Reflections on 2023, Predictions for 2024
This newsletter is going out on the winter solstice, the shortest day, the turning of the year. 2024 looms on the horizon. Who knows what will have happened by the time we reach the summer solstice? We may already have had a General Election. To which I say – bring it on!
Those of you who have been following my newsletter for many years will know that around now I like to take some time out to reflect on the year just gone, and to imagine what the year ahead may hold.
There is more than usual to reflect on this year. In March, my dear mother’s death, two weeks after suffering a stroke on her way home from exercise class. In April, passing the assessment to become an approved candidate for the Lib Dems. In May, standing for public office for the first time in a district council by-election. From June to July, going through the first round selection, under the old boundaries. Then in July to August, the second round selection, under the new boundaries.
In an extraordinarily short time, I have accumulated a wealth of campaigning experience, and through a combination of hard work, a fantastic team, and a fair dollop of good timing and good fortune, I have become the candidate for the new constituency of the South Cotswolds, a winnable seat in 2024.
This may look like an overnight success story. But it feels like the last 20 years have been carrying me with a sense of inevitability towards this point. My fourth book, The Ocean in a Drop, which came out a year ago, in retrospect looks like a manifesto. It summarises what I’ve learned over the last two decades about the positive change that is needed, and how we can achieve it.
Standing for Parliament is the obvious next step on this journey. I believe we can embrace the challenges that lie ahead as opportunities to shape a better future. We can build bridges that connect communities, foster wellbeing, and provide opportunities for every citizen to thrive.
Let’s leave behind the divisions of the past and embrace the New Year with a shared commitment to progress and unity. Working hand in hand, we can turn our shared values and dreams into reality.
None of us knows what 2024 may bring. Reading back through my journals for 2023, I sometimes laugh at my own inability to predict the future.
But sometimes I surprise myself with my own insights. The direction of travel is clear. It’s time for change. The old systems and paradigms are crumbling, pushed beyond their limits by greed, dishonesty and entitlement. We need new systems, new ideas – and new people to put them into practice. People who are willing to listen, collaborate, and convene diverse voices to arrive at better solutions that actually work.
It is rash to make predictions in public. But I don’t think I’m going too far out on a limb when I say that change is coming, ready or not. 2024 is going to be a turning point – and we can resist the change, or we can be a part of it. I know which I intend to be.
Other News
Congratulations to Lib Dem colleague Tristan Wilkinson (in the middle) for his victory in the district council by-election in Lechlade, Kempsford, and Fairford South. Well deserved! Tristan is going to be a fabulous and trustworthy voice for his community. Thanks also to all the intrepid campaigners who turned out to support him. 🎉
Thanks to Nigel Freeth and Andrew Hibberd for letting me “help” them with the brussel sprouts harvest on their farm on Monday. I learned a lot about the challenges currently facing our farmers. Much more effective to learn in the middle of a muddy field than sitting across a meeting room table. And yes, I did get to take some of the harvest home. 😇
To keep up to date with me and my campaign, please follow me on Facebook! Or on LinkedIn, if that’s more your style.
We’re recruiting additional volunteers to my campaign team. If you live in the South Cotswolds, or you know people who do, please consider lending us an hour or two a month. Email my wonderful Campaign Organiser, Poppy Fair, for more details.
We are also looking for financial support. Every pound matters – even the price of a weekly caffe latte would help. If you’re ready for positive change in the South Cotswolds, please put your money where your mouth is by hitting “reply” to this email, and I’ll let you know how. Thank you! 🙏
Quote of the Week
“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.”
– Margaret J. Wheatley