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Really? They were clearly the smaller of the two parties and I feel the fact they got anything changed is frankly impressive. Compared to what the current Cons

by kelnage 10y ago

Really? They were clearly the smaller of the two parties and I feel the fact they got anything changed is frankly impressive. Compared to what the current Conservative government is doing, I feel the Lib Dems did a pretty good job of tempering their ambitions, without bringing the entire system to a standstill (which I do not believe for a second to be a good idea).

simonbarker87 10y ago
Agreed, really annoys me when people say that the Lib Dems stabbed true liberals in the back. I don't know the numbers but lets say they had 5% of the MPs in coalition, in reality they should have been lucky to influence a couple of bits of policy a year, in reality they managed to punch above their weight for all of that parliament, making Nick Clegg deputy might have seemed like a good idea at the time but in reality it gave the wrong impression that it would be 50:50 on policy when in reality it was probably more 75:25 and they did well to get that. Nick Clegg clearly pulled back on tuition fees to get a referendum on AV which in hindsight he probably wishes he hadn't done and that then set the tone for media portrayal over the following 4 years. Any liberal who says they "sold-out" during the coalition only need to look at current Tory policy to realise that the LDs did an excellent job pulling the Tories back. I voted Lib Dem in the last two elections FWIW.
- Doctor_Fegg 10y ago
  Perhaps, but they also marched through the lobbies to enable a lot of genuinely regressive policies to pass, notably Gove's education "reforms". For example, the LibDem manifesto for 2010 promised to "Switch traffic from road to rail by investing in local rail improvements, such as opening closed rail lines and adding extra tracks, paid for by cutting the major roads budget." [1] What actually happened to the major roads budget? Well, come 2013, the coalition was embarking upon a massive programme of road-building, proudly trumpeted by Danny Alexander (LibDem chief secretary to the Treasury) as "the greatest investment in our roads since the 1970s". [2] That's not compromise, that's a 180° U-turn on your manifesto commitments. Meanwhile, actual rail reopenings were happening in Scotland thanks to the SNP, and in Wales thanks to Labour, but not in England. So, no thank you. I had voted LibDem in 2012 and at every general election since the age of 18. Not in 2015 and not again. [1] http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge10/man/parties/libdem_manifesto_2010.pdf http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge10/man/parties/li... [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-chief-secretary-to-the-treasury-danny-alexander-investing-in-britains-future https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-chief-secre...
toyg 10y ago
> I feel the Lib Dems did a pretty good job They would have done a better job by supporting and conditioning a minority government. Let Tories get all the flak while you bring home electoral victories. Instead, they got all the flak, didn't significantly change anything (they resisted or delayed a few "reforms" like this bill, which will now go through), U-turned on all their manifesto promises (which, one suspects, the leadership only endured because of their grassroots activists and not because they believed in any of them) and made themselves unelectable. "A pretty good job" sounds a lot like "a heck of a job"...

by kelnage 10y ago

simonbarker87 10y ago

Agreed, really annoys me when people say that the Lib Dems stabbed true liberals in the back. I don't know the numbers but lets say they had 5% of the MPs in coalition, in reality they should have been lucky to influence a couple of bits of policy a year, in reality they managed to punch above their weight for all of that parliament, making Nick Clegg deputy might have seemed like a good idea at the time but in reality it gave the wrong impression that it would be 50:50 on policy when in reality it was probably more 75:25 and they did well to get that. Nick Clegg clearly pulled back on tuition fees to get a referendum on AV which in hindsight he probably wishes he hadn't done and that then set the tone for media portrayal over the following 4 years. Any liberal who says they "sold-out" during the coalition only need to look at current Tory policy to realise that the LDs did an excellent job pulling the Tories back. I voted Lib Dem in the last two elections FWIW.

Doctor_Fegg 10y ago
Perhaps, but they also marched through the lobbies to enable a lot of genuinely regressive policies to pass, notably Gove's education "reforms". For example, the LibDem manifesto for 2010 promised to "Switch traffic from road to rail by investing in local rail improvements, such as opening closed rail lines and adding extra tracks, paid for by cutting the major roads budget." [1] What actually happened to the major roads budget? Well, come 2013, the coalition was embarking upon a massive programme of road-building, proudly trumpeted by Danny Alexander (LibDem chief secretary to the Treasury) as "the greatest investment in our roads since the 1970s". [2] That's not compromise, that's a 180° U-turn on your manifesto commitments. Meanwhile, actual rail reopenings were happening in Scotland thanks to the SNP, and in Wales thanks to Labour, but not in England. So, no thank you. I had voted LibDem in 2012 and at every general election since the age of 18. Not in 2015 and not again. [1] http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge10/man/parties/libdem_manifesto_2010.pdf http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge10/man/parties/li... [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-chief-secretary-to-the-treasury-danny-alexander-investing-in-britains-future https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/speech-by-chief-secre...

toyg 10y ago

> I feel the Lib Dems did a pretty good job They would have done a better job by supporting and conditioning a minority government. Let Tories get all the flak while you bring home electoral victories. Instead, they got all the flak, didn't significantly change anything (they resisted or delayed a few "reforms" like this bill, which will now go through), U-turned on all their manifesto promises (which, one suspects, the leadership only endured because of their grassroots activists and not because they believed in any of them) and made themselves unelectable. "A pretty good job" sounds a lot like "a heck of a job"...