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I am reminded of a joke from many years ago...
Posted by Liam Pennington (@doktorb)
Saturday, 3rd October 2009
It is with great pleasure that I take up the opportunity to speak after being recommended to talk on a wide array of subjects from my particular (peculiar? No surely not…) place in the British political spectrum. House of Twits is a very innovative and enjoyable resource, whose readers I hope will welcome my contribution to the debates of the day.
There is something a little unsettling while I take my place on the Liberal Democrat front-benches, staring out across the virtual floor of the House at the formidable voices from Labour and Conservative parties alike. I am reminded of a joke from many years ago where a radio journalist asks members of each main party to name the capital city of France: the Labour representative feels the need to explain how singling out one capital city is unnecessarily isolationist, the Tory grandee denies ever having spent a night with his mistress at any European hotel at all, while the Liberal Democrat guy’s correct response of “Paris” is made just as the radio mic is disconnected.
As a Liberal Democrat in Lancashire, I know all about the difficulties in getting the message across against the brick-walls built by the two main parties and their comfortable consensus. There is nothing quite like seeing the increasingly good returns for so much hard work here – especially in places like Burnley, where the threat of the British National Party has been clearly extinguished.
Labour were given a golden opportunity only to perform the greatest example of Reverse Midas Touch in history. The Conservatives walk around without a care in the world or about the world, leaving the LibDems as the one credible and coherent alternative. And that coherence and credibility shall now be communicated, by the likes of me. These could be troubling times indeed….Mr Speaker, I walk fully clothed into this opportunity, and gladly give way to other Members wishing to speak….
