The trouble with the Lib Dems
Several Lib Dem bloggers are back on their favourite subject of Proportional Representation
The reason for this is the current “angst” ridden political scene in Germany, with main parties having to scramble to pick up smaller parties in order to swell themselves big enough to try and form a government. Lib Dem bloggers are having to defend themselves against those who would use this shambles in order to advocate the first-past-the-post system.
Forgetting the arguments about PR versus FPTP, which are well rehearsed on both sides, what interests me is the Lib Dem obsession with PR. It tells you everything you need to know about them. They don’t believe they have the policies, the calibre of staff, or a leader that’s good enough to be voted into government. Nor apparently do they ever expect they will. That’s why they put all their hopes for gaining real political power into a change of political system. They are desperate to crank the door open wide enough in order for them to slip inside, no matter who might slip inside with them. They are willing to let the BNP have some political power, for instance, as long as they get some say in Government.
Such a lack of ambition and conviction is embarrassing. If they don’t have the confidence to believe they can ever form a government on their own merit, then why should anybody else?
I was okay about losing seats to the Lib Dems in the last election to those who would protest against the war in Iraq. What harm could they do? They might even do some good with their stance over ID cards. But they couldn’t even get that right. People went back to the Tories, for God’s sake, rather than give the Lib Dems a chance.
This May, with a seemingly indomitable party taking a battering and the old guard still in disarray, never was there a better time for them to break through. They might well be tempted to blame their insipid leader that they didn’t, but it wasn’t just him. They could do with some coherent policies, a body of politicians with exceptional skills and qualities, and they could do with actually standing for something. That way, they might pick up more than the odd protest vote and Tony Blair might not keep finding them so funny.
7 comments:
I think the Lib Dem obsession with PR is more to do with fairness than lack of self belief. At the last election, Labour got into power with 36% of the vote. At the next election, it's perfectly possible that the Tories will get in with an equally smal share.
The first past the post system was perfectly valid before the rise of the modern political party, and it remained relevant until the rise of the Labour party. But, as soon as there are more than two national parties, it became obsolete and is now a distortion that is long overdue for change.
You also raise the prospect of the BNP gaining some political power.
We shouldn't be using the electoral system to manipulate some parties into the sidelines. The policies proposed by the likes of the BNP are intolerant, ignorant and unworkable. It would be far better to drag them into a public debat so that their views could be shown to be the nonsense that they are than the current approach of trying to ignore them which not only allows them to claim the status of victims but also means that the views that they express on the doorstep go unchallenged.
I'd rather see an openly negotiated coalition, based on the votes cast, than the current situation in Britain where power and influece is negotiated between party factions on the basis of behinf the scenes maneuverings. No-one voted for the Blairites. No-one voted for the Brownites.
I beg to differ, I don’t believe for one second that the Lib Dem obsession has got anything to do with fairness. If the Lib Dems got in at the next election with a healthy majority they would drop all interest in it.
And my point about the BNP was in response to seeing an element of “that would be a small price to pay for a slice of power” whingyness that creeps into some arguments. And what’s to debate about the BNP agenda? I’d rather them be able to claim victim status rather than legitimacy, which is what allowing them into an arena of serious political debate would afford them.
I personally hate the idea of a coalition. I want a party with one agenda in charge, a strong opposition nipping at their heels, with a protest party as optional.
Whether the Lib-Dems favour PR out of principles or convenience, they're stuck with it as a policy and would find it very difficult to drop if they did get to power.
I think there is plenty to debate about the BNP agenda. By manupulating the electoral system to keep small parties out of power - which is what the current system currently does - plays into the hands of the likes of the BNP. They can still say what they like on the doorstep without any fear of anyone challenging their assertions, while claiming that 'the media' is ignoring the voice of 'the ordinary man', or whatever phraseology they use.
I think that it's counterproductive to leave these people and their supporters festering on the margins. It's far better to drag them into the full glare of the media so that their claims can be debunked and torn apart for all too see.
Britain has a coalition already. The Labour Party is a coalition of socialists and social democrats. It would be a lot better for these coalitions to be constructed openly and on the basis of votes cast than behind closed doors on the basis of internal maneuverings.
But I think I'm starting to repeat myself now...
I don’t think it’s the BNP that needs dragging out into the light, I think it’s the problems they cover that need to be discussed openly, which for too long mainstream politics has been too frightened to touch. Prime example - the grooming of white girls by Asian men that Pickled Politics has been covering. The BNP are using that as a sort of banner issue, and we need to drag it back off them and treat it as a social issue that needs airing. In short we need to grow up where race relations in the community are concerned, and stop leaving great untouched areas for the likes of the BNP to move on to.
I would agree with you that these issues do need to be discussed openly and treated like the social issues they are. The problem is that, as soon as a group like the BNP latches on to one of these issues, mainstream comentators start backing away for fear of giving the BNP unwarrented publicity.
The result is that the BNP can get away with saying pretty much what they like without any fear of being challeneged.
Therefore, I think that discussing these types of issue openly does include acknowledging and discrediting the BNPs position.
I think that is starting to happen. Perhaps the rules of the game are changing in more ways than one.
I would like to hope so, but with the recent ban on 15 groups for being "concerned in terrorism", I'm not entirely convinced.
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