Are the Lib Dems a real alternative?

(c) David Spender
With all the anti-establishment feeling surrounding Westminster in the current political climate and in particular the hammering Labour have been subject to, it is surprising how the Liberal Democrats have failed to capitalise …

Submitted by Bobby Dean on Tuesday, 16 June 2009View Comments

(c) David Spender

With all the anti-establishment feeling surrounding Westminster in the current political climate and in particular the hammering Labour have been subject to, it is surprising how the Liberal Democrats have failed to capitalise on the situation. This is of course most evident in their altogether unchanged performance at the European Elections. Nick Clegg, Lib Dem party leader, believes that the party, by stabilising their share of the vote, has laid the foundations to push forward and that it is only a matter of time before the electorate see the Liberal Democrats for what they are. But is he right? Can the Liberal Democrats really become the real alternative?

Clegg has often been mocked as ‘Cameron-Lite’. Like his counterpart he is young, middle class, privately educated and a skilled orator but he possesses substantially less influence in the Commons. However, having proposed purposeful and substantive policies which often pre-date the bandwagon of the day, for instance on the environment and Parliamentary Reform, it would appear that he better fits the bill of ‘Cameron-Plus’.

David Cameron has been an expert at making Labour look incompetent but, as the Prime Minister loves to point out, without any substantial policy to back up his remarks. Gordon Brown has lost an unprecedented amount of credibility with poll figures revealing his popularity at some of the lowest points for a party leader in modern history. Clegg meanwhile seems to produce a concrete set of alternative policies while possessing an amazing ability to go completely unnoticed by the media and the electorate.

Clegg and the Liberal Democrats therefore have a paradoxical state of affairs to deal with. Never has there been in recent history a better chance for them to become the better part of the ‘2.5’ party system. Yet with the clash between Labour and the Conservatives, or more Brown V Cameron, being so intense and gaining such vast media coverage it leaves little room for the Lib Dems to engage the electorate and breakthrough.

Clegg has gone as far as breaking a centuries old convention to prove his anti-establishment motives but still only held the headlines for a day or two. His policies on reform are radical, he has on his ticket one of the most respected MPs in Parliament with Vince Cable and an intelligent and refreshing approach to interviews, receiving great praise for his handling of the ‘Toynbee Test’ in the Guardian. It seems then that Clegg is doing everything a voter could expect and want from a self-defined ‘progressive’ party.

Perhaps this is missing the point. Maybe it is not the voters he should be trying to directly address; maybe a cosy lunch with Rupert Murdoch is what would do the trick. It may seem sceptical to say the least but one does wonder the change in fortune the Liberals could have if Clegg could convince Murdoch to focus The Times’ and The Sun’s headlines on what makes him the right alternative. The influence the media possess has the ability to swing an election either way, we can only wait and see if the powers that be decide that it is the Liberal Democrat’s time to enter the fold.

Alexh

Most people who know a little about politics agree that some of their policies have merit and that they have been ahead of the game on several issues. However, those who doesn't follow the Westminster bandwagon don't know anything about them, (their few strong areas in the south west excluded), so no one considers them a real alternative. If I were in Lib Dem HQ I would be employing a very good PR firm for the next elections and spending significant amounts of money pointing out some of issues Bobby Dean has raised.

However, for them to be more than just a fringe party they need to start acting like real opposition. They need to stop moaning about the environment and electoral reform. No one likes being nagged and the Lib Dems tone is constantly nagging, not decisive or authoritative. It just comes off badly and makes the lIb Dems seem weak. It simply reminds the average man of his mother (it does me anyway) and that is nothing but off putting. They need to give off the perception that they could handle a crisis rather than having a fit and blaming everything else when one happens.

Finally they need to change some of their policies to become more populist. For example, they need to stop being so overtly pro-European, it is not winning them any extra votes but losing them many. They need to drop clearly absurd policies such as aiming to raise the income tax personal allowance to £10,000 and their fundamentalist opposition to nuclear power (I am an ex Physicist and how anyone can argue for such a significant reduction in carbon emissions while being so forcefully opposed to nuclear power is completely beyond me). Those two miscalculations alone show they are not capable of running the country, if they can’t get big issues like tax and energy right what can they do?

They should be well placed to pick up loads of disillusioned Labour voters at the next general election however, without serious changes in their public persona and their own attitude I don’t think they will get anywhere near as many votes as they should.

Sorry about the length guys I got rather carried away.
Ieuan Ferrer

To Bobby Dean - I don't believe scrapping tuition fees is practical or even desirable. But that's a discussion for another article, really.
Bobby Dean

I disagree with your logic. How in today's society are the Lib Dems meant to garner the support equivalent to Labours North or Conservative's south without significant media coverage. It may be a sad truth but the story doesn't work like that. The electorate doesn't suddenly go 'we like the lib dems' then in turn the media covers that opinion. The media, with all its editors and journalists, write what they want to write and the public as a whole rely on their opinions as fact.

Given, being in opposition is a wonderful tool to propose whatever you like. But is proposing PR or scrapping tuition fees really that unfeasible? I think there a lot of disillusioned Labour supporters out there who are begging for either their party to turn it around or a realistic alternative to the Conservatism, the Lib Dems could well fill that void for a lot of people.
Stephen Farrington

On publicity, the Lib Dems need to build up their support before winning more coverage. After all, the media will talk about parties their readers want covered. Until the Lib Dems are a serious alternative government, they will not get the same consideration at Labour or the Conservatives.

The problem is that the Lib Dems lack a core vote. The Lib Dems lack geopgraphically concentrated support outside the south-west. To win seats, and thus power, they need an equivalent of Labour's northern cities or the Conservatives' southern countryside. Voting system aside, the Lib Dems struggle to convince constituencies that Lib Dem MPs should represent them in parliament.

Also, I'm not always too enamoured with their policies. They can sound nice, but in opposition that is a useful luxury. They focus on issues people don't usually care about (PR) and seem to lack a focus on the material interests of Britain, preferring easy dissenting platforms. Plus, they seem too split between social democracy and liberalism. Unless they can hone down a clear and consistent message, they won't be given serious thought and will remain a protest vote. They don't form a feasible alternative government, and that is their real problem.
Ieuan Ferrer

I'm with you all the way on this one. The Lib Dems have the policies and the will to implement real change - it'll just take significant electoral reform for them to have a chance to do anything about it.