluent in six languages. And here’s the video proof…

Nick speaking fluent Dutch (from 1:43):


(Also available on YouTube here.)

Nick speaking fluent Spanish:

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Posted in YouTube | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDV Caption Competition | Julian Huppert “it’s all a bit of a blur” Edition

By Stephen Tall | Sun 25th September 2011 - 4:55 pm

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

Here’s rising star Dr Julian Huppert, Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, flanked by Reading councillor Daisy Benson and LibDemVoice’s own Mark Pack at a conference fringe event. What do you think they might be saying or thinking?

And the winner of our last caption comp is…

Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, Hugh Grant and Nick Clegg “one for the family album” Edition.

The winner, according to The Voice’s judging …

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Posted in Caption Comp | Also tagged , , and | 14 Comments
Paul Childs

Opinion: Catching the Liberal Democrat conference bug

By Paul Childs | Sun 25th September 2011 - 9:40 am

When I first decided to go to Liberal Democrat Conference last autumn, I have to admit I was a little swayed by it being in my home town, but being a Federal Conference First Timer I did have concerns about not knowing anyone. Luckily, a friend who is also a conference veteran (at both LibDem and Labour I must add) took me under his wing and even humored me when going to training sessions.

I also met up with some people in both Liverpool and Glasgow and managed to bend their ears about issues, as well as adding new and interesting …

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Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

A messaging mess: what Liberal Democrats are achieving in government

By Mark Pack | Fri 23rd September 2011 - 11:55 am

As I wrote in the immediate aftermath of Nick Clegg’s conference speech, the party was much better at saying what it was not and what it was against – not the Conservatives, not unhappy, against tax cheats, against overpaid under-performing company directors and so on – than what it was for.

In theory the answer should have been found in the conference packs handed out to people on arrival at the Birmingham ICC, for inside them was not only an “In government – on your side” leaflet but also three others from different Liberal Democrat ministers, all promoting the party’s …

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Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Also tagged , , , , and | 14 Comments
Stephen Tall

Memo to LabourList’s Paul Richards… Feel free to keep obsessing. It’ll lose you the next election.

By Stephen Tall | Fri 23rd September 2011 - 7:40 am

I think it’s safe to assume that LabourList’s Paul Richards is not Nick Clegg’s greatest fan.

What prompts me to leap to this conclusion? Well, I guess if you headline your article profiling the Lib Dem leader ‘A snivelling, venal, ruthless social climber’ you’re making some kind of statement.

I’d highly recommend reading Paul’s post in full if only to gain an appreciation of the impotent fury, this red mist, which is clouding the Labour party’s judgment. Here’s a flavour:

Some make the mistake of saying that the reason why Clegg so naturally fits into a Tory government is because he

…

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 20 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo at Conference | CK on Nick, the DPM’s last year, and party leadership contest rules explained

By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd September 2011 - 7:55 am

Were you at Birmingham and so missed out on how the Lib Dem conference was reported? Not at Birmingham and so missed out on seeing Lib Dem MPs and government ministers up close and personal? We hope these videos will help (re-)connect you…

Charles Kennedy on Nick Clegg


(Available on the BBC website here.)

Nick Clegg’s highlights over the last 12 months

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged | 3 Comments
Stephen Tall

What Lib Dem bloggers and tweeters have said about Nick’s speech

By Stephen Tall | Wed 21st September 2011 - 5:59 pm

There’s always a bit of an irony with blogging and party conferences — at the time when the media are most looking for reaction from activists to the leader’s speech most of them are hot-footing it to the train station to return to their normal lives outside the conference bubble.

However, a few Lib Dems have had chance to put finger to keyboard in response to Nick Clegg’s address to close the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham. Here are those I’ve spotted so far on the Aggregator…

…

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Posted in Conference | Also tagged | 16 Comments
Mark Pack

Nick Clegg’s speech to LibDem Conference

By Mark Pack | Wed 21st September 2011 - 3:51 pm

During Liberal Democrat conference someone watching it from home texted me: “I now know what the Lib Dems are against – bankers, top rate taxpayers, tax cheats generally, overpaid directors and energy companies But, with the single exception of gay marriage, I’ve got no idea what the Lib Dems are for.”

