UK general election endorsement

                                               

On Thursday, Britain will go to the polls to choose a new Parliament and – perhaps – Prime Minister and government. After the disastrous vote to exit the European Union last year – which, in my view, infused life into the populist campaign of Donald Trump in America and to nationalist populism across the West –, Britons find themselves having to choose among two prime ministerial candidates and parties who...

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My endorsement for the U.S. presidential election

 

After almost two years of one of the most vicious and policy-absent campaigns in American history, Election Day is finally – almost – here. Americans will have the final say over who they believe should be their next commander-in-chief and head of the Executive branch: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump. While in the past, American presidential elections have usually been contests ...

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Our endorsement for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominations

 

Americans begin the process to choose their new president on Monday with the much-publicized Iowa caucuses. It’s hard not to feel disheartened and anxious when we observe that the two candidates garnering the most traction and enthusiasm in rallies are a narcissistic megalomaniac whose entire campaign is built on xenophobia and chauvinism, and a self-described socialist who is campaigning on a message of class ...

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Our choice in Eastleigh 

While we don’t tend to make endorsements on by-elections and other minor elections, we have decided to express our view regarding tomorrow’s Eastleigh by-election in the United Kingdom. Unlike other by-elections, this one could have a bigger impact on British politics, the future of the Liberal-Conservative Coalition and the future of both, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats.      

It is no surprise by now that we like the current Coalition Governmen...

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Our endorsements for Thursday’s London mayor and local elections in Britain

 

On Thursday, Londoners will go to the polls to choose a new mayor (or to re-elect the current occupant of City Hall). Judging by his record during the last four years –and taking into account that, in reality, this is a two-way contest–, we believe the Conservative Boris Johnson deserves another term as Mayor of London. Despite his sometimes mercurial personality, Mr Johnson has proved to be a good mayor. We...

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Our endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination

 

The 2012 American election season has begun. Whereas President Barack Obama has no serious contender for the Democratic nomination, the Republican Party has a field of six contenders (after Michelle Bachmann and Herman Cain dropped out of the race) who are fighting to carry the torch of America’s “conservative” party. While the policies of today’s Republican Party are usually at odds with the liberal philosophy (liberal,...

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Our endorsement for today's Danish general election

Danes go to the polls today to choose a new Parliament and a new government.  While the current Liberal-Conservative administration has some good results to show on the economy, its policies on immigration and other social issues –highly influenced by the far-right Danish People’s Party, on which support the current government depends– have been disappointing to say the least.

We strongly believe in the importance of a balanced rep...

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Our endorsement for the AV referendum in the United Kingdom

On Thursday, Britain will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum to replace the “First-past-the-post” electoral system for the so-called “Alternative Vote” system. Much has been said about both systems and their positive and negative aspects. We believe FPTP is a relic of the past, an unfair system that punishes smaller parties –including the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party and UKIP– and gives disproportionate ...

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Our endorsement for Tuesday’s midterm elections

Americans will go to the polls on Tuesday, November 2^nd, to choose a new Congress. As liberals –in the real, classical meaning of the term–, we find it difficult to select one party over the other. On issue after issue, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party contain numerous illiberal and even authoritarian elements that we find quite unpalatable. Moreover, over the last decade, both parties have proven to be incapable of d...

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RealLibs endorses Andrew Cuomo for New York Governor

New Yorkers choose a new Governor on November 2^nd and the choice could not be clearer. This race is between an experienced, inclusive and pro-business Democrat like Andrew Cuomo and a divisive Republican figure like Carl Paladino. While Mr. Paladino offers extremist right-wing rhetoric with no real substance, Mr. Cuomo has put forward a sensible plan to balance the state budget (putting the main focus on cutting wasteful spending and unn...

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RealLibs endorses Alex Sink for Florida Governor

As America’s fourth largest state –and one of the most important points of entrance to the U.S.–, Florida matters to the world. During the last years, Republican-turned-independent Governor Charlie Crist has adopted a pragmatic agenda focusing on solving Florida’s problems instead of pushing for divisive and ideology-driven policies his former party is so used to pursue.

