I am pleasantly surprised that opinion amongst the Liberal Democrat blogosphere is, broadly speaking, supportive of the coalition agreement - we are almost proud of our contrariness sometimes. Yes, there are things that we won't like as individuals, but overall, I think that the package is pretty amazing. However, there will be some losses, as those we think of as friends decide that they just cannot accept the price of the deal. Rob Fenwick, whose role in founding Liberal Democrat Voice can never be appreciated enough, has decided that he falls into that category. I cannot pretend that I am ...
For some, such as those on the "left" of the Liberal Democrats, the Tories are the devil incarnate, until now at least. The Thatcher government's great divestment of "state assets" (most of which of course were, comparatively speaking, enormous liabilities) added a new hate-word to the political lexicon, "neo-liberalism", all the more galling because it seemed to usurp their own name, not forgetting they are the party of Section 28 and other such... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
My Initial reaction at this group was the fact that there was a simple statement that conservatives make up 47% of parliament and so a vote of no confidence could not be forced without some defections! Shock horror the party in power would require some of its members (only 2% or 13 odd members of ... Read more
I've written a short piece on the day's events and our brand new governing coalition over on Prospect Magazine's blog. Here's a small extract: In fact, the Lib Dem members I've been speaking to are surprisingly open-minded about the future of this deal. There is a sense that the real gain here is the chance ...
John Hein, an Executive member of the Liberal Party and member of OUTeverywhere has submitted a thread entitled `An Open Bold and Serious Invite to Liberals..` Liberals and Liberal and Radical Associations have always been locked in battle with a Tory Party representing privilege, wealth and elitist authority – since before 1857 and the formation ...
Rob Fenwick highlights some of the big concerns I have. Read his article HERE.
Wed 12th
23:02
Encourages you go to Sainsbury's Springfield before 19 May and vote for the J's Hospice as charity o...
Encourages you go to Sainsbury's Springfield before 19 May and vote for the J's Hospice as charity of the year
As well as packed 'day job' activities today, I : * Attended a briefing from National Express Dundee on their changes to bus services in the city from 27th June. There is (after my - and West End Community Council's input) an improvement to the 9X service (rebranded as the Service 5A) - with a half-hourly service. There is also a new 6 service, on a half-hourly basis betwewen 9am and 3pm, covering Perth Road and Blackness Road - from the City Centre to Ninewells Hospital. * Thereafter, I attended a walkabout around Pentland with City Council officers and the ...
I started an interesting and challenging new job this week. Yet, while trying to get to grips with a new organisation, new tasks, and new colleagues I have been acutely aware of those other Liberal Democrats also starting new jobs. Admittedly their new roles are an order of magnitude more interesting and challenging than mine. However, the urge to be home watching the news channels, reading the web and blogging about it all has been intense. So what do I make of a full blown Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition government? Well apart from being staggered, bewildered, astonished, gob smacked ...
Like many of my fellow Liberal Democrats, I've spent a lot of time recently defending the party's decision to go into government with the Tories. Much of the debate is happening on Twitter, which leads to two problems. Firstly, you have to squeeze your arguments into 140 characters, which doesn't leave much room for nuance or for factual background. Secondly, there's a large contingent of tribalist Labourites trolling around. Put those two together, and you get this (as well as the accompanying facebook campaign). Seems like a lot of people are quite angry with the Lib Dems for dropping our ...
Just before the election campaign started, I was asked by the Mayor of Waltham Forest to be quiz master for the third time. So last night nearly 50 people gathered at the social club at Walthamstow Town Hall to answer questions.The two-time previous winners made up from staff from Members' Services were down on numbers, but just failed by one point to take the title for a third time. The first
So, I promised you my views on the cabinet, and here they are. I'm not going to censor myself here, either. We're in coalition with the Tories, but I'm still a Liberal, and I'm going to say what I think. If any Tories have a problem with that... well... Tough. I stand by what I said that who gets what job is not as important as the policy agreements, but it is still important. I've C&Ped the list from the BBC website, here. PRIME MINISTER - DAVID CAMERON Slimy, horrible, lightweight posh boy. Don't like him, don't trust him, but ...
So really, where are the women? Out of 29 cabinet posts, how many of those do you think are women? Take a guess. The answer is 4. Yes, 4! To say that Cameron is an active promoter for all-women short lists, he certainly forgot about that when picking his premier (that is not to say ...
Nick Clegg made this statement earlier tonight: "Tonight the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive of the Liberal Democrat party have overwhelmingly accepted my recommendation that we should now enter into a coalition government with the Conservative Party. "Before I say anything more about that coalition government I would like to express my thanks and admiration for Gordon Brown. He has been a towering figure in British politics for well over a decade. And the manner in which he has acted over the last few days has demonstrated immense dignity, grace and a profound sense of his public ...
A new kind of politics is just what the electorate ordered. Five days after the election, blue smoke emerged from the chimneys of Cowley Street. Nick Clegg and David Cameron are finally in bed together - though hopefully not in that B&B Chris Grayling still seems to be hiding out in. Indeed, their appearance in the Downing Street rose garden this afternoon made me think I'd tuned into a civil partnership ceremony, and we'd done the most progressive thing of all: voted a gay couple into Number Ten. I've had very mixed feelings about this. Yet I have come around ...
........you switch on the tv and see someone you approved as a parliamentary candidate being interviewed on Channel 4 News on the occasion of him being appointed Secretary of State for Scotland.
then peace will reign and the just will empower the people
Philip Collins and Daniel Finkelstein, discussing what might make this new coalition difficult for the Left. They were both directors of the SMF, which also had ME as an intern (at the age of 35) in the spring of 2008. Their current director, Ian Mulheirn, is taking them forward to exciting new places – above ...
Who'd have thought that the prospect of a Tory-led Government wouldn't have me gnashing my teeth and rending my garments, given my historical opinion of the Conservatives from their actions during the Thatcher/Major years? Yet, first impressions of the final make-up of what everyone and his auntie is calling the cabinet of Con-Dem-Nation aren't too terrible, all things considered, and neither is the coalition agreement. Yes, there are some horrors in there - Pickles at Local Government being the worst (see posts passim), followed by Gove at Education - but even some of the harder-right nominations have some silver linings ...
Our blog has entered at number 263 in the UK Politics Ranking. Not bad! I will wear my badge with pride – however next month, I want to be higher up the list lol
Private Eye's Electionballs has this entry The Conservatives weren't the only ones using the "change" mantra whether it made sense or not. Highland Lib Dem Danny Alexander's "local news" sheet made the bizarre plea: "Re-elect Danny to bring real change". Before Thursday, Danny's constituents had a Labour government. Danny is now Secretary of State for Scotland, having been a member of the Lib Dem negotiation team that brought about the first government with Lib Dem or Liberal ministers in over sixty years. Yep, I'd say that counted as "real change".
