[IMG: Supply and demand graph] The way politicians talk about markets is odd. This is not, I'll admit, a novel observation. Indeed, very likely it's not the first time I've made it on this blog. But it hit me again reading Heather Stewart's interview with Chris Leslie in today's Observer. It is partly about reification and deification. The market is – or perhaps more accurately "the markets" are – a capricious god that cannot be tamed and must be appeased. At the same time, the market is the repository of all that is dynamic and innovative in society. But it ...
I posted part 1 a few days ago.
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dems on Broxtowe Borough Council. May I give a special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. 1. Hemlock Happening The annual Hemlock Happening takes place next Saturday at Bramcote Hills Park. Since it started this has grown to be the single biggest free community event in Broxtowe and I'm sure that this year will be up to its usual high standard. It runs from 1pm to 10.30 and full details can be found on their website at ...
Sun 31st
22:25
Why I and most LGBT activists are opposed to a NI referendum on marriage equality #MarRef
There is a petition going around demanding that, like the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland should have a referendum to bring about marriage equality. I and the majority of LGBT+ groups in Northern Ireland are opposed to the idea, which was first muted by Sinn Féin in the run up the the referendum in the republic and here are the reasons why. 1. There is not need for a referendum to bring about marriage equality in any part of the UK. In the Republic of Ireland there had to be a constitution change to recognise marriage equality. The only way ...
The fact that Sepp Blatter's re-election as President of FIFA failed to get a winning two-thirds plurality on the first round goes to show that a growing number of countries' football bodies are unhappy at the way the pugnacious Swiss has presided over years of corruption and shady dealings. Though he is not one of [...]
On Sunday last week, the volunteers of Planting Up Whickham, of which I am one, set to work on preparing the flower beds on Church Green for a new set of bedding plants. I brought 9 sacks of manure, kindly donated by my livestock, to dig into the beds. All the old flowers were removed. Today, the volunteers returned to plant the flowers. Sadly, I wasn't able to take part. A friend of mine was
A belated song for Saturday, it's true, as today is actually Sunday. But this is a song worth waiting for. For those who don't know them, dEUS are a sadly under-appreciated Belgian art rock band. They put out three albums between 1994 and 1999, before an extended hiatus which only ended in 2005 with the release [...]
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 417th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (-, 2015), together with a hand-picked quintet, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1.Alistair Carmichael by LD Neath on Aberavon & Neath ...
We have many numerous issues with past conduct by the current Lib Dem leadership under Nick Clegg. We remain firm advocates of a left of centre party which defends core Lib dem values. Nonetheless it is clear that the campaigns in the party for a change of leader this summer has not carried the day and as democrats we need to recognise this. At the same time it is more than apparent that across the political spectrum in Britain and around the world Liberalism and all we believe in - Freedom, Civil Liberties, Fairness and even the rule of law ...
This summer has seen historic events, a close fought but decisive victory for reason and unity in the UK and a closely considered and reluctant intervention in support of Iraq to combat ISIL. These events come with caveats, Scotland has along with the rest of the UK been promised sweeping devolution and home rule. If the devolution Max timetable is not kept to because Labour and Conservative party politics in England then once again independence will rear it's head and this time it will be final. In Iraq and Syria - air strikes must be only a small part of ...
October is posing stark choices for Lib Dems to make the last few months of a Lib Dem Coalition Government count. UKIP With UKIP now with its first elected MP - it is clear that UKIP will be a potent force at 2015, taking votes from disaffected eurosceptic tories in the south, tactical voting across the UK and disgruntled Labour voters in the North. In Wakefield in my own ward - my 5% who voted for me as a Liberal Democrat represented the votes UKIP needed to wrestle the seat from Labour. If Lib Dems don't stand for council seats ...
With open revolt on the Labour benches, senior MPs calling for Ed Miliband to quit, Milliband as unpopular as Michael Foot and looking like an unloved loser, finally the public is turning on the oh so smug Labour Party. Having engineered the 2008 collapse of the economy, the failure of oversight to the casino economy and the overspending of the public sector Labour is finally coming under the scrutiny of the public and media. The Coalition is now finally getting traction with the argument that Labour lacks an economic plan and strong leadership. Sure Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg in ...
