• [May 17] THE Tory Council has explained why it thinks its intention to lease the site to the Catholic Church is lawful in a cabinet paper Use Of Clifden Road Site, which says:

. . 4.6 Another feature of the Council's secondary school forecasts that has been challenged in some quarters is the forecast number of out-borough residents who take up places. However, current data and developments do not support that challenge. The graphs in Appendix 3 to this report demonstrate that the proportion of out-borough pupils has decreased from 37 % to 33 % in the last five years, representing a total decrease of 649 pupils.

May 17]: BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable talks about investment into the UK car industry, UK unemployment rate, and the collapsing Euro currency and Eurozone.

• [May 16] Tessa Munt (Wells, Liberal Democrat): SOME 2,000 highly paid public servants have been exposed for avoiding paying their fair share of tax. Does the Prime Minister agree that whenever someone is paid a salary using taxpayers' money, the Government should insist that they are on the payroll and pay full pay-as-you-earn income tax and national insurance contributions?

• [May 16] Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale, Liberal Democrat): I WANT to focus my remarks on the parts of the Queen's Speech relating to rural affairs, particularly farming and the groceries code adjudicator, as mentioned by my hon. Friend Laura Sandys.

I hope that all of us, whatever our politics, would at least have been relieved and encouraged when we saw this morning's unemployment figures, while not finding them the source of a desire to punch the air and celebrate. I guess that during the day most of us will have seen in our in-boxes reference to the unemployment levels in our own constituencies; we always look at those, as I did. I can claim pretty much no credit whatsoever for the fact that Westmorland and Lonsdale has the lowest unemployment in England. When we look at these stats and what they mean for the cost of living and for people's ability to keep their heads above water, we see that nothing is more important than whether someone has a job and whether it pays well. The latter is equally important. The fact that we have very low unemployment in our part of the world is a credit to businesses and the public sector, both local and national, but it overlooks the fact that our local average income is less than £20,000 a year while the average house price in Westmorland is £240,000. That means that the average person is earning a twelfth of what it costs to buy a home. That is why we have so many people on the social housing waiting list and why so many people find it a struggle. If someone lives on my patch, the chances are that they are in work but that they are still struggling because the cost of living is a significant problem given the nature of what it is to live in a rural area.

• [May 16] Julian Huppert (Cambridge, Liberal Democrat): IT is entertaining to follow the speeches from Mr Leigh and Sir Gerald Kaufman, who have shown that there is an obsession about House of Lords reform, at least in trying to stop it, among certain people who have been in this House for a very long time. It is a project that has been going on for a long time, too. It was in all three party manifestos. We can achieve it; it does not have to be an obsession for any of us.

• [May 16] Edward Davey (Kingston and Surbiton, Liberal Democrat): I AM grateful to the Opposition for selecting a debate on the cost of living, which is a very important issue. There can be no doubt that many people in our country have been through, and are going through, some tough times, not least because inflation has cut into their living standards. I am sure that all of us pick that up in our constituencies. I do two advice surgeries a week for my constituents, and the cost of living comes up frequently.

• [May 16] Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat): MY Lords, I also congratulate the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham on his maiden speech. It was genuinely a very powerful speech on the issues that we are addressing today. I do not want to put words in his mouth but I would like to make a couple of comments that essentially spring out of the remarks that he made, because I think they are very important.

• [May ] Lord Razzall (Liberal Democrat): My Lords, I am sure that the students of politics in your Lordships' House, of which there are many, will entirely understand why the noble Baroness thinks that this is all the fault of the Government and blames the whole thing on government policy. However, we ought first to put into perspective what has happened to government expenditure during the period of the coalition. In real terms, expenditure has hardly been reduced at all.

• [May 16] Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat): WOULD your Lordships agree that many individuals would like the opportunity to put their ISAs into sustainable investments? Is that not an argument for looking at the green investment bank as an opportunity? Are the Government considering opening up the possibility of investment into the green investment bank for institutions and individuals who could then use their ISAs in this way?

