11 ms·

I don't have a candle for Nick Clegg, but I think he was hard done by on the student fee issue and the accusation seems implausible to me.

mijoharas 4y ago
Why do you think he was hard done by on the student fee issue? * In his manifesto he said he'd scrap tuition fees. * He signed a _personal_ pledge against voting to raise them.[0] * People voted for him with this information. * He was able to gain power through a coalition government. * He voted to _raise_ tuition fees. You can see how people could feel betrayed by him[1]. I wouldn't say he was hard done by, and I think condemnation of that behaviour is a rational response. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge [1] ...the percentage of students supporting the Liberal Democrats had fallen from 42% at the last general election to 11% just after the vote on fees. 83% of students said they felt let down by the Lib Dem leadership's decision
- hardlianotion 4y ago
  They were in coalition, so I think most of the anger is just misplaced. Could he have been more savvy? Probably.
  - mijoharas 4y ago
    That's fair enough, and if he'd said "we can't stop this, I'm sorry" and _not_ voted for it himself, it would have been fine. That's not what happened, he personally voted to raise the fees, and he instituted a 3 line whip for his party to do the same. I think it's fair to condemn him for that.
- shapefrog 4y ago
  > * People voted for him with this information. His party, and that manifesto came 3rd in the election.
  - mijoharas 4y ago
    Yep, people voted him into 3rd place in the election. Then he was able to gain power by forming a coalition government. The people who voted for him expected him to do the things he promised he would do, rather than the exact opposite.

11 ms·

I don't have a candle for Nick Clegg, but I think he was hard done by on the student fee issue and the accusation seems implausible to me.

by hardlianotion 4y ago

mijoharas 4y ago
Why do you think he was hard done by on the student fee issue? * In his manifesto he said he'd scrap tuition fees. * He signed a _personal_ pledge against voting to raise them.[0] * People voted for him with this information. * He was able to gain power through a coalition government. * He voted to _raise_ tuition fees. You can see how people could feel betrayed by him[1]. I wouldn't say he was hard done by, and I think condemnation of that behaviour is a rational response. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vote_for_Students_pledge [1] ...the percentage of students supporting the Liberal Democrats had fallen from 42% at the last general election to 11% just after the vote on fees. 83% of students said they felt let down by the Lib Dem leadership's decision
- hardlianotion 4y ago
  They were in coalition, so I think most of the anger is just misplaced. Could he have been more savvy? Probably.
  - mijoharas 4y ago
    That's fair enough, and if he'd said "we can't stop this, I'm sorry" and _not_ voted for it himself, it would have been fine. That's not what happened, he personally voted to raise the fees, and he instituted a 3 line whip for his party to do the same. I think it's fair to condemn him for that.
- shapefrog 4y ago
  > * People voted for him with this information. His party, and that manifesto came 3rd in the election.
  - mijoharas 4y ago
    Yep, people voted him into 3rd place in the election. Then he was able to gain power by forming a coalition government. The people who voted for him expected him to do the things he promised he would do, rather than the exact opposite.