Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Take a cold tub and volunteer for extra delivering
Take a cold tub and volunteer for extra delivering
Lunch was enjoyable, but before I get down to writing my article I must attend to this morning’s post. What do we have? A letter from an Irish bishop inquiring about visiting hours at the aforementioned orphanage. Another from a journalist who wants to interview me about my part in the archaeological dig that discovered ‘Ashdown Man’ – at one time the old boy was thought to provide important evidence about the evolution of Liberalism in Britain, but these days people are Not So Sure.
What else do we have? Bills (we won’t bother with those), dividends from my shares in the oil rigs on Rutland Water and an illuminated address thanking me for my work in suppressing vice amongst canvassers in the West Country.
Then there are the usual letters from Liberal Democrats around the country. These tend to repeat the same questions, so over the years I have dictated standard replies to them and given each a number. Today’s required replies are: 1 (“Thank you for your kind words – I enclosed a signed photograph”), 17 (“In such a marginal seat I would recommend the use of the Bonkers Patent Exploding Focus”) and 84 (“Take a cold tub and volunteer for extra delivering”).
Now it will soon be time for tea and I really must get on with that article.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10
Earlier in Lord Bonkers' Diary:
I've good news for Nick Clegg: You can't lose by predicting Liam Fox will resign
The Spectator's Steerpike quotes Nick Clegg's words at a Commons press gallery lunch today:
"I’ll just say a word about Liam Fox though because I do feel sorry for him. I’m not a betting man but if I was I’d put a fair amount of money on Liam Fox resigning in a huff in the next 18 months and I’ll explain to you why. He doesn’t have a job and he doesn’t appear to have realised that yet.
"He genuinely doesn’t have a job. If the United Kingdom doesn’t leave the customs union then he is heading a department without purpose because he cannot negotiate all these apparently magnificent trade deals with Papua New Guinea and Tanzania."I think Nick Clegg is right. In my experience you can't go far wrong by predicting Liam Fox will resign.
Because in August 2010, when the commentariat had decided that Vince Cable would be the first minister to resign from the Coalition cabinet, I wrote:
My own tip for the first resignation would be a Tory right-winger like Liam Fox.In October 2011 I was proved right.
So pile your money on Nick. It's a banker!
Monday, September 12, 2016
Thunderbirds 1965
Lord Bonkers' Diary: The work of a particularly large mole
The work of a particularly large mole
I must now pause for a modest luncheon. You are no doubt wondering how my article is coming along. Well, I am (as I may have mentioned) simply bursting with ideas for it, but I have been concerned for some days about a spot of subsidence at the Bonkers’ Home for Well-Behaved Orphans. Being firmly of the belief that we must put children first, I hurried over their after coffee to supervise the repairs.
The foreman of the builders suggested that the problem was due to a tunnel that had been dug from the coal cellar under the walls of the orphanage, put I pooh-poohed the idea. It must, I told him, be an adit left over from the Rutland Gold Rush or the work of a particularly large mole.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10
Earlier in Lord Bonkers' Diary:
Project fear won't win the grammar school debate either
The Remain campaign lost the referendum on British membership of the European Union because it was unable to articulate a single positive reason why voters should continue to support it.
As a result it relied upon Project Fear issuing increasingly blood-curdling warnings about the effects of Brexit which, though unfolding events may prove them largely justified, failed to convince.
Much the same thing is now happening in the debate over grammar schools. I have heard plenty of tales of the iniquities of grammar schools of earlier decades – what I once called “tales of short-trousered angst” in the Guardian – but almost no one talking about why you should want to send your child to a comprehensive.
There are other parallels. Back in February, while ticking off Emma Thompson, I wrote:
If we want the forces of light to win the referendum on British membership of the European Union then we have to get away that it is a project of the elites.
Which may be a problem. While professionals arrange the harmonisation of qualifications across the continent to make it easy for them to take up agreeable employment abroad, the rest of us are faced with an influx of people who will work harder and expect lower wages.
That, incidentally, why it is bizarre that David Cameron's demands centre on benefits for people from Poland. It is the Poles in jobs that British workers are afraid of.Academic research gives little support to the idea that immigrant labour depresses wages, but it does not feel that way to many people.
I suspect that same people are not impressed by the debate on grammar schools. They see the wealthy sending their children to private schools or buying houses in the catchment areas of successful comprehensives.
Then they are told that no policy changes that might benefit their own children can be allowed unless they benefit all children absolutely equally.
We are used to the professional left arguing that unless a reform can be introduced everywhere, all at once, then it should not be introduced at all.
