10 Most Recent Stories From News from the Liberal Democrats

Tue 2nd Dec 2008:

Nick Clegg: What should be in the Queen's Speech .

In an exclusive video, Nick Clegg talks about what should be in this year's Queen's Speech following the disappointment of the Pre-Budget Report. Visit the film on YouTube to rate it and leave your comments.

Clegg: Join me this Saturday at the National Climate Change March.

In these troubled economic times many politicians are all too willing to forget about crucial environmental issues. Our party is standing firm on our principles. In Parliament Square, London on the afternoon of Saturday December 6th I'll be speaking at the National Climate Change March to make it clear that the Liberal Democrats remain the only mainstream party willing to take the tough choices to safeguard our environment. Liberal Youth along with elected Liberal Democrats from across the country are going to be leading the Liberal Democrat contingent on the march. They are meeting at 11.30am at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. I know that many Liberal Democrat members are already planning on going to this important event. I hope that you can make it too. We want as many Liberal Democrats on the march as possible in order to demonstrate clearly our dedication to the environmental cause. At Westminster we have been leading the way on strengthening the Government's Climate Change Bill and Energy Bill. On climate change we tabled the successful amendment to increase the target for CO2 cuts by 2050 from 60% to 80%, and helped to ensure that international aviation and shipping emissions are reflected in the targets. We also backed successful amendments to the Energy Bill to bring in a system of 'feed-in tariffs' where individuals and communities will get a guaranteed price for the renewable energy they generate. Without Liberal Democrat pressure in the Commons and the Lords, it is unlikely that any of these changes would have been made. We must keep up that pressure to ensure that the environment remains right at the top of the political agenda. This march is a chance to do that. Best wishes, Nick Clegg MP Leader of the Liberal Democrats    

Sat 29th Nov 2008:

Clegg: When did it become a crime to hold the Government to account?

When opposition politicians heard about Damian Green's arrest, many of us asked ourselves the same question: "When did it become a crime to hold the Government to account?" We already operate in a system where Parliament is effectively neutered, little more than a rubber stamp for legislation that ministers have already decided. Throwing a spotlight on information the Government would rather keep hidden is an essential part of our democracy. And when dealing with an administration legendary for its secrecy, you increasingly have to rely on whistle-blowers to see the full picture. We already operate in a system where Parliament is effectively neutered, little more than a rubber stamp for legislation that ministers have already decided. Our political system is already in deep trouble: sinking public confidence in MPs, feeble parliamentary scrutiny, a rigid culture of Whitehall secrecy, and an electoral system that hands unprecedented powers to governments freed from any meaningful scrutiny from other parties. This unprecedented arrest is a wake-up call. We must save our broken democracy. Best wishes, Nick Clegg  

Thu 27th Nov 2008:

Pre-Budget Report debate: Cable slams unfair taxes and banks that won’t lend.

Vince Cable The controversial Pre-Budget Report (PBR) became the subject of an emergency debate in the House of Commons, as Liberal Democrat MPs called for a right to vote on the Chancellor’s proposals. Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable gave a comprehensive response to the PBR, criticising in particular the Government's optimistic growth figures and drastic cuts in future public spending. He said the 16% cut in public spending to be introduced over the next 3 years made "complete nonsense of the Government's claim to be borrowing to invest... How on earth is this supposed to stimulate the economy?" Housing, he said, should be an area where the Government increase expenditure to take advantage of the current fall in market prices. By objecting to the fiscal stimulus, Vince said the Tories were ignoring a fundamental duty "in times of war and slump to sustain the economy". "Governments have a responsibility. That is most obviously the case in war. Nobody expected that Mr. Churchill would stand up and say, "Sorry, we can't keep on fighting on the beaches because there is growing worry in the gilts market about the rising cost of ammunition." In emergency situations, Governments have to act, and although this is not war, it is an economic emergency and it requires drastic action." He pointed out the incoming Obama Administration are considering a fiscal stimulus 20 to 25 times bigger than the British Government. Vince moved on to taxation measures in the PBR, reiterating Liberal Democrat policy that it is time for a "permanent tax cut for low-paid workers". He described the Government's new 45p top rate tax as "pure tokenism" and of "no economic significance", as high earners will now divert funds to their pension to avoid the top rate. Finally, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor reminded MPs of the need to get banks lending again: "The banks are conserving capital, they are hanging on and keeping the Government out of their affairs...From their own self-interested point of view, their approach is entirely rational, but collectively it is suicidal." Ahead of the debate Simon Hughes MP had raised a point of order, pressing for a vote on the floor of the House on the Government's tax proposals. The Lib Dems had earlier proposed a ‘prayer' that the VAT changes be rejected. Denied this, the Lib Dems forced a vote at the end of the general PBR debate, on the technical question of whether ‘the question be now put' - that is, whether the debate move to a vote on the Government's proposals. Labour and Conservative MPs voted together to reject this.   Read the full debate here Read Vince Cable's full speech here