Some will – rightly – quibble over the ‘against’ list in that but the essential point is a fair one. Liberal Democrat conference has been a lot about what won’t happen or isn’t the case: the coalition isn’t going to end early, the Liberal Democrats are not the same as …

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Posted in Conference | Also tagged , , , , , and | 16 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo at Conference | Clegg & Cable on the economy; Andrew Neil’s take on the conference; and the power of Lib Dem conference reps

By Stephen Tall | Tue 20th September 2011 - 7:10 am

At Birmingham and so missing out on how the Lib Dem conference is being reported? Not at Birmingham and so missing out on seeing Lib Dem MPs and government ministers up close and personal? We hope these videos will help re-connect you…

Clegg welcomes Jaguar jobs boost; Cable warns of economic equivalent of war


(Available on the BBC website here.)

Andrew Neil’s Liberal Democrat conference report

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Posted in Conference and YouTube | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment
Mark Pack

Mary Ann Sieghart: Clegg’s chance to fill a central vacancy

By Mark Pack | Mon 19th September 2011 - 2:58 pm

Writing in today’s Independent, Mary Ann Sieghart says,

The as-yet-untold story of British politics at the moment is that space has opened up again in the centre – for the first time in two decades – and that the Lib Dems are in the best place to fill it. Yesterday, Danny Alexander quoted his predecessor as Highlands Liberal MP, Russell Johnston: “Liberal positioning in politics is like the nose in relation to the rest of the face: somewhere in the middle and out in front.”

The “out in front” has always been one of the most attractive elements of the Lib Dems.

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

LDVideo at Conference | Hugh Grant, Nick Clegg and Party Animals

By Stephen Tall | Mon 19th September 2011 - 10:45 am

At Birmingham and so missing out on how the Lib Dem conference is being reported? Not at Birmingham and so missing out on seeing Lib Dem MPs and government ministers up close and personal? We hope these videos will help re-connect you…

Hugh Grant presses phone hacking issue at Lib Dem conference


(Available on the BBC website here.)

Don’t forget our LDV caption competition — Nick Clegg meets Hugh Grant — is still open for entries…

Nick Clegg: Immoral to drop 50p tax

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Posted in Conference and YouTube | Also tagged and | Leave a comment
Stephen Tall

LDV Caption Competition | Hugh Grant and Nick Clegg “one for the family album” edition

By Stephen Tall | Sun 18th September 2011 - 6:45 pm

So Hugh Grant dropped into the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham today.

He met with Nick Clegg and then addressed the Social Liberal Forum’s fringe event on the issue of phone-hacking, privacy and libel. He wasn’t there to endorse the party, but as the BBC reports here Hugh did give us credit for our long-standing opposition to the murky practices of the tabloids:

“You, more than any of the other parties, have a good bill of health. You have never been in bed with these scumbags.”

Here’s the moment Nick met Hugh (I think it’s that way round rather than Hugh met Nick, yes?)… and as it’s been a while since our last LDV caption competition, what better moment for a reprise? Here you go then…

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Posted in Caption Comp and Conference | Also tagged and | 17 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Mark Pack – Some party rebellions are good for the leader

By NewsHound | Sun 18th September 2011 - 2:34 pm

The Voice’s Mark Pack has been guesting over at the New Statesman again, this time pointing out how there are some party rebels Nick Clegg may rather welcome:

Political pundits go on endlessly about how leaders should have “Clause 4 moments” when they pick a fight with parts of their own parties. In this case, the reluctant have handily offered themselves up in opposition to Nick Clegg and democrats, providing an easy route for the Deputy Prime Minister to garner the benefits of a Clause 4 moment without its usual pains.

You can read Mark’s post about Lib Dem conference …

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Stephen Tall

Exclusive survey results: What Lib Dem members say about the party’s direction and Nick Clegg’s leadership

By Stephen Tall | Sun 18th September 2011 - 1:25 pm

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. Some 550 party members responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

Increase in members thinking Lib Dems on ‘right track’

LDV asked: Do you think, as a whole, the Liberal Democrats are on the right course or on the wrong track?

