Liberal Democrat Voice

In full: Willie’s story

By The Voice | Thu 24th September 2015 - 4:40 pm

We gave you the preview yesterday, now here’s the whole thing. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have finally found some production values in a very well produced Party Political Broadcast:

The transcript is below:

Advert

Caroline Pidgeon writes…Why open government is good government and why it is time to defend the freedom of information act

By Caroline Pidgeon | Thu 24th September 2015 - 3:29 pm

The announcement this Summer that Ministers are now seeking to ‘review’ the freedom of information act had a most depressing ring to it.

For a start any fundamental review of freedom of information (FOI) legislation is hardly necessary. Just three years ago the cross party House of Commons Justice Committee, chaired by Alan Beith, carried out an extensive investigation into the operations of the Act. It reported that: “The Freedom of Information Act has been a significant enhancement of our democracy. Overall our witnesses agreed that the Act was working well. The right to access information has improved openness, transparency and accountability.”

Few pieces of legislation get that kind of endorsement.

Indeed the Justice Committee not only defended the Act but also highlighted where it should be strengthened. For example it criticised public authorities that kick requests into the long grass by holding interminable internal reviews.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged freedom of information and london | 1 Comment

Defecting or coming home?

By Mark Argent | Thu 24th September 2015 - 2:20 pm

Jeremy Corbyn’s election has brought speculation about people on the right of the Labour party switching to the Liberal Democrats. Some of those comments make sense, but others don’t.

At its best, there are times when a genuine change of conviction makes a change of party into a home-coming. I think of the authenticity of Jacob Whiten, writing in Liberal Democrat Voice on his move from UKIP to the Liberal Democrats, and the enormous contribution of people like Shirley Williams, who came into the Liberal Democrats by moving from Labour to the SDP.

But defections can backfire, and the language of encouraging them can play badly, as in the case of a recent spoof email from Tim Farron to Chuka Umunna encouraging him to switch, written by Amol Rajan in the Evening Standard.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged jeremy corbyn, labour and preamble | 1 Comment

The case for muscular liberalism

By Tristan Gray | Thu 24th September 2015 - 12:50 pm

The Liberal Democrat bird of liberty has never before flown this low. It has been a long 45 years of pride as the only real third party in British politics. Now liberalism has been driven into the wasteland. Politically irrelevant and utterly ignored by the British media. You’d have hardly guessed there’s a new leader with how little has been seen of him.

Back in 2010 the Liberal Democrats stood for three things – The hopes of the young, the distrust of the authoritarian tendencies of the major two parties, and the protest vote. The first they lost in the PR catastrophe that was student tuition fees, the second they lost as a party of power which sided with the Conservatives, the last they lost to the booming popularity of UKIP and the Greens.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged liberalism | 17 Comments

The People’s Railway is a train crash – the people need more liberal rail routes

By Charles Lawley | Thu 24th September 2015 - 11:34 am

View image | gettyimages.com

I need to be in Cardiff Bay next Thursday morning by 10:00. I don’t drive and I live in West London. You guessed it, I have to get the train. So I look on the National Rail website for train times and prices. The only route for me to go is from Paddington to Cardiff Central, then change at Cardiff Central. Only First Great Western operate the Paddington to Cardiff Central route, so I am at the mercy of their prices and service (I’m not picking on First Great Western, I’m from the North West originally and often get Virgin trains and they are just as bad). If I want to go Thursday I can either pay £26 for a train from Paddington at 05:19 (before the first Tube and I don’t drive remember) or any train later than that, but will still get me into Cardiff before 10:00, will cost £106. And that’s not to mention that I have to pay a minimum extra of £46 for a return if I fancy going home at some point, as well.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged railways | 24 Comments

Liberal Democrat policy on railways

By Paul Walter | Thu 24th September 2015 - 10:45 am

View image | gettyimages.com

Liberals must be on the side of business – ambitious for business – tearing down the barriers that stop businesses from fulfilling their ambitions. It is unambitious for the government to power down the Northern Powerhouse by stalling promises to electrify the Transpennines route. Instead, we say – invest in the best rail links in Europe.

