Just an ordinary Saturday in Tirana…

I may have mentioned that our hotel in Tirana was part of the Air Albania Arena. What I have hitherto failed to mention, and discovered rather late in the day, was that the Albanian national football team were due to play a home UEFA Nations League fixture whilst we were in town. I did think about buying tickets, but they had officially sold out and I wasn’t wildly keen on spending significant sums of money on the grey market to see a game between two teams I don’t really know.

In fairness, the “mystery” element doesn’t phase me that much, as I proved a few years back in Tbilisi. But that was rather cheaper, and there was never a possibility of a full house to see anyone play Gibraltar. The Czech Republic, on the other hand…

And, as it turned out, the Czechs were staying with us - very convenient for the stadium, obviously.

But we had plans.

Tirana has two major parks, one of which was known as “Big Park” and surrounds an artificial lake to the south of the city centre, close to our hotel. And, now that the sunshine had returned, it offered an excellent place for a gentle stroll.

Both Ros and I enjoy strolling through neighbourhoods and parks in new places - they give you a better sense of how real life operates in a way that just visiting tourist attractions never quite can. And Big Park was as good as one might hope, with little stalls selling toys or snacks and drinks dotted about, and Albanians of all ages out enjoying the warmth of a fine November day.

The lake itself is pleasant enough, especially where trees shade the banks, and the park is generally pretty well maintained which reinforced our sense that civic pride is quite strong.

As we walked back towards our hotel though, you could tell that excitement was beginning to mount around the Air Albania Arena, with crowds beginning to flock to the nearby bars and coffee shops. Albania were still in with a decent shot at promotion to League A, with two wins in their final group games, both in Tirana, pretty much guaranteed to get them to the promised land.

We had other plans though, which involved heading across town. As Ros is a member of the European Affairs Select Committee in the Lords, she had contacted our Embassy in Tirana, and an invitation to tea had been forthcoming from our recently-appointed Ambassador. Usually, my role in such events is as “travelling spouse” - Ros is obviously of far more interest to our diplomats than I am - but given that I’m not unfamiliar with international politics, I do chip in with the odd question.

Impressively, Nicholas Abbott is an Albanian speaker, having studied the language prior to being appointed “Our Man in Pristina” in 2019. And, on finding the Residence, we were welcomed in for tea and some rather nice banana bread (and I don’t even like bananas).

Having met a few of our Diplomatic Corps over the years, I’ve always been impressed by their professionalism and enthusiasm and nothing was changed by this meeting. We were told about his outreach programme and about such of the Embassy’s achievements in building relationships between the two countries and, whilst you do need to remind yourself that he is a diplomat, it’s reassuring to know that clever, engaging people are out there, representing us in foreign capitals across the globe.

We tried not to outstay our welcome, after all, it was a Saturday and even Ambassadors need some downtime, so we thanked His Excellency for his hospitality and headed out towards the maelstrom…

The Air Albania Arena seats approximately 21,000 spectators, and there clearly weren’t going to be that many away supporters. The usual sellers of football merchandise were out in force and the bars increasingly packed as the 8.45 p.m. kickoff approached.

I’d planned for this though, having booked a table in the hotel restaurant. Normally, I wouldn’t do that - in so many places, the hotel restaurant in a rather soulless afterthought but, in cities that don’t have many good hotels, that rule is usually suspended. And here, with good cause.

Somewhat to our surprise though, the restaurant, and especially the tables outside, were full of football fans getting the beers in before the game but behaving entirely reasonably. We ate a very good meal and watched a bunch of people with flags and scarves as they slowly filtered away towards their seats in the stadium.

It turned out that, if you had the right room in the hotel, you had a clear view of events on the pitch. We weren’t that lucky although, as it turned out, the game was fated to end as a rather drab 0-0 draw.

It also demonstrated that the soundproofing was pretty good, as 20,000 people left the stadium without disturbing us…

So, about this hip and trendy Albania I was told about...

Normally, when we go places, I take special care to organise dinner on Friday and Saturday nights because, you know how it is, places are busiest and you really don't want to be in a strange city, walking from restaurant to restaurant in the hope that they'll have a table free. I might have been happy enough to wing it in my twenties and thirties but not now.

And, in most places, you can make reservations online and relax in the confidence that regardless of what else happens, you've got a decent meal to look forward to. Guidebooks will suggest the sort of places you might choose. This is not really true in Tirana - there is only one useful guidebook, the Bradt guide - and online booking is still in its infancy.

However, the advantage of staying in a really good hotel is that the concierge will help you with the language barrier and know whether or not a restaurant (a) still exists and (b) is any good. I'd found a fish restaurant relatively nearby which came recommended and so I asked the concierge to make a booking for me, which she kindly did.

The sun sets in Tirana at pretty much the same time as it does in London at this time of year, so it was dark by the time we set off for our gentle stroll to Galeone, some twelve minutes from our sanctuary. And, as we discovered, it's in an area of the city which is rather livelier than the city centre proper, full of cafes, restaurants and young people out enjoying themselves.

The restaurant, however, was seemingly deserted. And that's because Tirana is like so many Southern European cities, a place where people eat late. The service was friendly though, and our total lack of Albanian proved to be no obstacle. As for the seafood, my octopus carpaccio and sea bream were excellent, and the Albanian white wine - yes, Albania is a wine producing country - perfectly drinkable.

One of the things about Albania is that, if you like Italian food, you'll do rather well, as seafood is readily available and the strong historic and cultural links between Italy and Albania - not always voluntary - mean that there is a tradition of awareness of how Italian food should be prepared.

It's clear that, as part of Albania's emergence onto the European stage, that the culinary scene is developing fast. There is plenty of good food to be had, it's relatively cheap by our standards, and there's a strong service culture, with pride taken in presentation and delivery. It reminds me of cities like Sofia and Tallinn where, after the end of Communism, the freedom to do things differently led to a spurt of great restaurants and interesting meals inspired by the available local ingredients.

We weren't going to eat out the next day though...

Unitary Suffolk incoming?…

I was, I admit, somewhat surprised when Creeting St Peter’s county councillor, Keith Welham, noted last Monday at our Parish Council meeting (which reminds me…) that the prospect of a unitary authority or authorities for Suffolk had reared its head again.

