Spiderplantland

Thoughts and posterings from The Shire

Spiderplantland - Thoughts and posterings from The Shire

Tag Archives: liberal democrats

Proof that the Conservatives plans for the NHS will hit the vulnerable hardest

Yup, you heard me right. Proof. Proof that this Conservative government has started to implement a plan for the NHS that is dangerous to vulnerable people and runs the risk of leaving many of them behind.  This isn’t a post of hyperbole or hysteria. Its cold hard facts straight from the pages of the Governments very own Healthcare reform Bill. The one so lauded and trumpeted by Andrew Lansley and David Cameron. the very same bill which we, as Liberal Democrats have, until now, backed and pushed through parliament.

The LibDem Peer’s debate in the House of Lords is all the more important and it’s why I am calling on LibDem MP’s in the commons to reject the bill in its current form. You can read Continue reading →

My faith in my party and this government is gone forever

Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice

When you sign up to be a member of a political party you do so because you fundamentally believe in their ideology enough to want to put your money where your mouth is and make a difference. I did exactly that when i joined the Liberal Democrats from Labour a number of years ago.

I make no secret of the fact that I was highly suspicious of going into coalition with the Conservatives in May 2010 but I, like many others, was willing to go along with it if it meant making a real effort to clean up the mess that the Labour government of the last 13 years had left us in. I went along with it in the hope that the Liberal Democrats would temper some of the more rampant Conservative desires.

Today that faith in what my party has been trying to achieve has been rocked to its core for two reasons. Firstly the Welfare Reform Bill passed through parliament today without the amendments pressed for by the Liberal Democrats which would have seen vulnerable people Continue reading →

Cristina Odone eats a HUGE slice of humble pie

Chris Huhne has, how shall we say, less than impressed me on a number of occasions in his personal conduct I’m not ashamed to admit it. But, when the press starts making stuff up to quicken his possible sacking you really do have to say enough is enough.

Now I think Huhne has been a bit of an idiot over the whole speeding ticket affair and I also think that the matter is still going to be messy when to be honest, we could well do without it in the party. Continue reading →

Whipping up a storm

Spidey is irritated at the whole EU referendum discussion going on at the moment. Every time I turn on Twitter or the news I keep hearing about whipped votes on the EU referendum question and I find myself getting annoyed and having to go and do something else. Like laundry.

Maybe I am politically naive but I really don’t like MPs in the House of Commons being whipped to follow the party line. I would much rather that our elected officials actually have the freedom to be allowed to vote as their constituents want them to on certain issues. Surely if a member of parliament believes that his constituents want him to vote in a certain way, he should be allowed the freedom to do so or Continue reading →