By David Evans The result of the Rochester by-election on Thursday has been a humiliation for our party and surely must be a final wake up call for all Lib Dems, but particularly for all our MPs. The lowest share of the vote ever for a Lib Dem or a Liberal we are told. Since Nick's total failure in the Euro elections campaign, I was first hopeful, then disappointed and finally dismayed with the lack of reaction of almost all our senior figures and MPs who sadly seemed to be either unwilling or unperturbed by the wanton destruction being done ...
The last five years have been difficult for all Liberals and Liberal Democrats. Yet it is clear that the next five years will challenge the very survival of our party and the wider Liberal Movement. Despite the achievement of 80% delivery of our manifesto despite being junior partners in a coalition. The failure to get PR, the failure to avoid the trebling of tuition fees, the defeats have naturally felt worse than the victories. The public are rightfully angry yet such anger should be directed against those who have conspired against democratic voting reforms and forced the Liberal Democrats to ...
After the massacre In June 2014, we called on Nick Clegg to stand down and the party to return to the 2010 Election Manifesto and a RECONNECTION WITH DISGRUNTLED 2010 LIB DEM VOTERS. Sadly, party members were prevented from getting a say on the leadership and we have now seen the result - the biggest electoral disaster in our party's history, with 56 MPs reduced to a mere 8. Nick Clegg has finally gone, which is at least one positive outcome but our great party is left damaged and divided. We will have a leadership campaign and it is vital ...
NEW LEADER Libdemfightback are happy to endorse Tim Farron as the next Lib Dem leader as he voted against and opposed Coalition plans to uncap student tuition fees.In 2015 he gave the party 2/10 for it's political presentation of the coalition. As Party President during the Coalition Tim knows the price the party has paid by it's partnership with the Tories and the divisions and threats the party faces. We support his call for 100,000 members by 2020. He will be successful in reconnecting with past members and voters if he can speak out against the mistakes Nick Clegg made ...
One of the biggest challenges facing the party now is going to be need to be relevant to the debates outside of the party and getting airtime as now a minor party. We need to stop demonising other parties just because they attacked us while we were in government. THE SNP We ought to welcome the SNP into parliament, the energy they bring from the Referendum and cooperate on issues of principle. Start with their clapping in the commons. Clearly too much clapping can drown out debate but it's perfectly natural and acceptable behaviour in many legislatures and perhaps we ...
We started Libdemfightback in June 2014 as a small group of party members and Lib Dem Voice contributors determined to get a change in the party to save the party from an electoral massacre which would wipe 40 years of political struggle. We tried to get a change of leader, so a new leader could reconnect with our millions of disgruntled voters. Sadly the party was prevented from having that choice until now after the electoral defeat. It has been a massacre which dwarfs even the 1924 Zinoviev Red Letter Scare election which saw 75% of Liberal MPs lost. This ...
One of the most awful moments of the 2015 election campaign was when Nigel Farage mentioned "foreigners" and HIV treatment in one of the TV debates. UKIP's only MP is Douglas Carswell. His father, Wilson Carswell, was one of the first doctors to identify HIV/Aids in Uganda in the 1980s. So, one expected Douglas Carswell to have some views on Farage's revolting HIV comments. We've had to wait until the election was over to hear them, but those views now us. The Guardian reports: The Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, got the tone of his comments "wrong on so many levels" ...
Through the wonderful archive of Getty Images, here is a smattering photographs of prominent Liberal and Liberal Democrat past and present. Scroll down to view. Roll your mouse or put your finger on the photo to read its caption. You can also click on the photo to see it at the Getty Images site with similar photographs. And yes, I know that Shirley Williams was in the Labour party at the time of the first photo. If you think I've missed out anyone you'd like to see a photo of here, please let me know in the comments and I'll ...
Negative campaigning was not invented by Lynton Crosby, here is a prize specimen from the Southport Vister of January 1910. Ten reason electors should vote against Baron de Forest (the Liberal Candidate.) The Tory candidate was one Major White. And yes the Tories played the race card. This poster was put up in Birkdale Electors of BirkdaleFrom all Radical LiesFraudulent Misrepresentations and otherLow Electioneering Methods Deliver UsFrom Austro-Germanic Invasions"Political Earthquakes" and Local HooliganismDeliver Us By voting for Major White You can find out more here
[IMG: Officials count ballot papers in Witney] Having a small masochistic streak in me, I watched some of Andrew Marr's show this morning, so got to see Yvette Cooper saying that maybe adopting the Tory manifesto for their next set of policies wasn't the best approach for the Labour Party. It's the sort of thing that should be obvious, but in the rather bizarre world of the mainstream political commentariat it's almost heresy. After all, Labour was comprehensively defeated in the election while the Tories stormed to a resounding victory, which proves that the country has swung decisively to the ...
