Daily View 2×2: 30 March 2020

I’ve been looking back at Liberal Democrat Voice past over the weekend, and jolly interesting it has been too – the archives are a glimpse into a rather different political party and, indeed, a rather different Liberal Democrat Voice. As for us, we’re not the same people we used to be, indeed, the Editorial Team of ten years ago bears little resemblance to today’s lineup.

But something drew my eye, and so, in magpie style, I’m stealing it, or perhaps more generously, recycling it. The Daily View feature ran in 2009 and 2010, and was meant to be an early preview of two of the big news stories of the day, and a click-through to two interesting blog posts (yes, people still do that) that have caught my eye. It might encourage a few of you to either blog a bit more or, perhaps, take up blogging. One day, it’s going to be our social history, you know.

So, without further ado…

2 Big Stories

I can hardly start without a coronavirus story. With members of the Cabinet increasingly in self-isolation, and Parliamentarians staying away from Westminster even before it went into an early Easter recess, who is actually in charge of getting protective gear to NHS staff? With two doctors dying over the weekend, and confirmation now in that the super-facilities at the ExCeL Conference Centre in East London, the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham and Manchester’s Central Convention Centre will be staffed by existing NHS staff, can the Johnson administration convince the public that they are on top of things?

Meanwhile, with a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll showing that the gap between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is closing, despite of the latter’s cack-handed handling of the Coronavirus outbreak, is the impossible now actually likely, that America will re-elect Donald Trump to a second term in the White House? And, if so, what does this mean for international co-operation going forward?

2 Blog Posts

For those who were involved in groups such as Liberal Democrat European Group and Liberal International over many years, the name Derek Honeygold will have been very familiar. Beyond that, or West London, perhaps not so many people might have known him. Sadly, he died on Saturday after developing pneumonia, and Jonathan Fryer, the current Chair of the Party’s Federal International Relations Committee, remembers him.

We’ve already seen the definition of key worker shift substantially over the past fortnight or so, as shopworkers, delivery drivers, care workers and the like all suddenly appear as core elements of ensuring that people are fed and protected. Peter Black brings to our attention the desperate need for farm labour, and what farmers are willing to attempt to fill the gap so that we might have fresh fruit and vegetables over the coming months.

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6 Comments

  • So very sorry to hear about Derek Honeygold. The picture of him in my minds eye Is of a very kind cheerful man who always had a good natured warm smile on his face.

  • Richard Underhill 30th Mar '20 - 10:26am

    Jonathon said “Although obliged to retire from university teaching he continued his own research”
    Was he forced into retirement on age grounds?
    If so when and was that legal at the time?

  • Tony Greaves 30th Mar '20 - 9:15pm

    Speak for yourself, Mark. I am exactly the same person I was ten years ago.

  • Gordon Lishman 31st Mar '20 - 8:48am

    Richard: 2010 (in the coalition agreement). There is no mention of age and his retirement was in any case before then as I recall.

  • @Tony Greaves “Speak for yourself, Mark. I am exactly the same person I was ten years ago.”

    Given that the average cell replacement rate is 7-10 years (with some cells even faster), you are literally a different person to the one you were ten years ago.

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