A serious speech for a serious day in Saffron Walden...

One of the tasks that has fallen to the Parliamentary Party in the Lords since the demise of so many of our MPs in May has been to pick up the slack in terms of providing speakers for Local Party events. Ever willing to do what she can, Ros had volunteered to travel to Saffron Walden this evening to be the guest speaker at the Local Party's Annual Dinner, and I tagged along to do some minimal navigating and keep her company on the hour-long drive in each direction.

As she noted in her initial comments, there are two types of speech on such occasions, serious and anecdotal (the Lords is a rich source of anecdotal humour). On this occasion, given events in Paris and Beirut, she said that it was appropriate that she had opted for something more serious. She talked about events in Beirut, in Ankara and in other places, acknowledging that this was a difficult time for liberal values.

And then, it was onto the referendum. Ros touched upon the likely dates for the referendum and the impacts of possible events. The move to enfranchise sixteen and seventeen-year olds, for example, would delay any referendum if successful, as arrangements would need to be made to get them onto the electoral register. Elections in France and Germany might impact on the timing, as voters there might take a dim view of the extent of concessions that might be necessary to keep the United Kingdom in. And, a point which has been much overlooked is the timing of the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union, i.e. the first half of 2017. Could you credibly hold the Presidency and a referendum simultaneously?

She then turned her attention to the mechanics of Brexit. The rules are clearly laid out, in that withdrawal from the institutions is immediate, and that the EU rules apply for two years afterwards to allow for the necessary transition. The catch is that the process is widely interpreted as excluding the withdrawer from those deciding upon the various steps. And why should the Commission and the Parliament make it easy? By making it as difficult and painful as possible, they would dissuade others from taking the same path.

She ended by noting how, in difficult times such as these, international co- operation was more vital than ever, that working within the rule of law to combat terror was the only credible way forward for a liberal society. Liberal Democrats stand strongly for such a message, and it's up to us to convey that belief.

There were questions to follow, which Ros handled with her usual aplomb, and the applause seemed warm and genuine. But it was getting late, and we had to get home, for there is much to do, and little time...