Tim Farron, 23rd September 2015

This is the first of a couplet of articles on the subject of the railways this morning.

In August, on a comments thread, I outlined the Liberal Democrat railways policy, in response to a commenter.

I notice that commenters are still asking what our policy is on the railways, so I thought I’d set it out in a post.

First of all, here is a statement from the BBC news magazine from March 2015:

Posted in Party policy and internal matters | Tagged railways | 15 Comments

Tim’s speech – Did you have to be in the hall to get it?

By Paul Walter | Thu 24th September 2015 - 9:40 am

View image | gettyimages.com

Yesterday I had to work so I couldn’t be at Bournemouth to watch Tim’s speech.

So, through the miracles of the smartphone, the BBC and the car auxiliary connection point, I listened to Tim’s speech on the way to work this morning.

I therefore had a chance to test how the speech came over via audio only on the M4 in Berkshire. Were all these rave reviews coming from people in the hall yesterday mere hype? The result of mass hysteria which would not catch on outside the immediacy of the hall?

Well, no.

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged autumn conference 2015, refugees and tim farron | 4 Comments

LDVideo: Tim Farron’s first leaders’ speech

By The Voice | Thu 24th September 2015 - 7:50 am

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015 and featured | 2 Comments

Farron rips up the rules on leaders’ speeches

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 9:11 pm

View image | gettyimages.com

It is no surprise that Tim Farron can make a decent speech. It’s what he does. Today, though, he took the tried and tested formula for leaders’ speeches. You know the Rules, where they slag off the other parties, they carefully talk about a few issues considered to be the key interests of the electorate, utter a few platitudes, tell a few jokes and end on a high note.

It’s all a bit contrived sometimes, way too polished, and leaves the listener wanting a bit of genuine discourse and emotion.

Not today. Liberal Democrats are not known for their deference to their leader. It’s impossible to imagine any of us being as devoted to our leader as SNP activists are to Nicola Sturgeon. We don’t always do their bidding and we usually answer back if they do something we don’t like. We are definitely not the sort of people who give people massive standing ovations in the middle of their speeches like we did this afternoon because he spoke so passionately, as we would, for the refugees whose plight is pretty much dismissed by the Government. He was angry and he showed it and he took us with him.

And what we’ve had from David Cameron is a careful calibration of what it will take to manage that story, the minimum effort for the maximum headlines.

And a policy which will not directly help a single one of the hundreds of thousands currently on the move across Europe.

It’s pitiful and embarrassing and makes me so angry.

Because I am proud to be British and I am proud of Britain’s values, so when Mr Cameron turns his back on the needy and turns his back on our neighbours.

I want the world to know, he does not speak for me, he does not speak for us, he does not speak for Britain.

Posted in Conference and Op-eds | Tagged autumn conference 2015, leader's speech and tim farron | 6 Comments

I agree with Nick, I have left too

By Michael Cooke | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 3:40 pm

I have just joined the Liberal Democrats. It has been a long time coming, but I finally did it. The final straw was the brilliant Nick Cohen’s piece in The Spectator titled “Why I’ve finally given up on the left”. I agree with Nick, I too have left; I have found my proper political home.

I used to vote Labour and I voted “Yes” in the AV Referendum in May 2011, I am a pro-European and I always identified as slightly centre-left. Then came 2015: the Conservative majority, the SNP landslide in my native Scotland, and the election of the hard left within the Labour Party.

I have always been a liberal, I realised recently. I have always been willing to listen to the most beyond-the-pale viewpoint out of a sense of tolerance. Freedom of speech is something fundamental and core to liberalism, something with which I have a strong affinity.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged nick clegg and nick cohen | 27 Comments

IN FULL: Tim Farron’s leader speech to conference today

By Paul Walter | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 1:36 pm

View image | gettyimages.com

When I was growing up my school didn’t have a sixth form. I guess that’s because most of us didn’t do A levels. So I went to a separate sixth form college – Runshaw in Leyland – and, in my first week, I joined the Liberal Party.

