The Campaign for the Reinstatement Bill has, in essence, been adopted in this new Parliament by Caroline Lucas in her Private Member’s NHS Bill which has received a First Reading. The importance of this Bill is that prior to the Election it was supported by Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Green MPs and now this newly tabled Bill continues to be supported by that same grouping though slightly …
Posts tagged Politics
Lord Owen calls for time limits on Prime Ministers’ tenure of office
Prime Ministers should stay in office for no more than ten years or eight years if the Fixed Term Parliament Act is changed from five to four years, according to former Foreign Secretary Lord David Owen. He believes limitation would curb the hubristic behaviour of Prime Ministers who become intoxicated with power. Speaking at a conference on Leadership: Stress & Hubris on 17 November, hosted by the Daedalus Trust and …
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Statement By Lord Owen On the Labour Party Special Conference Decision
STATEMENT ISSUED BY LORD DAVID OWEN, SATURDAY 1 MARCH 2014 ON THE LABOUR PARTY SPECIAL CONFERENCE DECISION TO REFORM THE VOTING SYSTEM FOR THE LABOUR PARTY LEADER
“This is a brave and bold reform by Ed Miliband and one I strenuously argued for as a Labour MP at the special conference on Saturday, 25 January 1981. This very desirable change, nevertheless, threatens to weaken Labour’s financial support at a critical …
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Lord Owen pays tribute to Baroness Thatcher
Article by Lord Owen, published in The Telegraph, 8 April 2013
Margaret Thatcher: they underrated her, and always paid the price
Mrs Thatcher was not regarded as much of a threat by the Labour Party when she became Conservative leader in 1975
Not many people in 1975 believed that Margaret Thatcher would be as serious a threat to Labour as she became. Barbara Castle, however, sensed immediately that she was …
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Simon Jenkins, Writing in The Guardian Supports David Owen’s Call for Study of Impact of Power on Leader’s Personality
“Gordon Brown now suffers that incurable syndrome: ex-PM”
Article by Simon Jenkins, in The Guardian Thursday 14 July 2011
Click here to view the full article
For more on Hubris Syndrome, visit daedalustrust.com – the website of the academic and research oriented Trust dedicated to raising awareness of this important leadership and governance issue.…
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Way With Words Speech: Coalition
Speech by Lord Owen at the `Way With Words’ Festival
Dartington, Sunday 10 July 2011
‘THE COALITION’
The present Coalition Government that emerged after a few days negotiation owed almost everything to the openness and generosity of the speech that David Cameron made on the Friday once he realised he had lost the General Election. It was the surprising nature of his words that made it possible for Liberal Democrats …
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Speech by Lord Owen: Learning From Opposition
Speech by Lord Owen: Learning From Oppostion. How Does Labour Avoid The Mistakes of The Past
Click here to read full version of the speech
“31:51:81” Progress Meeting with Political Historians, Monday, 16 May 2011
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30 years on from the SDP
CentreForum debate to mark the 30th anniversary of the formation of the SDP, Monday, 22 March 2011
A Message from David Owen
I wish I could have been with you to hear and contribute to the debate but I am in Germany.
I genuinely believe that all of us who were in the SDP can in our individual ways justly claim to be its heirs. No one political party, member …