I've seen some of my own party up in arms, whil the opportunistic Greens are offering a switch and the SNP ranting as usual about being left out of a rainbow alliance. So I think I have to tell you a little story about my own political journey. Once upon a time I lived in a Lib Dem controlled council, but I left and since then (in 1997) it returned Liberal Democrat MPs. Since that time I have worked for the ultimate coalition assembly of all powers in Northern Ireland. I have voted in 2003 on entering a coalition with ...
I suspect I won't be beating this record for a while, what with there not being an epoch-defining election every week, and all that.
At Liberal Democrat Voice, Alex Foster reprints Lib Dem chief executive Chris Fox's list of the party's policies that appear in the coalition agreement. The more I read it, the more I am convinced that we have done the right thing. The Real Blog seems to share my view. After reviewing the most important points covered in that agreement, David Boyle says: "These may all be hugely disappointing, when it comes to it. Government tends to be. And yes, there are things I'm seriously worried about - of course there are. But what we have now is a radical opportunity, ...
Last night I watched as the helicopter above central London followed and filmed the new Prime Minister David Cameron's car as it drove from Buckingham Palace back to Downing Street. I watched as Mr. Cameron arrived at number 10, made a speech outlining the difficulties and challenges that were ahead for the country and announced a formal coalition with the Lib Dems. I watched as he walked into his new home, the door opened by an unseen minion as always, turned, waved and crossed the threshold into a new era for British politics. As I watched I was at the ...
The last few days have turned everything we thought we knew about British politics on its head. For those of my generation, whose political views were formed either for or against the Conservative party of Thatcher and Major it remains disorientating to see the Lib Dems entering a fully fledged coalition with the Conservatives. Before the weekend I was adamant the only possible outcome, if the Tories failed to win outright, was a minority government. And that this would prevail only until David Cameron thought he could safely return to the country to win a majority. We may still end ...
I'm nearing ninety posts on this blog now, the election and the end of thirteen years of Labour rule - the entirety of my adult life so far - has given me cause to reflect on a great number of things. This first post will be a personal reflection of a Labour supporter on the election; the second will focus on the coalition. Ted Harkin was an Irish-Catholic who hated religion; a union organiser who was denied entry into the USA and a diehard support of the labour movement. Phyllis Harkin was a midwife then a hospital matron, a strong ...
With most of the key cabinet posts now announced, and other positions coming at a trickle, the new government so far looks overwhelmingly male. The exceptions so far are Theresa May (Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality) and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Conservative Party Chairman). Reports of a role for Caroline Flint are unconfirmed. There's been no word yet about any of the talented female Liberal Democrat MPs being offered a role in the new government. However, I can't help noticing a correlation with the Lib Dem (all male) negotiating team, with all but Andrew Stunell getting cabinet posts. ...
We have been told about:"In accordance with the agreed Council budget for 2010/11 the Council's Pest Control Service will be introducing charges for domestic treatments from 7 June 2010. This nominal charge is £15 plus VAT per treatment."Please let us know if there any issues.
As reported earlier today by Helen, the party is holding a special conference in Birmingham on Sunday. More details are now available. First, here's the explanation from Duncan Brack (Chair of the Federal Conference Committee) about why it is being held: The Federal Executive has called this special conference to enable the party to debate the coalition agreement reached between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservative Party, and approved by the Federal Executive and the Parliamentary Party, on 11 May... The motion endorsing the agreement - though not the agreement itself - is open to amendment ... The amendments selected ...
To begin with, I'll just direct people here to the full text of the Coalition Agreement with the Conservative Party. If you haven't read it yet, it might be handy as this entire blog post is basically me talking about ... Continue reading →
So, the deal done has been published in full. LDV has the text, and there's a helpful summary emailed to members which I'm sure I will be able to link to soon. (it's here) The agreement includes an awful lot of Lib Dem policies, including lots of versions of what appeared in our top 4: more money for disadvantaged children, lots on sustainability, lots on fairness in tax. But just how this all works will only be revealed in the fullness of time. And certainly many of us have grave concerns about what happens next. Can the Tory right really ...
Journalists from both The Guardian and Independent on Sunday have been trawling the online world explicitly asking Liberal Democrat members who are unhappy with the coalition to get in touch. Not asking for members to let them know their views. But only asking those with one specific view to get in touch. Hmm...
The decision by many Labour MPs during Tuesday to kaibosh any kind of 'progressive alliance' deal with the Lib Dems was doubtless motivated by many reasons: some good, some bad. I'm sure some Labour MPs genuinely felt that, after 13 years of government, and having crashed to their heaviest election defeat in a generation, their party requires a spell in opposition to re-group and refresh. That's a perfectly understandable and respectable position to hold. Equally, it's clear there were those motivated by less pure instincts. For some – the tribal partisans who cleave to the view Labour is always right ...
Well the election and hung parliament are over and I suspect many bloggers are thinking what will come next? For me I personally started blogging about politics (and a fair bit) in the run up to the election (having blogged a bit about various things, mainly Christianity, social media, a bit of politics and a few local issues, ... Read more
With most of the key cabinet posts now announced, and other positions coming at a trickle, the new government so far looks overwhelmingly male. The exceptions so far are Theresa May (Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality) and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Conservative Party Chairman). Reports of a role for Caroline Flint are unconfirmed. There's been no word yet about any of the talented female Liberal Democrat MPs being offered a role in the new government. However, I can't help noticing a correlation with the Lib Dem (all male) negotiating team, with all but Andrew Stunell getting cabinet posts. ...
If you voted for me or any of my Liberal Democrat colleagues I'd like to say thank you and ask you to look at all the pledges from our manifesto that are now going to be enacted over the next 5 years of Government. A Fair Start for Children Introduce a Pupil Premium to give all children a fair start. Fairer taxes and Economic Reform A substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011 with a longer term policy objective of further increasing the personal allowance to £10,000, making further real terms steps each year towards this objective Reform ...
Details have been published today of the coalition agreement reached between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. In short this looks (on paper at least) to be an arrangement which should lead to a stable five-year government with an agenda that represents a good mixture of the two policy positions. I can't deny that I've ...
Unbelievable, amazing, unprecedented, fantastic, astonishing - we've all run out of adjectives to describe yesterday's events. In a letter to a friend from Chicago I tried to explain what had happened: Politics doesn't have to be a never-ending tribal conflict. More can sometimes be achieved by dialogue and compromise between people coming from different philosophical backgrounds. We said we would deliver strong and stable government to cope with the dire economic situation this country faces. That we have done. We said we would usher in a new kind of politics. This is it. We set out in our manifesto a ...
Pr?
Wed 12th
18:00
Day 3418: It Was the Worst Thing We Could Have Done... apart from Anything ELSE We Could Have Done.
