UPDATE 19th January: This is now a complete round-up of media and blog reaction to Nick Clegg's speech on public services at the Manifesto Conference on January 12th.
In all, there are 14 media stories and 59 blog posts listed below.
In this update, I've added 8 more blog posts and 1 media story in bold at the bottom of the lists. This is the last update, but please let me know if I have missed anyone's post on this subject and I will sneak it in.
UPDATE 15th January: There's 14 more blog postings added to the bottom of the list in bold. Many are fascinating.
UPDATE 14th January: That Times piece on their Comment Central strand is just one of the updates below in bold in my list of blog (16 new posts) and media (2 new items) reaction to Nick's public services speech last Saturday.
UPDATE 13th January: The Sunday Telegraph covers Nick's speech yesterday with an article entitled: Nick Clegg shifts to the right". (That's inaccurate in my view - what he is proposing is historically "liberal"). This now joins my list of links to web stories and blogs about the speech - below.
Here is a fully updated round-up of media, website and blog reaction to Nick Clegg's speech this morning, so far. Other commitments allowing, I hope to update this with Sunday paper coverage later.
It's all great reaction (including one Tory who is obviously jealous) and it is abundantly clear that Nicolas William Peter Clegg has completed a very good day's work and deserves a large portion of whatever takes his fancy tonight (a tipple or a slice of premium Victoria Sponge perhaps - I don't know).
He has clearly set out a distinctive, intellectually attractive Liberal alternative for Britain's public services. It is one of the most sharply drawn pieces of political agenda-setting which we have seen for many years.
Well done Nick!
LibDems want parent-run schools - BBC
Clegg to call for smaller state in first major speech - Independent
Clegg in call to scrap low grades - Press Association
Clegg backs "diversity and choice" - ePolitix
State must back off, says Clegg - BBC
Clegg calls for radical grassroots innovation in public services - http://www.libdems.org.uk/
Clegg steps up - Spectator
Clegg makes first keynote speech - Channel 4 News
Clegg wants Whitehall downsize - IntheNews
Clegg eyes schools shake-up - Politics.co.uk
Nick Clegg shifts to right - Sunday Telegraph
Clegg's Orange revolution - Nick Assinder on BBC News Online
LibDems back private sector's NHS role - Health insurance and protection magazine
Lib Dem leader outlines plans for health service - Health Service Journal
And in the Blogs:
Nick Clegg - Sounding like the Tories only better - Norfolk Blogger
Nick Clegg reannounces Tory policy - WestBrom Blogger
Clegg should take inspiration from Summerhill School - Jo's Jottings
The Clegg era starts here - Quaequam Blog! (Gold star!)
Orange Book was right says Clegg - Andy Mayer
Nick Clegg's speech on the reform of public services - Liberal England
My: Nick Clegg's clear and compelling speech on public services
Nick Clegg on public services - Anders Hanson
Will Nick Clegg tip the balance in British politics? - DaFink on Times Central
Nick Clegg finds his voice - Cicero's Songs
More on Nick Clegg and Free schools - Liberal England
LibDem civil war warning (yeah, yeah) - Man in a shed
Does England really need three Conservative parties - Brothers Judd blog
The Orange Book delusion - Quaequam Blog!
LibDems move right - Though Cowards Flinch
LibDem localism v Tory localism - The Real Blog - David Boyle
Clegg: Conviction or plagiarism ? - Iain Dale's Diary
Telegraph has it both ways - Alex Foster on Liberal Democrat Voice
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg calls for radical grassroots innovation in public services - Simon Davis on 24 plus news - politics
It's just a jump to the left - Nevali
State must back-off, says Clegg - Kevin Davis
Clegg makes first keynote speech - Tim McLoughlin
Making Disempowerment history ? - Charlie Mansell on the Campaign Company blog
Nick Clegg: doing well - Lunar Talks
I love the LibDems, but I couldn't elect a whole one - ASWAS
Clegg, Brown's Trojan horse - Newmania in Lewes
The role of the state - Though Cowards flinch
Clegg and the law of the meaningless opposite - Joshua Mostafa
It's accountability that counts - The Sound of Gunfire
Nick Clegg's speech - Wouldn't it scarier to discover....
