Category Archives: YouTube

LDVideo: Crosstalk with Jeremy Thorpe (BBC1, 24 March 1974)

By Stephen Tall | Fri 5th December 2014 - 8:55 am

With thanks to Ed Stradling, here’s a 40 minute interview between Jeremy Thorpe and Richard Crossman, originally broadcast on BBC1 on 24th March 1974.

LDVideo: Vikki Slade on Free School Meals in action

By The Voice | Wed 22nd October 2014 - 8:47 am

In Channel 4’s Political Slot this week, Lib Dem candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole Vikki Slade finds out how the party’s policy of free school meals for 4-7 year olds is having a huge impact locally. You can watch it here.

Nick Clegg’s conference rally speech: “We may be the underdogs but we have the values, beliefs and resilience to win”

By The Voice | Sun 5th October 2014 - 9:00 am

“This is the fight of our lives” – that was the message from Nick Clegg at last night’s conference rally. You can watch it here:

Also posted in Conference | Tagged autumn conference 2014, Jo Swinson, kavya kaushik, nick clegg, paddy ashdown and the other guys | 30 Comments

Catch-up LDVideo: Nick Clegg hails “a manifesto for the next generation”

By The Voice | Sat 13th September 2014 - 12:00 pm

It ended up being buried by this week’s news from Scotland and the Royal Baby – but the Lib Dem pre-manifesto was launched this week. You can read Stephen Tall’s initial take on it here and watch Nick Clegg hail it as “a manifesto for the next generation” in this video:

Tagged liberal democrat manifesto 2015 and nick clegg | 4 Comments

Catch up with ‘Call Clegg': on Boris, immigration, Gaza, Europe and the Tories’ electoral srategy

By The Voice | Thu 7th August 2014 - 5:30 pm

If you missed the latest ‘Call Clegg’ you can catch up with it below. Here are some of the edited highlights…

On Boris:

Do you know I think the thing about Boris Johnson is you know despite all the kind of clumsiness and bumblingness he’s actually a really, really ambitious politician. And you know you don’t need to sort begrudging him that. He treats his political ambition a bit like he treats his hair. He wants everyone to think that he doesn’t really care but he actually really, really does care. And so look he’ll now have to, I think now he’ll come a bit, you know have to come clean a bit more about the fact that he is in many ways a much more conventional politician than he likes to appear. … At some point he’s actually going to have to say, I’m going to be responsible for stuff, I have to take difficult decisions. Boy have I got the t-shirt on this, I know this. You sometimes just have to take a choice between a lot of invidious difficult decisions all of which you know are not going to be wildly popular and you’re going to have to stick with them. And he’s going to have to do that at some point if he really does want to see through his political ambitions and then we will see.

On immigration:

Tagged call clegg | 2 Comments

LDVideo: Nick Clegg – Let’s use Pride in London to celebrate advances in LGBT rights

By The Voice | Sat 28th June 2014 - 10:10 am

Pink News reports that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has released a video celebrating Pride in London, saying we should celebrate advances made for LGBT rights. It quotes Nick saying:

“It is quite fitting that on the eve of London Pride weekend we were able to announce the final, crucial steps to making equal marriage a reality. From 10th December those couples who are currently in civil partnerships but want to enter into a marriage instead, will be able to do so.

“It has been a long struggle to get here and many people have worked tirelessly to ensure true marriage equality, but it has been worth it. This weekend we will be able to celebrate the advances our society has made for LGBT people, their friends and families.”

You can watch the video here…

Tagged featured, LGBT, london pride, nick clegg, pink news and same sex marriage | 2 Comments

LDVideo: David Laws on the success of The Orange Book, 10 years on

By The Voice | Thu 26th June 2014 - 5:55 pm

On Tuesday, Centre Forum, the liberal think tank, held a one-day conference in London to mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of The Orange Book (we have already run pieces on the event by Stephen here, by Andrew Chamberlain here and by Rebecca Hanson here).