Wednesday: "Shall I be tempted by the devil thus?" "Ay, if the devil tempt you to do good." Richard III, Act IV, Scene IV "...and I for one welcome our new Liberal Deputy Overlord!" Kent Brockman, Springfield News For a moment yesterday, the Liberal Democrats in Parliament looked like they might actually be wooed away by the siren voices of Lord Mandelbrot and Lord Hephaestus. And, at least is seemed to me, the Liberal Blogosphere replied with a sudden hardening of the line: a whole string of people came out saying we HAD to do the deal with the Conservatories. ...
It has been an interesting few days since Mr. Cameron made his first offer of a coalition to the Liberal Democrats. Now the coalition agreement is published and it is a thoughtful and quite well crafted document. Many will be unhappy that the Liberal Democrats have gone into coalition with the Conservatives, but to my mind there was neither the numbers nor the will for Labour to even come to the table. In the end we will have to place a degree of trust in Mr. Cameron's word: but it is trust which rests on the knowledge that any betrayal ...
The coalition agreement on the Liberal Democrat website is a masterpiece. For a Liberal Democrat, it delivers key, sensible and important policies including those on taxation, pensions, civil liberties, electoral reform (including an elected, proportional, House of Lords, fixed term parliaments and alternative vote and the West Lothian question) and, most amazingly, the environment (go Chris Huhne!) For Conservatives, on the left of the party, it delivers policies that they may well have sympathised with and ensures that fairness is central to the way the country runs. I cannot overstate how pleased I am with the agreement (which is a ...
This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together as a strong and stable government. It will be followed in due course by a final Coalition Agreement, covering the full range of policy and including foreign, defence and domestic policy
Thank goodness for the red button. Returning from work this evening, I was able to catch up on press conference that Nick and David gave early. Two things sprang to mind.The first the fact that David Cameron referred on more than one occasion of the 'Lib Dem- Conservative government', putting the Liberal Democrats at the heart of the Government. The second was more of an image that was created
I have had to pinch myself several times today. First at the sight of Nick Clegg being introduced as the Deputy Prime Minister and then again and again as the 4 other new Lib Dem Cabinet Ministers were announced. The much more significant excitement came when I read the joint agreement on policy. There are so many things I believe in passionately that will now be delivered in our new Government. As I read it, it became clear that this is a true Tory / Lib Dem Coalition, not the Lib Dems propping up a Tory Government. Our negotiators have ...
Chris Fox, the Lib Dem Chief Exec, has circulated this helpful summary of which of our policies are included in the agreement. It's slightly easier to wade through than the full text, which we brought you earlier. A Fair Start for Children Introduce a Pupil Premium to give all children a fair start. Fairer taxes and Economic Reform A substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011 with a longer term policy objective of further increasing the personal allowance to £10,000, making further real terms steps each year towards this objective Reform of the banking system, ensuring a flow ...
Having seen the vile naive childish comments from Labour bloggers whether they're comparing the UK to Chile (!) or on OUTeverywhere when they are disparaging it wishing it harm before it's even begun I'm just getting more and more behind what's been going on. They never apologise for their mistakes they will just claim it's ...
Just ordered these blue sandals too. I thought I would get this in before a Labour blogger gets it in. Heres a bar chart for the election in 5 years time (I jest). Of course this can be used anywhere in England other than Brighton. Doesn't really matter if the bar chart proportion are correct to percentages, it works anywhere. It does show a real danger for the Liberal Democrats although I trust not all Lib Dems are Labour voters. Of course this is a serious matter but I just wanted to have some fun for a change.
That's what people said to me. 'The Lib Dems will never be in power in your lifetime, Maelo'. 'Your children may live to see the Lib Dems in power, Maelo.' 'Your party will never win, Maelo.' Yaddah Yaddah Well, where are these people now? On this historic day the Lib Dems have made it into power after around 65 years. I am still alive so it's in my lifetime, isn't it? The downside is that I can't make fun of David Cameron or shout 'Tory Boy' as I did to the Conservative canvassers in my area. POO! Or can I? ...
The excellent PaulInLancs anticipated the Liberal Conservative coalition days ago, and also a capitalist-ruling class stitchup. After first telling us that "politicians and rightwing commentators have fallen over themselves in their eagerness to talk up a 'crisis' which does not in fact exist". Tomorrow morning, though, that 'crisis' will exist. The bond markets will plummet ...
Where the heck did this 55% threshold for a no confidence motion come from? I don't remember it in the LibDem manifesto this election or in any previous election or in any discussions or conference debates. I can't find any other country who has it in their constitution. I don't recall it in the Conservative manifesto or ever being mentioned in any debate or public forum over the last forty years. What the heck is going on? It sounds Stalinist. It's outrageous. Though I'll put my full outrage on hold pending any logical or reasonable explanation of this total disgrace. ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment is Free website, Lib Dem blogger James Graham offers his take on the deal between the Lib Dems and the Conservatives. He describes his sense of betrayal by Labour: Over the weekend, it would appear, Labour's appetite for power evaporated ... The fact that two of the things the Labour negotiating team would not even contemplate was dismantling the database state and ending the detention of immigrant children makes you realise quite how corrupted the party has become in office. And his fears for the Lib Dems' future popularity: ... as students of political systems ...
The Coalition Agreement, setting out a plan for the new Government's priorities has been published. It's sorted into policy subjects. I'm going to take out the main points and categorise them as the good, the meh and the you're going to have to lock me in a cupboard with a bottle of gin when they're voting on this or I will explode. The Good We've agreed to their spending cuts this year BUT with important caveats: arrangements that will protect those on low incomes from the effect of public sector pay constraint and other spending constraints; The parties agree that ...
The coalition document has just been released. Apparently, though, it's not the big one. A full document, covering even more areas, is going to be published "in due course". But now seems as good a time as any to decide just who got the lion's share of the wins throughout this early version. Off we ...
[IMG: Manchester No2ID Protesters] One of the first things that's happened under the new Liberal Democrat / Tory coalition in Government is that one of the worst bits of Labour's authoritarian nanny state has already been scrapped. The ID card scheme was first rolled out in Manchester, but very few people volunteered for one. Labour were spending hundreds of thousands of pounds every day on the unpopular scheme. The National Identity Register, the largest interlinked system of Government databases, was at the heart of the ID card scheme. While Labour told us that carrying the card would be voluntary, it ...
Wed 12th
16:30
We are no longer a party of protest, no longer a small party but a party of government.
Although never made to follow the Liberal Democrats, I was influenced by my father who has been campaigning hard for the Liberals then the Liberal Democrats for the past 40 odd years, through their highs and lows (and there have been lots of those). Today when Nick Clegg entered 10 Downing Street I was extremely proud that the leader of our party and our MPs now have huge influence over
Five days after Labour lost its majority in the House of Commons, Lord Mandelson was still spinning faster than my washing machine when he was interviewed on television last night. The Labour Party had offered a wonderful opportunity to share government with the Liberal Democrats, he was telling us, but instead the Lib Dems had chosen - yes, chosen - to do a deal with the Conservatives, which was what they had really wanted. Much breath, ink and pixels have been wasted since last Thursday discussing the potential for a 'progressive coalition' to unite the best of Labour and the ...
