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RSSBe liberal, Clegg
The Liberal Democrats cannot belong to a centre-right government and yet insist to supporters that t
By Graeme Archer Published 10 May 2011 19:24
I'm sure Nick Clegg's inbox bulges sufficiently with advice without his reading list of suggestions being added to by a Tory activist (that is, a deliverer of leaflets) from Hackney (that is, a deliverer of unread leaflets), but, you know, I'm coming at this from a different angle than most. I'd quite like Nick Clegg to succeed, for one thing, which perhaps gives my advice a different flavour from that of Simon "And We've Just Lost Sheffield, Nick Clegg's Backyard!" Hughes.
I'll get to the advice in a minute. But first: do you know the best thing about Twitter? No, not the superinjunction feeds. Twitter's greatest advantage is that you no longer have to sit through dull-as-ditchwater documentaries, or endure Question Time, to know what the political class are saying to one another; you just scan through the timeline of people who are paid to watch these programmes.
Which is why I know, without having seen it, that the best line in last night's Andrew Rawnsley Channel 4 programme on the coalition came from David Davis, who said: "The Liberal Democrats have got the best seats in the plane, but no parachutes."
I don't quite agree with the imagery. The Liberals do have good seats in the plane, no doubt. But it's not so much that they're not wearing parachutes – or, at least, not just that. It's more that the behaviour of some senior Liberals is akin to the co-pilot coming back into the cabin, mid-flight, opening the aircraft's doors and yelling impotently at the ground 37,000 feet below: "Just cos we're flying this plane doesn't mean we want to go to its destination. We'd really rather it went somewhere much, much further to the left. Look, I've got a flight-plan agreement written last May and everything! D'you hear me?"
The resulting rapid diminution of the distance between ground and aircraft renders the lack of parachutes (not to mention the yelling about preferred destination) a moot point.
I'm not actually a huge fan of coherence in politics: prioritise the human, not the (ideology) machine. But on the axis of coherence, the Liberal Democrats are suffering because they're too close to the 100 per cent incoherent end of the scale. My point is this: you cannot belong to a government of the centre right, but continue to insist to (erstwhile) supporters that you are secretly still on the left, and expect to gain the respect of anyone.
Now, I know what Liberal Democrats will say to this: first, they somehow defy convention and don't belong on that old-fashioned left-right axis ("It's so 20th century, my dear!" Blah, blah). Sorry, but policies do, insofar as any particular policy maps on to a particular point on that axis. (Or its near analogue, the freedom/equality scale. Do you want to build a policy machine that will make every school the same? Or do you want to let thousands of different people open schools and let parents choose for themselves?).
Second, if they admit to belonging on any political axis at all, they'll say that it's a special place with its own values, quite distinct from those found in the Labour or Tory tribes. But nearly every policy debate within both the "old" parties can be seen as a discussion between a liberal and a conservative point of view. There's nothing special about the adjective "liberal" when it's used by someone wearing a bright yellow rosette.
So this is my advice to Mr Clegg. If you continue to invent dividing lines between your party and ours, and shout loudly about those differences, you'll continue to fail. All dividing lines are fiction. (Remember Gordon Brown? Dividing lines were his sole political tool, his entire tactic to insist that all truth, and goodness, and reason, were synonymous with his name.) And what's more, with a coalition government, voters are more aware of this than ever.
If you want to succeed, however, then turn your back on the social-democratic wing of your party and emphasise your inner liberal. It is that instinct which most aligns you with a large number of Tories – and it's not a different liberal instinct from ours because you wear a Lib Dem badge and we wear a Tory one (which is why, for example, if you decide to prevent the election of police commissioners you won't be scoring a point over the Tories which will be congratulated by a grateful electorate; you will only be underlining your current incoherence).
You are more likely to be successful the more you work with, and not against, Conservatives. This isn't a message that either Mr Huhne or Dr Cable will want to hear. But that brings me to my last bit of advice, to underline your commitment to the coalition: get a proper cabinet job. Remove Mr Huhne and Dr Cable from the government, and replace them with yourself and David Laws. Show Dr Cable that it is not only Tories who are capable of being ruthless in pursuit of success.
