Tides of opinion

When one is very elderly one slumbers a great deal.  Indeed a simple snooze can last for weeks. Sometimes I stir and have a sense that centuries have passed. Can it be a little more than a year since I hailed the prospect of a new Midlothian?

I cannot condemn Mr Clegg for aligning himself, in defeat, with the forces of Toryism. Indeed much that is Liberal is being achieved.

Indeed I am all too aware that any government may enjoy the briefest of "bright new dawns" and may fast be riven by division and the power of individual ego, let alone the high expectations of the masses. It does not appear that Mr Clegg has handled himself well in all respects. He would do well to dissociate himself a little more from Mr Cameron.

He should be aware that when I coined the maxim to "trust the people" I meant it, well aware that one can transform in a few months from Grand Old Man to Murderer of G. These tides of popular opinion do not last as they are based on little substance.

The affair of the newspaper barons appears to have offered Mr Clegg an opportunity he must take to assert himself. Regardless of political adversity, he must appear to be a statesman and must continue to have the interests of the people at his heart, however vilified he may be. His hour is yet to come.

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Midlothian again!

Am I excited? By gum, I am flying over the moon. Not since Midlothian, has a Liberal so captured the mood of the nation as has young Mr Clegg. In the space of just two, he has gained many years in wisdom and gained even more in public stature.

I would say more but my scribe continues to inform me he is far too busy running around after Mr Clegg to spare time to jot down my ancient ramblings. I would merely remind you of the prediction I made a year ago.

If it is not now, it will be soon.

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Images from the birthday party

• Councillor Gary Millar, of Liverpool City Council, declaims to the crowd assembled in front of my statue in St John's Garden, Liverpool;
• Councillor Hazel Williams, deputy Lord Mayor of Liverpool, prepares to lay a wreath;
• detail of wreath;
• display from bicentenary exhibition in St George's Hall, Liverpool;
• detail from the magnificent statue erected by the good people of Liverpool in my honour.

Birthday celebrations

The last time I spoke in public it was to a crowd of some 7,000 in my home city of Liverpool when I took the opportunity to denounce the massacres of the Armenians. Today a gathering a mere one per cent of this size gathered to join me in my 200th birthday celebrations in this great English city - but it was a large and warm enough crowd to cheer the heart of an elderly gentleman.
I do wonder that I have become such a person of inconsequence that my successor as Prime Minister or successor as leader of the Liberal Party could not attend. Nevertheless, it is stated that a prophet is not without honour except in his home, and it is gratifying indeed to be honoured in your own home city when you are such an age as I.

Within the city's magnificent St George's Hall, a series of lectures was delivered, leading me to the verge of weeping as they recalled the sounds and sights of my childhood in a city on the brink of transition.

I am able to share some moving pictures now, thanks to the wonders of telegraph transmission, of the laying of a wreath. Shortly I shall share some further photographs and discuss the very moving and appropriate contribution to the proceedings made by the excellent Mr Steve Binns, who is the city's community historian.

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Remember the opium wars

The account of the sad,mad gentleman who has been deprived of life by the Chinese authorities for the carrying of substantial amounts of narcotic substances is distressing.

Nevertheless it ill befits ministers of Her Majesty's government to treat the matter as of diplomatic importance or as an affront to British pride, or even to British values.

For it is barely some 150 years since this nation, most shamefully, went to war with China to enforce the smuggling of drugs into that great country. Her Majesty's ministers are quite entitled to express regret about this present incident, but not dismay, as in the Chinese mind this too readily sounds like a nation that has forgotten the opium trade.

We are no longer a nation who goes to war because a pirate loses his ear. China is a great nation with a great past and a momentous future. There are many breaches of the rights of its citizens for which it can be criticised, now and in the recent past. Its justice is harsh but we should not as a nation look foolish by seeking confrontation over the fate of proven criminals.

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My birthday!

It is now 200 years since the date of my arrival in this world. It's my birthday!