The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that's fine, we're grateful for people taking the time to read the site. You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways: 1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there's something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you're an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or ...
Ok tin hat on, fake beard in place, different clothing ready to be worn. I'm going in... First things first. The SNP have won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats and they've won them fairly and squarely under the system that we currently have in place, so this blog won't say they aren't a legitimate force in the House of Commons. I'll be looking at how they may act and what pitfalls that they may have to face. On the first day of parliament I had TweetDeck open and a well-known Lib Dem blogger said that they wished that Lib ...
Sun 31st
13:40
We bored people rigid about electoral reform for decades and learned to hold our tongues - but now i...
For decades we were the party that was known for wanting electoral reform. Many people thought it was our only policy. We went on and on and on and on about it. Then we realised we were getting nowhere with it and started to shut up about it. Then came the AV referendum debacle which shut us up even more on the subject. I think it is now time that we start talking a lot about our broken electoral system – unashamedly – and join forces to work for reform with UKIP, the Greens, SNP, Plaid plus apolitical organisations and ...
[IMG: 7 ver 4 full] Many thanks to the 22,300 visitors who dropped by Lib Dem Voice this week. Here's our 7 most-read posts... Breaking...Willie Rennie: I hope that fair minded people will give Alistair Carmichael a second chance (67 comments) by The Voice Why calling for HQ staff to be sacked is unacceptable and will not be tolerated on LDV (126 comments) by Caron Lindsay In full: Nick Clegg responds to the Queen's Speech (23 comments) by The Voice Opinion: Should Liberal Democrats accept defeat and join the two main parties? (61 comments) by Martin Petts The first key ...
Yesterday I covered Tim Farron's new publication setting out his political credo; today it's time to look at Norman Lamb's most recent statements. For Lamb, his record on mental health continues to feature heavily as with his piece for PoliticsHome: I want Liberal Democrats to lead the way in giving those suffering from mental ill health and those with learning disabilities and autism the right to make meaningful decisions about their care and support – to take control, not to be treated as second class citizens. For those who are terminally ill, surely it should be for them to decide ...
Sun 31st
11:01
The results of 7 May were so bad that traditional Liberal Democrat campaign tactics will no longer w...
No more two-horse races? One of the pleasures of general and local elections as a Liberal and then a Liberal Democrat used to be going out for a coffee the following Saturday, buying the Guardian and going through the results. There were always plenty of seats and councils where we had made progress. It wasn't like that this time. In fact, I haven't had the courage to look at the results from 7 May too closely. So thank you to Seth Thévoz for looking at them for me on the Social Liberal Forum site. But his conclusions make you turn ...
The NHS is considered one of the best health care systems in the world. However many have criticized the service for not providing services such as GP appointments on a weekend which can result in A&E taking in more patients because they are unable to get a GP appointment during the week. David Cameron has [...]
Government bans exclusivity clauses in zero-hour contracts but let us be clear that the current Tory Government should not be given credit for this, it was Liberal Democrat Vince Cable that introduced this, in the last Government! So, what does this mean? Anyone who has a zero hours contract can have other jobs with hours or be on the books of many companies offering zero hours contracts. Workers can be available to a number of companies and take work from the one offering the best conditions on the day and not sit back just hoping the one company might ring ...
A commenter on a post on Liberal Democrat Voice has left this priceless video. I do not recognise the music,but the photographs are clearly of a young Tim Farron and his band - one of them has already appeared on this blog. Thanks to David-1 for leaving the comment and also to Zefonik for uploading the video to Youtube.
As we move on from the trauma of the General Election, I have been hugely encouraged by the new sense of energy, and the huge new membership – we've got almost 200 new members here in Cambridge, for example. There are lots of reasons – people realising their values chime with ours, people feeling bad about the huge hit that we took, people rather belatedly realising what we achieved. This will form the core of the #libdemfightback – and I have no doubt that we will fight back and win more seats at all levels. It is of course really ...