David Laws, one of the co-editors of The Orange Book (along with Paul Marshall), delivered the key-note speech on the day, a video of which has now been put online by Centre Forum. You can view it below, or here on YouTube.

Tagged andrew chamberlain, centre forum, centre forum orange book 10 years on, david laws, orange book, paul marshall, rebecca hanson and stephen tall | 29 Comments

Newark by-election: what I told BBC’s Daily Politics

By Stephen Tall | Fri 6th June 2014 - 10:00 pm

I got a call from the BBC’s Daily Politics this morning asking if I’d be willing to pitch up this lunchtime to discuss the Lib Dem performance, as the party wasn’t willing to put up anyone official. (Labour didn’t either.) I duly did so and you can see what I said below. If you want to skip Grant Shapps and Roger Helmer, I pop up briefly at the 12 minute mark. As ever, you only really get to string together a couple of sentences: I blogged my fuller views on Newark …

Also posted in Parliamentary by-elections | Tagged bbc daily politics, newark by-election and stephen tall | 106 Comments

WATCH: Clegg – “the easiest thing in politics is just to walk away. I’m not going to do that”

By The Voice | Mon 26th May 2014 - 8:20 pm

A shattered-looking Nick Clegg has spoken today of the “gutting and heart breaking” European election results, but said he would not “walk away” from the leadership nor from the Coalition. You can read the full transcript of his interview with the BBC’s Vicki Young below.

45 Comments

WATCH: Nigel Farage comes a cropper at the hands of LBC’s James O’Brien

By Stephen Tall | Fri 16th May 2014 - 1:15 pm

Nigel Farage was interviewed by LBC Radio’s James O’Brien today: it didn’t go well for the Ukip leader. Watch here as he’s asked about the racist comments of elected Ukip representatives, the extremist views of its far-right European allies, its mis-use of dodgy stats to whip-up immigration fears, and its refusal to sign up for an audit of its MEPs’ expenses…

Tagged james o'brien, nigel farage and ukip | 54 Comments

6 British Pathé video clips of ex-Liberal leaders from 1931 to 1967

By Stephen Tall | Thu 17th April 2014 - 3:30 pm

Sir John Simon speaks to the Nation. “Let us give to the Prime Minister a firm mandate in the name of the whole nation” (1931)

Tagged clement davies, featured, jeremy thorpe, jo grimond, sir archibald sinclair and sir john simon | 21 Comments

Missed last night’s Nick v Nigel debate? Want to watch it again? Here it is…

By The Voice | Thu 27th March 2014 - 8:00 am

Tagged nickvnigel | Leave a comment

My 5 minutes defending Lib Dem honour against Bus Pass Elvis

By Stephen Tall | Sat 15th March 2014 - 10:34 am

“We’re interviewing Bus Pass Elvis – the guy who beat the Lib Dems in a council by-election last week – and wondered if you’d be free to come on and talk about whether it means the writing’s on the wall.” That was the enticing invitation from the BBC’s Daily Politics show – how could I refuse? You can see how I got on below.

It was a brief segment, so there were two points I didn’t get to make which I think are important and relevant.

First, what Bus Pass Elvis’s defeat of the Lib Dems in North Clifton ward in Nottingham shows is the extent to which the party’s support has been hit in non-target areas. The party didn’t contest the ward at all in 2011 but when it did in 2007 it attracted 7% of the vote. Seven years on, the Lib Dems got 2%.

Also posted in News | Tagged bbc daily politics, bus pass elvis, canterbury, ludlow, north clifton ward and stephen tall | 6 Comments

LDVideo: Matthew Oakeshott on the Lib Dem differentiation strategy

By The Voice | Mon 10th February 2014 - 4:05 pm

BBC’s Sunday Politics looked at recent statements by leading Lib Dems – including three of the Coalition’s biggest champions, Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander and David Laws – widely seen as an attempt to differentiate the party from the Conservatives:

Post by BBC Daily Politics & Sunday Politics.