Having now seen the coaliton agreement, I can say that I can broadly support this government and am convinced that it will be an improvement on the bunch of authoritarian war criminals who have been replaced. Here are the parts of the agreement that to me constitute a radical change for the better in the political possibilities for our country: Civil Liberties Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database. Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission. Extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act ...
I can tell you the reaction in the staffroom at work today was one of total shock that the Lib Dems had folded and given up the position of schools minister to Tory Michael Gove. Crazy ideas from the Tories about intoducing a compulsory two hours of maths a day at primary level and allowing any group to set up their own schools which allows money and resources to be taken from existing schools now seem to be given the go ahead by the Lib Dems. More total capitulation whilst Lib Dems take position in cabinet which have very little ...
The coalition agreements between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have been published this afternoon. There's lots to welcome. A spending premium for disadvantaged children. Restoration of the link between pensions and earnings. An increase in the personal allowance for income tax, phasing in to a £10,000 allowance. A switch from a per-passenger to a per-plane duty for environmental reasons. A banking levy. Tackling tax avoidance. A commission on separating retail from investment banking. An end to the detention of children for immigration purposes. Fixed term parliaments. A referendum on electoral reform. A committee to propose a wholly or mainly ...
No NI increaseIndependent Office for Budget ResponsibilityGreen investment bankChild trust funds and tax credits cancelled for millionaires (don't think they need it do you?)NHS increase in real termsPUPIL PREMIUM for kids from poorer backgroundsTrident to be included in defence reviewEarnings link for state pension restoredPERSONAL ALLOWANCE INCREASE from the next budget and incremental increases to get to 10k this takes priority over all other tax cuts including Inheritance taxSwitch to per plane rather than per-passenger duty (air freight (30% of all flights) finally included)Net lending targets for nationalised banksOne year time frame for an independent report on the feasibility separating ...
It is quite extraordinary that the first past the post system delivered a PR outcome. Yes - lots of emails against coalition with the Tories. Yes - lots of emails supporting coalition. I could never have imagined a long week ago in politics - the outcome that has now arrived - coalition with the Tories. I was very keen on opening up talks with Labour as, like many others, I had a long cherished vision of a realignment of the left of politics and a progressive alliance. Those talks were opened on that request. Given most people will now have ...
The contents are now available on Freedom Central.
This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together as a strong and stable government. It will be followed in due course by a final Coalition Agreement, covering the full range of policy and including foreign, defence and domestic policy issues not covered in this document. 1. Deficit Reduction The parties agree that deficit reduction and continuing to ensure economic recovery is the most urgent issue facing Britain. We have therefore agreed that there ...
Amazingly, there seem to be only two Scots in the cabinet - Liam Fox, who is detested in Scotland, and the hapless Danny Alexander in the ghetto of Scottish Secretary - a token position devoid of power. Have I missed anyone? How many times have there been this few Scots in a Cabinet since 1707? I had already noted that the election result and the Lib-Con coalition will be a great boost to Scottish independence. This puts the seal on it.
A lengthy but important post: Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition negotiations Agreements reached 11 May 2010 This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together as a strong and stable government. It will be followed in due course by a final Coalition Agreement, covering the full range of policy and including foreign, defence and domestic policy issues not covered in this document. 1. Deficit Reduction The parties agree that deficit reduction and continuing to ensure ...
First thoughts from ComRes on why the Liberal Democrat vote share last week, although up for the third general election in a row, was much lower than the polls had been predicting: We along with many others were surprised by the eventual Lib Dem figure; but that's not the whole story..... our Conservative Party vote share was, in the words of the BBC's analysis, 'bang on the button' while we understated Labour support to the tune of 1.14% (incidentally the first time the Labour vote share has been understated since 1983). Along with every other polling company we overstated Lib ...
There has been a roller coaster ride since the General Election and there has not yet been a week since the first results were declared.The Country faces some very serious problems. The facts are clear1. The Country needs a stable government and it will take the full term of a parliament to sort out the deficit.2. The Labour Party took their ball and bat away and refused to play.3. A minority
The following document is now public, but I don't know where it is on the web so I am publishing it here.Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition negotiationsAgreements reached11 May 2010This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together as a
Liberal Democrat Party President Ros Scott has announced a Special Conference for Liberal Democrat party members. Note: advance registration is currently open only to those who are voting members of conference. From Ros's email to party members [I've added some links] : You will have seen from the news that the party's Federal Executive and parliamentary party yesterday approved the coalition agreement negotiated with the Conservative Party. Both bodies endorsed it overwhelmingly, by much more than a three-quarters majority. The provisions of the 'triple lock' procedure approved by conference in 1998 have therefore been satisfied, and there is no requirement ...
I'm listening to the Clegg and Cameron news conference and have to nip out for the school run pretty much immediately afterwards so I thought I'd just type up a brief summary of what happened as it happened and hit publish. I probably won't get a great opportunity to spill chuck so if it looks a mess, I apologise in advance. Cameron starts by talking about Nick and I working together. This is the first coalition in 65 years united behind 3 principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility and one purpose of giving Britain the strong, stable government it needs. ...
The events of the last few days have been a real rollercoaster, from the highs of the election campaign and the surge in Lib Dem support during the campaign, to the lows of polling night, through several days of tense negotiations to finally agreeing to a five-year coalition deal last night. I know that to many people the place where we have ended up will seem at the very least suprising, so I thought I would put down my thoughts. My starting point is that we have to respond to the hand that the electorate deals us. No party got ...
Appears LibCon has crashed so here's a back up copy of their latest story: I've been sent this document from a source who wishes to remain anonymous. They say this document forms the basis of the agreement between the Libdems and Conservatives. I'm not going to publish the Word document, but here it is in HTML format. —————— Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition negotiationsAgreements reached11 May 2010This document sets out agreements reached between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on a range of issues. These are the issues that needed to be resolved between us in order for us to work together ...
A gay couple may be able to spend the night at the Home Office as Chris Grayling has not ended up taking the Shadow Post he held when he uttered the word that B&B owners had the right to deny a service to same sex couples. However, just how gay friendly is his replacement Theresa May. In 1998 she voted against equalising the age of consent and in 2000, she voted against the repeal of Section 28, legislation that banned the 'promotion' of homosexuality by local government and schools. In 2001 and 2002 she voted against gay couples jointly adopting ...
