:libdems: Lib Dems - The Ignored Younger Sibling

My political leanings are no secret, but I can’t resist a bit of pontificating on the current state of things, and the Tories in particular.

Their fall has been so spectacular and there’s no sign of recovery. I think they’ve passed the critical point where they have no basis for coming back. Across the country, they are becoming an irrelevance. In my county, Shropshire, they lost 80% of their Council seats in the local elections and have lost all but one of the parliamentary seats, which they’ll lose next time. They no longer have any local structure. They’ve had it. But why?

A succession of awful leaders and policies. And now they have no policies. They are terrified of Reform (whilst bring apparently oblivious to the equal threat of the LibDems) but instead of challenging Reform as a party with no experience, no real policies, but who rely purely on dog-whistle slogans, they adopt the position of thinking this is what the electorate want so they’ll try to be more like Reform. Utter madness. Where are their positive ideas and challenges to Reform? They have none.

Labour are almost equally guilty of trying to out-Reform Reform to win back voters? Where has integrity and strong presentation of principled policy gone? The answer is, it doesn’t work any more with control of the media and social Media dictating the thoughts of the non-thinking mass, who now form a majority. Don’t confuse people with facts.

Of course, I think that in this now empty and thoughtless political landscape, Ed Davey and the LibDems stand alone in putting forward real policies and being prepared to call out the meaningless lies of Reform, rather than pandering to them in a feeble attempt to outdo them and win back voters.

But whether the LibDem message and drive to return to moderate politics with social responsibility will get through, I’ve no idea.

But Reform offer nothing, Conservatives are finished and Labour are lost, so I’m happy with where I am.

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Go back to your constituency……

…….and prepare for government!!!

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I thought he was banged up after stalking Ed Davey :grinning_face:

There is an element of buffoonery to Ed Davey that reminds me of Boris and his flag waving stunts

maybe is because he just doesn’t get the airtime and he was doing daft shite at the last election to try and get noticed (which is actually the Libs major problem - the annoying kid brother who is pushed to one side and ignored)

He’s also being gifted one open goal after another, and burying them in the net with all the force of the Saints forward line. For example, an unpopular government forcing through compulsory id cards on a massively resistant public, and rather than pile into what had traditionally been a Liberal mainstay, civil rights, he simply decides perhaps it isn’t so bad after all and suggests a party debate about changing his own long held policy in order to support it.

That was a prime example of past ridiculous naive behaviour: Jo Swinson was another.

No, the LibDems won’t be in government but they could overtake the Tories. What will be interesting is whether Labour can recover ground and whether enough people wake up to the fact that Reform aren’t a serious option.

What’s funny is that you genuinely believe people have deserted the tories and the current incarnation of labour in search of more liberal policies, and that Ed Davey is therefore nicely positioned.

Say what you like about Shroppie, but he can certainly read a room. :joy::joy:

I quite like a politician who is happy to consider changing their mind in a changing world. Shows they’re less likely to dogma and are flexible in approach. I don’t think a black + white approach forever and a day based upon past beliefs is a good way to operate.

I fully agree. But the liberals changing policy to support mandatory id cards?? Really??? What are the liberals actually for, if not to oppose precisely that type of state authoritarianism?

Encouraged by media coverage there is a big move towards protest politics. If you don’t like any of the traditional parties vote for something completely different - Reform. But please don’t think about what you’re voting for: you might just find out it’s a void consisting of nothing but rejection of the status quo.

Yes, Reform is a juggernaut being driven on by simplistic slogans, Russian bots on social media and coverage in the broader media. And they may well do well if their bubble doesn’t burst in the next three years. But if you take the time to see the trend in Local By-elections you’ll see the LibDems are a home for those fed up with the Tories and Labour but intelligent enough to see through Reform and Farage and wanting less self-seeking and more socially responsible government.

The liberal party are a party of concession and little more, I agree with them on PR but them going into power with the tories show exactly what they are, unforgivable and they got chewed up by them.

They’re tories with a conscience (of sorts).

Reform exist because of the failure of the established parties.

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This.

A cynic might suggest that the otherwise inexplicable U-turn by Davey on id cards is an effort to drag the UK back into the EU, on the theory that compulsory id would have been an inevitable consequence of remaining, obviously together with adoption of the single currency. If we already have id cards foisted on us, logically that would remove one barrier towards the liberals promised land of re-entry to the EU.

I’m not against ID cards particularly, it upsets the left and right so I’m happy with that but with Davey rowing back at the very least on them shows how duplicitous and hungry for power they are, what next Greens are ok to a point with the proliferation of nuclear arms?

This is the mess of UK politics, there should be some concession in politics but at the same time fundamentals no party or member should concede on, the vacuum no one wanted to go in has been filled by Reform because they didn’t fancy getting dirty, well we are where we are and its because of them.

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After the LibDems were totally stitched up by the Tories in coalition, they will never again go into a partnership with the Conservatives. Not that this will arise: the Tories are in disarray. Any agreement with Labour would be Supply and Confidence only: no more coalitions.

I agree that the Toris have failed through a succession of bad, self-serving policies, greed for themselves and bad leaders. Labour are being projected as failures by the right-leaning media who would condemn them whatever they did. And some who voted Labour seem to have thought that suddenly everything would be rosy when , if you inherit a mess, there is little fiscal leeway to do anything. And the Tories made sure they left a mess that Labour would struggle with.

Every Labour policy has, of course, been attacked through the likes of the Mail and Express, and the headline Fuel Allowance and Inheritance Tax changes were nowhere near as wrong as they have been presented. Farmers still get millions in allowances before tax: very few are significantly affected. The Winter Fuel Allowance change was badly handled. Of course it should not be a global allowance for everyone, including millionaires who joked about it being useful to buy a decent bottle of wine. But means-testing could have cost more than the savings. At least now it’s going to be reviewed. So I don’t agree Labour has failed.

And it awaits to be seen whether all those disillusioned with the main parties do all flock to Reform or whether the LibDems and Greens will pick up moderates.

I think they are going to Reform - friends who are moderates and Tory voters have joined a political party for the first time in their lives - Reform

Reform have managed to get momentum which is something the libs have struggled to do since Clegg surprised everyone at the leaders debate

Many traditional Labour voters won’t ever seriously consider those parties over their views on defence and immigration.

I feel for Ed Zhroppie & the others.

West has been ruled by the Liberal Elite for some 40 years now and they got nothing…

:roll_eyes:

Can someone describe the ‘Liberal Elite’, who they are and what they ‘ruled’ and maybe offer a view on the post war politic as delivered by ‘them’ versus an alternative that ‘would have given something to the ‘West’?

Seems a convenient label, one that is often referenced by those friendly Billionaires and oligarchs who have been pulling the strings behind the scenes, before now having the brass necks to actually not give a fuck about how obvious their influence is. The vacuum they fill is one of their own creation… and there are plenty of people who cant see it or dont care, simply been conned that this alternative is actually different despite it being led by even more ‘elite’ selfish cunts… who wont make any difference to their lives except exploit them even more…