Christmas is undeniably about prioritising. With so much to do, you have to work out which relatives the snow will prevent you from reaching, which friends deserve a little something, which friends deserve a little nothing and whether you have to put thought into your secret santa present or just spend the required amount in the pound shop (they have to like at least one of the five gifts!).
You’d think that, with so much to do, cards might get pushed to the bottom of the priorities, but who hasn’t used Christmas cards to give a bit of targeted cheer, such as giving one to your boss or a business acquaintance? So this year, we’d planned to send one to Mark D’Arcy and the lovely people at BOOKtalk, but it appears they already love us!
Not too long ago, they had Nick Boles in to talk about his book Which Way’s Up? The future for coalition Britain and how to get there and this week they had another one of our authors, David Laws, talking about his book, 22 Days in May, which is Laws’s fascinating account of the birth and early days of the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government.
In 20 minutes David and Mark discussed a number of issues surrounding those famous days in British politics, including whether the disappointment and disillusionment in each party affected the negotiations and the supposed “selling-out” of the Liberal Democrat party after their recent concessions on pre-election policies. David also reveals “something party politicians shouldn’t say”.
You can find out exactly what that confession was here and you can read his comprehensive overview of the talks and the days that followed May’s election in 22 Days in May: the birth of the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition, available in paperback and e-book format for £9.99 and £4.60, respectively.