What is it about powerful men, sexual assault allegations, and the inability of ostensibly democratic parties to treat such accusations with due weight and carry through proper investigations? I suppose to pose the question that way is to answer it. The Liberal Democrats’ handling of the Lord Rennard enquiry has been a proper shambles, involving […]
Posts under ‘Lib-Dems’
Labour and coalition talk
Jan 12th, 2014 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Have I just hopped off the TARDIS? Everywhere I look there’s talk of Labour Labour going into coalition with the Liberal Democrats. It looks and smells oddly like the lead-up to the last general election. As politicians tend not to look back at their party’s second-ever worse electoral defeat with fondness, what then has prompted Ed […]
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Will future Labour conferences be as boring as the Lib Dems?
Sep 19th, 2013 by Conrad Landin.Why does the Liberal Democrat conference look so boring? In the bare basics of their procedures and practices, the Lib Dems probably crack down on dissent and debate less than Labour or the Tories. And yet as middle aged white men with horrendous jumpers take to the podium on TV, I can’t help thanking god […]
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The coming Lib Dem – Tory war
Sep 17th, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.Believe it or not, there is one time of the year the political commentariat are more insufferable than the nonsense of the silly season. And that’s when it’s Liberal Democrat conference. And it is painful, I mean, really painful. Let’s look at the exhibits. Underneath the demand-destroying cuts and general laissez-faire attitude to economics, Vince Cable has been hinting […]
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What do Lib Dems believe in? Take your pick
Sep 15th, 2013 by Andy Newman.As the Liberal Democrat conference unfolds, it has given me cause for reflection of my own experience over the last few weeks, speaking to voters in the towns and villages that make up the Chippenham constituency, particularly Bradford, Chippenham, Corsham and Melksham, I have been struck by how many voters feel personally betrayed by Lib Deb […]
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Syria: three questions for Vince Cable
Sep 2nd, 2013 by Phil Burton-Cartledge.And so, a pointless war against Syria has been averted – for now. Not that you would think it as BBC News has been in overdrive since Thursday’s vote. Bulletins jammed with Syrian war porn – classy. But at least some of the media have been doing a proper job at holding the government to […]
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The serious threat to trade union freedom: in your parliament this week
Aug 31st, 2013 by Keith Ewing.Last week the TUC expressed serious concerns about the far – reaching consequences of the government’s Transparency of Lobbying, Non Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill, due for a second reading next week. Such concern is hardly surprising, for this is a Bill that not only represents a threat to basic liberties generally, but […]
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The danger of the lights going out is very real
Jul 3rd, 2013 by Michael Meacher.Ed Davey, the Energy secretary, has just reassured us that he is very sure that the lights will not go out. Given the credibility of politicians’ promises, particularly from this Coalition, that’s all right then. Or is it? The energy watchdog Ofgem has warned that power blackouts could arrive as early as 2 years time. […]
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Ken Livingstone will stand for Brent Central in the 2015 election
Apr 1st, 2013 by Carl Packman.Update (12:00): Ken Livingstone is not really the Brent Central candidate – this was an April Fools. The man, the legend, who first became an MP in Brent East from 1987 to 2001, has broken his vow never to enter an election again after the Brent Central Labour Party made an eleventh hour call to […]
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“State-school” Clegg, and when did selfishness become the norm?
Mar 21st, 2013 by Conrad Landin.“Nick Clegg to send son to state school”, muttered the headline in the “most viewed” column on the BBC News website. This was a not-unpleasant surprise for me – for when a public figure says they are “considering” going private, it usually means the decision has already been made. It is of course a relief […]
