OPINION

The Budget contains some welcome measures, especially on childcare costs and raising the personal tax allowance to £10,000 next year. The latter is a Liberal Democrat commitment being delivered in government, and will go some way to ease the spiraling cost of living faced by millions of households, but it's nowhere near bold eno

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Prateek Buch, director of the Social Liberal Forum (SLF) pressure group, said: "I cannot understand how a serious party of government can decide, against the democratic will of our members, not to debate the single most important issue that faces our country, if we are unable to discuss a flatlining economy, the biggest issue facing the country?" The SLF, a left-of-centre pressure group, had first attempted to table a motion for the conference calling for a fiscal stimulus a month a

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Internal Lib Dem tensions over the Coalition’s economic strategy surfaced at the weekend’s conference. Grassroots allies of Mr Cable failed in an attempt to win an emergency debate in which they would have pushed an economic “Plan C”, or “Plan Cable”. Naomi Smith, co-chair of the Social Liberal Forum pressure group, said it was “astonishing” the conference did not discuss the economy. She added: “If the Osbornomics that Clegg and Danny [Alexander, Chief Treasury Secretary] have sign

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By Linda Jack, SLF Council member We expect one of the highlights of the weekend to be our Friday evening fringe with Vince Cable “How we get growing again – the road to 2015”. It will be in Hall 4 after the rally at 20.15 – not to be missed and likely to be over-subscribed, given

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Below is the text of an Emergency Motion being submitted to Liberal Democrat Spring Conference - to support the motion, please fill in the form below Emergency motion: kickstarting economic growth Conference is concerned that the latest published figures show:

• low growth, as confirmed on February 27th 2013;
• negative net bank lending (especially by RBS and Lloyds),

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By SLF Co-Chair Naomi Smith If the allegations against Lord Rennard are found to be true, it could mean that a serious abuse of power pervaded our Party for many years. Other parties may yet have similar accusations made against them in time, but Liberal Democrats are supposed to stand up for the vulnerable, protect minority rights and champion equality Understanding the corrupting force of power is to start to unde

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This article is by SLF Co-Chair Gareth Epps *Update, 13.30 25/02/2013* Andrew George MP has a letter in the Guardian regarding this matter Good news for Liberal Democrats wanting to see some opposition to the secondary legislation introduced on the quiet by Jeremy Hunt which would force doctors to open up almost all NHS services to private companies. Adr

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