Benjamin Ramm

Benjamin Ramm FRSA (born 12 June 1982) is a commentator on liberal politics, and former editor of The Liberal magazine. Ramm contributes to Sky News and BBC television & radio on the role of the Liberal Democrats in the UK coalition government.

In December 2005, as editor of The Liberal, Ramm organised a "Kennedy Must Go" campaign to unseat the then party leader, Charles Kennedy.[1] He was similarly outspoken about Kennedy's successor, Sir Menzies Campbell, publicly branding his leadership "lethargic".[2]

Since the formation of the UK coalition government in 2010, Ramm has argued that the party's influence in government is minor, and provides cover – as "the cloak that hides the dagger"[3] – for policies that damage liberalism. He has criticised the coalition on spending cuts,[4][5] the reforms to the NHS,[6] civil liberties,[7] the rise in VAT,[8] and the increase in tuition fees.[9]

Ramm is a Research Fellow at Gladstone's Library.[10] In May 2011, he published the pamphlet Citizens: A Manifesto, featuring endorsements from Naomi Wolf, Philip Pullman, Ariel Dorfman and Peter Tatchell.

References

  1. BBC News website (30 December 2006). "Kennedy hits back over quit call". BBC News. Retrieved June 2012.
  2. Daily Telegraph (2 March 2007). "'Lethargic' Sir Menzies faces more attacks". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved June 2012.
  3. Stevenson, Alex (9 December 2010). "Tuition fee rebels slash coalition majority". Politics.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  4. Barker, Alex (17 September 2010). "Clegg aims to bring activists into the fold". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  5. Morris, Nigel (21 October 2010). "Lib Dems made sure cuts were fair, Clegg tells party members". The Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  6. Press Association (10 March 2012). "NHS Reforms - Liberal Democrat Spring Conference Vote Bid Fails". The Huffington Post UK. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  7. Mulholland, Hélène (2 April 2012). "Plans for greater email and web monitoring powers spark privacy fears". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  8. "Mixed reactions to Budget from grassroots Lib Dems". BBC News. 22 June 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  9. Grice, Andrew (10 December 2010). "Victory – but at what price?". The Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  10. "Gladstone's Library: Who's Who". Retrieved 10 September 2012.

External links

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