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Convenient whipping boys or villains?

April 30, 2012 2:36 pm

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Respected opinion, backed by polling evidence, suggests that this Thursday will be a nightmare for the Liberal Democrats. Many decent councillors will be ejected, and those that do hang on will do so more through avoidance by the electorate of less palatable alternatives. Still enthusiastic Liberal Democrat supporters are very thin on the ground.

My home ward in Southend-on-Sea sees the Liberal Democrat group leader engaged in a neck-and-neck race with the Tory candidate. If Graham Longley survives it will be less a personal endorsement than the wish to avoid one more Tory in the council chamber. Were Labour a closer third place then I would have no doubt about our chance for a gain.

The Lib Dems had little choice but to go into coalition. The rejection of Gordon Brown and Labour made this inevitable. Very few Labour supporters believed a Lib-Lab pact was possible. The existence of the coalition is not what irks those of us on the centre-left, but rather its nature. Yellow claims that the a Conservative  majority Government would have been far worse just does not wash – it seems that the coalition has been the cover to go farther right than even Margaret Thatcher would have dared.

There is much to be admired in good old-fashioned Liberal values – I am an electoral reformer and share the Howard League for Penal Reform’s beliefs on crime and punishment. Who would turn back the clock on divorce or abortion except those on the extreme right? And whilst the Labour Party was born from the failure by the Liberals to adequately represent the working classes, the early years were characterised by cooperation.

There is little evidence of liberal values in today’s party. Despite feeble attempts to distance themselves from Government on occasion, the reality is seen in the lobby. Liberal Democrats voted to cut police numbers, voted to cut taxes for the very richest, voted to privatise the NHS.

I see a long tradition of attempting to be all things to all men unravelling now that the light of being in power is upon them. Labour activists have long had the problem of campaigning against Liberal Democrat opponents who have been able to say, and until now get away with, all sorts of things in the chase for votes. Now there is nowhere to hide.

I shall answer my own question: they are villains. Their fingerprints are on every piece of damnable legislation being passed in this Parliament. I hope every one of them is shown the door this Thursday.

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  • KwaiChangCaine

    The Liberal Democrat party has sown the wind and will now reap the whirlwind.

    • Dave Postles

       I really hope so.

  • Mike Homfray

    At least you know where you stand with the Tories. I feel the LibDems are a principle free zone and I can’t really see what their purpose is other to act as cover for the Tories. I hope every last one of them loses their seat on Thursday

  • Markroper99

    However you forget that the large percentage of people who have consistently voted liberal (note the use of small l) are not going to easily come straight over into the Labour camp – including me. And of course we are only two years into a five year Parliament which will run its course. Much will happen……

  • Alexwilliamz

    I have to say that we arfe seeing nationally what many of us have seen locally for many years. A party that seems to flounder for a clear purpose when in positions of power. Its historical agenda has been hijacked by the tories on one hand (free trade etc) and as the voice of radicalism by Labour. During the Blair years it seemed to be retaking some of that radical, protest ground but this coalition has strangled that identity dead. All it is left with is as an apologist for the government, in many ways I see quite a few similarities between the role Blair played for Bush. His attempt to make a case that he was moderating the bigger partners more aggressive moves, yet in the end they were seen as one and the outcomes were even worse, because the support from Blair may well have meant Bush went further than he would have done without.

    I feel the same way about this coalition, had the tories had a very small majority I very much doubt they would have pursued half the extreme ‘reforms’ they have done. The Lib Dems have effectively given them a much bigger majority which means they can afford to lose the odd dissenter or rebel along the way.

    I also think that the country actually wanted a minority government in whcih the parties had to work together for the common interest, creatimg a moderation on policies and a demand on all to keep things clean and above board, because otherwise the other lot would give you a good kicking. Osbourne’s ridiculous refusal to change his policy being a classic example. In a minority gvt I’d imagine he would have had to make some concessions on growth stimulus in returrn for the support of a wider deficit cutting budget. The length of such a parliament would no doubt have been relatively short maybe 3 years or so, but again I’m not sure the public would have had an issue with that either. Please spare me the arguments about stability and markets, I just don;t buy that anyone could seriously believe that any combination of our parties could lead to some kind of disaster. You only have to look at Belgium to realise that the political part of the government is far form essential in keeping things going.

  • robertcp

    I really think that Labour supporters should get off our high horse about the Lib Dems.  Labour did some awful things after 1997 and left a mess for the coalition, for example, the worst recession since the 1930s and a massive deficit.  The Lib Dems will pay a price for going into coalition with the Tories but they are not villains.   We also need to remember that Labour will be lucky to get a majority in 2015, so Labour may have to work with what is left of the Lib Dems.

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