David Laws

Whilst private sector pension schemes have been closing down rapidly in the last few years, public sector employees continue to enjoy 'gold plated' benefits. In addition, rates of ill health retirement in public sector pension schemes are extremely high. Proposed reforms to public sector schemes will make little difference to the benefits available to new employees and no difference at all to benefits of existing employees. Private sector taxpayers have to meet the cost of public sector pensions, so how has this divide between the standard of private and public sector pensions arisen? Part of the answer lies in the fact that the costs of public sector schemes are not properly accounted for.In this monograph, Neil Record estimates that public sector pension liabilities are about GBP1trillion - but the government publishes estimates of the liabilities of only half this level. The author argues that nothing can be done to deal with the liability accrued so far, but that action can be taken to make costs transparent in the future. If costs are made transparent we can start to change the nature of public sector schemes, to the benefit of workers and taxpayers alike. Further reform proposals are discussed by commentators Philip Booth and Nick Silver.

The definitive, insider history of the often turbulent political relationship between the Liberals and Labour. Natural allies or fierce competitors? For the past century, Britain’s two major centre-left parties have co-existed in sometimes harmonious but more often fraught duopoly, from the 1903 agreement that a prominent Liberal complained was ‘nursing into life a serpent which would sting their party to death’ to the 1976–77 pact that gave us the phrase ‘turkeys voting for Christmas’ and beyond, to the failed negotiations that led to the controversial 2010–15 Lib Dem–Conservative coalition. Charting 100 years of British political history, Serpents, Goats and Turkeys explores the formal and informal arrangements that have existed between the parties, covering electoral deals, support for minority governments, formal pacts and full coalitions. What have been the overlaps of policy and ideology, and where have the parties been most divided? What explains the periods of co-operation but also the unwillingness or inability to work together for any significant time? In the wake of the 2024 ‘Loveless Landslide’, former coalition Cabinet minister David Laws also draws on unpublished records and private diaries from the past thirty years of Lib–Lab wrangling to consider the likely options in the event of a future hung parliament. Should the parties work together? Would they be able to? And what are the prospects for voting reform? The answers to such questions will have major implications for British democracy and the future of our politics.

A young British war widow embarks on a dangerous journey that will change her life, and those of countless others, in this gripping, emotional novel by the author of The Fuhrer's Orphans. Helen Fairfax is a ferry pilot and the mother of Peter, aged six. From Monday to Friday she flies from factories to airfields, then returns to the family farmhouse where her parents look after the boy. She feels torn being away from her son so much, but after her husband died in the Battle of Britain she vowed to live up to his example of courage and strike back at the enemy. Now the Germans are about to launch the V-2 against London, and MI6 is desperate to get its hands on an undamaged prototype of the rocket to discover how it might be defeated. One has fallen in Poland-and Helen must pilot a secret flight into enemy territory to obtain it, accompanied by Leo Beck who, ashamed of his part in building the rocket, volunteers to assist her. But after a successful landing, they find themselves pulled into another mission. Parents beg her to fly their kids to safety, far from Nazi squads that have begun kidnapping children. It will mean defying military regulations-but that is far from the only risk she will take when she agrees to this unofficial rescue operation . . .

Podr as encontrar esperanza en los momentos m s oscuros? En una zona industrial descuidada de M nich, en tiempos de la guerra, 27 ni os asustados y hambrientos se esconden de la Gestapo. Sus padres fueron enviados a campos de concentraci n y ellos tienen otro sitio a d nde ir. La maestra Claudia Kellner descubre al grupo cuando acoge a dos v ctimas sin hogar, arriesgando su propia seguridad para darles refugio. Mientras tanto, el comando Peter Chesham, un esp a colaborando con los brit nicos, se infiltra con xito en territorio del Tercer Reich. Pero su misi n ultrasecreta se ve amenazada al descubrir el escondite de los hu rfanos. Si contin a con su misi n, habr consecuencias fatales para todos a su alrededor. Y si no, los nazis podr an ganar la guerra. Peter enfrenta un dilema angustiante: acatar rdenes o salvar a los ni os. Dirigir la operaci n final de escape o completar la tarea que se le ha dado? Su decisi n podr a determinar el cauce de la historia... Basada en eventos reales, Los hu rfanos del F hrer es una novela poderosa y conmovedora situada en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, perfecta para los seguidores de Heather Morris y Robert Harris. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION In this moving novel based on true events, a teacher and a British spy discover a group of children hiding from the Nazis in WWII Munich. When their parents are taken to concentration camps, twenty-seven children are left alone, hungry, and scared. Claudia Kellner, a German elementary school teacher, discovers the group hiding in a deserted Munich railroad yard. Only able to hide two of them in her home, she is desperate to find shelter for the others. Meanwhile, British spy Peter Chesham has penetrated Third Reich territory. But his critical mission is interrupted when he discovers the orphans' hiding place. Following through on his orders would have fatal consequences for them. But giving up could mean losing the war. Now Peter and Claudia must work together, attempting an impossible rescue operation with the children's lives--and the fate of the world--at stake.

A researcher seizes an opportunity to find out what happened to her grandfather during WWII—and discovers a present-day threat as she retraces his steps . . . Munich, 1938: Two men successfully infiltrate the notorious conference at which Prime Minister Chamberlain will hand Czechoslovakia over to Hitler. One is an American radio correspondent determined to stop the gullible and dangerous act with a dramatic protest. But the other pulls a gun, and pandemonium ensues. Britain, 2013: History researcher Emma Drake has always wondered what really happened to her grandfather. The infamous Munich agreement was signed and Bradley Wilkes disappeared from the pages of history. Ever since, the family has avoided the topic and let the mystery linger. Now, through her academic work, Emma has stumbled onto an opportunity to investigate. Her quest will take her to America, Germany, and beyond—and into a present-day plot that could have explosive international consequences—in this novel of suspense and adventure from the author of The Fuhrer’s Orphans.

