For those of you tuning in thinking you are going to read about cycling I'm afraid you are going to be sorely disappointed. Although I may not be able to help myself. The Tour does start tomorrow after all. But no, this site is for what one of my Brexiteer colleagues sneeringly referred to as my "burgeoning political career". Actually there will be no such thing, and nice guy though he is, no really, I respect him professionally and like him a lot, he really has no idea.
But neither do I. When I was last a member of a political party the charts were full of decent music, some of our politicians had principles (even the ones I disliked) and it was pretty straightforward. I was a student after all, and you went on demos, put leaflets through doors, spoke and argued a lot, and argued about minor procedural points at conferences. And drank a lot. And looked like this.
But I left active politics because I got bored of the ambition winning over the ideas. I grew up and got a job on the treadmill and moved on. And I remain deeply suspicious of all politicians and little faith in their ability to find genuinely productive solutions. My values always remained though, sometimes covert, sometimes not.
I have joined the Liberal Democrats to try and do something about the shit that has fallen onto us as a result of the EU referendum debacle.
What am I going to do? Well I haven't worked that one out, but I wanted to be active in some way to advance the ideas, principles, and values connected to this situation, rather than just carping on the sidelines. And if the Ukrainians have any influence, hopefully I can reach them too and they can pitch in.
It's really simple. Leaving the EU was and is a bad idea. I can't change that. But maybe, just maybe, I can change some minds.
Back in those heady days in the 70s & 80s no-one thought the Berlin Wall would ever come down, or the Irish troubles would be solved, or Apartheid would crumble, that Salford United would ever win the League or that the UK could be a prosperous, diverse, liberal, tolerant society. I know, who can imagine that?
I want to make sure it remains so.
Let's see how it goes.
