Author Archives: Paul Walter

Paul Walter

Harold Wilson: The Winner

By Paul Walter | Tue 5th May 2026 - 10:42 am

Embed from Getty Images

“Harold Wilson: The Winner” by Nick Thomas-Symonds is an excellent biography which, to a large degree, resets the reputation of Wilson with a skilled degree of fairness and precision.

Previous accounts have painted him as a manipulative fixer – often working out the lowest common denominator in any situation to find a way to muddle forward.

Thomas-Symonds, with access to more documents than were previously available, gives us a picture of a decent, honourable man who was also very clever. His concern for the under-privileged and for issues such as race and gender equality shine through his work. He retained support from the left of the Labour party throughout his political life. The book relates his close working relationship with Nye Bevin and Barbara Castle.

Continue reading »
Posted in Books | 24 Comments
Paul Walter

A very warm Highland welcome for soft southerners

By Paul Walter | Tue 14th April 2026 - 1:23 pm

It was a huge privilege and pleasure to spend an extended weekend in the Highlands. Blue letter delivery rarely comes with such a vast helping of scenic delights.

We were very fortunate to have very sunny weather as we delivered in Fort Augustus – a fine tourism centre for Loch Ness (above) visitors.

A stiff breeze on Saturday made our Isle of Skye (below) outing even more photogenic – with white horses on the surrounding sea.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Paul’s conference diary part two

By Paul Walter | Sun 15th March 2026 - 3:37 pm

Emergency motion – for my sins, I once got an emergency motion (on the situation in Fiji, since you ask) onto the ballot at a Bournemouth conference. Baroness Ludford was very sympathetic to it. It wasn’t chosen in the ballot but it gave me an appreciation of the work and energy involved into putting forward an emergency motion to conference. So, well done to the Young Liberals for getting “A Liberal Future for Under 18s” into the hall for debate. The Tories are proposing an outright ban on social media for under 16s following the ban in Australia (the home of compulsory voting). The answer to any such ban is three letters: VPN. It takes away a lifeline for teenagers discovering their identity, throwing the baby out with the bath water. This motion sensibly proposed a film style age rating system.

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

The best chance of voting reform in a generation

By Paul Walter | Sun 15th March 2026 - 8:30 am

Invigorating. That’s the best word to sum up the LDER (Liberal Democrats For Electoral Reform) fringe last night.

The panel, brimming with optimism and passion, was (L to R in the photo above): Chair Keith Sharp (LDER), Emma Harrison (Make Votes Matter), Lena Swedlow (Deputy Director, Compass), Lisa Smart MP (Cabinet Office spokesperson & Vice Chair Fair Elections APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group)).

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference | Tagged and | 12 Comments
Paul Walter

Paul’s conference diary

By Paul Walter | Sat 14th March 2026 - 3:36 pm

Arriving in York, I was reminded of what a wonderful city this is. To watch the beautiful Ouse meandering amidst some wonderful old buildings, is enough to raise anyone’s spirits.

On Friday evening, at the historic Mason’s Arms, it was great to see old friends and enjoy marvellous food.

Today, I did a tour of the exhibition hall and bought my customary LGBT+ badge, signed up for Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform and supported Liberal Democrat Friends of Hong Kong.

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

The leader who helped to keep the Liberal flame burning through dark days

By Paul Walter | Tue 6th January 2026 - 9:05 am

Embed from Getty Images

Review of “Liberal Crusader – The Life of Sir Archibald Sinclair” by Gerard J. De Groot published by Hurst and Company. In a companion post, Sir Ed Davey summarises the role of Sir Archibald.

I have recently read “Liberal Crusader” about the life of Sir Archibald Sinclair. Gerard De Groot provides an engaging tale which leaves one with great admiration for the nobility and hard work of this leader of the Liberal party from 1935 to 1945.

The first chapters give a very personal picture of the subject’s early life – an orphan, on the one hand, and the heir to a large estate, on the other. In particular, Sir Achibald’s romance and marriage to Marigold are related in endearing and poignant detail.

Continue reading »
Posted in Books | Tagged | 7 Comments
Paul Walter

US election results are a huge relief – but it’s still the economy stupid

By Paul Walter | Wed 5th November 2025 - 5:32 pm

Embed from Getty Images

One of the strange things about US democracy (and there are many – as there are in the UK) is that when a party is defeated in a Presidential election it immediately ceases to have a recognised leader and wanders through the political wilderness like thousands of headless chickens.

No party has better demonstrated the above more than the Democratic party since the morning of November 6th 2024. They seem to have gone through a soul-searching exercise that has come up with very little in the way of answers as to why they lost, for a second time, to Trump.

So it was a great relief to see the US election results coming through today.