“I just loved this book. Full of surprises and twists and turns!” —Amazon reviewer, five starsA woman of humble origins fights to overcome every obstacle to pilot a plane in World War I Britain, in a novel by the author of The Fuhrer’s Orphans . . . Being female means that Charlotte Dovedale’s dreams are likely out of reach. Her mother is eager to support Charlotte’s brother in his quest to join the newly formed Royal Flying Corps, but Charlotte is left to channel her energy into the suffragette movement. When she meets upper-class Scott Fanshawe, though, he opens a door for her: teaching her to fly. It soon becomes clear that Charlotte has not only the skill, but the bravery required for aviation. However, when she finally earns her pilot’s license, the Great War breaks out and threatens to keep her grounded. It will take all of Charlotte’s daring and determination to succeed and soar—in a risky adventure that will put her face-to-face with the enemy . . .

In this moving novel based on true events, a teacher and a British spy discover a group of children hiding from the Nazis in WWII Munich.When their parents are taken to concentration camps, twenty-seven children are left alone, hungry, and scared. Claudia Kellner, a German elementary school teacher, discovers the grouphiding in a deserted Munich railroad yard. Only able to hide two of them in her home, she is desperate to find shelter for the others.Meanwhile, British spy Peter Chesham has penetrated Third Reich territory. But his critical mission is interrupted when he discovers theorphans' hiding place. Following through on his orders would have fatal consequences for them. But giving up could mean losing the war. Now Peter and Claudia must work together, attempting an impossible rescue operation with the children's lives and the fate of the world at stake.

In June 1916, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener set sail from Orkney on a secret mission to bolster the Russian war effort. Just a mile off land and in the teeth of a force 9 gale, HMS Hampshire suffered a huge explosion, sinking in little more than fifteen minutes. Crew and passengers numbered 749; only twelve survived. Kitchener’s body was never found. Remembered today as the face of the famous First World War recruitment drive, at the height of his career Kitchener was fêted as Britain’s greatest military hero since Wellington. By 1916, however, his star was in its descent. A controversial figure who did not make friends easily in Cabinet, he was considered by many to be arrogant, secretive and high-handed. From the moment his death was announced, rumours of a conspiracy began to flourish, with the finger pointed variously at the Bolsheviks, Irish nationalist saboteurs and even the British government. Using newly released files kept secret for almost 100 years, former Cabinet minister David Laws unravels the true story behind the demise of this complex figure, debunking the conspiracy theories and revealing the crucial blunders that the government and military sought to cover up. The result is the definitive account of an event that shook the country and which has been shrouded in mystery ever since.

Acclaimed as one of the sharpest political intellects of his generation, David Laws saw his ministerial career nosedive before it had begun when, after only seventeen days as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he was forced to resign when unintended breaches of parliamentary expenses rules came to light. You can't keep a good man down, however, and he returned to government, where he was also responsible for the implementation of the coalition agreement and planning the Lib Dems' strategy in the run-up to the 2015 election. David began writing a diary in March 2012 and continued writing it throughout his ministerial career and up to the 2015 election, which devastated the Liberal Democrats in Parliament.Frank, acerbic, sometimes shocking and often funny, Coalition Diaries chronicles the historic Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government, offering extraordinary pen portraits of all the personalities involved, some of whom were cast aside at the election or put to the knife after Brexit, while others are active in today's government.

When David Cameron and Nick Clegg stepped out into the rose garden at No. 10 to launch the first coalition government since the Second World War, some doubted whether the coalition could survive a full term - or even a full year. Five years later, this bold departure for British politics had weathered storms, spending cuts and military strikes, rows, referendums and riots.In this compelling insider account, David Laws lays bare the inner workings of the coalition government from its birth in 2010 to its demise in 2015. As a key figure at the heart of government, he witnessed first-hand the triumphs, the tantrums and the tactical manoeuvrings.Now, he brings this experience to bear, revealing how crucial decisions were made and uncovering the often explosive divisions between and within the coalition parties. Honest, insightful and at times shocking, Coalition shines a powerful light on perhaps the most fascinating political partnership of modern times.

Conflict, Improvisation, Governance presents a carefully crafted and edited collection of first hand accounts of diverse public sector and non-profit urban practitioners facing the practical challenges of "doing democracy" in the global/local context of the interconnected major European city of Amsterdam and its region. The book examines street level democratic processes through the experiences of planning and city governance practitioners in community development, youth work, public service delivery, urban public administration, immigration and multi-cultural social policy. These profiles and case studies show widely shared challenges in global and local urban environments, and new, "bottom-up," democratic and improvisational strategies that community members and public officials alike can use to make more inclusive, democratic cities.

Conflict, Improvisation, Governance presents a carefully crafted and edited collection of first hand accounts of diverse public sector and non-profit urban practitioners facing the practical challenges of "doing democracy" in the global/local context of the interconnected major European city of Amsterdam and its region. The book examines street level democratic processes through the experiences of planning and city governance practitioners in community development, youth work, public service delivery, urban public administration, immigration and multi-cultural social policy. These profiles and case studies show widely shared challenges in global and local urban environments, and new, "bottom-up," democratic and improvisational strategies that community members and public officials alike can use to make more inclusive, democratic cities.