A Liberal

I had a delivery of four books from Amazon today: "What's Left? How the Left Lost its Way" by Nick Cohen, "Thatcher and Sons; A Revolution in Three Acts" by Simon Jenkins, "An Oak Tree" by Tim Crouch and "The Theatre Audition Book: 144 Monologues" by Gerald Lee Ratliff.

As you can see, the first two are political books and the second two are theatrical. Tim Crouch is a playwright and his play is remarkable in that it is for two actors, one of whom is played by a different actor - male or female- at each performance. They walk on stage having neither seen nor read a word of the play they're in...until they're in it. You can guess why I fascinated by the idea. The monologues are to help with the memory idea mentioned in a previous post and perhaps also to help the Best Beloved's Green Room group if they run out of plays to perform.

I would like to think about politics for the moment. Since I became conscious of politics in my teens, I would have described myself as a socialist. On my mother's side I come from miners - my great grandfather dug the first sod of grass when they were sinking a new mine pit at Wombwell colliery. My grandmother was a socialist and voted Labour. She was the first person to influence my political thinking.

I remember going to bed on the eve of the Neil Kinnock general election thinking we would awaken to a new Labour government in the morning. How disappointed I was to find the Tories had retained power. Most of my adult life had been ruled by a Conservative government. I cannot tell you how vehemently I was upset by the Thatcherite years and philosophy. I moved here and found a Tory stronghold. I like my constituency MP even though he is a Tory bigwig. I always felt my vote was wasted. When New Labour got in I was pleased as anything both as a voter and as a teacher. However Nick Cohen's scorching polemic examines the "quagmire of mashed-up values and watered-down principles" of the old Left.

I became a Liberal: "economic efficiency, social justice and individual liberty." I am a practising Christian, and when those who know me well sometimes question this (the old roue and the young ladies of the theatre, for example), I reinforce the word "practising". I am not very good at it but I am trying to get better - that's the Christianity not the young ladies of the theatre! The same applies to my liberalism.

I have joined the Liberal Democrat party and voted for one of the two candidates for the leadership. I must say I am sorry at the departure of Sir Ming Campbell. I think the two younger candidates are clones out of the Blair/Cameron mould. Sir Ming was a staunch Liberal with a dignity and a principled history/background. The fact that he was older than the other party leaders was stupidly held against him and makes me worry about the direction of the party. It seems to be both Labour and Conservative now occupy the same centre ground of politics rather than left or right wings. Their policies are carbon copies, if indeed not pinched from the other side and claimed as their own. Once upon a time the Libdems occupied that middle ground but this has been usurped. There is not a scrap of political conviction to separate Labour or Conservative governments, either actual or in waiting. The Libdems need a rethink and for me Sir Ming would have proved a better leader for that revision of what Liberals stand for than either of the two young men. My vote went to the man I thought was the better Liberal rather than the best Libdem leader to take on Brown or Cameron. I also sweat a little when I hear Democrats wish they weren't lumbered with the Liberal label. More of my infantile political ramblings are bound to follow.

I am now expecting a delivery from the National Theatre bookshop of the first folio Hamlet, a book about tackling hamlet and a third book showing how three distinguished directors tackled Hamlet. The Danish prince is a project I may be offering as a Bench production in 2008.