I joined the Lib Dems at the age of 10, I am now 14, and
never have I questioned my belief in the party until now. In these four years I have seen the party go from having no chance of being
in power, to being in Government and reverting back to having no chance again.
Being the youngest party member (I haven’t been challenged on this so far) I
feel that some balanced analysis is called for because I want to grow up in a
party that governs for the sake of the people. I don’t think i am being young
and idealistic in wanting this.
After such massive losses in two elections any political
party should question the leadership and the direction of the party otherwise
the party is a cult of followers for the leadership or it becomes a single
interest group. I know the coalition was meant to be a compromise of Tory and
Lib Dem ideologies but even I now struggle to know what our values and red
lines are. Compromise has become ‘give
way’. We are an immature party if we can’t
be challenged or criticised? What is the tipping point for when the leadership can
be challenged? I think two drastically failed elections qualify.
Paddy Ashdown, whom I admire greatly and always have a chat
with at conference, has called Libdems4change the 'silliest idea’ he had ever heard
but given how long Paddy has been in politics I would have thought that he
would have engaged with members calling for change rather than seeking to delegitimize
them. Annette Brooke’s email was an utter fiasco. It’s not about the messaging. I was not able
to campaign because of my exams but I really don’t think that any more leaflets
would have made a difference. A Councillor lost his seat after 40 years.
Many young Lib Dem members have pledged unquestioning devotion
to the leadership forgetting completely that the reason some members are disappointed
and angry is because there is a long history of struggles among people who have
been in the party far longer than us to get the numbers of MPs and MEPs up. What’s a party if it is not molded and
created by change and history? Character assassinations of those who question the
party’s future is ineffective.
Nick Clegg has some really worthy policies- 3,200,000 of the
poorest no longer have to pay tax on their income, pupil premium, shared
parental leave and preventing child detention. How will the party ever move on
from the tuition fees fiasco if members refuse to acknowledge the damage this caused? There were loads of students in 2010 stuffing
envelopes etc in my home. I despair at the level of debt that students now
graduate with because of the higher fees. There is no point saying that they
will only repay the debt if their salary reaches a certain level because they
all want high wages after incurring a debt.
A Save the Children report states that five
million children could be “sentenced to a life of poverty” by 2020 because of
welfare reforms. A “triple whammy” has
been caused by benefit cuts, the rising cost of living and years of stagnant
wages. As a child this breaks my heart and it is made even worse by the fact
that my own party are in power doing this. The rise of Zero hours contracts and
the royal mail fiasco show that we aren't a centre left party anymore. Being
centre left is about social equality and equal opportunities.
Removing the party as a ‘protest party’ has left us with no
centre left position. People are increasingly engaging with protest movements. It’s
a new form of democracy and these people need representation in Westminster. It is not immature to respect protest
politics.
The party cannot carry on as it is. It’s not
about messaging. it’s not about winning where you are strongest. It’s about
making a real difference in people’s lives. A mature political party is not a
personal fiefdom. Acting like a sacrificial lamb for ‘the good of the of the
country’ rings hollow. Please change strategy.
"Three things that are undeniably true of any establishment:
ReplyDelete1/ they do not believe they are an establishment
2/ they know that they know best
3/ it takes enormous effort to wake them up"
I am also sorry to see Lord Oakeshott leave. What a wealth of experience - what a sad loss! Whenever I’ve heard him speak, I’ve always been impressed by his logic on the economy and passion for liberalism with a strong social focus. I don’t think he could be comfortable in another political party and I hope he comes home one day soon; I hope he’s allowed to and welcomed!
The poll he is said to have commissioned was undoubtedly a miscalculation and I would rather he had initiated a poll asking something like ‘do you feel that you are well informed about the Lib Dems roll in government?’.
However, I refer to 3/ above!
A great post again Maelo and from the most important perspective - the future, as you indeed are!
John M
Stick with your belief in Liberalism.........live your beliefs.........and even when the political world falls down around you (as it does for Liberals) ....you can still make a difference every day.
ReplyDeleteA cogent and well argued piece from a very mature individual.
ReplyDelete