When I was a secondary school student at a single sex council Grammar School in Newcastle in the mid-sixties some subjects crept into staff-student conversations in unlikely ways. An enlightened Anglican priest decided to include some sex education in his Religious Education efforts. The English teacher had no worries about students looking at the world hrough current party political eyes. We could do that because we were not short of youthful activists. There was Henry, an old-style Conservative, who would struggle to find a home in today’s Tory party. Julian was what some would call soft-left Labour. Robert was Labour and Co-op (he worked at the Central Co-op on Saturdays, privy to the high levels of theft amongst workers). I had never discussed my party affiliation with the English teacher. He simply noted my attitude to events and out of the blue one afternoon he simply announced during a debate “Ah, but Reid’s a Liberal.”

This was not the only reason why I enjoyed sixth form life after being somewhat bored by my previous five years in the school. Someone had the bright idea of putting me in charge of the newspapers. Day by day I read the Guardian (continuing to do so to this day) and looked at the others. There were some options in the sixth form curriculum. I opted to take an extra A-Level  in religious studies, which I thought could reinforce the beginnings of my training as a Methodist Lay Preacher – yes, I know, probably ridiculously precocious! The price of this was missing the weekly “Civics” lesson. I reckoned that as a Young Liberal I could sharpen up my political awareness elsewhere.

That, of course is ancient history. Fast forward half a century to my stint as Lord Mayor of Bradford. This I saw as a prlvileged learning experience, which came with a temporary high profile, from which the only continuing status was getting your name carved on the wall some twelve months after the event. This was heretically minimalistic for some of my predecessors who thought it guaranteed being somebody special forever. Mind you, that was not the worst heresy I committed. Nothing compares with the chagrin of the council media office when I insisted on writing my own speeches!

In my visits to primary schools I was impressed by the way in which pupils from the final year often seemed more comfortable asking questions about my temporary job and wider political stuff than those ahead of them in secondary school. In fairness we visited more of the former than the latter. Perhaps they were pre-occupied with demanding syllabuses colliding with the struggles that come with being a teenager!

I am aware of my current ignorance of primary and secondary education beyond what we glean from younger family members. However I have a nagging worry as to what replaces the civilised discussions on matters political during my own schooldays. I do not know whether younger people abandoning the frequently disgraceful UK print media for other sources of news and opinion is good or bad. What I do know is that it is vital for the health of our country (in the broadest sense) for children and young people to be given some understanding of the difference between facts, opinions and downright lies.

What politics means, in my book basically the ways in which we live together, has perhaps never been more contested, never mind differing political viewpoints. Fundamental constitutional principles like the place of the rule of law in a representative democracy have to be defended from the barbarians at the gates. Children and young people need to know what election to public office is about and to be able to stand up to those who think it grants the right to say or do whatever you like. This is just one more element of the cultural resistance that I believe goes with being a Liberal Democrat in 2026.

* Geoff Reid is a Methodist minister who spent the first twelve years of retirement from the day job as a Bradford City Councillor but has lived in Barnsley since 2024.