It was a huge shock to wake up to the awful news that former Lib Dem News Editor David Boyle died suddenly yesterday.
David was one of the foremost thinkers in the party. He contributed much to the debates in this party, often on the pages of this site. And when he sent a piece in, he was always really humble about it. “Might you have time for this?’ he’d say. I mean, his writing was always so thoughtful, relevant and intrinsically liberal. There was never any way we were going to turn down his contributions. On his website, he described the overarching theme of all his work:
the importance of human-scale institutions over centralised ones, human imagination over dull rationalism, and the human spirit over technocratic reduction.
He was involved in both Radix and the New Weather Institute
My Facebook feed this morning is full of people saying how lovely David was and how encouraging he had been to them when he worked for the Party.
Neil Fawcett worked with him back in the day and told me:
David was both a genuine original thinker and a lovely warm human being.
He was incredibly supportive of me when I was first working for the party and actively encouraged me to develop my career.
The party was better for David being part of it.
Our Monday editor Mark Valladares said:
David was one of the great liberal thinkers. You always knew his ideas were philosophically consistent and thought through.
Our love and sympathy go to his wife Sarah and their sons Robin and William.
Feel free to share your memories of David in the comments.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
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9 Comments
A kind, talented man, may he rest in peace. 🙏
RIP David
What shocking tragic news – David was a vital mentor and generous friend who introduced me to timebanking and alternative currencies and showed me how to be a better human. Sincere sympathies to Sarah, Robin and William
David was a wonderfully original thinker – and fun to talk to, and gentle (and always good-humoured, and often quirky) in conversation. He could produce an unexpected point or relevant fact that shifted the argument. I enormously enjoyed working with him on various formal and informal party policy groups, and always valued his ability to intelligently question the conventional wisdom. We will all miss him.
David was an inspiration. He was fascinated and fascinating. His knowledge about human settlements was immense and he shared his knowledge and enthusiasm freely. He will be missed. RIP
Although I first met David when he and I were working together at the Liberal Democrats in the 1990s, it wasn’t until I joined him at Radix that I really got to know him. David co-founded the think tank, Radix, with Joe Zammit-Lucia and Nick Silver in 2016 to ensure the continuance of radical liberal thinking after the near death of the Lib Dems at the previous general election. He was one of the few genuinely original thinkers I have ever come across, always able to find a new policy angle or way of doing things. He always thought the very best of those around him, assuming I could keep up with his ideas, even when he had in fact left me far behind. He continued to work with Radix as our Policy Director until his illness forced his retirement last year, although I was delighted he remained one of our fellows until his death. He gave us a really intellectual and liberal (small l) integrity none of the rest of us could match. He is a huge loss.
I’m heartbroken at the news about David. He was a visionary thinker, a polite radical, and a determined optimist who was always active in building the alternative future he could see we needed. The topics of his books show how ahead of his time he was: the need for authenticity (2003), the demise of the middle class (2013), the lack of humanity in our systems (2002, 2020).
David’s work was a huge influence on my own thinking. I feel lucky to have known him in different guises – reading his writing in the 1990s as a young member of the New Economics Foundation, as an avid reader of Lib Dem News, and engaging in discussions on the Federal Policy Committee. Finally in my role at Partners for a New Economy, he generously came to his old stomping ground of Catford and we had a lovely walk and talk on Blythe Hill Fields, where I picked his brains on all things new economy.
As is often the case, I didn’t know that would be the last time I saw him. But I will treasure the memory. David sitting on a bench, amidst nature in a lush, cheerful, well-loved public park, gazing out at the panoramic view towards the city, wind in his hair, animation in his features, talking with excitement about a future new economy – it feels a beautiful and fitting way to remember him.
Such an original thinker – and a lovely guy 😢
So sad to learn that David has died so young. He was one of the good guys. RIP.