Liberal Democrat Voice

The Social Liberal Forum (SLF) has unveiled a pair of high-profile keynote speakers for its signature Pre-Conference Social ahead of the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference in Brighton.

What is Defence for? Recent governments seems reluctant to define national security goals. There are needs around the Home Islands, the Falklands, Cyprus, Ascension, Diego Garcia, Gibraltar, the Caribbean, and various nations that the government has given “iron clad” security guarantees. There are also commitments to NATO and the Northern Group, in Europe. For a politician there is a large and vocal demand for defence, but we are told there is no more money.

On 27th August 2006, LDV burst onto the blooging scene with a post suggesting that Simon Hughes was “certain to be challenged for the party presidency.” Word reaches the Voice that weeks before the position had been advertised in Lib Dem News, party officials in Cowley Street received a call requesting a copy of the nomination papers for party President – the caller was not acting on behalf of Simon Hughes.

If you happen to be visiting Edinburgh in the next few days, you’ll find that choosing the Fringe show you want to go to is even more challenging than working out your Conference diary. Over the four weeks, 3649 shows take place over 268 venues, for a total of 53000 performances in the biggest cultural festival in the World. And that’s before you start on the Book Festival. Two Scottish Lib Dems are performing in shows this week and beyond.

What just happened The new Prime Minister has put business rates at the heart of his first Budget on 28 October: 20 per cent relief for pubs and clubs, and a promise to “look at business rates more broadly for high street businesses“. An uncomfortable truth first: ask on any high street who stands up for the shopkeeper, and few will say the Liberal Democrats. Yet on business rates we have carried the best answer for eight years.

An Open Letter from BLAC Lib Dems The tragic story surrounding Professor Jason Arday has left many of us deeply troubled. Let us be clear: plagiarism is unacceptable. Academic standards matter, and allegations of academic misconduct must be investigated properly and fairly. But we also need to ask a bigger question about the culture in which this controversy has unfolded.

Britain has developed a curious contradiction in the way it values essential work. We routinely express admiration for soldiers, nurses, care workers and other public servants whose labour sustains the functioning of society, yet the material rewards attached to many of these professions frequently bear little relationship to their social importance. At the same time, the state commits substantial resources to supporting people outside employment.

Please note that, in accordance with our established policy on this particular area of international politics, comments will be moderated prior to publication. Last Friday, we heard David Mencer, an official Israeli spokesman, defending the Israeli government on the BBC Today programme, after increasing settler violence in the West Bank had been condemned by the British Foreign Office.

There’s been a lot of coverage about the fifth anniversary of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the desperate sight of people trying to get out while there was still a chance. The vast majority of them never did or could. The Taliban originally tried to say that it was all fine and women would still be able to continue their education. The reality is that women have little legal status and fewer rights, and are essentially counted as property of the men in their lives.

There are two ways you can prepare for party Conference. Six weeks out, when the agenda and the directory come out, you could sit down with a nice cup of tea and work out a tentative plan for how you are going to spend the 4 and a bit days in Brighton.