Michael Gove’s former Special Adviser aims a broadside at the Lib Dems’ slapdash policy-making.
By Mark WallaceFollow Mark on Twitter The Lib Dems have been twisting and turning over the last few days to get out of supporting an EU referendum. Their most awkward moment came as their leader stood in for the Prime Minister at PMQs. Veteran eurosceptic Edward Leigh brandished a Lib Dem leaflet from 2008, asking whether the […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter Rule One: Faced with the certainty of scandal today or the possibility of scandal tomorrow, choose the latter. Delay. Procrastinate. Dither. Buck-pass. Put one's head in the sand, and hope that the problem goes away. Above all, try to insulate the party as much as possible. The Liberal Democrats […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Andrew Rawnsley's column today rolls together a report and an argument. The report is that Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are getting on much better together: The two men met at the Royal Wedding, and got along well. Miliband apparently found Clegg to be "a pretty decent human being". […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Just in case you'd missed it, the Sun on Sunday reports that Chris Huhne ("shamed love-rat") will be back next year at the most senior levels of Government ("shock Cabinet recall"). And, just in case you'd missed it too, the Mail on Sunday says that Mr Huhne ("the rallying […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. A Wikipedia summary of far right ideology: "The far right is commonly associated with persons or groups who hold extreme nationalist, xenophobic, racist, religious fundamentalist or reactionary views.The most extreme-right movements have pursued oppression and genocide against groups of people on the basis of their alleged inferiority." Lib Dem […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. After the botched and misjudged attack on Conservatives after the Autumn Statement, Nick Clegg has again attacked the Conservatives over taxes targeting the wealthy. In his "Letter from the Leader" email, available on Mark Pack's blog, the Deputy Prime Minister describes the "fair and balanced package" the heroic Lib […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter. Below is a selection of prominent Lib Dems' reactions to David Cameron's veto at the European summit this week. Sharon Bowles, the Lib Dem MEP who chairs the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, has made several strange remarks yesterday and today. In an interview yesterday, she said she wants […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter It's the conference season, and the annual gathering of Lib Dems gave senior Libs the opportunity to bash the Conservatives, bash the rich, bash government policies, and bash anything else likely to get a smile out of the downtrodden activists in attendance. We can review who has moved up […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat MP for St Ives, is a rebellious, Coalition-unfriendly backbencher with a particular animosity toward the government on NHS matters. Earlier on in the summer, he launched this attack on the Conservatives: "I'm afraid we can't trust the Tories with the NHS. They brazenly ignored […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell has attacked his fellow Lib Dem and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander. Today's Times (£) has the news that Sir Menzies accused Alexander of political interference in Defence matters, in order to help his popularity in his own constituency: "Sir […]
By Tim Montgomerie Follow Tim on Twitter. At the end of last year Vince Cable rather embarrassed himself. Interviewed by an attractive young woman, posing as a constituent but actually an undercover Telegraph journalist, the Business Secretary became a little indiscreet. One of his indiscretions was to talk of his desire to declare war on […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Simon Hughes, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and a distinguished fellow of the Yellow B**tards League, made an interesting appearance on Sky News this morning – interesting because Hughes refused to blame Cameron for meeting Andy Coulson at Chequers: "I have to say, I think if you […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Yesterday, Nick Clegg declared victory – he got the NHS reform bill concessions he pressed for. Whether he believed in the changes he got is another matter. Nick Clegg is very much an Orange Booker: the Lib Dems' Orange Book advocated public sector reform and privatisation. David Laws, Clegg's […]
By Matthew Barrett and Tim Montgomerie On Wednesday, we reported that Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee wanted to "get those yellow b**tards", in reference to Liberal Democrats who were criticising Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms, having voted for it before. In today's Mail on Sunday James Forsyth writes that 10 Downing Street is at the […]