Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

The by-election for Chris Hulm e's seat Eastleigh looks like being one that could benefit from that great BBC correspondent Vincent Hanna (RIP) as Martin Kettle mentions in the Guardian today. For those who do not know the great man he was Newsnight's by-election specialist in the 1980's--  few escaped from his tough questioning. He was one of those larger than life characters. Vincent was a Northern Ireland Catholic born in Belfast and married to the daughter of Gerry Fitt the founder and first leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland . He started his journalist career reporting on the civil rights movemen t in Northern Ireland. It is perhaps less well known now that many catholic's did not have the vote in Northern Ireland until the 1970s. The right to vote was linked to being a registered householder. To get a job or public housing in those days you had to answer on an application form what religion you were...

This year was the twentieth anniversary of Mike Harskin's death. Mike had been a friend and a political activist of enormous talent.Th ere was a celebration of his life in the House of Lords on the 25th of October which I was very sorry not to be able to attend.   Mike died at the age of 29 and was at the time one of the group of Young Liberal (UK) who had in the 1980s been known as the ' Green Guard' . He had gone on to edit the  Liberal Parties   weekly newspaper  Liberal News   and to be a very successful councillor in Brent as well as the parliamentary candidate for Brent East - a seat the Liberal Democrats (UK) now hold. He played a critical role in gaining press for the Young Liberals throughout the 1980s - often in unusual circumstances. In 1979, the Liberal Party adopted had adopted a "no growth" economic policy and became a magnet for young people interested in  green politics . On for...