Liberal democrats

In 48 hours, either Tim Farron or Norman Lamb will be announced as the next leader of Liberal Democrats. Lamb kindly agreed to hop in my Mini for a chat about the leadership contest two weeks ago (during the hottest day of the year) — you can watch the highlights from our chat above. If you haven’t been following the contest, Lamb is the 57-year-old Liberal Democrat MP for North Norfolk. During the coalition government, he served as PPS to Nick Clegg, employment minister, care minister and is currently the Lib Dem’s spokesman on the economy. Despite the endorsement of Paddy Ashdown, Ming Campbell and the rapper Dappy, Lamb has consistently

As we watch the Eurozone catastrophe enter its latest ‘final phase’ one phrase keeps recurring to me.  That phrase is ‘banging on about Europe’.  Does anybody else remember when those words were used (at least since Maastricht I think) to dismiss absolutely anybody who was worried about the overreach or mismanagement of the whole EU project?  Europhiles from the three main parties loved the phrase.  Whenever they wanted to portray a political opponent as a tedious, fringe obsessive the words sprung to their lips.  For instance, whenever he wanted to paint the Tory party as a right bunch of nutters, Nick Clegg would portray them as the type of bores who

When Vince Cable lost his seat to the Tories in the general election, it was a a victory that brought much entertainment to the Conservatives, with David Cameron’s former head of strategy Steve Hilton making light of it at his book launch. Now, the Liberal Democrats finally have reason for cheer, and while it might not be the election they had hoped to win, they have finally beaten the Tories in one battle. After Tania Mathias, who won the Twickenham seat for the Tories in the election, gave up her council seat in Hampton Wick, a by-election took place yesterday. Despite the ward being a traditional Tory stronghold, the party failed to retain

The Chancellor has found himself a treasure chest: childcare. In his quest for full employment, it’s seen as crucial for boosting maternal employment. Helping parents with punishingly high childcare costs appeals to and supports those on modest incomes – the so-called ‘blue-collar’ voters – that Conservatives still need to woo. Nothing quite encapsulates the modernisation of the Tory party as its growing enthusiasm for childcare. The Conservatives no longer want to be seen simply as the flag-waver for a traditional family setup. Instead, they aspire to be the party for working people. No yearning for yesteryear, but enthusiastically supporting two-earner couples that are increasingly the norm, out of choice and

Nick Clegg appeared on LBC this morning to take part in his first interview since his party’s defeat at the polls. With the host Nick Ferrari taking questions from listeners, Clegg was subjected to a mix of abuse and praise from Londoners. However, there was one question in particular which struck a nerve with the former Liberal Democrat leader. A caller by the name of Liam asked Clegg if he had personally spoken to each Lib Dem MP who lost their seat in the election: NC: After the election? Yes I spoke to them all, left messages with them. Liam can I ask why you’re so interested in that? L:

While the media has been focused on the Labour leadership contest, the Liberal Democrats are also shuffling closer to choosing their new leader. The ballot papers are being sent out tomorrow and the winner will be announced three weeks from now. The Libs have a choice between Norman Lamb, the former care minister who is energetically defending the Lib Dem’s record in office, and Tim Farron, the party’s former president who is arguing a lot needs to change. Farron and Lamb appeared on the Victoria Derbyshire show today for a gentle debate, both admitting there was ‘not a lot’ they disagree on. Both defended the Liberal Democrats’ decision to enter into coalition with

With taxpayers currently facing the prospect of a £3 billion bill in order to stop Parliament turning into a ‘ruin’, perhaps it’s time the Speaker took a note out of Baroness Benjamin’s book in order to reduce the cost to the taxpayer. During a Walking with the Wounded charity cricket match at the weekend, Floella Benjamin managed to tempt a bidder to pay £800 for a tour of the crumbling building. ‘You realise that the Houses of Parliament soon will not be occupied by either the Lords or the MPs, so this is actually a chance to see something before it is restored,’ she told an audience which included Nick Compton and Lady Kitty Spencer. The Lib

When you’re a smaller party I think it naturally gives you an understanding of what it feels like to be an underdog, and a passion to level the playing field. For too long, small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) – independent traders, the self-employed, local businesses – have been neglected by the two bigger parties. Labour remains in hock to the trade unions; the Tories genuflect before big business. The liberal tradition is anti-monopoly, pro-competition and supports the promotion of fairness for all. So which party will stand up for the UK’s 1.2 million small businesses? The plumber who gets up at the crack of dawn to do their accounts, the young

I spotted the Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Tim Farron in a pub on Whitehall, enjoying half a pint of lager and nachos with fellow party activists after marching in defence of the Human Rights Act. He kindly agreed to speak to The Spectator and you can watch above what we discussed. As part of his leadership campaign, Farron, who remains the bookies’ favourite, has suggested the party must focus on particular campaigns and causes instead of acting like a traditional small political party. Human rights is one topic in particular he feels will motivate activists and believes that the party’s efforts so far helped to keep a British Bill of Rights out of the Queen’s Speech: ‘I think

Could there be a sadder sight today than Nick Clegg, intervening on behalf of his now tiny ‘minor party’ in the Queen’s Speech debate? The Lib Dem leader is responding to this afternoon, his first intervention since the general election, and plans to use his slot to complain that the Tories are already turning their backs on the ‘clear thread of liberalism’ that his party installed in the government. He will say: ‘So it is dispiriting – if pretty unsurprising – to see how quickly, instead of building on those achievements, the new Conservative Government is turning its back on that liberal stance.’ The ex-Lib Dem leader will add that

Pressure is growing on Alistair Carmichael, the former Scotland Secretary and only Lib Dem north of the border, to resign his seat after an official investigation proved he lied about leaking a confidential memo during the election campaign. The SNP are aiming for him in today’s Observer, with deputy leader Stewart Hosie saying ‘Mr Carmichael has no credibility in continuing as an MP and in my opinion he should stand down’. Arguably, this shouldn’t be a matter for his party or the Commons to decide any more. We now have parliamentary recall, a bill passed at the end of the last parliament to allow ordinary constituents to trigger a by-election.

During the election campaign the Telegraph reported that Nicola Sturgeon wanted David Cameron to remain Prime Minister, after a memo was leaked to them which included an account of a private conversation between Sturgeon and the French Ambassador. Naturally, the SNP leader was furious and demanded an inquiry. The Cabinet Office has now finished their investigation and concluded that the former Scotland Secretary Alistair Carmichael and his spad Euan Roddin were responsible for the leak. When asked about the leak at the time, Carmichael said that ‘The first I heard of this was when I received a phone call from a journalist’: Interestingly, the Cabinet Office has confirmed that the memo did exist and the civil servant believes it was an accurate representation of Sturgeon’s conversation: