StephenTall.org

Nick Clegg today spoke of his aim to boost social mobility at a conference organised by the Sutton Trust, arguing Britain must create an open society “where what matters most is the person you become, not the person you were born.” “These are challenging times but that doesn’t mean we can give up on making [...]

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days… Lord Ashdown and Lord Phillips in Lords reform clash (BBC News) Former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown has clashed with one of his party colleagues during a debate on government plans to reform the House of Lords. [...]

That’s Paddy’s view, as reported in the Independent’s diary here: Paddy Ashdown, the first leader of the Liberal Democrat party, has remarked on how politics has been taken over by people who have never had a job anywhere else but in politics, giving the strong impression that he does not approve. “The difference with politics [...]

Writing in the Financial Times, former Lib Dem leader Ming Campbell has urged Britain to drop the so-called ‘Moscow criterion’ — which commits us to maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent capable of obliterating the Russian capital — in order to open up the possibilities of a more targeted, and cheaper, nuclear alternative to the renewal [...]

Perhaps some less serious points made here about the Leveson Inquiry into media regulation than were made by my Co-Editor Mark Pack here — but enjoy nonetheless… (Available on YouTube here.) * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat...

Just a few weeks after the fierce battle for the London mayoralty concluded, a very different election is due to take place — an election which hasn’t even been contested for more than a century. But now London Lib Dem member Patrick Streeter is standing for the post of City Auditor, and promising to ask [...]

There’s no prize at stake – just the opportunity to prove you’re wittier than any other LDV reader… Remember the Rose Garden? It must all seem such a long time ago to Tory leader David Cameron pictured here giving Nick Clegg the evils. What do you think might be being said or thought by or [...]

If, like me, you were one of the 12,000 people who was a candidate in 2012′s local elections you may have received a letter recently from Plymouth University’s Elections Centre, run by Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher, inviting you to take part in an online questionnaire: This year the centre has ran its seventh [...]

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days… Lord Owen attacks coalition over Lords reform ‘farce’ (Telegraph) Lord Owen was one of 43 of the peers polled who said the Upper House needs to be reformed, even though he disagreed with the changes devised by [...]

At this rate the Daily Mail will soon become Lib Dems’ favourite reading… A few days after its front page proclaiming David Cameron’s lament ‘I’d govern like a true Tory if it wasn’t for the Lib Dems’, the paper reports: Tory Minister is slapped down by Lib Dems after criticising gay marriage Two Ministers in [...]