The Single Tier Pension - Another Lib Dem Gain

Like our tax code, pension provision in the UK has grown in a piecemeal, ad hoc way. Problems in the system have been addressed as they come up with little notice taken of the effect on the overall system, and little care taken to prevent the system becoming over-bureaucratic. Indeed, given that many reforms originate with the bureaucrats, this has, perhaps, been part of the intention; whilst the political interventions have often fallen victim to the law of unintended consequences.

For some decades now, the state pension has had two elements - the Basic State Pension with entitlement based on the number of years of National Insurance Contributions made and a second tier: first GMP, then the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) and latterly the State Second Pension (S2P).

These second tier pensions were related to earnings (within certain bands) over the working lifetime. Since the late eighties up until last year, it was possible to opt-out of SERPS and use National Insurance rebates to buy alternative private pension provision. The advisability of this varied dependent on circumstances and actuarial forecasts - but that is another story!*

Under Labour, "Pension Credits" were introduced - these were payable to pensioners on low incomes in order to top-up the State Pension. They were, however, withdrawn through the use of a taper where a pensioner had alternative savings and private pension income. The effect of this was to penalise personal pension provision and saving for retirement - particularly at the low end of the pension income spectrum.

The Liberal Democrat manifesto at the last election committed the party to a "Citizens Pension" payable at the level of the pension credit, when resources allowed. The single-tier pension is very similar and the aim is for it to come into force in April 2017: There was no equivalent in the Conservative Manifesto (which committed to protecting the value of Pension Credits) or the Coalition Agreement; this is a coalition policy, yes, but it has heritage on the Liberal Democrat side of the Coalition.

In a letter to Lib Dem members, Steve Webb MP, Pensions Minister said:

"The single-tier pension is a fairer way of ensuring people will get a decent pension in their old age. It will treat men and women equally for the first time and will value unpaid caring work just as much as a high-flying city job. That is why the big winners will be women, carers and some low earners who haven’t previously received much in the way of earnings-related state pension. 

This new ‘single-tier’ pension has much in common with the long-cherished Liberal Democrat goal of a Citizen’s Pension. The basic idea is that someone starting work under the new rules will build up just one state pension. We are ending the fiendishly complex system of two state pensions and tax credits that Labour presided over. 

Our reforms go back to William Beveridge’s original idea of the modern state pension. Beveridge had envisaged a single, simple, decent state pension, paid after a lifetime of National Insurance Contributions. It will be set above the level of the basic means-test (currently £142.70 per week) and the full rate will be payable for 35 years of National Insurance Contributions. 

Successive governments tinkered with the state pension. That means we now have a system the Pensions Commission declared as one of the most complex in the world. Worse still, the current system actually discourages some people from putting anything aside. 

As the plans I unveiled today show, it doesn’t have to be like that in the future. Another example of Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government delivering a truly radical reform, and one that we can be proud of."

Andrew

*For the avoidance of confusion, I should point out that the ending of "Contracting Out" was introduced by Labour and carried through by the Coalition.

£14,815,000 for Schools in Bristol

Find out how much the Pupil Premium is worth in area or school by clicking here.

David Laws, Minister of State (Schools) at the Department of Education has today announced another step forward in the funding of the Liberal Democrat's Pupil Premium which channels extra funding to schools based on the number of pupils claiming (or having claimed in the past 5 years) free school meals.

The premium for 2013/14 will be £900 per pupil (worth £1.875bn according to this briefing from the Department for Education - as opposed to the figure on the above link - although I believe the latter may include the cost of other related schemes). This is an increase from £623 in 2012/13 and a step towards a target of channelling £2.5bn in this way.

The beauty of the Pupil Premium is that it is an additional sum for the school to use in the way they best see fit. There is no central dictation of how to spend the funds so they can be used for the general good of all the pupils or in a more targeted way. Outcomes are monitored by Ofsted, though, so any spending should have a measurable result.

