Tag Archives: yvette cooper

David Morrison

Should Palestine Action be a Proscribed Organisation?

By David Morrison | Tue 12th August 2025 - 3:14 pm

Over 500 people were arrested in London last weekend for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, an organisation proscribed under terrorist legislation. About half of those arrested are reported to be over 65 years of age and many of the arrests were for carrying signs, with words such as “Stop the Genocide – Support Palestine Action”.

Palestine Action was banned as it was responsible for causing costly criminal damage to military aircraft. The Home Secretary has sought to defend the ban by saying Palestine Action is “not a non-violent organisation” and that further information will come out which will justify the ban.

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged | 25 Comments
Stephen Tall

Nick Clegg’s speech on immigration: baby steps in a liberal direction

By Stephen Tall | Wed 6th August 2014 - 9:30 pm

Nick Clegg Q&A 12When I read Nick Clegg’s immigration speech yesterday I breathed a sigh of relief. It’s sensible and mostly liberal.

Which means it’s a stark contrast to his March 2013 attempt: that was probably the most dire speech I’ve ever heard from a Lib Dem leader. Back then, Nick took credit for net migration having fallen by a third, even though net migration is, as Vince Cable has repeatedly pointed out, an absurd measure of success. He also came up with the unworkable proposal for security bonds (ie, upfront cash payments) for immigrants from ‘high-risk’ countries entering the UK.

Fast forward 18 months and both have been ditched.

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

Labour reshuffle: Ed Miliband unveils Continuity Gordon Brown Party

By Stephen Tall | Thu 20th January 2011 - 8:32 pm

The Lib Dem response to Ed Balls’ appointment as Labour’s shadow chancellor, replacing Alan Johnson, has been swift. Stephen Williams, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Treasury Committee, commented:

“I wish Alan Johnson good luck for the future.

“The decision to appoint Ed Balls as Shadow Chancellor shows that the Labour Party is now determined to carry on with the Gordon Brown economic plan that caused so much trouble for this country.

“Ed Balls isn’t just a deficit denier, he’s a deficit enthusiast.”

Alan Johnson resigned earlier today, citing “personal reasons to do with my family”. He had been under pressure in …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , and | 36 Comments
Stephen Tall

First thoughts on Ed Miliband’s election as Labour leader

By Stephen Tall | Sat 25th September 2010 - 7:35 pm

Here are some first thoughts on what Ed Miliband’s wafer-thin election victory in the contest to lead Labour might mean…

1. He’s going to have to work hard to prove he’s his own man. There’s no doubt the right-wing press and the Conservatives will do all they can to show Ed Miliband is little more than a puppet of the unions, given he won Labour’s electoral college thanks to the votes of trade unionists, having lost the vote among party members and MPs/MEPs. The pressure will be on for him to show he can stand up to union power or risk …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 56 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • John B Grout
    Excellent piece, Josh. As for seeking others' thoughts on the pitch, here are mine: Labour and the Greens want to do things for you, the Conservatives and R...
  • David Evans
    It's an interesting article, which gives us more to think about, but when it ends with "Government and politics can strive toward this platform ... giving ind...
  • Neil Sandison
    This one of a series of articles recently published in the Liberal Democrat Voice that defines our social liberal values . Frequently the hot house of Westminst...
  • Pawel Urbanski
    This is the right problem to be working on, and I think the answer may be less about the words than about the moments. In my experience people learn what we sta...
  • Simon Robinson
    It's good to have an MP putting herself forward for this. The manifesto seems a bit vague though. All good thoughts and nothing you can really disagree with, b...