It shouldn’t come as a complete surprise, I guess, because the argument that multiple tiers of government are less financially efficient than one has been around for a long time. But it’s a brave government that commits itself to a major reorganisation of local government, especially this early in its mandate.

And, having read the article in The Times yesterday (and no, I’m not linking to it), it strongly suggests that there will be a single Suffolk unitary authority, based on the suggestion that Jim McMahon, the Minister for Local Government, has concluded that an authority serving no less than 500,000 or so is the minimum likely to succeed.

This is not my first rodeo, nor is it Suffolk’s though. Plans to replace six District, one Borough and one County Council at the tail-end of the Brown administration fell in part due to the fact that there was no agreement on what represented a viable size for an authority, that the Minister, Hazel Blears, seemed to have no consistent policy on that point and that both opposition parties were clear that they’d reject any such proposal. It did not end well, with much effort and some resource wasted in the process.

What I didn’t really appreciate then, but do now, is the impact on the relationship between a Parish Council such as mine, and the principal authorities that we have to interact with. We become increasingly remote from the levers of power, and a lot of effort will be required to establish an effective working arrangement with a larger, further away, County Unitary. And, if they withdraw from discretionary service provision, whilst a town or large village might be willing to step in, how does my community, with an annual budget of less than £6,500, do the same?

But, if the Government are serious about (effectively) imposing such a solution on Suffolk, they will inevitably find a way of doing so. My fear is that, instead of one financially struggling County and five junior Districts/Borough doing alright, we’ll end up with a Unitary authority that, as has been the case in places like Somerset, increasingly withdraws from all but mandatory services for lack of funds. And that is not an outcome I look forward to with anything but dread…

A cautious dip into the Regional politics of the Liberal Democrats

You might think that I'd have learnt better, having served as Regional Secretary and then Regional Candidates Chair in London, and then as Regional Secretary in the East of England, but I find myself hoping for a somewhat gentler return to the fray as a member of the East of England's Regional Candidates Committee.

Now, that said, there is the small matter of an election to win first, with six candidates for four places. My odds are perhaps improved by the slightly puzzling failure of two of my opponents to submit a manifesto, and the high probability that another will be directly elected to be the Regional Candidates Chair, but I take nothing for granted, even though I'm the only candidate who is running for just the one position.

So, why am I doing it?

I've always been fairly outspoken about the way we select our Parliamentary candidates but also about the importance of preparation by candidates. As I've written in the past, we can create all the pathways we like, but you can't just rock up at the last minute and expect to beat opponents who have been "working the patch" for months and even years. I've seen more of that than I'd like.

As Liberal Democrats, we rely heavily on a good ground war, and any successful Parliamentary candidate needs a strong relationship with the members of the Local Party who, by definition, will do a lot of the heavy lifting of leaflet delivery, canvassing and building the team that will organise, fundraise and all of the other essential stuff that is needed to win. And, no matter how charismatic you think you might be, familiarity matters.

As a member of a Regional Candidates Committee, my hope would be to work on a plan which would allow Local Parties to move as quickly as they'd like, and offer potential candidates the time and scope to effectively pitch for a job. What matters is knowledge and information, and if being a Parliamentary candidate is to be treated as being a bit like a career, you need to give people the tools they need to plan that "career".

That means getting as many potential candidates through the development process as early as possible, so that they can then focus on a seat or seats that they believe they could win selection for, keeping them informed of opportunities as far out as possible and then letting them do what they think needs to be done to be successful.

Meanwhile, a audit of Returning Officers, some refresher training if there are significant rule changes and a call for new RO "blood" will enable the Regional Party to be ready to respond to the needs of the Regional and National Campaign Teams.

I acknowledge that this sounds a bit like a pitch for the job of Regional Candidates Chair. So, why didn't I run for the post? Well, I have plenty of time for the incumbent (who is running for re-election anyway) and not enough time of my own to allow me to lead in the way I would see fit. I am, apparently, a busy person with everything I'm doing in the Town and Parish Council sector, and besides, it feels a bit presumptuous to turn up and run for a serious position. Besides, I'm not convinced that the powers that be who currently run English Candidates Committee would be wildly keen on having me back - I was something of a "wild child" in those days (relative to the membership of the Committee, that is). Ironically, more than a decade away has seen me mellow... a bit...

A gentle introduction to Albanian politics

Friday morning dawned, and we had an appointment in the diary. But it was time to explore, and thus time for a walk.

Tirana is designed on a north-south axis, which runs from the Technical University at the southern end, leads you up Bulevardi Deshmoret E Kombit across the River Lana (described as an open drain by one commentator) to Sheshi Skenderbej, one of those vast setpiece and rather stark squares that appears to have been so attractive to communist planners.

I guess that it works if you want to hold military parades but, as a public space, it needs filling with something. Many of the surrounding buildings are of the "marble box" variety, although the National Museum may be about to emerge from its current disguise as something rather more pleasing to the eye.

The former Mayor of Tirana, and now Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, took the view that the cheapest way to brighten up the city was literally to paint things in bright colours. And, all credit to him, it clearly worked, although sunshine does help. Tirana is an unexpectedly cheerful place, with trees and a sense of civic pride. And, having been to Moldova, where you probably couldn't say the same of Chisinau, it does make a difference.

There is a vast central mosque, but it isn't historic, having been built recently, although, in the corner of Sheshi Skanderbej, there is the Et'hem Bey Mosque, rather dwarfed by its surroundings, with a clock tower next to it. It does feel a little out of place, but it's fairly miraculous that it survived at all, given that the Hoxha regime persecuted religious practice and declared Albania an atheist state in 1967.

We had somewhere to be though, and with ID in hand, we arrived at a barrier where a security guard stopped us. We don't speak Albanian, funnily enough, and the security guard didn't speak any English it seemed, but the idea that we were here on "business" seemed to get across and, returning to his little hut, he emerged with a piece of official looking paper with our names on it.