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Mr Clegg sets out his stall

 Mr Nick Clegg continues to make his admirable argument that it is time for the great Liberal Party to be restored to its place in British politics. His new pamphlet is available here.

As for me, I spent the summer months walking in the mist of the Welsh mountains, an entirely pleasant experience. However my scribe declined to accompany me and, indeed, continues to state that he has personal business too pressing for him to make time for the ramblings of an old man. Indeed I suggested a visit to the festival in my honour at Deiniol's at the weekend but the curmudgeon declined, stating it was an entire weekend, rather than a festival of frolicking and merriment such as the good people of Hawarden have enjoyed on other occasions. I believe he was misinformed and that in the course of the summer the Library had reached the decision to allow some public participation so we are both disappointed.

To return to Mr Clegg, I am by and large in accordance with his thesis, as I have stated earlier. I am somewhat less certain that now is the time for a resurgence of liberalism. Economic hardship creates fear and petty-mindedness and it is a sign of greatness, not a feature of the common person, that a nation can abide by liberal principles in such times. It is quite possible that the fortunes of politics will ensure that a liberal party continues to exist in a central position in the nation's democracy and will be well-placed to rebuild a liberal and great nation. But now is not the Liberal Hour.

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Carnival in Hawarden

I am delighted to hear that the good people of Hawarden are participating in my birthday celebrations. Indeed the Hawarden Carnival would appear to be the merriest event of the year.

Thanks and compliments are owed in abundance to Mr John Butler, who has produced the attached recording as part of John Butler's "Gladstone - 2009 bicentenary Film Archive Project".




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A new party!

Young Mr Nick Clegg has delivered a most inspiring and hopeful speech on the occasion of an event that passed me by some 150 years ago.

According to the historians, the parliamentary Liberal Party was formed on this occasion when Palmerston, Russell, Bright, Hartington and others met at Willis's Rooms, a little before today's date, for the meeting was on June 6th. I do not think I was present as I rejected the plan to remove Lord Derby's government and in many ways rejected Palmerston's statesmanship. However after Palmerston assumed the premiership, I agreed to resume my post at the Exchequer, for the good of the nation and also because I was increasingly in sympathy with others, such as Russell and Bright, who had joined the new Liberal Party.

Mr Clegg's argument is that today, yet again, the old party lines are no longer relevant and that today it is time again for a Liberal hour. This has been my perception but I am not sure the events of 1859 provide an example to follow.

Undoubtedly on that occasion Mr Bright and the Radicals represented the new generation of newly enfranchised electors. Was it opportunism that led the Whigs to seek to coalesce with them? Or was it merely force of habit inasmuch as the Radicals had in general given support to Whig governments?

There does not appear to be an equivalent circumstance now, even though there are four significant parties in the British parliament and an increasing number gaining support outside of Parliament.

The cause of progress is tainted by the failings of the present government; and indeed there is no clear liberal tendency within the governing party, although liberal causes are predominantly espoused by those on the left of that party. Indeed there is now a liberal wing of the Conservative party that is more overt and outspoken than that in the Labour Party, although its numbers are uncertain and one of its leaders, Mr John Bercow, has recently been elevated to the Speaker's Chair.

Nevertheless Mr Clegg is broadly correct that the best course for Britain to take in the near future would be under Liberal leadership, not Conservative nor Socialist leadership, just was the case in 1859. Now as then, the nation was emerging from a costly and ill-considered martial entanglement. The public would desire Mr Vince Cable to be Chancellor, as I was, and it is possible to imagine a coalition forming across the existing parties for that purpose, to give Mr Cable the support that is needed to fetter the power of those who have abused our financial freedoms and the power of the market and to disperse power from the wealthy to the populace. It is equally possible to imagine the polling numbers giving encouragement to the electorate to sweep away the present power structure, as seemed possible last month; for the most part that can only be done by voters placing their trust in Mr Clegg and his party.

It is most likely however that the electorate will hesitate and return to their comfortable habits, condemning the nation to a new period of incompetence and dishonesty under the platitudinous and deceptive leadership of Mr Cameron.

