For months, years, even, whenever we’ve asked questions about independence, after we’ve been accused of scaremongering, we’ve been told to wait for the White Paper.
Well, that wait is over as the White Paper has now been published – or is it? Scotland’s Future, it’s called. That’s profound. We have a future? That’s kind of inevitable. It doesn’t promise a bright future, or a happy one.
Today’s news that 1775 jobs will be lost at BAE systems yards across the country and shipbuilding ended completely in Portsmouth has been met with concern by senior Liberal Democrats. Nobody ever wants to see major facilities being closed and so many people without work. It’s no surprise that one yard was going to have to close once the work was done on the aircraft carriers, but foreknowledge doesn’t make it any easier.
First of all, Portsmouth Council leader Gerald Vernon Jackson told the BBC that this was the wrong decision at the wrong time and that the Government should have waited until the Scottish independence referendum was over to preserve shipbuilding capacity in England in the event of independence.
We told you earlier that Sir Menzies Campbell had announced that he’s retiring as MP for North East Fife in 2015. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and fellow Fife Parliamentarian Willie Rennie had this to say:
Menzies Campbell’s wise and intelligent counsel has guided our nation through some of its most testing dilemmas. From Yugoslavia to Iraq to Syria he has been insightful and calm but never feared standing out from the crowd.
For over thirty five years Ming has dedicated himself to his constituency of North East Fife and in return local people have put their trust in him. He converted a healthy Conservative majority into a healthy Liberal Democrat one.
Ming Campbell excelled in life – from Olympic sprinter to Advocate to political statesman. To have excelled at one would be remarkable but to have excelled at all three is truly astonishing.
The Scottish Parliament by-election for the Dunfermline seat is well under way now. Our candidate Susan Leslie and leader Willie Rennie have had a great reception on the doorsteps. The other night there was a reminder of why we do this. It’s all about making people’s lives better. A woman ran up to Willie and Susan in the street and thanked him profusely. I can’t say what he’d done for her while he was MP for Dunfermline but this had been her first chance to say …
By Caron Lindsay
| Sat 21st September 2013 - 2:55 pm
This week, Alex Salmond told Scots that their postal service would get worse if they voted for independence. Of course he didn’t actually say those words, but it’s the effect of his proposal. At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, he said that an independent Scotland led by him would bring the Royal Mail and postal service back into public ownership.
Let’s just leave aside the hundreds of millions that would cost for a minute, as well as the complexities of breaking up a UK wide service and defining the Scottish share. The biggest problem that would arise would be that …
By Caron Lindsay
| Thu 19th September 2013 - 1:18 pm
Nick Clegg was due to come to our Liberal Democrat Voice Awards on Saturday night to present the award for Councillor of the Year, which was won by Abi Bell from Hull. I fully expected him to breeze in at the allotted hour, present the award and breeze out again. Actually, he turned up for the start of the event at 10 pm in very relaxed form and spent time chatting to people. When the awards got underway, he even acted as Paddy Ashdown’s assistant, showing …
By Caron Lindsay
| Tue 10th September 2013 - 9:00 pm
This is the second part of my meander through the conference agenda. You can find Saturday’s here.
Those Powers that Be don’t miss a trick, do they? Part of Conference’s job is to scrutinise the party committees. So, when do they put on the report of the most unaccountable committee in the Party, the Federal Finance and Administration Committee? First thing on Sunday morning when many representatives will be sleeping off the effects of the Glasgow ales and whiskies from the night before. Immediately after comes the vote of the Parliamentary Parties. If you have any questions about, for example, …
16 days after his conviction for 23 charges of domestic violence against 3 former wives over a 28 year period, Dunfermline MSP has resigned his seat in Holyrood. Typically, he blamed the media pressure rather than his own actions.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:
Good
Bill Walker should have understood immediately the gravity of his situation but it has taken sixteen days for the penny to drop.
It is sad that he continues to blame others instead of taking responsibility himself for his own actions.
It would have been wrong for someone convicted of so many counts of domestic violence to return
Willie Rennie has written to Bill Walker, the MSP for Dunfermline who was convicted of 23 instances of assault against 3 ex wives and a stepdaughter over a 28 year period to ask him to resign his seat in the Scottish Parliament. Here’s his letter in full:
Dear Bill,
I am sure that you will be aware of the demands for your resignation from the Scottish Parliament from both members of the public and Members of the Scottish Parliament.
I was disappointed to read news reports that you are not planning to leave Parliament.
By 10:30 pm last night, I thought the most shocking thing I was going to hear that evening was that the Blessed Mary Berry uses tinned, yes, that’s tinned, peaches and pears in her trifle recipe.
Sadly this was not to be the case. Yesterday was Scotland’s the equivalent of the Queen’s Speech, when the Government unveils its legislative programme, except we get Alex Salmond instead of the Queen. To mark the occasion, he was interviewed for Scotland Tonight.