PMQs: Clegg tells PM - VAT cut will not benefit low earners.

Nick Clegg Bournemouth 2008 Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg MP, has criticised the Pre-Budget Report, saying the VAT cut will not benefit hard-pressed families. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he called for genuine fairness in the tax system, tax cuts for low earners and a removal of tax loopholes. Read the full exchange below:  Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): May I add my own expressions of sympathy and condolence to the family and friends of Marine Alexander Lucas, who tragically lost his life in Afghanistan? As a Sheffield Member, I am sure that I speak on behalf of the whole House and everyone in Sheffield when I say how horrified we all were to hear of the terrible abuse suffered by two daughters at the hands of their own father. We hope that the victims will now have the time, the space and the privacy to rebuild their lives. In his pre-Budget report the Chancellor mentioned fairness eight times, but, as always with this Government, it pays to read the small print. The Chancellor's VAT cut will benefit big spenders much more than it will benefit hard-pressed families. His national insurance hike will hit millions of low earners. That is not fairness; it is a betrayal. The Chancellor had the chance to make our tax system fairer. Why did he blow it? The Prime Minister: I join the right hon. Gentleman in saying that the whole House, and indeed the whole country, will be outraged by the unspeakable events that have been reported as having happened in Sheffield and other parts of the country, and utterly appalled by the news of the systematic abuse of two sisters by their father over such a long period. A serious case review is under way. It must involve all the authorities: social services, police and health. They have been in contact with the sisters, who are rightly protected from the media for the sake of their privacy and confidentiality. People will rightly want to know how such abuse could go on for so long without the authorities and the wider public services discovering it and taking action. If there is a change to be made in the system and if the system has failed, we will change the system as a result of the inquiries. As for fairness, we have raised the pension by £4.55, and we have raised it from January. We have raised child benefit to £20, and we have raised it from January. We have raised child credit and pension credit, and we are continuing to raise them to take pensioners and children out of poverty. The best that we can do is continue the policies that have taken children and pensioners out of poverty, and not follow the right hon. Gentleman's policy of cutting £20 billion out of the public services. Mr. Clegg: I am grateful to the Prime Minister for what he said about the importance of the independent review asking all the questions that must be asked. On the issue of fairness, once again we have been given a list rather than an answer, and misleading bluster rather than a real response. The Prime Minister could give permanent big, fair tax cuts to millions of ordinary British taxpayers, if only he would close huge loopholes such as the £8 billion pension tax bonus for top earners, or the way in which millionaires can still receive their capital gains while paying much lower tax rates than their cleaners pay on their wages. He could have done that. Instead, he has toyed with the hopes of the British people. Why has he let them down? The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman seems to forget that we are giving real help to families, and that we are giving that real help now. He may think that the pension is only £30, but I can tell him that we are raising the pension by a higher rate than in many years, that we are bringing that forward to January through a £60 payment, and that we are also helping children and families through this difficult time. The cut in VAT will benefit low-income families, and the right hon. Gentleman should understand that that is the case. As for the loopholes in allowances, every year we take action on loopholes, and every year we take action when it comes to looking at where there are abuses of the system. The right hon. Gentleman should look at the proposals that have been put forward by the Chancellor, which will be debated in a few minutes. We are the party of fairness. A party proposing £20 billion of cuts is not a party of fairness. Click here to read Prime Minister's Questions in full

Tue 25th Nov 2008:

Clegg: Lack of men in childcare denies young children role models.

