LDV wants to find out who our readers think merits the title Liberal Voice of the Year 2009, and we’ll be running a New Year poll to find the individual or group in British politics which has most inspired you in the last year. But, as is our traditional little twist, we want to look outside the Liberal Democrats – and find the greatest liberal who’s not a member of our party.
So, who would you pick? It could be a member of another political party, or one of the majority of Britons who belong to no party; or a group of people, or an organisation, which campaigns for liberal values. It could even be someone who isn’t British themselves, but has had a big impact on liberalism in this country in 2009. And what should qualify as “a liberal”? You decide …
Let us know your nominations in the comments – and feel free to start debating different candidates’ merits – and our poll will shortly be live for you to choose LDV’s Liberal Voice of the Year.
Previous winners of the LDV Liberal Voice of the Year award:
2007: Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty.
2008: Campaigners on behalf of Jean Charles de Menezes (Justice4Jean.org) and Stockwell Shooting Inquest Jury.
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And I’m going, cheekily, to start the bidding with:
Peter Tatchell – for tireless human rights campaigning, and
Joanna Lumley – for her campaigning on behalf of the Ghurkhas
I always admire Shami Chakrabarti, Jonathan Porrit, Nicholas Stern and Paul Ekins, although 2009 was not their year for headlines. Rory Stewart seems to be the only person talking sense on Afghanistan, although what on earth he is doing in the Tory party is anyone’s guess. I wish there was someone like him with his level of expertise and insight within the Liberal Democrats on this issue.
The person who stands out is Adair Turner for having the guts to speak out against the coporate abuses in the City banking system. Many of us have long believed that much of what goes on in there is “socially useless”. However when he says so he does with genuine authority.
British Liberalism would be greatly improved if we spent more time differentiating between where markets are socially useful and where they are not. In fact I can remember a time in the 1980s when that was actually what we did.
I also congratulate him for putting the Tobin tax on the agenda. There are plenty of vested interests in the City who do not want to see this, but the responsibility of politicians is to make sure that never again will markets be allowed to bubble in such a devestating way, and so to stop that and pay off the debts from the last bubble then this should be taken seriously.
Who? Liberal…oh what…Shami suppose…
Shami again, isn’t it? To reflect another thread why doesn’t Nick give her our next peerage?
A variety of names spring to mind (Terry Pratchett, Andrew Rawnsley, Tim Garton-Ash, Derren Brown), but I’m more tempted to compete with Stephen on the localist stakes and plump for the angry, amusing and insightful communicative efforts of Charlie Brooker.
I’m a bit disappointed with myself for giving a very male list, but just maybe it’d be helpful to provide some balance by nominating a liberal face of the year as well as a liberal voice. In which case I’d say share the two awards between Charlie and Florence Welch (for a more cultural, less political side).
My support is for Henry Porter, for his tireless campaigning against the database state and his role in organising February 2009’s excellent Convention on Modern Liberty.
I’d nominate Guy Herbert of No2ID, but as a co-ordinator I might be seen as partisan.
Richard Dawkins/Simon Singh/Ben Goldacre for their campaign to stop science being subject to Draconian libel laws.
Possibly also a mention for Alan Rusbridger over the Trafigura affair.
Joanna Lumley, of course
It has to be the delightful Joanna this year, for both the Gurkha campaign AND sticking it royally to Phil Woolas. Honourable MIDs to Henry Porter, Dr Ben and Phil Booth of No2ID.
I certainly wouldn’t give it to Shami; not one of them from Liberty or its predecessor NCCL has done anything worth a light as regards civil liberties the moment they get a sniff of power and I doubt if Ms Chakrabarti would break the mould.
Ian Hislop for Private Eye’s dogged exposing of all sorts of things?
My vote goes to Joanna Lumley OBE FRGS as the Liberal Voice of 2009, for her lead as `Daughter of Nepal’, on the `Gurkha Justice Campaign’ that earned equal rights of residence for all past Gurkhas, to choose freely to live in the UK.
Joanna Lumley has had to remind this complacent Government,in partnership with Nick Clegg`s exemplary leadership in Parliament, that 50,000 Gurkhas had fought and died for this Country, over 200 years and with 13 holders of the VC : the most valorous award, in the British Army.
Joanna Lumley has also been a shining beacon with her charitable work on behalf of `Survival International’, that challenged a bauxite company to preserve the threatened Dungria tribe in India,champion of Suffolk Carers,activist with Burma Campaign UK and `Free Tibet’ and many other charitable projects..
I’ve said it in previous years …. Terry Pratchett!
I would say either Shami or Joanna. Probably Joanna this year just because of the passion and the audacity of her fight for the Gurkhas. Perhaps she should share it with the Gurkha Justice Campaign.
But it wasnt just Lumley’s campaign, was it…she was the “name” that the press could latch on to. OK, she worked hard, for a celeb.
Ian Hislop is a good original idea. Where would we be without The Eye? What else out there is willing to take so many risks in publishing the stuff others prefer to spike?
Ariane Sherine, for her atheist bus campaign. She took on the church, who disapproved of the very fact that she said there might not be a God – a victory in itself.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/18/atheist-bus-campaign
How about Twitter and the Blogosphere, for trafigura? 😛
In all seriousness though, this should go to Simon Singh or those working on his cause (i.e. skeptical bloggers, Goldacre, Dawkins, Sense about Science, Jack of Kent etc).
Or Richard Wilkinson for his work on public health and inequality?
Or maybe you could honour those who tried but sadly failed in their efforts like the G20 protesters or the climate change protesters?
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