• Our Policy Making Processes are Broken

    February 25, 2014 10:11 AM

    Charles West has been a District Councillor, Parliamentary Candidate and Chair of local parties in Shropshire - this article was previously submitted to Lib Dem Voice who refused to publish it. Fellow Liberal Democrats, our policy-making processes are broken. We are not as democratic as we would like to believe. I have long been frustrated by the fact that we lack a coherent overall policy for health and the NHS. I now know at least some of the reasons for that failure. It was certain

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  • Times letter on Lib Dem manifesto pledges, 19/02/14

    February 19, 2014 8:18 AM

    Members of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee - together with Social Liberal Form Council members - have written to the Times reasserting the party's democratic and independent manifesto process. This letter is reproduced here in full (the letter and an shorter list of signatories appeared in the Times):
    Sir, At a time when political leadership and vision are in short supply, to

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  • Vince Cable sets out the Lib Dem approach to the economy

    January 28, 2014 12:05 PM

    Vince Cable’s speech to the Royal Economic society is being reported as undermining the Chancellor in his pursuit of a budget surplus. This misses the point, as Vince is rightly focussed less on the ins and outs of Westminster politics and more on ways to generate real sustainable prosperity in the wider economy. In his

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  • Raising the income tax threshold - proceed with caution

    January 17, 2014 4:45 PM

    As Liberal Democrats build our manifesto for 2015, one key policy is already being promoted as a flagship measure – continuing to raise the income tax personal allowance to £12,500. While there’s little doubt that raising it to £10,000 in this Parliament was a significant, liberal and popular achievement, we should proceed with caution in going yet further – particularly in light of the often-unwelcome consequences and alternative options, as set out in an

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  • The Social Liberal Forum agrees with Nick

    January 07, 2014 2:31 PM

    The SLF welcomes yesterday’s warnings from Nick Clegg that he aimed at Tory Chancellor George Osborne. Speaking at a press conference in Whitehall, Nick Clegg referred to Tory plans to make a further £25bn of cuts to the welfare budget as a ‘monumental mistake’ and went on to outline  ideological differences between the two coalition parties on issues like fairer taxation. Nick’s mes

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  • Liberal Democrats and the Bedroom Tax

    October 07, 2013 12:14 PM

     

    At the Liberal Democrat Conference a few weeks ago in Glasgow there were many important debates on taxation, the environment, nuclear weapons and most notably of all, on the economy. The Social Liberal Forum in particular argued passionately to amend the economy motion. Perhaps, the most important progressive highlight for social liberals was the housing benefit debate. The Conference passed a strongly worded

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  • Playing Fair with Workfare?

    October 04, 2013 12:21 PM

    So today we learn that Nick Clegg does approve of Osborne’s Workfare, even though it so blatantly contravenes Liberal Democrat core values. He claims it can be justified as being something that will help people, despite the evidence being to the contrary. What is most d

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  • It may already be too late to save the Liberal Democrats

    September 30, 2013 11:51 AM

      New research by the Institute of Government has produced a very welcome study, looking at the fate of junior coalition partners, in coalitions around the world – and the lessons which can be learned by the Liberal Democrats. To summarise their findings:  
    1. Smaller parties can only distance

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  • The future of Spring Conference

    September 30, 2013 9:58 AM

    Curtailing (to one day), let alone abolishing, Spring Conference would weaken the party. It would do that through seriously reducing the opportunity for accountability and democratic debate within the Liberal Democrats.   Internal democracy strengthens and unites us as a party.   The commentariat has expressed surprise that there has been more dissent amongst Conservatives over the coalition than amongst Lib Dems. That is not because there are not many in our party unhappy about co

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