As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told MSNBC:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 8 Comments
Paul Walter

Paul’s Conference diary #2: Gleeing oneself hoarse, our Yorkshire Devonian friend, a lizard and the appalling threat of renumbering the constitution

By Paul Walter | Tue 23rd September 2025 - 6:19 pm

Late Sunday

To ease the full on assault on my bank balance, I had a burger and chips at a fish and chip shop on the way back to my room. Straight out of the fryer, piping hot, the first few mouthfuls were the most delicious things I have eaten for a long while.

Monday

Rather than have another fast food breakfast I invested in some eggs, tomatoes and cheese to make one of my microwave omelette-type thingees. I still have the ingredients for another one on Tuesday.

To the Reimagining International Development fringe with a panel including Monica Harding MP and representatives from the Tony Blair Institute. We helped to ensure a 0.7% of GDP spend on ID. That was reduced to 0.5% and now, in a panicky shortsighted move by Keith Starmer, to 0.3% from 2027. And about two thirds of that is spent in the UK on refugees in a bizarre double count with the Home Office budget. That leaves an aid budget of just 0.1% of GDP. Still, there were some refreshing ideas in the room about how to spend the money wisely and how to unlock finance mechanisms and private funds.

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Paul’s Conference Diary: Gaza, Nick Clegg, Pho and the joy of Goram IPA Zero

By Paul Walter | Mon 22nd September 2025 - 9:34 am

Friday

I arrived early. Good job. The accommodation I had carefully booked because it was near the conference centre turned out to be halfway to Dover. Google Maps had presented me with a chimera when I checked before booking.

No matter. Armed with my exciting new senior bus pass I have been enjoying the splendid Morebus 22 service.

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference | Tagged , , , , and | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

Building bridges for Middle East peace

By Paul Walter | Sun 21st September 2025 - 3:00 pm

-That was the title of a Bournemouth fringe meeting today. It was hosted by Liberal Democrats for Peace in Middle East. Their President, Leon Duveen, was on the panel with their Chair, Mohammed Amin.

The panel (above) featured Sharon Booth, who is the Chief Executive and founder of Solutions Not Sides. SNS “is an education programme that exists to provide humanising encounters, diverse narratives and critical-thinking tools in order to empower young people with the knowledge, empathy and skills to promote dialogue and conflict resolution, and to challenge prejudice in the UK.”

Also on the panel were two peace activists who SNS use as mentors in their programme.
They included Hamze Awawde has been leading programmes that bring Israelis and Palestinians together for the last 12 years. He leads YaLa Young Leaders, which brings young people together to break down divisions and barriers.

Continue reading »
Posted in Conference | Tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Paul Walter

The conference app goes live

By Paul Walter | Tue 16th September 2025 - 10:34 am


The Bournemouth 2025 conference app has now gone live.

A tip: firstly make sure you delete the spring conference app in your phone, if it is there. Then go into your friendly App Store where you will need to search for “Lib Dem conference” and click on the spring conference icon which comes up. Yes I know.

The app is brilliant this year, with all the documents in one place. You can use the timetable to add hall debates, fringe meetings and training sessions to “My schedule”. You can also add your own …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Book review: The Men Of 1924

By Paul Walter | Tue 8th July 2025 - 11:00 am

Embed from Getty Images

Most of us, who are interested in politics, would be able to answer that evergreen pub quiz question: “Who was the UK’s first Labour Prime Minister?”

Ramsay MacDonald, I hear you cry.

But when pushed to say more about the truly ground-breaking Labour government of 1924, most of us would probably be reduced to mumbling “um er”.

Peter Clark’s book “The Men Of 1924” is an exceptionally informative and readable account of that stunning change in British politics.

Continue reading »
Posted in Books | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Paul Walter

Liberal Democrats should oppose the proscription of Palestine Action

By Paul Walter | Tue 1st July 2025 - 8:55 am

Liberal Democrat parliamentarians should vote against the proscription of Palestine Action.

Yes, members of that group should take responsibility for illegal actions that they take. The law is already quite draconian – especially with the invocation of the Terrorism Act. However, the organisation should not, as a whole, be made illegal in a liberal society where protest is tolerated. Making Palestine Action supporters open to imprisonment is simply unconscionable in modern Britain (and Northern Ireland).

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 44 Comments
Paul Walter

Review: “Ungovernable: The political diaries of a Chief Whip” by Simon Hart

By Paul Walter | Fri 28th March 2025 - 5:00 pm

Embed from Getty Images

I’ve just finished this book, having ordered it when it was published.

It’s the edited diaries of Simon Hart, who was Conservative MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire from 2010 until 2024. He was Chief Whip under Rishi Sunak, Secretary of State for Wales and Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office under Boris Johnson. He was previously Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance.