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The desperate state of the Commons

The Speaker of the House of Commons upholds the nation's liberties; the Speaker, it seems, is also now charged with upholding the honour of the honourable members of the Commons.

Tomorrow Great Britain is promised a fresh start, a clean sweep, by those who would blame the departing Speaker, Mr Martin, for the crisis that has enveloped the House. This, to my aged eyes, does not seem a likely event.

Indeed it is a matter of concern that the prime candidate for the majority party, the socialists, is tainted in many respects. I refer to Mrs Beckett, who does not appear to be a parliamentarian who is independent of the government; indeed she has been Foreign Secretary, Leader of the Commons and prior to that deputy leader of the Labour Party. Today we are told, in addition, that she has charged the taxpayer for her gardening expenses to the sum total of almost £11,000.

At the heart of the liberty of the nation, is the right to be represented on the matter of taxation. It is incumbent on those elected by the people to stand as guardians of the exchequer, watchers of the great departments of state and indeed of the Royal coffers. The British nation has fought at least two wars on this principle, and in both wars the State has lost the right to levy taxation without appropriate representation.

It does not seem to me therefore that this fundamental liberty should be upheld by one who is cavalier with the nation's finances. Indeed it would appear that hardly any of those who would aspire to this ancient post are untainted by the present problems and questions, including that most distinguished Liberal, Mr Beith, even if an innocent explanation for Mr Beith's alleged transgression springs readily to mind.

It would appear, therefore, it was a mistake to remove the hapless Mr Martin with such haste and seek to make him a scapegoat for the widespread abuse of tax revenue. I do not blame those such as Mr Clegg who sought his removal. I lay blame at the door of the Prime Minister, who cannot see that he presides over a discredited parliament and that, regardless of the outcome, it is time that democracy took its course and that the people of Great Britain were given a chance to elect men and women of probity.

I spare some sympathy for Mr G. Brown as it is indeed true, as he has stated, that the consequences might be chaotic and unsettling. It is also not apparent that the British people are equipped to distinguish the honest from the dishonest, candidates of principle from chancers. Sadly, however, the present Parliament has lost its authority and is unlikely to regain it tomorrow.

* I note, with sadness, that the Liberal Democrat Party has been embroiled in a matter of receiving substantial sums from a gentleman who defrauded a number of individuals. It is disturbing that the party spokesman states it has no legal obligation to make provision for repayment. It is most likely that this statement is correct; for the party must have believed that the donation came from properly earned profits. It has now learned this was not the case.

It seems to me that the party should align itself with this individual's other creditors and offer to pay a portion of this sum to the administrator of his estates as if owed the whole sum by the aforesaid Mr M. Brown.

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Unimaginable

Never in the wildest of my dreams did I envisage sitting with my friends and a jug of ale, receiving the declaration of elections to a Parliament of the whole of Europe. I am only dismayed that in this unimaginable future so many of the British people seem to wish not to participate in this great Parliament, either by the recourse of failing to cast a ballot or by indicating a preference for parties that would separate our island once again from the great continent.

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A Liberal future

You spy the swallow but it may not yet be summer. The appearance of the swallow offers me a pretext to lay out a grand narrative; even if it provides inadequate support for such a narrative.

I have been wondering for some time if the British people will ever put right the mistakes made a century ago, when the great Liberal Party appeared consigned to oblivion. Tomorrow it seems an opinion poll of the public will suggest that the Liberal Democrat party is now the second party of British politics. The margin is small and the possibility of error large; but it is significant that the third party has overtaken the party of government; and in the present febrile atmosphere of British politics it may be reinforced in the few short days before voting takes place on Thursday.

The Conservative Party intends to gain from the weakness of the socialists; in the immediate future they may well be beneficiaries. But a short period of government will expose their contradictions; even before that happens the public may become heartily fed up of a party whose true soul, whose arrogance towards government is exposed daily.

So I do not say the pendulum will cease to swing. Yet a pendulum that is left alone will swing ever slower and its span will diminish with each cycle.