Too few men are working in childcare because of the stigma attached to men working with young children, Nick Clegg has said in a speech to the Daycare Trust. In a speech to the Daycare Trust about the vital importance of early years care, Nick Clegg will argue that the lack of men in the childcare workforce denies young children, especially those from single parent families, a mixture of role models. Men make up just 2% of early years childcare staff and only 1% of childminders. Advocating recruitment drives aimed at men, Nick Clegg will speak about his own experience as a father. In his speech, Nick Clegg said: “There is still a huge stigma attached to men wanting to work in childcare. Even just for men who want to take a more hands-on role in providing care for their own children. “I remember well when I first arrived at Westminster the strange looks I would get when I would miss a drink in the Commons bar so that I could put the kids to bed. “For men wanting to actually work in the field, the social disapproval, even hostility, that they often feel is a huge deterrent. “The Daycare Trust’s own research shows that one in four men would consider working in childcare. Sadly some worry that their motives would be viewed with suspicion. “Of those who have done it, some say the only way they were accepted was by being seen as ‘honorary women’, rather than as men with perfectly legitimate and important contributions to make. “Women have worked long and hard to get into professions that they were kept out of for years. And they are still working at it, that fight isn’t over; the pay gap proves it. “But we must extend the fight to include equal rights for men in the professions where they are excluded. “Children need a mixture of role models. And for the one million lone parent families in this country, a male presence in the childcare environment can be hugely positive.”

Mon 24th Nov 2008:

Pre-Budget Report: Darling's £5bn tax hike will hit low earners and business - Cable .