I also joined a band.

I’m assuming you may have seen the photos.

The only good thing I can say is that because the photos are pre-digital they are so low resolution that you can’t make out the eye-liner.

photo by: Liberal Democrats

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, featured and tim farron | 14 Comments

“Wow, that was the best leader’s speech I’ve heard in just under 50 Lib Dem conferences”

By Paul Walter | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 1:30 pm

So tweeted Dr Mark Pack, formerly of this parish:

Wow, that was the best leader's speech I've heard in just under 50 Lib Dem conferences. #ldconf

— Mark Pack (@markpack) September 23, 2015

Here’s some other reaction:

Bold & passionate speech from @timfarron. One of best. Clear statement of our values & invitation to all liberals to join #LibDemFightback

— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) September 23, 2015

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, featured and tim farron | 31 Comments

Should we laugh when the Daily Mail flex their muscles?

By George Kendall | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 11:15 am

I admit it. I laughed at #piggate. But should I have?

Four years ago, a scandal engulfed the newspaper industry. The News of the World was closed down, and News International reporters were arrested.

Before, all politicians knew, if a major tabloid newspaper targeted them, they had good reason to be afraid.

After, I remember the heady celebration of politicians who compared it to liberation from a police state.

“Don’t worry,” one said, when asked if this kind of threat would return. “It’s like when people stop being afraid of the secret police. If no one is afraid, they lose their power.”

Well, if I …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged daily mail and david cameron | 13 Comments

Broadcast that underlines one of Tim’s big themes – the right to a decent home

By Paul Walter | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 10:00 am

The right for everyone to have a decent home is emerging as one of the big themes of Tim Farron’s leadership. It is the subject of his first Party Political Broadcast as leader, which you can view below. As well as packing a punch in terms of the theme, it is also a well presented broadcast. Tim is relaxed and seems normal.

Posted in Lib Dem TV and YouTube | Tagged housing, party political broadcast and tim farron | 4 Comments

Conference debates open thread: Wednesday 23rd September

By The Voice | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 8:30 am

Whether you are physically in Bournemouth or are following what is happening from home, this is your place to talk about the public face of the Conference – in other words, all the debates and speeches that are going on in the main auditorium. Please use the comments below to add your reports on policy and constitutional debates or to draw readers’ attention to ones in the pipeline.

We will be running a similar thread each day, so please confine your comments today to what is actually happening today. Tomorrow’s instalment will appear at 8.30am tomorrow morning.

We will also be running a thread each day on fringes, so use that one for anything going on outside the main show.

So what is happening today at Conference?

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015 | 5 Comments

Preview: Scottish Liberal Democrats Broadcast: Willie Rennie’s story

By Caron Lindsay | Wed 23rd September 2015 - 7:27 am

Scottish Liberal Democrat party broadcasts have previously been in the, shall we say, Blake’s 7 school of production values. That’s not to say that there wasn’t great content, but it came across as homely.

Well, all that’s changed with the new broadcast being aired tonight.

Here’s a tiny snippet. You’ll be able to watch it on tv and on here later.

Posted in News | Tagged party political broadcasts, Scotland and willie rennie | 2 Comments

If you missed any bits of conference…how to catch up on YouTube

By Paul Walter | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 5:45 pm

Sssshhh! Don’t tell anyone. This is a secret and we need to keep it that way.

If you want to watch any bits of conference in “catch up mode”, head over to the party’s YouTube channel here.

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015 | 4 Comments

The funniest moment of Conference so far…

By The Voice | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 4:55 pm

Or at least, the funniest that didn’t involve pig jokes..