It's another example of a thoroughly progressive measure being pushed from the Liberal Democrat Manifesto, through the coalition agreement and into practice by Lib Dems in Government. In hard and austere times, we are - contrary to the popular narrative - working to introduce fairness into the system. We can't always be successful but we can make our successes count. 

Andrew

Election Broadcast

In common with every other Lib Dem Blogger, here's the Local election Broadcast which succinctly outlines some of the key achievements in National Government. I particularly like Nick Clegg's comment that

"we should make sure that tax cuts are aimed at people on middle and lower incomes and I just want us to move the tax system in a direction where there is less tax on income, effort and work and more tax on wealth and the wealthy."

The video is light on achievements in Local Government - I assume these will be elaborated on later in campaign and by local parties - but party members got an e-mail from Jo Swinson MP today which outlined some of these too:

Unlike Labour and the Conservatives, every Liberal Democrat council in England has frozen council tax.

Also, according to the Local Government Chronicle, Liberal Democrat councils are twice as likely to give pay rises to low paid workers compared to Labour and five times more likely than the Conservatives.

Anyway, here's the video:

Andrew

What will YOU do with YOUR Sixty Pounds?

This is another post about the Liberal Democrats push to increase the Personal Allowance towards (and beyond) £10,000. I make no apologies for that, although I do promise to focus on other things in future posts.

I mentioned in this post about Caron Lindsay's idea that we should relate the figures of tax saved to real-life examples of what this money could be spent on. It appears that Caron's wise words have been listened to by the party as members got an e-mail from Party President, Tim Farron on Friday.

In it he discussed this issue and launched a website encouraging people to think about how they would spend an extra £60 a month. (This represents* the basic rate tax saved by increasing the Annual Allowance from £6,475 when the coalition took power - which was unchanged from previous year - to £10,000.)

So what are you doing with the £16.67 you're already saving in income tax each month? What would you do with an additional £43.33?

For myself, it'd make things a bit more comfortable while I pay down debt and save for a trip to Australia. I appreciate, though, that that isn't going to help with an economic stimulus, so I shall also purchase new clothes, which are even more desperately needed now I've lost over a stone in weight!

You can respond here and say what you would do? Note that the website asks for an e-mail address which is, presumably, for authentication purposes but may also lead to you being added to a mailing list.

Once you've completed the form, the site will also give you information about the impact of the policy locally. In Bristol, 16,200 people will be taken out of Income Tax altogether.

Andrew

*Pedants note - the actual figure before rounding is £58.75.

Sooo... What have the Liberal Democats achieved in Government?

I recently posted a piece which had a link to Mark Pack's Facebook page where he is posting an achievement for the Lib Dems in government every day. Today, though, he has published this 'infographic' which pinpoints a number of the party's policies which are now being enacted.

You can visit Mark's site here, where you can see a larger version and also sign up to his excellant monthly e-mail.

Andrew

Winning the Arguments on Tax (2)

Earlier this week, over on Lib Dem Voice, Stephen Tall reported on a ComRes poll for the Independent which saw 60% of respondents agreeing with the proposition:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? People on high incomes should pay more in tax in order to take people on the lowest incomes out of tax altogether.

As Stephen points out, this isn't quite Lib Dem policy (which is to seek to tax wealth whilst taking lower income families out of tax) but it does show a general support for the principle of the state seeking to supporting those with the lowest income and wealth in society through the taxation system.

Stephen provides some analysis of the figures, based on the poll's tables (which you can find here). 

I'd like to add a couple of points:

The tables show the policy is supported by a majority in each social group although this support is weaker amongst those in the "higher" groups. 

More surprisingly, though, support is weakest amongst younger people, who would be amongst the likely beneficiaries, which suggests a (probably general) need for greater engagement with these (18-24 and 25-34) age-groups.

There's a few other points that are thrown up in the tables but which probably fall outside of the remit of this blog - you may find another post on the subject appearing over on the the widow's world sometime!