This is best displayed by John Prescott’s reaction to the prospect of free schools:
"If you set up a school and it becomes a good school, the great danger is that everyone wants to go there."But the debate on comprehensives so far as also brought to mind Algernon’s remark in The Importance of Being Earnest:
“Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?”If we want voters to support comprehensive schools then we need to convince voters that they will be good for their children, not scare them or call them selfish.
Let’s end with a tweet that shows the way forward...
Very proud that I lead a comp school. The aim is to get 'grammar school' outcomes for all children, not just those already on track aged 11.— Blatch Mr Harrold (@BMS_MrHarrold) September 10, 2016
Six of the Best 625
Pedro C. Magalhães and Besir Ceka say the meaning of democracy changes for Europeans depending on their education status, income and nationality.
The largest producer of IQ tests in Britain after the Second World War was an early advocate of comprehensive schools. James Thompson tells the story.
"It envisioned an era where an American worked alongside a Russian, and a black woman was in a position of leadership. Humans had eliminated war and were united in a peaceful mission of exploration." Ali Mattu celebrates Star Trek's 50th birthday.
Alwyn Turner introduces us to A.G. Macdonell, author of England, Their England and unsuccessful Liberal candidate.
"These vast and abstract concrete structures, shaped like satellites and turned up to the skies as if they were searching for extraterrestrial life, were erected on areas of the coast that were thought to be key locations in any future air defence plan." Christo Hall shows us the sound mirrors of the Kent coast.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Lord Bonkers' Diary: Piracy on Rutland Water
Piracy on Rutland Water
I recently heard a Conservative politician who has been Members of the European Parliament since they were 14 say that Brexit will make us a “buccaneering” nation again. Well, we remember those days hereabouts and dark they were indeed.
Merchant vessels carrying Stilton and pork pies out of Oakham across Rutland Water were set upon by pirates, who stole their cargo, made the crew walk the plank and went “Arrr!” in a most annoying fashion. (I suppose they wanted they wanted the foodstuffs to feed their parrots.)
I grant you those days were not without glamour: every Rutland schoolboy knows the story of how one of my ancestors ordered a footman to lie down in a puddle so that Queen Elizabeth would not get her pretty shoes muddy. Yet every fair-minded person will admit that the elimination of piracy in Rutland is one of the European Union’s greatest achievements and entertain no wish to see its return.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10
Earlier in Lord Bonkers' Diary:
Darley Dale, the intermediate station on Peak Rail
We've seen Matlock Riverside and Rowsley South. This is Darley Dale, the intermediate station on Peak Rail.
You read all about its history on Disused Stations, while the Peak Rail site says:
Our waiting room facilities include a selection of DVDs, railway books and books for pre-school children for your enjoyment.
Adjacent to this is our small museum, which houses an exhibition depicting the history of the former Midland line between Matlock and Rowsley. A selection of nostalgic old photographs, artefacts, posters, items of memorabilia and various historic documents taken from the extensive archive collection of the Peak Railway Association are on display.
The Lib Dems should trumpet their opposition to a third runway at Heathrow, not talk about process issues
When the government plan to put the building of a third runway at Heathrow to parliament was revealed after someone photographed it on the tube, John McDonnell appeared on Channel 4 News.
Though the shadow chancellor is a longstanding opponent of the idea, in that interview he spent most of his time rubbishing the idea that collective cabinet responsibility could be suspended for the Commons vote.
Similarly, Tim Farron's statement on the subject began:
The suggestion that there might be a free vote on Heathrow is farcical – this is a huge decision and the Conservative government has to make a collective decision and take full responsibility. If people disagree they can resign.But is the public greatly interested in the details of how the vote will be handled at Westminster?
I can imagine people being against a third runway because their lives will be affected by aircraft noise or because they think it will be bad for the environment more generally.
I can imagine them being in favour of it because they think it will be good for the economy.
I find it much harder to imagine people being much concerned by whether there is a free vote or not.
In fact to most voters the idea that politicians will vote in accord with what they believe rather than they way their party tells them will be rather attractive.
I am willing to believe a free vote in impractical, and opposing it might chime with the narrative that this is an incompetent government. But I can't see this line of attack moving many voters.
We Liberal Democrats would do better to emphasise the second paragraph of Tim's statement (which should have been the first):
Liberal Democrats are the only party consistently opposed to a third runway at Heathrow and we will fight any plans to allow it to be built.That will interest many voters.
Mik Artistik's Ego Trip: Plastic Fox
This has been played several times on BBC 6 Music recently.
I like the echo of John Cooper Clark and the total commitment of the performance.
More about Mik Artistik on his website.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
The Rose and Crown, Kibworth
The Kibworth Harcourt Trail leaflet says the Rose and Crown was once:
the most famous coaching stop in Kibworth, with up to twenty-four coaches a say stopping day and night for passengers' rest or refreshments, or to change horses.It was open as a pub into the 1990s and as an Indian restaurant after that.
The leaflet says it is believed in was built in the 18th century but, externally at least, the building I photographed today looks Edwardian. The Francis Frith site has a postcard of it in the 1950s.
It bears a sign saying it has been acquired for clients, but I will be surprised if it is not razed to make space for housing one day soon.
Lord Bonkers' Diary: While I enjoy my Caffè Bellotti
While I enjoy my Caffè Bellotti
As it turned out, I have more pencils than I remembered. I also decided to rearrange the Liberal Philosophy section: would you believe I had my Hobsons shelved before my Hobhouses?
If any of my friends had noticed, I should never have lived it down.
Then I had to lean out of the window and advise Meadowcroft, who was trimming the edges of my croquet lawn in preparation for a match against the Deputy Returning Officers of Northamptonshire next week. He was surprisingly ungrateful when I pointed out that he had Misssed A Bit. And then it was time for morning coffee, so I had to stop writing.
While I enjoy my Caffè Bellotti, let me share with you my thoughts on our future if we leave the European Union.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10
Earlier in Lord Bonkers' Diary:
Policewoman sacked after elbowing her mother's love rival into the reduced meat fridge in Asda
The judges are unanimous: the Daily Telegraph wins our Headline of the Day Award.
Thanks to the reader who nominated it.
Thanks to the reader who nominated it.
Friday, September 09, 2016
The Bridport branch in 1975
The line from Maiden Newton to Bridport survived the closures of the Beeching years only to succumb in 1975.
This silent film shows it in its last days.
Lord Bonkers' Diary: How the Liberal Democrats can revive their electoral fortunes
How the Liberal Democrats can revive their electoral fortunes
As those of you who subscribed to the leather-bound edition of my collected journalism last year will know, I am a regular contributor to the newspapers – and not just the High Leicestershire Radical, which I happen to own. Thus it was no surprise when I was invited to contribute a piece under the title: “How the Liberal Democrats can revive their electoral fortunes” by one of Fleet Street’s most prominent organs.
So I sit in my Library, straight after breakfast, simply bursting with idea for this article, which must be filed this evening “without fail”. First, however, I had better sharpen my pencils.
Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10
Nick Clegg and the limits of rationalism in politics
Nick Clegg isn’t very good at politics. That’s the abiding impression left by his memoir-cum-essay about the state of British and European politics. It’s rather an odd thing to say of a man who was, after all, deputy prime minister in one of the more important governments of recent times, so let me explain.
In Politics: Between the Extremes, Clegg has lots of considered and rational observations on how we run our society and economy, as well as on the working methods of David Cameron, George Osborne and Theresa May. He also has good ideas about how the civil service and the British constitution might be improved. But that’s not politics. That’s government.
Politics is about arguments, about persuading people, by fair means or foul, to lend you their votes and their permission to rule. And this is what baffles Clegg.There is something in that and, as far as it is true, it is also true of many centrist politicians in the Liberal Democrats and beyond.
They are full of proposals for improving society, but they seem innocent of the passions that drive the opinions of the voters.
'Evidence-based policy' is better than the prejudice-based variety, but there is something about the phrase that chills. Maybe that is because it belongs to an age of patrician technocrats that has, for better or worse, passed.
Take the grammar school debate that has been raging for the past couple of days. Some opponents of the idea seem genuinely puzzled when the fact that they themselves went to grammar schools or even public schools is brought up.
As I saw one professor tweet yesterday, the evidence says what the evidence says wherever the person quoting it went to school.
Which is true, but betrays a lack of insight into what it must feel like to be told by someone who has enjoyed advantages you can hardly dream of that your own child must on no account be allowed to share them.
That does not mean grammar schools are a good idea. But it does mean their opponents have got to find more motivating arguments than they have so far.
Keith Vaz's sex scandal sours Harrow care home opening
We have our Headline of the Day. Well done This is Local London.
Thursday, September 08, 2016
Peak Rail's Rowsley South station
The northern terminus of Peak Rail (at least for now) is Rowsley South, three and a half miles from Matlock.
There is plenty of land there, with various other restoration projects going on. And I can recommend the bacon rolls.
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