• [May 15] Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat): MY Lords, it is after 10 o'clock; I am speaker number 57; I am on camera, as all of us have been; and the sky has not fallen in-as it has not over the many years of debates being broadcast from this and another Chamber. That may be enough for now on cameras in court save to say, in answer to the concern that counsel will play to the gallery-and this may be a risky observation-don't they always?

• [May 16] Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat): TO ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the hunger strike taking place among Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Lord Howell of Guildford (Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Conservative): My Lords, the Government have followed closely the mass hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners. In the past week we have raised our long-standing concerns over Israel's extensive use of administrative detention and the treatment of Palestinian prisoners with the Israeli Vice-Prime Minister, the Israeli Foreign Minister and the Israeli national security adviser. We welcome the Egyptian-brokered agreement, which has brought an end to the hunger strike.

• [May 15] Baroness Doocey (Liberal Democrat): MY Lords, the revelations that senior Metropolitan Police officers accepted inappropriate hospitality have led to the Met setting up a monthly register that now lists all gifts and hospitality that police officers have accepted. Do the Government agree that all police forces should be required to set up such a register and to publish it monthly?

• [May 14] Vincent Cable (Secretary of State, Business, Innovation and Skills; Twickenham, Liberal Democrat): THE measures set out in the Queen's Speech reassert the coalition Government's fundamental commitment to rescuing the UK economy and promoting growth. There is no easy route out of the debris of a financial collapse. I start with that point, since one of the most important pieces of legislation in the Queen's Speech is structural reform of banking, which I have worked on closely with the Chancellor.

• [May 14] Baroness Kramer (Liberal Democrat): MY Lords, I think that a significant number of companies are somewhat fixated around the idea that 16 hours is the gold standard for part-time work. Given that for many people affected by this change, 24 hours becomes the standard number of hours they would wish to be in employment, are there means by which the Government could communicate, through the trade associations and others, to try to change some of the cultural attitudes towards the various shift structures and others that set part-time hours?

• [Apr 30] Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Liberal Democrat): I hope that the Prime Minister accepts that for more than 25 years every Liberal Democrat leader and colleague in both Houses has sought to break the insidious relationship between Labour and Tory Governments and the media. We therefore welcome the Leveson inquiry, which is doing an excellent job. If the Prime Minister accepts that that gives confidence to the public, will he also accept that referring this matter next month to the independent adviser will also give confidence to the public and that possibly, in the future, that should be done independently and not at the discretion of the Prime Minister of the day?

• [Apr 30] Vincent Cable (Secretary of State, Business, Innovation and Skills; Twickenham, Liberal Democrat): I BEG to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time.

I will start by setting out the context of the Bill. The opportunity to host the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime national event, and we have to make the most of the opportunities that hosting them will bring. The games will attract significant numbers of visitors from around the world to the UK, and consequently the economic benefits to the UK are expected to be considerable. By way of contrast, the Australian 2000 games attracted 1.6 million additional visitors, and Beijing 4.4 million. We have had an independent estimate that about 6 million additional visits will be made to the UK as a consequence of the games.

• [May 08] Sam Macrory writes: IN the frenetic first days of the coalition, as Downing Street released a staggered list of ministerial appointments, one name seemed to be missing. Where was Norman Lamb? An MP for nine years, with a string of high profile posts on his CV . . a ministerial role seemed a certainty for the man who had gone into the general election as the Lib Dem health spokesman. He was, however, nowhere to be seen.

• David Laws* writes: TWO years ago I sat in a meeting of Liberal Democrat parliamentarians who had gathered to approve the coalition agreement. The mood was one of delight, elation even. One senior and more sceptical MP, sitting near me, muttered: "They're celebrating tonight. But there will be a hell of a hangover in the morning."

• May 08] David Heath writes:*: IT was 12 years ago that I sat on my very first House of Commons bill committee, and a pretty important bill it was too. We were considering what was to become the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and I was helping Bob McLennan try to stiffen up what was in danger of becoming, in the hands of the last government, an increasingly flaccid piece of legislation.

• [May 07] Vince Cable* writes: I RECENTLY attended a remarkable meeting of European economic ministers in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. We represented 15 of the 27 European Union countries: the Like Minded Group, committed to rolling back excessive regulation emanating from Brussels and to expanding the Single Market.

