The sun is shining in the Creetings this morning, and whilst it’s not exactly warm, a bit of sunshine does lift the spirits somewhat. It’s also nice to be back after a week off – the jet lag is just fine, and thank you for asking.

The COP26 event dominates the political agenda this week, naturally, and whilst our own Government is sending out decidedly mixed messages – reducing air passenger duty on short haul flights? Really? Having to be embarrassed into acting on sewage discharges into rivers and coastal waters? – there are a lot of people counting on action emerging from this summit. I have a nasty feeling that we might be disappointed, but I’d be happy to be proved wrong. What do you hope for from the event, and what messages do you think Liberal Democrats should be prioritising?

On this day in 1512, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel mural was presented to the public, albeit probably not the general public, whilst today is also the anniversary of the coming into force of the 1765 Stamp Act, levying a direct tax on British colonies in America. It might be fair to suggest that this did not end well… On the other hand, the Maastricht Treaty came into effect on this day in 1993. Perfect it may not have been but, from the outside looking in, perhaps the British public may learn to appreciate what it wrought.

Michal Siewniak offers us a tale of hope and inspiration today, whilst I’ll be writing later about the lower tier of local government, with elections underway to elect the new leadership of the National Association of Local Councils. And, of course, we’ll be covering whatever else comes in as best we can, so if you have some thoughts, why not submit an article for us to consider?

* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice.