A Political Memoir

Politics: Between the Extremes

Personally I find Nick Clegg a bit of a dish (shameful admission since he is the same age as my sons) so it was a particular treat to listen to him reading his political memoir, Politics: Between the Extremes, as an Audible production.

Here's the blurb:

Politics has changed. For decades Britain was divided between Left and Right but united in its belief in a two-party state. Now, with nationalism resurgent and mainstream parties in turmoil, stark new divisions define the country and the centre ground is deserted.

As Deputy Prime Minister of Britain’s first coalition government in over fifty years, Nick Clegg witnessed this change from the inside. Here he offers a frank account of his experiences – from his spectacular rise in the 2010 election to a brutal defeat in 2015, from his early years as an MEP in Brussels to the tumultuous fall-out of Britain’s EU referendum – and puts the case for a new politics based on reason and compromise.

He writes candidly about his mistakes, including the controversy around tuition fees, the tense stand-offs within government and the decision to enter coalition with the Conservatives in the first place. He also lifts the lid on the arcane worlds of Westminster and Brussels, the vested interests that suffocate reform, as well as the achievements his party made despite them. Part memoir, part road-map through these tumultuous times, he argues that navigating our future will rely more than ever on collaboration, reforming our political institutions and a renewed belief in the values of liberalism.

Whatever your political persuasion, if you wish to understand politics in Britain today you cannot afford to ignore this book.

Since the disastrous, in my opinion, result of the June 23rd referendum on the UK's place in the EU, I have been politically engaged in a way since never before.  I joined the Lib Dems and now find I belong to the Liberal Elite, a member of a demographic that is being maligned for this pigeonholing.  It is giving rise to humorous posts and comment on one of the 'Remainers' Facebook groups to which I belong:

"Inspired by the cornucopia of fragrance ads on television this Christmas, I am working on my new perfume called 'Liberal Elite'. People will say "What is that delightful aroma" and I will say....... "Shhhh. It's 'Liberal Elite'. A heady combination of books (without pictures), avocados, facts, tolerance and being right."

Lol :)