The book starts in the heady hours after the 2019 general election victory for Boris Johnson. The Conservatives are returned to office with an overall majority of 40 seats in the Commons, sweeping all before them. There is much jubilation in the Tory ranks.

Continue reading »
Posted in Books | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Government needs to fund plan for ME, CFS and Long Covid patients #fundtheplan

By Paul Walter | Thu 27th February 2025 - 3:00 pm

The government is about to release their new NHS plan ‘rethinking ME’ but absurdly it’s not actually coming with any funds attached to it, despite the fact there is now irrefutable evidence of its biological existence and the rapidly increasing number of patients, due to the number of Covid long sufferers who meet the diagnostic criteria. Many patients have been let down for decades over the lack of funding, not to mention being treated awfully over the years by the medical community.

The funding for ME/CFS/Long Covid patients is about £40 per patient per annum, one of the lowest of any disease despite the most severe patients having a very quality of life compared to patients with several other illnesses.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 3 Comments
Paul Walter

Dr Adam Kay and the vital importance of the mental health of NHS staff

By Paul Walter | Tue 18th February 2025 - 7:24 pm

On Valentine’s Day, I went with my Valentine, to see Adam Kay:Undoctored at Newbury’s Corn Exchange.

I have a soft spot for Dr Adam.

His book “This is going to hurt” was a great read – hilarious but in a dark way, and in a way that made a very strong point about the NHS.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Big Gay Wedding with Tom Allen – a great look back & celebration of equal marriage

By Paul Walter | Tue 19th November 2024 - 9:00 am

Embed from Getty Images

This BBC film came out in March to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the first UK equal marriage. So I am catching up a bit. I started watching it because it was re-shown on BBC1 on Sunday. If you haven’t seen it, it is very much worth watching.

It’s partly a reflection back on the history of the campaign for equal marriage in the UK, and partly an entertaining look at the planning and realisation of the wedding of Adam and Dan of Brighton.

Tom Allen is an amusing and articulate host. He traces the history of equal marriage with guests Peter Tatchell, Sandi Toksvig, David Cameron and Lynne Featherstone.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

Maiden speeches – every one a treat

By Paul Walter | Tue 12th November 2024 - 5:20 pm

We have now published all the maiden speeches of our new MPs.

Tessa Munt and Andrew George are returning MPs, so do not have formal “maiden” speeches. We will shortly publish their first speeches of this parliament with a “flashback” to their original maiden speeches.

Please let me know, in the comments below, if I have missed anyone from my “back of an envelope” calculations.

Continue reading »
Posted in Parliament | Tagged | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

The lamp beside the golden door has dimmed a little

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 8:35 am

After a surprisingly good sleep, I’ve woken up. I’ve done a quick review of the latest on CNN and the web.

Then I switched over to an excellent BBC documentary called “Scotland – The New Wild”. It is remarkable. It has some excellent footage of basking sharks.

In the past, I have looked to USA for vicarious inspiration. While UK domestic politics has been rather depressing, USA has provided a refreshing relief – some
inkling of a better approach for civic life.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Pennsylvania exit polls suggest a different climate than in the south

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 12:54 am

The CNN exit polls for Pennsylvania show higher responses for voters being concerned about reproductive rights and the state of democracy, compared to the numbers in Georgia and North Carolina.

Indications are that Philadelphia has seen higher than expected turnout, particularly in areas with high populations of those of Puerto Rican heritage.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

Nancy Pelosi predicts that the Democrats will win the House

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 12:42 am

Nancy Pelosi told CNN today:

“Hakeem Jeffries will be the speaker of the House. I don’t know what the margin will be, but I know that we have the votes to win the House.”

With the Republicans highly likely to take control of the US Senate, this suggests a split congress for whoever becomes the next President.

Posted in News | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

First results not encouraging for Harris

By Paul Walter | Wed 6th November 2024 - 12:19 am

I’m watching Election night on CNN, which provides a very pithy, statistical coverage of the results.

My first takeaways are not encouraging for Kamala Harris. Mind you we are very short of tea leaves to read so far.

A Florida county which Biden won by several points is showing Harris trailing Biden’s number.

In Georgia, it’s very early in the counting process. Independents, which make up 31% of the electorate, are going clearly for Trump, whereas Biden won the independents in 2020.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

Kemi Badenoch starts in denial about partygate

By Paul Walter | Tue 5th November 2024 - 11:30 am

Embed from Getty Images

It is very encouraging to see a black woman leading a British political party for the first time. However, the Guardian reports on Kemi Badenoch’s initial interview as leader, on BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme:

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 4 Comments
Paul Walter

US election – be ready for a long wait

By Paul Walter | Tue 5th November 2024 - 8:15 am

Liberal Democrat Voice will be covering the US election results tonight and during subsequent days, giving you the chance to add your comments as the results unfold.

