Archive for tim montgomerie
Eastleigh: more on that poll and who the Lib Dem candidate will be
This lunchtime I was on the Daily Politics with Tim Montgomerie being grilled by Andrew Neil about the forthcoming Eastleigh Parliamentary by-election: Keep watching to near the end, for this rather helpful quote: “Ideal scenario would be where the Lib Dems win” – Lab cllr on Eastleigh. Watch video at bit.ly/YZbuFS — Mark Pack (@markpack) [...]
Oh bugger, is that what it is really like?
I strongly suspect that for all political parties there is a common pattern: what seems sensible and logical to those on the inside often seems baffling and weird to those on the outside. Europe for Tories, STV for the Liberal Democrats, for example. Often, of course, it is the outsiders who are right because they [...]
Lords reform: what the failure means for the Coalition, David Cameron and Nick Clegg
First up, here’s Nick Robinson’s take on yesterday’s events followed by myself, via the BBC News Channel: Here also are Tim Montgomerie’s rather pungent views on David Cameron and my own on Nick Clegg, via Radio 4′s The World Tonight: * Mark Pack has written 101 Ways To Win An Election and produces a monthly [...]
Three people, three posts, three thoughts on the Coalition’s future
Tim Montgomerie: Can the Coalition be rebooted? Stephen Tall: Why the Lib Dems cannot end the Coalition. And what we should do to try and rescue it. Myself: How does David Cameron charm the Liberal Democrats? As for what the party’s actual plan is, see The Lib Dem political plan for the next year.
What will the impact of taxpayer statements be?
It’s typical of the way Parliament works that what has been mandatory for local councils to is only now becoming a consideration for central government: sending taxpayers a breakdown of how their money is spent each year. For years this has been the norm in local government, but when central government told councils to do [...]
What have the Liberal Democrats achieved in government?
If you are on my email newsletter list, earlier today you’ll have received a conference preview including a specially commissioned infographic setting out the Liberal Democrat achievements in government. If you missed out, you can see the infographic here – and to make sure you don’t miss out on future email newsletters, sign up here. [...]
Nick Clegg turns media weakness into media strength
Ask a Liberal Democrat what they think about the British media and chances are you will hear a complaint about how media habits developed during years of a two-party political system that generated one-party governments die hard. That makes today’s speech by Nick Clegg on tax policy a smart move, turning those habits from a [...]
Get your skates on and submit a motion to Liberal Democrat conference about wealth taxes
Nick Clegg’s recent ‘open society’ speech confirmed that increases taxes on wealth in some form is very much on the political agenda. However, the default party policy option – a mansion tax – was highly controversial in the party when it was introduced (which is rather a polite term for the rolling lesson in how [...]
“Chris Huhne is a remarkably successful and powerful minister” – Tim Montgomerie
So writes Tim Montgomerie on ConservativeHome: The reality is that Chris Huhne is a remarkably successful and powerful minister who is delivering very bold (and expensive) action on climate change. Tim Yeo, the Conservative chairman of the House of Commons energy and climate committee, acknowledges this in remarks to The Observer: “We are getting a [...]
Three-quarters of Lib Dem manifesto becoming government policy – independent research
Sunday’s Politics Show featured the results of research by independent academics into how each party in the Coalition Government is doing at getting its polices enacted. The conclusion? Three-quarters (75%) of the Liberal Democrat manifesto is being turned into government policy, compared to noticeably less (60%) of the Conservative manifesto, as illustrated in this screenshot: [...]
