SNP
(communist)
Looks like the lib dems are going to make big losses. And this is councils and I think people
generally know how to separate local stuff from westminster stuff. I'm guessing it's just people expressing their anger/disappointment at the lib dems.
Seriously, what were the lib dems thinking? I mean, yes, showing them as part of the government makes them look more electable and could potentially encourage those "I'd vote lib dem but they'll never win so it's pointless..." people to vote for them in future.
But backstabbing their loyal base to do it? Allying with the tories? Going back on tuition fees (I mean, many lib dem candidates signed that 'pledge' not to raise tuition fees and ... now they are? I... that just leaves me speechless), u-turn on student loans? etc.
They really think they're going to gain more votes than they lose, from that? And even if they did, even if it worked - what do we have then? A third centrist/centre right party? What would be the point?
Lib dems seemed like the one (mainstream) party that actually had convictions, principles and (by today's standards) a cohesive ideology. And they've thrown that away for some tenuous, transient and honestly quite dangerous* appearance of power.
(*because of course, when the tories are done with them (i.e. when they can make their own majority, which isn't going to take much of a shift at all) they will turn on the lib dems and attack them using everything they learned during this 'close relationship'. And I really don't think the lib dems have the apparatus to respond to that)
If they'd used their position in the coalition to force the tories left, then that would've been fine. I still wouldn't like them handing the tories power, but whatever. If they'd pushed things left then that would've been forgiveable. Either a general leftwards pressure or sticking to their guns on a big issue. Instead they got us a referendum on AV. I mean come
on.
This could've been the one thing. Give the country PR and give minority (including yourselves
!!) parties a say in things. It would've been noble, it would've been pleasingly pragmatic and it would've been smart. But no, they let the tories talk them into it being AV. Which is such a small reform it's actually insulting. And is, of course, not at all proportional.
The tories must be loving it. They get free votes in the commons. They have to give
nothing in return. The country wasn't sure, the lib dems hold the balance of power and... the do literally nothing with it. Which, aside from there more dramatic betrayals of the people who actually voted for them is a betrayal of the electorate at large.
So yeah, I feel utterly betrayed by the lib dems in various ways. I'm sure other voters do too. I, as someone who would never vote tory, got my vote cast for the tories (well not me personally in this case but anyone whose constituency returned a lib dem MP). I am about as likely to vote lib dem again now as I am to vote tory.
And this AV vote... the tories can spin it to their advantage whichever way it goes. If it goes "yes" then fine, nothing, essentially, changes - the electoral map will look pretty much as it does now and there'll never ever ever be a vote on PR because why bother? Voting has already been reformed. And if the vote is "no" then, well, people obviously don't want voting reform - they even turned down quite a mild variety so they certainly aren't going to support actual PR, why bother?
I don't know who's doing strategy for the lib dems. I mean I can't imagine anyone with an actual brain came up with this strategy (or lack thereof). I mean, this is how oblivious they are:
quote:
Mr Farron said the party was "finding out for the first time what it is to be a Liberal Democrat in mid-term"
.
That's the party president. He really thinks this is a mid-term thing? That's either disingenuous, dangerously stupid or just plain insulting. If it was a mid term thing then the tories would be leaking support at
at least the same rate the libs are, and they're not. It's because
the only people who can safely vote lib dems now are tory supporters. Possibly as second choice on their AV ballot, that way their vote goes to the tories either way.
I'm just amazed at the libs' performance at every stage of this. Every time they've had an opportunity to do something positive with it they've just rolled over for the tories instead. It's truly amazing. Either this is just a big vanity exercise for Clegg, they have some secret plan to do something amazing at some point, or they'e
very very very very very very stupid.