Florida is a microcosm of America: Diverse, multicultural, an...

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We choose the best option for Australia. We choose the Greens.

For many years, Australia has caught the imagination of the entire world in different ways. Whether for its amazing natural beauty, the kindness of its multicultural society or its highly developed economy, Australia is one of those hard-to-forget places in the world.  Now, what does this have to do with politics and, particularly, liberalism? In many ways, Australia is an example of liberalism. The country’s econo...

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On Wednesday, June 9^th, Dutch voters will go the polls to choose a new Parliament. As one of the most progressive and liberal societies in the world, the decision the Netherlands makes today is very important for those of us who care about liberty, openness and human rights. While we believe Dutch voters will, in the end, make a wise choice, there are threats to the values liberals so deeply care about. In this occasion, the major threat comes from the extremist and xenophobic PVV –also (...

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Our endorsement for the UK general election 2010

We are in the final days of what has –unexpectedly but fortunately- become the most unpredictable and exciting election campaign in the United Kingdom in decades. Among the most important features of this campaign season is the excitement that the election has produced on British voters. According to different sources, turnout in this election could be as high as it was in 1997, when more than seventy per cent of voters went to the polls to ...

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 UK Bellow the video of Nick Clegg's speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth, plus a LibDem video:

 Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats

 Liberal Democrats and Political Change



LibDems.org.uk   A Fresh Start for Britain  
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 UK   Tuesday's highlights:

 Baroness Scott

 Shami Chakrabarti 

 
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 UK  The Liberal Democrat Conference on Tuesday backed the party's programme for the upcoming general election titled "A Fresh Start for Britain: Choosing a Different, Better Future." The main policy items present in the plan are: 

- Investing in green jobs and fighting climate change
- Cutting taxes for people on low and middle incomes, funded by closing loopholes for the wealthy and green taxes
- Breaking up the banks to prevent them taking risks which threaten the whole economy
- Investing in ...
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 UK  Monday's videos from the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference 2009:

 Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable

 Lib Dem Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather 

 Prof. Noreena Hertz
 World renowned economist, feminist and environmentalist


Follow the latest news on Twitter @LibDemConf & @realLibs

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Edward Davey, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, delivered his speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference on Sunday. "Britain needs to rediscover a foreign policy based on principles. And we should start with the principle of international law. So a full inquiry into all allegations of British complicity in torture and state kidnap. No more dodgy arms deals with the Libyans, the Saudis or anyone else. And, above all, no more Iraqs," Davey said.

Read the full speech here
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The document, published by the UK think tank DEMOS, outlines the Liberal Democrat Leader's thoughts on the future of progressive politics in Britain.

A PDF of the pamphlet can be downloaded here

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 UK  The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, affirmed on Friday that the Labour government is no longer able to govern and that it's "finished." Clegg echoed David Cameron's call for a general election. Regarding the Lib Dems' take over of the Bristol City Council, Clegg said now the Lib Dems have majorities in almost every big city in the country and that this is "a sign of things to come."


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Tomorrow, the future of Europe is at stake. As liberals, we support the efforts to make Europe an open area, where goods, services, capitals and people can move freely and safely. We believe that Europe and the United States are the guardians of liberty in the world. To keep it that way, it is essential to advance liberalism in the European Parliament. For this reason, we endorse the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR) and its respective member political parties. 

To find out whi...
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Our endorsement for the UK Local and European elections

On Thursday, June 4^th, Britons will go to the polls to choose their representatives for the European Parliament as well as local councilors. In deciding our endorsement, we asked ourselves two main questions: Which party has shown a pragmatic and solutions-oriented approach to governing? And finally, which party has consistently stood up for the principles and values of liberalism? Our answer to both questions was very easy: only the Lib...

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In a shocking move, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced on Tuesday his decision to switch parties and become a Democrat. Specter said he found himself "increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy." One of the last moderate Republicans left in the Senate and in the Northeast, Senator Specter affirmed he was not willing to let the Republican primary electorate --which, after a massive diaspora of moderates to the Democratic Party, has become a minority of right-wing conservatives-- d...

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