How we can get that "good local school" everybody wants - Liberal Polemic
How the LibDem leadership contest almost turned into a bloodbath - Liberal England
Clegg calls for grade changes - Adfero on behalf of the NUT
Imitation etc.... - Ed Vaizey
Opinion: Essence of Cleggism - John Pugh on Liberal Democrat Voice
New Lib Dem Leader sets out his vision for public services - Tim Ball
Free schools: the sequel - Freethink
Podcast - Realpolitik 10
Free schools and the school leaving age - Liberal England
The Education speech that Nick Clegg should have given - Democratic liberalism
The future's bright, the future's Orange - The Dissenter's Voice / Charles Anglin
Tuesday 15th January 2008 - birkdale focus
Day 2567 - A Society Willing to Take Risks - The very fluffy diary of Millennium Dome, Elephant
Choice is a good thing, isn't it? - Liberal Bureaucracy (Nearly missed this one because it doesn't mention "Nick Clegg" - which is what I have been searching on!)
Gareth Epps reviews manifesto conference - Liberal Democrat Voice
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Final update: Blog reaction to Nick Clegg's speech on public services
Written by Paul on Saturday, January 19, 2008
Labels: Liberal Democrats, NIck Clegg
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17 comments:
It's also covered on the party website :-)
Thanks Mark - yes I added the link to the party website to my earlier posting about the speech (about an hour ago).
"(That's inaccurate in my view - what he is proposing is historically "liberal")."
Some people would see economical liberalism as "Right wing", others as "Left wing" and yet others as "Centrist", but I don't think it matters especially in this particular case, because the readers of the Sunday Telegraph are likely to see a "shift to right" as positive development.
Here's the story from the Guardian.
Nick Clegg's public sector roll back ideas are obviously liberal in the same way Mrs Thatcher was.
The point is that only a month ago none of you officially believed in any of this.
So either your all gutless and easily lead anywhere as long as there's a vote in it ( OK that is the most popular view of Lib Dems amongst the Conservatives I know ), or you've about to have a bit of an internal 'conversation'. Or do all the ex-Social Democrats in the Lib Dems just not care ?
Personally I think Nick Clegg - assuming he isn't executing a plan similar to Cameron's or decontaminating the party brand - could be making very interesting policy moves.
But the question is why isn't he in the Conservative party ? After all he appears to be the real heir of Mrs Thatcher !
"the question is why isn't he in the Conservative party ""
For starters, because school selection is anathema to him.
He came to that conclusion at his private school did he ?
It always easy to kick away the ladder after you've climbed it.
Streaming in schools is inevitable. Specialisation is just common sense beyond a certain age. So saying your against selection is to put yourself on the side of wasting young peoples potential just for political correctness and spite.
To answer my own original question the answer Nick Clegg gave in a recent interview was to misunderstand Margaret Thatcher's on there being no such thing as society. ( A more complete quote is - "They are casting their problems at society. And, you know, there's no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours." ) Given his speech I wonder if he really objects to that ?
Since his objection to the Conservatives is based on a misunderstanding and sub quotation of what was said its possible he's ended up in the wrong party. Though given his pro-EU superstate stance it hardly matters as if he gained power he'd just give it away again.
hello Paul, as you may notice from other fine blogs you mention in this post, I aim to exchange links with the finest liberal blogs internationally, particularly in the US and the UK, where I had been living for 7 years and was a member of the Lib-Dems.
My blog is mainly in Italian but you’ll find that one post out of 7 (roughly) is in English as well. Come visit me and link me back if you like. HNY and ciao!
However he came to that conclusion it is one that means he is not a Conservative.
There were plans along these lines passed at last September's conference as the Guardian reports:
"David Laws, the Lib Dems' schools spokesman, paved the way for changes to the party's approach at its annual conference in September, pledging to inject more choice into the system by making it easier for parents and community groups to set up new schools. The plans won the backing of the conference,"
Streaming within a school is completely different from selection, which is what Clegg and the LibDems are against.
Whether or not being against selection is spiteful, it still answers your point about "why isn't Clegg in the Conservative party".
Clegg's anti-Conservative position isn't just based on one sentence from Thatcher. If you look at many of his stances and those of the LibDems they are completely opposite to the Tories:
-The EU
-School selection
-Assimilation of illegal immigrants
ID cards where Clegg has been consistently against versus the off-on opposition of the Tories
-Voting reform etc etc
On the EU - yes I'll give you that. Though personally I just think is bizarre that a political party should seek power only to give it away without any hope of its return.
