Lib Dems aren’t modifying Tory policy. They are allowing it.
As the European elephant in the cabinet room finally rears and strains the Clegg-Cameron bonds, many Liberal Democrats are once again questioning why they are in government at all. And the response is the same as ever: “We had to go into coalition” they are told “because if we didn’t, the Tories would get to [...]
SOAS arrests: Where are the Lib Dems on protest rights?
“I was personally punched and thrown down the stairs by officers.” Meet Alex. He’s a postgrad student at UCL. On Monday he joined a peaceful demonstration at SOAS against Higher Education Minister David Willetts. This is how the police responded. There were accounts of officers and security guards forcing protesters onto the ground and repeatedly [...]
A dog’s dinner?
In publishing his proposals for Lords Reform, our Deputy PM invited constructive criticism of the proposals. He didn’t get it. Rather, he got a chorus of abuse from both the Tories and Labour. Sadiq Khan, the shadow Justice Secretary, called it “a dog’s dinner, with nobody happy” – and that’s a nice summing up of [...]
Against social mobility: equality, class and the Jilted Generation.
This week Nick Clegg announced a new strategy to improve social mobility in the UK. Firms will have to advertise work experience in schools, they’ll have to allow staff time off to mentor pupils and there’ll be a tougher line on unpaid internships, encouraging companies to actually follow the law and pay their employees at [...]
Dick of the year: Nick Clegg
It’s the most highly anticipated election of the year so far. The votes have been cast; the ballots counted. There were 40 nominations for 38 challengers. But in the end, it wasn’t even close. 525 people voted. Of them, 248 gave one of their five preferences to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. That’s 47% of [...]
Dick of the year: Nick Clegg
This is a nomination for the Bright Green #dick2010 award from Derek Wall The financial crisis buried free market economics but now, paradoxically, we have a government dedicated to marketising everything. The gains of the 1945 Labour government, ironically shaped by liberals like Keynes and Beveridge, from comprehensive education to the NHS are all under [...]
Lib Dem hijack is coming from inside the building…
The National Union of Students is rightly celebrated this morning for hijacking the www.liberaldemocrats.org.uk domain name and pointing it to their video documenting Nick Clegg’s betrayal over tuition fees. But there’s a twist to this seemingly simple tale of cyber-squatting. Eagle-eyed Kris Keane points out that far from being overlooked by the party, allowing the [...]
Behind the Smokescreen on Student Fees
This guest post by the ever excellent Sarah Morrison first appeared at http://srmorrison.wordpress.com/ Nick Clegg told Britain that he wanted a “clean, open, plural politics that…you can put your faith in,” when he spoke at his first press conference at Number 10. While the footage streamed onto our screens might not have been reminiscent of [...]