The death of Jeremy Thorpe two
years ago today has had the effect of making me reflect on that
political period of the late 70`s. . Whatever can be said about
Thorpe does not take away from the fact he understood
pro-to-environmentalism, called for the bombing of Rhodesia and
thought in challenging ways. He was a long way from the bland Liberal
Democrats of today and the blandness of Tim Farron.
In 1977 I had just been elected
Chairperson of the Welsh Young Liberals. It was a difficult election
I had begun as the outsider and was facing two other candidates . I
stood on a Libertarian Socialist platform bad my main rival was a
traditional Liberal from Cardigan and another centerist candidate
from Cardiff.
Leighton Andrews our former
minister of Education in Wales pushed the Bangor delegation my way
and I narrowly won.
I think of other events of the
70`s. Peter Hain`s aquittal on a bank robbery charge in 1975 at that
time we believed that the South African Secret Service was seeking to
destroy the old Liberal party to make Tory victory certain at the
next election. We believed the same thing about the Thorpe
allegations and some hints from Harold Wilson’s reflections made us
more suspicious of intelligence plots. Then I remember a TV programme
about infiltration of the Stop the 70`s tour by police and
intelligence services. And now nearly three years short of my 60th
birthday I still reflect on this role of the state in disrupting the
radicals.
Even Fred Fitton of the SWP had
spent a sort time as Young Liberal at the time of Louis Eaks
chairperson ship of the Young Liberals. I would like to wish Fred
good luck for the future as he prepares to leave Swansea
I
remember Dai Griffith s beating the future former Deputy Speaker
Nigel Evans to become President of Swansea Students union. I remember
a book written by Peter Hain called “ Radical Regeneration” in it
he condemns Labour as a hack party. Having lived in in his
constituency for three years I realise that he was he describing the
Neath Labour party and I wonder if late at night he reflects upon
that. In chapters 4 and 5 he describes the need for a realignment of
the left and the formation of a new political ,movement. Looking
back nearly fourty years I realise that the time has come to see
those principles in the .modern Green Party and within elements of
the Corbyn Labour party. Take a look Peter Hain you will be
surprised remind yourself of the words you once wrote.. For me
perhaps it is the dark December mornings at the time of the
Crone....that leads me to speculate.........perhaps it is the
blandness I see around me....
Trump,
Farage, Nuttal, the bullying tones on the right, the prejudice and
hatred unleashed. The growth of homophobic prejudice, the closing of
the mind, the process by which education was about docility and not
thought...rich and disturbing speculations at the dark of the
year.....look at the distain for the progressives in the debate I had
with Benjamin Mackenzie back in September and be alarmed..we live in
those dark times
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