Comments on: Chris Huhne: time to get serious http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/ “ferocity with a purpose” Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:30:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #39 | Liberal Democrat Voice http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-114259 Top of the Blogs: The Golden Dozen #39 | Liberal Democrat Voice Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:05:19 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-114259 [...] Chris Huhne: time to get serious on James Graham’s Quaequam Blog! blog. The latest acute and acerbic instalment of James’s [...] [...] Chris Huhne: time to get serious on James Graham’s Quaequam Blog! blog. The latest acute and acerbic instalment of James’s [...]

]]> By: James Graham http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-108512 James Graham Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:15:01 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-108512 Yeah, but you said the rest of the Lib Dems - including Clegg by implication - were backing it. Yeah, but you said the rest of the Lib Dems – including Clegg by implication – were backing it.

]]> By: Iain Dale http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-108251 Iain Dale Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:52:56 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-108251 James, You misrepresent what I said. I made the point that Chris Huhne does not support the legislation at all. I have also written in the Telegraph about how I think the Tories should oppose it, but there are battles going on within the Shadow Cabinet about it. James, You misrepresent what I said. I made the point that Chris Huhne does not support the legislation at all. I have also written in the Telegraph about how I think the Tories should oppose it, but there are battles going on within the Shadow Cabinet about it.

]]> By: James Graham http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-107711 James Graham Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:53:57 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-107711 "I think that this is your best post on the leadership election so far." Hmph. Only because I was critical of Chris Huhne. :) “I think that this is your best post on the leadership election so far.”

Hmph. Only because I was critical of Chris Huhne. :)

]]> By: Simon R http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-107704 Simon R Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:51:52 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-107704 Oh, and while I disagree with Huhne's 'vision' of liberalism (I think that he confuses equality of opportunity with simply 'equality', as no one said that equality of opportunity stops after birth), I would like to see Nick do 'the vision thing' a bit more and communicate in one line what he thinks liberalism is for. Sometimes, I get the impression that he is simply better at discussing topics or themes, rather than saying where we are heading to. Oh, and while I disagree with Huhne’s ‘vision’ of liberalism (I think that he confuses equality of opportunity with simply ‘equality’, as no one said that equality of opportunity stops after birth), I would like to see Nick do ‘the vision thing’ a bit more and communicate in one line what he thinks liberalism is for. Sometimes, I get the impression that he is simply better at discussing topics or themes, rather than saying where we are heading to.

]]> By: Simon R http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-107700 Simon R Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:48:06 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-107700 I think that this is your best post on the leadership election so far. Now Nick has to step it up- we have his view on education, which is something that we should be really proud to sell at the doorstep, and some good stuff on internal reforms. Now for Health, a liberal foreign policy etc etc. I think that this is your best post on the leadership election so far. Now Nick has to step it up- we have his view on education, which is something that we should be really proud to sell at the doorstep, and some good stuff on internal reforms. Now for Health, a liberal foreign policy etc etc.

]]> By: Tristan Mills http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-107577 Tristan Mills Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:55:06 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-107577 The really really frustrating thing about the debate around education and health care reform is that more liberal ideas are thrown out as being 'right wing' or 'american'. Huhne dismissed vouchers as being 'US Style', yet it is European countries which have led the way, Utah just voted against a voucher system... Vouchers are an attempt to have a more liberal system, they seek to break up the de-facto monopoly that the state has gained in education, something which was not intended by the original education acts. Local councils used to send children to private schools, originally elected local boards controlled the state sector and they didn't necessarily supply all the schools. Vouchers are an attempt, in today's centralised world, to get back some of that individual autonomy which was to an extent provided for. On health care, the debate is framed in such a way as to place the US system as the alternative. That is absolute rubbish. Even the opponents of universal health care in the US don't argue for the current US system, they argue for massive reform. As to your comment on insurance - health insurance is a great thing, it means we don't have to pay up front for those events insured against, currently the state provides it and the services (although not particularly well and with high levels of bureaucracy), it also lumps this in with health assurance. I think a good place to start would be to decouple these different aspects of health care (which is in part what some continental systems do). The big mistake of the NHS is to try and run everything. Localism won't solve that problem either. The really really frustrating thing about the debate around education and health care reform is that more liberal ideas are thrown out as being ‘right wing’ or ‘american’.

Huhne dismissed vouchers as being ‘US Style’, yet it is European countries which have led the way, Utah just voted against a voucher system…

Vouchers are an attempt to have a more liberal system, they seek to break up the de-facto monopoly that the state has gained in education, something which was not intended by the original education acts. Local councils used to send children to private schools, originally elected local boards controlled the state sector and they didn’t necessarily supply all the schools.
Vouchers are an attempt, in today’s centralised world, to get back some of that individual autonomy which was to an extent provided for.

On health care, the debate is framed in such a way as to place the US system as the alternative. That is absolute rubbish. Even the opponents of universal health care in the US don’t argue for the current US system, they argue for massive reform.
As to your comment on insurance – health insurance is a great thing, it means we don’t have to pay up front for those events insured against, currently the state provides it and the services (although not particularly well and with high levels of bureaucracy), it also lumps this in with health assurance. I think a good place to start would be to decouple these different aspects of health care (which is in part what some continental systems do).
The big mistake of the NHS is to try and run everything. Localism won’t solve that problem either.

]]> By: Letters From A Tory http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/comment-page-1/#comment-107507 Letters From A Tory Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:41:35 +0000 http://www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog/2007/11/13/chris-huhne-time-to-get-serious/#comment-107507 Both the leadership contenders are starting to up their game a little, but unfortunately I still don't think they have inspired the media or the public yet. None of their policy proposals thus far have offered anything wildly different from what has been proposed in the past (either by the Lib Dems or someone else). How do they turn this around? Surely a leadership contest is the perfect opportunity to get some airtime for who the Lib Dems are? http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com Both the leadership contenders are starting to up their game a little, but unfortunately I still don’t think they have inspired the media or the public yet. None of their policy proposals thus far have offered anything wildly different from what has been proposed in the past (either by the Lib Dems or someone else).

How do they turn this around? Surely a leadership contest is the perfect opportunity to get some airtime for who the Lib Dems are?

http://lettersfromatory.wordpress.com

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