The Albanian Parliament isn't the most imposing building. You enter a small lobby with the usual security screening equipment and there's a door in front of you which, as it turned out, leads directly into the Parliamentary chamber. This looks curiously like a small theatre which, as it turned out, was exactly what the building was prior to conversion, a puppet theatre to be precise (cue jokes about politicians...).

Our hosts were most welcoming, and we were escorted into the chamber and encouraged to sit in the front row - the nearest I'm ever likely to get to being a Select Committee Chair - whilst a young lady from the Parliament's Civic Engagement Team explained how things work in the Albanian Parliament in fluent English. There was some detail on the internal politics and some of the issues that arise, and we offered some thoughts in response. 

There is an interesting similarity between the Scottish Parliament and its Albanian counterpart in that both have an electoral system designed to avoid one-party majorities - Albania uses multi-member constituencies based on the twelve counties, with the D'Hondt system used to decide who wins.

In Albania, however, the political fragmentation which usually follows from the introduction of such a system hasn't happened yet, with two dominant players still in place. The Socialist Party has a majority of seats, albeit it a small one, but remains disciplined, unlike the opposition Democratic Party.

All in all, it was a very interesting opportunity to learn more about the politics of a country which seldom gets much positive coverage, and we emerged from it somewhat the wiser.

As we left, I spotted a side gate which we could exit through. It turned out, as security guards hurried towards us that, although it was open and seemingly led to a public street, we were really encouraged to use the main entrance. They let us out that way anyway, smiling as they waved us on. it all felt very Albanian, formal but friendly...

You probably don't remember me, Gillian Gloyer, but I owe you a debt of gratitude...

This is, it seems, the only guidebook that focuses entirely on Albania. No, there isn't a "Lonely Planet Albania", usually my first choice of guidebook if I'm going somewhere a little of the beaten path. No, if there's a guidebook to the Southern Balkans, you might find a section on Albania, but I guess that the demand isn't there.

I get that. Albania isn't a huge country, with a population of less than three million, internal travel isn't straightforward (don't ask about trains), and there haven't traditionally been many direct flights to Tirana, although that is changing, and fast. But you'd think that there might be more enthusiasm to write guides, especially given that it has increasingly appeared on lists of interesting places to explore.

But no, not yet, is the answer. But Bradt are on the seventh edition of "Albania", so that's what I bought, courtesy of our local independent bookshop, Dial Lane Books (very sound, socially aware, probably knit their own muesli but a great resource in a town that needs more such things).

The name of the author caught my eye though. Gillian Gloyer? That Gillian Gloyer? The legendary Scottish Young Liberal who with others, blazed a trail through the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth (IFLRY) in its radical glory days? I did some research. And yes, it is her. Before my time, I admit, but she was still spoken of by the time I arrived in the (very) early nineties.

And the guidebook? Well, the seventh edition is now more than two years old, having been published in June 2022, and suffers as all guidebooks do, from the increasingly rapid development (and failure in some cases) of hotels and, in particular, restaurants, but as a means of guiding your steps and your expectations, it was a very successful purchase indeed. And, if I were to return at some point, with the intention of getting beyond Tirana, I would probably count on it again.

So, thank you, Gillian, wherever you are...

Deep in the Balkans, a long weekend in Albania...

I have now established a tradition that birthdays with a zero in them merit a trip to somewhere new and, potentially, exciting. Admittedly, it's a tradition that might not get much of a run, given that I'm now officially in my sixties, but nonetheless, if in twenty years I report back from Luanda or Dili, you'll know that I'm still in decent form.

But, given that we're been doing a lot of travelling, I wasn't going to be quite so ambitious for this particular celebration. And, I'd heard a lot about Albania - apparently an up and coming destination, now served by British Airways - so, for my seventy-third country, it seemed like a decent choice.

Albania does suggest a rather darker corner of Europe, and its reputation for blood feuds, poverty and isolationism perhaps doesn't appear very inviting, but I'd booked us into a nice hotel - of which more later - and we'd made a few contacts in advance, which offered some reassurance. After all, if somewhere turns out to be truly awful, you can always hide out in the hotel and get some light pampering.

The weather wasn't great when we descended through a rather murky sky into Mother Teresa International Airport - she's a bit of a national hero here, even if she was (whisper it quietly) actually born in modern day North Macedonia. We cleared immigration and customs quickly and found a taxi to take us to the hotel. So far, so good.

Our hotel turned out to be part of the new Air Albania Arena, a rather snazzy facility which, despite appearances, holds the national football stadium. On the outside, expensive shops, cafes and restaurants, with anonymous large gates scattered amongst them which lead to the various sections of the stadium. The tower on the left is the hotel, a Marriott, and we were on the twenty-third floor, virtually at the top.

Our room wasn't ready - we were a bit early in truth - but we were invited to sit in their M Club lounge whilst it was prepared, so no problem there. We were told about the happy "hour" with free drinks and snacks from 5.30 until 8.30, which sounded promising, and invited to call in at any time of day or night to pick up soft drinks or snacks, which sounded even better.

And, soon enough, the room was ready. Nice room, amazing view across Tirana and over to the low range of hills which separate the city from the Adriatic Sea. Admittedly, as usual, there were more buttons to control the lights and even the curtains than I would ideally like, but very nice all the same.

It was time for a little explore, so we walked into the centre of the city. I will admit that, if you're coming in the hope of enjoying some historic architecture, Tirana is likely to disappoint, as it wasn't really anywhere of significance until it became the capital in 1912. And, to be honest, the Stalinist design which did go up after World War II isn't likely to draw impassioned architecture students any time soon.

It was a pleasant enough orientation though and with night falling and the lure of free drinks, we headed back to our hotel. We'd just settled in when there was a knock on the door. Outside was a nice man with... cake and a card.

Yes, they were marking my birthday with what turned out to be a stunningly rich chocolate cake, more than enough to share between the two of us - note the healthy fruit on top - with a convenient sign made out of more chocolate.

And that's why, when you sign up for a hotel chain's frequent guest programme, you give them your birth date...

As we ate our cake, in anticipation of a pleasant evening in the M Club lounge, I relaxed. Everything was going to be just fine...

Vote for me... please?

