By Stephen Tall
| Sun 23rd February 2014 - 2:00 pm
The last month has seen the ‘Yes Scotland’ independence campaign take a battering.
First, Mark Carney raised doubts about Alex Salmond’s plans for a post-independence currency union between Scotland and the remainder of the UK.
This warning was echoed when, with more naked partisanship, George Osborne, Danny Alexander and Ed Balls teamed up to state they would each refuse to form such a currency union.
And then last Sunday, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hammered in …
The author, broadcaster and campaigner Sir Ludovic Kennedy has died aged 89. A former BBC Panorama journalist, Sir Ludovic spent decades investigating miscarriages of justice, including the case of the Birmingham Six. He contributed to the abolition of the death penalty and was also president of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
Nick Clegg has joined in the tributes to Sir Ludovic, a member of the Liberal party and later the Lib Dems, for most of his life:
Ludovic Kennedy was one of the great thinkers of his generation. His pursuit of justice and his championing of sometimes unpopular and controversial causes marked him out as a true liberal. He will be greatly missed.”
Sir Ludovic was the Liberal candidate and runner-up in the 1958 Rochdale by-election, propelling the party to its highest vote in the constituency since the 1920s, with the Tories pushed from first to third place. It was the first UK election to feature televised debates between the candidates, with Granada also broadcasting the count – another first.
He quit the Lib Dems in 2001 in protest at Charles Kennedy’s refusal to countenance legalised euthanasia, even standing as an independent candidate for the cause in Devizes, Wiltshire, polling just over 1,000 votes. He later re-joined the party.
During the 1980s and ’90s, Sir Ludovic gained fame among a new generation (such as myself) through his appearances as himself in the superior BBC comedy programme, Yes, Minister, as well as his interviews with Peter Cook, playing Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling, for A Life in Pieces. Here’s the first programme from that fantastic series, first broadcast in December 1990:
Matt (Bristol)4th Jun - 9:01am Matthew Huntbach / James Fowler The idea of moving into the gap left by the Tories (which isn't imho a straight right/left issue) is problematised...
Matt (Bristol)4th Jun - 8:51am As much as I want eye-catching and coherent policies from a leader, I mainly want the nous to shape a party with a coherent ideology...
James Fowler4th Jun - 8:42am @ Matthew - interesting points, thank you.
Frank West4th Jun - 8:01am If you are happy to pay UK income tax and capital gains on your overseas money then you should have the right to vote, if...
Christopher Curtis4th Jun - 8:00am I agree with these comments too. It’s vital that we choose a leader to do the job of leading the party, and performance in detailed,...
Paul Fisher4th Jun - 8:00am A good read. This valid bottom up view needs to be addressed with a strategic response. This is a human rights matter. What does it...
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Matt (Bristol) 4th Jun - 9:01am
James Fowler 4th Jun - 8:42am
Frank West 4th Jun - 8:01am
Christopher Curtis 4th Jun - 8:00am
Paul Fisher 4th Jun - 8:00am