For while the 20th century played out the last epic struggles between capital and labour, these are not the battles of this century. The British people may still pretend they hate foreigners but their real spirit is liberal; it is liberal to an extent to which I find astonishing and hard to countenance. No matter. The essence of liberalism is that the people can be trusted; for when they are not oppressed, when the constitution is sound, they will live in peace each with the other.

Neither the party of labour, nor the party of the ruling classes has a place in this future. They may to some extent bear the aspirations of sections of the population. Labour lays claim to what is known as "social justice". It claims it helps the poor and even that it, and it alone, can aid the poor to escape from poverty and even from the class to which they were once assigned by birth; the Conservatives will deny this. They will seek to articulate the aspirations of the British people for order, for moral standards.

Yet neither party is fit to undertake these tasks. For each, the true purpose has long been to govern, to be in power and to struggle with each other and within their own ranks for highest office. Their constitutions do not allow people of true worth to flourish within the political realm.

It may be the purpose of a Liberal government, yet again, to dissolve itself and disperse its power, as once the party did by supporting the aspirations of the workers. For too long the British people have clung to two large parties as if to their childhood nanny's skirts. There is a new generation of Britons, sprung from many races, tutored in many schools and universities and articulate in discussion and impatient of those who would patronise them. Having exercised choice in elections, as they will on Thursday, they will wonder why they are denied choice in the greatest election of all, the election for Parliament; they will wonder even more how a collection of scoundrels, toadies, cronies and discredited politicians can now sit in the hallowed chambers of the one-time so glorious House of Lords.

This is both the spirit of liberalism and the essence of reformist liberal politics. Almost daily it seems people seek to form new parties, frequently funded by the very wealthy. These are a conceit and the British public recognise this. Where is the Jury Party or Libertas, even now, where are they?

I will not seek to set out how this great change will be achieved; one would wish those with true care for the future of this great country to support Mr Nick Clegg. For it was the quality of our governments, the virtue and intelligence of our leaders across the country, that made them great, and gave me the privilege of leading a great force for reform.

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Deja vu

I am suffering from a bout of what we came to call deja vu. So little changes in British politics.

It is apparent that one party calls for reform - and the other calls for reform when it is convenient. It has been said that the only institution, which the Conservative Party truly wishes to conserve is the Conservative Party. There was a time when I felt otherwise and believed that the party had leaders with the interests of the British people at their hearts; but they were few and far between. For it dawned on my consciousness that the only time when that party will gesture an offer of power to the many is when it is necessary to conserve power for the few.

There is now a third party in Britain claiming to pursue the path of reform; yet in truth it only ever sought power for its own class - and when its own class diminished and dispersed, it also became a vehicle for achieving power for an elite of its own creation.

That has been obvious for a while to those who observe these things and is now, it seems, made clear to the British people at large.

It is therefore pleasing to observe that the Liberal Party has always pursued a path of reform, has continued to advocate trust of the people, even when for a period it forfeited that trust itself.

I am therefore neither staggered nor jubilant when I hear the Conservative leader, Mr David Cameron, offering a programme, which he claims, in sonorous tones, will promise reform and "dispersal of power". It is little surprise that the measures he proposes are trivial; as Prime Minister he would wish to continue to appoint a favoured few to the once mighty House of Lords. As Conservative leader, he would perceive 50 per cent of the vote as unachievable and therefore would wish to retain a failed system that would allow him to seize power without the fulsome support of the British people. He talks of "considering" fixing the term of each and every Parliament - but he only gives a promise of consideration.

He should look to Ireland, which seems to have delivered reform and progress for much of the last century. There was a time when his party looked to Ireland briefly - and it was only brief. For when it suited Mr Disraeli, he was in favour of Irish self-government; when it was no longer convenient, he no longer favoured the measure. Such has been the Conservative approach to reform throughout the decades. Somehow I could never persuade our dear Queen of the man's duplicity; I do not know what hold he held on the dear lady.

The British people should be aware that Mr Cameron will deliver a mere half of the few trifles that he has grandly packaged as a promise of "reform".