"Who are these two miscreants?", I hear you ask. On my right is Daniel Obst, who is my usual co-Returning Officer at ALDE Congresses. We're considered to be sound, independent and competent which, given that he's a judge and I'm a tax inspector, is probably reassuring in a whole bunch of ways. The picture was taken in Stockholm last year, as we successfully delivered another uncontroversial set of Bureau elections.

In truth, it's a much less onerous job these days, as voting is electronic, and our role is more to reassure, make eligibility rulings and ensure that the process runs smoothly and the result accepted by all candidates.

But why this picture, and why now?

Well, I'm running for election, and I needed a photograph of myself to include in the manifesto. The catch is that there just aren't that many pictures of me, and even fewer "good" ones. And, by good, I mean pictures where I look vaguely as though I don't mind being photographed and not like a walrus in a jacket. This one is one of the better ones and, given that I'm running for a place on my Regional Candidates Committee, a picture with the word "elections" on it seems somewhat apposite.

Unusually, I'm involved in a contested election - there are six candidates for four places - and I don't really know my opponents that well. In fact, the only one who I am confident I would recognise in a room full of Liberal Democrats is the current Regional Candidates Chair.

And, perhaps unusually, the East of England Regional Party elections are hotly contested, with the only uncontested posts being Secretary (plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...) and the four places on the Regional Policy Committee. Even the Presidency is contested which is... unexpected...

This means that I'm theoretically required to campaign, although how you do that when you have no access to a membership list is beyond me. And yes, I accept that ordinary members in, say, Hertsmere, probably don't want to inundated with phone calls and e-mails from me and a cast of dozens. That means that I'm going to have to rely on my good reputation, a track record of competence and a good social media game. Oh, and the contacts that I've made over forty years in the Party, which may count for something.

I do get a manifesto - A5, landscape, which doesn't really allow for an expansive statement of the wonders I have wrought over the years and those I might perform if elected, but this is what I've written...

I’m Mark Valladares and I want your vote to be part of the next Regional Candidates Committee. Why me, and why now?

A General Election may be more than four years away, but there’s a lot of work to do even now. The Selection Rules are being reviewed, we need to find and approve more potential PPCs, train Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers, and encourage Local Parties to start their selections earlier and support them as they go through it. None of it should be left to the last minute.

And this can’t be done in isolation, as we need to work across the Party to help meet our wider goals. So, what skills and experience would I bring to the Regional Candidates Committee?

• I know how our candidate systems work, as a veteran Returning Officer over more than thirty years, a past candidate assessor and a former member of the English Candidates Committee.

• I appreciate the burden that our processes can place on Local Parties, having led moves to simplify the Selection Rules and make it easier for non-target seats to choose their Parliamentary candidates

• As a former Regional Secretary in two English Regions, I understand how Regional Parties work, as well as the importance of reporting back

I’m a member of the Ipswich Local Party, sit on Federal Council and, in my spare time, I’m the Chair of a small Parish Council in mid-Suffolk. Questions, or simply want to know me better? You can reach me on markv233@aol.com, check me out on Bluesky, or on my blog.

I think that it sums me up pretty well, demonstrates my strengths and, all things being equal, should give me a chance to win. Time will tell, I guess...

The gathering of responsibility or, how one thing leads to another...

So, I've become the Chair of the Micro Councils Network of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), right? Quite prestigious, I suppose, and a long way from being the Chair of a tiny Parish Council in deepest mid-Suffolk. But it only meets four times a year, and I have a professional team who are there to support me and organise things, so that's not too challenging, is it?

And, of course, that's probably too good to be true, isn't it? So, I shouldn't have been too surprised when I was invited to join the Smaller Councils Committee of NALC - after all, it is a platform on which to raise the issues of the Micro Council sector. How could I refuse? And, of course, I didn't.

What happened next was almost predictable. I was offered an induction into the work of the Committee from either a member of the professional team or the Vice Chair. My antennae twitched... "Vice Chair"? What happened to the Chair? So, I read the minutes of the recent committee meetings and discovered that there hadn't been a Chair since April - the Chair has to be a member of the National Assembly and nobody had come forward.

It wasn't long before the other shoe dropped, and an e-mail arrived from a senior colleague, asking me if I'd be willing to take on the role. I slept on it. And then I decided to go for it. Let's be honest, I'm fairly strongly of the view that there must be someone better qualified than I am, but there apparently isn't anyone and so, given that there should be a Chair, it seems that I am now (subject to a vote of the Committee, terms and conditions apply etc. etc) the Chair designate of the NALC Smaller Councils Committee, the voice of thousands of Town and Parish Councils across England whose electorate is less than 6,000. It would be reasonable to assume that Creeting St Peter qualifies...

I've had a conversation with my Vice Chair, who seems to be more than capable and offers a usefully different perspective - she's a Town Clerk - and I've started preparing for my first official meeting on 5 November, which should be interesting. It also means that, all being well, I'll be in post in time for the NALC Annual General Meeting two days later.

I haven't let the grass grow under my feet though. I was part of the two hour drop-in session at the ALDC stand at Federal Conference, talking to conference delegates about what we do and why Parish and Town Councils are such a good thing. We even offered some advice for councillors faced with challenging situations, which is sort of what NALC is there for. And I've given some thought as to what action Smaller Councils Committee could take to promote those parts of the NALC legislative agenda that particularly impact on our end of the sector.

So, the next few months could be interesting, as I settle into my new roles. At least there isn't anything else that I can be persuaded to take on, right?...

My Parish may be small, but it is, apparently, mighty...

The thing about becoming a rather infrequent blogger is that, well, I don't actually get around to telling anyone what I've been doing. And, what that means is that, when I do pick up my "digital quill", there's a risk that the context is missing.

And, perhaps unexpectedly, I've become somewhat busy. Let me explain...

I've been a member of the National Assembly of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) for four years (really, that long?), representing Suffolk, and I've found a niche for myself, agitating for better financial reporting, seeking greater diversity and, something close to my heart, acting as a voice for the many very small Parish Councils who traditionally don't have perhaps as much influence on the work of NALC as the larger member councils.

