25 Lippiatt Editorial
Editorial Guest Editor Graham Lippiatt introduces this special edition of the Journal of Liberal Democrat History. CrossingCrossing thethe floorfloor n the day in September that former MP, May of Keith Raffan, the former MP for OHugh Dykes, defected to the Liberal Demo- Delyn and now a Liberal Democrat Member of the crats from the Conservatives, the radio in my office Scottish Parliament. In November , a number of was tuned to a pop music station, to help us all work others defected, including Lord Thomas of better. But there, on the hour, every hour, was a news Swinnerton and a former MEP, Peter Price who item about this political coup for the Liberal Demo- (like Hugh Dykes) was selected on to the party’s list crats, with snippets of interview from the leading for the European elections. In February , players. For once, all through the day, the party was another former Tory MP, Anna McCurley, joined receiving positive publicity. So as working hours the Liberal Democrats, one of a number of promi- drew to a close, I decided to ask one of the lads in nent Scottish Conservatives to change sides. Then, the office what he thought of the news. ‘To tell you in October , the sitting MEP for London the truth’ he said, ‘I don’t listen to the news really, es- South and Surrey East, James Moorhouse followed. pecially if they’re about politics. I just like the back- Something was clearly happening out there. Most of ground noise.’ For whatever reason, he simply had these defectors have identified the hostility of the not registered that anything significant had hap- current Tory party to a constructive role in Europe pened.
[Show full text]