Whilst coalition talk dominates Twitter, Facebook, the Blogosphere, the Media and pretty much anything else even slightly related to politics, I thought I'd bring a little light relief, by bringing to your attention the following Facebook Campaign: A little ... Continue reading →
I've just had this e-mail from party President Baroness Ros Scott at about the time when I was considering writing a blogpost on how well the great and the good had kept the party informed and consulted throughout the process. Obviously you can't send out detailed reports of negotiations, but I've had several e-mails over the past few days to keep me informed. Even though constitutionally we don't need to, the party has decided to hold a special conference on Sunday in Birmingham at the NEC to discuss the coalition deal. Here are the details: "Dear Caron, You will have ...
Gosh, I'm beginning to sound like a Tory already! help From Megan McArdle of the Atlantic – a wise and self-doubting piece about, well, Greece and intellectual triumphalism. Could apply this to the whole Credit Crunch analysis: You cannot graft rich-world policy onto emerging markets ... Conservative fiscal and monetary policy... -emerges from the social ...
As at lunchtime, here's what we know: Deputy Prime Minister – Nick Clegg Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills – Vince Cable Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change – Chris Huhne Secretary of State for Scotland – Danny Alexander Chief Secretary to the Treasury – David Laws No particular surprises here, all canny moves in one way or another. Nick Clegg is wise, I think, to avoid holding a cabinet portfolio – he's going to be quite busy enough in the next few years keeping the party together. Vince Cable would have found it difficult to ...
So there we have it, it's a Lib/Con coalition. Libseravative. ConDem. Whichever you want to call it (and I know which one sounds better...) that's the state of play for the foreseeable future. But the thing has amazed me is the reaction of alot of Labour voters, and a sizable portion of Liberal Democrats. Alot of Labour Party supporters appear to have collectively hit the 'Whine' button in reaction to this coalition. Led by rattle thrower-in-chief Ellie Gellard, the moaning came flooding in. Ellie herself tweeted last night, without a hint of irony, that Gordon Brown deserved to be PM. ...
Even worse news. Cameron's much vaunted National Security Council will be headed by the FCO's pro-torture Peter Ricketts, who is personally up to his ears in the policy of complicity in torture, and in its continued cover-up - including being personally involved in the censorship of this vital FOI release last week. Download file page 2 Download file The appointment of Ricketts to what is touted as a key government position is a major blow to those like me who hoped that complicity in torture and attacks on civil rights will be rolled back.
Wed 12th
13:02
Very Bad Signs for the LIb Dems - Cameron, Osborne, Hague, Fox and May dominate the great offices of...
The Great Offices of State are called that for a reason. They dominate any government, and to a large extent other ministers' room for manouvere is massively constrained by them. Look at the line-up. Cameron, Osborne, Hague, Fox, May. How on earth did the Lib Dems agree to support such a very right wing line up? Why did they fail to land even one of the great offices of state in the negotiation, when two are occupied by right wing political pygmies like Fox and May? This does not bode well at all for the Lib Dems.
Time for a little historical reflection I can confirm that the Tory's have set a record in Southport. Their 35.8% of the vote wasmarginally worse than Matthew Banks` 35.9% in 1997 and you don`t needme to tell you what an awful year that was for the Tories !Interestingly the Tories have not polled as much as 40% of the votesince 1992. In the last four elections they got 35.9, 36.5. 37.0 and35.8. My detailed records only go back to 1885 but I think it is fair to saythat the Tories performance in Southport was almost certainly theirworst ever despite Lord ...
I'm doing a couple of events along this theme tomorrow, so here is my first stab at collecting some thoughts: If the 2010 election can be summed up as "the XXX election" is was first the TV election, with very traditional TV formats dominating. TV debates have been around since Sweden in the 1950s, and our debates were 90 minutes long without adverts, fancy graphics or cut aways to journalists standing live outside an empty street. This was old-fashioned TV taking on a new role. It wasn't just the TV election; it was also the election where the voting system ...
I am on the whole delighted today; amazed that a man, whom I knew had something good going for him from the moment I met him, that I drove about for a day in the back of my car during his party leadership campaign, is now Deputy Prime Minster. I suspect both car and driver have improved in quality somewhat! Well done, Nick! Hooray! However, there is one big fly in the ointment for me and that is what looks to be like the lack of women in this new coalition government. An historic, new type of government and it's ...
It is now plain that there is deadlock between Cameron and Clegg over who will be Home Secretary. That is hardly surprising. I have argued before that the most important political dividing line in this country is not left and right, but between libertarian and authoritarian. New Labour was the most authoritarian government this country has seen since the days of Lord Liverpool. Home Secretaries David Buinkett, Charles Clarke, Jack Straw and John Reid led a full-on attack on civil liberties in this country. I have no time whatsoever for those commenters who would have preferred the evil men ...
Whilst it was an unhappy birthday for Tony Blair, May 6th will surely be remembered from now on as a historic day in British political history. In other parts of the Western world, it was the 18th International No Diet Day defending body-shape diversity and celebrated with a blue ribbon (or a Blue Riband, perhaps). In-keeping with this theme, there was a veritable feast of political contests to enjoy last Thursday - there were 51 principal by-elections reported to ALDC this week. A number of these took place in wards which had scheduled local elections as well and in cases ...
I had a brief discussion with a few people on Twitter yesterday about how we think the media will now handle the Lib Dems. Members have often complained that our party does not get a fair crack of the whip in terms of media coverage and it is often seen in terms of the number of slots we get on things like BBC Question Time and other political programmes. I think we will see a couple of contradictory effects. Firstly we may find that we actually get fewer slots for programmes like Question Time. Because we will be members of ...
I know many Liberal Democrats won't be happy but Lib Dems always said they would work with whoever gained the most votes. Labour did not want to compromise and many Labour MP's spoke openly against a coalition with the Lib Dems. Many in Labour knew that it couldn't work when they had so few seats it couldn't work. Labour was ready for opposition. Personally I'm pleased and optimistic. I don't see that there was any other way of getting some Lib Dem policies into government under the current voting system. Could the Lib Dems really say no to such a ...
This blog post is intended for the 6,827,938 people who voted Liberal Democrat on 6th May. I know some are angry and upset over the coalition deal and for those I will try and explain why you should give us - and the coalition - time to prove it can work. I can't deny I am a mixed bag of emotions right now. When I joined the party in 2000 it was with the hope of seeing Liberal Democrat values and policies put into practice. And ten years later, that's exactly what we've got. The knowledge of that, with the ...
It's two months since I wrote a post here on Lib Dem Voice with the self-explanatory title: 5 reasons Nick Clegg should rule out a coalition now. It's interesting in the light of the last 24 hours to re-visit my reason number one: "A coalition is a non-starter, so let's just rule it out now". So what's changed? The electorate have spoken Well, the most obvious issue is the election result itself. The voters have spoken, and been quite clear that they don't trust any one of the parties to govern the country alone. That in itself should give any ...
The news has trickled through that Cornwall Council has listened to massive complaints about their revised car parking arrangements and has decided that season tickets will be valid for all car parks across a district, rather than just for an individual car park. The original proposal was to have two types of season ticket - a single car park version and a Cornwall wide version. The latter - although convenient - would have cost £1200 a year and would clearly be out of the price range of most residents and businesses. Even the single car park version was not without ...
