David Laws at Kingston Lib Dem AGM

David Laws was the keynote speaker at Kingston Borough Lib Dems annual meeting on Friday and although warmly received I felt his speech and Q&A was somewhat off key.

David Laws is a gut liberal, with a commitment to promoting opportunity for those at the bottom of the heap and he is an articulate advocate for a number of policy positions - such as the pupil premium - designed to do that.

But that to me is also his main flaw - he is too much of a policy wonk.  He argued for the Lib Dem manifesto in 2015 to be consistent with policy achievements in government and that new measures proposed should be achievable as part of any new coalition agreement. 

The problem with this position is that it is essentially a policy insider's one - it excludes campaigns to corral public opinion behind a certain proposition or to win hearts and minds on an issue. 

The risk for the Lib Dems in providing an essentially timid manifesto that is acceptable to the political establishment and bureaucracy is that it leaves the large numbers of voters disillusioned in the political system to the mercy of UKIP and other parties advocating more radical constitutional settlements.

The party needs to start appealing to these voters - many of whom backed the party in 2010.  If it fails to do so crawling out of the 9-11% box the party is currently polling in becomes more and more difficult and the rise of UKIP will become inexorable.

Review of the year 2012

It's the last day of the year, so it's time to look back on the events that have caught the attention of this blog over the past 12 months...

In January I suggested that Lib Dem Scottish secretary, Michael Moore should stop trying to impede Alex Salmond from holding a referendum of his choosing.

In February a group called Liberal Left was set up.  I wasn't impressed.

March saw the sad deaths of Lib Dem stalwarts Viv Bingham and David Walter along with former darts champion Jocky Wilson.

In April, former Liberal leader David Steel said some very foolish things about Lords' reform on national TV.

May saw the climax of the football season (or anti-climax if you are a Hibs fan) and the final implosion of Glasgow Rangers.  In politics a local by-election in North Richmond saw some very dodgy tactics by anti-Lib Dem elements.

In June Jeremy Hunt's ministerial career was on the line and the abstention by Lib Dem MPs on a crucial vote suggested to me that it was time to change the rules of government collective responsibility to better reflect the nature of coalition.

In July I highlighted the bizarre behaviour of Kingston's Tories who backed (and continue to back) benefit fraud probe councillor, Tim Dennen.

August saw the spotlight on the future of Nick Clegg and his political strategy with the departure of his so-called strategist Richard Reeves.  Polling evidence contradicted them both.

In September, David Laws returned to government, the Lib Dems caved into ludicrous security demands for their annual conference and Nick Clegg's conference speech began to unravel in the blogosphere.

In October I gave some advice to the Guardian that might have dealt with some of their financial woes.  But there seemed to nothing that could deal with the self inflicted financial crisis at Edinburgh's second football team - Hearts.

November was a month for elections with the re-election of President Obama and the first votes for police and crime commissioners in the UK.  And it also saw a welcome - if belated - development with the Lib Dems reversing their support for more internet snooping powers.

And this brings us to December - and the news that income inequality had fallen under the coaltion in contrast to the rises under Labour.

So that's it for another year - and I wish you all a happy 2013.

English Baccalaureate Certificates - a camel by any other name

Today's announcement by England's education secretary, Michael Gove, of a new qualification to replace the GCSE has all the hallmarks of a hastily cobbled together compromise designed to try and overcome two diametrically opposed views about what the exam system should be about. At the one end there is the Govian view of an elitist system designed around the brightest kids. At the other there is the producer interest - strongly represented in Lib Dem ranks - backing a one size fits all system designed give those the bottom end academically something to show for their years of compulsory schooling.

So it is no surprise that the email that arrived at Living on Words towers from the Rt Hon David Laws MP - is full of warm words and glib cliches - in an effort to paper over the obvious cracks in the design.

Here is some of its ever so slightly contradictory content:

"Our proposals will restore rigour to the exam system, allow us to compete on the international stage, and end years of grade inflation under Labour.

Liberal Democrats will never accept a return to an unfair, two-tier system that divides children into winners and losers at a young age.

That’s why Nick negotiated with the Conservatives over the summer to ensure that the exam system will be more rigorous, but will also have Liberal Democrat ideas of fairness and social mobility at its heart. Our new qualification will:

• Be designed for the same children who currently sit GCSEs – whatever their ability level;
• Stretch those at the top while ending the cap on aspiration that means some children sit exam papers which don’t allow them to achieve more than a grade C;
• Reward children for their individual aptitude and ability – unlike the O-Level there will be no cap on top grades;
• Include new provision for the very small number of children, including those with special educational needs, who don’t sit GCSEs at the moment.

....the first teaching for these new exams, which we propose calling English Baccalaureate Certificates, will begin in 2015.

By working together in coalition Liberal Democrats have been able to secure a new qualification fit for the future, that will benefit all students and not just the privileged few."

The idea that you can design something that 'restores rigour', 'stretch those at the top', 'reward individual ability' and at the same time design something 'for ...children whatever their ability level' and has 'no cap on top grades' or 'aspiration' sounds far fetched (or indeed exactly like the now clearly unlamented ...er GCSE).

Laws' return is old politics

The return of David Laws to ministerial office is a bad move by Nick Clegg and the Lib Dem leadership.  It is a triumph of hope over political reality and demonstrates (sadly once again) the naive political judgement of Clegg.

Here's just some of the images posted on the web over the last few days on the issue:

Whatever the merits of Laws (and his reasons for not telling the truth about his expenses) - he is severely damaged goods.  His return to government is just another reminder that the Lib Dems say one thing in opposition and do the opposite in government. 

It also demostrates that all the hopes that were invested in Clegg in the spring of 2010 that he was a new kind of politician with a new way of doing things were simply wishful thinking.

It's not as if Laws undoubted talents couldn't have been used in an unpaid way - as DPM Clegg surely has powers to appoint almost anyone he wants as an unpaid 'enforcer'.  There has been no explanation of why he had to come back on to the ministerial payrole to do the job - or what his job actually involves outside of the Education ministry.

If this is Clegg's answer to the increasing number of open critics within the party then he is in more trouble than he and his team cares to admit.