Tag Archives: tim farron

Caron Lindsay

Guardian revelations about Clegg, Cable and the Lib Dem election catastrophe

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th June 2015 - 11:05 pm

Well, as the ballot papers get sent out in the leadership election, the Guardian publishes a series of revelations tonight about the last year of the coalition and the aftermath of the European elections.

Apparently Nick Clegg was ready to resign in the wake of the European elections and was talked out of it by, among others, Paddy Ashdown and Tim Farron. Certainly at the time, the feedback that Federal Executive members gave at our post Euro disaster meeting was that there was no appetite in the wider party for a leadership election, but they did want things to change.

Vince Cable, it transpires, did know about the Oakeshott polls.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 78 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Liberal Democrat leadership: So what happens at a Lib Dem hustings meeting?

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th June 2015 - 9:02 pm

newcastle bridges by ratherbewalking
I was peeved when I saw that the Scottish leadership hustings were taking place this coming Saturday as I knew I had to be in London for a Federal Executive away day. In a moment of madness, though, I decided that I would make a trip to Newcastle for the hustings last Friday night. I am, after all, the FE liaison person for the North East region so it would be good to meet people there.

After a 90 minute train journey, a delicious Chicken Fajita in a place called Zapatista and a quick look at the Centurion pub next to the station to see the amazing Victorian tile work (honest), I headed to the Station Hotel a full hour before the hustings started. It was already buzzing with people. They were expecting so many to turn up that they had had to arrange a bigger room.

I managed to get one of the last seats in the room even though I’d got there so early. Strictly speaking, I might have spent too long drinking gin in the bar with my friend of two decades, Jo, where I also found out something about Tim Farron’s past that I didn’t know. I am now hunting down the evidence and when I find it, you will be the first to know. It’s not scandal, unless you count crimes against fashion in that category. 

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 7 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dem Leadership: Big name endorsements for each camp as ballots are posted to members

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 24th June 2015 - 7:50 pm

Ballots for the Liberal Democrat leadership hit members’ doorsteps from tomorrow.

With that in mind, both camps have unveiled big name endorsements. From the Lamb campaign, he kind of unveiled it himself in his inimitable style:

It isn’t the biggest surprise in the whole world. During our Spring conference, he was pretty critical of Tim. Paddy becomes the latest party establishment figure to support Norman Lamb.

At the start of the campaign, Tim Farron unveiled a list of over 100 parliamentary candidates who had supported him. On Monday he announced the support of over 200 councillors, council group leaders and elected mayors like Dorothy Thornhill and Dave Hodgson. The Westminster Bubble may have gravitated towards Norman, but Tim has significant grassroots support.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 34 Comments
The Voice

Tim Farron and Norman Lamb face a live audience on Victoria Derbyshire

By The Voice | Tue 23rd June 2015 - 8:15 pm

This morning leadership candidates Tim Farron and Norman Lamb appeared on the Victoria Derbyshire programme on BBC2. They were quizzed by Victoria and a live audience. See how they got on below:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 18 Comments
Greg Mulholland MP

Greg Mulholland MP writes…Free on Friday evening? Join Tim Farron’s online Q & A

By Greg Mulholland MP | Tue 23rd June 2015 - 11:59 am

Tim Farron and Greg MulhollandThis Friday will mark three weeks until the Liberal Democrats have a new leader. Other than the many visits and hustings he’s doing to meet as many party members as possible, this Friday evening, 6.30pm-8pm, Tim’s also doing an online Q&A live via webcam. I’d highly recommend signing up, and you can do so via this link.

In this election, I am proud to back Tim Farron to take the party forward and get us back to our winning ways. Why do I trust Tim to do that? Simply, because it’s what he’s always done. It takes a solid campaigner to end 95 years of Tory hold on a constituency- that’s what Tim did when he won Westmorland & Lonsdale for us in 2005, the same year I was elected for Leeds North West.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 7 Comments
The Voice

Tim Farron’s campaign video

By The Voice | Mon 22nd June 2015 - 3:47 pm

Tim Farron has launched his Leadership campaign video today.