Graeme Archer is a regular contributor to ConservativeHome hoping to remain on the Tory party official candidates' list. In real life he is a statistician. On Twitter he's @graemearcher.
Tags: Nick Clegg
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31 comments
Graeme - excellent stuff. In 2010 John Major called for a right wing realignment in Uk politics, btween Lib Dems and Tories, and your article makes a strong case for that
Gove and Maude have recently echoed this, calling for Tories to back Lib Dems in Labour seats...with some success.
Nick Clegg and many other Lib Dems can hold their seats in a future election by getting third place Tory voters to back them, which I am sure most will do...England is a conservative country, and there is a big anti-social democratic majority here, with Tories and Lib Dems getting 60% of the vote (as they did in 2010, and still have an electoral majority today)
"Left Wing" lib Dems as a term is a misnomer, a mirage, a wish-fulfillment
Liberals - in 2011 terms - are 100% Thatcherites, economically and socially, just look at Laws, Alexander, Clegg et al!
They are anti-collectivist, anti-social democracy, anti-union - that is why they support the marketisation of the NHS, the forests privatisation, free schools, tuition fee trebling - ideological affinity.
If the coalition holds, there will be a Tory/Lib Dem centre/right majority in the UK for the foreseeable future, if Clegg holds his nerve. It will broadly reflect the conservative, small c, wishes of the British people
The Lib Dems have been living an illusion ad a lie for the past 30 years. The fact is they have been a right of centre Party, and that is their natural place in the political spectrum and order of things. Unfortunately the sandal wearing veggie eating bleeding heart 'liberals' have not seen that coming. Thats why so many are switching to the Greens, now their natural home, and explains their extraordinary performance in Brighton. The Greens have claimed the ground that Liberal Party formerly occupied and will stick there along with othr visionary Parties like the SWP. Cleg will have to accept that there is no going back. His Party now holds the ground between Tory and Labour. Ed is making a mistake in trying to appeal to Lib Dem voters when he should be appealing to the working class Tory vote and the up and coming middle class vote with progressive policies.
@gerry
At the last elections, the combined Tory/Lib dem share of the vote was around 50%, not 60%. Even the former figure only works as an endorsement if you accept (which most don't) that the whole of 15% who voted LibDem last week did so as a right-wing endorsement of the current government.
At the last general election, the combined vote did come to more than 50%, but (as last week's results showed) that was clearly because many perceived a LibDem vote as a centre-left vote (reasonably enough, given their manifesto and pre-election propaganda). In other words, your argument has no foundation whatever. You don't really know what you're talking about, do you? Unless you're being ironic.
clegg will be ditched
replaced by a lefty the next govt will be lib lab but the beveridge libs
and the bennite labs
that would be fucking great
For me the left wants to dissolve power from government and give all people liberty and responsibility for their lives, while the right wants the government to retain power or take even more power for themselves.
The problem is, liberalism has been so successful that it has been incorporated into the ideologies of Labour and the Tories. But neither of them truely understand liberalism, nor offer a full liberal agenda.
So what can a liberal party do to make themselves distinctive again?
I say go back to being radical. Legalise drugs and prostitution, or a land value tax, or privatisation of health and education, repeal laws that control people's behaviour simply to make statistics look better.
Go back to our forefathers and remind yourself that liberals believe that people have the potential to do great things if only they're not held back by central government.
Ramsey McDonald, The gang of four and Mr Pledge. All kept the Tories in power damaging thier parties for decades. All in the name of progress.
I love this quote from Sam@10.46 - "remind yourself that liberals believe that people have the potential to do great things if only they're not held back by central government." Man oh man, the level of self-delusion there is practically industrial strength. Oh, I'm so held back by central government with their authoritarian NHS, and those dictatorial regulations making sure that corporations dont sell me untested drugs, harmful foods and other consumer items like cars! Oh, central government, when will you get off our backs, you and your howwible infrastructures like roads and rail maintenance and passenger plane quality oversight?
