A matter of resignation
October 15th, 2007Sir Menzies Campbell’s resignation as Liberal Democrat Leader brings a rather odd interlude in Liberal politics to an end. A decent man, whose father in law was General Roy Urquhart of Arnhem fame, I can only liken his election to the leadership to Tom Baker regenerating in Dr. Who as William Hartnell, rather than as Peter Davison. It is now some years since I spoke to Sir Ming; I remember him saying to me when he came to speak at the Durham Union during my Term that the trouble with the Conservative Party was that the estate owners had given way to the estate agents. He has now learned the hard way that the trouble with the Liberal Party is that the Party of Jo Grimond is well and truly dead.
Although its timing was somewhat sudden, his political fall was inevitable, given that the polls were being translated into results on the Election Prediction website that would given them precisely no seats, albeit that this result is rather unlikely to say the least.
Had a very interesting lunch with Lord Hurd last week. He is still extremely active in Parliamentary politics, taking a direct involvement in, amongst other things, the process by which peers are appointed, the admission into evidence of material obtained via telephone interceptions and prison reform. It was rather depressing to hear Lord Falconer on the radio last week suggesting that the only function of prison was to protect the public. This is a convenient excuse for the Government’s failure to spend enough money on prisons and more prison places.
Current prison overcrowding not only means unacceptable early releases, but also prevents any meaningful rehabilitative work from being carried out. Rehabilitation within a prison environment can and has worked well in the past. There are always going to be those who are beyond the reach of such work, meaning that prison is the best place for them. Society is best served, however, by a properly funded prison service that punishes wrongdoers, protects the public AND rehabilitates those willing to accept help.