 
 

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 21 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Norman Lamb’s campaign removes two volunteers for alleged misuse of personal data for negative push-polling

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 20th June 2015 - 11:01 pm

So just over 24 hours ago, I was sitting in a packed room with hundreds of Liberal Democrats from all over the North East Region. We had all been treated to an excellent two hours of debate between leadership candidates Tim Farron and Norman Lamb. They had each shown the best of themselves. Norman’s thoughtful, intelligent analysis and ideas, his determination to give a voice to the voiceless, Tim’s tub-thumping, barnstorming adrenaline rush of a speech underpinned with good ideas and things that would make Quentin Letts from the Daily Mail hyperventilate. It was great. We truly do have two hugely talented contenders.

Tonight, though, a shadow has been cast over the contest as Norman Lamb has had to suspend two volunteers for misuse of the membership data. The Telegraph has the story:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 67 Comments
Jim Maxon

Opinion: It’s time to rock and roll – with Tim Farron

By Jim Maxon | Sat 20th June 2015 - 1:56 pm

I watched the Tower Hamlets Leadership Hustings video last night and it compelled me to reflect on my more than 40 years’ experience of studying leadership. By studying I mean both academically and through observation, and then using this knowledge when teaching leadership in numerous public and private sector organisations throughout the UK and Europe, as well as in many well-known Business Schools, and also acting as leadership coach to countless senior managers. I am not bragging but simply ‘setting out my stall’ before making the following comments about leadership in relation to Tim Farron.

Great leaders understand, and make use of, a raft of very specific skills and characteristics. They are exceptional communicators who are able to make use of all communication channels open to them. They not only write in a language that everyone can understand, but they are also able to speak directly to people and encourage them to buy-in to what they are saying and take action as a result. Great leaders not only have a very clear vision of where they want to lead their organisation in the future but also understand how the vision links to the past, as well as knowing what needs to be done now to make the vision become a reality. Great leaders have a well balanced mix of charm, humour and wit. They take their role as leader very, very seriously but not themselves. They are usually very humble, use the ‘we’ word rather than ‘I’, and are quite happy to use themselves as the butt of their own jokes, not other people. Great leaders understand the idea that ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’. They are very bright yet have a common touch – they can do verbal battle with the best of them but are also able to touch the soul of the woman or man on the street.  I could go on!

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 3 Comments
Peter Thornton

Opinion: The Tim I know and why I am backing him

By Peter Thornton | Fri 19th June 2015 - 6:30 pm

It seems a long time since I sat in a Kendal pub and talked with a young 32 year old parliamentary candidate who had dreams of being our local MP. The Tories had been in power here for just short of 100 years and we thought that was enough. The District Council had a Tory leader and I was there to see if I could be persuaded to stand as a Liberal Democrat for my local Ward, to bring us a little nearer towards taking control.

It’s 13 years since that meeting, Tim’s now our MP and we run the Council. We’re building homes for local families, who previously were being forced out of South Lakeland, and we’re helping create jobs by having a strong local plan. Our targets are 1,000 new affordable homes to rent and 1,000 new jobs. We came into politics to change lives for the better and we’re doing that in South Lakeland.

We used to run many more councils across the UK, all with a good story to tell, and if we are to rebuild our party we need to take these councils back! That’s why I’m writing to ask you to join me in backing Tim Farron as our new party leader.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 15 Comments
Mark Argent

Opinion: A moment of acceptance

By Mark Argent | Fri 19th June 2015 - 8:55 am

In the election campaign I was touched, but not surprised, to see Sal Brinton post a link on facebook to an interview with Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett where he spoke of his experiences growing up gay, and self-identifying as an HIV+ parliamentary candidate. My suspicion was that many would encourage someone in Adrian’s position to “be discreet”: but seeing him being so open and the party President support him so clearly made me proud to be a liberal democrat.