Without central government, the corporations can get on with doing what they're best at - ripping us off and cutting our wages! Hooray!
Yawn - the US isn't a libertarian society. It's the government that supports big business in the US. So, erm, blame the govnerment for that?
Even if it were true that most Lib Dems were centre right the Tories behaviour in the AV election would appear to have done a great deal of damage to any hopes of a long term realignment of Lib Dems and Tories.
Although Clegg had it coming to a degree he was betrayed at the first real test of the two parties relationship. Posturing aside, I would imagine that Clegg and his colleagues would be less enthusiastic about any long term arrangement with the Tories.
Clegg has never been a David Lloyd-George liberal in all his life. Clegg is a chancer, as the last year has totally shown. Join the Tories, Cleggy, where you know you should be.
Mike Cobley - you've just proven how docile you are. It's central government that gives big business all its advantages. Patent laws, intellectual property laws, anti-transparancy laws etc etc are all implemented and enforced by the state.
The state ensures that the little guy doesn't have a hope in hell, then just for the luls it hoodwinks him into being grateful for it.
Oooh Sam, nice line of Yanqui doctrine there. Unfortunately, there are no other institutions which are open to influence by ordinary people. Certainly not the megacorporations or the banks - in terms of formal power arrangements, these entities are top-down tyrannies dedicated to their prime directive, maximise profit, minimise loss. A repesentative democratic government, on the other hand, should exist to look out for the welfare of all the citizens (I realise that I`m talking in ideal terms here). Take the NHS for example - its core function is to look afte the health of the nation; the core function of private sector health providers is to maximise profit/minimise loss. So you can sit there and sneer all you like about the 'little guy' getting humped by government and corporations alike, but history has shown that it does not have to be that way.
You have just had your ass kicked by a social democrat. Have a nice day.
A million words and endlessly going off at tangents to say what exactly at the end of it - join the Tories Nick, you know you want to and you know that's who you really are?
Gis a job - I can do that!
Politicians need to realise that people not only vote for parties, but against parties. I voted Lib-Dem as the party most unlike the Conservatives. I ought to be happy that they are in power, yet I am not because they have allied with the party I wanted the least. Not only is this a coalition, but its a blowilition, yes a terrible play on a rude term. I do apologise to my mum and grandma.
The Tories could not have done better from this 5-year term. They get to look like a reasonable party, even though they advocate making the worst off, worse off.
Surely people who vote Lib Dem can't possibly imagine that they would ever form a Govt? Not in their wildest dreams. The Lib Dems have always been about Coalitions. They tried it on with Labour in '97 but didn't get far because of the landslide. The other reason why they vote Lib Dem is as a protest vote. And the 3rd reason is that they actually believe in and understand Lib Dem policies. In reality there are very few people that fall into that grouping. And the 4th reason is for tactical reasons, but then these people shouldn't be surprised at what comes out in the wash and they get trumped.
The best reason to vote for any Party is because you actually believe in that Party. and its candidates.
"Do you want to build a policy machine that will make every school the same? Or do you want to let thousands of different people open schools and let parents choose for themselves?)."
- False proposition. That's why those leaflets go unread in Hackney.
@swatantra: People make their decisions based on many reasons; not just ones you offered.
I now assume you vote for who you 'believe in' - after which you go home and cry at when Bambi's mum dies. In first past the post you vote tactically or you don't vote at all.. Wake up!
"If you want to succeed, however, then turn your back on the social democratic wing of your party, and emphasise your inner liberal."
I agree with this, but not on the blunt notion that politics is limited to a left/right spectrum.
People on the left often opine that the Lib-Dem's need to decide whether they are a centre-right or a centre-left party, but they are posing a false dichotomy as the political spectrum is not so easily defined such a divide.
It is perfectly possible for the Lib-Dem's to remain a progressive-left party and yet share with the Tories a classical liberal heritage that advocates individual liberty.