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Stand up for the concert of Europe!

I am astounded to learn there is a party contesting the current elections with the sole purpose of removing the United Kingdom from the concert of Europe. Indeed my current estimate is that this party may well collect as much as a two fifths or one half of the votes that are cast, such is the present mood of public anger at the political classes in Westminster.

Indeed it appears that the main parties are loath to confront this UKIP, this party not of Independence but of Isolation. For it is feared that if votes are not cast for the UKIP, they will be cast even more wildly and dangerously, perhaps for the party that rejects the history of Empire, that rejects the purpose of Commonwealth, that rejects our mingled heritage and pays some confused homage to what - Germanic, Celtic ancestry.

It is therefore time for politicians of moral worth, for Mr Nick Clegg, Mr Vince Cable, Mr Norman Baker and even Mr David Cameron to stand up to the pretensions of the UKIP. I have spied their slogan, which proclaims "time to get back control of our borders" or some such. This is a party that would set this nation back 200 years, beyond the era of John Bright, of Richard Cobden and even, dare I say, of myself. It is a party that would have us live in the splendid isolation of the Napoleonic conflict.

For it is a wonder of the present age that trade flows freely throughout Europe and indeed quite freely over the globe. Even at a time of economic stagnation, Great Britain and Europe enjoy immense and unthinkable prosperity.

A success for the UKIP would place a contingent of Neanderthals, of regressives, to represent our country, to be our ambassadors within Europe. It is a party that will seek to make gain from the failings of the two tired parties of the 20th century, the socialists and the Conservatives, and yet will send representatives to indulge in the flesh-pots of Europe whilst denying the right of that Parliament to exist or to deliberate.

I cannot imagine how our dear Queen would have viewed representatives of that party, she who did so much to unite Europe and whose fragile heart would have been broken yet again by the events that  followed her death.

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The Glory of the Land laid low!

The Glory of the Land is laid low! The mother of democracy's purity is tarnished, like a Jezebel.

For a while words failed me; I was stuck dumb, like the father of the Baptist, but not by the sight of an angel, no by the venality, the greed of those who now purport to represent the British people.

Odysseus served his King for ten years with nothing but a sword and a shield by his side; Our Lord himself instructed his followers to set forth with "neither staves nor scrip, neither bread nor money; neither have two coats apiece." Such sacrifice of personal pleasures appears not to have occurred to those who have sought to inhabit Parliament's hallowed halls in this century. The nation should mourn, not rage; it should clothe itself in sack-cloth and ashes. For not since the time of Cromwell himself has a Parliament been in such disrepute, have the public representatives so demanded that someone should thunder "Be gone and do not darken these doors again!".

He hath put down the mighty from their seats and hath exalted men of low degree.

Such, it seems, was the rise of the Labour movement a century ago. But now it has become mighty, over-mighty, and it is time it was put down. For the most part its leaders are not men and women of low degree; even though possession of a good degree from a modern university appears not to have imparted wisdom.

Mr Nick Clegg, rightly and honourably, talks of reform. The Queen's ghillie even promises reform; but only it seems to avert the public outcry. The leader of the Conservatives remains silent for fear of what may be revealed about his own party. Reform is necessary but so is honour. And while the public may cry out in anger, let them ask themselves: how often have they voted for a Member regardless of that person's moral fibre, regardless of that person's dedication to the task?

For while the rules of Parliament may be deficient, so is the character of those who have abused these rules. It is said that some have amassed fortunes through the purchase of property aided by the state. Even the first Prime Minister, Mr Walpole, would not have dared to assist his followers through such an extent.

It is time for a clear-out.

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Living in London

It seems to be that living in London is as costly and awkward now as it was some 150 years ago. In those days, young MPs from the provinces benefitted from the hospitality of generous benefactors. Indeed it was necessary to be a gentleman of independent means in order to sustain a career in parliament.