From a gay perspective, it’s been encouraging in the present leadership election to see doubts over Tim’s support for LGBT people raised as a cause for concern, and to see him act quickly to counter them.

Recently I had a very positive surprise when I read an article picking up on Norman Lamb’s piece in Pink News where he moved the whole debate on a stage by saying:

until every young person is proud of who they are, who they find attractive and who they love, our fight will continue.

The shift feels significant: from accepting a minority (which keeps them as a minority whose acceptance is to be fought for) and something genuine. It calls to mind the slogan of the LGBT-majority Free Community Church in Singapore: “welcome home”

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
The Voice

For new and infrequent commenters only: What do you think of the leadership election so far?

By The Voice | Thu 18th June 2015 - 10:25 am

This is one of our occasional posts where we reserve the comments for those who don’t comment very often. Anyone who has made five or fewer comments in the past month is welcome to take part.

The subject for debate today is the leadership election. Liberal Democrat Voice is taking an entirely neutral stance and are doing our best to give equal and balanced coverage of the contest.

We just wondered what you thought of it all so far.  Have you seen the candidates in action? Are they talking about the things that you want to hear about? What do you think of their campaign websites, videos and themes? Do you have any questions for them?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

If you haven’t seen the two in action so far, you can always have a look at the New Members’ Hustings. A big thank yo to James Wright, too, for pointing me in the direction of these videos shot  by his Dad Andrew Cambridge hustings last week. They are really good quality.  Here they are:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 16 Comments
The Voice

Lamb and Farron make their second email pitches

By The Voice | Wed 17th June 2015 - 1:15 pm

Tim Gordon as Returning Officer in the Leadership election is sending out a series of emails to party members on behalf of each candidate.

We covered last week’s here.
There is information in the official email about when the ballot papers will be sent out:

You should receive your ballot paper by post around the last weekend in June. There will also be a copy of both candidates’ manifestos included with it.

Our ballot counters must receive your complete ballot paper by 2pm on July 15th for it to count.

To help you make your decision a number of hustings events are being held around the country further details can be found on our website.

Many thanks for participating in this important election.

Here are this week’s:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 36 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Video: Watch Farron and Lamb in action at leadership hustings

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 17th June 2015 - 10:25 am

A few weeks ago, Tim Farron and Norman Lamb took part in a hustings in London for several hundred new members of the party. The video footage has finally been put online. It’s two hours long, so get yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy. It’s particularly useful for those of you who can’t get to a hustings meeting. I’m particularly thinking of those in the Highlands who would have to travel to either Aberdeen or Edinburgh. The full list of official hustings events is here and there are other unofficial events where both candidates will be appearing.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments
David Faggiani

Opinion: Let’s write our new leader a two-year contract – and get rid of him if it doesn’t work out

By David Faggiani | Mon 15th June 2015 - 5:45 pm

NormanLambTim FarronThere’s been a lot of focus on the Labour Party’s new Leader being given a 2017 ‘break clause’, to ensure the freshness and efficacy of the Leader come 2020. Meanwhile, I saw a comment from a Lib Dem the other day to the effect of “we must give Farron or Lamb a good ten years, it’ll be a slow climb, etc.” I began thinking about the issue, and I have a proposal: why not give the new Leader of the Liberal Democrats a two-year contract, with rigidly-defined goals to meet, and either applaud them for meeting them, or get rid of them for not, on those criteria?

For too long, leadership challenges have been bloody, opportunistic, or subjectively triggered. Or, worse still, they haven’t happened, when they almost certainly should have done. We have recently seen the unreliability of opinion polls in measuring future performance. Will it be enough if, in 2017, we are polling back at, say, 20%? No. It will be success sculpted in the air, and prone to disassembly at a moment’s notice. What matters are solid, progressive results.

