David Laws

The definitive, insider history of the often turbulent political relationship between the Liberals and Labour.Natural allies or fierce competitors? For the past century, Britains two major centre-left parties have co-existed in sometimes harmonious but more often fraught duopoly, from the 1903 agreement that a prominent Liberal complained was nursing into life a serpent which would sting their party to death to the 197677 pact that gave us the phrase turkeys voting for Christmas and beyond, to the failed negotiations that led to the controversial 201015 Lib DemConservative coalition.Charting 100 years of British political history, Serpents, Goats and Turkeys explores the formal and informal arrangements that have existed between the parties, covering electoral deals, support for minority governments, formal pacts and full coalitions. What have been the overlaps of policy and ideology, and where have the parties been most divided? What explains the periods of co-operation but also the unwillingness or inability to work together for any significant time?In the wake of the 2024 Loveless Landslide, former coalition Cabinet minister David Laws also draws on unpublished records and private diaries from the past thirty years of LibLab wrangling to consider the likely options in the event of a future hung parliament. Should the parties work together? Would they be able to? And what are the prospects for voting reform? The answers to such questions will have major implications for British democracy and the future of our politics.

Acclaimed as one of the sharpest political intellects of his generation, David Laws saw his ministerial career nosedive before it had begun when, after only seventeen days as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, he was forced to resign when unintended breaches of parliamentary expenses rules came to light. You cant keep a good man down, however, and he returned to government, where he was also responsible for implementation of the coalition agreement and planning the Lib Dems strategy in the run-up to the 2015 election.David began writing a diary in March 2012 and continued writing it throughout his ministerial career and up to the 2015 election, which devastated the Liberal Democrats in Parliament.Frank, acerbic, sometimes shocking and often funny, Coalition Diaries chronicles the historic Liberal DemocratConservative coalition government, offering extraordinary pen portraits of all the personalities involved, some of whom were cast aside at the election or put to the knife after Brexit, while others are active in todays government.

22 Days in May is the first detailed Liberal Democrat insider account of the negotiations which led to the formation of the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition government in May 2010, along with an essential desription of the early days of the government.

When David Cameron and Nick Clegg stepped out into the rose garden at No. 10 to launch the first coalition government since the Second World War, it was amid a sea of uncertainty. Some doubted whether the coalition could survive a full term - or even a full year. Five years later, this bold departure for British politics had weathered storms, spending cuts and military strikes, rows, referendums and riots. In this compelling insider account, David Laws lays bare the inner workings of the coalition government from its birth in 2010 to its demise in 2015. As one of the chief Lib Dem negotiators, Laws had a front-row seat from the very beginning of the parliament. Holding key posts in the heart of government, he was there for the triumphs, the tantrums and the tactical manoeuvrings. Now, he brings this experience to bear, revealing how crucial decisions were made, uncovering the often explosive divisions between and within the coalition parties, and candidly exploring the personalities and positions of the leading players on both sides of the government. Honest, insightful and at times shocking, Coalition shines a powerful light on perhaps the most fascinating political partnership of modern times.

In June 1916, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener set sail from Orkney on a secret mission to bolster the Russian war effort. Just a mile off land and in the teeth of a force 9 gale, HMS Hampshire suffered a huge explosion, sinking in little more than fifteen minutes. Crew and passengers numbered 749; only twelve survived. Kitcheners body was never found.Remembered today as the face of the famous First World War recruitment drive, at the height of his career Kitchener was feted as Britains greatest military hero since Wellington. By 1916, however, his star was in its descent. A controversial figure who did not make friends easily in Cabinet, he was considered by many to be arrogant, secretive and high-handed.From the moment his death was announced, rumours of a conspiracy began to flourish, with the finger pointed variously at the Bolsheviks, Irish nationalist saboteurs and even the British government.Using newly released files kept secret for almost 100 years, former Cabinet minister David Laws unravels the true story behind the demise of this complex figure, debunking the conspiracy theories and revealing the crucial blunders that the government and military sought to cover up. The result is the definitive account of an event that shook the country and which has been shrouded in mystery ever since.

Nella Monaco nazista del 1940, in unarea dismessa detta il Labirinto, ventisette bambini spaventati e affamati si nascondono dalla Gestapo, conducendo unesistenza clandestina e selvaggia. I loro genitori sono stati mandati nei campi di concentramento, e loro non hanno nessun altro posto in cui andare. Quando la maestra elementare Claudia Kellner scopre la condizione di questi orfani, salvarli dalla follia del regime diventa la sua missione. Nel frattempo, il soldato inglese Peter Chesham riesce a entrare nel territorio del Terzo Reich. Il giovane e una spia che lavora per il governo britannico e deve portare a termine un compito top secret: sabotare un ambiziosissimo progetto messo in piedi dal regime nazista con lessenziale supporto di Hans Hoskins, un ingegnere americano. Si tratta di una nuova ferrovia a scartamento largo, su cui nuovi, potenti treni permetterebbero a Hitler di spostare molti piu soldati e beni in tempi limitatissimi. Quando pero Peter scopre il nascondiglio degli orfani, a pochi passi da dove si lavora al grande progetto ferroviario, un dilemma gli si para davanti: deve obbedire agli ordini, e forse impedire la vittoria nazista, o aiutare Claudia e salvare i bambini?

¿Podrías encontrar esperanza durante el momento más oscuro? Basada en hechos reales, Los huérfanos del Führer es una novela poderosa y conmovedora ambientada durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En un

¿Podrías encontrar esperanza durante el momento más oscuro? Basada en hechos reales, Los huérfanos del Führer es una novela poderosa y conmovedora ambientada durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En un

¿Podrías encontrar esperanza durante el momento más oscuro?Basada en hechos reales, Los huérfanos del Führer es una novela poderosa y conmovedora ambientada durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.En una z