The Lib Dems Special conference in Birmingham about the Lib Dems & Conservative coalition this afternoon was quite an event. Standing room only and a string of impassioned speeches from both ordinary members and MPs.
It was liberal democracy at its best. Some people warned about the danger of getting overwhelmed by the Tories. Others struggled with the idea of working together in Parliament with a party that we'd traditionally opposed.
The overwhelming view of the coalition was positive. No one thinks it's going to be an easy relationship, or an easy ride, particularly when Vince Cable descibed the budget defecit as "bloody awful".
There are risks of course, and everyone was very clear eyed about that. But the coalition agreement means that we can be confident about getting Liberal Democrat policies implemented in practise, rather than just talking about them.
There's a good Lib Dem team of ministers and they're focused on delivering what we promised to the public in our manifesto. We won't be able to deliver everything, but we will deliver a lot.
Fairer taxes, with no-one earning less than £10,000 paying income tax. Fairer education, with the pupil premium delivering more resources to disadvantaged children; a fairer and rebalanced economy with the dominance of the banks rained in and Fairer Politics with a referendum on voting reform for the commons, a House of Lords elected by proportional representation and the right to recall corrupt MPs.
The Lib Dems have a great future ahead of us. And for the rest of the country: "the future's bright; the future is pure gold."
Alan Hilliar
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Top LibDem on Contraction and Convergence at Green Alliance
Vince Cable of the Lib Dems, declared on C&C at the recent Green Alliance meeting as follows: -
"Sustainable development was an ideological compromise – a plea for growth which respects the environment. The underlying tension remains and is reflected in the way different views of the EU on the one hand and China and India on the other at Copenhagen.
‘Contraction and Convergence’ - the compromise formula for climate change - is designed to resolve that tension but agreement is a long way off. And both sides are right. The continued growth of greenhouse gas
emissions threatens serious consequences for the next generation. But the rapid growth achieved in China, especially, and India in the last three decades has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and there is an enormous, understandable, appetite to continue."
http://www.libdems.org.uk/press_releases_detail.aspxtitle=Vince_Cable_delivers_speech_to_the_Green_Alliance&pPK=700bc0e2-f1b7-423e-9335-7879ee7ea279
"Sustainable development was an ideological compromise – a plea for growth which respects the environment. The underlying tension remains and is reflected in the way different views of the EU on the one hand and China and India on the other at Copenhagen.
‘Contraction and Convergence’ - the compromise formula for climate change - is designed to resolve that tension but agreement is a long way off. And both sides are right. The continued growth of greenhouse gas
emissions threatens serious consequences for the next generation. But the rapid growth achieved in China, especially, and India in the last three decades has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty and there is an enormous, understandable, appetite to continue."
http://www.libdems.org.uk/press_releases_detail.aspxtitle=Vince_Cable_delivers_speech_to_the_Green_Alliance&pPK=700bc0e2-f1b7-423e-9335-7879ee7ea279
Reflections on the Camberley Mosque
I've visited the London Road site and studied the plans the plans for the proposed traditional mosque carefully.
As regards the value or character of the existing buildings, in my view it's only the old 1906 infants’ school that is more interesting architecturally, and that would be retained with the current application. The Council has (in 2002) already granted permission to knock down most of the main school building, retaining only the front wall and Surrey County Council and English Heritage have said they think the main school building doesn't contribute significantly to the character of the area. So with every respect to other people's views, I'm personally not convinced by the arguments that the existing school building is that important architecturally.
Having read the other comments on the various web sites very carefully, I don’t think the issues are around the size and shape of the proposed new building. It sounds as if the main points are that a traditional mosque feels out of place in a very public location like the London Road and that it seems to symbolise an intrusion into our traditional English culture. Perhaps also it seems to jar that a Victorian school should be replaced by a traditional Mosque.
There also seems to be unease about the Muslim community generally, and I think we need to confront that issue squarely.
I’m very proud to be English and I have a deep affection for the traditions of this country. One of those traditions is that we welcome those from other cultures who want to make their home here and who become part of our communities. Having talked at length with those in the local Muslim community, I’ve found them to be ordinary men and women who are working hard to support their families and pay their taxes like the rest of us. They also have a loyalty and commitment to this country that goes back over many years.