That's not a criticism, in truth. Many "micro" Parish Councils are pretty parochial, interested in matters within, or close to, the Parish boundaries and not much else. We seldom provide services as such, and with (in my case) an annual budget of approximately £6,500, after paying our Clerk, there is not much left to do anything beyond managing a small playground, ensuring the village green is mowed and the dog bins emptied.

But what we lack in service provision, we make up for in representation. We respond to planning applications, we lobby our District and County Councillors for improved services or, sometimes, a more sympathetic delivery of the ones that exist. We are hyper-local government.

And, in lobbying for our corner of the Town and Parish Council sector within NALC, I had sought the creation of a network for micro-councils. NALC has a number of networks, designed to bring together interest groups so that they can discuss their particular issues, influence the work of NALC generally, and offer support and ideas for best practice. There's one for the largest councils in the sector, one for women councillors, one for LGBT+ councillors, one for young councillors, as well as two thematic ones, on the climate emergency and for coastal communities.

Now, there is a Micro Councils Network and its first meeting took place at the end of July. I thought that I ought to turn up, given that I had lobbied for it, and, having done so, looked forward to seeing whether or not it would work. It did need a couple of co-Chairs and I waited to see who would come forward. And waited... Eventually, I concluded that, if nobody else was willing, I would have to step forward. Perhaps, that might trigger another volunteer. it didn't, and so I have become the Chair of the NALC Micro Councils Network.

There was a presentation from the Centre for Aging Better, suggesting ways to make life easier for the elderly in our communities - something that is particularly salient in small, often quite isolated, villages. And we invited those on the Zoom call to suggest issues for future discussion - guest speakers often introduce ideas or concepts that trigger action at our local level.

And so, I gained some new responsibility. It wasn't going to end there though, was it?...

Is it me, or is British politics missing a Conservative Party?

Now I admit, I'm highly unlikely to be ever mistaken for a Conservative. I might be fiscally cautious, conservative even. And I'm never likely to be accused of being a radical thinker. But am I the only person that wonders why this country doesn't appear to have a traditional, averse to change, cautious centre-right political party any more?

Clearly, there's a space in the British political market for what one might describe as a European-style Christian Democrat type of party. Because, equally obviously, the culture war fighting, counter-institution group that leads the current Conservative Party isn't it. 

A properly conservative political force wouldn't want to undermine the judiciary, the Civil Service, local government - it would be at ease with letting them get on with their jobs. It would campaign for home ownership, for protecting the countryside from development, for supporting farmers and small businesses.

But there isn't another political force that could, or might want to, occupy that space. No matter what you think of the Starmer administration, they aren't centre-right, and Reform are far too harsh in tone to ever persuade that type of voter. The Greens are going to outflank Labour to the left, which brings its own stresses but is an obvious choice. And the Liberal Democrats may be the most comfortable alternative left, but in order to permanently occupy that space, they would have to risk alienating a large chunk of their activists. I don't believe that it's going to happen.

So, the logic is that it should be territory that the Conservatives should hope to reclaim. The problem is that the people who make leadership decisions are minded to buy into the idea that the mistake they made in July was not to be radical enough. Not to fight culture wars with sufficient conviction. And not to admit that claiming to be tough on immigration whilst letting more people into the country than ever before was just a mite hypocritical. 

No, they've bought into the idea that fighting a populist campaign targeted at a 30% wedge of reactionary voters will gain them a victory. And, despite the evidence that building a bigger tent tends to lead to better results, key elements of the Conservative Party believe that they can cannibalise the Reform UK vote and sweep back to power in 2029.

Eventually, the Conservative Party, after its massive defeat in 1997, found its way back towards the centre of British politics or, at least, it persuaded enough people that it had, under the leadership of David Cameron. But, for the life of me, I'm not seeing a similar figure emerging from the current crop of Tory MPs, and even if they did, I couldn't see them surviving a vote of Conservative Party members. It does not augur well for our democracy...

India - the centre of the known world (once upon a time)...

I always used to joke that, whilst Britons were painting themselves blue and calling it the height of fashion, my Indian ancestors were building a great civilisation. It turns out that there may have been an element of truth to it. 

But let's go back to the beginning...

Ros had received an invitation to a lecture by the Scottish historian William Dalrymple, linked to the launch of his new book, "The Golden Road - how Ancient India Transformed The World", in West Kensington. Normally, she probably wouldn't accept such an offer, especially as Parliament hadn't returned yet but, given my heritage, she asked if I'd be interested in a trip to London. And, perhaps because I don't get out as much as I ought to, I said yes.

Greater Anglia offer a "London Evening Out" ticket, which allows a traveller to go down to London in the afternoon and come back the same day for a very reasonable £27 (£41 first class, should you fancy a bit more space and leg room), and so that's what we did last Tuesday, heading down to Liverpool Street and across to Notting Hill Gate before taking a leisurely stroll from there to West Kensington.

The Bhavan is, apparently, the largest centre for Indian classical arts in the United Kingdom, located in what was originally the local parish church before undergoing a radical rebuild and reconfiguration twenty years ago. The old nave is now the Mountbatten Auditorium, and it was there that the lecture took place in front of a very engaged, and predominantly Indian, audience.

The lecture itself was, even for an audience more familiar with Indian history than most, something of an eyeopener, propounding a theory that, far from the Silk Road being the preeminent channel of trade between east and west, it was in fact India that served as the primary trading partner of the Roman Empire. As an aside, it was noted that the Silk Road as a concept was the invention of a German writer in the nineteenth century, and that the term only became widely used after his works were translated in the last century.

So, what is the evidence? Well, you'd expect to find hoards of Roman coins across Europe, and perhaps around the Black Sea. And, if there was major trade between China and the Romans, in China. But, there are no significant finds there. In India, on the other hand, major finds of Roman coins have been made. And William Dalrymple offered us plenty of other examples of sculpture and art which point towards significant, regular interaction between Indian and Roman traders in the Red Sea ports of the time.

Delivered with great verve and conviction, Dalrymple spun the threads of his story over more than an hour, to the extent that, as he finished, we concluded that we really needed to get away to catch our train rather than stay for a light supper. We did find time to purchase a signed copy of the book, which I will make time to read at some point, and I suspect that a great many will have been shifted subsequently.