On this occasion, as on others, it is necessary to note that times have changed. Not only are members of the Commons no longer required to support themselves, many, it is apparent, are unable to do so without recourse to the public purse. Indeed through public benefaction, MPs appear to exercise patronage, hiring secretaries and bag-carriers and charlies-of-all-trades and nieces and nephews as if they were a wealthy man of business. The exchequer is also required to provide each of them with a home - although the exchequer appears in no sense to exercise ownership of these properties nor the ability to realise the capital value.

The Queen's ghillie, mindful of his diminished reputation and that of the labouring MPs, has sought to make reforms. Today in the Commons some sensible measures have been approved; no doubt the Prime Minister, as is his wont, would hope this would lay the matter to rest and that there will be no further need for reform.

Yet his reforms are limited in scope. They will remove some unwarranted powers of patronage from MPs, requiring their bag-carriers to be employed by the exchequer. Those who are within a short train-ride distance from the House will no longer be entitled to maintain two homes at public expense in the Capital. A further measure, which to me is puzzling, will require MPs to state their earnings from other employment; it is my presumption that those who are successful in supplementing public payments will earn high praise and those who subsist on government hand-outs alone will face ignominy: it is possible I misunderstand the proposal however.

There are no proposals here that will recover for the Exchequer the public investment that it puts, it seems, into many hundreds of properties occupied in the capital by MPs. It is perhaps time that some enterprising journalist calculated the value of these properties; if it were some 500 properties each amounting to half a million pounds in worth, the total would amount to some £250 million of capital assets in which the state has invested.

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Big day

A budget debate in the parliament of Great Britain is always a great occasion and, as I observed last year, it is flattering that my red box continues in use. If I were there today, I would rather be in the shoes of Mr Vince Cable than in those of Mr Alistair Darling, who has a task as unenviable as it is invidious. It is apparent there will be no answers and that the ship of state would be heading towards bankrupcy were the rest of the globe not equally afflicted. Spending by the State is too high but to reduce it now will cause additional misery. Taxes are too high but cannot be reduced and indeed may be in need of increase.

For the sake of the people, I pray to the Almighty that Mr Darling might be granted a little wisdom, but not so much that due judgement on this faltering Government is not delivered.

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Shades of Peterloo?

It is my recollection that even as a schoolboy in the privileged cloisters of Eton I was disturbed by news of the Peterloo massacre in Manchester; later in life I considered it a special honour to speak in the Free Trade Hall in remembrance of those much-maligned agitators for democracy.

Indeed a poet coined these words:
Shades, that soft Sedition woo,
Around the haunts of Peterloo!
That hover o'er the meeting-halls,
Where many a voice stentorian bawls!
Still flit the sacred choir around,
With "Freedom" let the garrets ring,
And vengeance soon in thunder sound
On Church, and constable, and king.

I confess - there were my own juvenile scribblings. Later in life I rose to condemn an equally appalling massacre in Ireland.

My recollections are stirred as fresh news seeps into the British consciousness daily of the G20 horror, to which I referred briefly previously, - it cannot thankfully be termed a massacre - in London, a disgraceful attempt to suppress the liberties of the people, even as America's new young liberal president visited our nation for the first time. President Obama cannot but have thought the British soul has not moved on from the dying days of imperialism had he heard of these events.

It is gratifying to see that my successor Mr Nick Clegg continues to uphold the banner of liberty and has even now been commended by conservative writers for his foresight.

Indeed just as I write I hear that the victim of the G20 horror died not from failure of his heart but from injuries caused by assault. The matter becomes more serious by the day.

Sadly it cannot be hoped that the Queen's ghillie will in any way seek to restore liberties to this nation. Whether tainted solely by power or by the collectivist spirit of socialism, he appears to operate in the shadows, deploying, with increasing ineffectiveness, his forces to suppress the people and malign his opponents.

President Obama in contrast is to be complimented for exposing the corrupted advice that led to his country's agents indulging in torture of suspects. It is to be hoped that in his desire to lay the past to rest he does not allow the guilty to escape free.