Andrew

Winning the Arguments on Tax

Courtesy of Mark Pack's Facebook page, which is a fabulous resource for Lib Dem related (and general political) news, here's a link to a photo of The Times' editorial yesterday which considers favourably the principles underlying Lib Dem tax policy: a presumption towards the taxation of wealth as opposed to income.

And it's not just The Times: Tim Montgomerie of Conservative Home also advocates tax cuts and (an element) of increased Wealth Taxes, although he comes at this from a somewhat different angle.Tory MP Mark Reckless has popped up on the wireless advocating Council Tax rebanding and closing of Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax loopholes. The Spectator has an interesting report on two papers from the OECD which would also appear to support this position.

Of course, there are still a number of disenting voices on the right... you can always rely on The Telegraph to see moves to rebalancing the burden of taxation as "cynical targetting of the better off"...

Andrew

Every action...

...has an equal and opposite reaction. It's an irrefutable law of physics (at least for now, although we did think that nothing could travel faster of light and that is now being questioned...)

It could also be a law of coalition politics - the Tories and Lib Dems are able to press ahead on things on which they agree and give way on other things with with which they don't. Earlier on Facebook, Caron Lindsay posted a link to this Huffington Post piece by Louise Phillips which deals with exactly this. Every time you hear a Lib Dem talk about increases in personal allowances remember that Tories gave up plans to increase the Inheritance Tax Nil Rate Band, (re-)introduce Married Couples Allowances or remove the current 50% "Additional Tax" band.

Caron being Caron, though, she didn't leave it at a just a Facebook link - she's written her own excellent post on the subject. She succinctly points out that the reduced tax has been swamped by people's experience of high inflation and wonders whether it is better presenting the facts as practical examples of what this could have purchased rather than just pounds and pence.

As inflation comes down and this year's annual allowance increase (whether that be the £8,105 previously announced or a new, higher figure urged on Osborne by Lib Dem ministers) kicks in, she'll have to think of bigger examples of how the Liberal Democrats are making a positive difference to people's take home pay, and their monthly finances.

Andrew

Les Ebdon appointed by Vince Cable

Today, the (Lib Dem) Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary, Vince Cable, appointed Les Ebdon as the head of the new Office for Fair Access (OFFA), the body charged with safeguarding and promoting  fair access to Universities and helping ensure that admission policies do not unfairly discriminate against those in state schools or from less privileged backgrounds.

Tory backbenchers (as well as Michael Gove and, it is said, David Cameron) were against the move, and the right-wing media are crying foul. These pieces, from The Telegraph and The Spectator, are especially sneering (written, coincidentally, by former pupils at, respectively, Eton and Winchester who both studied at Cambridge). Much is made of the rejection of his candidature by the BIS select committee.

These protests smack of faux-indignation at a Government minister rejecting the wishes of parliamentarians and completely overlooking the fact - despite the fact the committee is finally balanced with 5 Tories, 5 Labour and 1 Lib Dem - the sections in the report which specifically questioned Mr Ebdon's suitability were voted down by Conservative members.

The truth is that the idea of a Lib Dem Secretary (with the support of his Tory minister, David Willetts) exercising their right to appoint the person they see most fit for the job. At least two of those committee members - Margot James and Nadhim Zahawi - come from precisely the privately educated, Russell Group University background* that breeds the sort of advantage that Mr Ebdon role seeks to help redress. A group that seem to want to keep the insular cloistered world of the Elite Institutions both insular and cloistered.

I can't pretend to know anything about the merits or otherwise of Mr Ebdon as a candidate, per se, but it does seem from a relatively casual reading of the situation, that Mr Cable has been right in asserting his ministerial power. Judging by the howls of protest from the right, I'm almost certain he is. If so, he has done so at the expense of a conservative/Conservative establishment who seem not to recognise a problem in the system, let alone desire any kind of remedial action.

Andrew

P.S. Lord Bonkers over at Liberal England has written an interesting piece on current University admission policies and contrasts it with his own experiences in the 1970's.