After yesterday's excursion to Pitsford I have to choose the song that introduced me to the Jack in the Green. It comes from Jethro Tull's 1977 album Songs from the Wood and is here performed live in Germany in 1982. In the version on the album, Ian Anderson plays all the instruments. As I once blogged, there was a time when I thought that Songs from the Wood was just about the best LP ever,
Oddly relevant to conversation @latentexistence & I just had - why do we fetishise work? (tags: ) This article about the Irish gay marriage referendum is beautiful (tags: ) Moose Jaw Pastor Asks LGBT Community for Forgiveness (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
For some reason the link to the article on the Sunday Times website is broken but here is a screenprint of the summary: The paper says that plans for Tony Blair to give a speech at a conference to discuss how to tackle world hunger were abandoned when organisers refused to meet a demand for a £250,000 fee plus £80,000 expenses. Is this the going rate for former British Prime Ministers now?
In the final quarter of 2014, Bridgend reused, recycled or composted just 49% of its municipal waste - a fall of 6 percentage points on the same quarter of 2013. This is despite a 1% fall in the amount of waste produced by Bridgend residents, from 15.400 tonnes in October-December 2013 to 15,200 in the same period of 2014. The Welsh Government have said that every local authority should reach recycling rates of 58% by the end of 2015, or face a £100,000 fine for every 1% under that target. Based on current levels, Bridgend Council will be facing a ...
You know when you walk past something so often that it just becomes a part of the background well that recently happened to me until someone said 'What's that history wall all about in the Strand? It's asking for people to share their memories of WW1 but there will be hardly anyone who can do that'. [IMG: Bootle's history wall 05 2015] Click on the photo to enlarge it. Well the wall remains blank despite being on the shop unit for 6 months or more now but if you think about it anyone with memories of WW1 would have to ...
Your chance to participate in the Annual Competition run by Dundee City Council! Why Get Involved? - To encourage the community, including schools, citizens and businesses to take pride and interest in the city. - To promote the involvement of allotment gardening and the benefits of growing vegetables, fruit and flowering plants. - To make attractive use of floral displays and creative imaginative landscapes. - To sustain the diversity of plants and wildlife. Who Can Enter? - Open to all within the Dundee City boundary. How to Enter? You can download the full details and application form here.
Sun 31st
08:39
The race to be the Labour's London mayoral candidate and why it demonstrates Labour's current dilemm...
Gareth Thomas, shadow Europe minister and chair of the Co-op Party, has now thrown his hat into the ring to be London's next mayor. In doing so, he talked up London as almost a quasi-nation, essentially saying that it should have as much devolved power as Scotland. The race to be the Labour candidate for London's next mayoral election is becoming a crowded field. Diane Abbott, Tessa Jowell, David Lammy; Sadiq Khan has resigned from the shadow cabinet in order to take part. The reason so many Labour heavy hitters have moved into this space is rather obvious: it's the ...
I was pleased to be at the well-attended launch of the Dundee Festival of Volunteering yesterday in the City Square. You can find out more about the many activities taking place this coming week as part of the festival by visiting the festival's Facebook page. Don't forget our West End Litter Pick as part of these activities - next Saturday! Some photos from yesterday's launch : Large turnout for the launch day! Some of the stands setting up in the City Square With the Bonnie Dundee Britain in Bloom 2015 finalist banner Graham Cross of the Bonnie Dundee group Lillian ...
Thank you for contacting me regarding the problem of personal debt in this country. It is a difficult issue and anybody who has fallen into problem debt has my sympathies. Millions of people all over the UK are struggling with unsustainable levels of debt and it is important that they are given they help and support they need. The Government has set up the Money Advice Service to provide free and impartial guidance to those struggling with debt or looking for advice on budgeting. The Money Advice Service is also a major funder of free face-to-face debt advice - you ...
Thank you for contacting me about housing. In Scotland, it is an issue that has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament, so if I did become your member of parliament in Westminster, my influence would be greater upon the state of housing in England, ironically enough. The problems that we face within the United Kingdom as a whole are similar however. In Scotland, according to figures from Shelter Scotland and The Scottish Government, over the past ten years 53,000 council homes have been lost from stock. Since 1998, a total of 200,000 houses have been lost from the public stock ...
Thank you for your letter on the subject of religious intolerance. To pick up upon the first topic that you allude to: that of registrars performing same-sex marriage. To be clear, I support the right of two adults to marry, regardless of their gender. There is a school of thought that the registrars are employed to uphold the law of the land and their legal remit. Personally I think that is a rather harsh approach. I understand that recognition of same-sex marriage is although right, it is also a problem for some in society. When that person is expected ...
