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Articles tagged with Lib Dems
Watch: why 2 Lib Dems resigned over secret courts
by Ed Stradling / 05 Apr 2013 09:23
Ed Stradling's report on two Lib Dems, former election candidate Jo Shaw and Islington Councillor Greg Foxsmith, speaking out following their resignation from the party over the coalition's Justice and Security bill, which will allow judges in civil trials to hear evidence in secret in certain cases.
Cynical or not, mansion tax is a coup for Labour
by Ray Filar / 12 Mar 2013 15:17
Labour’s sudden conversion to the mansion tax cause could be that rumoured beast: a One Nation Labour policy. A real, One Nation-values espousing policy. The sort of concrete, saleable idea eagerly anticipated by party activists, who can now rejoice in the hope of more where that came from. By stealing a Liberal Democrat flagship policy to partially fund the return of the 10p tax rate, Labour may have just pulled off a
What do yesterday's by-elections mean for the future?
by Emma Burnell / 30 Nov 2012 09:53
Three Labour by-election holds in three very traditional Labour seats; low turnout on a very cold November day; resentment of the Government reflected in a traditional mid-term kicking. So far, so politics as normal. Looked at through traditional political filters, there’s not an awful lot to see here.
Of course those filters might be right. History is littered with glittering moments for small political parties declaring a breakthrough at by-elections before crashing under
Danny Alexander targets tax-dodgers
by Anoosh Chakelian / 25 Sep 2012 11:10
Danny Alexander, a “fashion icon” in Pakistan (his words, not mine), and chief secretary to the Treasury, was rather off-key in his speech to conference today, following an otherwise hitherto sturdy performance.
He opened with addressing conference as “fellow plebs”, a staid joke by anyone’s standards now and not delivered with the necessary Cable-esque galumphing conviction. He later half-heartedly quipped that “Ed Balls and Ed Miliband have as much credibility as Andrew Mitchell’s
Is Danny Alexander rescuing his Lib Dem roots?
by Anoosh Chakelian / 24 Sep 2012 09:23
Delivering George Osborne’s austerity programme, seen chummily joshing with Oliver Letwin at a fringe event last night - admitting that the “only area we disagree on is Europe” - and generally being an all-round “proalition” representative, Danny Alexander seems to have got off lightly so far in terms of grassroots resentment.
Usually it’s for Nick Clegg to take the flak for right-wing tendencies or capitulation to the Tories at the top of the
Ed Davey is all competition and no U-turn
by Anoosh Chakelian / 23 Sep 2012 11:00
Ed Davey, former pork pie manufacturer and current energy secretary, today gave a speech at Lib Dem conference championing the Green Deal and insisting that the Lib Dems would ensure there would be no coalition U-turns on their energy commitments.
"On our green future, there will be no turning back," was his emphatic conclusion. But is this a little unrealistic considering Tory
Tim Farron's speech: a lesson in justifying the means
by Anoosh Chakelian / 23 Sep 2012 08:59
It all seemed like a classic Tim Farron conference offering at first.
Strains of 'Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' were fading as he bounded onto the stage, brave enough to compare himself to Obama (though never quite to compare himself to Nick Clegg, leadership-wise) - "When Obama became president, he was given the nuclear codes. When I became president, I was given Matthew Oakeshott's phone number".
Both, he
The Greens are the only true oppposition party
by Natalie Bennett / 18 Sep 2012 09:22
I stood for leader of the Green Party because I want to win many more people to the Green Party’s distinct, positive vision of the future.
We need to invest. Insulation and renewable energy, social care and good childcare, affordable/reliable public transport and social housing – we can get people back to work, and ensure they can pay their bills without getting deeper into debt or being left without the essentials of life.
Votes open for Westminster Dog of the Year
by Anoosh Chakelian / 01 Aug 2012 16:02
Many describe politics as a dog-eat-dog world, but it rarely gets more canine than this. The Westminster Dog of the Year competition, organised by the Dogs Trust and the Kennel Club, will take place on 25 October in Victoria Tower Gardens, just a bone’s throw away from the Houses of Parliament. Approaching its 20th anniversary, it is somewhat of an institution for MPs wishing to raise their pup-ularity ratings…and for headline writers nationwide.
The Lib Dems stumble while UKIP surge
by Francesca Preece / 18 Apr 2012 10:30
A YouGov poll has revealed that the Lib Dems, that once-proud member of the elite 'top three' group of politicial parties, has fallen out of favour with the electorate and has now slumped to fourth. Against all the odds, the ‘fruitcake’ party, UKIP, have pipped the Liberals at the post – much to the disappointment of Nick Clegg.
While mayoral candidate Brian Paddick busies himself with a vanity trip around the capital, his
Passing the Health Bill is the beginning, not the end, of its problems
by Emma Burnell / 20 Mar 2012 08:14
In the classic film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, during one of many brilliant exchanges, Sundance refuses to make a perilous jump from a cliff into a rapidly running river below. His reason for not wanting to do so is that he can’t swim. “Are you crazy?” says Butch, “The fall will probably kill you”. So they jump and survive the fall, only to be swept along, pulling each other under in the
It's not what you said, Baroness Tonge, it's how you said it
by Sadie Smith / 19 Mar 2012 12:38
This morning three children and a man, thought to be a rabbi who taught at the school, were gunned down in a ride-by shooting at Ozar Hatorah secondary college in south-west France. The attack mirrors a series of similar ones perpetrated against paratroopers believed to have returned from a tour of Afghanistan, although it’s currently not clear whether the events are linked. Responding to the attack, the Inter-parliamentary Coalition on Combating Anti-Semitism (ICCA)
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