Tagged matthew oakeshott and sunday politics | 3 Comments

LDVideo EXCLUSIVE: “The Lost Liberal Democrat Votes”

By Stephen Tall | Fri 7th February 2014 - 3:15 pm

Here’s a fascinating 7-minute video from documentary producer Ed Stradling looking at “The lost Liberal Democrat Votes” – and what the party can do to win them back by 2015. Ed’s not a Lib Dem member, so when I asked him what had prompted him to make this short film, here’s what he told me:

I’m not a party member, in fact I’ve never even voted for the Lib Dems, although I may have done had they ever stood a chance in any of my constituencies. However, I do think the Lib Dems have done a fantastic job in Government, and come 2015 I would certainly favour a Lib-Con coalition over an outright Tory Government, just as I’d favour a Lib-Lab coalition over an outright Labour Government. I think the political consequences of joining the Coalition have been terribly unfair on the Lib Dems and I guess that is the main motivation for the video – it’s always struck me as crazy that the Lib Dems should be punished by the left-sided voters for taking a decision which is clearly better for them, than the almost certain alternative of a Tory majority in a second 2010 election.

Also posted in News | Tagged ed stradling and featured | 63 Comments

Lib Dem Deputy Leader election: result expected today at 7pm

By Stephen Tall | Tue 28th January 2014 - 2:40 pm

Three Lib Dem MPs hope that by this evening they will be elected Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems – the post was vacated by Simon Hughes when he was appointed Justice Minister. The three competing for the post are (in strict surname order) Gordon Birtwhistle, Sir Malcolm Bruce and Lorely Burt.

The electorate is comprised of their fellow MPs – technically the post is Deputy Leader of the Parliamentary Party in the House of Commons, though only the first two words of the title are commonly used – with the wider party membership getting to choose the Party President (for which there will also be a vacancy later this year when Tim Farron’s second two-year term expires).

We’ll find out the result this evening, but to whet your appetite the BBC has this two-minute profile of the runners and riders…

Also posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Tagged bbc daily politics, deputy leader election, Gordon Birtwhistle, lorely burt and malcolm bruce | 3 Comments

Careful, Boris. Remember what happened to the last top Tory to liken the Lib Dems to a bird?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 18th December 2013 - 9:25 am

“The sooner we are shot of the great yellow albatross, in my view, the better.” So said Boris Johnson yesterday, taking a pop at both Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems.

But, as a classics scholar, Boris should beware a little thing called hubris. At the 1990 Tory Party conference, Mrs Thatcher poked fun at the Lib Dems’ new logo, the bird of freedom, by performing the Monty Python “Dead Parrot” sketch:

Tagged boris johnson, eastleigh by-election and margaret thatcher | 31 Comments

Nick Clegg celebrates 40 years of LBC and asks for a forty year contract

By Newsmoggie | Fri 11th October 2013 - 3:33 pm

It begins with a tongue in cheek moan. Where’s the caviar and red carpet? It ends with Nick Clegg recording a heartfelt tribute to LBC’s 40 years of broadcasting. And in the process Nick asks the broadcaster for a forty year contract.

Also posted in News | Tagged nick clegg | 1 Comment

As Channel 4 News goes on titillating ‘fishing trip’, Sarah Teather calls them out

By Stephen Tall | Fri 11th October 2013 - 11:45 am

I wasn’t too impressed by the timing of Sarah Teather’s announcement — on the eve of the party’s conference — that she wouldn’t be standing as a Lib Dem at the next election. But I was impressed by her performance on Channel 4 News last night.

Invited on to talk about immigration in her first television interview since that news broke, Matt Frei decided instead to search for cheap and easy headlines — does she think Nick Clegg’s a sell-out, is she in touch with Lord Rennard? etc — to her evident frustration.

