As a matter of fact I'm back.

It's been nearly 2 years since the General Election and my last post. I was pretty despondent after that election and basically withdrew from active politics. I feel betrayed by Nick Clegg and the coalition. It is worth remembering what is in the constitution and the beginning is on every Lib Dems membership card,

The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives.

I cannot for the life of me understand how any Liberal Democrat could say that what the coalition is doing fits in anyway with this paragraph. I am one of the few who was against the coalition from the beginning but it is becoming more and more clear that grass roots Lib Dems have reached a breaking point.

One of the reasons for resurrecting this blog is that I think we are reaching a critical phase in UK politics. This weekend the Lib Dem conference will try to debate the disastrous NHS bill. It will be a pivotal moment in the history of the party, which may destroy it or revive it. (More in a future post). Next week we will have another Thatcherite budget designed to slash and burn public services and increase unemployment while the deficit continues to grow. In April millions of people will begin to lose benefits in a way that is cruelly designed to inflict most damage on the most vulnerable. In May we will have another round of local elections including the London Mayor. If last May is a guide, the Lib Dems will face another disaster. In the run up to the next election we have Lords' reform, the Scottish referendum and the new constituency boundaries, all with unknown consequences for the political landscape.

As a life long member of the Liberals/LibDems I believe the coalition is an existential threat to the party. I want to collect as much information as possible to provide ammunition to those within the party who want it to survive as a radical 3rd party and not an Orange subset of the Tories. So if you see a story or website that might be of interest please link to it or message me.

I have fought the Tories for most of my adult life so I will be posting about them and the way they are pretty much still "the nasty party."

Finally I will also occasionally post on the environment and transport, two subjects close to my heart.