So there we are then, we've thrown our lot in with the Tories. In all honesty, it was the only possible way forward, and I think that the flirting with Labour was a misguided attempt to see what else might be on offer, a bit of showboating, and perhaps an attempt to try and keep some of the party members of the left appeased. Nonetheless I think that the Liberal Democrats have emerged from the negotiations with a huge amount of positives, not least the Cabinet positions and junior Ministerial positions when they are all announced, but seemingly some very ...
I wrote last night of my mixed emotions watching Cameron entering Downing Street and how I didn't really feel anything at all when Blair went in in 1997. As the BBC kept reporting that Nick Clegg was heading to Downing Street this morning, I did wonder how I'd feel watching him walk in there and shake hands with David Cameron. I honestly didn't know whether I would smile or cry. When the moment came, and Nick got out of his car and walked down towards the famous door, I felt so proud. I couldn't stop grinning, even when Cameron came ...
The massive downside of polling day for me was witnessing the total farce that was the St Paul's Church polling station in the Jewellery Quarter. I was contacted by a friend at 9.10pm to say there were hundreds of people in the queue and he was worried about not getting to vote. I arrived a few minutes later and was stunned by the length of the queue, at the time it must have numbered 200 people, both inside and outside the church. [IMG: Polling Station Queues at St Paul's Church, Birmingham, May 2010] I spoke to the polling station staff ...
This morning's Western Mail reports that a deep split within Labour scuppered any post-election deal with the Liberal Democrats and consigned them to a period in opposition. This is confirmed by Plaid Cymru who complain that the "tribal loyalties" of some Labour MPs had undermined the possibility of an anti-Conservative government. Despite that Peter Hain was on Radio Wales this morning spinning the line that it was the Liberal Democrats who had walked away from these talks. The fact is it was Labour Party who were not interested in a progressive alliance of the left. They were not prepared to ...
Tuesday: With its mournful soul/country ballad theme, not to mention its star, it's clear that Auntie Beeb were hoping that this might be a British "Wire". But it doesn't have the sprawling character set, slow-moving-yet-gripping intertwined plots or documentary filming style to do that. Rather, as psychodrama dressed up as police procedural, and with an anti-heroic lead - Mr Idris Elba: subtle and awesome - whose brilliance and insight are set off against his self-destructive personality, its true ancestor is ITV's acclaimed "Cracker". But watching last night, we realised what this REALLY is: it is BATMAN without the dressing up! ...
I joined the Liberal Party during the 1987 General Election campaign, did my first canvassing in Chris Abbott's ward, featured in the local paper for having an Alliance poster up while my Dad had his Tory one up and my brother put a Labour one up. My first conference was the Liberal Assembly in Harrogate that same year, the last full Liberal Assembly as merger was on the cards, and met, amongst others, Chris Rennard, Arnie Gibbons and several other Leicester folk for the first time. I went to Leicester University, lost lots of elections as a Social and Liberal ...
'It is clear that the Labour Party never took seriously the prospects of forming a progressive, reforming government with the Liberal Democrats. Key members of Labour's negotiating team gave every impression of wanting the process to fail and Labour made no attempt at all to agree a common approach with the Liberal Democrats on issues such as fairer schools funding for the most deprived pupils and taking those on low incomes out of tax. It became clear to the Liberal Democrats that certain key Labour cabinet ministers were determined to undermine any agreement by holding out on policy issues and ...
Way back in March 1977 there was a by-election in progress in Birmingham Stetchford, the (then Labour) MP Roy Jenkins having resigned his seat to go to the European Commission. Our predecessor Liberal Party was of course hammering the Labour government in its leaflets. A week before polling day the minority Labour government did a support deal with the Liberal Party in Parliament that started the Lib-Lab pact and restored its working majority.. . At a by-election press conference next day the Liberal candidate was asked if he was pleased with the deal. "I have to be pleased don't I" ...
I'd like to say a huge thank you to the 2,338 people who voted for me in the Council elections last week. The final result was: NIKEL (Lib Dem) - 2,338 PENANT (Con) - 1,684 RICE (Lab) - 3,504 ROBERTSON (Grn) - 378 My congratulations to Carl Rice on being re-elected and my congratulations to the other defeated candidates on running generally positive campaigns. The campaign from Labour was certainly more positive than in other parts of the city, such as the gutter politics from Roger Godsiff in Birmingham Hall Green. We achieved nearly 30% of the vote, an incredible ...
Analytics makes interesting reading this morning... Hello to all my blog's new readers! It feels very strange being part of a party of government. It's not something I thought I would have to get used to anything soon. I think I have an inkling of what Lady Mark's feeling's were when he said I've always been anti-establishment, and now I'm married to it! I mean... I have TOUCHED the Deputy Prime Minister! I wonder if I am now immune from Scrofula... Having slept on it, my feelings on the policy breakdown pretty much chime with Debi's (also YAY SHE JOINED ...
Well. This is a turn up for the books. Who would've believed way back on April 6th that we'd have a Tory-Lib Dem coalition in office? Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister? John Cleese in his rightful place in the Ministry of Silly Walks at last? Me either. But guess what? We're there! As I've said before, I would have preferred a Lib-Lab pact. But Nick Clegg's gambit of reaching out to Labour on Monday proved that Labour would not have been a stable coalition partner even before considering that the numbers just didn't work out. Their MPs were already ...
My family are a difficult bunch to please. This weekend my mother threatened to give up on the Lib Dems if Nick Clegg kept Gordon Brown in power and my sister threatened to move to Greece if he did a deal with the Tories. Me? I've been fighting the Tories all my adult life, but I've been working to get Lib Dems into government all that time too. I am immensely proud and excited that Nick Clegg is Deputy Prime Minister (pinch me!) But I also understand the anguish and pain felt by many in the party. After fifty years ...
A quick caveat: I do not wish this post to be insulting to any Labour supporters - quite the opposite. I sometimes have trouble getting my point across effectively, but I hope this does the trick. I was going to hold off commenting on this until the Cabinet positions and full joint manifesto had been released. However, in the midst of a lot of confusion and bad feeling across many blogs and on Twitter, it's time to get a few facts straight. Labour could never have formed the new government. As my previous blog post demonstrated, Labour needed the Liberal ...
There are reasons why Labour lost. First, their latter narrative was really one of Social Democracy. The problem was that Labour never spelled out the downsides to that project. They tried to do Social Democracy by stealth without the tax increases or the constraining of debt and behaviour. Swedish society is more restrictive and has ...
I noticed that the 'disgruntled radical' has summed up the feelings of most of us when he reflected the behaviour of the Labour Party. The antediluvians of the Labour Party have wrecked any chance of a progressive alliance, confirming what an archaic, conservative force Labour is. David Blunkett and Jack Straw, two of the worst Home Secretaries ever, can't cope with the idea of a government that actually represents the majority of people instead of their own prejudices. There are many others he could have added to his list of Labour wreckers not least another reactionary Home Sec John Reid. ...