The BBC’s Daily Politics team tried to get Alistair Carmichael to choose between David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn. Not a wise move…

Alistair Carmichael, when asked "Cameron or Corbyn?" by BBC "Why would you care?"#ldconf pic.twitter.com/GVXFoN8jtR

— Caron Lindsay (@caronmlindsay) September 22, 2015

Posted in Conference and News | Tagged Alistair Carmichael, bbc and daily politics | 1 Comment

Sal Brinton’s Presidential address to Conference

By The Voice | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 3:45 pm

Here is the text of Sal Brinton’s Presidential address to Conference. She talked about the threat to our democracy from the Tories’ massive spending on election campaigning and their plans for boundary changes. She talked about getting the party in the right shape for that fightback, to “give our country a democracy that works for all’. Here’s her speech in full:

The last couple of years have shown us that traditional assumptions about politics are useless.

Our world is being turned upside down, and, unpredictable even to the pundits.

So much so that Lloyd George’s famous comment “The world is becoming like a lunatic asylum run by the lunatics”. That was over 110 years ago – perhaps some things never change!

We faced our hardest results in decades on 7 May, made much harder in recent weeks by watching David Cameron and the Tories undoing many of the things that we achieved in Government.

A large number of people – not just Lib Dems – have said to me that they now understand what we did in Parliament as the Tories undo them, one by one. The shock of losing so many colleagues has been compounded by the Tories making cuts to the most vulnerable in our society.

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, sal brinton and speeches | 7 Comments

In Full: Willie Rennie’s speech to Conference: Our liberal, radical offer to create real freedom for people in Scotland

By The Voice | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 2:30 pm

Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie gave his speech to Conference yesterday. Unlike Kirsty, he didn’t dwell on the coalition years. He did, however, offer a devastating critique of the SNP Government, citing its illiberal and centralising instincts.

He set out his agenda for the elections to the Scottish Parliament next May:

Our election campaign will be about liberal values.

At our heart we want every individual to achieve their potential.

So we will bring in childcare and the pupil premium for children who need it, wherever they live in Scotland. Giving opportunity to every child to get up and get on – no matter the circumstances of their birth.

We stand with the powerless against the strong. Mental health will be taken seriously. No more six month waits. Professionals on standby in every A&E.

We say power is safer when it is shared and will trust communities and individuals with the power to control their own lives – putting an end to the Holyrood-knows-best mentality.

So we will put democracy back into the police and return to traditional Scottish policing by consent.

We will empower public sector workers – teachers, doctors, nurses, police and more;

Stripping back top-down targets, controls, league tables and testing to give them the freedom to do their job.

And we will share power across the whole UK to give a stable constitutional future for Scotland;

A federal system is a positive, unifying future for Scotland and the rest of the UK.

This is our positive vision;

Here is the speech in full:

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, speeches and willie rennie | 9 Comments

Read my lips: No seat reduction

By Christopher Ecclestone | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 1:30 pm

View image | gettyimages.com

I just got back from two days at the Conference in Bournemouth. The absence of discussion of strategy was deafening. However, no less than three people either said to me or mentioned from the dais the reduction of seats from 650 to 600 “which the Tories are going to do”.

I have bemoaned the lack of psephological nous in the party before but, really, some members seem to like to wallow in misery and fantasy.

It is true that the seat reduction as proposed was set to disadvantage us and Labour at the Tory benefit. That is a given. However time and events have moved on.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged conservative party, house of commons, labour party and liberal democrats | 25 Comments

VIDEO: Watch the “Scrapping Trident” debate in full

By Paul Walter | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 12:30 pm

Click below to watch this excellent example of Liberal Democrat debate from yesterday:

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015 | Leave a comment

Kelvin Mackenzie offers Stephen Tall £5000 to fulfil his pledge to run down Whitehall naked…

By NewsHound | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 11:55 am

Remember that pledge of Stephen Tall’s that he’d run naked down Whitehall if we were down to 24 seats in the election? Well, he has been reminded about it every time he’s appeared on the Daily Politics since. Back on the programme yesterday, he was put in an awkward position when former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie offered £5000 to charity for Stephen to do it. So long as the legal issues can be overcome, there doesn’t seem to be a way he can get out of it now. From the Telegraph:

Stephen Tall, co-editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, was asked on the BBC’s Daily Politics show why he had not yet delivered on his promise to run nude if his party lost half of its seats.

