Regular readers might have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet of late. The regular Monday morning columns where I touch upon things that have caught my eye, or that I simply want to get off of my chest, have been absent, and as the Day Editor, I’ve struggled to do much more than post articles that have come in. This is, perhaps, because politics, and the world generally, have become a bit depressing. With an American administration that sets examples that trouble me philosophically, and an increasingly unpeaceful world, it is often difficult to lift your eyes to the horizon in hope. But, I think, I have an obligation to try.
Liberal Democrats can, at least, muster some optimism. The opinion polls are gently promising, as our usual post-General Election slump out of media relevance has been replaced with a slightly chaotic politics where no one political party can claim to have significant advantage. Our MPs are taking up issues which display our internationalism, and maintaining a media profile that we could not have dreamed off five years ago. And Harrogate offers an opportunity to showcase new ideas and voices (and a sneaky trip to Betty’s, perhaps…).
And today on Liberal Democrat Voice, our contributors reflect that range of thought (albeit that the absence of a contribution from anyone other than men does pain me).
Phil Bennion, our former MEP from the West Midlands and now Vice-President of Liberal International, writes of emerging moves towards greater co-operation between Africa and Europe, whilst Chris Bowers offers up some concrete suggestions on housing policy. Denis Mollison, meanwhile, writes on the threats to our democracy of a wave of money from wealthy donors, something that a number of organisations campaigning on democratic reform have picked up on. I’ve also written something on proposals to change the way our candidate processes are organised and managed. We’ll also have the usual press releases at the end of the day.
But it is late, and I ought to get some sleep. So, I’ll wish you, our readers, a great day and maybe “see” you later…
* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice.
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3 Comments
@Mark: Sorry to hear that about feeling that the news is too depressing. We are in difficult times with things like climate change and Trump and Ukraine – not to mention other conflicts that get less attention in the UK, such as Sudan, Myanmar and Yemen.
Not sure if it is any help but In times like this I tend to remind myself that the World has always been full of dreadful problems that are beyond the ability of any one person (or even, any one group of people) to put right, but that should be our calling to do what we can (even if it’s only a little) to try to make the World better. And for that, LDV plays a good role with articles and debates that let us explore how we can do that, hopefully learning through all our different perspectives and differences of opinion.
I for one definitely appreciate this site being here and all the work you do on it.
Chin up old chap. You’re doing a great job.
Remember the 10 days of Cuba in 1962, leaving the office on the Friday evening none of us knew whether we would see each other come Monday, it ain’t that bad yet!