Shirley Williams has died, aged 90
Very sad news about one of the greats of post-war British politics, and someone who broke a good few glass ceilings on the way. … Read the full post »
Baroness Shirley Williams
Shirley Williams was variously a Labour Cabinet minister, a founder of the SDP and in later years the Liberal Democrat Leader in the House of Lords.
She retired from the House of Lords in 2016 and died in 2021.
How to go from never having given a public speech to getting a standing ovation
In the 1980s, Max Atkinson revolutionised understanding of political speech making which his classic work, Our Masters’ Voices: The Language and Body Language of Politics. … Read the full post »
The Shirley Williams Lectures launched
The Shirley Williams Lectures will offer a platform to specialists from a range of fields to share their ideas and vision for the future. … Read the full post »
“We must all step up”: Gina Miller’s speech to Lib Dem conference
I was and still am rather puzzled by why Gina Miller decided to use time with journalists at Liberal Democrat conference to criticise other Remain campaigners. That said, her speech went down very well. … Read the full post »
How they used to do party political broadcasts: the Liberal Democrats in 1988
A blast from the past with one of the 1988 local election broadcasts from the Social and Liberal Democrats (then in its brief post-merger phrase of trying to go by the short name of The Democrats). … Read the full post »
Steve Webb and Shirley Williams in New Year Honours list
I have very mixed feelings about seeing Liberal Democrat colleagues in honours lists. … Read the full post »
“Together, we must fight to keep Britain open, tolerant and united” – Tim Farron
Tim Farron’s approach was a mirror-image of Charles Kennedy’s approach early in the century, attacking the then opposition party for not being an effective opposition to the then government. … Read the full post »
Drawing for Social Democracy: an interview with the SDP’s cartoonist
Chris Radley, former cartoonist for the Social Democrat (the SDP’s weekly newspaper), was interviewed in 2003 about his work. … Read the full post »
Liberal Democrat Newswire #76: a new strategy for the Lib Dems
Liberal Democrat Newswire #76 came out last week, including the latest evidence on what really works in political campaigning. … Read the full post »
Shirley Williams’s bravura farewell speech to the House of Lords
The great Shirley Williams, Labour MP, SDP founder and then Liberal Democrat peer, made her final speech in Parliament today as her political career of more than 60 years comes to a close. … Read the full post »