The Lib Dems, progressive? I don’t think so

By Chris Williamson MP

All the post war progressive legislative change has been introduced by Labour governments, often in the teeth of fierce opposition from the Tories and sometimes the Liberals too. Examples include the NHS, comprehensive education, equal pay, civil partnerships and the National Minimum Wage.

The Liberal Democrats portray themselves as a progressive party, but as a new MP, I have seen just how far from the progressive side of politics the Liberal Democrats really are. For example, their stance on measures to tackle youth unemployment shows the absense of progressive credentials. The response to a question on May 26th about the Future Jobs Fund from Kevin Barron, the Labour MP for Rother Valley, was revealing. David Laws, erstwhile Chief Secretary to the Treasury, dismissed The Future Jobs Fund as “…simply not effective and…wasteful”.

But the plans to scrap this job creation scheme for young people who are not in employment, education or training and axe the subsidy to employers who recruit anyone out of work for more than six months suggests a reactionary streak. Before his premature resignation David Laws ushered in a return to the discredited Tory policies of the 1980s and 90s when generations of young people were thrown onto the scrapheap.

But the £320m the Con/Dem government says it will save by cutting the Future Jobs Fund is misleading – the net cost is much lower than the headline figure. Although jobs paid for under the Future Jobs Fund cost £6,500 each, when the savings on unemployment benefit are taken into account the cost is much lower. That means that up to 80,000 jobs would need to be cut this year to save £320m that is being sought by the Con/Dem government.

And the Con/Dem coalition is making these cuts even though in a letter to the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) on April 28th this year Theresa May wrote:

“The Conservative position on the Future Jobs Fund…has been misrepresented by certain groups in the media. We have no plans to change existing Future Jobs Fund commitments. However it is essential that this support delivers long term sustainable work for those who take up FJF opportunities. If elected we will review the operation of the Fund to ensure this is the case…”

The Lib Dems were also falling over themselves to say they had no plans to reduce government commitments to the Future Jobs Funds. Lib Dem Steve Webb, the new Minister of State for Work and Pensions also wrote to ACEVO on April 21st stating:

“We have no plans to change or reduce existing government commitments to the Future Jobs Fund. We believe that more help is needed for young people, not less”.

I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised by the duplicitous words of the Theresa May because the Tories are just reverting to type. But I suspect more people will be disappointed by the disingenuous Liberal Democrats. The media has allowed the Liberal Democrats to perpetuate their ‘butter wouldn’t melt in the mouth’ image, but they are actually a bunch of phoneys. Nick Clegg’s pre-election claim that they represented a new politics has been proven to be a joke. In truth the Liberal Democrats represent the worst kind of old politics and their alliance with the Tories has debunked any lingering notion that they are a force for progressive social reform.

The reality is that ever since their share of the popular vote started to increase in the early 1970s, the Liberals have always blocked progressive change. I wasn’t particularly surprised, therefore, when the Lib Dems sided with the Tories this year, nor that they have gone back on their word about jobs for young people. But it has meant that among the first victims of Nick Clegg’s confidence trick on the British public will be thousands of young workers who will be deprived of their right to work. Contrast that with Labour: when we left office there were around 40% fewer young people signing-on than under the Tories in the 1990s’ recession when youth unemployment continued rising for years after the recession ended.

The consequences of this election have delivered a salutary lesson to everyone who thought the Liberal Democrats offered a new kind of politics. The actuality has been very different. That is why I am urging everyone who wants to see genuine progressive social change in our country to join Labour in resisting this Con/Dem government – and help us keep hope alive.