She deals with it well, though as she’s commented today: “I agreed to do Channel 4 last night hoping for a thoughtful space to articulate some of my views on immigration and public discourse. Sadly Channel 4 were doing the Westminster thing and trying to make everything personal and titillating. But that is Westminster I guess. One of the challenges of trying to make arguments from inside the party political space! But I got to make some points anyway.”

Tagged channel 4 news, immigration, matt frei and sarah teather | 15 Comments

LDVideo: Iain Dale unilaterally disarms anti-nukes protester in front of TV cameras

By Stephen Tall | Tue 24th September 2013 - 10:05 am

Don’t mess with Dale! And definitely not when he’s in protective publisher mode and wants to ensure a hassle-free interview for his latest political author, Damian McBride. Just a still photo and the link to the video for now, but it’s bound to be on YouTube soon enough…

Tagged damian mcbride, iain dale and nick sutton | 14 Comments

LDVideo: Glasgow 2013 party conference redux

By The Voice | Sat 21st September 2013 - 1:15 pm

Why attend a Lib De conference? And what happens when you do? Those are two of the questions communicatios firm covi set out to get answers to in this 5-minute video featuring Alison Goldsworthy, Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Executive: Mark Pack, Editor of Lib Dem Newswire; David Boyle, author and policy maker; and Professor Stephen Lee, Chief Executive of CentreForum…

Tagged ali goldsworthy, covi, david boyle, glasgow conference 2013, Mark Pack and stephen lee | 4 Comments

Ukip’s Godfrey Bloom brands Michael Crick a racist and hits him with party’s ‘no black faces’ conference brochure

By Stephen Tall | Fri 20th September 2013 - 2:40 pm

This tweet from Mark Wallace was picked up Channel 4’s political editor Michael Crick…

"UKIP: Changing the face of politics"…to make it entirely white, apparently #UKIPConf pic.twitter.com/fNT5bjgX58

— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) September 20, 2013

… who decided to quiz shy and retiring Ukip MEP Godfrey Bloom about the absence of black faces from his party’s conference brochure.

Here’s what happened next…

Tagged godfrey bloom, mark wallace, michael crick and ukip | 48 Comments

LDVideo: Stephen Tall reviews the Lib Dem year for BBC’s Daily Politics

By The Voice | Wed 18th September 2013 - 11:10 am

Stephen Tall reviews the Lib Dem year – it’s ups and its down – for the BBC’s Daily Politics, recalling some of the questions on Nick’s weekly LBC radio phone-in, Call Clegg…

Also posted in Conference and News | Tagged call clegg, daily politics (bbc) and stephen tall | 4 Comments

RIP David Frost. Here’s the TW3 sketch I’ll remember him for

By Stephen Tall | Sun 1st September 2013 - 12:45 pm

Sir David Frost – satirist, interviewer, writer – has died. Here’s my favourite That Was The Week That Was sketch, in which he and Willie Rushton excoriated Conservative home secretary Henry Brooke. It concludes with the brutal pay-off: “If you’re Home Secretary, you can get away with murder”.

Tagged david frost, henry brooke and willie rushton | 1 Comment

Nick Clegg on Syria: Government “is not going to act outside the remit of international law”

By The Voice | Tue 27th August 2013 - 7:15 pm

Here’s Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg commenting on the Government’s actions on Syria:

Also posted in Europe / International | Tagged nick clegg and syria | 28 Comments

LDVideo: Watch Spanish premier Rajoy’s “fin de la cita” cock-up

By Stephen Tall | Sun 11th August 2013 - 10:30 am

Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy has been having a tough summer. The country’s economy continues to contract, unemployment has soared, and — most personally damaging of all — he and his (very) right-wing Partido Popular have been embroiled in a slush fund corruption scandal.

A recent speech to the Spanish parliament was intended to draw a line under the affair. But Rajoy seemed not to have read his text in advance: after each quote, he also read out loud the words in parentheses, ‘(fin de la cita)’ — ‘(end of quote)’. He did this nine times, with varying intonations of intensity, triggering confusion among his peers in parliament and prompting guffaws among the public at home.

