Tag Archives: patrick mcloughlin

LDVideo: Interview with Ben Fearn, “youngest ever Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate”

Ben Fearn, the 21 year-old Manchester University graduate selected earlier this year as Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Derbyshire Dales – seat of the Tory transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin – has been interviewed by Digital Journal (hat-tip Charlotte Henry). You can watch a 3-minute video below, which includes the announcement of his selection, and read a fuller interview with him here. Incidentally he’s billed as the “youngest ever Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate”, but are there rivals to that title? Let us know below-the-line…

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Opinion: The National Rail Conference and the strategic case for HS2

HS2The last few months have not been easy for supporters of HS2. Attending a meeting at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester in September I was taken aback at the rising level of opposition to this keynote Coalition Project.

The opportunity therefore to attend the National Rail Conference at the Midland Hotel in Manchester on the day that the Department for Transport published it Strategic Case for HS2 provided an opportunity to hear first-hand why this project was so important.

Though generally supportive for the principle of HS2 as “good for the north” …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 33 Comments

One-third of Cameron’s shadow cabinet opposed to gay rights

Nick Clegg made some waves this week by calling for full gay equality, and challenging the Tories and their leader David Cameron to follow his example. Well, now Lib Dem research has shown what an uphill battle the Tory leader will have on his hand even convincing his own shadow cabinet to back such moves – let alone his even more right-wing backbenchers – as The Guardian reports:

Nearly a third of David Cameron’s shadow cabinet voted against gay rights legislation at some point over the last two parliaments, demonstrating their “shameful” record in tackling discrimination, according to the

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  • Catherine Crosland
    Nick Baird, lives would clearly be saved if this bill is defeated - the lives of people who would be coerced into assisted dying, or opt for assisted dying beca...
  • Nick Baird
    Catherine - I don't accept that it is inevitable that people will be coerced into this. Nor do I accept that the distress that a terminally ill person may feel...
  • Graem Peters
    “Will it call on the UK to join?” may be deemed less significant by Trump than it was for Bush. The latter sought UK backing with international cover in min...
  • Catherine Crosland
    Nick Baird, There are no easy answers, but surely it is better to focus on improving palliative care, and also research towards finding preventions and cures f...
  • Nick Baird
    @Catherine Crosland - surely another valid question is how many people should be forced to endure pain, suffering and distress for up to an additional 6 months ...