A Timely Reform by Ian Ridley

I’m already behind in my attempts to do daily arm chair comments on Conference. But I will plough on through the BBC Parliament back log as I get time.

Just the one comment on Monday so far: Free Schools were rejected by Conference in the morning. This was another opportunity for Nick Clegg to stand up and say: “We don’t agree with the Tories on Free Schools but it’s part of the give and take of coalition government.”

Unfortunately he said, “….we will allow people to set up new schools.”

So Nick still holds to the coalition line on Free Schools and ignores the chance to be distinctive from the Tories on the issue.

Still at least there was, “.. but we will not allow them to pick and choose the brightest. No to more selection.”

Be warned that my site could be replaced with a Turkish Flag at any point. A Turkish hacker has hacked most of the sites on the server but my hosting company assures me it is working on it.

I’ll keep it to the point:

• We work with the Tories because it is the only realistic option to get Lib Dem policy implemented. It doesn’t mean that we need to keep praising David Cameron’s “flexibility”, “pragmatism” or his lack of dogma;

• We will loosen cabinet collective responsibility so that Lib Dem and Tory ministers can explain to voters the policies that each party brings to the table and where the Tories have vetoed or adapted our policies and where we have vetoed or adapted their policies;

• Lib Dem policies that make it into law will not just be used take the edge off cuts and tax rises (the increase in the income tax thresholds for low earners has at best been neutralised by the VAT increase).

Video

iPlayer (only available for 7 days) is your friend for:

• Morning session: Strategy debate including contributions by David Rendel and Lord (Tony) Greaves; Danny Alexander speech;
• Afternoon session: Nick Clegg’s Q & A;
• The Andrew Marr Show:  Nick Clegg & Charles Kennedy;
• The Politics Show: Linked to the East Midlands edition but all regions are listed.

Audio / Podcasts

• Fairer? For whom? Lib Dem Voice fringe with Susan Kramer, Evan Harris and Will Straw;
• Nick Clegg Q & A (audio version);
• Pienaar’s Politics (from the BBC).

Articles/ Blogs

• Which twin is the Tory? Lord (Tony) Greaves outlines his fears in Liberator for the coalition but is upbeat “if we can get this coalition thing right”;
• Art Malik at the Lib Dem Rally with Martin Bell & Nick Clegg to launch the Yes to AV campaign, by Jonathan Fryer;
• What the papers say: #ldconf a round-up from Lib Dem Voice.