Liberal Bureaucracy

The musings of a liberal and an internationalist, living in Suffolk's county town. There may be references to parish councils, bureaucracy and travel, amongst other things. And yes, I'm a Liberal Democrat.

Friday, June 18, 2021

GB News - is there really space for a platform for talking heads?

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There’s been a lot of talk about Andrew Neil’s new venture, much of it unkind. I can’t say that I’m as surprised by some of the glitches of ...
Friday, May 21, 2021

Ros in the Lords: Remote Participation and Hybrid Sittings

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Like me, Ros has been working from home since last March, and it's been something of an adjustment for both of us. Technology, and the w...
Thursday, May 20, 2021

Creeting St Peter - let's play the music and Chair...

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Three years ago, I was somewhat unexpectedly catapulted into a position of supreme power elected as Chair of our village's Parish Counc...
Friday, May 14, 2021

Ros in the Lords - Queen's Speech debate (day 3)

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I particularly pick up on this speech because, as a bureaucrat, I understand that having rules that work, that can be applied and are transp...
Thursday, May 13, 2021

A country gentleman returns to Federal International Relations Committee...

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And so, this evening saw my first FIRC meeting since my restoration, and interesting it was too. So, what happened, and what did I do? Joini...
Wednesday, May 12, 2021

And so, in a not entirely welcome turn of events...

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Seventeen months ago, in a set of internal party elections whose outcome was not entirely unexpected, I lost my place on the Federal Interna...
Tuesday, May 11, 2021

2021 County Council elections - looking beyond Mid Suffolk...

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So, time to take a wider view of events in Suffolk... Beyond the boundaries of Mid Suffolk, we entered the elections holding County Division...
1 comment:
Monday, May 10, 2021

2021 County Council elections - so, what happened in Mid Suffolk? (part 2)

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Yesterday, the first part of this review was a tale of Liberal Democrat disaster and Green triumph. Today, at least from a Liberal Democrat ...
1 comment:
Sunday, May 09, 2021

2021 County Council elections - so, what happened in Mid Suffolk? (part 1)

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I usually review the election results here in Mid Suffolk and this year is no exception. And it's been an interesting set of results too...
Wednesday, May 05, 2021

Creeting St Peter: "What do you mean, there are elections tomorrow?"

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It would be fair to say that, as election cycles go, it's been pretty quiet in my rural idyll. In terms of the County Council election, ...
Friday, April 30, 2021

Creeting St Peter - a village can dream?...

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I'm still trying to work out how we can hold our Annual Parish Meeting without breaking the law given the problems I outlined a month ag...
Monday, April 26, 2021

A banana republic without bananas?

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One of the things that one should be able to take for granted in this country is that corruption is minimal and broadly disapproved of, that...
Tuesday, April 20, 2021

A memory of Jonathan Fryer...

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It is somewhat difficult to think of Jonathan as being dead, and his sudden demise on Friday produced an outpouring of sorrow, second only t...
Monday, April 19, 2021

A European Super League - have they learned from the American experience?

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I wrote a piece for Liberal Democrat Voice which went live this morning, in which I suggested that there wasn't an awful lot that Gover...
1 comment:
Monday, April 12, 2021

County Council elections - what's happening in Mid Suffolk? (part 2)

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Yesterday, I looked at Bosmere, Gipping Valley, Hartismere, Hoxne and Eye and Stowmarket North and Stowupland. Today, it's time to look ...
Sunday, April 11, 2021

County Council elections - what's happening in Mid Suffolk? (part 1)

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I am, I admit, a bit remote from local politics in Suffolk for a slew of reasons too tedious to mention here. However, that does offer me so...
1 comment:
Saturday, April 10, 2021

I've got two votes on 6 May. Only one of them will be for a Liberal Democrat...

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So, the candidates for the County Council and Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 6 May are known. And here in Creeting St Peter, whi...
Friday, April 09, 2021

Do Liberal Democrats appreciate bureaucrats?

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Thirty-five or more years as a bureaucrat, both professionally and on a volunteer basis within the Liberal Democrats has, to be honest, taug...
2 comments:
Thursday, April 08, 2021

Cincinnati dreaming on such a winter's day...

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I am, for reasons historic, a fan of the Cincinnati Reds. Since 1990, when my attention was first drawn to them, their successes have been f...
Wednesday, April 07, 2021

The Appeals Panel for England - no, but yes, but no...

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It's been slightly complicated, but my future as a member of the Appeals Panel for England suddenly doesn't exist. As I noted a few ...
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About Me

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Mark Valladares
Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Not your average bureaucrat, I live in the heart of Suffolk’s county town, Ipswich, with my rather more interesting wife, Ros. I’m coming to the end of my adventures in the first tier of local government, having chaired Creeting St Peter Parish Council for eight years. I travel as much as work allows, play a minor backroom role in the Liberal Democrats, and walk 10,000 steps a day…
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