Thank you for your e-mail on the national minimum wage. Liberal Democrats believe that the success of our growing UK economy must be shared among all workers including those on low wages. We're proud of our achievements with record numbers of people in work; wages pulling ahead of inflation and a more balanced economy emerging. Helping low paid workers has been a priority for Liberal Democrats in Government. We fought hard to cut taxes for people on low and middle incomes. Going even further than our manifesto pledge to let people earn £10,000 tax free, we have increased the personal ...
Thank you so much for contacting me and raising my awareness of Traidcraft. Liberal Democrats have a proud record of helping the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. It is only thanks to the Liberal Democrats in Government that the UK became the first G8 country to meet the 40 year old promise to spend 0.7% of our national income on international aid. This is already helping developing countries to be safer, more stable and prosperous. It was my Liberal Democrat colleague, Michael Moore MP, who put forward the successful bill to enshrine in law our 0.7% commitment ...
Thank you for contacting me about cycling. I have responded to the Vote Bike's survey and was happy to support all of the measures they are calling for. As a recent convert to cycling around Edinburgh, for both pleasure and commuting, I know how important it is to raise awareness of the benefits that cycling holds. Obviously, as city planning is a devolved matter, I cannot make decisions upon this matter directly but you may rely upon my support in encouraging cycling across the entire UK. Locally, I am particularly keen to see proper cycle paths completed along Leith Walk ...
Thank you for your letter on Trident. Below I will both set out Liberal Democrat and my own thoughts on Trident and nuclear weapons. Party policy first: The Liberal Democrats are united as being against Trident. As a party, the majority of members wish to continue along the lines of multi-lateral disarmament and that is current party policy. This means that while it is our policy not to renew Trident, it is party policy to retain some form of nuclear deterrent. After this election, we would carry out a review to consider all options, including complete nuclear disarmament, would be ...
Thank you for your email. I too appreciate a good pint. More to the point though, I appreciate the work that Camra does in promoting small business, and not just with pub landlords and tenants. Many pubs nowadays are a part of Britain's blooming restaurant and catering sector and let us not forget the many small and excellent breweries that have sprung up around the country. It may interest you to know that the Pub Code, designed to protect tenants of big pub companies from abuses like inflated rent and excessive beer pricing is a Liberal Democrat initiative, spearheaded in ...
Thank you for writing to me on this important issue. Sex work is a reality and will always continue to be so: no matter how much some in society wish it were otherwise. It is the role of government to work with reality, and of an MP to represent and help all of their constituents, no matter profession or background. Like me, doubtless you read the report in the Edinburgh Evening News of the recent raids on local saunas. It seems that the police and council have turned away from the policy of harm reduction and have turned towards crackdowns ...
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Royal Statistical Society's Data Manifesto. You need not have any concern as to my appreciation of the importance of statistics. As a geology graduate, geophysical engineer and planner, I know the valuable of accurate data only too well. When I heard of the Royal Statistical Society Data Manifesto, I actually sought them out on Twitter, asking to be signed up. In the realm of politics, national statistics are an absolutely essential tool for politicians and the public. They let us all know everything from the number of people in work to the number ...
Thank you for contacting me about improving water and sanitation in the developing world. At the start of the letter, the rhetorical point was raised whether I could imagine our homes without a good toilet. I have used a spade on the steppes of Kazakstan, caught parasites in Uganda, food poisoning in Mauritania, and have been caught short in a dockyard in Angola. All because of the lack of available of clean water and poor hygiene standards. Yes, I fully understand the value of clean water, soap and sanitation. Access to clean and safe water, sanitation and hygiene are among ...
Thank you for your letter asking what I would do to tackle sexism. Addressing the issue of sexism should not be a party issue but rather one of simple common decency and mutual respect. Some things though have to be carried out by government and sometimes new laws are required. While in government, the Liberal Democrats have been active in tackling gender inequality: In Government, Lynne Featherstone secured £40 million to support victims of domestic violence and a further £10 million specifically for women's refuges. We've introduced a new offence of domestic abuse - of coercive and controlling behaviour - ...
Gothick Northamptonshire by Jack Gould says of Pitsford: Within living memory, on May Day there were chosen not only a May Queen and King but a mysterious figure called 'Jack in the Green'. A boy wore a cane construction about 4 feet ... high with leather straps inside to fit over his shoulders. This was made by a blind man in the village and covered by branches of laurel, barberry and other evergreens. It was possibly a reminder of the Elizabethan 'man in the oak'.Gould goes on to say that the Jack in the Green should not be confused with ...