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Appalling headlines

A delightful English spring, best viewed from indoors in view of the light drizzle permeating the nation. I had planned a gentle Easter dozing in front of an English hearth, in the words of the poet, throwing another log on the fire, Thaliarchus, and pulling out a fine Sabine wine.

Sadly I have been jolted awake by the headlines in the news bulletins issued by the state-funded broadcaster. I am appalled.

It is not appalling that the police have performed their role and made some arrests of suspected anarchists - even though it appears that a measure of incompetence hampered the efficiency of the operation from the beginning.

It is appalling that information about the suspects has been imparted as if it were fact; and that the Queen's ghillie, her most senior minister, has seen fit to pass comment on the issues. English law or Scottish law requires individuals to be put on trial and not to be judged guilty, nor their associates to be judged, until a jury has returned a verdict. I am a little old-fashioned but it is my belief that this is the law and that the time of arrest is not the time to stir up political campaigns.

Yet we are informed these are young men from the nation of Pakistan who have travelled to Great Britain as students. The Prime Minister is quick to inform us that this should not be allowed - and yet it is his government that has allowed it. He is then equally quick to inform us that the nation of Pakistan is responsible for these young men. And, as I observed a few days ago, it is our foreign policy that stirs up young men in this nation.

A summary of the BBC reports can be read here. It appears that no explosives have been found, that the alleged plot was merely at an "aspirational" stage.

So why the haste to make arrests? It was we are told because a senior police officer allowed cameras to film his secret plan. As if by coincidence this all took place within hours of the dark underbelly of Mr Brown's attempt to strut the world stage being revealed to all; for it seems these self-same police forces had been deployed to suppress dissidents during this gathering of world leaders.

Indeed such was the overwhelming nature of the evidence gathered by the independent broadcasting companies and submitted by other witnesses, that a "criminal investigation" was announced into police activities. Lest it be forgotten, I will insert some moving pictures of the death of poor Mr Tomlinson, who, it seems, was not even a participant at this rally.

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The Khyber Pass

The Queen's ghillie would commit several thousand more troops to the troublesome Pathans. For what purpose?

It is a sound principle of foreign policy that a nation should be reluctant to join itself to an ally that oppresses its own people. It was once the case within this century, I am told, that the conquest of Afghanistan could be claimed as a liberation, and a necessary liberation as the country harboured those who had made war on America and other nations.

Events have moved on in eight years. It is certainly true that President Obama seeks to rectify the mistakes made by his predecessor in full recognition of two clear facts: that the pacification of Afghanistan should never have been assumed to be complete and troops should never have been diverted to Iraq; that without Iraq the international effort within Afghanistan might have been more united and determined.

Yet, in his youth, the President hurries; and Mr Brown hurries in his despair to be obedient, just like his predecessor. There is no special relationship here, no wise counsel between friends, simply Prime Ministers of the British Queen hanging on to the strength of America to enhance their failing reputations.

Both leaders would have been wise to take stock of the situation in the Pathan territories. For it is apparent that the present government of Afghanistan is intent on oppressing 50 per cent of its population: I refer to laws that are proposed that would specify female marital duties in a way that Pope Benedict himself would never contemplate. That such laws would apply to a single religious minority compound the crime of the legislature - for the law should apply to all or to none at all.

The second and urgent practical problem that needs to be considered is the spread of violence by religious extremists into Pakistan, which has ventured boldly once again into the warm waters of democracy. This displacement of extremists appears to have been aggravated by the allied actions in Afghanistan - and will not be solved by the destruction of insurgents in the northern nation.

The consequence is that success in Afghanistan will not calm Pakistan, nor will it calm Iraq. It will certainly lead to the loss of the lives of many more hundreds of soldiers in the most brutal and lonely of circumstances, and may indeed leave a legacy of bitterness and hatred amongst the Pathans lasting longer even than the incursions through the Khyber Pass of our own expeditionary forces.

For the only conqueror who has ever been welcomed and celebrated in that nation would appear to be Alexander the Great, as on occasion I was at pains to remind our Queen. "Yes indeed Mr Gladstone", she would invariably reply.

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