(Watch here on YouTube.)

It brings to mind the classic “As I look out over this magnificent vista” clip from The West Wing. It’s Sunday, so why not enjoy those four minutes once again…

Also posted in News | Tagged mariano rajoy, spain and west wing | 6 Comments

Jim Messina and “the single most infamous congressional ad in contemporary history”

By Stephen Tall | Sat 3rd August 2013 - 10:00 am

The Conservatives have hired Barack Obama’s election strategist Jim Messina to advise on their 2015 general election campaign. The Guardian describes it as “a coup for the Tory team to have been able to hire a strategist who proved such a vital figure in Obama’s presidential campaigns in both 2008 and 2012.”

Those unfamiliar with Mr Messina’s work can watch an example of his kind of ad below. It’s from the 2002 Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee race between Max Baucus and Montana Republican Senate nominee Mike Taylor, and has been described by Salon.com as “the single most infamous congressional ad in contemporary history”:

Renowned in political circles, the ad set porno music to 20-year-old footage of a video from Taylor’s cosmetics business. The video showed Taylor in a leisure suit rubbing cream into another man’s face. As the spot faded to black, it showed Taylor then seeming to reach for the man’s crotch as a voice-over said “Mike Taylor — not the way we do business in Montana.”

Also posted in LDVUSA | Tagged jim messina and Mark Pack | 2 Comments

LDVideo: Graham Norton meets Lib Dem councillor Paula Belford and her husband’s “little chappie”

By The Voice | Sat 20th July 2013 - 6:25 pm

Here’s Islington Lib Dem councillor Paula Belford starring on Graham Norton’s chat-show, with Steve Carrel among others looking on…

Tagged graham norton, islington and paula belford | 4 Comments

Lib Dems select Maajid Nawaz as candidate in ultra-close three-way marginal of Hampstead and Kilburn

By Stephen Tall | Sat 20th July 2013 - 10:45 am

In the 2010 general election, Hampstead and Kilburn was a three-way marginal: Glenda Jackson squeaked back in for Labour by just 42 votes, polling fewer than 900 votes ahead of the third-placed Lib Dems.

This week, the local Lib Dems selected the candidate they hope will succeed Ms Jackson when she retires at the next election: he’s Maajid Nawaz, a former radical Islamist, author of Radical: My Journey from Islamist Extremism to a Democratic Awakening, and co-founder of the Quilliam Foundation. As the Ethnic Minority Lib Dems note:

He is the first visible minority so far to become a PPC for the 2015 general election in a constituency where the party has a realistic chance of winning. EMLD welcomes his selection as a step forward in BAME representation. He will take on Labour’s Tulip Siddiq who is seeking to succeed Glenda Jackson as MP. Jackson’s north London seat has a paper-thin majority and is regarded as a three-way ultra marginal. The Lib Dems were in third place in 2010 but have a realistic chance of success, particularly if we garner a sizable share of the BAME vote, which makes up over 30% of the local electorate.

And here’s how the Qulliam Foundation acknowledges Maajid’s selection:

Maajid Nawaz will run in his personal capacity, as a member of the Liberal Democrat Party. In running for the Liberal Democrats, Mr Nawaz continues his political journey from a former leading member of a radical organisation towards liberal democratic values. He will remain Chairman of Quilliam and is committed to its cross-party values and mission of countering extremism, promoting pluralism, inspiring change and seeding democratic culture.

You can read more about Maajid on his Wikipedia page here, and see him in action on BBC1’s Question Time here:

Also posted in Selection news | Tagged bbc question time, hampstead and kilburn, maajid nawaz, qualliam foundation and richard osley | 15 Comments

The right to privacy: “in a country born on the will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?”

By Stephen Tall | Sat 22nd June 2013 - 6:30 pm

With news today of yet further alleged intrusion into private citizens’ communications — GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications (Guardian) — here’s how The West Wing anticipated the past week’s furore…