By doing so they can differentiate themselves from the authoritarian and paternalistic supervision that Labour espouse, and yet have a core ideological bridge with the Tories that will allow the coalition to function.
In that manner they can both make the coalition work and look to marginalise labour in 2015 by claiming to be the responsible advocate of progressive-left politics.
It's their call.
http://jedibeeftrix.wordpress.com/2011/04/27/compassionate-liberalism-ju...
spot on mr Cobley
The Lib Dems have emphasised their inner liberal for the first time in deacades and just lost their worst election in decades?
Better analysis here:
http://theredrock.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/saying-that-the-lib-dems-were-‘punished-for-their-betrayal’-is-too-simplistic/
"The Liberal Democrats are a party of broad, socially liberal, centre-left, or they are a party with no seats. There is no such thing as “Liberal England”, and if the Orange Bookers don’t stop chasing its shadow then they’ll run the party off a cliff."
Greame,
There's no doubt a space for a centre right alignment of some Lib Dems. Clegg and Laws would make good Tories, albeit ones with relatively unorthodox views on Europe and electoral reform by your party's standards.
However, it's a nonsense to pretend that such an alignment would be possible for most Lib Dem party members. I'm not a member of the Lib Dems but, nevertheless, have long respected the ability of most of them to understand that liberty, freedom, democracy and egalitarianism are indivisible. Without liberty, equality is impossible; without equality, liberty is the preserve of those who can afford to exercise it. Neoliberalism is contemptuous of democratic freedom; it's dishonest and empirically unsustainable to argue otherwise, given examples across the world of corporations' efforts to stifle dissent, trade unionism, democratic scrutiny of contracts (even those involving public money) etc.
The tragedy of the coalition is the Lib Dems' noble and progressive political tradition may be killed off altogether, leaving us (for a time, at least) with a choice between the bogus market idolatry of the Conservatives, and the extremely diluted, often authoritarian, social democracy of the Labour party.
This chap basically admits in the second paragraph that he gets his facts from Twitter.
Nuff said, really.
Not a bad analysis of little Nicky's situation. The only people left out of the equation are the ones who voted for him. The time will come.
I bet the establishment loves having pro-establishment trolls like Cobley and Thinkov who are willing to troll for nothing other than a good spanking by their political masters.
be really progressive join the Green Party
@Steve I have joined the Green Party, but I suspect that for some time to come (maybe forever), the only hope progressives have is alternative coalition building (unless you believe the GP are likely to replace the Labour Party as the main centre-left party anytime soon).
For this reason, I'd urge people to either join the Green Party and Compass, or, if they're already a member of another party, at least join Compass.
@Sam - Anarchy? State? Utopia? move to the US and see what happens the closer you get to liberal anarchy. Not my cup of tea.
In sum, first destroy your key supporters in the party, Mr Clegg, then vote like a good little Tory and the voters will.. what? Think of you as a real Lib Dem?
In your dreams, Graeme!
90% of private businesses are not big corporations. They are normal people making a living by providing a service, mostly in a fair and decent way.
Many of the injustices that big business commits are through taking advantage of laws made by government. Think of big pharma making profits of 400% on cancer drugs and such things. They can only do that because no one is allowed to undercut them because of patent laws.
I really wish the socialist left would fight to take away protectionism that only really serves big business. Instead, they content themselves with papering over the cracks and taxing the wealthy a few percentage points extra, to give the poorest a few pounds a week extra, rather than tackling the root causes of injustice in our society.
Untill people get over their emotional attachment to big government, the poor and disadvantage will continue to suffer, albeit with one or two extra pounds in their pockets.
Shock horror, Tory supporter believes that Clegg's future lies with being more compliant with the Tories and getting rid of the dissenting voices in the cabinet.
After the AV vote I'm sure Clegg realises that the Tories have his best interests at heart and are eternally grateful for handing the keys to Downing street to Cameron.
Seriously this article could hardly any more transparent.
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