Cicero's Songs

Interesting to note that David Cameron went to Brussels and has returned with no agreement and the dangerous fiasco of his ineptly wielded veto. Chris Huhne went to Durban and despite long odds, has returned with an unexpectedly strong agreement on climate change. I suppose the message is that if you want an agreement, eventually you can find one.

The role of the Leader of the Liberal Democrats is one of the most difficult in British politics. Unlike the Leader of HM Opposition, there is no specific financial support for the leader of the party, neither, except at election time, does the Liberal Democrat Leader have Police security protection. Yet despite the reduced official support, the role of the leader is, if anything, even more difficult than that of the Leader of the official Opposition. In a system explicitly designed to divide only two ways, the Leader of the party must overcome the structure of the constitution as well as the efforts of the other parties. Defining the position of the party in the face of the indifference or hostility of most of the media is equally difficult. The position of most journalists is that whatever the Liberal Democrats say or do, they are irrelevant: and as a result the party rarely receives the coverage that its ideas and support deserve. Although gaining the support of around one in five v...

I am quite upbeat about the choice that faces the Liberal Democrats this leadership election. I am also pleasantly impressed with the choices on offer for the European Parliament candidates list and more provincially,the Mayor and Assembly for London. Talented, successful, interesting people. As for the leadership: Chris Huhne is a successful businessman with a brain. As an economics journalist he was an insightful commentator for The Independent . The way that he set up what has become Fitch IBCA- the rating agency- reveals a clear business brain. He is internationally aware- in addition to having been a MEP, his wife is Greek. He is also thoughtful about the issue of Land tax, which I believe is an area that merits substantial investigation by our policy wonks. Chris has been highly impressive in promoting the green agenda inside the Party and outside. His downsides? Well, relatively small. Arguably his name Chris Who-he? would probably be the joke of the cartoonists and his slight...