Posts Tagged “housing”
Margaret Thatcher, the 1983 election and the ‘bedroom tax’
by Stephen Tall on April 2, 2013
Like Caron, I spent more than a healthy amount of my Bank Holiday Monday watching BBC Parliament’s re-run of the 1983 general election. It’s not an election I remember (I was 6). But the symmetry of yesterday’s hyperbolic Guardian (‘The day Britain changed’) front page and the televised reminder of Margaret Thatcher’s first landslide seemed [...]
Liberal Hero of the Week #28: Nick Boles
by Stephen Tall on January 11, 2013
Liberal Hero of the Week is chosen by Stephen Tall, Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, and Research Associate at CentreForum. The series showcases those who promote any of the four liberal tenets identified in The Orange Book — economic, personal, political and social liberalism — regardless of party affiliation and from beyond Westminster. If they stick up […]
Nick Clegg’s fourth Letter from the Leader: “The only way out of the housing crisis is to build our way out.”
by Stephen Tall on November 25, 2012
Here’s Nick Clegg’s latest missive to Lib Dem members and supporters — this week focusing on his efforts to get Britain building again to help those households in need of decent, affordable housing… I’m writing this as we come to the end of an incredibly hectic week in politics. The negotiations over the budget in [...]
John Prescott should ignore this post. It asks you to think.
by Stephen Tall on August 21, 2012
I had a leeetle bit of a moan about Twitter at the weekend — in particular its tendency to turn even normally quite intelligent and courteous people into the worst kind of insult-spewing trolls — and I’m afraid I’m going to do it again now… Yesterday saw the launch by the think-tank Policy Exchange of [...]
LDV poll: 80% of Lib Dems back wealthier households in social housing paying full market rent
by Stephen Tall on June 9, 2012
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 560 party members responded, and we’re publishing the full results. 4-in-5 back change, just 1-in-10 oppose outright The Coalition last month announced it was consulting whether to charge [...]
In other news… Lib Dems close no libraries, Paddick pledges 360,000 homes, & Newby is new Lords whip
by Stephen Tall on April 29, 2012
Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days… Tim Farron: No library closed under Lib Dem leadership (LibDems.org.uk) Last year, more than 40 libraries were closed by Conservative and Labour councils. In stark contrast, for the second year in a row, no Liberal Democrat-controlled council [...]
Should councils be able to cap the number of second and holiday homes in their area?
by Stephen Tall on November 2, 2011
Earlier this week, the Lib Dems’ Communities and Local Government Minister Andrew Stunell wrote here on LibDemVoice about the Coalition’s measures to increase councils’ powers to cut tax relief to those with second homes: … our plans [are] to allow local authorities to charge an Empty Homes Premium – up to an extra 50% of [...]
Half Lib Dem MPs have opposed Cameron’s plan to end lifetime tenancies
by Stephen Tall on August 9, 2010
The Guardian reports today: More than half of Liberal Democrat MPs, including two cabinet members and eight junior ministers, are on record as opposing plans by David Cameron to water down security of tenure for new social housing tenants. The scale of the opposition suggests Simon Hughes, the Lib Dem deputy leader, is speaking for [...]
Hughes on Cameron’s council tenancies plans: “It is not a Liberal Democrat policy, it is not a coalition policy.”
by Stephen Tall on August 4, 2010
Lib Dem Voice’s Sara Bedford reported here this morning her reaction to David Cameron’s suggestion that he wanted to look at fixed-term tenancies to help solve the issue of scarce council housing. Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes has been quick to make plain his outright opposition to the proposal, telling the Evening Standard’s Paul [...]
Six (count 'em) families now benefitting from Labour's mortage rescue scheme
by Stephen Tall on July 1, 2009
There was a fair amount of mockery of the Government a couple of months ago when it was revealed that Labour’s flagship Mortgage Rescue Scheme, launched last autumn, had helped only one family up to the end of April.^ I (…)