I know that Jonathan Calder has also written about the book and offered more detail on the argument offered by the author, but for those of you who think of China as being the preeminent trading partner of Europe in the distant past, you might find that the book offers a rather more balanced perspective on India and its place in the ancient world. Think of it as a recommendation...

Monday night is Parish Council night...

I wasn't supposed to be at Parish Council this time. The original date clashed with Federal Conference, and I had advised Council that I wouldn't be present. But work commitments and ill health conspired to cause the postponement of the scheduled meeting, and so, having just recovered from another dose of COVID, I made my way to Creeting St Peter for another opportunity to catch up with events in my beloved village.

The big news, I guess, is that the Speed Information Device that we ordered has arrived. It wasn't cheap but, thanks to generous grants from our County and District Councillors, the cost is pretty much wholly mitigated - we've received the grant from our District Councillors and the funds from our County Councillor are expected imminently. The next step is for the post on which it is to stand to be installed, and I'm optimistic that this shouldn't take too long.

Our finances remain sound, we've received the second instalment of our precept for the 2024/25 year and I'm confident that we can make it to the end of the financial year in our customary good shape. We'll be looking at proposals for next year's precept at our next meeting, so Council will need to decide what our goals are for 2025/26 then.

One recommendation from our audit this year was that we move to having a gov.uk account, and we've acted upon that. Residents will see that the contact address for the Council is now clerk@creetingstpeter-pc.gov.uk, bringing us into line with local government generally.

We have noted our objection to the proposed solar array in Badley, on the grounds that good agricultural land will be going to waste. At a time when food miles are part of the challenge of net zero, it does seem a pity that such land cannot be farmed economically. However, it is clear that the new Labour Government are keen on renewables, as evidenced by their decision to approve the Sunnica project in West Suffolk.

Our next project is to consult with residents about the renewal of the play equipment. There is potential to apply for funding available from the Gateway 14 development and we're keen to find out what potential users would like, rather than leaving the decision to people like me.

We've been approached by the River Gipping Trust, who have taken up the challenge of keeping the river path clear of vegetation for walkers to enjoy the route. As a volunteer group, they would be grateful for any financial contribution that we might be able to offer. That's a bit of a problem for us, as we don't have a lot of money available for such things, but we'll take a look and see if there is anything that we can do. If, however, any residents want to either join the River Gipping Trust, or make donations themselves, I'm sure that the Trust would be more than grateful.

Our next meeting is at 7.30 p.m. on 18 November, in the Church Room, and residents are more than welcome to attend.

I've got a temporary library card, and I know how to use it...

As a child, I was an avid reader of books. I spent much of the summer of, I think, 1971, in the library at Notting Hill Gate, ploughing through the "Thomas the Tank Engine" series. And I still enjoy reading, assuming that I can carve out the time to do so.

But you know how it is. There's so much information, news and stuff on the internet, and it's all in the palm of your hand. And so, I spend too much time online and not enough doing the panoply of other things that I could occupy myself with.

But I can't entirely believe that this is good for me, and the internet is often a bit "short attention span", whereas a book allows an idea, plot or story to be extended, developed. And so, I found myself in the Ipswich County Library in Northgate Street yesterday afternoon, signing up for a library card.

In Creeting St Peter, we did have a library of sorts, the Mobile Library, which came to the village every fortnight at 11.45 a.m. on a Friday. Not terribly convenient for those, like me, with jobs, and if you wanted something other than the obviously limited range that a medium-sized bus could hold, you had to order it in advance and hope that they could get it onto the bus in time. Alternatively, you could travel into Stowmarket and use the library there, but I wasn't often in the town, and you really need to return books on time - are you really going to make a special trip to do that?

However, the library is now a gentle eight-minute walk away, and it's open seven days a week, so taking books out is not only viable, it's very easy. Getting a temporary borrower card was the only immediate option, as I apparently need proof of my address to obtain the full range of services (note to self, find something with both my name and address on it...). But it did allow me to borrow up to three books immediately so, I thought, let's make a start.

Accordingly, I drew out two books, "Nation" by Terry Pratchett and "Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine" by Anna Reid and took them back to the desk to be recorded and stamped out with a date stamp redolent of my days as a Senior Library Prefect at Kingsbury High School.

I've got until 12 October to return them so, if you'll excuse me...

A manifesto for Suffolk - talking about an evolution?

Whilst in Brighton, I found myself volunteering to help with the Suffolk County Co-ordinating Committee, a sinister group of Liberal Democrats working to elect more Liberal Democrats across Suffolk.

Now, in fairness, I've been there before, and it wasn't exactly the most exciting thing that I've ever done. But all good people should rally around the flag, and I've become a bit better at political strategy (you'd like to think so after all these years, wouldn't you?). Besides, you really can't just stand back and leave others to do the hard yards.

And so, I've spent part of an evening talked about a manifesto for next year's County Council elections. Unsurprisingly, you won't find any details here, because the drafting process is still at an early stage, and it's not going to be imposed upon our campaigners and activists without some consultation.

That said, there will be some obvious key elements. The Party nationally has outlined some key priorities, and you'd reasonably expect us to major on those in Suffolk, plus there are a number of challenges that face shire counties across the piece, especially that of finance.

It's going to be an interesting set of elections in Suffolk. Labour, who have generally been weak outside of the key towns, will now doubtless feel obliged to fight rural divisions, whilst the Greens will be ambitious to expand their influence beyond Mid Suffolk and the Waveney Valley and Reform will be something of a joker given their current lack of organisation and structure. The Conservatives have it all to lose, but in an atomised electorate, seats may well be won with relatively low percentages of the vote.

Our task, if you like, will be to find the space to make our presence felt amongst the hubbub of competing voices. How ready we are for the challenge is something that I hope to find out, having rather kept out of local Liberal Democrat politics in recent years.

