Author Archives: Ruth Gripper

What’s on your Christmas reading list?

By Ruth Gripper | Mon 23rd December 2019 - 7:41 pm

A short post, prompted by a comment from one of our Lib Dem Voice editors. She was keen to read something other than Brexit and post-election analysis on these pages.

I haven’t read a proper book in what feels like months – the election campaign left little time or energy for reading. This is something I plan to put right over the Christmas break and there are two books in particular which I have in mind.

Firstly, I’m looking forward to re-reading Penhaligon, about David Penhaligon MP, written by his widow Annette. He represented the seat where I stood in the election, and it is remarkable how frequently his name still comes up on the doorstep more than thirty years after he died in a car crash. It’s a great read, and the lessons – about campaigning, and about what it means to represent the community – are still relevant today.

I’m also going to track down New Power by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms which was making waves last summer. I’m interested in what it can teach us locally about how we organise and campaign.

What’s on your Christmas reading list? Share your tips in the comments.