The current edition of The House magazine features our very own Don Foster in full colour on its front page. There’s an interesting article on the legend that is “The Don”, but this little passage, about his job in government, caught my eye:
“One of the fantastic things I did for the first two-and-a-half years of this Government was to represent the Liberal Democrats at film premieres, at football matches, at rugby matches, at plays, at the BAFTA awards, and so on. It was hardly a big sacrifice to lose out first time round. I loved representing the Liberal Democrats in that way. Somebody had to do it. I was prepared to step up to the plate”, he replies, breaking into a mischievous smile. And now?
“All of those opportunities suddenly have passed me by, and I’m now invited to conferences in relation to building regulations. Readers can make their own decisions to whether I totally miss what I did before or not….”
* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
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4 Comments
Great interview. Good luck with the ukelele!
Don I hope this is for new homes in the city, these meetings. On the television this evening there was a programme on the subject of disability, and the lack of housing in the private sector that can be used.
There are many situations that are not welcoming.
We have over 12,000 now on the waiting list, and rising.
I think it is a great pity that Andrew Stunell, who was doing a great job, had it taken away from him, apparently so that ‘everyone could have a chance at government’. I have always been an advocate of having knowledgeable and competent people in jobs (I would have thought that was a no brainer!) and it seems to me ridiculous to let someone learn how to do a job and be really successful in it and then take it away. Behaving like this is infantile. It makes sense in primary school but not surely at government level.
Jean, I am the first to admit – and have said so publicly many times – Andrew did a fantastic job. And he’s continuing to do so, not least in helping and advising me. It’s a great privilege being a Minister and driving forward some of the issues that really matter to me (not least the localism agenda). I am already working closely with colleagues in local government and they – as no doubt will readers of LibDem Voice – will keep me on the straight and narrow.