Business before pleasure

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

It’s fun to laugh at the Liberal Democrats. If you’re honest with yourself you know that’s true. Their demise has been greeted by most party members with glee bordering on rapture. I won’t pretend I’m guilt free on that score either. For most of last Friday morning I was simply repeating the word “sixth” over and over as if it were a mantra, while wearing a beatific grin. Later that day I saw an old yellow “winning here” sign. I was creased over laughing for about thirty seconds. Not my finest moment if I’m completely honest.

I’ve spent most of my time in the Labour Party fighting the Lib Dems you see. There’s little discernible Tory presence in any of the places I’ve lived or worked. In Gateshead, Cambridge and North London our main national rivals are something of an afterthought. The assumption (often inaccurate) is that people in those areas wouldn’t dream if voting Tory. Lib Dem has always been the natural Labour alternative.

I’m sure it’s not only activists forged in such environments who feel schadenfreude at the plight of the yellow party. Anyone who has ever read a focus leaflet, has been exposed to one of their dubious bar charts or has argued with one of their vehemently anti-Labour “Orange Book” local councillors will know they aren’t the cuddly wooly brown rice eaters of lore. They’re ruthless campaigning streetfighters with an intense desire to win. Their dedication in intense – it’s like they have a sort of political small man syndrome.

So it’s ok to loathe them and socially acceptable in certain circles to laugh at them, but what purpose does this serve? Currently the Lib Dems languish at less than 10% in the polls – they are on the precipice of becoming a loose coalition of regional parties. So why bother attacking them with such fervour?

More importantly than that, they’re not solely to blame for the cuts and the pain that the country is going through. On the contrary, they are a small part of it. They are the facilitator of cuts, rather than the evangelists. Yes Clegg has broken promises, but so has Cameron – and arguably more serious promises too (anyone remember “no frontline cuts”?). Just because we expect it from the Tories doesn’t mean that we should let them off the shield by smashing their Nick Clegg shaped human shield to peices.

Mehdi Hasan, writing in today’s New Statesman, argues that Labour supporters have gone too far in their attacks on the Lib Dems. He’s probably right. It may be fun to laugh at the Lib Dems. They may even deserve it. But if we want to win the arguments, and the next election, we we need to focus on business, not pleasure. And that means taking the fight to Cameron. It’s time to scapegoat him – and cut Clegg some slack. I’ll be trying my best. Will you?