*In fairness, Simon Kirby, who also voted against Mr Ebdon, did not have a private or "elite" education. I couldn't find any information on Rebecca Harris' background.

16 Good Things... and counting daily!

It's been a while, but look out for more frequent posts going forward...

This post is to a couple of links which may be of interest... First, with a hat-tip to the great Jennie Rigg upon whose blog I found this link, a blogpost by Andrew Hickey: Sixteen good things the Lib Dems have achieved..

The second link is to Mark Pack's e-mail newsletter's Facebook page where he is posting a daily Lib Dem achievement - you can "like" it here.

Andrew

P.S. There is still the odd political post over on the widow's world too...

The Pupil Premium

One of the biggest achievements of the Liberal Democrats in this government is pushing through the introduction of the "Pupil Premium". Whilst this was in both party's manifestos, the Tory commitment was much less specific than the Lib Dem's policy as I discussed here.

Today the Department for Education announced that next year a total of £1.25bn will be available for the programme, partly due to a reduction in the number of pupils claiming free school meals, with the figure increasing to £2.5bn in 2014-15. This is important as £2.5bn was the commitment in the Liberal Democrat's manifesto.

But what does £2.5bn mean in practice? Too often we hear governments and others bandy around large figures out of context in the hope that their size alone will impress. In my constituency (Bristol South) the Premium will amount to £1.84m - again hard to assess given the size of the constituency and number of schools involved.

Fortunately, the government is being open about the funding formula: an extra £488 for every pupil on free school meals, aggregated and paid on a per-school basis.

This money can be spent as the school feels fit but there is no doubt that this measure is a real attempt to target funding at those areas of need - a point addressed in this letter to party members from Sarah Teather MP, Minister of State for Children and Families (pictured above):

"Dear Andrew,

Liberal Democrats have always believed that education is the engine of social mobility, now we are making it happen.

Today the Government released the final Pupil Premium figures for every English local authority, constituency and school. I am delighted to announce that every school this year will receive an extra £488 for each child on free school meals they have on their roll.

Schools in your constituency of Bristol South are getting an extra £1,840,000 from the Pupil Premium to improve the education of the most disadvantaged children. You can find out what each school in your council area is getting by clicking here.

This is a real milestone for our party. The Pupil Premium is a policy we devised and campaigned for, and put at the heart of our Coalition negotiations. Now it is more than good policy, it is a reality making a difference to the school down your road. It goes directly into classrooms and will benefit all pupils.

It is also a milestone in breaking the link between poverty and achievement, tackling Labour’s shocking legacy where the richest 16-year olds are three times as likely to get five good GCSEs as the poorest.

This is just the start. We know that some families eligible for free school meals don’t claim them, for example, because some don’t know they can, and so their schools are missing out on funding. We also need to find out what schools are doing that’s really making a difference.

If you’d like to help, you could contact your local school to find out how they are using their Pupil Premium funding, and how they are making sure they are reaching every child.

Together, we can ensure every child is able to fulfil their potential.

Thank you

Sarah Teather MP
Minister of State, Department for Education"

This is a major achievement of being in coalition - and deserves to be shouted from the rooftops for the next 3 and a half years.

Andrew

The Green Edition

Yesterday I along with, presumably everyone else on the Lib Dem membership e-mail list, received an e-mail from Simon Hughes (in his capacity as President of the Green Lib Dems) with regard to the party's achievements on Green Issues. Unfortunately I didn't have time to blog last night, so here I am, at the coo's tail as usual.

Those of you who follow Caron's Musings may already have seen her take on the e-mail which got her on the wrong foot from the off - and with good reason. Here, however, is the main text, complete with the links provided. 

Two weeks ago, Chris Huhne, as Energy and Climate Change Secretary, led for the government when his Department's Energy Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons. This creates the framework for the Green Deal, a comprehensive programme of energy efficiency improvements for housing and office buildings, cutting both energy bills and emissions. Householders and business will be able to see up to £10,000 invested in insulation, at no up-front cost, paying back the investment through the lower energy bills they will enjoy as a result.

