11 Comments

• Lorenzo Cherin 23rd Dec '20 - 1:44pm

  Seasons greetings much valued. Thank you to excellent voluntary staff. The site reveals how individual sense of personal as well as social commitment would and does work.

  It is something very much amiss in the approach of people in this pandemic.

  Individuals count. Some, among the mass of people are heroes. Some villains. most in between.

  Its a blow to patriotism to see a lot of Brits are libertarian and indulgent with very poor sense of duty or care.

  Thankfully few but too many yet.

• Helen Dudden 24th Dec '20 - 9:34am

  Wishing you all Seasons Greetings.
  I agree, there are some, who lack understanding for others.

• Lynne featherstone 24th Dec '20 - 10:06am

  Thank you for keeping this platform going and providing a place for our thoughts and views – much appreciated.
  And wishing you all Merry Xmas x

• Rosie 24th Dec '20 - 11:53am

  A big Thank you to everyone , especially Mary Reid who kept us going during difficult times.
  Happy Christmas and ALL the very best for 2021

• Peter Hirst 24th Dec '20 - 12:09pm

  I’m grateful to those who keep this blog going. I hope they enjoy a relaxing break with their loved ones. Perhaps the Party should consider some form of formal thanks to them and others who provide this and similar services such as regular newsletters.

• Barry Lofty 24th Dec '20 - 12:49pm

  Merry Christmas to all at LDV and wishing everyone a far better 2021, also thanks for allowing me to air my frustrations over the past months on this site, it did me good if not anyone else!

• Nigel Jones 24th Dec '20 - 2:33pm

  Hear, hear, Peter Hirst ! Best wishes and thanks indeed for the team who look after this site 7 days a week.

• Richard Underhill. 24th Dec '20 - 9:44pm

  We should thank one Sikh who took food to queueing lorry drivers

• John Marriott 25th Dec '20 - 9:39am

  A Merry Christmas to all at LDV. Now we have a ‘deal’ (of sorts) and hopefully with more vaccines on the way, perhaps, next year, some of us might feel a bit more festive!

• Matt Wardman 26th Dec '20 - 6:52am

  Happy Christmas to everyone here.

  And I do admire you sticking by the decision to have a real break, despite the Brexit agreement !

• Peter Martin 26th Dec '20 - 11:24am

  The deal looks to have been the result of a last minute intervention by Angela Merkel and Ursula von der Leyen to push Michael Barnier into making enough concessions to pull the two sides closer together. There is some suggestion he was simply sidelined. The UK had to make some concessions too, which is why some ultra leavers are shouting “sell-out”. It may not be perfect but its not that.

  I would guess the Germans had two main motivations. Firstly, to preserve their best international export market. Secondly, and not unrelated, to leave the way clear for them to shape the future EU as they want it to be rather than the more Federal structure others would prefer. They need their own economy to be in a strong position to be able to do that.

  As they choose to be a large net exporter they have to have a local partner which is a large net importer and there’s no-one else other than the UK who will be able to fulfill that role.