I’m conscious that from the TV and the radio we often hear the words such as “Muslim” and “extremist” used together. But although I accept that there are extremists in every community, we have a tradition in this country of judging every individual by their own actions. Our local Muslim community have integrated with us, and have lived and worshipped peacefully among us in the existing London Road Mosque for more than fifteen years. They have earned the right to be respected as a part of our community.
In terms of the making the appearance of the proposed new mosque building more acceptable, we could perhaps ask the applicants to soften the impact of the new building by putting more tree planting along the London Road, so that you would see very little of the traditional mosque as you drove along the road. We could ask that they cover the outside of the building in (say) traditional Victorian red brick, so that the colour would blend in with the TA centre next door.
But beyond specific design issues, I don’t think that in reality, a traditional mosque would represent a threat to our culture. We have plenty of traditions of our own which underpin our sense of identity as a country and a community.
Perhaps as you drive down the London Road, it might be worth reflecting that the spire of St Michael’s church (next door to the existing mosque) towers over the site and is around three times taller than the proposed dome of the new mosque.
I don’t think we need to feel in any way threatened by this application, and I don’t feel that it holds the symbolic value that some would suggest.
If the Surrey Heath councillors decide once more to approve the application, I think it will quickly merge into the background and perhaps add some interest to a part of the town which has been long been neglected and badly needs to be improved overall.
Alan Hilliar
As regards the value or character of the existing buildings, in my view it's only the old 1906 infants’ school that is more interesting architecturally, and that would be retained with the current application. The Council has (in 2002) already granted permission to knock down most of the main school building, retaining only the front wall and Surrey County Council and English Heritage have said they think the main school building doesn't contribute significantly to the character of the area. So with every respect to other people's views, I'm personally not convinced by the arguments that the existing school building is that important architecturally.
Having read the other comments on the various web sites very carefully, I don’t think the issues are around the size and shape of the proposed new building. It sounds as if the main points are that a traditional mosque feels out of place in a very public location like the London Road and that it seems to symbolise an intrusion into our traditional English culture. Perhaps also it seems to jar that a Victorian school should be replaced by a traditional Mosque.
There also seems to be unease about the Muslim community generally, and I think we need to confront that issue squarely.
I’m very proud to be English and I have a deep affection for the traditions of this country. One of those traditions is that we welcome those from other cultures who want to make their home here and who become part of our communities. Having talked at length with those in the local Muslim community, I’ve found them to be ordinary men and women who are working hard to support their families and pay their taxes like the rest of us. They also have a loyalty and commitment to this country that goes back over many years.
I’m conscious that from the TV and the radio we often hear the words such as “Muslim” and “extremist” used together. But although I accept that there are extremists in every community, we have a tradition in this country of judging every individual by their own actions. Our local Muslim community have integrated with us, and have lived and worshipped peacefully among us in the existing London Road Mosque for more than fifteen years. They have earned the right to be respected as a part of our community.
In terms of the making the appearance of the proposed new mosque building more acceptable, we could perhaps ask the applicants to soften the impact of the new building by putting more tree planting along the London Road, so that you would see very little of the traditional mosque as you drove along the road. We could ask that they cover the outside of the building in (say) traditional Victorian red brick, so that the colour would blend in with the TA centre next door.
But beyond specific design issues, I don’t think that in reality, a traditional mosque would represent a threat to our culture. We have plenty of traditions of our own which underpin our sense of identity as a country and a community.
Perhaps as you drive down the London Road, it might be worth reflecting that the spire of St Michael’s church (next door to the existing mosque) towers over the site and is around three times taller than the proposed dome of the new mosque.
I don’t think we need to feel in any way threatened by this application, and I don’t feel that it holds the symbolic value that some would suggest.
If the Surrey Heath councillors decide once more to approve the application, I think it will quickly merge into the background and perhaps add some interest to a part of the town which has been long been neglected and badly needs to be improved overall.
Alan Hilliar
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