Suffolk Local Government reform - it’s like deja vu all over again…

The news that an incoming government has decided to cancel the proposed devolution deal for Suffolk is not entirely a surprise. After all, we’ve been here before…

In 2009, a rather rushed attempt at creating Unitary Authorities ran hopelessly into the sand, partly because Hazel Blears, the then Minister, couldn’t stick to a consistent line on what the requirements for a coherent Unitary authority might be, and partly because the then mostly Conservative-led Districts were loathe to give up their positions and powers. Having tossed the whole mess back to local politicians, the incoming Coalition government shot the whole thing down in one of its earlier decisions.

And, in a rather fine example of history repeating itself, the Conservative-proposed Devolution Plan for Suffolk has been snuffed out within weeks of the new Labour government being formed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mourn either decision. The Unitary proposals were designed to protect Labour’s position in Ipswich, knowing that any Unitary that took in the surrounding (Conservative voting) rural hinterland made it less likely that Labour would retain control, and cynically overlooked the guidance on the optimal size of a Unitary.

But, at the time (and even then local government finances were beginning to be squeezed), a two-Unitary arrangement for Suffolk offered some genuine opportunities to reduce spending in such a way as to protect frontline services. Alas, it was not to be.

The devolution deal which emerged last year was, unsurprisingly given the people responsible for it, astonishingly low on detail and appeared to be the Suffolk equivalent of the plans for a hyperspace bypass as referred to in Douglas Adams’s “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”. Whenever I asked my District and County Councillors what they knew of it, there was a fair bit of head shaking - which might have reflected the fact that Creeting St Peter had carelessly elected opposition councillors - but no real information.

Eventually, the County Council deigned to offer a briefing to Town and Parish councillors, presented by the Deputy Chief Executive, Stephen Meah-Sims. Had he not evidently decided to basically read the Council website to us (and yes, I checked in real time that he was doing so), it might even have been useful. As it was, there was a great deal of “the Council could do this or that” but no detail of any value. And besides, whilst the headline numbers looked significant, when you realised that they were intended to cover a thirty year period, the value of the proposals made it look as though the local Conservatives were only to happy to sell themselves cheaply.

In terms of governance, the proposed directly-elected leader appeared designed to create gridlock, especially in the light of the then political picture. The idea of directly electing someone to lead the County Council but to have a County Council that might have a majority of opposition councillors appeared absurd and there never was an answer to the question when put.

And now it’s dead, and whilst it won’t be mourned by many - the local Conservatives are obviously outraged - there is still a challenge ahead for all concerned. The County Council is being rapidly drained of its reserves - the free reserves are currently expected to run out by the end of 2026-27 - and with adult and children’s social care costs spiralling (the Council Leader’s words, not mine) and SEND provision becoming an increasing worry, any consolidation which allows the redirecting of funds to frontline services will be welcome.

Meanwhile, the District Councils have rather healthier finances. Mid Suffolk, my old stomping ground, is financially comfortable, ironically due to a successful investment in commercial property by the previous Conservative administration. That might suggest that any enthusiasm to use the healthier District finances to bail out the services currently run by the County might not be there to be exploited.

However this story ends though, with County Council elections due next year, and the outcome, at least in Suffolk, hard to predict, whoever forms the next administration is going to have some difficult questions to answer...

Mid Suffolk Town and Parish Councillors meet

Whilst I did say that I might get a little more involved with all things Liberal Democrat - you know where to find me everyone - I do still have a few other things to do. And this evening, it was time to resume in my capacity as Chair of the Mid Suffolk branch of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils (SALC).

We've had a minor organisational reshuffle, with the original two branches, Mid Suffolk North and Mid Suffolk South, combined into one larger branch, which reduces the number of meetings and, hopefully, increases attendance. And whilst I was Chair of Mid Suffolk South, the recent resignation of my opposite number in the North had meant that I was effectively Chair of a merged group.

Tonight, I was notionally up for re-election as Chair and, whilst I was happy to continue, I wouldn't have stood in the way of anyone who really wanted the job - I'm not one to stand in the way of the ambitious. But we had guest speakers to welcome first...

Laura and Naomi from the Mid Suffolk District Council Communities team were first up, highlighting the new "Feel Good Suffolk" project, intended to help people become more physically active, give up smoking and lose weight, with a joined-up approach to help people improve their quality of life.

We then had a brisk run through what else the Communities team does to support Town and Parish Councils and local volunteer groups, including the variety of grants that are out there to support our work. I ought to acknowledge that my own Council have benefited from some of the grant opportunities available, including recent locality grants from our District Councillors, which have financed a grit bin, a Parish noticeboard and refurbishment of the Church Room, the village's only building available for community events.

Next up was Teresa from Community Action Suffolk, hoping to encourage us all to form Good Neighbour Schemes in our communities. I recall that, during the pandemic, an informal support system sprang into life helping the more vulnerable members of the community with shopping, prescriptions and the like, and whilst people might not want to be part of a formal structure, it works well in some places.

And last, but not least, Laura from Suffolk County Council explained how the DEFRA Property Flood Resilience scheme was available to make grants of up to £5,000 to help make vulnerable properties safe from potential flooding in the wake of last year's Storm Babette.

All great presentations, and I wish that we'd had a better attendance and more time to explore the opportunities available. But we had to elect new officers and, after a brief exploration of possible candidates, I was gloriously re-elected as Chair. Alright, nobody wanted to challenge me or, perhaps even more accurately, nobody else wanted the job. But, nonetheless, I have another year of glorious leadership ahead of me.

I've got two new Vice-Chairs though, in addition to my old friend, Mark Clements from Old Newton and Dagworth, James Spencer from Great Finborough and Michelle Salazar from Eye, and I'm looking forward to working with them in the coming year.

We skipped the information exchange, as it was getting on a bit, and there weren't that many of us present. It was agreed though that we should invite the three new MPs (one Conservative, one Green, one Labour) to attend a future meeting so that they might get to know us, and what we do.

And with that, I thanked everyone for coming and brought the meeting to an end. And if you're a Town or Parish Councillor in Mid Suffolk, why not join us on 5 December for our next meeting, where we are hoping to discuss community transport.

