Two Gardens in Chipping Barnet

Though Liberal Democrats are famed for having their eyes firmly focussed on pavements, I am often impressed how many local parties display an intelligent interest in Foreign Affairs. And certainly the Party’s Foreign Affairs Team in Parliament (made up of MPs and Lords, as well as knowledgeable ‘lay people’) is as good as any that the others can field. Media-wise, as viewers of Newsnight and SkyNews will be aware, often the star in the Liberal firmament is (Lord) Tim Garden, retired Air Marshal and former Director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). He was the guest of honour at a meeting and cheese-and-wine party in Barnet this evening (Friday), accompanied by his wife Sue, who nobly flew the LibDem flag in the neighbouring constituency of Finchley and Golders Green at the last General Election.

Within the 15 minutes allotted, Tim gave a tour d’horizon of the main issues featuring on the Foreign Affairs’ Team agenda at the moment — with Iraq, not surprisingly, still predominant. Though the Party has held the moral high ground on Iraq for at least four years, it has been tricky working out a plausible day-to-day policy. Merely saying ‘Told you so!’ clearly won’t do, though it must be tempting. He was maybe more favourable about Britain’s role in Afghanistan than I would have been — or at least, more optimistic about the long-term outcome. I’d prefer to think that he is right, but will reserve judgement till I get the chance to see for myself. I haven’t been to Kabul since the summer of 1969, when I travelled up the Khyber Pass from Pakistan as part of an overland journey from the Vietnam War to start undergraduate studies at Oxford University. I remember wandering through a roadside bazaar in the Afghan capital, and buying a hardback volume of Lenin in Russian, which I lugged all the way back to England. What crazy things we do when young!