Browse > Home /

| Subcribe via RSS



David Laws interview now available to view

By Angela Harbutt
November 28th, 2011 at 1:10 pm | Comments Off on David Laws interview now available to view | Posted in Liberal Democrats

For those of you unable to attend (or just want to watch again) Mark Littlewood’s cracking interview with David Laws MP at the IEA last week, the video is now up. My favourite line from David Laws.. “The Lib Dems… are the party that best fuses social justice and economic liberalism”. Overall however, you will notice that it is a rather cautious David that turned up for the event. This is no bad thing in my view. As much as David might loathe speculation about his return to the front bench, his answers and demeanour on the night suggest we may be getting closer to just such an announcement.

Go to IEA to watch video.

Tags: , ,
'

Australia’s new plain packaging law for cigarettes may have got Andrew Lansley off the hook

By Editor
November 21st, 2011 at 8:48 pm | 2 Comments | Posted in freedom, Government, health, Nannying, Nudge Dredd

 

HAT TIP : Mark Littlewood (formerly of this parish) has posted an interesting article over on the Daily Mail today. It concerns tobacco plain packaging – but considers it from an angle we’ve not seen elsewhere. In it he suggests that the Australian government may have got Andrew Lansley at the Department of Health off the hook. How ?

“Well, he is a Cabinet minister in a government which claims to support deregulation….Fortunately, the Health Secretary does not need to marshal a whole series of arguments to rebut the case for plain packaging of tobacco (which would, in any event, be quite hard to do – as it is difficult to rebut a case based on no credible evidence whatsoever). He can cancel his promised consultation on the subject (originally anticipated to be launched in the next few weeks), thereby saving everybody a lot of time and effort. He can then sit back and wait for a couple of years and see what independent evidence suggests the impact to be in Australia, if the legal challenge from tobacco companies fails to reverse this intrusion into free expression.”

Click on the link above to read the whole article. It’s an interesting thought. Just how committed is this government to deregulation?

Tags: , , , ,

Gloves off: Littlewood v Laws

By Editor
November 1st, 2011 at 1:38 pm | 6 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized

Hat Tip: This is surely an event not to missed? Stuff David Haye vs Wladimir Klitschko … This is Mark Littlewood face-to-face with David Laws MP. It promises to be THE interview of the year. Yep that’s right … David Laws has agreed to meet Mark Littlewood for what promises to be a splendid evening of cross examination and inspection.. We can’t wait..

WHERE: IEA, 2 Lord North Street, London, SW1 (door on Great Peter Street)

WHEN: 22nd November, 6.30pm

HOW TO GET A TICKET: email iea@iea.org.uk

WANT MORE INFO: go to the IEA website

Tags: , ,

Are the Lib Dems the “most interesting party” in British politics?

By Angela Harbutt
September 26th, 2011 at 4:18 pm | Comments Off on Are the Lib Dems the “most interesting party” in British politics? | Posted in Liberal Democrats

According to James Forsyth….

“The Liberal Democrats are now the most interesting party in British politics…We are seeing the most radical attempt to reform what a party stands for in British Politics we’ve seen for a long time”

Is he right? Well he said it a fringe event ” Coalition and the changing Liberal Democrats”. at Lib Dem conference last week. To allow you to judge for yourself, here is the full video of the whole discussion. Some very interesting, sometimes radical thoughts and ideas were offered at this session – not just by James..

watch it here

 

To help steer your way around the (rather long) video – here is a guide to what you will find where on the video…

David Laws speech : 00.02.44

Jeremy Browne speech : 00.10.21

Q&A with David Laws and Jeremy Browne: 00.21.00

Simon Goldie (LV):  00.39.20

James Forsyth (Spectator): 00.43.30

Mark Littlewood (IEA): 00.51.50

Q&A with Simon, James and Mark: 01.02.10

Tags: , , , , ,

Mark, Ming and the meeting of minds

By Angela Harbutt
February 11th, 2011 at 1:34 am | 2 Comments | Posted in Uncategorized

I know for  a fact that Mark Littlewood (formerly of this parish) and Sir Ming Campbell respect one another. Mark was the head of media for the Lib Dems when Ming was leader of the party. They got on. Ming listened to Mark’s media advice .  Mark recognised Ming’s political and international experience and knowledge. They were as one, I think, on civil liberties.

In recent times it would be fair to say, however, that their views have not always chimed on economic issues.

But in the last 24 hours there seems to have been a meeting of Ming/Mark minds. On David Cameron’s Big Society of all things.

Yesterday Mark Littlewood suggested that the libraries of this nation could be saved if the likes of Nicky Wire, bassist of the Manic Street Preachers, multimillionaire Richard Pullman, and indeed all those  who care about libraries, put their hands in their pockets to help save them. 

In much the same way frankly as many football fans – rich and not so rich – have put their hands in their pockets over the years to save their local clubs in times of need, parishioners have done to save their local church roof, villagers have bought their local pub etc.

Tonight on Question Time , Ming Campbell advocated pretty much the same thing as far as I can see. On the issue of  the Big Society , Ming argued that the big society has been around for a long time – local charities, societies, self help groups etc, working voluntarily for the wider benefit of society. People getting on, doing stuff for themselves.

But in these dire economic times, Ming argued, this is the time for those that can afford to put an extra £10 or £20 into their preferred voluntary cause, local group etc should step up to the plate. 

And he is right. It’s the best articulation of the Big Society I have heard quite honestly.

If you care about it – do your bit – don’t leave it all to the state. That’s Ming bunging an extra score or so to his local athletics club, Mark doshing out more to his beloved Saints Foundation and Nicky Wire dobbing something in for his beloved libraries -rather than expecting the state to look after the things we hold dear. …theatre,church, football club, library….. We all have things we think are important – we just shouldn’t always expect someone else to pay for it.

Tags: , , , , , ,