The Sun’s former editor Kelvin MacKenzie, who appeared on the same show, then offered Mr Tall £5,000 to complete the challenge.

Mr Tall and Mr MacKenzie shook hands on the promise that he would carry out the task in return for the money being donated to his chosen charity.

See the exchange on iPlayer here.

Stephen took to Twitter to repent in 140 characters.

Posted in News | Tagged stephen tall | 13 Comments

Controversy over Glee Club Song Book, in connection with Charles Kennedy – the full story

By News Meerkat | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 10:54 am

PoliticsHome reports:

Campaigners have criticised the Liberal Democrats over songs mocking Charles Kennedy’s alcoholism just three months after his death.

Posted in Conference | Tagged charles kennedy and glee club | 3 Comments

Conference Extras open thread: Tuesday 22 September: It’ll all end in Glee

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 10:30 am

We hope you’ve spotted the open thread on the action taking place in the main auditorium today. In comparison, this thread is for you to talk about fringe meetings, the exhibition and all the other things going on around the main business.

Today’s highlights

At 7:45 tonight, Norman Lamb is interviewed by Helen Duffett, the editor of the party’s all member Ad Lib magazine. She’ll be asking him about his plans for the future.

Norman will also be on a panel at lunchtime with our Stephen Tall at a Resolution Foundation fringe meeting discussing the need to rethink the Liberal Democrat approach to social justice.

At the same time Jo Swinson joins polling experts on a panel looking into why the polls got it so very wrong in the election.

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015 | Leave a comment

In Full: Kirsty Williams’ speech to Liberal Democrat Conference: A Britain without liberalism is a Britain that has lost its soul

By The Voice | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 9:47 am

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams gave her keynote speech to Conference yesterday and she did not mince her words.

She was candid about the failings of the coalition, saying that it looked like we’d never even tried to keep the pledge on tuition fees, and that our identity had been lost.

She also said that one of the best ways to improve gender balance in parliamentarians was to help in Wales to make sure the Liberal Democrats did well as female candidates had been selected in many winnable seats.

She also set out her stall for the elections:

We believe in Freedom. Freedom of the individual, so everyone has the opportunity to be who they want to be and reach their full potential

We believe in Fairness – for diversity, against intolerance – the voice for the voiceless

And we believe in Community. Where we as individuals work together for the common good, where we empower communities to make decisions that work best for them

Most other parties can achieve some of those principles, but none combine them.

And what makes us unique is that we’re liberals

Feeling so strongly about something so positive gives us the power and confidence needed to take us forward:

The confidence to say immigration benefits our country

The confidence to say rehabilitation works better than prison

The confidence to say our voting systems, our institutions, our whole political system quite frankly stinks

The Human Rights Act, the green agenda, mental health – we fight for the underdog, we fight for what is right, leading on the issues that no-one else will.

Here is her speech in full:

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, kirsty williams and speeches | 15 Comments

Conference debates open thread: Tuesday 22nd September

By The Voice | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 8:30 am

We will be running a similar thread each day, so please confine your comments today to what is actually happening today. Tomorrow’s instalment will appear at 8.30am tomorrow morning.

We will also be running a thread each day on fringes, so use that one for anything going on outside the main show.

So what is happening today at Conference?

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015 | 2 Comments

The ideas that built the Liberal Democrats

By Duncan Brack | Tue 22nd September 2015 - 7:00 am

Politics rest on beliefs. Political parties that operate without a philosophical framework stand for little more than personality and populism. But equally, beliefs must rest on thought – they must be continually defined, tested and debated rather than simply inherited unquestioningly.