Concerning the US presidential and congressional elections, there are two things I can be relatively sure of:

1. The initial vote counts (because unlike the UK, the USA vote counts are released on the web as they are counted and before a state result) are likely to show that Trump is winning. This is because the postal votes (or “absentee ballots”) are generally counted after election day ballots, and they tend to favour the Democrats. Conversely, electyion day ballots tend to favour the Republicans. So the election day ballots, which tend to be counted first, could show Trump ahead.

2. Donald Trump will come out very early, perhaps as early as an hour after polls close, and declare that he has won, and say that if the count shows that he has lost then there has been Democrat fiddling with the results. Worryingly, this sets the scene for potential street violence.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 3 Comments
Paul Walter

Happy 100th birthday to Jimmy Carter

By Paul Walter | Tue 1st October 2024 - 9:30 am

Embed from Getty Images

Posted in News | Tagged | 2 Comments
Paul Walter

Postcard from Bologna – ‘the most liberal city in Italy’

By Paul Walter | Tue 24th September 2024 - 1:00 pm

Like most Italian cities, Bologna has its fair share of churches, including the exceptional “Seven Churches” Basilica of Santo Stefano (above). All the churches, as is the Italian way, are chock-full of fine art.

But the reason for my postcard is to highlight the fact that Bologna is regarded as “the most liberal city in Italy”. It hosts the oldest university in the world, it has been at the Italian forefront of human rights campaigning across the decades and it even has its buildings painted red, it is said, to reflect its socialist leanings. It reputedly has the best public transport and health systems in Italy.

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Podcast catch-up: Nick Clegg talks with Campbell and Stewart

By Paul Walter | Tue 24th September 2024 - 8:55 am

Embed from Getty Images

Just in case you haven’t listened to this (and apologies from me – I am rather slow on the uptake here), in July Nick Clegg sat down with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart for their “Leading” Podcast series:

Part 1 is entitled “Nick Clegg: Coalition, Cameron and Chaos”. (Link is the Podcast on Apple Podcasts)

Part 2 is called “Nick Clegg: Biden, Brexit, and kicking Trump off Facebook“.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged | 1 Comment
Paul Walter

Anorak’s corner – House of Commons Library research briefing on the 2024 general election

By Paul Walter | Tue 30th July 2024 - 11:31 am

Ever since I was in short trousers, I have spent a few weeks after each general election, poring over the results. Normally, I have managed to get a copy of the Telegraph printed pamphlet of the seat-by-seat results. This time, I’m going to need a lot longer to digest the tumultuous results (so far, winning Epsom and Ewell is taking a while to get my head round!) and I couldn’t find a Telegraph (or other newspaper) pamphlet. I just can’t do it online – I need to highlight and mark the text.

But never fear, the House of Commons library has come to the rescue with its “research briefing” on the 2024 general election results. This includes a colourful pdf (which I have had bound) and a range of spreadsheets.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | 2 Comments
Paul Walter

Photo flashback – victory for the chip eaters by 60,997 votes

By Paul Walter | Tue 23rd July 2024 - 1:30 pm

Embed from Getty Images

I just happened to be going through some old photos – as you do. I chanced upon this photo from our Bournemouth conference last September. Those of us who have attended the odd conference know the drill – get together some candidates from our target seats for a fun photo on the sea front and then watch them not being elected in the subsequent general election.

It is all depressingly familiar – except this time all the candidates (including two sitting MPs) in this photo were elected – with combined majorities of 60,997!

Continue reading »
Posted in Photo feature | Tagged , , , and | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

Data-based analysis on the LibDem performance in the general election

By Paul Walter | Wed 17th July 2024 - 5:41 pm

Embed from Getty Images

The Week in Polls* has an interesting analysis on the LibDem performance in the general election, entitled “7 things we know about the LibDems and 2 things we don’t“.

Some headlines: We won because of health, bar charts and local candidates pointing at things. Our targetting was strong and there was large tactical voting, particularly in the last few days before voting.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Tagged | Leave a comment
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Daniel Walker
    @David Raw I am afraid I don't know that; however I am always wary of arguments that say we should have the cheapest possible democracy. (Which isn't to say ...
  • Daniel Walker
    @Kira I was at the debate where that policy was decided. There were two other options: one was the regions of England having the same powers as Scotland and ...
  • David Raw
    @ Daniel Walker Has the party costed the amount for changing to the arrangement you describe, Daniel, and what amount does it come to ? For my part I wo...
  • David Raw
    Mick Taylor is correct, and I well remember the late Dr Michael Winstanley (the then Liberal MP for Cheadle) giving the Minister, David Ennals, a torrid time in...
  • Kira Collins
    @Daniel Walker Thank you for that information. I did not know that our position was that laws for the whole of England should be made by an indirectly elected ...