Here’s my proposal. We present the new Lib Dem Leader with a five-point contract, to cover the term August 2015 to July 2017. If they fulfil four or five criteria, astounding! If they fulfil three, that’s still a majority, they could carry on and improve. If they only manage two, one, or even none, they’re gone. We would have an automatic Leadership election.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 79 Comments
NewsHound

Tim Farron talks about Asylum and Immigration

By NewsHound | Sun 14th June 2015 - 12:55 pm

Last week Elizabeth Needham recorded some video footage of leadership candidate Tim Farron talking about asylum and immigration.

She’s happy for it to be shared, so, enjoy!

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 9 Comments
Daisy Cooper MP

Building a diverse party: the Leadership Candidates respond to Daisy Cooper’s questions

By Daisy Cooper MP | Wed 10th June 2015 - 2:05 pm

Tim Farron MPNormanLambOn 17 May, I set out my challenge to the Leadership candidates in an LDV blog, asking each of them whether and to what extent they would commit to some achievable measures to build a more diverse party. Here are their answers – presented without comment.

1)   Will you promise to take a zero tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour, insisting that all elected representatives and everyone in your team has a “responsibility to act” on any and all anecdotal and substantive evidence that reaches them?

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 31 Comments
The Voice

Leadership contest: Who are parliamentarians past and present and key party figures backing?

By The Voice | Tue 9th June 2015 - 7:38 pm

As the leadership contest gets under way in earnest, we thought it was time to have a look at how key party figures are lining up behind each of the candidates. This is bound to change as time goes on, so we will update it from time to time.

Tim Farron

MPs

Greg Mulholland
John Pugh
Mark Williams

Former MPs

Jo Swinson
Duncan Hames
Simon Hughes
Sir Alan Beith
John Leech
David Howarth
Sarah Teather
Martin Horwood
Paul Keetch
Brian Cotter
Mark Oaten
Steve Webb
Dan Rogerson
Ian Swales
Lembit Opik

MSPs

Willie Rennie
Jim Hume
Liam McArthur

Former MSPs

Euan Robson

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 36 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Williams, Farron and Lamb condemn Welsh Government’s plan to ban on e-cigarettes in public places

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 9th June 2015 - 4:31 pm

The Welsh government has put forward plans to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces. The BBC reports:

People will be banned from using e-cigarettes in enclosed places such as restaurants, pubs and at work in Wales, under a new public health law.

The plan, likely to come into force in 2017 and the first in the UK, has already divided opinion among health and medical groups, including some anti-smoking campaigners.

But ministers say it is a “balance of risk” and will stop children smoking.

This does not seem to be in any way evidence based.

Liberals really don’t like banning things unless there is a very good reason to do so. It’s therefore not really a surprise to see that Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and both federal leadership candidates have totally condemned the government’s plans:

Kirsty said:

The evidence for this decision is wafer thin.  Banning things just for the sake of it isn’t a position any Government should take.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats believe all decisions should be evidence based, which is why we are opposed to this ban.  There is very little evidence to date that e-cigs emit anything more harmful than water vapour. Therefore any ban on e-cigs is completely unjustifiable.

We often hear how people are using e-cigarettes to help them give up smoking.  There is a high chance this heavy handed approach from the Welsh Labour Government could actually be counter-productive.

And here’s what the leadership candidates had to say:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 36 Comments
The Voice

The leadership contenders send out their first all-member emails

By The Voice | Tue 9th June 2015 - 2:59 pm

Lib Dem Chief Executive Tim Gordon, in his capacity as Acting Returning Officer for the Leadership Election, has sent out the following email to members today:

As you will have seen Nick Clegg resigned as Party Leader after the General Election and nominations closed last Wednesday for the election of his successor.  Two candidates have been duly nominated, Norman Lamb and Tim Farron.

Below are the top lines and links in the first of three emails from the candidates that I am distributing on their behalf.  I do this in my role as the Acting Returning Officer for this election.