Last week, Chris Huhne announced the government’s ‘carbon budget’ for the mid-2020s, setting a legal requirement for a 50 per cent reduction (from 1990) by 2025. This creates the certainty businesses need to put in place long-term investments in the expanding low-carbon industries – renewable electricity, electric cars, home insulation. This is the most ambitious legally binding carbon budget set by any government anywhere; and by putting the UK at the forefront of the international debate, we will be able to push the EU and the international community towards further emissions cuts world-wide.

And this week, Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, revealed details of the Green Investment Bank, the world’s first green development bank. Up and running from April 2012, this will use an initial £3 billion of public money to lever an additional £15 billion in private investment towards the low-carbon opportunities that are opening up – particularly in offshore wind and energy efficiency.

I was this party’s first environment spokesman over twenty years ago. It makes me proud to see what so many of us campaigned for all those years ago being made a reality now we’re in government. This is a key part of what we Liberal Democrats bring to the coalition, and none of this would have happened without us. As Nick said yesterday, ‘the LibDems have long been the greenest of the main three parties - the difference now is that it is not just a green party but a green party of government’.

Simon Hughes MP

Over on Lord Bonkers' blog, he has an excerpt from a very favourable report on these developments - from the Telegraph, believe it or not!


Andrew

In Which Every Party Gains (or should have...)

Here are excerpts from the three main party manifestos for the last election, in no particular order. See if you can work out which is which:

"We will work to build a consensus for a mainly-elected second chamber to replace the current House of Lords, recognising that an efficient and effective second chamber should play an important role in our democracy and requires both legitimacy and public confidence."

"We will ensure that the hereditary principle is removed from the House of Lords. Further democratic reform to create a fully elected Second Chamber will then be achieved in stages. At the end of the next Parliament one third of the House of Lords will be elected; a further one third of members will be elected at the general election after that. Until the final stage, the representation of all groups should be maintained in equal proportions to now. We will consult widely on these proposals, and on an open-list proportional representation electoral system for the Second Chamber, before putting them to the people in a referendum."

"Replace the House of Lords with a fully-elected second chamber with considerably fewer members than the current House."

The answer? The first is the Conservative Manifesto, the second is the Labour Manifesto and the, third curiously, is the Liberal Democrat one. 

There is something slightly odd about the fact that this one of the key policies and long-standing policies of the party be reduced to just 19 words (plus a further 5 in the summary of key priorities) but perhaps this a measure of how straightforward the policy was - simply an elected second chamber with no ifs, buts or further qualification.

The Labour proposals appear to be more thorough but the commitment was to consult on their proposals before putting them to the public in a referendum (along with AV) so this was rather less a cut and dried policy as it would seem at first reading.

Today the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (with the apparent wholehearted backing of the Prime Minster) has published a draft bill and white paper detailing proposed reforms. You can get more details by following the link, and on this BBC News report, but this excerpts summarises the proposals:

"The draft Bill sets out firm proposals, while the White Paper considers alternative options on which the Government remains open-minded.

The Government is committed to a wholly or mainly elected chamber and both options are reflected in what is published today.

The draft Bill illustrates how a reformed House of Lords with 80 per cent of elected members could look, with the remaining 20 per cent appointed independently to sit as cross-benchers. Alongside this, the White Paper sets out the case for a 100 per cent elected chamber."

Overall, what is being proposed is similar to what was in the Labour manifesto but, unfortunately, they have not responded favourably. Instead the progressive agenda is being carried forward by a Conservative/Lib Dem government.

In one respect this would appear not to be a Lib Dem Gain - after all the draft bill is for a majority rather than wholly elected house and every party accepts the need for reform - but the win is House of Lords reform at all. It is the presence of the Lib Dems in the coalition that has driven this forward - without us it may well have been kicked into the long grass or faced the same fate as every previous attempt at reform over the past 100 years.

