Guess who is not voting Lib Dem next election

tomterm8

Spartacus_Mills wrote: »

Up and down the country the Lib Dems work with other parties at a local level.

Well, of course they do. At a local level, national politics are somewhat irrelevant, and party affiliation does not really matter that much. Labour and Conservatives also work together. At a local level.

Decisions at a local level are normally along the lines of whether to stop someone building a tesco's in your village, or other mundane but important matters.

Decisions at a national level generally reflect such matters as to whether to go to war, whether to bind or loose, whether to fire 10,000 teachers, whether we should build a fleet of nuclear submarines that could kill 100 million people, what armed forces investment is necessary to prevent our country being attacked, how we educate our children, whose health conditions should be treated and who should be left to die, and other matters of this kind.

Anyone who can't agree policies at the local level probably isn't fit for government, but the reason people can't agree policies at a national isn't a bug but a feature of democracy. It is possible for entirely sane, sensible people to be strongly opposed on all of these issues.

Agreement politics is something of a fallacy; the easy decisions where everyone agrees have pretty much already been taken. Now we are left with the difficult ones.

ninky_2

apt wrote: »

Unfortunately both Conservatives and Labour are in favour of nuclear power, so it is difficult to see what Lib Dem votes could do in these circumstances. But if they manage to stick to the agreement that there will be no additional subsidies for new nuclear power stations (unlike the absolute fortune that has been taken from taxpayers and Electricity consumers by Labour and Conservative governments) then that should stop the plans in their tracks.

they could vote against it. why abstain?

they've also agreed to abstain on a vote on marriage tax breaks. why oh why?

ninky_2

Spartacus_Mills wrote: »

Up and down the country the Lib Dems work with other parties at a local level.

yes and the other parties work with the lib dems. it's not like the lib dems have a monopoly on co-operation. but making national policy is very different to local. and coalition is also about knowing where to draw the line.

look i'm not alone in this. lots of lib dems themselves do not support the current coalition and they way it has been set up.

ninky_2

Spartacus_Mills wrote: »

It is nothing of the sort, as I see it. Nick made it crystal clear what the approach was going to be several times prior to the election and ruled nothing in and nothing out.

i agree with you on that. and it looks like that sort of make it up as we go along attitude is set to continue.

unfortunately many people chose not to listen to that message. if they had they may well have voted differently.

Spartacus_Mills

ninky wrote: »

yes and the other parties work with the lib dems. it's not like the lib dems have a monopoly on co-operation. but making national policy is very different to local. and coalition is also about knowing where to draw the line.

look i'm not alone in this. lots of lib dems themselves do not support the current coalition and they way it has been set up.

A great many do however.

ICM for the S. Telegraph

ICM: “…is the coalition the right way forward for Britain after the general election resulted in a hung parliament…”

AGREE

All surveyed including non-voters64%
Tory voters87%
Lib Dem voters77%


ComRes for the S. Mirror/IoS

“… the Lib Dems appear to have sold out on their principles.”
AGREE DISAGREE
All surveyed including non-voters 41% 47%
Lib Dem voters 34% 61%

“I believe Nick Clegg should have opted for a coalition with Labour rather than a deal with the Tories.”

AGREE DISAGREE

All surveyed including non-voters 35% 55%
Lib Dem voters 33% 59%

vivatifosi

ninky wrote: »

yes and the other parties work with the lib dems. it's not like the lib dems have a monopoly on co-operation. but making national policy is very different to local. and coalition is also about knowing where to draw the line.

It looks like left-wingers are now also being drawn in. Will Hutton to undertake public sector pay review and Frank Field from Labour to be the Poverty Tzar. Does anyone else hate the term Tzar? Sounds very imperial.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/16/coalition-expertise-centre-left-hutton-field

Cameron is being very clever in trying to own the centre ground and to push Labour to the left.

lvader

vivatifosi wrote: »

Cameron is being very clever in trying to own the centre ground and to push Labour to the left.

Blair did pretty much the same thing, pushing the Tories the right.

vivatifosi

lvader wrote: »

Blair did pretty much the same thing, pushing the Tories the right.

Absolutely, the centre ground is where its at.

ninky_2

vivatifosi wrote: »

Absolutely, the centre ground is where its at.

well let's see what is in that emergency budget.

tax breaks for marriage is still a pretty right wing policy imho. as are immigration caps.

vivatifosi

Tax breaks for the married are not a policy I agree with even though I stand to benefit, but even the Labour candidates are starting to say that they need to address concerns re immigration:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8685286.stm