I was completely amazed to read that Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Taylor (who was adopted) has traced his birth parents, and it turns out that his grandfather was the Liberal MP and chief whip in the 1930’s, Sir Percy Harris (who lost his seat in the 1945 general election). What are the chances of that eh?

Well where do I start? Firstly, the Littlehampton Gazette has three letters from Liberal Democrat councillors in it!

Today we have the first Arun District Council by-election since the local elections last year. The Labour party haven’t even put up a candidate. I think the current “first past the post” electoral system had its day in about 1920. Of course it must be remembered that multi-member wards are nothing new in local government so it’s time for STV to start in local government as it has in Scotland and Northern Ireland. I always remember a Tory politician in the mid-90’s say that asking the public to vote by ranking preferences was “far too confusing and complicated” Well if it’s good enough for the Irish and Scots it’s good enough for us, or are we too thick?  I urge all readers to visit the following sites;-  http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/deskbound/ 

www.mvcwestsussex.org.ukhttp://

www.electoral-reform.org.uk/

People quite often ask me whether I’m left or right wing, as a Liberal I find the question quite perplexing.I don’t think that modern politics is as easy as that! If I lived in the USA I would be regarded as a loony-lefty and if I lived in

France I would be considered an economic right-winger. We live in a globalised world now; the old certainties such as national sovereignty are no longer true.

 In the future it may be more important who you work for rather than the colour of your passport, however I still believe that local geographical communities will continue to be important especially for those left behind by globalisation.  Of course national politicians in this country from the two main parties don’t seem to be facing the realities of globalisation, or certainly the real effects of it, but I think we need to wake-up from our post-empire slumber and get real!

I have just returned from a night at a friend’s house in Chandlers Ford in Hampshire, it was good to get away for a night! 

I watched the programme on TV about Enoch Powell, it was very interesting. I strongly believe that there is a tiny, tiny minority of people in this country who are really racist, but I do think there is a significant minority who are ‘cultural chauvinist’. The problem with Enoch’s speech is rather than being prophetic, it could have become self-fulfilling.   Darling is preparing for his first budget as chancellor at the moment, as I understand it, the people who will really suffer will be lower-paid workers with no children. 

I went to a belated mothers-day meal with my family today, it was in Lancing and it only took about 25 minutes to drive there. The main course was good!!

Gordy has called on Labour to build a “Britain of or dreams” – well after nearly eleven years in power, New Labour have created the stuff of Orwellian nightmares, a surveillance society where the government wants to control everything that individuals, communities and companies do where the government seems to want to know everything about everyone but at the same time keep it’s own incompetence and mismanagement as secret as possible.  

Gordy is really clutching at straws now, like John Major in 1993/4. Of course I hope I’m wrong, that the government can create a land of dreams, but to many people in this country, their dreams lie elsewhere in the world.