Danny Alexander Gets Down to Business, Eventually

Liberal Democrats in Business made good use of their Coalition clout by getting Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary at the Treasury, to speak at a meeting at the National Liberal Club this evening. It was hardly their fault (or his) that he arrived two hours after the programmed start of the event, by which time half the hundred or so participants were well and truly sozzled from the pre-talk wine and canapé reception. Important votes had been taking place on the Welfare Reform Bill in the House of Commons, at which of course he had to be present. But he finally arrived looking far fresher and with-it than most of his audience. His remarks — pithy but absolutely to the point — were made under Chatham House rules, which — as most readers of political blogs will know — means that one cannot attribute any comments to a particular person or a particular place. However, as I have already mentioned the person and the place, I shall have to invoke Alice in Wonderland Chatham House Rules and not report what Danny actually said instead. Sorry about that. However, suffice it to say that I am relieved that someone who has genuine and proven pro-European views is in such a pivotal position in the Cabinet. The Coalition Government has been giving out mixed messages on Europe recently, to put it mildly, but I take some comfort from the fact that the voices of moderation and cooperation have been winning through over the past few days. Danny represents the seat (albeit with boundary changes) held formerly by my longstanding friend and fellow Europhile Russell Johnston, and I am sure that Russell, beyond the grave, would be proud of what Danny has achieved. I personally am sad that I had to turn down an invitation to go to their beloved Inverness next month, to speak at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference on the Arab Spring, as I had a prior booking to present a paper on the media aspects of the same at an international conference in Berlin. But I will be with them in spirit and will metaphorically toast Danny and his colleagues with a dram of whisky as they defend the best interests of Scotland in the United Kingdom in the European Union.