Despatch Blog (Free subscription) | 08/10/2008
Given the turmoil on the financial markets the modest reshuffle of the Liberal Democrat front bench yesterday will probably have passed most people by. The changes were largely enforced by Gordon Brown's reorganisation of the government and there are no changes to the main portfolios. Alistair Carmichael and Tim Farron , who resigned to vote against the Lisbon Treaty, return as spokesmen for Scotland...
Iain Dale's Diary (Free subscription) | 07/10/2008
The LibDems have had a front bench reshuffle . Just in case you missed it. Highlights are... * Steve Webb to cover energy & climate change * Sarah Teather demoted from business to housing. * Er, that's it, ed...
Jonathan Fryer (Free subscription) | 19/09/2008
The multicultural annual dinners put on in Neasden by Brent Liberal Democrats have already become legendary events and last night’s was special, as it marked the fifth anniversary of the election of Sarah Teather in the Brent East by-election. Poor Sarah — who missed all of this week’s Bournemouth conference — is very much under [...]
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 17/09/2008
The Liberal Democrats have passed an emergency motion in response to the collapse of world trade negotiations. The motion, which was supported by the party's Shadow Secretary for Business, Sarah Teather MP, calls for a fundamental reappraisal of the role of the World Trade Organisation. The party is proposing a number of actions to make world trade rules more friendly to the twin goals of development...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 15/09/2008
Andrew Sparrow: Simon Hoggart will be chairing, with Chris Huhne, Sarah Teather, John Curtice and Menzies Campbnell on the panel
Jonathan Fryer (Free subscription) | 27/07/2008
Sarah Teather was the guest of honour at the Holborn and St Pancras LibDem summer lunch today, in the home and garden of Camden councillor David Simmons and his wife, but she didn’t have to speak, which was probably a relief for both her and the guests who were lapping up the sun and the [...]
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 25/07/2008
Commenting on today’s BERR Select Committee report on post office outreach services, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary , Sarah Teather said: "Outreach services are a poor relation to proper post offices. The Government seems to think it can get post offices on the cheap this way. However, even outreach services need to be properly funded. "At this rate many areas will end up with no post...
tfpl blog (Free subscription) | 22/07/2008
A fortnight ago I blogged about the privacy implications of the US Court order which forces Google to reveal You Tube user data to Viacom. Last week Sarah Teather MP asked a Parliamentary Question about it: here is Hansard's record...
Aberavon & Neath Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 18/07/2008
On top of their admission that their staff had over the last four years had lost 347 laptops, containing official information, the Ministry of Defence has now revealed that over 100 flash memory devices have been taken off MoD premises and mislaid. The story and Sarah Teather's response are here . It is all very well to say that commercial organisations have been just as careless with data (which they...
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 18/07/2008
121 USB sticks containing sensitive information have been lost or stolen from the Ministry of Defence since 2004, including five containing information classified as ‘secret’. The figures were released in response to a Parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat MP, Sarah Teather on data loss in the MoD. Commenting, Sarah Teather said: "It seems that this Government simply cannot be trusted with...
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 15/07/2008
Commenting on the release of a videotape showing a detainee being questioned by Canadian officials at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay , Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Guantanamo Bay, Sarah Teather said: "This depressing video again highlights the barbarity of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. To keep a 16 year old locked up without trial for years on end is a breach of every principle...
Re-cycle of Life (Free subscription) | 11/07/2008
Parking a b*tch round your way? Or is it a motorists' dream; tarmac and park for gratis signs as far as the eye can see? Either way, courtesy of Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrats' very own Lovely Rita, I present this guide to how much your local council rakes in from hard-pressed motorists in parking charges.
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 07/05/2008
Commenting on the independent review of the postal service, which finds that liberalisation of the market has produced no significant benefits for either households or small businesses, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary, Sarah Teather said: "The Government really should have seen this coming. Asking the Royal Mail to compete on the open market, without first making sure it had the resources...
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 30/04/2008
Commenting on today's Competition Commission report into supermarkets, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business Secretary , Sarah Teather said: "The beefed up supermarket code of conduct is welcome. But we will have to wait and see whether it really does stop the exploitation of suppliers. "The key to whether new supermarkets are allowed in a particular area should not be about competition between different...
Liberal Democrats (Free subscription) | 29/04/2008
Commenting on the news that BP and Shell are expected to announce a jump in profits by more than a quarter this week, Liberal Democrat Shadow Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Secretary, Sarah Teather said: "Many people will feel deeply uncomfortable that some of the world's wealthiest companies are experiencing a profit surge at a time when household budgets are under tremendous pressure....