That’s part of what the Federal Policy Committee’s Agenda 2020 process is all about; I’ve written about the various elements of that already on Lib Dem Voice.

But of course the party doesn’t start from scratch in this respect. The political ideology of the Liberal Democrats draws on the philosophies of two reformist traditions, liberalism and social democracy. Liberalism possesses an immensely rich history, stretching back over more than three hundred years. Social democracy is a label that has meant very different things over the last hundred years and more, but between them these traditions possess a distinctive approach to concepts such as freedom, equality and social justice.

As a concise guide to the key strands of political thought and ideas underlying Liberal Democrat beliefs, the Liberal Democrat History Group has published a new booklet, Liberalism: The ideas that Built the Liberal Democrats.

Posted in News | Tagged journal of liberal history | 10 Comments

++Conference passes “One member one vote” for party elections and conference votes

By Paul Walter | Mon 21st September 2015 - 6:49 pm

Hallejujah!

We have got there! We have at last completed our arduous journey over mountain, through thick jungle and through crocodile infested waters. We have at last arrived in the Elysian Fields!

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, featured and omov | 11 Comments

“Scrapping Trident” debate – what conference voted for today

By Paul Walter | Mon 21st September 2015 - 6:46 pm

Here follows the text of the motion passed by conference this afternoon at the end of the debate entitled “Scrapping Trident” on the agenda.

I have shown the original motion in normal text with the original line numbers, and lines through the text which was deleted by conference. In italics I have shown the text inserted by virtue of conference voting for Amendment 1:

Posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2015, featured and trident | 25 Comments

Liberal Democrat Voice

LDVideo: Tim Farron’s first leaders’ speech

IN FULL: Tim's speech to conference

"Wow!" - reaction to Tim's leader's speech

"One member one vote" passes!!!

In full: Willie’s story

Caroline Pidgeon writes…Why open government is good government and why it is time to defend the freedom of information act

Defecting or coming home?

The case for muscular liberalism

The People’s Railway is a train crash – the people need more liberal rail routes

Liberal Democrat policy on railways

Tim’s speech – Did you have to be in the hall to get it?

LDVideo: Tim Farron’s first leaders’ speech

Farron rips up the rules on leaders’ speeches

I agree with Nick, I have left too

IN FULL: Tim Farron’s leader speech to conference today

“Wow, that was the best leader’s speech I’ve heard in just under 50 Lib Dem conferences”

Should we laugh when the Daily Mail flex their muscles?

Broadcast that underlines one of Tim’s big themes – the right to a decent home

Conference debates open thread: Wednesday 23rd September

Preview: Scottish Liberal Democrats Broadcast: Willie Rennie’s story

If you missed any bits of conference…how to catch up on YouTube

The funniest moment of Conference so far…

Sal Brinton’s Presidential address to Conference

In Full: Willie Rennie’s speech to Conference: Our liberal, radical offer to create real freedom for people in Scotland

Read my lips: No seat reduction

VIDEO: Watch the “Scrapping Trident” debate in full

Kelvin Mackenzie offers Stephen Tall £5000 to fulfil his pledge to run down Whitehall naked…

Controversy over Glee Club Song Book, in connection with Charles Kennedy – the full story

Conference Extras open thread: Tuesday 22 September: It’ll all end in Glee

Today’s highlights

In Full: Kirsty Williams’ speech to Liberal Democrat Conference: A Britain without liberalism is a Britain that has lost its soul

Conference debates open thread: Tuesday 22nd September

The ideas that built the Liberal Democrats

++Conference passes “One member one vote” for party elections and conference votes

“Scrapping Trident” debate – what conference voted for today

Most Read

Op-eds

Recent Comments

LDVideo: Tim Farron’s first leaders’ speech

IN FULL: Tim's speech to conference

"Wow!" - reaction to Tim's leader's speech

"One member one vote" passes!!!

Today’s highlights

Subscribe

Most Read

Search

Op-eds

Recent Comments