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CentreForum has prepared a briefing note called "The battle for liberalism: ten key questions for the next Lib Dem leader."
A nicely formatted version can be found from our website www.centreforum.org/bn1_leadership.pdf
The full text is copied below:-
The battle for liberalism: ten key questions for the next Lib Dem leader
Charles Kennedy's resignation as leader of the Liberal Democrats, coupled with David Cameron’s election as Conservative Party chief, marks a watershed for British politics.
Cameron has wasted no time in staking his claim to what the Liberal Democrats regard as their core territory. The new Conservative leader has ditched a number of discredited election commitments. He has also tasked a series of policy review groups to look at issues – such as Africa, the environment and social justice – which have not traditionally been key Tory concerns. At the same time, the Labour government’s reform agenda appears to be running out of steam. The Parliamentary Labour Party’s leftward drift may accelerate when Gordon Brown finally takes over as leader and seeks to shore up disaffected core party support.
The next Liberal Democrat leader thus faces the twin tasks of continuing to offer a firm critique of Labour’s statist policies, while responding to Cameron’s evolving ‘liberal’ Conservatism. The government’s reduced majority means there is an opportunity directly to shape individual policies in the immediate future. But above all, the new leader will need to demonstrate that he or she can develop a distinctive and coherent vision of a liberal Britain.
At the heart of this battle for the centre-ground of British politics are ten key policy challenges:
The role of the state
The overarching challenge for the Liberal Democrats is to define the role of the state – what it should do, and what it shouldn’t. Should the state consume a higher or lower share of the economy? Should the state be expanding its role (as the party proposed in the funding of long term care and higher education) or limiting its role (as it proposed for ID cards, baby bonds and other expenditures, such as industrial and agricultural assistance)? Are there other functions from which the state can or should withdraw? Are there services for which it should charge? Should it be an active provider of services, or increasingly a commissioner and/or regulator of services? Does it support moves to introduce competition and choice into the delivery of public services? The answers to these questions, above all others, will define the future direction that the party wishes to move in.
Tax and benefits
The Liberal Democrats are currently the only party proposing an increase in higher rate taxation, with the establishment of a 50p rate for those earning over £100,000. The party needs to decide whether to maintain this totemic policy. But more generally, it needs to resolve whether to pursue a tax-raising or tax-cutting agenda. The party needs to flesh out what it means by ‘fair tax’: how should taxation be divided between high, middle and low income groups, between direct and indirect taxation, central and local taxation and business and personal taxation? The key benefits issue is whether to continue the highly targeted, means tested approach favoured by Gordon Brown. In particular, does the party wish to embrace the principle of universality, for example in the pensions system?
Education
The party will need to develop a range of policies setting out how it plans to drive up standards across the board – from pre-school to university. It will also need to engage in the debate about improving Britain’s schools: How does it intend to root out failure from the school system? Is it in favour of greater school autonomy and parental choice? The party has opposed selection by ability – should it also oppose selection by faith? In the tertiary sector, David Cameron’s declared intention to abandon the Conservative Party’s opposition to tuition fees will leave the Liberal Democrats as the only party pledging to fund higher education exclusively from general taxation. But is this policy sustainable in the face of growing student numbers? Will the party be able to reverse the long term decline in ‘per student funding’ in higher education on this basis? And is the policy compatible with promoting greater social mobility?
Health
UK health spending has reached European levels, but is not delivering European quality. Within the UK, health inequality is on the rise – infant mortality and death rates show wide differences across the country. The government created foundation hospitals to try and ensure health services became more efficient and responsive to local needs. However, productivity in the health service has declined since 1997. All three parties are committed to a universal health service free at the point of delivery. But should the NHS be funded by general taxation alone or should other forms of financing be found, such as social insurance? And is monopoly state provision the best way to deliver it?
Old age
The baby-boom generation is fast approaching retirement age, and the ‘dependency ratio’ between workers and non-workers is set to worsen in the coming decades. At the last election, the Lib Dems proposed increases in pensions and long term care funding. Are these pledges well targeted, progressive and sustainable?
Security, law and order
Liberals were united in opposing the government’s more draconian proposals to protect the UK from the threat of terrorism. The party has argued that the war on terror cannot be won by suspending or abandoning core freedoms. So how would the party protect the security of UK citizens? And how would it prevent more atrocities like those in London last July? The party has also consistently opposed what it sees as the government’s heavy-handed policies to tackle criminality and anti-social behaviour. But the question is how exactly the party intends to tackle persistent wrongdoing and improve the lives of those whose communities are blighted by drug abuse, harassment, anti-social behaviour and petty criminality?