There are a lot of statements going round that Labour supporters were right to warn that if you voted Clegg you would get Cameron, this is utter nonsense. Firstly only people in Sheffield Hallam actually got to vote for Clegg but lets just ignore that mistake. In many constituencies, like mine, it is a choice ... Read more
As a Lib Dem Westminster candidate I've been quiet while the negotiations have been underway because coalition talks tend not to lend themselves to the 24hr news cycle and an information vaccuum. My natural inclinations were towards a Progressive Alliance but you do what you can with the hand you are dealt and the electorate ...
Let's be honest, it does feel strange to wake up this morning with a Conservative Government in coalition with Liberal Democrats. I've never voted Conservative and I guess the same applies to many of our councillors, activists and supporters. How did we get to this point? British politics has changed. The old two party system is broken beyond repair, our society is now too subtle to allow everything to be seen as US - or THEM. This was how Margaret Thatcher saw Britain and I, among others, rejected this vision. The consequence of this change is that we move into ...
[IMG: clegg-and-cameron_1632536c] The Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, or 'Dick and Knave' as they will henceforth be known. Photo: REUTERS So the deal has been done, and in keeping with previous reports, it is a very good one for the Liberal Democrats as a party, and for the country as a whole. I don't think anyone could have honestly expected our negotiating team to secure so much of our manifesto; but equally, I don't think anyone could have expected the Conservatives to be so accommodating. Already the emails are flooding into MPs' inboxes denouncing this apparent 'betrayal'. I ...
Last night after seeing Nick speak I found the events so breathtaking I had to go and lie down. Literally. Rather than being in the mainstream of a party that won't be in Government I'm now on the left of a Government. It's amazing! I do hope that the new Government will progress with the ...
"Tonight the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive of the Liberal Democrat party have overwhelmingly accepted my recommendation that we should now enter into a coalition government with the Conservative Party."
The 2010 general election has certainly had its twists and turns, culminating in a cliffhanger result. Now, however, it is clear what the shape of the new government will be: a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. It is not going to be an easy ride. However, the impact of Liberal Democrat voices around the cabinet table could well be profound. In any event, the very nature of a coalition will mean a more open kind of politics. There is also the matter of electoral reform: a referendum has been conceded by the Conservatives as part of the government programme. There is now ...
I'll be posting in more depth soon about the events of the last few days and how we got here. A few quick points 1, I'm more than happy, in fact I want to, visit consituency parties and speak to members about why I voted in favour of going into coalition with the Tories. My email address is alison AT alisongoldsworthy.co.uk 2, The Labour party didn't take these talks seriously. I'll be posting a statement shortly to show just how much that was the case. But with former Ministers sounding off, a negotiating team that wouldn't comprimise on even fairly ...
I for one is happy with the arrangments yhst have lead to this coalition Ok for years I have detested what the Tories stand for However time for change how can we change to open constructive government without constructive open debate that's what democracy is discussion agreement and compremise however this does not mean selling out or throwing a tantrum this is the first lesson we teach children
It became clear on Saturday that the result of Thursday's general election had changed the nature of the Liberal Democrats for good. For years we have struggled to gain a degree of influence, developing policies that we felt were right for Britain - in the sense of being socially just and environmentally geared to the future. And we knew that when we got a hung parliament, that would be our chance. To build up to that, we developed a broad voter base, effectively made up of three groups of people: pure Lib Dems who support us for what we stand ...
A few months ago we were waiting for David Cameron's stately procession to 10 Downing Street as leader of yet another majority Conservative government. No point voting Lib Dem, we were told – they had no chance of getting power and putting their policies into practice. And yet here we are, with a Lib/Con coalition after Labour decided they preferred to be in opposition. Those who voted Lib Dem look like they will get Lib Dem policies put into law. Not all of them, but a surprising number of the important ones. Is it risky? Hell, yes. Labour activists, and ...
Nick Clegg is Deputy Prime Minister. Wow! I like the sound of that and it also scares the hell out of me. Who would ever have thunk it? The leader of the Liberal Democrats not only in a coalition Government but in a coalition government with THEM and in the Cabinet. We don't know yet if he has another Cabinet portfolio, but in this kind of delicate arrangement it probably needs the leader of each party to be mainly concerned with strategic overview. When the coalition between the Liberal Democrats and Labour was announced in 1999, I had a similar ...
Let me make it clear right from the beginning: the Conservatives can't be trusted. After a General Election in which their leader, the man who is now buttering his toast in Downing Street, appealed to the lowest instincts of loathing and jingoism, in which their mantra was one of entitlement to power, combined with disdain ...
start of a better way - let's so pray at least 2 in power watches the other for deviance (eg personal corruption less likely)
Wed 12th
08:03
We can be proud that our Lib Dem policies of freedom and fairness will now be on the Government agen...
It's an extraordinary day. We have a Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister. As the first day of this new Coalition Government begins, I think that the 7 million people who voted Lib Dem across the UK should be proud that thanks to their votes, we are now in the position to implement some key things from our Manifesto which simply would not have been Government policy without us: Fairer taxes. The new Government will adopt the Lib Dem policy of raising the income tax thresh-hold to £10,000, over the course of this Parliament. This is a major Lib Dem policy, ...
Waking up to the news that 5 Lib Dems will be in the new coalition cabinet. This will be a government in business management style, and politics by personality, and I warmly welcome it. The Right of the Conservatives, and the Left of the Lib Dems won't be quieted easily, but hey, we have to have a government. Ultimately the two wingss of this forged two party alliance will form the groundswell for future Conservative and Liberal Democrat policy, and those policies will be seen to be distinct come the time of the next General Election. For now, we all ...
What an amazing, historic day in UK politics yesterday was! For the first time since the Second World War we now have MPs from the liberal party in government and the first coalition since then too. It is an exciting time and looking at the policies that appear to be shaping up to form part of the new government's programme I would suggest that our negotiating team has done a good job. There are of course some people both inside and outside the Lib Dems who are not happy about this turn of events. There are accusations of "selling out" ...
Well, here we are on the first morning of a new government. I continue to wait to see what the government actually does. What we know for certain is that we have got rid of a government of war criminal torturers who attacked our civil liberties. Some commenters were indignant yesterday that I refuse to presume this government will be worse. It hardly can be worse - but we shall see. In terms of cabinet posts, the Lib Dems do not appear to have got that much. Nick Clegg is to be Deputy Prime Minister. That post has to date ...
