QUILLIGAN SEMINARS - Dates and registration points [forgive repetition if you have already registered]

This series of seminars will model how people and groups with different starting points may converge on a strategy for large-scale systemic change, moving from ideas to action, experimentation and achieving tangible results.

The brain behind Community Land Auctions (promised in Budget 2011) will be speaking at Liberal Democrat Party HQ about them on Wednesday 11th April. He is Dr Tim Leunig, Chief Economist at the thinktank CentreForum. For more details see the previous announcement by Tony Vickers.

To mark this event, ALTER has produced a simple overview of Community Land Auctions, with special reference to its relation with Land Value Tax. This can be accessed at:

The brain behind Community Land Auctions (promised in Budget 2011) will be speaking at Liberal Democrat Party HQ about them on Wednesday 11th April. He is Dr Tim Leunig, Chief Economist at the thinktank CentreForum. Members of PLRG have first refusal on the limited spaces for this free event.

Although not mentioned in the Chancellor's speech to the House, CLAs do feature in the Budget. A special policy adviser was appointed in the department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) last November, with a brief to prepare for an announcement this April. The Budget includes "the aim to have two sites ready to market by the end of 2012" following pilots of "land auctions". At the same time, Leunig (Chief Economist at thinktank CentreForum) published an updated description of his ideas

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE COMMONS IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY?

RE-DISCOVERING THE COMMONS May 7th - 18th 2012

Initiating Coach/Tutor: James Quilligan, Founder of The Global Commons Trust

Reports from seminars 1-11 will lead to 12 : REPORTS - FINAL REVIEW - CONTINUITY

THE QUILLIGAN SEMINARS

May 7^th Christ Church SE1 9DP 14:30-17:30 'HOW CAN WE DEMOCRATISE THE GLOBAL POLITICAL COMMONS?'

www.plrg.org

Vince Cable is a consummate politician. Tuesday's mention of Mansion Tax to a reporter, as a possible bargaining chip in negotiations to scrap the 50p tax rate, was always bound to stir up the Tories. And keep Labour in the margins.

But discussion among three Tories on Newsnight that evening soon took us onto a higher plane: the benefits of wealth taxes, especially a land value tax. That's exactly where Cable wanted it to go.

Tax England's green and pleasant land By Samuel Brittan

Samuel Brittan argues for a Land Tax, saying "Properly thought through, a land tax should appeal to both main political parties, let alone Lib Dem backsliders." That hurts, the LibDems need to lead on LVT. What are Vince Cable, Chris Huhne, Danny Alexander, David Laws etc. waiting for, a focus group or the Daily Mail to say its OK?

OECD economist Romain Duval said Britain's council tax regime was "highly regressive" and needed reform. Duval said the OECD advocated a replacement with "a property tax based on current market values or a land tax"

Read full article here in the International Business Times. ALTER needs to publicise this and remind our coalition Partners.

ALTER supports the fast track of the Lib Dem £10,000 income tax threshold policy

Please sign this to persuade George Osborne to fast track the Lib Dem policy to increase the income tax threshold to £10,000 in the next budget, and hence take thousands more people out of tax and put £700 back in people's pockets. There are measures that can be taken to pay for this including the clamp down on tax avoidance and a mansion tax. Please support this and help the Lib Dems to help the lowest paid and middle income workers in this country.