Foreign policy
The Liberal Democrats’ principled opposition to the war in Iraq was popular and has been vindicated by the continuing problems. However, events have moved on and the party now needs to develop a coherent approach to the wider changes in international relations and the war against terror. What should the UK strategy now be in Iraq? Where is the Middle East peace process heading? How should we be dealing with Iran? How can we guarantee the UK’s long term energy security? What lessons can be learnt about failed and failing states and the spread of democracy? What needs to be done to strengthen the UN, to resolve tensions within NATO and to strengthen EU/US relations?
Europe
The Liberal Democrats have long taken the most pro-European line of any of the major parties. However, this stance is at odds with public opinion. The party needs to decide how to react to the collapse of the EU’s constitutional treaty and Europe’s other current travails. Can it set out a new course for the EU that can command genuine popular support in the UK and on the continent? Would the party be listened to more if it were to adopt a more pragmatic, or ‘realistic’ tone on European issues?
Energy and the environment
How Britain develops a sustainable energy policy for the 21st Century is still open to question. On paper, renewable energy is the most attractive way forward, but can it resolve Britain’s energy problems in the short to medium term? Can renewable energy be made economically viable and how should its proponents respond to the opposition of many local communities? The depletion of North Sea oil, and the decommissioning of the majority of the UK’s nuclear facilities by 2020, mean that a worryingly high proportion of energy needs will be met by imported oil and gas from increasingly unstable regions. Is a new nuclear programme the only sustainable means of meeting Britain’s energy needs?
Democracy agenda
The Liberal Democrats have long favoured returning far greater powers to local tiers of government. However, the collapse of John Prescott’s plans for regional government has raised new questions about the ‘localism’ agenda. Exactly how and where are local decisions going to be made? How should central government support local councils? Which additional powers should be devolved from the centre? Is a local income tax more progressive than council tax? In Westminster, Labour returned to office with the lowest level of public support in modern times. Will the Lib Dems be able to get the seemingly dead issue of proportional representation back on the agenda in the coming years? And what are the party’s plans for the House of Lords? Does it intend to finish the reform process and introduce a truly democratic second chamber?
11th January 2006
A nicely formatted version can be found from our website www.centreforum.org/bn1_leadership.pdf
The full text is copied below:-
The battle for liberalism: ten key questions for the next Lib Dem leader
Charles Kennedy's resignation as leader of the Liberal Democrats, coupled with David Cameron’s election as Conservative Party chief, marks a watershed for British politics.
Cameron has wasted no time in staking his claim to what the Liberal Democrats regard as their core territory. The new Conservative leader has ditched a number of discredited election commitments. He has also tasked a series of policy review groups to look at issues – such as Africa, the environment and social justice – which have not traditionally been key Tory concerns. At the same time, the Labour government’s reform agenda appears to be running out of steam. The Parliamentary Labour Party’s leftward drift may accelerate when Gordon Brown finally takes over as leader and seeks to shore up disaffected core party support.
The next Liberal Democrat leader thus faces the twin tasks of continuing to offer a firm critique of Labour’s statist policies, while responding to Cameron’s evolving ‘liberal’ Conservatism. The government’s reduced majority means there is an opportunity directly to shape individual policies in the immediate future. But above all, the new leader will need to demonstrate that he or she can develop a distinctive and coherent vision of a liberal Britain.
At the heart of this battle for the centre-ground of British politics are ten key policy challenges:
The role of the state
The overarching challenge for the Liberal Democrats is to define the role of the state – what it should do, and what it shouldn’t. Should the state consume a higher or lower share of the economy? Should the state be expanding its role (as the party proposed in the funding of long term care and higher education) or limiting its role (as it proposed for ID cards, baby bonds and other expenditures, such as industrial and agricultural assistance)? Are there other functions from which the state can or should withdraw? Are there services for which it should charge? Should it be an active provider of services, or increasingly a commissioner and/or regulator of services? Does it support moves to introduce competition and choice into the delivery of public services? The answers to these questions, above all others, will define the future direction that the party wishes to move in.