I was going to let Polly Toynbee's comment yesterday about Lab-Lib being the only legitimate coalition go until I saw her quote on the front of today's paper*. "Shimmering on the horizon was the chance for a progressive alliance, a rocket about to take off. Then it crashed to earth." Now I'll admit I'm no rocket scientist but over 30 years of reading sci-fi and sci-fact gives me a basic understanding of many of the key principles. So lets look at that above statement piece by piece. On the horizon You know I'll give her that, this is accurate. The ...
Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the District Council election.
I always told myself that when the LIb Dems broke through, I would drink champagne. I promised myself a few glasses on Thursday – if they beat 25% in the exit poll. It never happened. Now, they have cabinet posts, likely responsibility for electoral reform, deputy PM, likely four year fixed terms, possible AV at ...
Nick Clegg made this statement earlier today: "Tonight the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive of the Liberal Democrat party have overwhelmingly accepted my recommendation that we should now enter into a coalition government with the Conservative Party." "Before I say anything more about that coalition government I would like to express my thanks and admiration for Gordon Brown. He has been a towering figure in British politics for well over a decade. And the manner in which he has acted over the last few days has demonstrated immense dignity, grace and a profound sense of his public ...
Tonight, as a member of the Liberal Democrat Federal Executive, I took part in the joint meeting of the Federal Executive and Parliamentary Party. I attended with a heavy heart, I have fought the Conservatives for decades, I entered thinking there was a 90% chance that I would vote against the deal on the table. I was wrong. Of all the Liberal Democrat MPs, all the Liberal Democrat Peers (who
Due to be on BBC Essex after the 8am news.
Word has it that a 24 page document will be released later today containing the Lib-Con deal. Private word also has it that this will be largely the work of one man- David Laws.
Heh. Demotivational :D
This statement dropped into our mailbox shortly before 2am this morning. "Tonight the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive of the Liberal Democrat party have overwhelmingly accepted my recommendation that we should now enter into a coalition government with the Conservative Party." "Before I say anything more about that coalition government I would like to express my thanks and admiration for Gordon Brown. He has been a towering figure in British politics for well over a decade. And the manner in which he has acted over the last few days has demonstrated immense dignity, grace and a profound ...
I am proud tonight, and determined. I joined the Lib Dems five years ago to do what I could to get New Labour out of power, and to make Britain freer, fairer and greener. We've done the first part of that, and to all the Labour supporters I know who shared my deep disquiet at what New Labour had become, I hope you take your party back and make it fit for power again. For us, now comes the really hard work of delivering on the second part, the part that will never finally be done. Freedom, fairness and a ...
... was identifed back in November 2007... Above is an interview on GMTV from November 2007. Mark Littlewood (once of this parish) is being cross examined by Steve Richards (of slightly leftie Independent fame). Littlewood nails it on the blue-yellow coalition. He is now Director General of the IEA (Institute of Economic Affairs) , the original free market think tank. Looks like the IEA might again be ahead of the curve!
"Tonight the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive of the Liberal Democrat party have overwhelmingly accepted my recommendation that we should now enter into a coalition government with the Conservative Party. "Before I say anything more about that coalition government I would like to express my thanks and admiration for Gordon Brown. He has been a towering figure in British politics for well over a decade. And the manner in which he has acted over the last few days has demonstrated immense dignity, grace and a profound sense of his public duty. "We are now going to form ...
Then it looks like the new coalition government will essentially be adopting the Lib Dem manifesto in almost its entirety. I don't like the Tory welfare 'reforms' one bit, and will campaign against them. Likewise I think immigration caps a disgrace, and my main priority over the coming months is to change Lib Dem ...
I should say up front that none of this is confirmed, but this list agrees with what was read out on the BBC. From the Graun's Live Blog comes this list of policy agreements of the coalition: • £6b in year cuts in non frontline services subject to the advice from the treasury and the bank of england (Tory) - I think this one was inevitable • Scrapping of national insurance rises (Tory) - agreed with this one anyway • A substantial increase in the personal tax allowance from April 2011 with a focus on low and middle income earners, ...
This week, or 'five days in May', as it could become to be remembered, the focus of political analysis has been on the fine detail of who, what, and when will be the shape of this new and novel British government of co-operative rivals. Concessions have been made on the timing and level of various policies, personnel have been appointed, hands have been shaken with royalty. But all this is the warm-up act, and when the applause dies down the reality of the challenge facing the new Parliament is that the United Kingdom is dangerously in debt, and remains at ...
It is a bizarre feeling. I haven't heard all the details of the coalition deal. But I have just watched a government take office involving the party I've been working for over three decades. It feels good. I keep poking myself to see if I really feel that, but I do. As a Liberal Democrat, I am of course a manic optimist - but I wasn't sure I would ever see the day. There is another paradox I am aware of. I regard myself as a Lib Dem radical (not that I always find myself agreeing with other self-proclaimed radicals) ...
The deal negotiated with the Conservatives has been unanimously backed by the Liberal Democrat MPs. It's also been backed by the party's Federal Executive with just dissenting voice in the end. Both decisions were significantly helped by not only the successes of the party's negotiating team but also by very impressive and persuasive appearances by Nick Clegg. Talking shortly afterwards, Nick Clegg said, I can your hopes and your aspirations with me ... I want to assure you that I wouldn't have entered into this agreement unless I was genuinely convinced that it offers a unique opportunity to deliver the ...
So the full coalition deal has passed the scrutiny of MPs and Federal executive. Comments from those leaving was that MPs gave 100% backing - that is what is needed and congratulations to each and every one of them. All for one. One for all. What ever the future holds, backing the leader and putting the countries interests first is right. From the sideways comments from those leaving the meeting, there seems to have been some dissent from the Federal Executive.... but not enought. I have had no news on that yet though.... Onward and upward.
........... I was at a meeting organised by Stratford District Council to talk about its tourism strategy in the wake of the failure of South Warwickshire Tourism (after the District Council pulled the plug on its funding). It was a rather small meeting, with three local people involved in the tourist industry, Forum Editor Bob Tolley and former Town Mayor Alan Noyce, two District Councillors (including me) and two officers. Despite the rather select nature of the meeting, which had been advertised in the Forum, there was an interesting discussion on how a tourism strategy for the whole of the ...
The meeting has just broken up. The coalition deal was agreed unanimously by Lib Dem MPs and agreed by the party's Federal Executive with only one vote against.
The Morecambe and the Lancaster constituencies counted their ballot papers on Friday morning. The reason for this is because we didn't want the staff to work through the whole of polling day and then through the night. I thought this was the reason but I heard on Radio Lancashire that the change of day was because the constituencies were so big. I have often written about Morecambe's traffic problems. It can take a long time to get through Lancaster, but traffic isn't too bad at 10pm when the polling stations closed. I reckon that all the ballot boxes could be ...
I have been one of those who has expressed concern about the prospect of the Liberal Democrats joining a coalition with the Conservative party. I didn't want the party I have worked so hard for to sell its soul to the Conservatives. I didn't want to have to endure another reign of Conservative tyranny with ...
