Saving the party from disaster: lessons from Jo Grimond for the Liberal Democrats
I’ve tried something a little different for this episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts: taking a look at the career of a previous party leader to see the lessons for the current Liberal Democrats.
I picked Jo Grimond, who saved the Liberal Party from disastrous election results and had a plan for a realignment on the left of British politics. You might be able to spot some parallels there…
No surprise that for my guest, I’m joined by the closest thing the party has to an official historian, Duncan Brack.
Hope you enjoy the show and do let us know what you think of it; would you like more shows looking at the lessons from other party leaders?
Show notes
- Mark Egan’s book Coming into Focus: The Transformation of the Liberal Party 1945-64.
- The Orpington by-election.
- Jo Grimond campaigning for Britain to join the European Economic Community (EEC).
- Why I am a Liberal Democrat, edited by Duncan Brack: Waterstones / Amazon.
- Great Liberal Speeches, edited by Duncan Brack and Robert Ingham: Waterstones / Amazon.
- Liberal Lion: Jo Grimond, A Political Life by Peter Barberis: Waterstones / Amazon.
- Jo Grimond: Towards the Sound of Gunfire by Michael McManus: Amazon.
- Peace, Reform and Liberation: A History of Liberal Politics in Britain 1679-2011, compiled by Robert Ingham and Duncan Brack.
- The Liberal Democrat History Group’s pieces on Jo Grimond.
- The music record from the National League of Young Liberals featuring Jo Grimond.
- Duncan Brack on Twitter.
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Mark, this was an absolutely fascinating piece and exceedingly worthwhile. I learned such a lot about Jo Grimond, and whilst I’d read stuff by Duncan Brack I’d never heard him speak before – he’s impressive. The tone was great, thoughtful and exploratory without losing sight of Duncan’s clear authority on the subject (and yours too, of course).
I do think just under an hour was too long, and it got a bit lost at the end. (I for one didn’t need yet more suggestions for a Hustings question.) 30-35 mins max is about right under most circumstances, at least for now.
I hope this is helpful and look forward to other interviews about previous leaders – it would be great to hear more from Duncan, especially since many newer members won’t know of him.