Suitably inspired, I return to Suffolk

Conference over, I’ve taken a rather leisurely route back to Suffolk, having first diverted to a quirky hotel bar to spend a few hours with the Awkward Squad, decompressing after the Leader’s Speech.

It is for others to comment on the content of Ed Davey’s speech, but the warm-up, with seventy-one MPs sweeping onto the stage (and beyond) was a powerful reminder of what the Party achieved on 4 July. And the sense of joy after so many years of pain and disappointment was quite cathartic. You might almost feel inspired to deliver the odd leaflet or two. I might even do that at some point.

But I am reminded that my particular “skill” is bureaucracy - dealing with the process stuff that, if not done, restricts the resources available to campaign and, hopefully win. If you like, helping to remove the obstacles to progress.

And whilst I don’t have many official roles, I am modestly good at connecting people to other people who might be able to help them. For example, a conversation with an old friend from Liberal Democrats Abroad, and a conveniently timed Slack message from the Chair of Federal Council, has offered an opportunity to seek improvements to the Party’s technology that might help to connect Local Parties to Liberal Democrat voters and supporters overseas and allow greater involvement in candidate selections, for example.

Often, the challenge when trying to do something is as much about knowing who to talk to and how to reach them and, if I can help with the connections, it seems obvious that I should.

So, my hope is to try and be a little more engaged locally, be a bit more activist in my wider efforts and give a little more back to a Party which has, over very nearly forty years, given me rather more than I might have expected. Because, in the quest to build a better country, we all ought to be willing to make our own small contribution, even if it is an indirect one.

From Creeting St Peter to the (Liberal Democrat) world…

So, I’ve come to the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference here in Brighton. Admittedly, that’s because I’m a Liberal Democrat, but also because I’ve got things to do.

As a member of Federal Council, it’s important to me to talk to members and find out what’s going on, but I’m also here in my new capacity as the apparently prospective new Chair of the Smaller Councils Committee of the National Association of Local Councils (NALC), talking about the importance of our sector. And given that many of our new MPs represent parished areas, we want to encourage them to work with, and preferably reach out to, the Town and Parish Councils on their patches. I’ll admit that we’d like to work with them on promoting our agenda too.

As a means of picking up issues, and of gaining local support, working with the sector gives you a door into some of the hyper-local issues that help to build support for you if you can address them. And, through Parish newsletters and social media platforms, you can expand your reach beyond overtly party political leaflets.

So, that means encouraging MPs to reach out to their County Associations, supporting town councils with advice, working with ALDC (whose responsiveness is greatly appreciated) on their upcoming event for Town and Parish councillors. And, from my perspective, ensuring that the role and scope of smaller, often non-party political, Parish Councils is not overlooked.

If you’d told me fifteen years ago that I’d be playing any sort of significant role in the world of local government’s lowest tier, I’d probably have looked at you slightly quizzically. It just goes to show what living in a small village can do for you…

That’ll teach me to move a bit faster…

Much of my political “career” has come about for one of three main reasons;

• I was the slowest person in the room to say “no”
• It was a job that nobody else much fancied
• I was in the right spot at the right time

I ought not to complain in truth, after all, I’ve had opportunities that most people don’t get, I’ve travelled the world and I’ve probably done some good along the way. And, something that does perplex me, a surprising number of people have gained the idea that I might be vaguely capable.

Now I’m not getting carried away here. As a bureaucrat with a curious passion for good governance, I fill a niche which is not always well populated, especially in the sphere of politics - party or otherwise. Politicians generally want to decide things rather than deal with the implementation bit - that’s what civil servants and local government officers are for, right? - and even in the usually less intense town and parish council sector, councillors are sometimes keener to express their views than to follow them up with action.

And, over the years, I’ve observed a range of organisations and leadership styles, hopefully learning a little bit from each (albeit sometimes not to do it like that…) and reached the point where not only do I get to be a Chair, but people actually suggest that I might be a credible one.

This is somewhat complicated, in that I combine a fairly strong imposter complex (really, you couldn’t find someone better/more suitable?) with a lack of competitive edge (if you want it that badly, don’t let me get in your way…). At the same time, however, I hold some fairly strong views about leadership, something that some of my past managers and colleagues have discovered, occasionally painfully. I am, ultimately, more collegial than commanding, more organiser than leader.

“What has triggered this attack of introspection?”, I hear you ask. Well, I’ve been invited to put my name forward to do something, to fill a vacancy. And I’ve been given an interesting argument for taking up the offer.

Decisions, decisions…

Creeting St Peter: someone has stolen our signpost...

I was back in my beloved Creeting St Peter on Monday, in my capacity both as Chair and Responsible Finance Officer of our small, but perfectly formed, Parish Council. In fairness, it couldn't be described as an exciting one. Efficient yes, thrilling... no, not really. We're pretty effective in a low-key way.

Our finances are healthy, our relationships with our County and District Councillors thriving - they give us money from their locality funds too - and we're making progress on our next big community safety investment, a Speed Indicator Device (or SID to the highways cognoscenti), in that we've secured the funding and are working with the County Council on installation. We're also moving our website to a gov.uk domain, as recommended by our recent internal audit.

It was reported that we have peregrine falcons in our parish too, although they nest just across the river on one of the chimneys of the Muntons plant - we're very keen on protecting the environment in Creeting St Peter, although there are concerns about an apparent falling off of the owl population.

Having completed the meeting by noting that my Vice Chair will be covering for me at our next meeting - it clashes with the Liberal Democrat Federal Conference - I needed to head back to Stowmarket to catch a train. My council colleague graciously offered to drop me off and we were catching up when, as we reached the T-junction where Pound Road meets Mill Lane, I spotted something. Or rather, didn't spot something. The signpost that has been there for years... isn't. Now, as you can tell from the picture above, it was in pretty poor shape. I'd reported it for repair, only to be told that there were no funds available to replace it.

But, at a meeting earlier this year, our County Councillor, Keith Welham, had advised that he had a budget to replace one road sign and, as neither Stowmarket not Stowupland had a need for it, the opportunity was ours effectively by default. So, we asked for the sign to be repaired, which he agreed to take forward. And now the road sign is gone. Does this mean what I hope it means? We await with baited breath...