Forget the Budget - let's hear it for Paddy

AMID all the excitement and hoo-hah in the Commons yesterday - Gordon's last Budget?, when will Blair go?, how did Cameron do? - it was a small news item from Northern Ireland which caught my eye.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown is to receive an honorary degree from the University of Ulster. And throuughly deserved it is too, as it's in recognition of his peace-keeping work as the international community's High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He will receive a Doctor of Laws this summer at a ceremony in the Millennium Forum, Londonderry, close to the University's Magee Campus.

Lord Ashdown was born in New Delhi but grew up in Northern Ireland. He returned to the province as a Royal Marines officer when the Troubles erupted in the early 1970s.

He entered politics by gaining Yeovil in Somerset from the Conservatives. His political career peaked in 1988 when he was elected Liberal Democrats leader, a post he held until 1999.

After standing down from the Commons in 2001 and being made a peer, he was appointed as UN High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a role he served until 2005.

The Liberal Democrats may have advanced in the 2001 and 2005 General Elections, but I suspect they would have done far better if he'd been in charge. 

I miss Paddy. He was one of the most genuinely good politicians I have ever come across and was also one of the easiest people to interview.

Well done the University of Ulster.