    • 69% – The right course
    • 22% – The wrong track
    • 9% – Don’t know

This gives us a net figure for ‘right track / wrong course’ of +47%, a significant up-tick over …

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Posted in LDV Members poll | 9 Comments
Stephen Tall

LDVideo | Nick Clegg rallies conference, Danny Alexander clamps down on tax evasion

By Stephen Tall | Sun 18th September 2011 - 12:10 pm

Whether you’re one of the thousands of Lib Dem members busy at this year’s conference, or you’re one of those (like me) who’re having to sit this one out, Lib Dem Voice will try and make sure you don’t miss out on the action. Here’s how Day 1 of the party conference has been making news…

Nick Clegg: Lib Dems ‘imposing will’ on government


(Also available on the BBC website here.)

Danny Alexander: We need to make sure tax is paid

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Posted in Conference and YouTube | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
Mark Pack

Nick Clegg on the top tax rate

By Mark Pack | Sat 17th September 2011 - 10:45 am

Nick Clegg’s interview in today’s Independent is rather more subtle on tax than the headline “I won’t let Osborne cut 50p tax” suggests. For in fact the story goes on to say:

Mr Clegg made clear that the Liberal Democrats would back abolition of the 50p rate in the long run only if it is not raising much revenue and if it is replaced by new taxes on “unearned income”. These could include a 1 per cent annual “mansion tax” on homes worth more than £2m, a land tax, and restricting tax relief on pensions to the basic 20p rate.

In …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 5 Comments
Paul Walter

PMQs: The nodding donkey and the nasal twang have left the building

By Paul Walter | Thu 15th September 2011 - 11:24 am

It is interesting how voice quality can make all the difference at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Ed Miliband seems to have swallowed several family packs of Tunes lozenges. His voice sounded unusually clear yesterday, without its normal nasal twang. Combined with a disciplined debating approach, this led to a commanding performance (up to a point – of which more later).

David Cameron, in contrast, was sounding slightly hoarse. Perhaps he over-indulged in Russian hospitality in some shape or form. The problem with being hoarse at PMQs is that you end up shouting to compensate. That makes it worse and, red-faced, you give …

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Posted in Parliament and PMQs | Also tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Terry Scriven

Opinion: Veterans ‘stuffed’ again

By Terry Scriven | Tue 13th September 2011 - 9:45 am

The UK Military Covenant Commission report identified injustices in a lack of past medallic recognition for those who had served in the British Armed Forces. This led to the Conservative Party policy in their 2010 General Election manifesto and the Coalition “Programme for Government” commitment to undertake a comprehensive Medal Review. But the Ministry of Defence has stuffed our veterans.

The Ministry of Defence failed to publicly notify when the medal review started; what its terms of reference were and when it would report; failed to consult with veterans, and produced unsubstantiated findings based on false arguments. In a matter of weeks MoD …

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 4 Comments
Helen Duffett

Tributes to David Griffiths

By Helen Duffett | Mon 12th September 2011 - 11:53 am

Nick Clegg has paid tribute to David Griffiths, former Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Finance Committee, Treasurer of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, who died earlier this month:

David Griffiths who had served the Liberal Democrats loyally over the years passed away aged 70 on the 3rd September 2011.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the many years of dedicated service David gave to the party. His many varied roles included being Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Finance and Administration Committee and Treasurer of Liberal International a role which reflected

…

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Posted in Obituaries | Also tagged , , , and | 5 Comments
Paul Walter

PMQs: Nadine Dorries leaves the PM speechless

By Paul Walter | Wed 7th September 2011 - 1:23 pm

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Posted in News and PMQs | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

“Nick Clegg to vote against abortion counselling law”

By Mark Pack | Tue 6th September 2011 - 11:03 pm

So reports The Guardian:

Nick Clegg is on Wednesday planning to vote against a cross-party amendment, tabled by socially conservative MPs, that would strip abortion providers of their counselling role.

In the most high-profile parliamentary debate on abortion since the general election, the deputy prime minister will lead a series of Liberal Democrat and Tory ministers into the no lobby. They will be joined by most Labour MPs in voting against the amendment tabled by Nadine Dorries, a Tory backbencher, and Frank Field, Labour’s former welfare reform minister…

A rival amendment, tabled by the Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert, has also been accepted

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
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