Vince Cable The Chancellor should have cut income tax to make the tax system permamently fairer, say the Liberal Democrats Commenting on today's Pre-Budget Report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The Government acknowledges that the UK tax system is inherently unfair, but then announces that it will hit those struggling to make ends meet with yet higher tax bills by increasing National Insurance. Everyone earning over £19,000 will be hit. "The new 45p Income Tax rate is nothing more than a fig leaf to cover a £5bn tax hike which will hit millions of low earners and businesses. "The Government has missed a golden opportunity to make the tax system permanently fairer which it could have done by cutting income taxes for those on low and middle incomes, paid for by getting rid of tax loopholes for the wealthy. "Instead of increasing investment in sustainable capital projects which benefit the country tomorrow as well as today, the Government has opted for a temporary cut in VAT which will benefit big spenders the most and not give the economy the boost it needs. "At a time of economic emergency, Gordon Brown has once again failed those who need help the most." Full text of Vince Cable's response to the statement in the House of Commons "Perhaps I may start with some of the positive points with which we can agree: the statement on repossessions, the action on small business lending, the programme on home improvement, and the postponement of the decision on retrospective vehicle excise duty. "This is not a normal pre-Budget statement. We are experiencing a national economic emergency, and what is required, alongside radical cuts in interest rates and radical action on bank lending, is a serious tax cut concentrating on the low paid. The Chancellor has based his plans essentially on a temporary small cut in value added tax. I note that he is relying on the advice of a former Conservative Chancellor, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke), in that regard. "What I fail to see is how the economy receives a major stimulus from, for example, a £5 cut in the price of a £220 imported flat-screen television or a 50p cut in a £25 restaurant bill. Surely it would be much more sensible to put money directly in the pockets of low-paid workers by cutting their income tax, rather than offering them a pathetic £25 and, if they earn over £20,000 a year, the prospect of tax increases. "The Government have at last, after 11 years, acknowledged that there is a problem of inequality relating to the tax system. What they propose is a higher rate of tax for very high earners, after two years-possibly. What is needed, surely, is a comprehensive approach which involves cutting income tax for low-paid middle-income families and removing the vast plethora of tax reliefs and allowances from which the wealthy benefit, rather than this very limited fig leaf for redistributive policy. "What I find wholly incredible about the statement are the assumptions that the Government make about the future trajectory of the economy. They simply assume that after one bad recession year there will be an economic recovery. Buried in the Red Book is the assumption that after next year, the public sector need make no contribution whatever to economic growth. However, the problem is a very deep one. This is not just a conventional recession. We do not just have the home-grown problem of the bursting housing bubble and personal debt; we have the imported credit crunch. "As far as the banks are concerned, the problem is very deep. The Prime Minister tours the world, a little bit like a celebrity heart surgeon, lecturing the uninitiated on how to carry out financial heart transplants, but meanwhile the patient back here is suffering very badly, because the banks are cutting credit and greatly increasing their margins. I welcome what the Chancellor said about the Royal Bank of Scotland's announcement yesterday; that was a positive step. I do not, however, know whether he is aware that today Barclays, whose balance sheet is twice as big as the Government's entire public debt, is in the process of negotiating a deal with Arab investors on such extortionate terms that it is bound to make a drastic reduction in bank lending at the expense of its British customers. It is all very well for the Government to say that they are setting up a panel to monitor bank credit, but what is the Chancellor doing to enforce the conditions that the banks have apparently agreed to? "I welcome some of the Government's comments on public investment, particularly on housing, but let us just consider the status of the Government's commitment on housing, with their £700 million programme of social housing. The Government have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Land is available very cheaply in the current market, and they could make a programme of large-scale social housing construction, meeting housing need and providing employment in the construction industry, but despite the rhetoric and the promises, virtually nothing is currently happening. It is not happening because the housing associations are loaded with bad debt that they acquired in dodgy deals with developers, and the Treasury is blocking any fundamental reform in the housing subsidy system. Nothing is happening. "To conclude, we have a very serious national economic crisis. The Conservatives do not acknowledge it, so they do not propose to do anything. The Government have rhetoric, but the rhetoric is not matched by their actions." 

Cable: Tax cuts must be fully funded and targeted at low and average income earners.

Vince Cable Speaking ahead of the Pre-Budget Report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "The Liberal Democrats welcome the Government's recognition that radical action is now needed, reflecting the dire and deteriorating position of the UK economy. But if the Government is going to borrow more money, this should be spent only on capital investment, not on short-term tax cuts. "What we really need is permanent fully funded tax cuts targeted at those on low and average incomes, through reductions in income tax, rather than giving a temporary VAT cut, which will primarily reward the big spenders who have loads of money. "There is also a very big danger that the benefits of any tax cuts will be more than cancelled out by the reduction in bank lending. "In his announcement tomorrow, Alistair Darling must make it clear that, having invested £37bn in recapitalising the banks as well as giving hundreds of billions in guarantees, the banks must maintain their lending, as they promised."  

Thu 20th Nov 2008:

PMQs: Clegg tells PM “to get tough on banks”.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg called upon the government to get tougher on banks refusing to lend, as small businesses continue to feel the effects of the economic crisis. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, he said local companies were being forced "out of business overnight" whilst the bankers could not believe their luck. He reiterated his call for the consideration of direct lending by government to small business that he had made earlier in the day on Radio 4's Today Programme. Read the full exchange below: Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): I would like to return to the bank bail-out plan. We supported that action because we were told that there would be strings attached-that the banks would be forced to lend. Yet every Member of this House will have heard about local companies receiving e-mails from their banks forcing them out of business overnight. What concrete evidence does the Prime Minister have to show that his bail-out plan is working? The Prime Minister: The first thing to do was to provide liquidity to the banking system. The second thing to do was to recapitalise the banks so that they would not collapse. Some of these banks would not be in existence today had we not taken the action that we did to recapitalise them. I am pleased that the right hon. Gentleman supported us on this. The next thing to do is to secure the funding that is necessary for small businesses and for mortgages. We have expanded the small firms loan guarantee scheme, and we have arranged for £4 billion of funding from Europe. We are meeting banks and building societies almost every second day to consider the technical issues and other reasons why the lending has not happened in some cases, and we are ready to take further measures if necessary. I hope that he agrees that if we take further measures, that may cost money as well as costing the banks changes in the way that they operate, and I hope that he will support us when we do it. Mr. Clegg: That was an extraordinarily complacent reaction when thousands of jobs are at risk. We all know that the Prime Minister likes to strut his stuff on the world stage telling everybody that his plan is better than their plan, but his plan is not working where it counts-here at home. The bankers cannot believe their luck. They have got billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, they can keep their bonuses, and they do not have to lend to companies. If he is too weak to get tough on the banks, will he instead consider ways of lending serious money directly to businesses? The Prime Minister: First, they have not, under our scheme, taken their bonuses as members of the boards. Barclays announced just yesterday that they will not take those bonuses. We are having some success, and I hope that we will have more success, in persuading the executives of these companies to take full responsibility. As for the resumption of lending, every country in the world is facing this problem, and we are all looking at what we can do. What has happened-let us be honest-is that we have gone from a period where banks were prepared to take any risk to one where they are averse to risk, and we have got to turn that round. That means that we are going to have to build confidence in the future of the financial system. Some of the measures we have already taken, but I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will support the further measures that we will take. Click here to read Prime Minister's Question in full Click here to read more detailed Liberal Democrat plans to get banks lending  

Wed 19th Nov 2008:

Lib Dems: Getting banks lending.

Bank of England The Government bank bail out isn’t working. Despite billions being pumped into the banking sector and the Government taking large stakes in Britain’s major banks, viable businesses are continuing to go under as banks pull lending from them. Although the bail out has ensured that no further British banks have collapsed, the banks are reneging on the deal that was struck with the Government. If they continue to hoard capital, refusing to lend to viable business and individuals, we are doomed to head into an ever deeper recession. In the last three months total secured lending by banks to individuals and housing associations fell by £22.6bn. That is the largest 3 month fall since the Bank of England started collecting data on this in 1993. Just under half of small businesses say it has been harder to gain access to finance in the last year. Despite the falling Bank of England base rate, the rate charged by banks to loan customers has risen in the past 12 months, by an average of 1.24%. The Government, as a majority shareholder in three of the UK's major banks and the effective guarantor of all the others, must use its position to insist that banks lend at the levels they agreed to as part of the bank bail out plan. This means Government directors on the boards of part-nationalised banks must take an active role to ensure that banks lend to viable businesses. The Government must also now develop a plan B to be put in place if current measures prove to be insufficient to help good businesses through the recession. A plan B would also ensure that the banks realise that they cannot hold the Government to ransom and if they fail to perform the job of lending themselves, this will be done for them. The Government should investigate: Removing bad assets from banks' balance sheets to help restore confidence to the markets. These assets could then be run by a ‘bad bank' created by the Government and if possible sold when market conditions are more favourable. Creating a system of direct lending, with small and medium enterprises being made a priority. There are several possible ways this could be done: Through the setting up of an entirely new bank, with government backing, whose remit is to supply affordable credit at prudent levels Extending the powers of the Post Office to offer lending services making use of its considerable branch network Allowing local councils to lend, although issues of expertise would have to be addressed Using one or both of the two fully nationalised banks to offer affordable lending Under any circumstance direct lending should only be seen as a temporary measure. The longer-term priority must be to ensure that the banks are put on a stronger footing and regulated in such a way that they can resume prudent lending to small businesses and individuals.

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