Also please find below contact details for how you can find out more about each of the candidates.

You should receive your ballot paper by post around the last weekend in June. There will also be a copy of both candidates’ manifestos included with it.

Our ballot counters must receive your complete ballot paper by first post on July 15th for it to count.

To help you make your decision a number of hustings events are being held around the country further details can be found at http://www.libdems.org.uk/leadership_events

Many thanks for participating in this important election.

All 61456 (correct at time of writing but increasing all the time) members of the party will get a ballot paper. These will be despatched on 24th June and the result will be announced on 16th July. Hustings meetings are taking place all over the country, so do take the opportunity to see the candidates in action. Already 1200 people have signed up for the London hustings alone! The New Members’ hustings which took place a couple of weeks ago will be put on the party website at some point.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 8 Comments
Joanne Ferguson

Opinion: Why I would follow Tim

By Joanne Ferguson | Mon 8th June 2015 - 11:38 am

 

I joined the Liberal Democrats a couple of weeks ago. For the most part I joined because of Nick Clegg, whose eloquence and calmness intrigued me and piqued my interest in the moderate course. I had decided before the general election that I was going to join after my exams and I was distraught when I realised I would never be following Nick.

I wanted to follow Nick because he was genuine, he could be funny, and he was gracious. I could also tell he was a very smart man who understood his party’s policies and was dedicated to the principles of liberalism. From watching Tim on ‘Question Time’, I could tell he was genuine, funny and gracious, possibly more so than Nick. What I was worried about was the second part of what I admired in Nick.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 96 Comments
Caron Lindsay

In full: Lib Dem MPs’ Commons tributes to Kennedy

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 6th June 2015 - 6:55 pm

We’ve already posted the video of the tributes to Charles Kennedy from the Commons on Wednesday and we’ve also posted Nick’s in full. We thought it might be useful to put the text of all five of the Lib Dem tributes, including Nick’s, in one post for ease of reference and posterity. They all did Charles proud. Greg and Mark talked about the way he really connected with ordinary people and about his concern for others. Norman spoke about his unfailing courtesy in his dealings with people, highlighting the need to tackle the stigma around mental ill health and emphasising Charles’ passions for internationalism and social justice. Tim’s emotional tribute spoke about Charles the persuader, how he could change minds and really tug on the heartstrings. Nick’s was just beautiful, and I particularly liked the memory he shared about their fly smoke outside the National Liberal Club where they discussed the Coalition. In years to come, I hope that Charles’ son and those who were close to him find great comfort and pride. To be universally admired in our tribal politics takes some doing.

I guess I should advise that if you are going to read all five of them in one sitting, you will need a cup of tea and a box of tissues.

So, here they all are, starting with:

Greg Mulholland

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 2 Comments
Catherine Bearder

Catherine Bearder MEP writes…Why Tim Farron is the right person to rebuild the Liberal Democrats

By Catherine Bearder | Fri 5th June 2015 - 11:59 am

Liberal Democrats have taken an electoral pounding over the last five years. When we entered coalition government in 2010 it gave us the opportunity to put Liberal Democrat policies into practice for the first time in generations.  We tempered the excesses of the Tories, as is becoming increasingly clear as the new government adopts a frightening, hard right-wing agenda. For this we have paid a heavy price. The loss of so many brilliant and hard-working councillors, MPs and MEPs means we will have to spend time rebuilding and reorganising the party from the bottom up.

It seemed we were so busy being in government that we forgot to remind ourselves and our voters just exactly what it is we stand for. We talked about what we had blocked the Tories from doing, but not enough about what drives us – those values and ethical beliefs that brought us all into politics. Our new leader will need to do that.  He will need to take the liberal values we espouse in our constitution and convey them to the electorate. He will have to energise the grassroots, inspire a new generation of activists and get people back out on the doorsteps, making the case for why we need a strong Liberal voice in British politics.

