Nick, are you committed to reform or aren’t you?

By Mary Honeyball MEP

One of the things Gordon Brown got right in his excellent keynote conference speech was his promise on the alternative vote system for Westminster elections.

As many of you will know, I am a supporter of Electoral Reform and spoke at the Labour Campaign for Electoral Reform’s fringe meeting at Party Conference, along with fellow MEP Richard Howitt and Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

As a long standing campaigner for electoral reform I have always viewed Liberal Democrats as allies in this endeavour, if not anything else. I have, therefore, been frankly surprised by what appears to be the Lib Dems’ white flag to the Conservatives in direct contrast to Labour’s fight back. They have positioned themselves to try and take Labour seats, but clearly hope at best to just limit losses to the Conservatives. Where, you may ask, are they running hard campaigns to win seats from the Conservatives?

Strategically the holy grail for Liberals and now Liberal Democrats has been a hung Parliament. Now they have a potential double whammy. A Labour government or a hung parliament offer prospects of real electoral reform. A Conservative majority slams fair voting prospects shut for a generation.

Nick Clegg has a chance that Thorpe, Ashdown, or Kennedy would have given their right arms for. Will he reach out and seize it?

Tactically and strategically the tantalising prospect of real electoral reform only comes about by Labour winning or staying the largest party. The Lib Dems seem to think they can build on successes often based on protest votes in cities to win Labour seats in the coming general election.

Yet their calculations are muddled tactically, and crass strategically. Almost every seat they won last time from Labour had a substantial student population. The cocktail of Iraq and university tuition fees is no longer on offer.

So tactically what is it they think they can work on? ID cards? Gordon ruled that out too.

Millionaire properties? Those are far more in Conservative and Liberal seats. There aren’t many millionaire properties in Kilmarnock, Keighley and Caerphilly.

Let’s just consider possibility of the Conservatives with an overall majority. Will a Labour Opposition put electoral reform at the top of its list when it gets back into government?

Much as I think electoral reform is important, the first task will be to repair the schools, hospitals and other public services that will have been damaged by the Conservatives. So Nick Clegg, who had a dire conference, now has to put his hand up and fess up to another error.

He should, of course, divert resources from Labour target seats and put them into taking Conservative seats. He should instruct no hope candidates to tell their supporters that only a Labour win can help the Liberal Democrats.

Nick Clegg needs to come out and welcome Gordon’s announcement.

He needs to commit to supporting electoral reform.

Most importantly, Clegg needs to divert all possible Liberal Democrat resources to achieving a result at the next election that allows electoral reform to be delivered. In short he needs a reverse gear/U-turn/mea culpa.

Make your mind up Nick: I am committed to campaigning for electoral reform, are you?