Andrew

Nick lists some Lib Dem Achievements...

In a post here on Wednesday I mentioned Nick Clegg's speech at the National Liberal Club, marking the first anniversary of the coalition government. As part of that speech he discussed what he sees as some of the challenges for the party and for coalition government in the next few years as well as listing some of the Liberal Democrat successes achieved so far.

Many of these have already been mentioned on this blog, but here is a list of the things Nick chose to highlight in his speech:

"...cutting income tax for ordinary taxpayers

ending child detention 

increasing the state pension 

introducing free nursery education for disadvantaged 2 year olds 

adding a quarter of a million apprenticeships 

increasing tax on capital gains 

reining in the banks

creating a Green Investment Bank and a green deal

getting more money into schools to help poorer pupils."

 

Earlier, there was an interesting section of the speech emphasising the Lib Dem's strength on the the economy in the last parliament and giving a vision of a rebalanced economy for the future:

"But we also needed a Government willing to embark on the long-term changes necessary to fix the economy for the future. Short-term repair and long-term reform: that’s the Liberal Democrat economic agenda in government.

... 

The Liberal Democrats were in the lead in identifying what was wrong with the economy long before the last election. The dangers of the deficit, for one: in fact I remember being criticised for warning of the depth of the cuts that would be required.

But we have also been warning for years about the way in which the economy had become dangerously lopsided; too reliant on London and the South East; pumped up on private and public debt; at the mercy of an under-regulated banking sector; and struggling with a creaking infrastructure.

It is this Liberal Democrat analysis of what is wrong with the economy that underpins the Government’s approach to putting it right.

Reform of the banking system. A Regional Growth Fund to support businesses across the nation. A Green Investment Bank to build the green infrastructure needed to cut carbon emissions.

In short, a rewiring of the economy to ensure sustainable, balanced growth."

Andrew

Accentuating the Positive

There hasn't been a lot for the Liberal Democrats to cheer about in the past couple of weeks and the blogosphere is awash with analysis of where we're at and how we remedy the situation. An excellent post in this regard can be found at Caron's Musings in which she reacts to Nick Clegg's speech this morning.

One of the key factors which has been identified for rebuilding the electoral base is the communication of the positive impact of the party on the coalition - not just on our pet issues but also on those issue which resonate most with the public. I think Caron's picked a particularly unsung Lib Dem Gain in the example she uses here:

"By suggesting that the Liberal Democrats be more assertive about their differences he makes it sound like we need to argue our case more in the Government. It's more that we have to do it in public. I know that our ministers have robustly fought and won arguments within the Government. Remember that mad idea of Osborne's of cutting Housing Benefit for people out of work for a year? That's gone. And who got rid of it? I'll give you a clue. It wasn't any Tory. It was our ministers calmly and feistily acting on behalf of the poorest and most vulnerable."

Over on Stephen's Liberal Journal, in his post reacting to Clegg's speech, he lists some of the issues and areas where the Lib Dem influence on Government policy has been stronger and gives the lie to Conservative claims that this is not the case (reported here):

"David Cameron is denying claims that Lib Dems have "moderated" the Conservative agenda. So Dave, as the Browne report suggested uncapped tuition fees, would the debacle of yesterday where [it was suggested] students paid full fees have become a reality for all without Lib Dem intervention? Would this have been brought in without any requirement on the Universities to help the poorer students into Higher Education? Would the income tax threshold have risen so far ahead of inflation, to ease the burden of your VAT increase on the poorest families? Would you have returned pensions in line with earnings, something your party has said for a long time they were against?"

There's a mountain to climb, and many other electoral tests to come, but there is also a lot of positive things to shout about even if things may have been somewhat negative of late. As well as learning the various lessons of last Thursday, we cannot and should not forget them. And we should communicate them as widely as possible.