• [May 06] Norman Lamb writes: ROYAL Mail and the Post Office are two of our most recognisable and most trusted brands. For hundreds of years the post office has been at the heart of our communities - with a value that goes beyond mere economics to the social and the symbolic . .

Sadly previous governments left them both in a mess . . It is now the Liberal Democrats in Government who are getting Royal Mail and the Post Office back on their feet and, as minister for postal affairs, I am continuing the work started by Ed Davey.

• [May 06] Nick Clegg writes: THE Liberal Democrats took a beating last week. There were some patches of light - in particular swings towards us in areas where we have MPs and are strong on the ground. But last Thursday was still a bad day for our party. It is no good issuing the usual political mantras about being disappointed, and then back to business as usual. We have to look hard at what happened and why.

• [May 07] Trevor Smith* writes: IN the 1950s/60s it was a media cliché that the Liberal Party was consigned to the Celtic Fringe. The latest council election results show the Lib Dems have been consigned by the Celtic Fringe. A virtual wipe out as they were seen as proxy Tories. This outcome was all too predictable once they had joined in the Coalition that inevitably meant a distinctive Lib Dem party identity could not be maintained.

• [May 06] Mike Tuffrey* writes: LET'S start with the facts…. Overall turnout was down to 38%, from 45% last time. Two Liberal Democrat Assembly members elected, compared to three in 2008 and five in 2004. Mayoral vote was 92,000 (4.2% - and deposit lost), compared to 236,752 (9.8%) in 2008. Our Assembly list vote was 150,447 (6.8% - just over the threshold), against 275,272 (11.4%) in 2008. The Greens "pushed the Lib Dems into fourth place": actually their Assembly vote flat-lined at 8.5%, although their Mayoral vote was up a bit, from 3.2% to 4.5%.

• [May 10] Mary Reid writes: THE leaflet below appears to be normal Lib Dem election literature. It was one of three distributed widely overnight on Ma 2-3 for the council by-election in North Richmond ward. Indeed, the layout and photos are exact copies of earlier Lib Dem election leaflets. The bar chart, grumble sheet and contact details all look authentic. The writing style is credible. But a closer inspection reveals something very worrying. The main story is completely false. It states:

• [May 09] James Chapman* writes: DAVID Cameron has complained of a 'growing list of things that I want to do but can't' because of the Liberal Democrats. On the eve of the Queen's Speech, the Prime Minister used an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail to insist he is determined to lead a 'Conservative-only government' after the next election. And he admitted more candidly than ever before where his coalition partners are holding him back . . .

• [May 06]: VINCE Cable has insisted the Liberal Democrats will recover from the battering they took in the local elections . . in an interview on Murnaghan (Sky News), Dr Cable said:

"It was a bad result there's no doubt about that. But our activists, our councillors are tough, resilient people - they've had to be over the years - and I think the way back is this. They recognise the Government has to stay the course, we've got a massive problem sorting out the economy, it's not an easy thing to do and we have to stick with it.

• [May 01] Tom Brake* writes: TODAY the Protection of Freedoms Bill became an Act: a landmark for the campaign to roll back Labour's surveillance state. Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for this piece of legislation, proposing a "Freedom Bill" more than five years ago when Nick Clegg was the party's Home Affairs Spokesman.

• [Apr 30] John Pugh* writes: IT has been a grim month for the Coalition but with the prospect of a reshuffle in sight there is scope for the Coalition to re-discover the heady optimism of the Rose Garden days. The way forward does though involve re-discovering the kind of boldness that we saw then and acting in a way which many might consider counter-intuitive. It differs both from the Churchillian wartime recipe of keeping "buggering on" and the pursuit of Liam Fox's coalition-destroying vision. It should in my view involve two things - making Vince Cable Chancellor and in compensation reducing the Lib Dem ministerial cadre. There are powerful arguments for both steps.

• [Apr 26] Paddy Ashdown* writes: I UNDERSTAND why many voters on the progressive wing of politics are struggling with voting for Ken Livingstone. His campaign has been sad, desperate and divisive. He has just one big idea - a cut in Tube fares. It's a perfectly decent policy at a time when fares have risen for years on end but the problem is he can't do it and he knows it.