More of the interview than necessary was taken up with a discussion on which pro UK politician he would debate against in the …
By Caron Lindsay
| Mon 2nd September 2013 - 11:35 am
Sir Malcolm Bruce, speaking exclusively to the local newspaper in his Gordon constituency, has announced that he will be stepping down as MP for he seat he has represented for 30 years at the next General Election.
I’d rather go when I’m fit, active, effective and, I hope, still enjoying it.
I think I’m going to feel quite liberated but I want people to know that I’m not retiring right now, I’m just announcing that I’m not going to stand at the next election. I’ll
By Caron Lindsay
| Sun 1st September 2013 - 12:31 pm
It’s now 10 days since Bill Walker, MSP for Dunfermline, was convicted of 23 offences of violence against 3 wives and a stepdaughter over a 28 year period. So far, his only public comment has been to state to the Courier:
I never had any plans to vacate my seat and that’s it. I will just leave it at that.
That’s not good enough for many MSPs. Willie Rennie has put down a motion (like an Early Day Motion at Westminster) calling on him to resign. That has so far been signed by over 80 of his parliamentary colleagues. Willie has …
Willie Rennie has consistently talked about the need to develop a blueprint for a new constitutional settlement for Scotland within the United Kingdom. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have their own proposals, enshrined in Federalism: the best future for Scotland. Since its publication, both Labour and the Conservatives, (yes, you read that right, the Conservatives) have announced that they will b developing their own plans.
In a speech in Glasgow today, Willie takes this a step further, saying that he wants to see definite action on this so that any changes can be voted on at the 2015 general election, …
Today’s Guardian reports that if Scotland votes for independence, the new Scottish Government might have difficulty joining NATO:
It is understood that Nato officials said it might be possible to allow Scotland to start fast-track talks – but in a blow to Salmond’s anti-nuclear strategy, the Scottish delegation was also told that no new member would be allowed to join Nato if that state had unresolved military or territorial disputes with other countries.
Under article 10 of the Nato treaty, one assistant general secretary of Nato said at the meeting on 6 July, new applicants also have
Michael Moore and Willie Rennie have both paid tribute to the former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, David McLetchie, who died yesterday at the age of 61.
I never met him, but I know that he had a reputation as a generally easy-going, decent bloke, kind and very funny. Mandy Rhodes of Holyrood magazine has written a very personal and moving appreciation here.
In tribute, Willie Rennie said:
A towering figure if this new Scottish parliamentary age, David will forever be regarded as a public servant who made a difference. Whether as party leader or foot soldier he commanded immediate respect and
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.
Fancy working for the Liberal Democrats? There are a fair few jobs to choose from over on Work for an MP website which includes both party jobs and jobs with parliamentarians. There are opportunities in the north, south and east of mainland UK.
An empathetic, organised, highly efficient individual is sought for the role of Caseworker to Jo Swinson MP. The role is permanent, based on a working week of 37.5 hours. The position is based within a lively and dynamic team in
Willie Rennie has been writing in the Times about the Scottish independence referendum. One of the charges that gets levelled at anyone opposed to independence is that we think that Scotland is too poor, too wee or too stupid to go it alone. Except nobody on the pro-union campaign actually thinks that. The SNP use it as something to bash the opposition with but it’s a straw man and a flimsy one at that.
I have never heard any spokesman for Better Together say “Scotland is too wee, too poor and too stupid” but I have heard people on the doorsteps
You would think, wouldn’t you, that when an MP presents a bill on such a serious subject as protecting people from sexual assault, the House of Commons would act in a grown up fashion? After all, the shouting and jeering is all for the pantomime of PMQs, and the rest of the time people behave like cuddly teddy bears, don’t they?
Let me take you back to 21st October 2008, when Willie Rennie introduced his Bill (which eventually became law) enabling driving instructors to be suspended …
It is a very long time since I have felt this good on a Monday morning. I am full of happiness, joy and smiles. Why? Believe it or not, it’s all down to 3 minutes and 28 seconds of feelgood video from Scotland’s bright and positive Equal Marriage campaign. Set to the song Pride by Amy MacDonald, it takes in Broadway, the Coronation Street set, Lorraine Kelly’s dressing room and, most importantly, real places and real couples across Scotland. All Scottish political party leaders feature too. There is a slight irony in that the slogan “It’s Time” was used by the SNP in their winning Holyrood election campaign in 2007 but we’ll put that to one side for the moment.
The video has been released to celebrate 5 years of the equal marriage campaign and to mark the SNP Government introducing its own equal marriage bill later this week. Watch and enjoy. You will be glad you did. For me, it’s very much move over Idina Menzel and West Wing videos, I have a new You Tube favourite.
The last time I heard the phrase continental drift used was when I was half asleep in a Geography class more years ago than I care to remember.
