The discussions focused on finding a peaceful solution to the ongoing civil war in Syria, called the Geneva II talks and due to start in Montreux today (why not in Geneva?), have hit another snag. On Saturday the Syrian National Coalition voted to attend the talks. This was a major breakthrough as the meeting would […]
AS SEEN ON THE NEW STATESMAN: WHY LABOUR AND THE LIB DEMS SHOULD BE LINING UP TO PRAISE LYNTON CROSBY
Following on from the cigarette packaging imbroglio, in which it was alleged that Lynton Crosby might just have lobbied the Prime Minster about the way that tobacco was sold and enacted a shift in government policy, another Crosby-related scandal has hit the headlines. This one centres on whether or not the Conservative campaign strategist tried to […]
AS SEEN ON LIB DEM VOICE: OPINION: ED’S MADE A BOLD MOVE, BUT HE ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO SEE IT THROUGH TO THE END
As a Lib Dem, I obviously write as neither a Labour party member nor supporter, but I was genuinely stirred by Ed Miliband’s speech at the St Bride Foundation yesterday. It was bold, gutsy and liberal minded – qualities the Labour leader’s critics often accuse him of lacking. The announcement that Ed will push forward plans to […]
AS SEEN ON TOTAL POLITICS: A LOBBYING REGISTER AND RECALL WON’T SOLVE ANYTHING
In the wake of the Patrick Mercer scandal, and the parallel incidents in the House of Lords, Francis Maude and Nick Clegg’s announcements on both a lobbying register and MP recall will be welcomed in some quarters. I happen to think that if you really want to end corruption in parliament, bigger changes are required. […]
AS SEEN ON THE NEW STATESMAN – SYRIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST: SHOULD WE REALLY TAKE MILITARY ACTION OFF THE TABLE?
The Syrian conflict, now over two years old, has reached new levels of horrific farce over the past few weeks. On 11 May, 46 people were killed in a border town in Turkey in an attack linked to Assad’s regime, leading to Turkey shutting its border and inching closer to direct conflict with its war-ridden […]
AS SEEN ON TOTAL POLITICS: WHY ECONOMICS IS UKIP’S ACHILLES’ HEEL
I’ll admit off the bat that the article that follows is an odd one: I’m about to offer a political party advice that I hope to God they ignore. Nigel Farage and UKIP have been in the headlines a great deal of late, from the Guardian discussing Nigel Farage’s saloon bar insurgency to the Telegraph publishing Farage’s declaration that UKIP could have […]
LDV OPINON POST: THE LIBERAL RECONFIGURATION. THOUGHTS INSPIRED BY THE ONE NATION LABOUR CONFERENCE
Last week, my job took me to the One Nation Labour conference at Queen Mary, University of London. There I saw a series of lectures followed by Q&A’s on what the future direction of the Labour party should and should not be. It was a fascinating day – the Lib Dem baiting they have gotten used to […]
LDV INDEPENDENT VIEW POST: NEW REPORT FROM THE ERS: REVIVING THE HEALTH OF OUR DEMOCRACY
After months of independent research, the Electoral Reform Society has now published a report on Reviving the Health of Our Democracy. On the plus side, we discovered that most people are as politically charged as ever, albeit mostly through individualistic modes of participation such as single issue campaigns. The downside, of course, is that they […]
LDV OPINION POST: WORST PAST THE POST? DEBATING ELECTORAL REFORM FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Last year in May, Scottish voters were given the chance to vote using the Single Transferable Vote to select their local councillors for the second time since the introduction of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act of 2004. The Bill owes its life to the Liberal Democrats; it was a key demand for us entering into […]
AFTER EASTLEIGH, DO TORIES REGRET OPPOSING AV?
Originally seen on Conservative Home UKIP are not just taking votes off the Tories – there is a large former Labour contingent now voting for Nigel Farage’s party: Canvassing on the estates of Eastleigh, I was amazed to see so many UKIP posters in the windows. Surprised as well to hear on the doorstep so […]