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The History Boys - Tom McNally
Lib Dem News, July 2007

The Journal of Liberal History and the Liberal Democrat History Group are organising an interesting little exercise which will culminate at a fringe meeting at Party Conference in September. Readers are asked to vote for the Greatest British Liberal. The ballot paper helpfully starts you off with fifteen names ranging from Asquith to Roy Jenkins, Charles James Fox to Gladstone, Locke to Mill...click link above full article.

Local Government: the erosion of council power - Mark Hunter
Harrogate Conference 3rd March 2007

Mark Hunter discusses of the erosion of council power,and the need to restore local democracy and accountability.The case for re-empowering councils is overwhelming and overdue.

Some more Inconvenient Truths - Paul Holmes
Harrogate Conference 3rd March 2007

Paul Holmes challenges several myths about public expenditure which were used to justify poorly thought out policies in many key areas from Housing to Education to Taxation. He also warns on the endemic and dishonest tendency to make highly selective use of data from other countries.

Reinventing the NHS - Steve Webb
December 2005

To follow the current debate about the future of the NHS would be to conclude that there are only two possible positions. The first is that a sleepy and inefficient NHS needs shaking up by the rigours of market discipline and competition. The alternative is that there is nothing much wrong with the NHS that can’t be solved by more money and leaving a largely unreformed NHS to get on with it. The reality is that neither extreme position stands up to rigorous scrutiny.

The Civil Service: Alternative Visions for the Future - Paul Holmes
December 2005

The Liberal Democrats believe that the Civil Service must be politically impartial at every level, from the highest rank of Whitehall mandarins to the staff at the front desk who deal with policy implementation and service delivery.

The issue with public services is now power, not money - Chris Huhne
Article from Conference 2004

Chris Huhne MEP argues that the Liberal Democrats need to make local control a key message for the general election.

For the first time in my political memory, the Liberal Democrats will have our own popular issue at the next general election. Iraq separates us from both the Labour and the Conservative parties, and we are overwhelmingly and increasingly seen to have been right when they have both been wrong. Moreover, Iraq has become symbolic of the misjudgements and mistrust of the Labour government, rather as sleaze was for the Tories in 1997. In political terms, such moments do not come often and explain more than anything else why we are winning the swing away from Labour rather than the Tories.

No to social insurance - Chris Huhne
Article from Liberator, September 2004

Continental-style social insurance schemes, recently advocated with some differences by David Laws in the Orange Book, were carefully considered by the public services policy commission in 2001-2. After exhaustive discussion, and a paper put forward by two members advocating their advantages, the option was overwhelmingly rejected. Only two participants voted in favour. Why did we instead prefer the option of radical decentralisation of a tax-funded National Health Service, the option subsequently endorsed by conference and that, thankfully, remains party policy?...

Articles archive

Reinventing the NHS - Steve Webb - Added December 2005
The Civil Service: Alternative Visions for the Future - Paul Holmes - Added December 2005
The issue with public services is now power, not money - Chris Huhne - Added June 2005
No to social insurance - Chris Huhne - Added Nov 2004
Politics Without Blindspots - John Pugh - Added 17/09/2004
'It's the money stupid' Paul Holmes - Added 11/09/2004
'Setting Communities Free' Alistair Carmichael - added 11/09/2004

Last Updated ( Monday, 17 September 2007 )

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