Tax and benefits
The Liberal Democrats are currently the only party proposing an increase in higher rate taxation, with the establishment of a 50p rate for those earning over £100,000. The party needs to decide whether to maintain this totemic policy. But more generally, it needs to resolve whether to pursue a tax-raising or tax-cutting agenda. The party needs to flesh out what it means by ‘fair tax’: how should taxation be divided between high, middle and low income groups, between direct and indirect taxation, central and local taxation and business and personal taxation? The key benefits issue is whether to continue the highly targeted, means tested approach favoured by Gordon Brown. In particular, does the party wish to embrace the principle of universality, for example in the pensions system?
Education
The party will need to develop a range of policies setting out how it plans to drive up standards across the board – from pre-school to university. It will also need to engage in the debate about improving Britain’s schools: How does it intend to root out failure from the school system? Is it in favour of greater school autonomy and parental choice? The party has opposed selection by ability – should it also oppose selection by faith? In the tertiary sector, David Cameron’s declared intention to abandon the Conservative Party’s opposition to tuition fees will leave the Liberal Democrats as the only party pledging to fund higher education exclusively from general taxation. But is this policy sustainable in the face of growing student numbers? Will the party be able to reverse the long term decline in ‘per student funding’ in higher education on this basis? And is the policy compatible with promoting greater social mobility?
Health
UK health spending has reached European levels, but is not delivering European quality. Within the UK, health inequality is on the rise – infant mortality and death rates show wide differences across the country. The government created foundation hospitals to try and ensure health services became more efficient and responsive to local needs. However, productivity in the health service has declined since 1997. All three parties are committed to a universal health service free at the point of delivery. But should the NHS be funded by general taxation alone or should other forms of financing be found, such as social insurance? And is monopoly state provision the best way to deliver it?
Old age
The baby-boom generation is fast approaching retirement age, and the ‘dependency ratio’ between workers and non-workers is set to worsen in the coming decades. At the last election, the Lib Dems proposed increases in pensions and long term care funding. Are these pledges well targeted, progressive and sustainable?
Security, law and order
Liberals were united in opposing the government’s more draconian proposals to protect the UK from the threat of terrorism. The party has argued that the war on terror cannot be won by suspending or abandoning core freedoms. So how would the party protect the security of UK citizens? And how would it prevent more atrocities like those in London last July? The party has also consistently opposed what it sees as the government’s heavy-handed policies to tackle criminality and anti-social behaviour. But the question is how exactly the party intends to tackle persistent wrongdoing and improve the lives of those whose communities are blighted by drug abuse, harassment, anti-social behaviour and petty criminality?
Foreign policy
The Liberal Democrats’ principled opposition to the war in Iraq was popular and has been vindicated by the continuing problems. However, events have moved on and the party now needs to develop a coherent approach to the wider changes in international relations and the war against terror. What should the UK strategy now be in Iraq? Where is the Middle East peace process heading? How should we be dealing with Iran? How can we guarantee the UK’s long term energy security? What lessons can be learnt about failed and failing states and the spread of democracy? What needs to be done to strengthen the UN, to resolve tensions within NATO and to strengthen EU/US relations?
Europe
The Liberal Democrats have long taken the most pro-European line of any of the major parties. However, this stance is at odds with public opinion. The party needs to decide how to react to the collapse of the EU’s constitutional treaty and Europe’s other current travails. Can it set out a new course for the EU that can command genuine popular support in the UK and on the continent? Would the party be listened to more if it were to adopt a more pragmatic, or ‘realistic’ tone on European issues?
Energy and the environment
How Britain develops a sustainable energy policy for the 21st Century is still open to question. On paper, renewable energy is the most attractive way forward, but can it resolve Britain’s energy problems in the short to medium term? Can renewable energy be made economically viable and how should its proponents respond to the opposition of many local communities? The depletion of North Sea oil, and the decommissioning of the majority of the UK’s nuclear facilities by 2020, mean that a worryingly high proportion of energy needs will be met by imported oil and gas from increasingly unstable regions. Is a new nuclear programme the only sustainable means of meeting Britain’s energy needs?
Democracy agenda
The Liberal Democrats have long favoured returning far greater powers to local tiers of government. However, the collapse of John Prescott’s plans for regional government has raised new questions about the ‘localism’ agenda. Exactly how and where are local decisions going to be made? How should central government support local councils? Which additional powers should be devolved from the centre? Is a local income tax more progressive than council tax? In Westminster, Labour returned to office with the lowest level of public support in modern times. Will the Lib Dems be able to get the seemingly dead issue of proportional representation back on the agenda in the coming years? And what are the party’s plans for the House of Lords? Does it intend to finish the reform process and introduce a truly democratic second chamber?
11th January 2006
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