School selection - well you're in line with David Cameron on that one - its the Conservative party membership that has an issue on this.
Mass migration ( because that's what the illegal immigration amnesties mean ) is just another way of stopping being a country at all - so is at least consistent with the EU policy. OK real difference.
Voting reform - well I think there's mileage in your asking nicely here. Especially if Nick Clegg can deliver the Lib Dems as a party with whom business can be done.
But my underlying issue is that the Lib Dems need to clarify their underlying principles. Talking about liberalism is a start - but you then have to deal with the contradictions of your SDP heritage. Or for example calling for Northern Rock to be nationalised when you say you support a liberal economic policy.
I'm looking forward to a bit of clarity and hope it isn't just spin and positioning.
Whilst many of us are tribal in terms of our parties the underlying current of ideas is far more important as it determines the future. I only argue because I care ;-)
As all our policy is written down in detail and agreed by successive conferences, we are actually a lot further progressed in clearly translating our underlying principles than the Conservative party.
Try this for overall principles:
"The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives."
We're calling for Northern Rock to be temporarily nationalised because that's what is going to happen anyway eventually and is a much more prudent course of action to protect taxpayers' money. That is a practical policy to protect taxpayers' money. It is dogmatic opposition to the idea just because it carries the tag "nationalisation" that is against the interests of taxpayers.
But that is an exception to the rule - you'll see no calls for wholesale or even partial nationalisation from the LibDems, but we take a pragmatic approach. If only the Tories had done similar with British Rail then wouldn't have had the massive disaster of rail privatisation.
"Asking nicely" you mean asking the Tories nicely? That's a joke. How long did they have to implement it? Anyway, it's up to the voters not the Tories.
Thanks for the quotation - however much of it is obviously contradictory. I guess that's what you get if you work by committee.
The problem with voting reform is that the Lib Dems have positioned themselves as strongly pro-Labour for the last 35 years ( as long as I can remember ). Gordon Brown sees you as proxies for Labour in the south who can be relied upon to prop up his government in any circumstances. ( The roll you have faithfully played in Wales and Scotland until getting dumped by Labour going for the nationalists in Wales last year ).
Now this is why Nick Clegg is interesting - as he might not be your standard issue Guardianista left winger, who for some reason could feel at home in Labour. He's someone who for some reason couldn't feel at home in the Conservative party ( its a start ).
Hence it might make sense to deal - especially for those people who care more about outcomes than who wins.
The best way forward would be to suggest an English Parliament on the same basis as Scotland ( you get your PR - and its a strong case to maintain symmetry across the UK). That would always have a strong chance of a Con-Lib Dem administration.
Chris Huhne supported it - but not Clegg. Shame.
That's the difference between the Conservatives and LibDems. You presume to impose an English parliament on England - we want a cross-population convention to look at the options and reach a consensus.
And here was me thinking the voters were sovereign ;-)
Support for an English parliament is at 60->67% based on recent polls.
The UK was broken up with an anti-English devolutionary settlement without anyone asking the English. ( With the Lib Dems helping to organising it. )
It seems democracy is only for other people. ( And clearly not for the inmates of the EU. )
PS There is a English Constitutional Convention - feel free to join. The Lib Dems showed interest in the idea at one point until they realised it already existed and couldn't be used for tactical politics.
The view of the voters when presented with fully worked alternatives does not necessarily equal "polls".
A proper Constitutional Convention, like they had in Scotland, includes all the political parties and elements from right across society such as the churches and the Mothers' Union.
It does not just include one highly marginal political party and a campaign.
Not unless someone else joins it of course ;-).
Why do the Lib Dems respect every UK nation except England ? ( With honourable exceptions of Simon Hughes and Chris Huhne ).
Anyway its your blog and I'm wondering off topic. Its been interesting reading your comments.
I think there are many Liberal Democrats who would like an English Parliament - but you have to consider all the elements of the constitution together and come up with a total reform package which then gets public approval - not just do one bit in isolation. An English parliament might come out of that, but the process has to consider all the various constitutional elements together.
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