Andrew

P.S. Stephen's post also features a bit of classic New Romantics in direct contravention of what Nick says about not going back to the Eighties! :-p

Lib Dem Gains - Bristol Edition

Earlier today I, along with party members throughout the UK, got an e-mail from Nick Clegg's office which outlined how some Liberal Democrat gains will impact on local areas - in my case, the City of Bristol. As a result, here's a special local edition of Lib Dem Gains:

• 158,000 people are getting a £200 income tax cut (a move which benefits 23 million people across the country
• 4,700 people have been lifted out of paying income tax altogether, with more to come
• £625 million extra has gone to Bristol schools, aimed at the most disadvantaged pupils and set to rise to £2.5 billion a year by 2015
• 64,800 pensioners have been given an extra £4.50 a week – and those retiring from today will be on average £15,000 better off over their retirement.

For those of you in Scotland, or otherwise interested in Scottish politics, mosey on over to Caron's Musings for a list of the gains that could be had from voting Lib Dem there this year.

Feel free to add your own local figures in the comments section, too.

Andrew

What The Hell Have The Lib Dems Done?

The aim of this blog is to document some of the gains made for Liberal Democratic principles and policies in government - either through specific articles or links other places where these are being celebrated.

While I've been without a computer, I became aware of WhatTheHellHaveTheLibDemsDone.com and am now, rather late in the day, able to blog about it. It's a fantastic randomiser of the party's achievements, complete with chapter and verse from the Manifesto.

Click here for the randomiser itemising the many things the Lib Dems have done in government - some of which have been featured on these very pages!

You can also follow it's creator, @william_summers on Twitter.

Andrew

Human Trafficking and Student Visas

There have been two quiet, but significant, wins for the Lib Dems in government in the above areas. These are that Britain will cease to opt out of the EU directive on Human Trafficking and there will not be a cap on the number of Student Visas granted. Both of these policies are Liberal Democrat in origin.

I'm not going to go into detail as thas been done better elsewhere. Specifically:

• Politics Home
• Nick Thornsby's blog (and h/t to him for the tweet that's prompted this post)
• Caron's Musings
• Mark Pack's blog

Andrew

No withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights

You know what it's like, you wait ages for a post to come along and then two come along at once...

The Guardian reports today that withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights will not be an option for consideration by the convention the Government is establishing to explore a UK Bill of Rights despite this being an aim of the Tory right. The commission will also report to Justice Secretary Ken Clarke and Nick Clegg, rather than the Home or Foreign Secretaries.

"Clegg won his battle largely because the coalition agreement, negotiated in haste in the immediate aftermath of the general election, makes it clear that the coalition should not seek to withdraw from the convention. It states: 'We will establish a commission to investigate the creation of a British Bill of Rights that incorporates and builds on all our obligations under the European convention on human rights, ensures that these rights continue to be enshrined in British law, and protects and extends British liberties.'"

 The article also points out that this will 

"effectively [leave] prime minister David Cameron with the option of preparing his own party's proposals for the 2015 general election manifesto."

...and for the Liberal Democrats to develop their own policies also.

You can read the article in full here.

Andrew

P.S. Hat-tip to @NickThornsby on Twitter for the link.

Lib Dem Gains... in the words of Nick Clegg

I know posts here are sporadic but that doesn't meant that I don't believe the Liberal Democrats aren't achieving things in this government. It merely means that my focus has been on other things and that I've not used previous posts in quite the way I anticipated - e.g. as providing a brief digest of coverage on various issues elsewhere.

Anyway, this post comes on the heals of Nick Clegg's closing speech to the Spring Conference, which has garnered much coverage elsewhere. I therefore invite you to visit the party website for the text of the speech, Nick Thornsby's blog for his excerpt and brief analysis of the achievements of the past year and Lib Dem Voice for a summation of key points. 

Also worth a visit are Caron's Musings who has published excerpts with the promise of more analysis later - if you don't already follow her blog, you probably should - and Spiderplant Land where you'll find the text of Nick's opening speech to conference.

Andrew

Update: Virtually Naked also now has a brief assessment of Nick Clegg and the speech.