Willie Rennie uses it in today’s Scotsman to talk about the problems which he thinks would ensue an independent Scotland joined the EU and the rest of the UK left it. I certainly have been susceptible to thoughts that, although far from my first choice, an independent Scotland in the EU would be preferable to a …
Have you recovered from the May elections? Are you raring to go again? Well, obviously you will have things in your own patch to do, but you might also want to help our candidate Christine Jardine in the Aberdeen Donside Scottish Parliament by-election which takes place on 20th June.
For those of you far away from Aberdeen, you can phone bank through Connect. If you are within travelling distance, though, Willie Rennie is there today and Jo Swinson is there tomorrow to help Christine’s campaign. In an email to Scottish …
The Scottish Government has a Minister for External Affairs, whose job it is to represent the Scottish Government on the international stage. This role is currently undertaken by SNP rising star Humza Yousaf.
Humza has spent this week in Doha at the International Forum there. This is an event which discusses key international issues as they affect the Middle East. He has been caught on video telling this international audience of academics, political leaders and intergovernmental organisations that the UK Government wants to leave the European Union. Unfortunately for him, he was caught on video doing it. Have a look at …
Liberal Democrats including Alistair Carmichael (ok, so he lives there), Willie Rennie, David Steel and Nick Clegg have headed to Orkney this weekend to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Jo Grimond, the man credited with building up the Liberal Party after is demise. David Steel gave a lecture in the Firth Church at Finnstown and Nick Clegg spoke at a dinner last night.
Steel’s lecture, outlining Grimond’s crashes through our normal word limit, but I think it’s worth reading the whole thing to get an insight into the history of the Liberal Party and into both Grimond’s and Steel’s
It’s two years today since Willie Rennie was elected Scottish Liberal Democrat leader.
Here are some of the highlights of his first two years in the job:
The first interview – I was there in North Queensferry when he kicked off his leadership in the sunshine. At that point it had rained every day since the Nationalists had won their overall majority.
Christine Jardine, a former Downing Street Special Adviser, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the Aberdeen Donside Scottish Parliament by-election caused by the death o SNP MSP Brian Adam last month. She is seen second on the right in the photograph, which also features Cllr Steve Delaney, Alison McInnes MSP, Scottish leader Willie Rennie MSP and Sir Malcolm Bruce MP.
The by-election will take place on June 20.
Liberal Democrat Voice readers will be familiar with her name because of occasional …
So, the tiaras are back in their boxes, Alistair Carmichael’s wand is back in its cupboard and the Queen’s Speech has been delivered. There is plenty to make Liberal Democrats cheer, but also areas where more details are required before we can breathe that sigh of relief. There are, also, a couple of areas where I was hiding behind a cushion.
First, though, the truly extraordinary. We Liberal Democrats are kind of used to playing “stronger economy, fairer society” bingo every time one of our ministers opens their mouths. But we weren’t quite expecting this:
My government’s legislative programme will continue to
The Liberal Democrat group on Aberdeenshire Council has been strengthened today as Cllr Fergus Hood, who represents the East Garioch ward, joined it from the SNP.
He is shown here being welcomed by his new colleagues ward colleague Cllr Nan Cullinane on the right and Group Leader Cllr Martin Kitts-Hayes (with the beard) and Chair of the Social Work and Housing Committee Cllr Karen Clark on the left.
Martin Kitts-Hayes said:
I am delighted to welcome Cllr Hood to the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Having worked closely with Fergus on the
This week the Scottish Parliament debated the Iraq War, ten years on. This could have disintegrated into a “this is why we need independence” bunfight, but, actually, it ended up being one of those occasions when you could be proud of your Parliament for being thoughtful and mindful of the terrible human cost of this conflict.
Willie Rennie spoke for the Liberal Democrats in the debate and actually was applauded by the SNP benches who are, shall we say, not usually so friendly towards …
Pawel Urbanski No argument on reform. My worry is the word "higher". It tends to lose elections. The real scandal is not the rates, it is a tax code so complex the wealthy can...
Meg Thomas @russel @david I thought the triple lock was unfair but it has brought state pensions up to the levels in most devleoped countries AND remember that younger peo...
expats Ever more scare mongering about 'DEFENCE' is putting basic living standards at risk; who exactly is threatening us militarily? Russia is unable to win a war aga...
Nick Hopkinson As usual another erudite article from William. Whilst I support the imposition of some taxes on excessive wealth, I would like to see the party focus primarily ...
Jenny Barnes How about joining in fewer discretionary wars. Stop the MOD wasting money. Cancel Ajax and the planned F35a purchase. Mothball or use for spares one of the airc...
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Has the Chancellor set the tone for a Burnham administration?
"His glamour tarnished, his boorishness came to notice": On being the monarch's second son
Pawel Urbanski 
Meg Thomas 
expats 
Nick Hopkinson 
Jenny Barnes 