Author Archives: Mark Valladares

Greetings from Westbrook, Maine, where your friendly neighbourhood Day Editor is on grand-parenting duty for a few days. As you can see from this picture of the town’s library, we’ve had snow, about six inches of it. Luckily, it seems as though most people here own a snowplough, or have one bolted to the front of their truck, so there hasn’t been much disruption.

As I left Britain, the news of the North Shropshire by-election was just beginning to sink in and I’m reminded a bit of the 1992-97 Major administration. In the sense of a Government out of good ideas and mired in bad behaviour, there is an easy comparison, but whereas the Major administration contained some capable ministers and was led by a man whose word could be relied upon to a great extent, you can hardly say that about this administration. Mind you, whoever leads the Conservative Party is going to have to reconcile the irreconcilable – those contradictory promises made to deliver Brexit are no easier to untangle now than they ever were.

Gosh, is it Monday already? Apparently so, although the weekend seems to have passed me by. Here in Creeting St Peter, the Christmas social calendar has fallen foul of people’s not entirely unreasonable preference that Christmas isn’t put at risk, with Saturday’s coffee morning cancelled and Friday’s pub night likewise.

Once again, you get a definite sense that the Government is several steps behind public opinion but then, given that they’re currently struggling with the definition of a party, or truth for that matter, and with Liz Truss evidently on manoeuvres for a potential leadership contest, it would be impressive if they could metaphorically walk and chew gum at the same time.

On this day in 1577, Sir Francis Drake set out to circumnavigate the globe, making himself wealthy in the process and rather upsetting the Spanish. This day in 1864 saw Paraguay declare war on Brazil, setting off the War of the Triple Alliance. With Paraguay eventually facing off against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, it didn’t end well, with estimates suggesting that Paraguay lost up to 70% of its population through battle casualties, disease and starvation. And, on a more optimistic note, 13 December 1920 saw the establishment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Good morning, gentle reader!

It’s a murky start in the Gipping Valley this morning, but your day editor is alert and eager for a new week.

So, where to start? As Iain Roberts, once of this parish, noted on Twitter;

This week's government slogan is "Crime: we do it so you don't have to."

— Iain Roberts (@slowbikeiain) December 6, 2021

It seems that we’re now into Government as angels dancing on the head of a pin, as ministers desperate try to define the word ‘party’ in such a way as to meet regulations that certainly weren’t broken. The fact that such gatherings were banned altogether doesn’t seem to register but, if reminder was ever needed, it does emphasise that rules are apparently for …

Good morning(ish) everyone, and welcome to another Monday. I had been hoping that this would be coming to you from Mumbai, as I was supposed to be at a family wedding on Friday, but something about a pandemic…

Ah well, never mind.

Today is the 276th anniversary of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army occupying Carlisle. They had also reached Manchester at this point, but the high water mark of that uprising wasn’t far away. The Sonderbund War ended on this day in 1847, when the canton of Valais surrendered to the Swiss Federal Army. And, one hundred years later, the United Nations General …

Good morning, gentle readers, as the days get shorter and the nights that little bit gloomier. Certainly, they’re not short enough for the Conservatives, even as they are definitely gloomier.

I have to admit to wondering whether there was anything that the Government could do that would shake the British public out of its apparent lethargy. A botched Brexit? Apparently not. A shambolic management of the pandemic? Seemingly, no. But, as it turns out, they had found a “long fuse” means to undermine themselves – greed.

It does astonish me that some Conservative MPs are so wilfully negligent of conflict of interest …

I was, I admit, slightly surprised by the response of some Conservatives to scrutiny over the “Paterson affair”. Nadhim Zahawi first admitted live on television that he hadn’t read the Standards Committee report before, then upon it being pointed out to him that he’d voted to reject it anyway, then stated that he had “looked at it”, whatever that means. Meanwhile, Alex Chalk, the MP for Cheltenham, sent an e-mail stating that Owen Paterson was wrong to lobby ministers on behalf of companies employing him, that it was wrong to conflate his case with the question of amending the disciplinary system for MPs, and that it was wrong to impose a three-line whip for the vote. What he didn’t mention was that he voted as ordered.

One might begin to wonder if Conservatives have gained the view that it really doesn’t matter what they say or do any more, given that the pollsters still show them leading regardless.

But the hare is running in North Shropshire now. Is it winnable for the Liberal Democrats? Well, we’ll never know if we don’t try, and you wouldn’t envy the Conservative candidate – are they loyal to Owen Paterson, or do they condemn him?

The sun is shining in the Creetings this morning, and whilst it’s not exactly warm, a bit of sunshine does lift the spirits somewhat. It’s also nice to be back after a week off – the jet lag is just fine, and thank you for asking.

The COP26 event dominates the political agenda this week, naturally, and whilst our own Government is sending out decidedly mixed messages – reducing air passenger duty on short haul flights? Really? Having to be embarrassed into acting on sewage discharges into rivers and coastal waters? – there are a lot of people counting on action …

Good morning, everyone! Liberal Democrat Voice is brought to you today from a less-travelled part of southern Quebec.

Obviously, moderation is going to be a bit erratic, as I’m five hours adrift and trying to combine my day editor responsibilities with a crash course in being an evil step-grandfather, so do bear with me.