I believe that Tim Farron is the best man for that task. Tim is a stalwart campaigner and a passionate, inspiring communicator. He has all the skills, vision and drive to reach out to our existing members, all those who have recently joined and those who will join when they know how important it is to have Liberal Democrats defending the values that we hold dear.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 11 Comments
Nick Perry

Opinion: We made Mental Health an issue – now we must lead the fight to make it possible

By Nick Perry | Mon 1st June 2015 - 5:05 pm

Having worked as a frontline mental health social worker for the past 15 years, there was no-one prouder than I was to see Nick Clegg and Norman Lamb push mental health care (and its place within the NHS) up the political agenda .

There is no doubt that without the determination of our gutsy Party, we would not have seen, over the course of the General Election, the other political parties try to associate themselves with our work: securing more funding for mental health care (particularly child and adolescent mental health care) over the last Parliament.

But as any social work student …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged and | 3 Comments

Opinion: Human Rights Act – when rights clash

By Alan Smith | Mon 1st June 2015 - 11:07 am

 

As one of the many who have recently joined the Liberal Democrats, my attention has been drawn to the fight to make sure that the Human Rights Act is not scrapped by the Conservatives. In a recent email from Tom Brake MP, we were reminded of the following rights afforded to us by the Human Rights Act:

  • the right to life;
  • the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
  • the prohibition of slavery and forced labour;
  • the right to liberty and security of the person;
  • the right to a fair trial;
  • prohibition of punishment without law;
  • the right to respect for private and family life;
  • the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
  • the right to freedom of expression;
  • the right to freedom of assembly and association;
  • the right for men and women to marry and found a family;
  • the right to peaceful enjoyment of personal property;
  • the right to education;
  • the right to free elections;
  • and the prohibition of discrimination.

But what happens when there is friction between two or more of these rights?

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 51 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Could Tim Farron’s band reunite at the Glee Club?

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 30th May 2015 - 7:46 pm

It didn’t take long for a photo of a very New Romantic Tim Farron and his two band-mates to appear on the internet. Within hours of Jonathan Calder revealing the name of our leadership hopeful’s band this morning, he was sent a photo, from around about 1987, of a teenage Tim Farron in his band, Fred the Girl, previously known as The Voyeurs until they realised what exactly that meant.

I have spent many fruitless hours trawling You Tube to see if I could find some footage. I suspect if it’s there, it’s unlisted so nobody will be able …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 16 Comments
The Voice

Video: Tim Farron talks about housing

By The Voice | Sat 30th May 2015 - 4:45 pm

Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Tim Farron has released his first campaign video and he’s devoted it to housing:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 40 Comments
The Voice

Leadership News: The Tweets

By The Voice | Sat 30th May 2015 - 3:15 pm

We thought we’d take an occasional look through the Twitter feeds of leadership hopefuls Norman Lamb and Tim Farron. Today they are united, marching for human rights.

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
NewsHound

Leadership News: Support for both Farron and Lamb in Huffington Post

By NewsHound | Sat 30th May 2015 - 1:45 pm

Two recent articles from the Huffington Post speak out in favour  of each candidate for the Liberal Democrats.

First, Jack Davies tells why he is supporting Tim Farron:

It was a cold afternoon in November when, huddled before my computer screen, I typed out a message to Tim Farron, the then party president of the Liberal Democrats.

The message was a call for help. I was hoping to stand for election as the Liberal Democrat PPC in New Forest West and I needed assistance in applying.

I didn’t expect Tim to reply, but to my surprise, he did.

His reply was polite and helpful. He offered to read my application script and pointed me in the right direction with tips on what to say. I was taken aback by the response and even more astounded that so much care was afforded to it.

It is moments like these that inspire people to enter the world of politics, to aspire them to be as good as the politician who has taken the time to talk to them. It certainly inspired me into getting more involved and I set up New Forest Liberal Youth to encourage more young people in the New Forest to become involved.

