( Boris Johnson - my part in his downfall...)

December 13th recedes a little further into the past.

In January there are about 800 people in Antiparos, I'm told by Bob and Sue in Soulatso's. Which seems to be the only place serving beer in this small harbour settlement, where most locals live. La Liga in the corner. Messi looking frustrated. Basketball on another T.V. That's what the locals are interested in. Panathinaikos taking on some German team. 15 or so Greek men watch anxiously. All smoking. Playing cards on their tables. People here aren't wild about Germany, it turns out. Maybe that can wait....... Bob and Sue have just got back from England. West Country folk. Lovely gentle Devon accents. They spend most of their time in Antiparos now. Sue fell in love with it years ago. Bob's more of an I don't care where I live as long as it's warm kind of guy. He goes outside to have a smoke. Obviously English.

Dominic Cummings famously declared that he didn't care about appearances-he'd stuck to the letter of the law and that's all that matters. It sounds like an unsympathetic insurance company wriggling out of a claim but I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt because the real issue, for me, is that appearances do matter. And we'll be able to tell in about a week's time whether I'm right.

This is Aldbourne resident John Gill- ...Aldbourne? Village. Near Ramsbury. No? Near Hungerford? Ring any bells? No? Oh well, it's in Wiltshire, and like most other Wiltshire villages, is packed with people who unthinkingly vote Tory and think Boris is "a right laugh". I've lived in a beautiful 17th-century cottage here for 10 years. My name's John Gillett. But locally I'm known as "John the actor". Probably other things too, but mainly that one, because.... well, because I'm an actor. I'm known as Aden Gillett when I swan about the stage, but John the Actor when I swan about The Blue Boar or Crown in Aldbourne.

The climate emergency is one of the biggest issues facing the UK and the world, but our Government is failing to face up to it.

Social distancing, face coverings, and 'bubbles' may be our new normal - but climate change doesn't have to be

While coronavirus rightly dominated the headlines, the Government has let what little it was doing to protect the planet slip. Even when the country came to a near standstill during lockdown, our emissions only fell by between 4-7%. It's clear we need to be much more ambitious if we're going to really tackle the climate crisis.

A strong, politically independent BBC plays a key role in our democracy, our creative industries, and our daily lives. The Conservatives are putting that at risk.

The Conservatives' war with the BBC is no secret. Dominic Cumming's think tank described the BBC as the Conservatives' "mortal enemy". This Government has forced the cost of free licenses for over-75s onto the BBC.

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Weekly Whip w/c 21st September

Monday 21st September

Before Monday's main business on the Internal Market Bill, Matt Hancock gave a Ministerial Statement on a Covid-19 update from over the weekend and the sharp rise in cases across the country. Munira Wilson took the opportunity to press the Secretary of State on testing in care homes. Despite his emphasis on prioritisation of care homes, many homes are still experiencing a two-week delay for test results.

The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police in the US has sparked an international reckoning with racial injustice.

The Liberal Democrats need to commit ourselves to combating racism - conscious or unconscious, individual or institutional - wherever we find it, including within our own party.