I wonder if some of the 2024 crop of Lib Dem MPs themselves might reflect (or come to recognise it when defending their often fairly small majorities!) this tendency.
Particularly in the West Country, which is (very generally) small c conservative but not particularly right wing and not very ideological at all.
There are of course outliers, it's a big swathe of England home to 5 million plus people, and often victim to the stereotyping you mention from both the left (as generic rural 'Tory Shires') and the right (as a particularist backwater).
James - thank you for this thoughtful and hugely detailed analysis. It's tough reading for an armchair Lib Dem strategist like me, but important reading nonetheless. Given your section on the two approaches third parties can take, I would very much welcome your thoughts on the strategy that Mark Pack (party president) and I put out in December, which called for the party to balance the two. As you'll see from my substack, I am almost pathologically dedicated to getting negative feedback from readers, so I would very much like to get your negative feedback on this doc.
Britain can only defined by its external geopolitical mission.
This is a great article..but taking our eye off our role globally.. particularly in Europe.. our geography - as was planned by the way by people with no love for Britain...lost us a definition...and a wider patriotism for all.
The EU for example isn't a club... it's an action.
And not doing it is very important to people like Putin.
This isn't just a moral issue.. or a military one...
The incompetence of which you speak comes from somewhere. Serves somebody... but not us.
Great and informative article, James!
I wonder if some of the 2024 crop of Lib Dem MPs themselves might reflect (or come to recognise it when defending their often fairly small majorities!) this tendency.
Particularly in the West Country, which is (very generally) small c conservative but not particularly right wing and not very ideological at all.
There are of course outliers, it's a big swathe of England home to 5 million plus people, and often victim to the stereotyping you mention from both the left (as generic rural 'Tory Shires') and the right (as a particularist backwater).
James - thank you for this thoughtful and hugely detailed analysis. It's tough reading for an armchair Lib Dem strategist like me, but important reading nonetheless. Given your section on the two approaches third parties can take, I would very much welcome your thoughts on the strategy that Mark Pack (party president) and I put out in December, which called for the party to balance the two. As you'll see from my substack, I am almost pathologically dedicated to getting negative feedback from readers, so I would very much like to get your negative feedback on this doc.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11aVzII74yXZ9GaneBXK-_nIHP_ow72guAiiZiRfNFEY/edit?tab=t.0
Thank you in advance!
Where is Britain?
In all this...?
Britain can only defined by its external geopolitical mission.
This is a great article..but taking our eye off our role globally.. particularly in Europe.. our geography - as was planned by the way by people with no love for Britain...lost us a definition...and a wider patriotism for all.
The EU for example isn't a club... it's an action.
And not doing it is very important to people like Putin.
This isn't just a moral issue.. or a military one...
The incompetence of which you speak comes from somewhere. Serves somebody... but not us.