Editor of The Secularist Conversation Stefan Rollnick explains his support for Norman Lamb:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 1 Comment
Tim Farron MP

Tim Farron MP writes…The Human Rights Act is vital and we must fight to keep it

By Tim Farron MP | Sat 30th May 2015 - 9:15 am

The Tories have blinked on the Human Rights Act but the fight is not yet won. They are still going to make ‘proposals’ this year, with still the threat of a bill next year.

The Human Rights Act is a favourite target of the right wing press. They hate it because it is ‘European’ (even though the European Convention on Human Rights springs not from the EU but from the quite different Council of Europe – and anyway, what’s wrong with being European?). They hate it because it contains a right to private and family life and so it interferes with that part of the media’s business model. And they hate it, above all, because, although human rights law protects everyone, some of its beneficiaries will always be unpopular and isolated minorities, people it is popular to attack.

But the Human Rights Act is vital for a fair society. Last year, for example, a court declared incompatible with human rights an Act of Parliament that retrospectively cancelled the Department of Work and Pensions’ debts to thousands of jobseekers who had been illegally denied benefits. How else could this unfairness be rectified? Parliament had passed the law only the year before. Jobseekers are demonised and although we should never stop campaigning for people being bullied by the government, it was clear that no political campaign was going to help. Only the court could do the job.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 41 Comments
NewsHound

LibLink: Tim Farron: The best argument for the Liberal Democrats? A Tory Queen’s Speech

By NewsHound | Thu 28th May 2015 - 9:48 pm

Over at the Huffington Post, leadership hopeful Tim Farron has been writing about the Queen’s Speech and why it shows that a strong liberal voice is needed.

On Europe, the referendum on our membership of the EU is an issue already threatening to turn into a parody. Cameron has just barred two groups from voting – 16 and 17-year olds, who engaged fantastically with the Scottish referendum; and most EU citizens resident in the UK, who can already vote in local government elections. Probably two of the groups most likely to vote to stay in the EU! There is also the fact that Britain will take over the rotating EU presidency in July 2017. That Britain could be in charge of the EU while simultaneously campaigning to leave it is a just a bizarre scenario. Will we see the referendum brought forward? Regardless, this is going to plunge many businesses into huge uncertainty and put many of their investment plans on hold.

Closer to home, we see the Snooper’s Charter back on the agenda. This is going to make internet service providers collect and store vast amounts of data – such as what websites you’ve been on, who you’ve been emailing, when, from where – and make this data available to government on request. Big Brother is well and truly here. Tories often complain that the Liberal Democrats blocked them from implementing the Snooper’s Charter – and I’m dead proud that we did. The one question we must all ask Theresa May, and Tory MPs who will support her Snooper’s Charter, is: how do you protect our freedoms by destroying them?

We also see more ‘tough talk’ from David Cameron on immigration. Wages of some illegal migrants will fall under the scope of the Proceeds of Crime Act and will be confiscated. This could hit the genuinely vulnerable and exploited migrant worker who earns £23.60 after doing a 60-hour shift. If this makes no sense to you, it doesn’t make sense to me either. This is, yet again, the politics of gimmickry and division.

He ends with an invitation:

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | 28 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Peter Martin
    @ Kira, The words you quoted were from Peter Davies'. Not me. I wouldn't agree with raising VAT on energy to 15% right now. I'd leave it as is. The point ...
  • Peter Martin
    “‘why can’t social care and NHS spending be treated as ‘investment’’. Of course, that wont wash”. I'd agree if were talking about re...
  • Peter Martin
    There's really only two fiscal rules that make any sense: 1) If inflation caused by an overheating economy is the main issue, then governments should tax mor...
  • Peter Davies
    @Kira Collins You seem to have missed the bit about raising tax allowances. That primarily helps those on low wages....
  • David Wright
    According to this well-argued article (by Lib Dem councillor Mark Ellis), a simple wealth tax wouldn't work, but tax on TRANSFER of wealth could, if current tax...